《S*ave Harem in the Labyrinth of the Other World (LN)》


 Volume 1 - CH prologue 1

    ¡¾Prologue, Part 1¡¿


    Have you ever heard of this? A Suicide Site?


    Oh, don¡¯t give me that look, I know you have. Pretty much everyone¡¯s heard of at least one these days. A website on the internet where you can find various ways of committing suicide or kindred spirits to commit group suicide with.


    When I first stumbled upon this, I was deeply confused, to be honest.


    For you see, I didn¡¯t really want to kill myself, but at the same time, I was at a time in my life that I didn¡¯t really want to live either, and the prospect of definitely ending my shallow existence once and for all appeared strangely alluring to me.


    Because this world has done everything it could and then some to drive me into the deepest pits of darkest despair.


    I am being bullied and ostracized at school, in a way that¡¯s more hideous than your standard, by-the-book physical abuse: I was being ignored by everyone, treated as if I was nothing but air. In class, during lunch breaks or when going to and back from school, I was always alone. When an assignment required us to get in pairs, I would always end up as the sole one who had no partner. Every. Single. Time.


    When the number of male and female members in our class was uneven, teachers would try to pair me up with girls. You can probably guess how that swell idea was going to end up, but I¡¯m going to tell you anyway, just to kick myself in the balls some more, because at this point, why the hell not? Every one of those bitches would try to weasel her way out of being assigned to me. They did so either by saying they already made a promise to be together with someone else, or when that tactic proved to be ineffective, they would reluctantly join me only to do all the work themselves. And they did all of that without even glancing in my direction or uttering a single word. Oftentimes I could swear I saw the aura of resentment towards me manifesting itself around them physically as a form of protective armor, and comments like ¡¸I feel defiled¡¹, ¡¸I have to go cleanse myself with holy water¡¹ or ¡¸I can never be a bride now¡¹ were so common that I stopped counting them after a 100th time, give or take. I thought I was used to them already, but no matter how often I heard them or in how many variations, they still hurt the same, adding more and more fuel to the brightly burning pyre of my self-hatred.


    And before some of you ask that dumb question, no, it wasn¡¯t like that in high school only. It was like that ever since elementary school, where I was getting into fights with the other kids almost on a daily basis, resulting in me getting labeled as a violent delinquent. You¡¯d think that things would get better given enough time. Well, boy do I have news for you, they didn¡¯t. Not in the slightest.


    By the time I was in 4th grade I was everyone¡¯s sandbag during almost every break, especially after one of the classes when we were all sharing our dreams for the future with each other. I had, in a splendid display of childish idiocy, blurted out that I wanted to be a professional wrestler. Adding to that, I was always thrown out of the class when it was time to change for P.E., and in the summer when it was time for swimming classes my clothes and my clothes only would always magically end up thrown into the pool. Yup, those were the days of my childhood that I don¡¯t want to remember.


    I have to say though, things did quiet down a little bit when I began to learn Kendo as a means of self-defense. It was also a very effective way to channel all of my pent-up frustration and violence into something productive. By the time my sh*tfest of a life reached the 2nd year of Junior High, the physical bullying stopped completely and switched to the mental one. I think that one incident when I¡¯d ¡°accidentally¡± beat the everlasting f*ck out of one of my oppressors and ended up sending him to the hospital for a few months had something to do with, but I can be wrong about it. Well, let¡¯s not dwell on the small details for now. Bottom line is, for a while things did quiet down. No one dared to raise his hand against me, but I did become an outcast without a single friend.


    Throughout the years of their education kids can be some real sacks of sh*t, wouldn¡¯t you agree? Once they will learn that they can¡¯t inflict harm upon you physically, they will try to do so mentally. As if there was any real chance of them finally leaving me alone.


    That was the moment when I finally realized that this is what this wretched world is all about. No matter how hard you¡¯ll try to live a good, honest life, the only way for you to make your dreams come true is to do so by eliminating everything and everyone who stands between you and your goal. Only when you are standing atop the mountain of the countless corpses of your enemies where no one will ever be able to threaten you anymore while triumphantly sipping the nectar of sweet victory, only then you¡¯ll be allowed to tell that you have truly won the sh*tty game called ¡¸Life¡¹.


    Heh, such an outlook on life sounds like it¡¯s more befitting of a criminal or a petty member of the Yakuza, but that¡¯s how it really is. Without power, you¡¯re no one. Just one of the nameless nobodies living their days aimlessly as a member of the like-minded grey mass of mediocrity. At least, that¡¯s what I think after everything I¡¯ve been through.


    This world is a hopeless, truly rotten place. Looking back on it now, it must have been precisely because of that.


    That was the reason why I decided to click on the link to that obviously shady suicide site I found one night while I was surfing the net in the solitude of my own room after I¡¯ve had my fill of father¡¯s beatdowns for the day.


    How should I put it? It was¡­ an eye-opening experience. I¡¯m not kidding, reading through everything that was posted there really helped me understand what a fool I was up until that point. Before, I thought I was the only one who had it rough, but now I finally saw that the world was riddled with hundreds of thousands of people of all backgrounds and ages who just couldn¡¯t take it anymore and therefore they searched for a way out. On that day, something had changed within me, as if a switch was suddenly flipped inside of my mind. What began as a curious one-time-only read began to develop into a keen interest. So I¡¯ve read all the posts, gathered the information, went through all the links and finally reached what could be called the site¡¯s inner sanctum.


    Thinking about it carefully, this world has brought me nothing but regrets. I had no one I could call my lover, no friends and no family who would support me through thick and thin. And if that was the case, why would I even bother to continue living in such a hell on earth?


    My grades were not exceptional in any way. Because of the domestic violence in my family it would be impossible for me to go to the university. We barely had any money to make ends meet. My only redeeming quality were my Kendo skills honed since my early years. In addition to Kendo, I really wanted to train in Judo or Karate, but since the lessons cost a fortune that was impossible. Even with Kendo, I was only able to practice it because the master of the local Dojo trained kids free of charge and also leant them their equipment, but I knew he was not doing it out of the kindness of his heart. That was only an excuse for him so he could give ¡¸private lessons¡¹ to the kids he took a ¡¸liking¡¹ to, especially the girls. So in case you didn¡¯t hear me the first time, let me reiterate:


    This world is a truly rotten place.


    The list of my regrets was much longer than the ones relating to my family¡¯s financial situation, of course. One of them was my desire to finally graduate from being a virgin. I mean really, who wouldn¡¯t see that coming? Dying without having any experience in sex? Now that would be lame. Just like any other high school boy my age, I wanted to try doing it at least once. I wanted to know if releasing all of your sexual desire into a girl really felt as good as everyone else around me was saying.


    Like that, the days went by without bringing any significant changes with them. All this time, I was on the fence about whether or not I really wanted to kill myself. After all, the thought of ending my life with my own hands scared the living hell out of me. I was afraid of the pain and of what would happen if by some miracle I managed to screw things up. And while we are on the subject, I wonder if dying is really as simple as books portray it to be: that you just close your eyes, drift away to sleep and that¡¯s it. Well, I guess that might be the case for dying of natural causes like illness or old age, but for everything else? I guess I was still too big of a wuss to test it out for myself.


    I was pretty good at Kendo. It might be tough, but maybe if I put more effort into it I¡¯ll be able to make my living out of that? That certainly wouldn¡¯t be half bad if it worked.


    As for losing my V-Card, all good things come to those who wait, I guess. Surely I will get my chance to get down and dirty with someone nice if I were patient. And if I officially attained the status of a Wizard first (reach 30 years of age still virgin)? I didn¡¯t give a fuck.


    Having such conflicting thoughts in my mind I went on reading the posts published on the site, where I was a regular by this time. And one fateful night, my eyes fell upon a link to a post titled ¡ºBefore You Decide To Commit Suicide¡».


    This is it.


    A guide that is going to help me make up my mind!


    This is what I wanted the whole time!

 Volume 1 - CH prologue 2

    ¡¾Prologue, Part 2¡¿


    With my excitement quickly rising, I decided to click on the link. Who knows, maybe it will point me towards some good alternatives to suicide? I am just a teenager in his second year of high school after all, so checking out the alternatives before committing myself to the real deal was understandable.


    Now let¡¯s see what we have here¡­ uh-huh, all right, cool, I get it¡­


    I muttered to myself as I was slowly scrolling down the page. To give you a brief rundown of its contents, it stated that if you find your own world to be a shitty place where you absolutely cannot live, then why not move to another one?


    That was¡­ not what I was expecting, if I am to be honest. But on the other hand, there was a surprising amount of sense to it. I mean, think about it: if you¡¯re fed up with the world you live in, then switching to one that that is more to your liking is kinda obvious.


    The page listed many examples of such worlds: a world which is technologically advanced, a world where pirates and their ships make the law, an ancient world filled with swords and magic¡­ such a world might really not sound so bad. If I chose something like that, I could move to a world which was inhabited not only by disgusting humans, but also beautiful and noble elves, hard-working dwarves or even demi-humans and beasts lived together. That would certainly be interesting.


    But how can you move to such a world, you ask? That¡¯s simple, really. The answer to that question is: through games. Internet ones, to be more specific.


    And it just so happens that the page was providing links to the main pages of all kinds of games, not only the ones that I listed above.


    I guess I could give one of them a try, just for the hell of it. It will certainly be healthier than spending the whole night reading the comments of the other users of the suicide site for who-knows-which night in a row. Yes, let¡¯s think about it like a much-needed change of pace, or a breath of fresh air. See, for all my earlier trash-talking I can still act like a semi-decent human being if I want to. If I have to fill my head with something then I¡¯d much rather it be games than suicidal thoughts. Maybe it¡¯s my internal coward speaking through me now, but I have seen for myself over the past few days there were many people who thought exactly the same, so maybe those kinds of advertisements were made specifically to appeal to them? Well, whatever.


    When it comes to online games I can proudly say that I am not a total noob, since I did play some of them in the past. Although, I have to admit that my friendless loner attitude must have rubbed off on me pretty hard, because even when playing online games, where meeting new people and cooperating with them is kinda the point of it all, I was a bona fide solo player. I was what you might call a quintessential casual, playing only what looked nice and casting it aside as soon as I got bored with it. But when I did play, I made sure to enjoy every second of it. Even if the game was a literal piece of crap, I didn¡¯t hate it per se, just the people who made it this way.


    All right, so when I entered the page of one game that looked interestingly enough for me, the first thing I was told to do was choose my race and the country of origin from a very impressive selection of choices. Hmm, maybe I should aim for something interesting, like a mixture of the most unexpected things possible? And if I get tired of it anyway, I can always just start over from scratch.


    The next page was about the frequency of wars occurring in the game¡¯s world. So it is the setting where countries fight with each other for supremacy instead of being friendly, I guess? I wonder if it¡¯s going to be similar to the battles between guilds, but on a much larger scale?


    Well, not that it¡¯s going to have that much meaning for me as a solo player anyway. With that in mind, I think I¡¯m going to choose one of the more friendly countries. Okay, now that that¡¯s done, what do we have next? Dungeon type or Field type? Now this is going to be a difficult decision. Can¡¯t I just choose both at once? Oh, well would you look at that, apparently I can. Sweet, both it is then. It¡¯s also good that you can just choose the settings recommended by the game itself since there are just so many detailed options to choose from that carefully reading through all of them would have probably taken me an entire night¡¯s worth of sleep.


    One of the last things to choose from was the language settings. Huh? What¡¯s this, how come Japanese is not the default one?!What even is this Brahim language? I have no idea, but since it¡¯s a default one then it¡¯s probably better to leave it as it is without messing around with it too much.


    Soon after that I have arrived at the section of the character creation labeled as [Bonus Points Distribution]. Huh, I guess every online game has one of those nowadays. The system itself was similar to the one featured in the classics like D&D where you had to [roll] your character statistics based on the total value of your roll. You have a total of 6 basic stats: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intellect, Wisdom and Luck, and the total value of the roll of your virtual [dice] determines the numerical bonuses to those 6 stats. Thankfully it looks like you can reroll your character stats as many times as you like until you roll your ideal desired results so at least I don¡¯t have to worry about being stuck with something totally useless and not suited to my preferred play-style. The only downside to it is that rolling ¡°exactly¡± what you want might take a considerable amount of time since the RNG was not on the players side most of the time when it came to stat distribution. But since I don¡¯t want to half-ass everything this time around, I should take my time to roll something that will at the very least be decent to play with instead of a total random.


    Points-wise, many of the initial stats were at the values between 10 and 20, meaning that they were the very basic ones and we want something better than that, so we¡¯re rerolling that one.


    Generally speaking, in games that use the dice rolling system for deciding the stats rolling anything which has a total value of 75 and above is considered to be good, but most of the players (at least from what I¡¯ve heard online) always aimed for a total 80 or above in order to really maximize their roll and squeeze every additional point they could to ensure the best start possible for themselves. My current total is 79, so the million-dollar question is: should I keep it or try to push my luck a bit and aim for that famed 80?


    ¡­. Ah screw it, You Only Live Once Rolls for the win, we¡¯re starting over!


    As a result, I ended up with a total value of 60. Figures. Nothing like a little bit of F rank gacha luck kicking you in the nuts to remind you that you¡¯re not the hot Sh*t you thought yourself to be. Are we going to leave that poor 60 be and finally start the game? Hell no! I rolled something good once, so I can do it again, even if I have to result to using the most secret, forbidden technique of stat rolling: [Rapid Fire Mouse Clicking]! While I am furiously clicking away, here¡¯s some random trivia about this technique for you: the most skilled of its users are supposedly able to achieve the clicking frequency of 30 clicks per second! Isn¡¯t that like, awesomely unreal?! I wonder what games they were playing in order to achieve such a form at using it (TL NOTE: Ever heard of StarCraft, kid?).


    As I continued to click like crazy, having nothing more but my eyes to rely on when to stop, a number 8 flashed before my eyes. Was that number 80 just now? It was 80, wasn¡¯t it?! Unfortunately, the number that was displayed on the screen when I stopped tapping that left mouse button was a measly 19. CRAP BASKETS! I did it! For just a brief moment I have scored that legendary 80 and I blew it out the window! OF-FUCKING-COURSE!!! And you know what comes next? That¡¯s right, you guessed it, we¡¯re starting over one more time!


    *Inhale*¡­ *Exhale*¡­ *Inhale*¡­ *Exhale*¡­


    My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined even more than it already was. *Sigh* well, no use crying over spilt milk I guess, we¡¯re just back to the Redoville for the moment.


    The next few attempts were filled with 60 and 70 somethings, but let¡¯s be real here guys, all right? You know as well as I do that after scoring that 80 once I wasn¡¯t going to stop until I scored another 80 again. This is what we players do after all, it is literally in our blood, that competitive drive, or what normies would normally call a [Hold My Beer Syndrome]. We¡¯ve all been there or at least saw someone from our surroundings being there, right? That certain someone who is like [Come on man, there¡¯s no way that you¡¯ll actually *insert whatever stupid thing here*] and the other guy, being an absolute Chad Thundercock of a madman that he is being all like [I¡¯m not going to do it? I¡¯m not going to do it?! Here, hold my beer!] usually followed by poor Chad either embarrassing himself in front of everyone or hurting himself in a really stupid way. Of course, with my personal situation being the way it is I have never really had the chance to be such a Chad myself, which is why now is a perfect, probably once in a lifetime opportunity for me.


    [Give it a break you loser, there¡¯s no way someone like you can score 80 or higher while rolling stats!]


    Oh yeah? Well you know what?! Screw you! Screw every last one of you Chads with all your Stacies and successful normie lives! This is my time to shine now! I will do it! I will beat this Reroll icon like it¡¯s my meat on a lonely Friday evening and I¡¯ll roll the best stats possible!


    Okay, everyone ready? Hold on to your seats then, cause we¡¯re taking this icon for a ride!

 Volume 1 - CH prologue 3

    ¡¾Prologue, Part 3¡¿


    (Sarcastically) Day 6524: rations running low.


    I¡¯ve been clicking and clicking and clicking for so long that my right hand went totally numb. And after every single click I made a brief pause to check the value that appeared on screen to be absolutely sure that I won¡¯t miss a good roll. Click, reroll, click, reroll, click, reroll, click, why am I doing this again? It¡¯s been so long that I ¡®m having difficulty remembering. And looking at those tiny digits on screen is such a pain in the ass¡­ I continued my clicking crusade while thinking such thoughts. If nothing else, I have to praise myself for my own stubbornness.


    Click, check the value, then click again. This boring, repetitive process continued for quite a while. Just a non-stop sound of clicking, like *click* *click* *click* *click* *click* *click* *click* *click* *click* *click* *click* *click* *click**click* *click* *click* *click* *click* *click* *click* *click*¡­


    It wasn¡¯t until much, much later that the sight I longed for finally appeared on my screen: two digits making a number, shining with a clear, golden light. It took me a long time to get here, but the end result was even better than what I initially wanted. I rolled a highest value possible, probably because there are no three-digit numbers programmed into the system.


    A 99. Just looking at it gave me all kinds of satisfaction. After the long struggle, I have finally arrived in the promised land. I did this out of spite and sheer desperation and still managed to obtain it. The days of yore when I just clicked away like a madman already seemed to be nothing more but a distant memory (even though they literally happened moments ago).


    I have it. A total stat value of 99. Would I try to roll that again? Oh hell no. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity that might never repeat itself again if I just let it pass me by, so you bet your ass I¡¯m keeping it. I don¡¯t even care about the game itself anymore, just rolling that was enough of a victory for me. Since I¡¯ll be playing solo anyway, such a roll was the best possible outcome I could have hoped for. There literally is nothing better than this when it comes to rolling stats, so I clicked on confirm without any regrets.


    Next was setting up your avatar character and distributing Bonus Points. There was no information on microtransactions, loot boxes or any kind of in-game purchases. Could this be a browser-based game? Looking at the number of my bonus points, there were quite a lot of them. Well, since the game is being so generous to me from the start, I guess I have no choice but to continue playing and seeing how things will turn out.


    Bonus Points themselves could be used to increase the values of various parameters on the character creation screen, such as Strength, Endurance, Equipment Load, Bonus Spells Slots and even Bonus Skills and Equipment. Initially I was thinking of dumping all of my Bonus Points into Strength, but that would mean I¡¯ll have no points to spend on other possibly useful things. Hmm, what to do?


    Typically, in these kinds of games the benefits of increased parameters could only be felt in the game¡¯s early stages as the end result was dependent entirely on the character¡¯s overall level. Taking that into consideration, should I invest my points into something else? How about Bonus Equipment? I bet that with the right amount of points dumped into it I could start the game with the strongest weapons and armor from the get-go. That would certainly make the beginning stages a breeze. Bonus Spells could also be useful, especially those cool sounding like Warp or Gamma Ray Burst. Oh man, so many things to choose from and not nearly enough points to try out everything that actually catches my attention.


    Normally I could¡¯ve just used the internet to find some tips for beginners, but I got so caught up in setting everything up that I didn¡¯t even registered the actual name of the game, so I done goofed with that, I won¡¯t lie. Then again, that was kinda the point of what I¡¯m doing here, to dive into it blindly and see if this is actually worth a damn. That, and I don¡¯t want to waste that one-in-a-million chance I got with that godly roll I managed to secure. Ugh, I have to hand it to the game¡¯s developers, putting so many things to choose from and giving you so many points was a brilliant trick, making the decision harder for me.


    While I scanned the entire screen for any potential tips, I noticed that there was a [Reset Character] option at the bottom of the Bonus Skills list. So with this Bonus Skill, redoing your character should be available, right? And if this page is titled [Character Page 1], then it would stand to reason that I can either redo the same page or create another one if I want. That way, I can start playing essentially whatever I want without worrying too much.


    I clicked on the Reset prompt to see if it actually works. Bonus Points Returned to 98, probably because one point was used to perform the reset itself. The necessary experience value has also decreased accordingly. Of course, I should know something like that is going to be necessary. But right next to it was a skill that increased the value of the experience obtained. But how is it any different? Should I choose both for the time being? Checking the required experience value reduction, the Bonus Points were at 97, and the required experience value decrease was displayed in half of the required experience value. It¡¯s an enhanced version with a reduced experience level, or an evolved version to be more exact.


    If you click on the required experience value ?, the Bonus Points will drop down to 95, but the required experience will change to the ? of the normal required value. Doing so again will change the required value to 1/3 of the original and repeating the process one more time drops the Bonus Points to 91 but changes the required experience value to 1/5. Doing so yet again will drop the Bonus Points to 83 but changes the required experience value to 1/10.


    The number of my Bonus Points has been reduced. It would appear that the value of the Bonus Points required keeps on doubling. Clicking on the required experience value of 1/10 resulted in the Bonus Point total becoming 67 and the display changed to 1/20 of the required experience value. Quickmath time! 83 minus 67 gives¡­ wait, how do you count to 16 again¡­. Oh yeah, 16! So the value is doubling after all!


    Now, what if I uncheck the required experience value of 1/20 and click to return the Bonus Point to 83 and the required experience value of 1/10, and then to the 91 Bonus Points and the required experience value of 1/5 and the once again to return it to 1/3. Ok, so this time I¡¯m going to choose the increase in the acquisition of exp.


    When I increased it, the Bonus Points became 90, and the display of the increase in the acquisition experience doubled. Is this the same pattern? When I repeat the process once more, the Bonus Points will be 88, and the earned experience value will change to triple the normal amount. When I clicked 3 times, the Bonus Points became 84, and 3 times the earned experience value changed to 5 times the earned experience value. I think I will actually go with that.


    Other than that, there was also an option to pick a Second Job. This will without a doubt prove to be useful. Normally, in a job-based game, each job can use it¡¯s unique skills and spells . If you have a second job, you can use the skills and spells of those two jobs at the same time. It¡¯s strange that here it¡¯s treated like a Bonus Skill. If you don¡¯t set a Bonus Skill, you¡¯re going to lose its slot permanently. Fucking game choices man. This reeks of a shit-game mechanic, but I guess we have no choice. Once I picked that up, the value of Bonus Points decreased to 83. Two jobs at the same time will probably be all I¡¯ll be able to get at the start of the game, so if I decide to switch it for something else I can always reset at any given time.


    Right next to the Second Job skill was a job settings skill. So I¡¯m guessing that if I won¡¯t choose it, I¡¯ll be stuck with some lame default settings, huh? Let¡¯s leave it for now and check what other options do we have. Increased Recovery Speed and Shortened Spellcasting Speed may also be skills that can be useful, but since I don¡¯t know whether magic can be used from the beginning I¡¯m skipping this for now. Discount Negotiations and Lowered Prices¡­ that might be useful when I¡¯ll have to buy a lot of things.


    As for the rest¡­


    I think I¡¯ll pass any Bonus Spells for the time being, because some of them blatantly asked you if you¡¯re okay with performing suicide attacks. Big nope for me. I¡¯m not going to use suicide attacks, no matter how OP they might be. Not in a million years.


    Let¡¯s go back to Bonus Equipment for now. As far as the beginning of the game is concerned, this is going to be absolutely crucial. Wearing literally anything else that is not your starting equipment should be enough to make sure that you will not get owned throughout the beginning stages of the game. I clicked Bonus Equipment and then Bonus weapons, decreasing my number of Bonus Points to 82, changing my initial loadout simply called Weapons to Weapons II. So that is the pattern that the Bonus Equipment is following? Okay, fine by me. I clicked on it 6 times, expending a total of 20 Bonus Points to get myself a set of Weapons VI. Next I clicked on Bonus Accessories until my Bonus Points total was down to 17, and as a finishing touch, I increased the Lower Experience value to 1/5 of the normal total and increased the amount of exp obtained 5 times.


    After all was said and done, the number of my remaining Bonus Point was 1. What should I spend it on? Identify Skill, or maybe put one more into Bonus Weapons, just for the hell of it?


    Nah, I¡¯ll go with Identify after all.


    I have no Bonus Points left now. With nothing else left to do, I clicked OK to finish the character creation process, when all of a sudden, the screen has changed.


    WARNING!


    IF YOU CHOSE TO CONTINUE BEYOND THIS POINT, YOU WILL LIVE YOUR LIFE IN A DIFFERENT WORLD, NEVER TO RETURN TO THE WORLD YOU WILL BE LEAVING BEHIND.


    KNOWING THIS, DO YOU STILL WISH TO CONTINUE?


    The hell is this? Yeah, yeah, as long as I don¡¯t have to pay for it, I don¡¯t care. Just let me click yes and begin playing for fucks sake!


    I click yes without a second of hesitation.


    FINAL WARNING!


    KNOWING THE RISK, DO YOU STILL WISH TO CONTINUE ANYWAY?


    YES NO


    Annoyed at the game¡¯s persistence, I clicked yes like a madman.


    Huh? But wait a second¡­ wasn¡¯t that message kinda disturbing now that I¡­. think about¡­ it¡­.. Fuck¡­¡­¡­¡­.. what have I gotten¡­¡­¡­. myself¡­¡­¡­.. into¡­¡­..

 Volume 1 - CH 1.1

    ¡¾Chapter 1: The First Village, Part 1¡¿


    Player Name: Kaga Michio


    Character Information & Equipment:


    Class: Villager, Lv1


    Weapon: Durandal


    Accessory: Ring of Determination


    It took me a while to realize that I was laying in a haystack. Why was I laying there and why in the haystack of all possible things I don¡¯t know and to be honest, I don¡¯t care. The most important thing right now is that I was apparently in some kind of barn or shed, hence the haystack. Last time I checked there was no barns or places that sold hay in Tokyo, so I have to think what the presence of all that hay around me means.


    Commence the solo brainstorming session!


    Okay, first things first, recollection of everything that I was doing yesterday. Most of the time I was bitching about how much dick Life has managed to stuff inside me up until now (just my typical day) and then I happened upon that sketchy post which led me to an even sketchier net game which I decided to check out in order to detach myself from all the shit I¡¯ve been dealing with lately. Then I proceeded to create an account and my character (which took ages by the way, thanks to that needles clickfest with stats) and when I was finally about to start, I lost consciousness after reading that warning which appeared on my screen. Next thing I remember was waking up here, in this haystack.


    So yeah, there you have it. In conclusion, I am just like that one who became a meme on the internet recently, I know nothing. Could it be that was somehow trans¡­


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    OH FUCK NO! THIS BETTER NOT BE AN ISEKAI STORY OR ELSE¡­!!!


    Or else what?


    Okay, all right, let¡¯s calm down and think about it rationally for a second. Instead of being transported into another world, it is more probable that I am inside some kind of virtual reality. Otherwise, why would I have to deal with all of that game related stuff in the first place? No way, something like that should be impossible with the current level of technology in our world. And how would that even work when all I did was basically a character creation process like in any other game? So what? Is it more like, I don¡¯t know, a dream? A very realistic lucid dream?


    [Bruuuuuoooooo!] [Wah!]


    At that time I heard the sound that I wasn¡¯t able to hear before, probably because I got too lost in my own thoughts. It wasn¡¯t anything that sounded hostile, but it did give me quite the scare. Something is here in that shed with me. Maybe I¡¯ll be able to see it if I just squint my eyes and concentrate.


    Huh? What is that?


    When I focused my gaze on the direction the noise was coming from, an information window was displayed directly in my mind, telling me that the source of the noise was apparently just an ordinary horse. When I got up on my feet and approached, the info turned out to be true, there really was a horse in one of the boxes near the entrance to the barn. Judging by the thickness of its legs it¡¯s not a Thoroughbred, but just a normal horse. Not that I could tell the difference even if I had both types in front of me, I¡¯m just a normal guy, not a friggin horse-breeding expert.


    As for the hut itself, it was probably the same size as your typical studio apartment, which is to say, quite spacious. Completely different to the apartment where I was living with my old man up to this point, which was approximately the size of 6¡Á4 tatami mats. But enough talking about my dull, uninteresting past, I have more pressing matters to attend to right now, like looking around and assessing my surroundings. The inside of the shed was pretty dim, but from the spaces between the boards of the wooden walls and scarcely placed wooden windows I could see that the sky outside was still tinged with a slight shade of red. The question is, does that mean the night is about to fall, or maybe the dawn is breaking to greet the new day? Other than me there are no people around. As I already said, the windows are the most basic wooden ones, without any glass or shutters.


    The minutes passed and the horse eventually grew quiet, presumably drifting off to sleep. While we¡¯re still on the topic of that horse, I wonder if the information that were displayed in my mind were the result of the Identify skill.


    Identify.


    That was one of the skills that I picked up during the character creation process, that much I can remember. Well, now is as good of an opportunity as ever, so why not take that ability for a test drive? Thinking like that, I looked at myself and said the word [Identify] out loud, and sure enough, another information window popped right up. Let¡¯s see here¡­ Kaga Michio, male, 17 years old, Villager Lv1¡­ ohhhhh, so I guess this is my status then? Kaga Michio is my name, but¡­ how does the game know that? I mean, that was not the name that I chose for my character when I was filling out the registration form yesterday! After all, even an unsociable loser like me knows the bare minimum of the net games etiquette that states that you should never use your real-life name while making a character in game! So how is it possible that my character¡¯s name is the same as my real name? Has my computer been hacked by some kinda super hacker who messed up with my game account as a sick joke?!


    Perplexed, I examined my whole body, but I wasn¡¯t feeling any kind of discomfort anywhere, and everything I touched felt super real, as if it were made of real flesh instead of a bunch of 1¡¯s and 0¡¯s. I even have the same jersey I was wearing for an entire day yesterday, complete with food and sweat stains! Yup, no matter how I look at it, it is my body. Wow, to be able to reproduce every single detail of the player¡¯s looks and wardrobe, that is some seriously sick VR technology.


    Since I was home all day yesterday I was also barefoot, feeling the hard ground with every inch of the soles of my feet. As for the temperature, the air around me is neither hot nor cold. I¡¯m fine with having no shoes as long as I¡¯ll stay inside of here, but a lack of shoes might be a serious problem once I¡¯ll have to venture outside. Thankfully, looking around the shed for a while I managed to find something that upon closer inspection with my Identify skill turned out to be a pair of simple sandals. Since I don¡¯t have any socks on my feet then I might as well wear them. After all, it¡¯s certainly better than having no shoes at all. They were pretty primitive in their design, with strings that were supposed to be tied around the ankles to prevent them from falling off. As it turned out, I still had to tie them up manually instead of just poking them with my finger with a motion imitating clicking. When I used Identify on my body again after everything was said and done, some new information appeared.


    Kaga Michio, male, 17 years old, Villager Lv1, Thief Lv1, Equipment: Sandals


    Uhm¡­ that the name of that second job makes me feel like a bandit, and I probably am one for taking somebody else¡¯s possessions without asking them for permission first, but oh well, at least I¡¯ve got a second job mere minutes into the game. By the way, my jersey does not seem to be classified as equipment. Is it because it was brought here from outside of the game? The only thing listed under the equipment tab are those sandals I have stolen. And speaking of equipping, I should have some Bonus Equipment on me right now.


    Next to the haystack where I have woken up I found a room which contained a sword. Using Identify on it revealed that it was the Holy Sword Durandal and it came with a crapload of various skills, among which were the ones such as Attack Power x9 and Damage Absorption 25%, HP Absorption and MP Absorption. So this is what it means to have a Bonus Weapon 6, huh? Also, next to the sword I found a curious ring. I¡¯m going to Identify it either way, but I wonder if it¡¯s going to give better benefits than Durandal? It says that it¡¯s a Ring of Determination. Those are some good items to start the game with.


    I put on the ring and equip the sword. This further confirms my suspicion that this is indeed a game, since my actions have been confirmed in the character status screen. Once again, I¡¯m amazed how detailed this virtual reality is.


    Fixing my Durandal so that it would be attached to my belt just like the katanas worn by the samurai, my preparations were now complete.


    Being fully equipped for the road that lies ahead of me, I decided to leave the stable and take my first step into this new, unknown world that was waiting for me outside. What am I going to find out there? I don¡¯t know, but maybe it won¡¯t be as bad as I initially thought, minus being labeled as a Sandals thief.

 Volume 1 - CH 1.2

    ¡¾Chapter 1: The First Village, Part 2¡¿


    The first thing I saw after I left the barn was the early morning scenery of a peaceful country village. The buildings consisted mostly of one storied wooden houses surrounded with vegetable gardens. The eastern side of the village consisted of vast open fields, while the northern part housed a large forest. It looks like the villagers begin their daily activities fairly early, because even though the sun had just risen over the horizon, some of them were already up and about, walking down the simple, stone-paved road.


    I don¡¯t know if I should hide from them or not, but just to be on the safe side I¡¯ve chosen to hide behind the barn for now. There are still too many things that I don¡¯t know that being cautious sounded like the best possible course of action for now. After all, I don¡¯t know who these people are and if they are friendly to outsiders or not, and there¡¯s also a matter of me stealing (although by accident) those sandals from inside the barn. I don¡¯t know about you, but for me the prospect of having my hand cut off as a punishment for theft was not a welcoming one. So in order to avoid attracting unnecessary attention to myself I decided to wait and observe the villagers form the shadows and use Identify on the couple which happened to pass by the barn on their way to the fields. It told me that both of them had only a first name without any last names, didn¡¯t have any Jobs except for [Villager] and were both at Lv1. In other words, they were your typical, run-of-the-mill NPCs (Non-Player Characters).


    While we¡¯re at it, I am also at Lv1. Sooner or later I¡¯ll have to do something about it.


    I decide to enter the forest from the side of the barn and observe the village from there. That way I¡¯ll be able to continue my investigation of the surroundings without having to worry about getting caught by anyone.


    The village itself was actually quite large, stretching way into the southwest direction. The total number of houses in the whole thing should be around thirty to forty. The village¡¯s very center was the place where most of the two- and three-story houses were located. Squinting my eyes to see better, I used Identify on the people who were currently coming out of them. Just like before, they had only one name and one Job listed, but not all of them were labeled simply as [Villagers]. Among all the people were a total of five [Farmers]. I don¡¯t know what made them different from the regular village-dwellers, maybe the fact that they were more effective at cultivating the land? Man it sure as hell would be swell if there actually was some kind of tutorial here that would explain all of the basics to me, but I guess that is too much to ask for, huh? For now I guess I¡¯ll just have to make do with Identify alone.


    Now to continue my monitoring.


    The person with the highest level was a Lv25 older-looking dude. Should I try talking to him, or perhaps settle my sights on someone with a lower level, just in case that things could really go south? Let¡¯s see now¡­ I spy with my little identifying eye that the person who was 8 levels below the one with Lv25 was actually the village¡¯s chief who¡¯s apparently 69 years old. Heh, 69, such a neato number.


    In addition to him there was also someone with Lv6 who appeared to be a merchant, but it was hard to tell if he was a traveling one or the owner of the village¡¯s general store. Either way, he must be one of the more financially stable members of the community here since he walked out of one of the few three-story buildings in the neighborhood.


    I wanted to investigate some more, but unfortunately any further attempts ad doing as such have been interrupted by a pair of high-pitched voices echoing through the calm, early morning air. They belonged to two people who left the village perimeter some while ago and now they were running back with all their strength, literally screaming their throats out. Unfortunately for me they were both too far away for me to hear what exactly was going on in here, but I found out soon enough.


    One by one, the villagers rushed back into their homes, only to emerge back with weapons, mainly swords and spears, in hand. Don¡¯t tell me¡­.


    Don¡¯t tell me someone actually saw me and they were preparing to lynch me! Are you fucking serious?! For a measly crime of stealing a pair of used sandals that are not even all that comfortable to begin with?!


    At least that¡¯s what I had initially thought, but thankfully that does not seem to be the case this time, since the villagers weren¡¯t converging on my location, running towards the east instead. Hiding behind the trees, I quietly follow after them to what all the commotion was about.


    After around two minute of walking, I finally saw it. A large cloud of dust approaching the village from the eastern road, followed by intimidating shouts and the rumbling of hooves against the beaten ground.


    It was a bandit raid. It wasn¡¯t just my assumption based on my knowledge of the tropes from games set in medieval times and audio clues, oh no. I took my time to scan them with Identify, and even though they were still so far away from me that they looked like nothing more but the grains of rice, it showed me that each and every one of them had [Bandit] listed as his Job. Man, the reach of that skill is seriously OP.


    Also, thanks to that I was finally able to grasp the situation I found myself in. All the signs pointed towards only one possible conclusion:


    This is a [Tutorial Quest: Bandit Raid!] On a side note, this is not a name that I have come up with on the fly. The information window that just appeared before my eyes literally called it like that.


    Since this is a tutorial quest, I should be able to complete it without any major difficulties, since the levels of the Bandits are generally quite low, single digit ones. Even if I myself am only at Lv1, there is no way in hell that I could lose an introductory battle like that! Not when I also have a Holy Sword Durandal on my side! (TL Note: Ever heard of Dark Souls, you scrub?)


    The Bandit¡¯s equipment consisted primarily of Copper Swords, the same as the ones possessed by the villagers and simple Leather Armors. A high-end weapon like Durandal should eat them for breakfast in no time.


    All the villagers stopped just some distance away from the barn I was initially hiding behind and took assumed their positions, waiting for the Bandits to approach them. I look towards them once more to confirm their numbers. Most of the villagers were present, including the Lv25 village¡¯s head. What are the chances of them besting a group of bloodthirsty cutthroats? If you say [not very high] then I¡¯m afraid I have to agree with you, especially after taking Identifying the Bandits and their Leader form up close.


    Bandit Leader Hugo


    Yeah, no doubts about it. The guy in the middle must be their Leader. His level is exceptionally high and his equipment looks to be more luxurious when compared to the rest of the band around him, who wore the standard stuff. Level-wise, the Leader was at 19 and someone who looked like his right hand was at 11 respectively, and the rest of them were single digit ones. Could this be because this is the first event in the game? Well, no use thinking about it now. For now, let¡¯s just adopt the following mindset: everything is going to be all right as long as I¡¯ll be careful enough not to get hit by any of the Leader¡¯s attacks.


    The moment the Bandits finally reached the village, a fierce battle commenced, and the best way I can describe it was: chaotic. Unintelligible shouts and screams filled the air as both Bandits and villagers were slashing away at each other with their swords and it quickly turned into a situation where I couldn¡¯t clearly tell one side apart from the other. All I knew was that the battle itself was slowly moving towards me in the forest, so if I timed my actions right, I could probably jump out and land a few surprise attacks here and there.


    Both of the sides were pretty even, one not being able to overwhelm the other to claim the decisive victory even though the fight itself was going for a while now, developing a clear standstill. The same was true for the bandits Leader and the village chief, but because the chief¡¯s level was higher than that of the Bandit Leader, it¡¯s only a matter of time before he comes out on top. However¡­


    One of the horse-riding Bandits came between the two Leaders, distracting the chief and enabling the Bandit Leader to perform a thrusting attack which made his sword penetrate deep into the chief¡¯s body.


    What was that technique?! It looked like the Leader stabbed the chief through the gaps between the elements of his armor, but could something like that really be pulled off by a thug like him? I heard that such a technique really existed and was utilized mainly by the master swordsman fighting against armored opponents to strike at their vital points, but only a selected few managed to master completely master it.


    Wounding the chief like that, the Bandit Leader totally has him on his mercy, looking down on him and grinning in a very unsettling way. But now that his eyes are focused on him and no one else, maybe that was the opportunity I was waiting for?


    I feel that now would be a good chance for me to sneak behind him unnoticed and stab him through the heart with my Durandal. Something is telling me that an attack like that would deal a considerable amount of damage, possibly even killing him on the spot.


    I slowly remove the Durandal from its sheath on my waist and squeeze its handle with both my hands. It is much heavier than a wooden sword I was so used to carrying, but not to a degree where I couldn¡¯t swing it around since my muscles have been thoroughly trained through years of Kendo practice. Also, I keep telling myself in my head that since it is a first in-game event, there is no way for me to die in it.


    I have to do it. I have to go. It¡¯s either now, or never.


    So I take a deep breath¡­


    ¡­and I dash out of the forest straight into the heat of battle!

 Volume 1 - CH 1.3

    ¡¾Chapter 1: The First Village, Part 3¡¿


    I can no longer hear the surrounding sounds. I don¡¯t know who screams what anymore. I simply run straight ahead with the intention of attacking the Bandit Leader.


    One of the bandits noticed me as I was on my way and jumped at me to stop me, so I had no choice but to slash him twice before he would do the same to me. I think his level is Lv2. As he was falling onto the ground I didn¡¯t even pay him any attention, I just raised Durandal up and resumed my advance. I simply continued to run while striking down those who would stand in my way, and after I jumped over the bodies of some fallen Bandits I¡¯ve finally found myself next to their leader, who had still failed to notice me due to the commotion from the battles around him. I tightened my grip on the sword¡¯s handle, and with my feet planted firmly in the ground I performed a spinning slash aimed at the Bandit Leader¡¯s neck. When he realized what was going on, it was already too late for him to do anything. Durandal struck him dead in the neck, cleaving it as if it was made of butter and sending his head flying high into the air before it finally fell at his feet. The expression on his face was that of utter shock and disbelief. But that was not important to me now. The important thing was the blood that gushed out of the place where the decapitated head was just moments ago, and let me tell you, it was like a fountain¡­. Oh wow¡­ o-oh, shit¡­ oh fuck why is it not stopping already?! Why does it keep on splashing around?!


    No! Michio, stop acting like a bitch-ass pussy and get a grip already! You don¡¯t have the luxury of standing around admiring the gory details! There are still Bandits around who are in desperate need of a beating!


    I did just like I said and engaged the other enemies. They were all felled by a single blow of my Holy Sword. With each swing another bloody fountain was created, sending scarlet droplets into the air, culling down the enemy¡¯s numbers.


    Once all of the small fries were finely chopped like the pieces of logwood, my attention turned to the second strongest Bandit, the one who looked like their Leader¡¯s right hand. Together with a couple more of his goons he was attacking a group of villagers who formed a defensive formation around their chief, who somehow managed to get back on his feet after that critical attack between the pieces of his armor. When I approached them, one of them screamed something to the others while pointing towards me. The second-in-command also looked at me and also started screaming, after which he and all of his remaining men began to run with their tails tucked between their legs. Looks like my little sneak attack also managed to inflict some sick psychological damage as well.


    Now that they have turned their backs on me, this is another perfect chance. I started to chase after them, slaughtering anyone who¡¯s back had the misfortune of bumping into Durandal¡¯s pointy end, until I happened upon the third strongest man among the entire group of bandits, the one who was Lv11. Without saying anything he just assumed a fighting stance and charged at me, slashing at me from left to right and right to left in an attempt to overwhelm me with a barrage of blows. I managed to block some of them, but the rest I was forced to dodge by rolling backwards and to the sides like a mad acrobat. This opponent is wearing better armor than the rest of the Bandits, so I won¡¯t be able to defeat him by just swinging my sword around randomly. I grabbed Durandal¡¯s handle with both of my hands again and also assumed my stance. If there¡¯s one thing I learned from my kendo lessons, it is that when you are fighting against an armored opponent, your moves are all that¡¯s important.


    He tried to slash me from above, so I quickly sidestepped and slashed him on the wrist, wounding it severely. Durandal is truly strong, being able to inflict such wounds with such a shallow cut. However, the Bandit ignored the blood dripping from his wrist and attacked me again. I prepared myself to block and counter it, but it turned out that he was just feinting that attack. His real aim was to swing his bleeding hand at me so that the blood from the wound splash into my eyes, momentarily blinding me. Of course, he used that chance to get away.


    Right now, all of the bandits were in full retreat mode, running for their lives like the little bitches they were. So I guess the likes of them are only tough when they are absolutely sure of their advantage. What a bunch of losers.


    Before they completely retreated, I finished off as many of them as I could. None of them posed a threat to me now, not when they were exposing their backs to me as they were trying to get away. Eventually only a handful of them managed to flee, but I still managed to earn quite a lot of experience points in the end, so I think that it was all worth the trouble.


    ¡¸Fuuu~~¡¹


    Breathing a sigh of relief after the battle was over, I just sat down right where I stood. Even if this is only a game, all that moving around was still pretty tiring, just like in real life, so I need a moment to calm myself down from all that battle high. Little by little, the sound of the surroundings are flowing into my ears again as I look around the battlefield to get the grasp of the situation. As one might have expected, the whole field is littered with corpses, mostly the bandit ones, and the pools of spilt blood. Not a pretty sight at all, I can tell you that. And by the looks of it, the bodies of the dead are not going to disappear immediately. What an unnecessary bit of realism. I wonder if it¡¯s something that the beta testers overlooked. Then again, do VR games even have beta testers to being with? Or maybe I am doing the testing right now? If that is indeed the case, then maybe I should file a complaint to the developers.


    As I was contemplating what should be the contents of my complaint, the village chief approached me.


    ¡¸I don¡¯t know what to say, oh brave stranger.¡¹


    I glanced at him when he finished talking. Even though the language setting was that Brahim or whatever, the first word was totally incomprehensible to me, but with every next word I could understand what he was saying more clearly.


    ¡¸Oh, forgive my rudeness. Tell me, do you speak Brahim, stranger?¡¹


    ¡¸I know it to some extent.¡¹


    I replied to him.


    ¡¸Ohh, and you speak it so fluently even though you¡¯re not looking like a local. Are you perhaps an Adventurer?¡¹


    ¡¸Perhaps¡¹ my ass! It should be obvious at first glance!


    ¡¸Well, I guess you could say that.¡¹


    I politely confirmed his suspicions. After all, I don¡¯t want to make him my enemy by being unnecessarily rude or secretive. If possible, I want to build friendly relations with them because who knows, maybe I¡¯ll be able to benefit from it quite a bit?


    ¡¸Thank you for saving our village from those filthy brigands. You have our undying gratitude, young Adventurer.¡¹


    ¡¸No need to thank me. I just did what everyone else would do if they were placed in such a situation.¡¹


    I tried to brush it off as if it were the most natural thing to do. Also, something about this whole situation seemed awfully fishy to me. For someone of his age and level, the village chief appeared to be almost too humble to me. Why would he use such a polite tone and words when talking to a Lv1 brat like me? Okay, I get that I probably saved his life and all, but even for something like that it seems to be a little too much.


    ¡¸Please, allow me to reward you for your bravery and selflessness. Is there anything I can do for you?¡¹


    ¡¸Hmm, let me think¡­ oh, then, if it isn¡¯t too much trouble, I don¡¯t have any place to stay, so maybe you could do something about that?¡¹


    Although it is a game, the fatigue I felt was very much real. For virtual reality that¡¯s quite an achievement. Other than that, I simply didn¡¯t want to stay here on this battlefield anymore than it was absolutely necessary. I wanted to leave it as fast as possible.


    ¡¸Come stay at my house then. My name is Somala and I¡¯m the chief of this village.¡¹


    Identify told me the same. His Job was really listed as Village Chief.


    ¡¸My name is Kaga Michio. Pleased to meet you and thank you for your kind offer.¡¹


    ¡¸XXX father! XXXXXXXXXXXXX©e.¡¹


    I couldn¡¯t understand most of the conversation between the village chief and the villagers, even though I could understand the chief himself quickly. Just what is going on in this game?


    ¡¸Are there many people here who can speak Brahim?¡¹


    ¡¸That would be just me and the village trader.¡¹


    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹


    ¡¸I must say, you¡¯re quite amazing, Michio-sama. You¡¯re able to speak Brahim even though you¡¯re so young!¡¹


    Is that really something so amazing? And by the way, Brahim is not Japanese. Far from it, actually, it is a language that sounds like everything but Japanese. But for some bizarre reason I was able to understand those who also knew how to speak it. As for everyone else, even if they spoke to me, I couldn¡¯t understand a single word they were saying. Looks like I will only be able to hold a conversation with the village chief and that other person.


    Looking at the chief, I have to say that he didn¡¯t look like someone who¡¯s a Lv25, and a former Adventurer at that. I mean, Village Chief was the only Job he had listed, so maybe in this game your status changes in real-time depending on the choices you make and the actions you take?


    While we¡¯re at it, let¡¯s have another look at my own status.


    Kaga Michio, Male, 17 years old


    Jobs: Villager Lv2 Thief: Lv2


    Equipment: Holy Sword Durandal, Ring of Determination, Sandals


    Sweet, looks like the levels of my jobs went up as a result of that battle earlier. Well since it was as fierce as it was then what did you expect? My only gripe would be that after killing so many Bandits I only managed to gain a single level in each of my jobs. Looks like grinding levels is going to be a serious pain in the ass.


    By the time I finished the inspection of my status we had already arrived at the Chief¡¯s house.

 Volume 1 - CH 1.4

    ¡¾Chapter 1: The First Village, Part 4¡¿


    ¡¸ X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸You must be tired after the battle, Michio-sama. I¡¯ll have my wife prepare a bath of hot water for you, so until it is ready please make yourself at home.¡¹


    ¡¸All right. Thank you, and sorry for the trouble.¡¹


    The Chief had a little exchange with his wife which I totally couldn¡¯t understand, and then he urged me to come inside with him.


    The entire thing was a two-story building build in western style. Based on what I have seen up until now, it looks like the civilization in this game is not all that advanced. My guess is that technologically they should be at the level of our Middle Ages at best? I mean, I haven¡¯t seen anyone using a gun so far, but I didn¡¯t see anyone using a bow either, so I guess the exact specifics will have to be determined later.


    From the entrance alone it became apparent that inside this house was much bigger than it looked from the outside. Immediately upon entering, I was guided to a small side-room and told to sit down.


    ¡¸Please wait here while we will get everything ready.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay, I¡¯ll be sure to do just that.¡¹


    ¡¸Now, if you¡¯ll excuse me¡­¡¹


    It was a simple room with almost no furniture in it, probably serving as some kind of a storeroom, so before the Chief left me there to wait he handed me a wooden board so that I could sit on it. Well, I was hoping to at least get myself a chair, but that is fine as well. Everything is better than freezing my ass off on the cold hard ground.


    ¡¸Phew¡­..¡¹


    I sighed without even realizing it. Well, as far as the first times in games go, this was certainly an intense one, but I think now that we have reached our ¡¸Rest Period¡¹ after successfully completing the tutorial event would be a great time to call it a day and log out.


    ¡­¡­. Wait, how do you do that again? Maybe there is a button, or a prompt somewhere within my field of vision¡­¡­ nope, no good. Then maybe I have to move my hand or fingers in a specific motion, like in that one famous VRMMO¡­ nah, that was not it either¡­


    ¡­¡­. Huh?


    But no, seriously now, how the fuck do I log out of this goddamn game?! No, no no no no no no no, don¡¯t tell me I can¡¯t log out!?


    I was beginning to panic. Thinking about it, I really didn¡¯t know how am I supposed to log out of this game. There was nothing about it before or after the character creation process, and certainly no information windows with that crucial details appeared when the game started. But then¡­ how am I supposed to go back to reality?


    ¡¸Log Out!¡¹


    I shouted, but nothing happened. No forced pause, no time stopping around me, nothing. The game¡¯s world just continued onward.


    ¡¸Log Off! End! Stop! System! Options! Main Menu! Save & Quit!¡¹


    Still nothing.


    ¡¸Main Menu! Menu! Exit to the Main Menu! Exit Options! Window! Open Window! Menu Window! Exit Window! Memory! Save! Quit! Save & Quit! Quit Without Saving!¡¹


    I tried saying every combination possible that came to my mind, and still nothing happened. At this rate, I will really be unable to return to reality from this fucking shit game!


    But¡­. Can I really call this a game at this point? Because all of my senses were telling me that everything around me was 100% real. There was no room for doubts. This couldn¡¯t have been a mere dream or some cheap fabrication, not with that level of attention to every little detail.


    And anyway, if this really is a virtual reality that is practically indistinguishable from the real world, then how is this possible that something like that hasn¡¯t been covered by the media?! I mean, can you imagine?! That would make this game the very first to offer a full virtual reality experience!


    ¡­.. No. As awesome as that would be, it¡¯s just not possible. After all, I didn¡¯t use any VR gear to start playing. All I did was opening a browser, clicking on a link and finishing the character creation process. That¡¯s something even a trained monkey could pull off.


    And yet here I am. In a world that is clearly not real, but it looks, smells and feels like real.


    For all I know, this might be the real world, and the life I was living up until now was nothing more than a cruel simulation. But then¡­ why would I think that this was a game? My Identify Skill came to my mind. A tool that allowed me to view myself as if I was watching from a third person perspective and all the information about me, something like that was possible only in games.


    However, as I finished inspecting every part of my body, I finally noticed it.


    All the blood that my jersey was stained with.


    If it was a game, something like that would never have happened. And it wouldn¡¯t have that nauseating smell! Blood would have just fly into the air and fall to the ground where it would have simply disappeared after a while or turned into a myriad of pixels and evaporated.


    So which is it? A game world, or a real world? Where am I? What Is going on here?! I guess it doesn¡¯t really matter all that much. Without a way to log out of it, what difference does it really make? If I am stuck here without any option to bail out, then it means that this has become my new reality.


    WARNING!


    That was the last memory of my own world that I had. That ominous message which appeared at the end of the character creation process. It was way too dubious to be part of the actual game, and admittedly I was pretty tilted at that time so I kinda neglected it and clicked yes without really thinking it through.


    That¡¯s why I can be entirely sure this is a game world or not. If this is the game world just like it was described on the main site, then the warning given at the end could certainly be true.


    ¡¸Please excuse me.¡¹


    While I was thinking so hard on it, the village Chief came to me together with a woman who looked like she might have been his wife. She was carrying a large wooden bowl filled with water and a towel in her hands.


    ¡¸Aa, aaah.¡¹


    ¡¸Michio-sama, please use this hot water and towel to cleanse yourself off the battle¡¯s filth.¡¹


    His wife placed the bowl in front of me and handed me the towel, or to be more precise, a piece of cloth that was supposed to be the towel.


    ¡¸My wife also prepared a change of clothes for you. What you are wearing right now is dirty, so let us wash it for you.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you, and sorry for the trouble.¡¹


    And a change of clothes was placed in front of me.


    At first I thought that that woman might be the village Chief¡¯s servant, but by using Identify I confirmed that she was indeed his wife at the age of sixty-six. Completing the task she was given, she left the room together with her husband.


    When I was finally left alone again, I took off my clothes and wiped myself with the ragged cloth-towel. Looking at my jersey, it was completely littered with red stains. The blood of all the Bandits I have killed, and it didn¡¯t look like it was going to disappear anytime soon without a thorough wash. Well, what did you expect, Michio? This is apparently not a game, so of course it won¡¯t disappear.


    Not a game huh? Because sure, real life allows you to Identify other people after looking at them and carry up to six weapons. Yeah, right.


    FINAL WARNING!


    KNOWING THE RISK, DO YOU STILL WISH TO CONTINUE ANYWAY?


    Okay, okay, I admit, this really is another world that is just like the game I was supposed to play. Also, I admit that I tried to run away from reality and look away from the facts I should have easily acknowledged. And what is the most common way of escaping reality in video games?


    Murdering the shit out of everyone who comes your way.


    If this is really a game, then I just killed a number of game characters, even though they were mere Bandits. But if it¡¯s not a game, then the ones I have killed were actual people. What I did earlier, my heroic charge forward coupled with slicing the Bandits into fine pieces, would simply be called a brutal murder if this was the real world. So for the safety of my own mind, I want to think that this world is a game, even though it might as well be nothing more than wishful thinking.


    ¡­¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    ¡¸¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..¡¹


    I can¡¯t. I just can¡¯t ignore what I did earlier. I have to accept it. This is reality, and I just committed a murder. I killed people. I took and ended people¡¯s lives, thinking they were just some mobs from a game! That¡¯s horrible! Utterly unforgivable.


    But all in all unavoidable, the more I think about it.

 Volume 1 - CH 1.5

    ¡¾Chapter 1: The First Village, Part 5¡¿


    Yeah, that¡¯s right. I shouldn¡¯t allow something like that to bother me at all! In a medieval setting events like that are an everyday occurrence, so there¡¯s no sense in getting depressed over them if it was just a first from many more that will probably come my way. If I won¡¯t be able to at least do that, then I probably won¡¯t be able to go on living in this world.


    I take a deep breath and make my decision.


    From now on, this is my reality. A place where I¡¯ll have to live from today onward, and in order to live, I will definitely have to get my hands dirty, so I cannot be afraid of doing it. Do whatever it takes for me to survive. And speaking of surviving, there actually is a way for me to confirm my suspicions of this world being a game.


    The Character Reset option.


    What came to my mind was the Character Reset screen. As if I was sitting in front of a computer screen, I was able to see the images of how all of my stats would look if I decided to reset my character and all of his skills. As expected, resetting all of the stat points and Bonus Skills would be not very effective, because contrary to the character creation process a reset cannot be performed over and over again on one character page until you would achieve a desired result, and all of the changes would be apparently applied in-world without logging me out, so there goes my hope of bypassing the rules set by the system to no-way-fag my way out of this predicament.


    So according to the system warning I have received at the end of the character creation process I have made a decision to permanently leave Japan and begin my life anew in another world. But here¡¯s the thing: it wasn¡¯t exactly my conscious, thoroughly thought-out decision, but rather one made while being tilted and annoyed that I couldn¡¯t begin playing already and just smashing the okay icon with my mouse. Had I known it was going to end like that, I would have never clicked that blasted OK button and just moved on with my life, probably to find myself a new game to play, preferably the one that would be less sketchy then this one.


    Anyway, currently I had 1 Bonus Point left to use for some reason. I should have used up all of the ones I had, but maybe I overlooked this one? Ah, whatever. I guess I should just drop the whole resetting thing and leave my character as it is, at least for the time being and change into the clothes the village Chief prepared for me.


    But really now, is the way back to the real Japan closed for me forever? If that warning was for real, then I guess that was really it for me. I can¡¯t go back and that¡¯s final. And oddly enough, that might end up working surprisingly well for me, since I was contemplating whether or not I should kill myself in the first place. Back in Japan, nothing is really waiting for me to return. Not the school where I had no friends nor my abusive shit-of-a-father.


    Thinking about it, what was keeping me alive there anyway? Was it the need to see the next issue of all the mangas I was reading or the taste of the meat buns from the bakery that was near where I lived? Because if so, then I have to say: Kaga Michio, those were some legitimately crappy reason for continuing to put up with the dicking that Life was handling to you.


    Will I really live in this world? Can I do it? The clothes the Chief presented me with were too large for me and didn¡¯t fit me at all. They were rough and itchy and not comfortable at all, just like that ragged towel I had to wipe myself with. I guess another thing I will have to say goodbye to will be the soft and comfortable Japanese clothing I was wearing my whole life. Ehh, it¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine. Just another compromise I will have to get used to. Besides, if all of the villagers were wearing them then that has to mean they are not as bad as they look. I just have to stop being so nitpicky about everything and thank him for letting me borrow his clothes. I tried to use Identify on them, but apparently normal clothing was not considered an item by the game¡¯s systems. I have to make sure to remember that there is such a distinction, but for now there are more important things I have to focus my attention on.


    For the time being I guess I should remove Durandal from the items I have equipped on me. It is a great sword. An amazing sword. A very powerful sword. I fully realized that during that earlier fight.


    Which is exactly why it can become the target of thieves or other bandits. If this is a game, then it probably won¡¯t get stolen, because it should be safe in the space of my personal inventory, but it¡¯ll be an entirely different story if this is not a game. For now it is my only weapon, so if I lose it I will be in such a deep shit that I don¡¯t even want to imagine it. I think that the best course of action in regards to that will be to sleep with one eye open, just in case someone tried to pull a sneaky on me with their sticky fingers.


    In regards to that, I am curious about the sandals I am wearing right now, because technically they are someone¡¯s property which I have unlawfully appropriated upon my awakening in this world. So if somebody else¡¯s sandals can become mine when stolen, then the same can probably be applied to my Durandal. So just like in real life, stealing can go both ways here, except for the fact that if I get my Durandal stolen for me it will be equivalent to losing 63 of my Bonus Points which I¡¯ve spent to get it, and if there¡¯s one thing I can consider to be my ally in this strange, unfamiliar world, that would be Bonus Points, without a doubt. Those 99 points I have received at the beginning helped me out tremendously in gaining a good head-start, so I absolutely have to make sure I will treasure every single one of them I can get from now on.


    Another thing that I have to be wary of is the possibility that those who might want to steal Durandal from me might do it the easiest way possible: by killing me, its owner in order to obtain it, which brings us to the next issue: how is death treated in this world? When I die, will I just be revived in the nearest church or cathedral with a little less gold in my pocket and lowered experience value, or is death treated here the same way as it was in my world, something final that cannot be undone by any means? In any case, I shouldn¡¯t be going around with my holy sword on full display like that all the time if I want to avoid trouble. Worst case scenario, I will simply use the reset option to get rid of it. If I won¡¯t be able to use it anymore, no one else will!


    But wait, will I even be able to just delete it after it will be stolen from me?


    Okay, time for a little test.


    I tried resetting my character in such a way that it didn¡¯t have Durandal, that is by not putting enough Bonus Points in the Bonus Weapons category. As a result, the Ring of Determination which I was wearing on my finger got removed. So it¡¯s just like I suspected, huh? Looks like if Durandal is indeed stolen from me, both the stat bonuses it was giving me and Bonus Points required to obtain it will be wasted.


    After performing another reset to get Durandal back, I just stood with it for a while, contemplating my options here. For now I removed Bonus Weapon 6 from my skill list, making Durandal disappear.


    Okay, now that that¡¯s done maybe I should twiddle with the Jobs settings for a bit. I imagined my character status screen in my head and moved to the list of Jobs I had available. Currently there were 3 of them.


    Villager Lv2


    Thief Lv2


    Hero Lv1


    That third one, Hero was not present when I awakened, so I¡¯m guessing it must have unlocked after the battle with the Bandits? I wonder if it¡¯s maybe because the Chief saw me as a hero after I helped him? All right, let¡¯s examine that new class of mine a little bit closer, shall we?


    Hero Lv1


    Class Effect: Heroic Bravery ¨C Raises the value of each statistic by 10 points


    Class Skill: Overwhelm


    Looks like a pretty good Job to me, definitely efficient in terms of stat bonuses it provides. As for the acquisition¡­ since I obtained the Thief Job by stealing a pair of sandals, then I truly must have acquired the Hero Job after defeating those Bandits. Will I have to level this job up by performing other heroic deeds? And I wonder if the stat boosts are going to keep increasing with class levels? Because even at Lv1 it¡¯s waaaaay better than those of the other two, but I guess that was to be expected from a class reserved exclusively for heroes. As for the other two, the Villager Job grants only a slight boost to the STR stat and does not grant any additional skills to go along with it, so in my book it¡¯s literally the thrashiest of all Jobs. The Thief Job was somewhat better than the Villager, except for the fact that instead of a slight STR increase it offered a boost to AGI stat, but it also had no skills associated with it. In conclusion, those two starting classes suck so much ass that it¡¯s actually unbelievable how bad they are.


    All right, that settles it, I¡¯ll perform the character reset again since I managed to acquire that third Job. This time maybe I¡¯ll try to build myself around it and put all the remaining Bonus Points into the experience-based skills. Yeah, that sounds like a good plan.

 Volume 1 - CH 1.6

    ¡¾Chapter 1: The First Village, Part 6¡¿


    Kaga Michio: Human Male 17 years old


    Jobs: Villager Lv2 Thief Lv2 Hero Lv1 Equipment: Sandals


    After completing the character I reset, I used Identify on myself. I now had three Jobs.


    But wait a minute, shouldn¡¯t Hero be the first one? I tried switching Hero with Villager, but it did nothing. So what, you trying to tell me that only Villager and Thief can be set as the first Job? Why is that?! Eh, this sucks major ass, but no helping it I guess. Let¡¯s just set Hero as the second Job and Thief as the third one, which has apparently advanced to Lv2.


    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry to bother you, Michio-sama, but may I have a moment of your time?¡¹


    The Village Chief came to see me again.


    ¡¸Sure, I don¡¯t mind. What do you need?¡¹


    I don¡¯t know about you, but to me the Chief¡¯s attitude started to feel a little bit too humble, almost as if he tried too hard to kiss my ass. I know he probably feels extremely grateful to me for saving his life, but that¡¯s going too far, even by my standards. I know that with Durandal¡¯s power I was able to cut those bandits down like grass in the garden, but that doesn¡¯t make me almighty or anything like that. If he thinks that from now on my presence here is going to be everything they will need to keep other bandits away from attacking the village, then I hate to break it to him but he¡¯s sorely mistaken. No matter what, the village needs to stay vigilant. Then again, maybe that is exactly why he is like that to me. Maybe he thinks that by getting on my good side, he will be able to convince me to become the village¡¯s protector?


    Ugh, this is shaping up to be even more annoying than I had initially anticipated. I wonder if there¡¯s anything I can do to avoid having to deal with such a major headache?


    ¡¸The breakfast will be served later, but first I would like you to join me outside. We have gathered all of the bandit¡¯s equipment that was left after you disposed of them and I would be honored if you could inspect it with me and the other villagers.¡¹


    ¡¸All right, I¡¯ll do it.¡¹


    Now this is getting interesting. Inspection? What for? Are we going to distribute the leftover bandit gear between ourselves? Because if so, then I should have the right to claim the equipment of every Bandit that I have personally slain as my own. If I¡¯m lucky, maybe some of them had some good stuff on them that I could use, but if not, I¡¯ll just allow the villagers to have it. Maybe they¡¯ll be able to sell it for a good price, which would in turn score me some brownie points with them.


    ¡¸Then please, follow me.¡¹


    ¡¸Sure, but is it really okay for me to claim part of the gear as my own?¡¹


    But just to be on the safe side, I decided to ask the Chief about it.


    ¡¸Of course. By the right of taking, the equipment of every man you defeated is yours for the taking, Michio-sama!¡¹


    ¡¸Good.¡¹


    So I was right and he just confirmed my suspicions. I also managed to learn about one of the laws governing this world: essentially, belongings of every person you kill are yours. I think it checks out with the setting, unless those are the medieval times with added law enforcement and judiciary systems like those in the present day Japan.


    ¡¸This time my fellow villagers managed to defeat two of the Bandits. Therefore I¡¯ll have to oversee the process of distributing their belongings between them to ensure that everyone will get his equal share and¡­ I hope I won¡¯t overstep my boundaries, Michio-sama, but if it so happened that none of your share of equipment would be to your liking, would you please consider sharing it with us?¡¹


    Wow, all those villagers managed to defeat only two Bandits? This is so laughable that it¡¯s not even funny. Then again, I have to keep in mind that they fought against them armed with nothing more than simple weapons and farming tools, while I was slashing away at them with a fricking Holy Sword.


    ¡¸I understand your situation. If it¡¯s going to help you, I don¡¯t mind sharing some of my spoils.¡¹


    Until I learn all of this world¡¯s customs properly my best course of action would be to follow any of the suggestions I am given, as long as they are not too absurd, of course. I know technically I was the reason they managed to keep their homes and families safe, but hogging all the spoils of war to myself would be a total dick move. Think of the long term consequences here. With their current weaponry, they barely managed to defeat two of the Bandits while my Durandal did the rest for them. But when I will leave this village to move forward with my new life, there will be no one who they will be able to rely on but themselves and for that, the are going to need everything they can get their hands on.


    ¡¸Thank you! On behalf of all the villagers, thank you from the bottom of my heart!¡¹


    Man, I am really not used to people thanking me for anything.


    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry about it, I just did what anyone else would do if they were in my place.¡¹


    I somehow managed to squeeze that lame line out of my throat. Okay, on to the next point of business. Since my Identify is a Bonus Skill I don¡¯t think someone like the Chief is going to have something similar to, so maybe I¡¯ll make myself useful by helping them sort the things that might be genuinely useful from the ordinary pieces of junk. On a completely unrelated side note¡­


    The villagers seem to be taking me for someone who¡¯s Level is above 30.


    During that earlier battle, the Villagers and the bandits were all more or less the same level, which was about 25, although some of the Bandits were obviously higher than that, considering the overall Kills/Deaths ratio of both sides. So considering that I myself am at first levels in all of my Jobs, it will be no exaggeration to say that my Holy Sword Durandal has basically hard-carried me throughout my first battle. That is just how OP of a weapon it is.


    We went to the outskirts of the village where the battle with the bandits took place. Their equipment was placed on the ground there, waiting for us, guarded by one of the villagers. Could this be this Lv6 merchant, the one who could speak the Brahim language?


    ¡¸This fine man here is Pitzker, the only merchant in our village.¡¹


    ¡¸The name¡¯s Pitzker, just like the Chief said. Young man, Allow me to express my deepest gratitude for saving our village from those brigands earlier.¡¹


    ¡¸Michio. I haven¡¯t done anything special, so please stop exaggerating.¡¹


    ¡¸As you wish. This here is the Bandit¡¯s equipment that we managed to salvage.¡¹


    Taking a closer look, I saw all the Leather Armors, shoes and weapons carried by the Bandits that we have slain.


    ¡¸Ahh, yes, thank you. Let us rejoice and praise the young hero who defeated most of the Bandits by himself! Now, these items here¡­¡¹


    ¡¸I don¡¯t care.¡¹


    I am not interested in the part of the items that belongs to the two villagers. All I care about is my part of the loot.


    ¡¸Michio-sama, do you have enough space?¡¹


    ¡¸Space?¡¹


    Fuck, this is the terminology I know nothing about! What about having enough space?!


    ¡¸Oh, I beg your pardon, have I spelled something wrong in Brahim? Allow me to rephrase then. Do you have enough inventory space for all the items you are eligible to?¡¹


    ¡¸Hmm, you¡¯re right. It might not be enough for so many items.¡¹


    I don¡¯t understand. Isn¡¯t the space in the inventory I already have enough?


    ¡¸Really? Isn¡¯t Michio-sama an Adventurer?¡¹


    ¡¸Well, something along those lines.¡¹


    Does this world have some kinda special definition of who Adventurers are? Come on Michio, whatever you do now, just don¡¯t let them know that you have no clue what they are talking about. Keep your mask of deception on and don¡¯t let it fall off no matter what.


    ¡¸Well, then you should be able to access your Item Box. Isn¡¯t that how you equipped that wonderful sword of yours which you used to get rid of those Bandits?¡¹


    Chief offered me a helping hand. So is that what an Item Box is? It would be hellishly sweet if that was actually the case.


    Come to think of it, when I performed a character reset, my Durandal was unequipped off me. So based on what the Chief was telling me, it must have gone somewhere.


    ¡¸Item Box, open. Item Space, open. Inventory, open. Tool Bag, open.¡¹


    I tried using spoken commands again, but just like last time I tried it, big fat nothing happened. Am I doing something wrong here? Or is the spelling different? Anyway, the conclusion for now is that I do not know how to open an Item Box. And to add to the list of my problems (which was growing rapidly), both the Village Chief and the merchant were giving me suspicious looks.

 Volume 1 - CH 1.7

    ¡¾Chapter 1: The First Village, Part 7¡¿


    Look, I know I must be looking suspicious as fuck right now, okay? I realize that and those looks of yours hurt me more than a thousand actual verbal insults would!


    Painful! This is just too painful! It¡¯s like I am forced to relive the trauma of my chuunibyou years all over again! N-No, be silent, oh the forbidden power that dwelleth inside of my left hand! Even though you feel anger at those insignificant peasants making fun of your host, you mustn¡¯t unleash thine wrath upon this unworthy plain of existence if the equilibrium is to stay unharmed¡­.. FUCK! I did it again! My dark history! The shameful past I was trying so hard to put behind me! It¡¯s all coming back to me!


    ¡¸Well? How is it, Michio-sama? Can you do it?¡¹


    ¡¸I would if I could, but unfortunately it looks like my inventory space is completely filled up.¡¹


    That was obviously a lie, but at the current moment I couldn¡¯t come up with anything better, to explain what happened to my Durandal, so I just have to hope that it¡¯s going to sound believable enough for them to lay off of me. And while we¡¯re at it, where did that goddamn sword go anyway?!


    ¡¸Oh, then that is truly unfortunate. Tell me, Michio-sama, have you ever been to the city of Veil?¡¹


    ¡¸Hm? No, can¡¯t say that I did.¡¹


    ¡¸Actually, I will be heading there tomorrow at dawn to do my merchant business. If it¡¯s alright with you, I could carry all of your equipment there on my wagon. The city of Veil has many shops that specialize in weapons and armor for Adventurers so it could be easily sold there without any problems.¡¹


    The merchant offers. To be honest I was expecting him to buy all that crap off of me right away, but it looks like things won¡¯t be that simple. Nevertheless, if he¡¯s so graciously offering to do this for me then I should probably take him up on his kind offer.


    ¡¸Thank you very much. If you could do that for me, I would be much obliged.¡¹


    It¡¯s a good thing that you don¡¯t have to use any complicated menus to hand your possessions over to other people.


    ¡¸Marvelous. With that said, here is your Intelligence Card from the Bandits.¡¹


    The merchant presented me with a notepad sized card.


    ¡¸Intelligence¡­ Card?¡¹


    I ask back at him, unsure of that that thing actually was.


    ¡¸It is a proof that you have defeated all those Bandits that dropped out of the body of their leader after the fight. With a group as large as they were, some of them are surely bound to be notorious wanted criminals, so if you present it at the headquarters of the Knights of Vale Order, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be eligible to a handsome reward.¡¹


    ¡¸Is that¡­ so?¡¹


    At first that Intelligence Card term sounded like more trouble than it was worth, but now that the merchant guy explained it to me in detail, the whole matter became quite easy to understand. This is a world with a medieval setting where bandit attacks are commonplace, so it would stand to reason that some of them gathered quite a lot of infamy to their name, resulting in sending wanted posters with their faces all over the kingdom. So this little card is the proof that the deed has been done that everybody seems to be aware of, huh? And I might get some dough out of it? Well, count me in!


    Of course, after being killed, the same Bandits won¡¯t come back to life again, right? Right, of course. If this is the real world, then it must be like that. Only one life per person, no redos or respawns allowed.


    Even though I more or less understood the principles behind the Intelligence Cards and how they worked, it was still a hefty amount of information dumped upon me all at once, so I couldn¡¯t help it but to feel a little bit overwhelmed. I examined the Card one more time just to be sure that I didn¡¯t miss anything important and then I proceeded with the inspection of my share of the Bandit¡¯s equipment.


    Most of it consisted of Copper and Bronze Swords, but my eyes were immediately drawn towards an Iron Sword. It looked to be at least one rank above the rest of the common trash, making it a rare weapon. Well shit. I actually don¡¯t want it to be rare. The rarer the item, the bigger the chance that someone is going to target me to steal it.


    Looking at all the swords with Identify, there was one thing that caught me as strange.


    One of the better looking Bronze Swords had an empty window. The rest of the Copper Swords didn¡¯t have any windows at all.


    ¡¸Is everything all right, Michio-sama? Has something caught your attention?¡¹


    The merchant asked me as I was examining the Bronze Sword in my hand. Durandal also had windows like that, but they were filled with various skills. So could it be that this empty window is actually a skill slot?


    ¡¸This seems to be a good weapon, better than the rest of similar ones.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, so you were able to figure that out? For someone who is not a Merchant, you seem to have quite a good eye.¡¹


    However, there is a small problem. I don¡¯t know how to acquire and equip skills.


    ¡¸Skill. Skill Slot. Grant Skill. Assign Skill.¡¹


    I mumbled to myself again and again nothing happened and nothing changed, as expected. Ah well, not like I hoped for it to go any different than all those other times when I tried to use spoken commands only to end up severely disappointed. For now I should just finish appraising and maybe consider another character reset to see if anything can actually be done about that.


    ¡¸If you are wondering about the skill slots, then allow me to explain. They can be created by the blacksmiths when they fuse them from the corresponding Skill Crystals. Does the sword you¡¯re holding have any skills assigned to it?¡¹


    ¡¸No, I don¡¯t see anything like that. The slot is empty.¡¹


    ¡¸That is unfortunate, but nothing to fret about.¡¹


    So it looks like I¡¯m going to need those Skill Crystals in order to add skills to the weapons and I will only be able to do so at a blacksmith, or perhaps I¡¯ll be able to do it myself if I obtain the Blacksmith Job.


    ¡¸All in all, this isn¡¯t a bad sword, so I think I might do just that.¡¹


    ¡¸Michio-sama, are you able to tell if a weapon has a skill attached to it or not?¡¹


    The Village Chief inquired.


    ¡¸Generally, yeah. I think you may call it, ¡¸An Adventurer¡¯s Intuition¡¹.


    Since Identify id a Bonus Skill, very few people should possess it, so I think it would be wise of me not to mention that I have an ability like that.


    ¡¸If that is the case, then can I trouble you with looking at the rest of them with your discerning eyes? It would make our lives that much easier if we could pick the best ones possible for the purpose of defending ourselves and selling the ones that we won¡¯t need.¡¹


    ¡¸I guess I can do that, but don¡¯t blame me if there¡¯ll be something that I won¡¯t be able to understand.¡¹


    ¡¸You have my eternal gratitude, Michio-sama. Well then, let¡¯s get to it right away.¡¹


    And I followed after the Village Chief to inspect the rest of the weaponry. Looking through all of them took me some time, but when I was finally done I could tell with absolute certainty that no other weapon aside from the ones that were assigned to me had any skills or skill slots on them. It was the same for all the armor and a bandana that were found among the things Bandits dropped when they died.


    Huh? A bandana? Was that the one worn by the Bandit Leader? I must¡¯ve missed it in the heat of battle.


    ¡­ Or maybe not. Thinking about it now, it doesn¡¯t have to be a part of Bandit Leader¡¯s equipment at all!


    Just now, all the finer details began coming back to me. Such a Bandana was not worn by the Bandit Leader, but by some of the common ones which were named Bandana Bandits. Just a common piece of cloth worn by the most common of small fries. It totally makes sense. If a Bandit wears a Bandana, he Becomes a Bandana Bandit, otherwise he would be a simple Bandit with no distinguishing features whatsoever. See? Completely logical¡­ not!


    This is a world of a game, so there must be some kinda hidden gimmick to it. So, my dear, Bandana, what are you, exactly?


    ¡¸What is this Bandana right here?¡¹


    ¡¸I think it is the common one worn by Bandits.¡¹


    But contrary to my expectations, the merchant didn¡¯t impart any useful knowledge to me.


    ¡¸Huh? What is it doing here. If memory serves me correctly, none of the Bandits wore something like that.¡¹


    The Village Chief said something truly outrageous. None of them wore it?! But¡­ but that would mean that my own memory lied to me¡­ or did it, really? Maybe there really weren¡¯t any Bandana Bandits in the group that attacked the village and it was just a trick of my mind which was quite high on adrenaline at the moment it all transpired? But that would mean that someone has deliberately placed it here. Or that it was simply a rare drop and I was just lucky enough to get it during the very first tutorial battle.


    It¡¯s funny, isn¡¯t it?


    Back when I was still living in Japan (it feels weird to phrase it like that when you consider the fact that I left it literally a few hours ago, but whatever). Throughout my old life I was mostly a loser who used to cry himself to sleep every night, I didn¡¯t like to stand out and get into fights. But this world is not modern Japan. In this world, if you underestimate even the smallest of threats, you might pay for it with your life. I am the perfect example of that. I don¡¯t know how I came here but I did, and using my cheat-like weapon I have ended the lives of many people who probably didn¡¯t expect they¡¯d die today, thus saving the village and its inhabitants from what would probably be a morbid end (even though saving the village wasn¡¯t my intention in the slightest, but telling them that would be too much of an arrow to my own knee, so I¡¯m just not going to do that.)


    Anyway, I think I¡¯m getting off topic too much, so let me get back to it before things get any weirder than they already are.

 Volume 1 - CH 1.8

    ¡¾Chapter 1: The First Village, Part 8¡¿


    Village Chief looks intently at the Bandana and his brows frown as if he was trying to remember something with all his mental capability.


    ¡¸I might be wrong¡­ but I think that was indeed what the leader of the Bandits was wearing.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, really now?¡¹


    The merchant¡¯s face got distorted with surprise.


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X?¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X, X X X X X X X X X X!¡¹


    Judging by his innocent reaction just now, it couldn¡¯t have been the merchant. Either that, or he is a very good actor who has no trouble with masking his real emotions, which I highly doubt. Same goes for the Village Chief. He wouldn¡¯t have made that remark if he was the one who replaced the item.


    ¡¸That¡¯s impossible. Allow me to check right away!¡¹


    He shouts and then quickly leaves.


    I wonder what will happen now? Can the (supposedly) stolen equipment really be found that easily? Also, currently I am only a Lv2 Villager, so if at all possible, I would like to avoid being in the center of everyone¡¯s attention as much as possible. If by any chance this develops into a more serious situation involving the entire village, it might be possible for them to find out that I have actually stolen the sandals I am wearing right now and automatically connect the Bandana switching with me. If the whole village attacked me at once for that, there¡¯s no way I¡¯d be able to win against all of them.


    Maybe I shouldn¡¯t have mentioned it after all? Was I too hasty with that?


    With that said, even if I did steal those sandals, the best course of action for now would be to keep quiet and see how the situation is going to develop.


    At the very least, maybe I should have my Durandal ready?


    As I stood there, contemplating what I should do now, a woman carrying three swords appeared. Could those belong to former adventurers?


    ¡¸Want me to appraise those as well?¡¹


    I ask the merchant.


    ¡¸If you would be so kind.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay, let¡¯s see what we¡¯re dealing with here.¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X.¡¹


    Urged by the merchant¡¯s unintelligible words, the woman presented me with the swords. According to the Identify window, her name was Tirihi, 31 years old. Perhaps she was a widow after some Adventurer?


    She was fairly well built and had long, braided blonde hair, typical for the women hailing from the countryside of eastern Europe. From the perspective of someone like me, a high schooler who didn¡¯t even hit adulthood yet, she was old enough to be considered an auntie, in the positive meaning of the word. To be honest, the more I actually looked at her, the more certain parts of me became twitchy & itchy. Normally widows and married women are not in my strike zone, but I felt like I could make an exception just for her. After all, I am the hero who saved this village, so maybe with a little help from gentle persuasion she¡¯d be willing to keep me company for tonight¡­ yeah, right, as if that would happen.


    Let¡¯s behave ourselves for the time being and shake off any inappropriate thoughts. I hold the sword in my hands and look at it inquisitively. The weapon I am holding now is a one handed sword called Flame Rapier. From the looks and the description of its skill, it is a thrusting weapon which deals fire damage instead of regular physical damage.


    ¡¸This is a pretty good sword.¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸Mrs. Tirihi says she is grateful for your humble words, Michio-sama.¡¹


    Next I grasped the sword firmly with both my hands and swung it a few times while exclaiming:


    ¡¸Fire Sword!¡¹


    Nothing happened, nothing changed. The rapier¡¯s blade wasn¡¯t coated with fire or anything. It remained all the same no matter how many times I repeated my swinging motion. *Sigh* Am I actually insane? ¡¯Cause I already know it¡¯s not going to work and yet here I am, trying the same thing again. If that isn¡¯t madness then I don¡¯t know what is.


    ¡¸¡­¡­¡­..¡¹


    ¡¸¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..¡¹


    Tirihi-san and the merchant are looking at me with those suspicious eyes again.


    There it is, another broken death flag!


    But just as I was about to fall into depression, a mysterious spell formula appeared in my head. Should I recite it? Something was telling that doing so will actually activate the skill laying dormant within the weapon, so I think it is at least worth a try. Well, here goes.


    ¡¸Answer the burning will of my heart and manifest thyself! Flame Sword!¡¹


    I shouted the spell and swung the rapier from above my head. After a brief, 0.5 seconds delay a trail of fire followed the trajectory of the slash I have performed.


    Oh wow. This. Is. Awesome!


    ¡¸Haaa¡­.!¡¹


    Tirihi-san also looked quite surprised at that sudden spectacle. Uh, lady, why are you so surprised? This is your late husband¡¯s sword, right? Have you never seen him doing something like that¡­ no. If she knew the sword could do something like that, then she wouldn¡¯t bother with bringing it to me to appraise it.


    Then the Village Chief appeared at the edge of my field of vision, talking to the other villagers, who probably saw me using that skill just now, because they were pointing their fingers at me and talking rather excitedly, which sends my mind into an alarmed state, so I tried to observe them without making it too obvious that I¡¯m staring at them. What if they found out about my crime of sandal theft?! What happens to a thief once he¡¯s caught? Am I going to be made an example of and be flogged in front of the entire village? Or have my hand cut off?! Or perhaps they¡¯ll throw me into a tar-filled kettle and feather me to simultaneously punish me and make me into a laughingstock? That would certainly be a good demonstration of what happens to those who dare to break the law, haha, hahahahahaha.


    No Michio, you mustn¡¯t think like that all the time! I know that my outcast mentality is probably at fault here, but can you really blame me for constantly doubting anyone and everyone around me? All my life I¡¯ve been shown time and time again that others only want to hurt me, that¡¯s why I began to distance myself from them in the first place. But this strange new world is not, at least in theory, like the modern day Japan I chose to leave behind. No one knows me here, so you shouldn¡¯t assume that they¡¯ll treat you like a dirtbag as well. It might be difficult¡­ heck, it certainly will be difficult, but maybe I should try to have a little more faith in people. Besides, even if I did steal those sandals from that barn, there¡¯s no concrete evidence pointing to me being the culprit, and they certainly weren¡¯t labeled with anybody¡¯s name, so even if I show them to the entire village I should still be in the clear.


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X! X X X, X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X!¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X. X X X, X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    Next to me, Merchant and Tirihi-san also discussed something that I was still unable to understand. The only thing that I was absolutely sure of, was the fact that after using that skill my body suddenly became quite weary and heavy. Even so, the fatigue I felt right now was not a physical, but rather a mental one which made me feel extremely tired, losing the will to do anything that required any kind of effort on my part. As a result, the rapier in my hands was getting heavier and heavier with each consecutive attempt at swinging it. Going by the standards of the classical RPG games, skills must have some kinda cost to using them, like MP or something along those lines and I probably expended too much of it. But I guess that was to be expected. After all, I currently have only Lv2 at the most basic of the basic Jobs, so it would stand to reason that my ability to use skills and spells would be greatly hindered by having abysmally low stats. And while we are on the topic of stats, I used Identify on myself to check my status and sure enough, right under the red HP bar and above the green Stamina bar was a blue bar labeled MP, which was depleted by approximately 75%. Ouch. As I thought. Until I gained some more levels, no skill spamming for me I guess.


    ¡¸So, what would you like to do with that weapon, Michio-sama?¡¹


    ¡¸Meaning?¡¹


    ¡¸For what price would you like to sell it?¡¹


    The merchant asks. Oh, that¡¯s right. Since I¡¯m the one appraising it, I guess it falls to me to decide what to do with it?


    To sell or not to sell, that is the question. What should I do? Decisions, decisions, decisions.

 Volume 1 - CH 1.9

    ¡¾Chapter 1: The First Village, Part 9¡¿


    ¡¸I¡­ I don¡¯t know, really. I am not well versed in how the market works, so I don¡¯t know what the best decision would be here. Heck, I don¡¯t even know this sword¡¯s usual market price.¡¹


    ¡¸So you have no intention of selling it then?¡¹


    ¡¸As I told you, I don¡¯t know the exact market price so I can¡¯t make such a decision carelessly. I think the best thing we could do right now is to go to the Weapon Shop in the city and ask someone there to tell us the actual price of this thing, otherwise we might just end up throwing a valuable item away at a dirt-cheap price.¡¹


    Not to mention that I don¡¯t even know what kind of currency they are using here.


    ¡¸X X X X X? X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X?¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    Teirihi-san and the merchant have a short conversation again after which she bows her head to me. Wouldn¡¯t it be nice if that was the sign of her readiness to service me tonight? Man, that would be totally awesome! Unfortunately that kind of thing is probably not going to happen. But it¡¯s nice to keep dreaming, right?


    I handed the rapier over to Teirihi-san and took another sword from her, which turned out to be a one-handed Scimitar with two empty skill slots. All in all, it looked like another solid weapon.


    ¡¸This one doesn¡¯t have any skills but seems like a fine piece of work overall.¡¹


    ¡¸Supposedly it was very cherished by its previous owner, an Adventurer who sadly perished in the heat of battle.¡¹


    This time he didn¡¯t ask me how I knew it had two skill slots free, meaning he must¡¯ve bought my story about it being an Adventurer¡¯s intuition.


    ¡¸It think it will also be good to show this to someone who¡¯s in the know before we decide what to do with it.¡¹


    I handed the Scimitar over to Teirihi-san and she bows her head down to me again. The last item was a simple dagger without any decorations whatsoever. It doesn¡¯t look like something that would sell for much money.


    ¡¸This is just a plain dagger. Not bad as a weapon but there¡¯s no way it can be sold for any significant amount.¡¹


    Well buddy, back to Teirihi-san you go.


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    When the merchant relayed what I just said to her, her eyes instantly turned red and wet with tears. Uh-oh, I might have made a huge oopsie. Nevertheless, she endured the urge to cry and went back home with the weapon in tow. Perhaps she remembered her late husband and wanted to be alone for a while. That was a shattered flag if I ever saw one. Nevertheless, I will be waiting for you tonight, Teirihi-san. My doors will always be open for you.


    Now that Teirihi-san went away, the Village Chief approached us together with several other men.


    ¡¸My humblest apologies, Michio-sama, but this man right here was the one responsible for replacing the Bandana.¡¹


    The man who was being dragged along behind him had his hands cuffed in a set of wooden handcuffs. *Sarcastically* So he¡¯s the one who tried to take that which did not belong to him without permission. Deplorable, truly deplorable. I renounce that man the most scornfully!


    ¡¸This is the correct item he was trying to hide.¡¹


    The Village Chief urged another man to come forward and hand me the Bandana. I used Identify on it to confirm its authenticity.


    Bandit¡¯s Bandana. No skill slots or skills.


    ¡¸This is the item in question indeed. There is no doubt.¡¹


    ¡¸Now, as for the punishment this man is going to be subjected to¡­¡¹


    The Chief says after we finished the Bandit¡¯s Bandana inspection. I wanted to ask about that, but he beat me to the punch. How thoughtful of him. This was something that I was very eager to hear. I have to know if the criminals are handed over to some higher authorities or will the villagers take care of him themselves.


    ¡¸For the crime he has committed against you, he¡¯s going to be tried and judged in accordance with the village¡¯s rules. Do you have any objections to that decision?¡¹


    This is going to be perfect. As a man who¡¯s skilled at reading the mood, there is only one thing for me to say in this situation.


    ¡¸Of course. Do what you think is best.¡¹


    ¡¸Of course. We will do just that.¡¹


    Huh? What¡¯s that? Was that a glimpse of disappointment I saw in the Chief¡¯s eyes? Did I say something wrong?


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    The Chief spoke to the criminal.


    The criminal nods and holds his bound hands in front of me.


    ¡¸Flow of the Water Spirit, breath of the Wind Spirit, unite and reveal the hidden truth. Intelligence Card, open.¡¹


    When the Chief finished the chant, a card popped out of the criminal¡¯s left hand.


    Oooooh! What was that! That was so cool! It¡¯s just like the Intelligence Cards that were left by the Bandits that were given to me. The Village Chief took it and murmured something I wasn¡¯t quite able to hear, and the additional information appeared on the Card.


    ¡¸What did you do?¡¹


    ¡¸I added new information to this man¡¯s Intelligence Card. The information that from this day forward he will be your slave and he shall remain a slave unless he is released from his slave duty or bought back.¡¹


    ¡¸Ah, okay, cool I get it.¡¹


    I don¡¯t get it at all. What exactly did you do and how does that even work?!


    For the time being, what I do get is that Intelligence Cards are items that contain every important information about a person, that¡¯s why it can serve to identify the Bandits who were slain by me so that I could claim the reward for them.


    ¡¸Allow me to explain further. The rules of our village state that if the villagers commit a crime such as stealing they are to be sold as a slave where half of the money obtained that way goes to the family who sold the criminal and the other half is given to the victim as compensation.. Of course, it will be the same in your case.¡¹


    So they have a slave system established here. Not good.


    The situation was now clear to me. If they ever find out about my crime, I will end up just like that guy in the wooden handcuffs. Mu freedom would be taken from me and that¡¯s something I absolutely cannot allow!


    ¡¸I¡¯ll gladly take you up on that offer, but I¡¯ll have you know that I don¡¯t hold it against him for what he did. No hard feelings.¡¹


    ¡¸That might be true, but it doesn¡¯t change the fact that one of our own has wronged you.¡¹


    ¡¸What matters most is that the person responsible was caught. You don¡¯t have to apologize for anything, Chief.¡¹


    ¡¸You¡¯re too kind to me, Michio-sama. It¡¯s good to know that there are still people like you in the world.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you very much. I think we can now conclude the weapon inspection.¡¹


    ¡¸Then let us go back to my house. The breakfast should be ready now.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you for having me.¡¹


    I was grateful that we could change the subject to something more pleasant.


    I have made up my mind.


    I¡¯m getting the fuck out of this place as soon as possible.

 Volume 1 - CH 2.01

    ¡¾Chapter 2: Veil, Part 1¡¿


    Player Name: Kaga Michio


    Character Information & Equipment:


    Class: Villager Lv2, Hero Lv1, Thief Lv2


    Accesory: Ring of Determination, Sandals


    Chapter 2: Veil


    Player Name: Kaga Michio


    Character Information & Equipment:


    Class: Villager Lv2, Hero Lv1, Thief Lv2


    Accessory: Ring of Determination, Sandals


    ¡¸Michio-sama, you¡¯re more than welcome to stay here for tonight if you want. We¡¯ll prepare the best feast possible to show you our gratitude.¡¹


    The Village Chief told me that while we were eating breakfast, which consisted of oatmeal with salad and cheese. I can¡¯t say it was the best I have ever had, but all in all it wasn¡¯t that bad either. If we assume that this is the absolute bottom tier when it comes to food quality and that it can only go up more civilized cities, then I think I won¡¯t have any problems adapting to living in this world, at least as long as the food is concerned.


    From what the Chief said I think it is safe to assume that dinner is going to be on the more luxurious side, fitting for a hero who saved the village from the Bandit attack. Nothing was said about lunch. It is possible that I am biased based on my current lifestyle where I always had three meals a day, but it looks like in this world the standard is two meals a day: breakfast and dinner.


    ¡¸Thank you very much. Allow me to take you up on your kind offer.¡¹


    ¡¸Also, about your plans for tomorrow, the merchant said that his carriage is going to be departing for the city of Veil early in the morning. If you plan on going with him, then I suggest you to go to sleep early tonight.¡¹


    ¡¸Exactly how long will the journey to Veil take?¡¹


    ¡¸About three hours by carriage.¡¹


    The biggest question now is whether or not three hours here are the same as the three hours back in my old world. If I assume that they are, then I can do the following calculation: if we were to depart for Veil at around 8:00 AM then we would arrive at our destination at around 11:00 AM. If the merchant wants to wrap everything up in a day trip, he would have to leave the city by 3:00 PM to return to the village by 6:00 PM, meaning that the total time he would be spending in the city would be around four hours. He said he was going to restock on food and basic supplies, so I think that shouldn¡¯t take him very long to finish? ¡¯Cause if we were able to return here before it gets dark, then maybe I¡¯ll have some free time to go fishing.


    ¡¸Then I shall do just like you suggest.¡¹


    ¡¸Wonderful. I will be sure to relay the message to the merchant.¡¹


    With that settled, what should I do until tomorrow? Just sitting idly by would most definitely be counterproductive, so it would be nice if I could maybe find myself a spot to hunt some mobs in order to increase my level as much as possible.


    ¡¸If I may ask, are there any mobs around this village?¡¹


    ¡¸Mobs? Could you perhaps be talking about monsters?¡¹


    ¡¸Ahh, yeah. That¡¯s right. Monsters. Are there any monsters around here?¡¹


    Note to self: Monsters, not Mobs. Gotta keep my player habits in check if I want to avoid making everybody needlessly suspicious of me.


    ¡¸Well, I guess there are Slow Rabbits in the depths of the forest not far from here.¡¹


    ¡¸Slow Rabbits? I¡¯ve never fought them before.¡¹


    The name suggested that they are weak as shit, but my gut was telling me that I shouldn¡¯t be overly confident just yet. Maybe it¡¯s one of those cases where the name is deceitful, masking the monster¡¯s true strength?


    All right now, Village Chief. Time to make you spill some more beans for me!


    ¡¸What kind of a monster are they, exactly? Those Slow Rabbits, I mean.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, they are relatively harmless because they tend to distance themselves from any human settlements and even in direct combat they are not much of a threat.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, is that so? Good to know.¡¹


    Lucky me! Looks like I¡¯ll be able to grind with relative ease if they really are so weak. They will serve as a good way to pass the time and who knows, maybe I¡¯ll also be able to farm some items that I¡¯ll be able to sell for a nice prize?


    Yes, that should be my current mindset. No use worrying that I might not be able to go back to Japan for now. Instead, I should focus all of my energy into securing a relatively stable situation for myself and I¡¯ll definitely need a clear head on my shoulders for that.


    ¡¸As expected of an Adventurer! Even though they are hardly worth the effort, you¡¯ll still get out of your way to hunt them to keep the village safe from their menace!¡¹


    Dude¡­ I think you¡¯re reading too much into it. Also, why have you reacted by shouting like that?


    ¡¸If they are as weak as you describe them to be, then is it really a reason to be getting so emotional over them?¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yes, of course they are.¡¹


    ¡¸Uh-huh, okay, keep going¡­¡¹


    ¡¸Even the Villagers can defeat one if they assault it in a group.¡¹


    Hey. What was that? It took several of you to defeat just one Rabbit?! How is that¡­ no, Michio, keep your cool about you. Remember, gather information first, be a judgemental prick later.


    ¡¸What about the drops? Did it left anything behind when you killed it?¡¹


    ¡¸Well we did managed to salvage the Rabbit¡¯s Fur out of it.¡¹


    ¡¸I see.¡¹


    Does that mean its fur is a drop item or something they salvaged manually by skinning it? It would be nice if it was the former.


    ¡¸What is it, Michio-sama? Is there any problem with hunting those monsters?¡¹


    My doubts must have shown on my face, because the Chief asked me in a worried tone.


    ¡¸No, everything¡¯s fine.¡¹


    Although I really wished it wasn¡¯t.


    That was another dilemma for me. Should I really go for it? Will I, a low-level character be able to defeat monsters that higher level villagers had to gang up on to defeat just a single one? Then again, if I really want to live in this world as its full-fledged denizen, I¡¯ll have to eventually venture into the wild and start hunting monsters myself. I have no guarantee that this Slow Rabbit is really easy to defeat, but if I decide to do it after all then the sooner I take care of it the better.


    I have no idea if I can even go back to the Japan I know and even if I could, I don¡¯t know if I want to go back to the shitty life I had there. And, objectively speaking, how much worse can this world be compared to my own. The risk of imminent death? Sure it¡¯s unpleasant, but everyone will die eventually. Ironically, I¡¯ve found my way into this world thanks to a suicide website. I wanted to end my own life, so what difference does it make if I do it myself or with the assistance of some random monster? I have literally nothing to lose, so I might as well go check those Slow Rabbits out.


    ¡¸All right, I think I will go check out those monsters now. It won¡¯t be a problem as long as I return here in time for dinner, right?¡¹


    As long as I use my Durandal, things shouldn¡¯t go south too quickly, and if they do, I can always tuck my tail between my legs and run. I stood up from my chair and started heading towards the door, when the Chief called out to me again.


    ¡¸Michio-sama. Actually, some of our village youths want to hunt the Slow Rabbits as well. If at all possible, would it be all right for them to join you in your venture to the woods?¡¹


    ¡¸You mean go for a hunt together with them?¡¹


    ¡¸If they go with you, I have no doubt that they are going to have a good experience.¡¹


    Damn, what do I do now?


    It would definitely be safer if I had more people with me. But¡­


    ¡¸With all due respect, but I think it would be better if I went alone. I have never fought a Slow Rabbit before, so if worse came to worst I don¡¯t know if I¡¯d be able to keep all the other¡¯s out of harm¡¯s way.¡¹


    ¡¸Now that I think about it, you¡¯re right. How wise of you to think about our youths well-being, Michio-sama!¡¹


    There was that, but I also had another reason for turning his request down.


    At my current level I am weak, even if one of my weapons is OP as heck, so if one of the guys who went with me died a gruesome death it would be possible that the family or close friends of the deceased would want me to take responsibility for that, and since this village has adopted a slavery system, I concluded it is in my best interest to avoid such situations at all costs. I¡¯m not risking any chances of becoming a slave because of somebody else¡¯s stupidity, oh hell no!

 Volume 1 - CH 2.02

    ¡¾Chapter 2: Veil, Part 2¡¿


    After finishing my meal I put back the Bandits¡¯ Intelligence Cards, equip the Copper Sword and slowly make my way into the woods near the village. Strangely enough, not a single monster appeared even after I¡¯ve been heading straight ahead for about 10 minutes. Normally when it comes to games, I¡¯d have been attacked as soon as taking less than 10 paces outside the village, which should be considered as a safe zone for the players (in this particular case, myself), but no, there wasn¡¯t even one random encounter yet. I was honestly kinda disappointed, but at the same time some part of me felt relieved that I didn¡¯t have to fight anything yet. Oh, while we¡¯re at it, I also wondered why would anyone build a village in a spot full of monsters that were too tough for ordinary people to defeat by themselves? Seems needlessly hazardous and counterproductive to me. Also, since I am finally alone with myself, there¡¯s something I want to try.


    ¡¸Intelligence Card, open!¡¹


    You know what happened? Yah, that¡¯s right, you guessed it: big fat nothing happened. But it¡¯s okay, this time I knew it would happen because the spell was not the same as when the Village Chief did it and I am not the kind of person who would memorize an entire spell after only listening to it once. So now I know that even for my own Intelligence Card this funky incantation is a must. And since I have firmly established that now, I can proceed forward without worrying about it too much.


    Not long after I reached the thicker part of the woods I finally stumbled upon some strange animal, covered with white fur, about 50 cm long in total. Could this be the Slow Rabbit? I focused my gaze on it and used Identify and this is what came up:


    ¡¸Slow Rabbit, Lv1¡¹


    Okay, so Identify works on other things than myself and the NPC¡¯s without any problems. Thankfully this guy is just Lv1. But then, why would the villagers have difficulties fighting something that has to basically be this world¡¯s equivalent of a Slime from other RPG¡¯s, meaning the weakest monster possible? I better remain cautious not to have my ass handed to me on a silver platter. I mean how big of a laughingstock would I be if something like that defeated me after I slew so many higher-leveled Bandits essentially by myself? I don¡¯t know how big of a wallop this guy actually packs, so I think it would be better for me to use Durandal here instead of a simple Copper Sword.


    I opened up my Status screen and went through another Character Reset, switching back to my original settings where I had 64 Bonus Points to use by returning to the 1/5 EXP Required and Obtained EXP x5 and putting them all into Bonus Weapon 6 and since that upgrade cost 63 Bonus Points total, I had 1 Point remaining. Now what should I use it for?


    Maybe¡­ Meteor Crash? The description says that it is a very powerful offensive magic, so having it around might prove useful if I ever find myself to be in a tight spot. I confirmed the selection of Meteor Crash and ended the Character Reset there. Durandal appeared in my left hand on its own.


    Initially I thought that if I used magic I wouldn¡¯t have to resort to using Durandal, but just in case I won¡¯t be able to finish that monster off with a single blow it will be my backup plan. I placed it at my waist, but moving around with two swords equipped on me proved to be more than a little difficult, probably because I was not used to it, so I decided to just leave the Copper Sword leaning against a nearby tree. Now I unsheathed Durandal and grabbed it firmly with both my hands.


    Looks like the Slow Rabbit hasn¡¯t noticed me yet. This might be my chance to one shot it with a surprise attack! Here it goes!


    ¡¸Meteor Crash!¡¹


    I yelled that out loud at the top of my lungs.


    But nothing happened. And nothing changed. I just stood there, staring at the rabbit like an idiot while he also looked at me with a question mark above its head. Really now, all that I need now to complete this scene are the cricket noises and some tumbleweed rolling in the background. Thank God we are so deep in the forest where no one could witness that epic fail of mine!


    The spell! I didn¡¯t chant the spell¡¯s formula, that¡¯s probably why it didn¡¯t work!


    As soon as I thought about that, the chant for Meteor Crash appeared in my mind. Okay, all right, sounds easy enough. Let¡¯s try using it now, hopefully to good effect.


    ¡¸From beyond the infinite universe, the will of the sky is to diminish, destroy! METEOR CRASH!!!!¡¹


    I thought I nailed the incantation on the head this time, but once again nothing happened. But I finally noticed why. I didn¡¯t have enough MP to cast the spell. Strange. I have eaten more than enough and I am definitely not tired. Moreover, my MP that I lost after using the Fire Rapier should have also been replenished already. But if the spell refused to activate even after all of that, then there is only one possible explanation for this: the Villager¡¯s Job MP total at Lv2 was simply too low to use a spell such as Meteor Crash.


    All this time, the Slow Rabbit just stood there and did nothing, looking at me as if I was some kinda exotic peculiarity. Oi, if you really are a monster, shouldn¡¯t you be running away from humans as soon as you see one?! Or maybe it wasn¡¯t afraid because it was actually so strong that it thought a single person wasn¡¯t enough to even scratch it after it learned that the villagers needed to hunt them down in groups? Well, guess what, buddy, here¡¯s some Holy Sword for you to taste! Let¡¯s see how tough you will be after I give you a good old stabby-stab where the sun doesn¡¯t shine!


    With that I rushed at the monster and slashed it diagonally from top down. The sword digs into the rabbit¡¯s flesh as if it was cutting through butter, shredding him almost in half without any difficulties. The Slow Rabbit, a monstrosity that required a group of villagers to defeat just a single one, fell to the ground, lifeless. All it took was literally one blow and it was over. After a few seconds its body began to emit puffs of green smoke before it melted away into nothingness. All that was left of it after the smoke cleared was a tuft of white, soft fur. Upon closer examination, it was the supposed drop item, The Rabbit¡¯s Fur. So that¡¯s what Chief was talking about when he was saying that they were able to salvage the fur out of the one rabbit they managed to slay. I took the fur and placed it in my inventory and returned to the place where I have left the Copper Sword. Using Durandal honestly felt like too much of an overkill for the opponents of such a low caliber, but there was always a possibility that I can bump into much stronger monsters while casually strolling through the woods or that only this particular Slow Rabbit happened to be weak as shit. With that thought in mind, I decided to explore the depths of the forest for a little while longer.


    Not long after that first encounter I happened upon two more Slow Rabbits, but they were much the same as the first one: one-shotted with Durandal¡¯s single slash, so yeah, using the Holy Sword to fight them definitely felt like I was cheating, but on the other hand I now had 3 pieces of Rabbit¡¯s Fur instead of one, so I guess I wasn¡¯t really in the position to complain or anything. But when the next battle comes around, maybe I will try using the Copper Sword instead of Durandal, just to give those poor mobs an actual fighting chance, or maybe reset my character entirely again ¡­


    Huh? What¡¯s this?


    I should have no Bonus Points remaining, but for some reason my status screen says that I have 1 more point to use. Could it be that you automatically get Bonus Points over time? That¡¯s pretty neat. Okay, but for now I will discard Bonus Weapon 6 and put my Bonus Points between 1/20 EXP Required and Obtained EXP x10. The Bonus Points are now 0. With Meteor Crash still marked as checked, it is much better usage of the points than before. With my preparations finished, it¡¯s time to go look for another Slow Rabbit to check how the current settings I am rocking will fare in actual combat.


    The Copper Sword¡¯s performance was obviously not as good as Durandal¡¯s, but all things considered it wasn¡¯t that bad either. At least I didn¡¯t one-shot the like before, but it didn¡¯t change the fact that even such a basic sword tore through their flesh without any major difficulties, maybe not cleaving them cleanly in half but digging pretty deeply into them.


    But I have to tell you, the Slow Rabbit I¡¯m fighting now is pretty tanky. It withstood not only my first attack, but also a second slash that came right after the first one, and it even managed to strike me with a counterattack. Or it would have if I didn¡¯t manage to avoid it in the nick of time. We exchanged two blows. This time its hits connected, but the resulting damage wasn¡¯t all that impressive. Nevertheless, I have to remain cautious at all times. Even the most insignificant of hits can turn lethal if they¡¯d be allowed to pile up. The one saving grace here was that my enemy wasn¡¯t able to move very fast. It was a rabbit, after all. But just when I thought that, it did something totally unexpected which caught me totally off guard.


    It jumped towards my throat with its bared teeth!

 Volume 1 - CH 2.03

    ¡¾Chapter 2: Veil, Part 3¡¿


    Just what is this thing, a friggin¡¯ Caerbannog Rabbit?! Its head is badly damaged, as is the rest of its body but despite that it was still able to move around to such a degree!


    I instinctively backstepped to prevent it from biting into my throat but that didn¡¯t stop it from pressing on the attack. It even threw an occasional body slam into the mix! And let me tell you, when it connected, I felt that with my whole body as a numbing shock spread throughout it! This is really dangerous. I cannot allow any more of those to hit me or I might be toast for sure!


    I hacked and slashed at the damn thing but it was as if it had engaged some kinda ¡¸Zombie-Berserk Mode¡¹ or something, because no matter how many times I managed to cut it, it just refused to drop dead and die. Damn it, why are my attacks not working as well as they were just a few minutes ago?! Whenever I could I sneaked two or three strikes in, but it just completely abandoned any form of defense in favor of an aggressive offense. This is getting worse by the minute! If I don¡¯t do anything, I might die to this rabbit for real!


    I somehow managed to avoid its subsequent attacks and regain my proper fighting posture and even hit the Slow Rabbit in the belly, making blood gush out of it. Good, it looks like that slash was deep enough to actually do something to it. If I can just keep this up, then I might be able to finally bring this bastard down!


    But despite my best attempts, it still refuses to drop dead.


    Another blow. And another one. Another one, another one, another one. At long last, after what seemed to be an eternity for me, the Slow Rabbit finally bites the dust and melts into the ground after emitting a puff of smoke.


    ¡¸Haaa¡­.¡¹


    I made a big sigh as my shoulders were frantically moving up and down in tandem with my ragged breath and the aching which was resonating throughout my whole body. That¡­ was¡­ beyond¡­ ridiculous now! Is the difference between a normal weapon and the one obtained through Bonus Weapon really that big? I mean seriously, compared to Durandal, the Copper Sword was like, thousand times weaker, maybe even more! Or could it be that this particular Slow Rabbit was bugged beyond all rationality with how insanely strong and tough to take down he was?!


    Speaking of which, he should have had a Lv displayed next to his name? I know it was thoughtless of me not to confirm it when the battle started, but I just kinda sorta assumed that it¡¯s going to be Lv1, the same as all the others. But now I know what to look out for, so from now on, I will be using Durandal to fight with every enemy that might show up to make sure that a fuckup such as this one won¡¯t happen again. I now see that the copper Sword is, without the shade of a doubt, the shittiest of the shitty weapons in this world. As for Durandal, did it not have some kinda life steal or absorption skill? I¡¯m sure that with it I will be healing my wounds faster than the enemies will be able to inflict them upon me, limiting the damage taken to the bare minimum or maybe even eliminate it altogether. With that in mind I put away the Copper Sword and all the Rabbit¡¯s Fur I managed to collect and equipped Durandal again.


    Not long after that encounter I happened upon another Slow Rabbit, but this time I made sure to check it out with Identify. So those things are Lv1 after all? I approached it while remaining cautious and prepared my Holy Sword, slashing at it while it was unaware of my presence. It disappeared in a puff of smoke while leaving the Rabbit¡¯s Fur behind while relieving some of my body¡¯s pain and recovering a bit of HP. It¡¯s great that this is an actual recovery, not a placebo effect. That way I should return to my best condition after defeating just one or two more enemies. I bagged another copy of Rabbit¡¯s Fur to my Item Box and continued to look for more prey.


    There weren¡¯t that many monsters left in this neck of the woods anymore, but I continued my search in hope of finding even a single one, but I guess that has its merits too. With no monsters in the immediate vicinity of the village I will be able to live that much more calmly, at least until I will finally decide to leave this place for good.


    I wandered around the forest until it was late afternoon and I killed around 10 more Slow Rabbits. It¡¯s not getting dark just yet, but it will soon be 10:00 PM and the last thing I want to do is to wander around in the forest I have no knowledge of when it is getting so late so I should probably make my way back as soon as possible.


    Even though I could probably still fight some more, that was definitely enough harvesting for today. I slowly exhaled, looked at my own opened hand and used Identify to check my Status.


    Player Name: Kaga Michio


    Character Information & Equipment:


    Class: Villager Lv3, Hero Lv1, Thief Lv3


    Weapon: Holy Sword Durandal


    Accessory: Ring of Determination, Sandals


    Looks like my levels are slowly rising and the best way to keep it that way is to continue to seek and kill monsters. It might also be connected to the fact that earlier my Bonus Points went up for some reason. That reason might be one of the Jobs leveling up to Lv2. So does that mean I scored some good EXP for those Bandits who attacked the village? I must¡¯ve gotten so much that I didn¡¯t notice gaining a Lv2 in my Jobs since that would explain why reaching Lv3 took me almost an entire day of farming basic mobs. But if the leveling process is so easy, then why are most of the villagers such low-levels? Could the speed of gaining EXP have something to do with this? Questions for later. For now, it would be nice to receive confirmation regarding Bonus Points. Are they really increasing with each Level Up? And how do I use them without resetting my character all the time? If I want to be able to pull my own weight in here I better find the answer to those questions fast. See, this is by far the biggest problem I have with this shitty game: it doesn¡¯t give you any Tutorials on how to do things, it¡¯s just ¡¸Hey dog, you¡¯ve been thrown into the game and like, that¡¯s it man, go figure the rest out for yourself because we¡¯re too lazy to explain even the most basic of mechanics.¡¹. Oh come on, even Dark Souls did it better!


    For now I unequipped Durandal and headed back in the direction of the village. On my way back I was thinking of resetting my character again and trying the other options from different levels of the Bonus Weapon skill, which were 5 in total, but then a thought occurred to me: those different Bonus Weapons will probably be weaker than the Holy Sword Durandal, a weapon from Bonus Weapon 6, which was capable of decimating enemies with a single blow, not to mention that it¡¯s HP Absorption power was necessary for me to recover my health effectively. So maybe I should keep Durandal instead of experimenting with different ones after all? Also, the Rabbit¡¯s Fur is quite small and light, so I wonder how many of those would I need to gather in order to make a coat out of it? Something is telling that it would have to be around 100 or 200 of them, maybe even more. Not to mention that the selling price probably won¡¯t be that high. All right, Durandal it is. I don¡¯t care if using it against Lv1 monsters is going to be considered a cheat or not. All that matters is my own survival and the comfort and ease of the hunt.


    While finally making up my mind I have reached the back of the village.


    Next to the Village Chief¡¯s house was another one almost as big that had its doors widely opened. A three-story house that the merchant came out of in the morning. I wonder if this is his shop, his personal house, or maybe two of them combined into one? I took a peek inside and surely enough, he was right there behind the counter.


    ¡¸Welcome!¡¹


    There weren¡¯t any shelves with products of any sort, but it was obviously a store of some kind.


    ¡¸Sorry for the intrusion.¡¹


    I called out to him from the entrance as I made my way inside.


    ¡¸Oh, if it isn¡¯t Michio-sama! What brings you here today to my fine establishment? Do you perhaps want to do business?¡¹


    ¡¸That depends. What kind of goods are you selling here, exactly?¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, just a little bit of everything. This is the only store in the entire village after all. As for the amount of goods we sell, the exact amount depends on how much we order from the city and how long it will take for them to get delivered, hence the occasional shortages.¡¹


    So that¡¯s why all the counters and shelves are almost empty? Awful. This level of civilization is just the worst.


    ¡¸Can¡¯t you do something to always keep some of the goods at hand instead of waiting for them?¡¹


    ¡¸Even if I wanted to do so, the only type of goods that could be managed in such a way would be slaves for sale. And that is, you know¡­¡¹


    The merchant spoke quietly.


    I understand what he was getting at. Even if he wanted to do so, slaves were not a commodity that could be easily obtained even when there was a high demand for them, and they cannot be stored in warehouses like fruits or vegetables. They might not have any rights in this world, but that would be too inhuman of a treatment.


    Wait a minute, does this guy think I¡¯ve come here to buy a slave for myself?!

 Volume 1 - CH 2.04

    ¡¾Chapter 2: Veil, Part 4¡¿


    All right, time to defuse the situation.


    ¡¸Sorry for mentioning something so weird. I guess I am a country bumpkin after all, hahaha¡­¡¹


    ¡¸Even the biggest country bumpkin should know that this is how it works in the countryside. Michio-sama, could it be¡­¡¹


    Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck!!!


    ¡¸¡­ that you allowed the tales from travelling merchants go to your head too much?¡¹


    SAFE!!!!!


    ¡¸Y-Yeah, I guess I just took their words for absolute certainty everywhere in the world. How thoughtless of me.¡¹


    ¡¸No no, it¡¯s fine. I was like that myself until I learned the truth the hard way, so allow me to warn you in advance: even in Veil you won¡¯t find many such merchants in Veil, since they dwell mostly in bigger cities.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, really? I had no idea it was like that. Guess the stories I¡¯ve heard were really blown out of proportion.¡¹


    ¡¸Small wonder given that the folks from bigger cities like to exaggerate to us rednecks from the sticks, so don¡¯t worry about it too much. Now that you know how it is you¡¯ll be able to properly distinguish truth from fiction in the future.¡¹


    ¡¸And what about those bigger cities? Are they far from small villages such as this one?¡¹


    ¡¸Veil is the closest one, but as I already said, it¡¯s far from being counted among the bigger ones. Nevertheless, people from the neighboring villages tend to go there quite often. As for the bigger ones, they were originally small villages too, but they grew considerably in size the more merchants and peddlers came to live in them. Nowadays, going to one big city from the other would take you around five days by carriage. I do occasionally make trips to the bigger ones, but for the most part I tend to stick to Veil, so that is where I¡¯ll be going tomorrow.¡¹


    Yeah, I know that much, that¡¯s why I agreed to go with him to sell the Bandit equipment in the city in the first place. As the merchant continued his lengthy explanatory exposition dump, I decided to reset my character once again.


    Since I¡¯ll be trying to sell that equipment for as much as possible, maybe investing some Bonus Points in Haggle & Barter skill would be useful? When I added a point to it, I got a message that from now on the prices I will receive for every item I will sell will be 10% better. Hmm, will that amount increase the more points I will put into it? After trying it out, the percentage of the increase in obtained gold rose to 15, 20, 25 and 30% respectively. Just like Bonus Weapons and EXP related skills, it looks like it can be upgraded to Lv.6 at best.


    Now the most important question here is: will that skill be usable, or was it a total waste of Bonus Points?


    ¡¸If it¡¯s all right with you, I want you to take a look at that Rabbit¡¯s Fur.¡¹


    I interrupted the merchant¡¯s diarrhea of the mouth and changed the topic.


    ¡¸Rabbit¡¯s Fur. Why of course, I can buy it off of you, but a fair warning, don¡¯t expect to be paid much for a single¡­ piece¡­¡¹


    He tried to mouth off again, but when I placed all the Rabbit Furs I have obtained today on the counter, he became silent in an instant.


    ¡¸I asked the Chief if there were any monsters around the village and he pointed in a general direction where the Slow Rabbits were dwelling, so I disposed of a few of them. Well, maybe more than a few, now that I think about it, but the point is, I¡¯m not selling just a single piece.¡¹


    ¡¸No way¡­ impossible¡­¡¹


    The merchant stares at the furs in disbelief and swallows so hard that I was able to hear him clearly from the other side of the counter. Why is he acting so surprised? Ah, could it be¡­?


    ¡¸You know, the Chief warned me that these Slow Rabbits were quite strong so I was skeptical about hunting them in the beginning, but it turned out they were total pushovers.¡¹


    Except for the Caerbannog one, but I am going to keep that one piece of info to myself until the day death claims me and my body will be put six feet under.


    ¡¸P-Pushovers?! These ferocious predators?! That is¡­ that¡¯s¡­ no, I am sorry. If you are a bona fide Adventurer then of course such beasts would be nothing to you. Forgive my offense, Michio-sama.¡¹


    ¡¸None taken.¡¹


    I understand that for normies with normie stats and normie equipment those monsters could have been undefeatable, but right now I am no longer a normie so there is no reason for me not to boast my strength.


    ¡¸So? What¡¯s it going to be? Are you going to buy those furs off of me or not?¡¹


    I asked him the most important business question.


    ¡¸O-Of course I¡¯ll buy them!¡¹


    Now that¡¯s what I wanted to hear.


    ¡¸Michio-sama, if I may ask, have you joined any Guild or considered joining one in the near future?¡¹


    ¡¸I have not joined any Guild and I have not thought about it yet.¡¹


    That was not a lie on my part. I didn¡¯t even know there was a possibility like that.


    ¡¸When you join a Guild, the one I belong to for example, all the merchants belonging to it are contracted to sell you additional goods aside from the ones offered to the general public and they will buy everything you decide to sell them at preferential (read: better than usual) prices, all because the trading profits are the major source of the guild¡¯s income. Of course, I will be more than happy to buy it even without you joining our Guild.¡¹


    So there is such a complicated restriction when it comes to purchasing goods in this world? Then maybe it will be in my best interest to join a Guild after all. But for now¡­


    ¡¸Then please do.¡¹


    ¡¸The usual Guild price for one piece of Rabbit¡¯s Fur is 10 Nar.¡¹


    ¡¸I understand.¡¹


    I don¡¯t even know if it¡¯s a high price for such an item or not.


    ¡¸I see that you have a total of 10 Furs and they are all of excellent quality, I will buy them off you for 130 Nar total.¡¹


    130? If the usual price was 10 Nar per one piece of fur then the total should be 100 Nar, so that means that my Haggling & Barter skill worked and I have received a 30% better price. It actually worked! This is pretty neat! I can definitely use that! And if the merchant is willing to buy those items from me for such an exuberant price then I guess I have nothing to complain about.


    The merchant takes the Furs away from me and places thirty copper 10 yen coin-looking coins and 10 white coins on the counter. If I had to take a wild guess then that one coin which is probably silver must be worth 10 Nar and the copper ones should be worth 1 Nar each. Time to count them just to be sure I¡¯m not being scammed here.


    ¡¸26, 28, 30. Everything seems to be correct.¡¹


    But how am I going to take all of those coins back with me?


    ¡¸Um, do you¡­ happen to have a coin purse or something?¡¹


    ¡¸Unfortunately I don¡¯t, but you can use this bag if you want.¡¹


    And he handed me a small pouch for my newly acquired coins. And since the top is tied with a string, then it means it must be a drawstring coin purse. I placed all of my coins in there while thanking the merchant for being so considerate of me.


    ¡¸So Picker-san, you said you belong to a Merchants Guild, right. Would you mind telling me more about that?¡¹


    I secretly performed Identify on the merchant to learn his name. Identify is pretty convenient for things like that.


    ¡¸As a certified merchant I belong to a Merchants guild of course. There are a few exceptions like the Adventurers Guild, but in most cases joining one is required for working in a specified field of business or changing Jobs.¡¹


    So that would mean I¡¯d have to do the same if I wanted to change my Jobs, but I¡¯ll ask him for confirmation just to be sure.


    ¡¸So if I wanted to become a merchant myself I¡¯d have to join the Merchants Guild?¡¹


    ¡¸You want to be a merchant, Michio-sama?¡¹


    He asked, visibly surprised, so I hurriedly denied it, saying that I was just considering the possibility.


    ¡¸Allow me to say this: whether you are a member of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild or Merchants Guild, you can only belong to one Guild at a time, and there are strict restrictions for quitting the Guild once you have joined.¡¹


    ¡¸Hmm.¡¹


    Well shit.


    ¡¸But do not worry, Michio-sama. Even without a Guild membership, merchants will still do business with you.¡¹


    ¡¸But in order to have access to specialized goods I¡¯ll have to join a Guild anyway, right.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, and in addition to that, every Job Change needs to be approved at a Guild Temple.¡¹


    Great. More needlessly complicated procedures to rain on my parade.


    ¡¸If you already have some experience working as a merchant then all you have to do is register at the Guild and be approved at its temple. But if you don¡¯t have any experience in that field whatsoever then I¡¯m afraid that getting approval won¡¯t be an easy task.¡¹


    He seems to know what he¡¯s talking about very well, so I should make it a point to attentively listen to what he¡¯s saying and ask my questions accordingly.


    ¡¸So what about the village farmers.¡¹


    ¡¸All members of the Farmers Guild.¡¹


    Even they have to be registered in the Guild? That¡¯s crazy! Is there even a Job that does not require joining a Guild to obtain it?!


    Multiclassing is considered a Bonus Skill by the game, so it would seem that an ordinary person can only have one Job at a time. But then, what about the odd Jobs such as Thief, Villager or a Hero?


    You can only join one Guild, so I will have to carefully consider all my options before making a final choice.

 Volume 1 - CH 2.05

    ¡¾Chapter 2: Veil, Part 5¡¿


    I returned to the Chief¡¯s house and had dinner. After that I returned to my room and waited for a few hours, but no matter how long I waited, Teirichi-san did not come to visit me.


    I knew it would be like that. I knew that well, but still some part of me wanted to believe that maybe luck would smile upon me this one time. But alas, this was not meant to be. It would be too good to be true.


    ¡­ I wonder if it¡¯s because I¡¯m not some handsome-looking Chad?


    So I just spent my night alone like a total loser, crying myself to sleep.


    I feel like I was dreaming, but I cannot remember about what, exactly. To be honest, I was a little surprised that I didn¡¯t wake up to the hustle and bustle of Tokyo, but instead there were the sounds of a typical countryside.


    By the way, my illusion that this world was a virtual one was finally crushed when I felt like my bladder was about to explode, so I hurried to the bathroom to relieve myself. This feeling was too real to be something that was just fabricated by my brain. But of course there was always a chance that all of this is just a hallucination and I was really stuck in a coma in some hospital with machines sustaining all of my bodily functions. If something like that would end up happening, I don¡¯t know if I even want to wake up from such a dream. No, this was now the world that I would have to live in. As far as I know for now, returning back to Earth is impossible for me.


    ¡¸Nnnnnnnnnnn¡­..¡¹


    I slowly stretched my arms as I laid back on the bed. It was very poorly made, just a thin mattress and an even thinner blanket laid on top of simple wooden boards. I wonder if this is the standard for all people who live in this world or is it just that poor country bumpkins have to put up with something so uncomfortable?


    ¡¸Excuse me.¡¹


    I heard the Chief¡¯s voice outside the door.


    ¡¸It¡¯s the Village Chief, Michio-sama. I¡¯m sorry to be bothering you this early in the morning, but it is time for the wagon to the city of Veil to depart.¡¹


    ¡¸All right, I¡¯ll be there shortly.¡¹


    I got up from the bed and went downstairs with all my luggage, that is a copper sword and a drawstring bag. Inside of the bag were all my money and the Intelligence Cards obtained after the battle with the Bandits. For now, those things are my entire property.


    ¡¸Good morning, Michio-sama.¡¹


    ¡¸*Yaaaaawn* Morning.¡¹


    ¡¸We took care of cleaning the clothes you were wearing yesterday. Here you go.¡¹


    Inspecting the surroundings closely, my jersey was indeed lying on the table near the entrance.


    ¡¸Ah, that¡¯s right. I had this bad boy with me as well.¡¹


    I can¡¯t believe I managed to forget about it so easily. Of course the sword and the bag were not my only assets! There was my trusty jersey as well!


    The front door of the house were open, so I peeked outside and saw that it was still relatively dark. The sun has only just begun to rise on the horizon.


    I took my jersey, which was now cleaned of all the blood that had stained it during yesterday¡¯s battle and returned the clothes the Chief had lent me to him. For the current me, this jersey felt like the second skin. I don¡¯t know what I¡¯d have done if I wasn¡¯t able to wear it anymore.


    ¡¸Your clothes seem to be made from some highly unusual material. It must be something highly valuable.¡¹


    ¡¸You think so? It¡¯s considered pretty common back where I come from.¡¹


    It¡¯s just a cheap jersey, identical to the hundreds of thousands of other jerseys you can buy in Japan but judging from what he said they probably don¡¯t have clothing made of polyester fibers in here. Such a material probably doesn¡¯t even exist here.


    ¡¸Feel free to use this bag if you like.¡¹


    And he presented me with a rather large bag which had what looked to be shoulder straps on it. Could this be a backpack?


    ¡¸Hooo? That¡¯s nice.¡¹


    ¡¸And here is your breakfast. Please enjoy it during your journey.¡¹


    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry for making you do all this for me.¡¹


    I politely thanked him for the backpack and the food. I placed all of my current belongings into the backpack and closed it. Well, it looked extremely cheap and worn out as heck, but hey, in my current situation I will make use of whatever I can.


    ¡¸Please, it is the least I can do to thank you for saving our village.¡¹


    With that, he handed me another small bag.


    ¡¸Huh?¡¹


    When I opened it, I saw it was filled with coins. They were all emitting a dull, yellowish glow. Are those¡­ gold coins? It looks like there are more than 10 of them in there.


    ¡¸I know it¡¯s not nearly enough to fully repay you for your¡­¡¹


    ¡¸No, no, it¡¯s fine, this is enough, really.¡¹


    Feeling a little embarrassed, I decided to accept the reward he was offering me with gratitude.


    ¡¸I¡¯m really sorry I cannot give you any more than that.¡¹


    I once again assured him that this much was more than enough. I wanted to put an end to this embarrassing situation already while simultaneously avoiding looking like a greedy bastard who wanted to extort the poor villagers of all their savings. With my shaky situation, I wanted to avoid drawing as much attention to myself as I could, and it will certainly be better to be remembered by the entire village as a humble individual rather than someone who¡¯s just money-hungry.


    With my entire luggage packed up, I placed the backpack on my shoulders and followed after the Chief to the place near the outskirts of the village where the merchant was already preparing his wagon for departure.


    ¡¸Good morning.¡¹


    ¡¸Morning.¡¹


    We exchanged our greetings casually.


    ¡¸We will be departing as soon as it gets bright. Could I ask you to take a seat in the front beside me?¡¹


    ¡¸Fine by me.¡¹


    I got on the wagon and took my seat beside the merchant. I just hope it won¡¯t be shaking too much.


    In the back of the wagon there were several items: the equipment of all the Bandits who were defeated, the two swords belonging to Teirichi-san and a small cage that resembled a doghouse. Teirichi-san¡¯s dagger was not among the items that we were going to sell.


    The cage was made almost entirely out of wooden boards, with only the front having a steel fence. I was wondering what that curious structure is, but my unspoken question has answered itself before long, when a man who was accused of the item theft yesterday was brought in and placed inside.


    ¡¸As a criminal he is to be taken to the city and sold to the Slave Merchant.¡¹


    The Village Chief explained, probably noticing my questioning gaze.


    ¡¸You don¡¯t say.¡¹


    ¡¸Half of the sum obtained from the transaction will be paid to you, since you are this man¡¯s master, Michio-sama.¡¹


    ¡¸Well, since I managed to get back what was stolen from me anyway, is there really a need to go that far with admonishing this guy?¡¹


    ¡¸If we did that, there is always a chance that he would have done it again since he wouldn¡¯t have learned any lesson from it. This is the only way to insure such a thing won¡¯t happen again.¡¹


    So that¡¯s how it is. As much as I didn¡¯t want to, I had to admit that such a reasoning was very down-to-earth. Besides, an outsider like myself should really not try to meddle in the internal affairs and traditions, so I had no choice but to nod in agreement.


    Before we left, a young man approached the wagon and started talking to the caged man.


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    Is he a relative of the stealing man?


    ¡¸X X X X! X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X!!!¡¹


    Along with the young man came a little girl, who I presumed to be the man¡¯s daughter. Even if I didn¡¯t understand the word they were saying, I could read more than enough from the atmosphere itself. She was probably saying things like ¡¸Papa! Please, don¡¯t go! Don¡¯t leave us!¡¹. They were telling the man not to give up and resign himself to his fate, but I think that deep down inside they knew that it was a futile effort.


    ¡¸It¡¯s gotten bright enough. We¡¯re leaving!¡¹


    Merchant took his place next to me, took hold of the reigns and in the next moment the pair of horses began to move, pulling the wagon behind them.


    ¡¸Thank you for taking me with you.¡¹


    ¡¸Don¡¯t mention it.¡¹


    Saying that it was bright enough for us to leave was a bit of a stretch in my opinion, because I could barely see the horses in front of us, but this guy has probably made this trip countless times already, so he must have been used to it by now.


    The city of Veil, huh? I wonder what kind of town it will be?

 Volume 1 - CH 2.06

    ¡¾Chapter 2: Veil, Part 6¡¿


    Before we completely left the village and the Chief behind, a thought occurred to me: I might never come back here again, but for me this was my first village, my place of genesis in this strange new world.


    Granted, my start in here wasn¡¯t exactly a peaceful one and I was this close to being (possibly) turned into a slave over a pair of sandals if anyone ever caught on that I stole them from that barn I woke up in, but other than that the Chief has treated me kindly, so I might reminisce about them from time to time if I ever feel like it.


    For a while we were just sitting in our respective seats, taking in the sights. The man in the cage has been silent, not saying as much as a word ever since we departed.


    ¡¸Are the roads safe to travel?¡¹


    I asked the merchant in an attempt to break the silence which began to get really awkward really fast.


    ¡¸I¡¯m not going to lie, monsters are known to be lurking around Veil and the roads that surround it, but they are being exterminated by the Adventurers and the town¡¯s guards on a regular basis, so we have nothing to worry about.¡¹


    With each passing minute, the world around us was getting more and more bright and the wagon was also slowly gaining speed, rattling and shaking as it did so. Could it be that the roads are in such a bad shape or maybe the wagon itself is at fault here? Or maybe both of those things at once? All around us was a leaf forest, exactly the same as the one near the village where I hunted for Slow Rabbits yesterday. I don¡¯t know if it also goes that deep, but it does not seem to be the case here, or at least that is my guess judging after the trees unimpressive height. Also, because it was just the same generic, repetitive scenery all the time it grew dull on me pretty fast, so much so that staring at those trees began to hurt my eyes, and when you combine it with the constant shaking, you¡¯ll get something that¡¯s more akin to a passive-aggressive torture than anything else. So yeah, we haven¡¯t been on the road for more than half an hour and I could already tell that I was not going to have a jolly good time.


    That being said, I basically had no choice but to grit my teeth and endure it. In an attempt to divert my mind from this uncomfortable feeling I tried to bite into the bread that was among the things the Chief¡¯s wife prepared for me for breakfast, but this endless shaking made it insanely difficult to enjoy even a smallest bite of it in peace. With that attempt ending up in failure, I returned to staring mindlessly into the space around me since I had nothing better or more interesting to do.


    ¡­¡­..


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­


    *Sigh* I¡¯m. So. BORED! Not to mention that if I don¡¯t shift my sitting position from time to time then my butt will start hurting as if it had wooden splinters piercing into it!


    Then a small shadow wandered in front of the wagon. An animal, or maybe some kinda monster?


    ¡¸Oh, a Slow Rabbit. So they are here as well, huh?¡¹


    ¡¸You seem to be very familiar with them already, Michio-sama.¡¹


    ¡¸Well, I did hunt a bunch of them yesterday, so I guess there¡¯s no way for me to mistake them for anything else now.¡¹


    That, of course, was a lot of bullshit on my part. All I did was glance at it and my ¡¸Identify¡¹ skill told me that it was a Slow Rabbit. Probably. The font its name is written in is too small to see it properly from here.


    ¡¸Ah, you were right, Michio-sama! This is indeed just a Slow Rabbit. In that case we have nothing to worry ourselves with. We can continue without slowing down or having to find a way around it.¡¹


    ¡¸If you say so.¡¹


    The wagon approached the Rabbit and then drove past it without attracting its attention at all. If we had more time on our hands I would have liked to get down from the wagon to hunt it, but for the current moment our biggest priority was getting to Veil as soon as possible.


    ¡¸Wow, we really went past it without a hitch.¡¹


    Not that I wasn¡¯t expecting that to happen. If those guys were so passive and weak, then I wonder why everyone back in the village had so many problems with fighting them, to the point of pissing themselves from fear whenever someone mentioned them? Were they so weak, or is it that I¡¯m just too strong as an Adventurer (putting the matter of my OP Durandal aside)? Be that as it may, that obstacle was now behind us. But another one would soon take its place.


    From atop the wagon, I managed to spot a small, spherical shape further down the road. I tried to focus my eyes on it, and ¡¸Identify¡¹ showed that it was a Lv1 Gumi Slime. So it would seem that there are even monsters like that in here. This is much closer to the bestiary from the classic RPG games that I know about than that rabbit earlier.


    ¡¸There¡¯s a Gumi Slime up ahead.¡¹


    ¡¸D-Did you just say G-Gumi Slime?!¡¹


    The merchant pulled the reins and stopped the entire wagon in an instant.


    ¡¸What¡¯s wrong? What happened?¡¹


    ¡¸Gumi Slime is a vicious monster that attacks any people who come near it on sight! Usually it resides only in the depths of the more remote forests, but this one must be on the lookout for prey if it wandered off onto the roads like that. Now that it has crossed our path, we won¡¯t be able to go further. We have to either find a way around it or wait for it to go away.¡¹


    ¡¸We will only waste time if we do that. You stay right here, I¡¯ll go and take care of it.¡¹


    If avoiding it means making needless detours and wasting precious time, it will really be better for me to fight with it. I should be able to manage just fine, especially with my Durandal.


    ¡¸Are you sure about that? It¡¯s one of the strongest monsters in the entire area! It¡¯s threat level is so high that even all of the villagers would be unable to defeat if even if they ganged up on it!¡¹


    Yeah yeah, you said the same about the Slow Rabbit, and we all saw how true those warnings ended up being.


    ¡¸Not to mention that if the Gumi Slime catches you inside it, your body will melt instantly!¡¹


    He explains with an expression of sheer horror written all over his face. Is it really that dangerous? Because I¡¯m doubtful as heck about that.


    If what he says is true, then I should be fine as long as I won¡¯t allow it to catch me. That and I can¡¯t cower away from any Lv1 monster just because someone tells me that it¡¯s dangerous. I won¡¯t be able to achieve anything at all with such a noobish mindset. No pain, no gain, as they said in my old world.


    ¡¸We¡¯ll be fine. You just focus on keeping the wagon going forward. I will handle the rest.¡¹


    I command the merchant in the most confident tone I¡¯m able to muster.


    ¡¸A-As you command, Michio-sama. I shall trust in your judgement.¡¹


    The merchant resumed the wagon¡¯s advance, resuming the sickening clutter and shaking.


    While we¡¯re on the subject of fighting monsters, the Hero¡¯s Job surely must have some Skills I can use, right? If it turns out that I won¡¯t be able to beat it with Durandal, I¡¯d have to try using those. With that in mind, I proceeded to check the Job settings.


    ¡¸Over¡­ whelming?¡¹


    Ugh, the name itself does not tell me anything. The spell has floated into my head, but should I be using it now? And more importantly, can it be used by itself, like any other Skill, or maybe I can only use it with the sword belonging to Teirichi-san?


    ¡¸Michio-sama?¡¹


    ¡¸It¡¯s nothing. Keep going forward.¡¹


    ¡¸As you wish. I just hope that you really know what you¡¯re doing.¡¹


    That makes two of us, man. That makes two of us.

 Volume 1 - CH 2.07

    ¡¾Chapter 2: Veil, Part 7¡¿


    I took the backpack off so that it wouldn¡¯t hinder my movements and pulled Durandal out of its sheath. As an emergency I can always use the Copper Sword at my feet, but hopefully it won¡¯t come to that.


    As the wagon made its way further down the road the Gumi Slime must have finally noticed our presence because it turned towards us and approached with small jumps of its gel-like body.


    ¡¸Okay, stop right here.¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yes!¡¹


    When the wagon lost enough speed, I quickly jumped off of it and ran past the horses towards the Gumi Slime. Holding Durandal with my left hand, I swung it sideways just like I would a baseball bat. It cuts through the slime¡¯s body from the left, makes its way through its insides and then leaves through its right side, but it merged itself right back together. Right, of course. As if the things were ever that simple.


    ¡¸Deliver¡­.. WHOA!!!!¡¹


    Gumi Slime jumped at me just as I was about to chant the spell that would allow me to use Overwhelm Skill. I waited for the last possible moment and then twisted my body to avoid getting caught in its belly. Looks like chanting Skills while fighting is impossible to pull off after all.


    With my next attack I tried cutting him diagonally from above but it jumped to the side just before my blade could reach him, so I dashed after him and repeated the attack just as its body touched the ground, targeting its brain specifically. If gaming logic also applies here, random attacks at its body will only make it put itself together after a second, so the only proper way of dispatching it will be to destroy the brain.


    Durandal¡¯s edge cut through the membrane on the top of its body like it was just a wrapping paper and followed all the way through to its lower parts, spreading it all over the ground like a puddle of water after a rainy day. If my guess was correct, then it should be all over now. Hooray for video game clich¨¦s.


    The remains of the Gumi Slime slowly melt away and turn into the puff of green smoke, indicating that it has been defeated. When the smoke dissipated, a drop item was left on the ground: some kinda white powder. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a Gumi Slime Starch. Ooooookay, I guess? I don¡¯t want to rack my brains over how something like that came to be, so I¡¯ll just pack it into my backpack and go back to the merchant.


    So, from this one encounter there are a few things that I managed to confirm. They are as follows:


    1) I can keep using Durandal to fight against the monsters, but I have to keep in mind that depending on the monster type it might not be able to one-shot them, so I need to take that under consideration.


    2) Casting spells and Skills in the middle of the battle is insanely difficult, if not borderline impossible, so they can probably only be used with a first, preemptive strike. But what if I ever find myself in a pinch that would require me to use them? Looks like I¡¯ll have to practice using them in a fight after all.


    Reflecting on the results of the battle in such a way, I have approached the merchant¡¯s wagon.


    ¡¸I-Is it over already? Did you defeat it?¡¹


    ¡¸Yup, it¡¯s as dead as it can be.¡¹


    ¡¸A-Amazing! Not only did you manage to beat such a terrifying monstrosity by yourself, but in such a short time as well!¡¹


    ¡¸Sure, whatever you say.¡¹


    All I did was whacking it a few times with my Durandal, so I don¡¯t know if that is really something so praiseworthy. On a side note, I don¡¯t even want to think how many times I would have to hit that thing with the Copper Sword to kill it.


    ¡¸Michio-sama, could it be that you are secretly a Mage? Did you use some incredible spell to help you finish the battle in a flash?!¡¹


    Merchant asked me in an excited manner.


    ¡¸Don¡¯t be ridiculous. You clearly saw me fighting this thing with a sword, didn¡¯t you?¡¹


    Part of me wanted to tell him that I am secretly a Sword Mage, but that would be taking things too far.


    ¡¸Oh, right. Now that you mention it, you also took those Bandits from yesterday down by using nothing but your sword.¡¹


    No shit Sherlock. But it¡¯s not that I killed them with just a sword because I chose to do so. It¡¯s more along the lines of me slaying them with a sword because I didn¡¯t know how to use Skills or magic at all. I can bet you that even if my very life depended on it, I¡¯d still be unable to make proper use of them.


    ¡¸Yeah. So that¡¯s that I guess. Any further questions? No? Good.¡¹


    I climbed back on the wagon.


    Magic has to exist in this world. It has to, since it was in the settings when I was creating my character. So I guess there are magicians here, but are they any different from normal humans?


    ¡¸Oh, is that a Slime Starch, by any chance?¡¹


    ¡¸Well, yes. That Gumi Slime left if after I have defeated it.¡¹


    ¡¸How about this then? I will buy it off of you for a special price that you won¡¯t get anywhere else as a commemoration of your incredible achievement. It will certainly benefit you more than keeping it.¡¹


    A merchant gave me a business offer. I will give him my answer, but first I have to make a quick Character Reset to reinvest the 63 Bonus Points I¡¯ve put into Bonus Weapon 6 into increasing the purchase price by 30%. After my Durandal disappeared I closed the Status screen and got back to talking with the merchant. I just hope he won¡¯t find what I just did to be weird enough to start questioning me about it.


    ¡¸Yes, let¡¯s do that.¡¹


    I handed the Slime Starch over to him. Was my Reset done in time? Will I receive that 30% better price?


    ¡¸Thank you very much. To tell you the truth, the Slime Starch is dissolved in water as an ingredient to make alcohol, the so-called Slime Liquor. It¡¯s a beverage that many people tend to enjoy.¡¹


    ¡¸Hoo?¡¹


    ¡¸The normal market price when selling Slime Starch is 40 Nar, but as a special thank you for protecting me and my wagon from harm, I would like to buy it off of you for a special price of ten times that amount, plus an additional 30 % since you are my personal business partner since yesterday. In other words, I want to give you 520 Nar for this Slime Starch, Michio-sama.¡¹


    ¡¸Well, in that case I don¡¯t think there is any need for me to hesitate, is there? I will gladly accept your offer.¡¹


    Ten times more than 40 Nar gives 400 Nar, so that 520 must be after applying those 30% from my Bonus Skills, so for a price of redistributing 63 Bonus Points I will receive 5 silver and 20 copper coins. I placed them in the drawstring bag and placed it in the backpack afterwards.


    ¡¸Is it difficult to become a mage?¡¹


    I asked because I was genuinely curious about that.


    ¡¸I guess you could say that. In order to become a mage you have to eat a special medicine before reaching the age of five, but the only ones who can afford it are nobles and the children of millionaires. Personally I have never saw any mages in these parts for as long as I live.¡¹


    ¡¸Really? Wow.¡¹


    Who knew there was such a ridiculous restriction in order to become a mage? If that¡¯s the case then I guess I won¡¯t be able to become a mage myself, huh? And here I was hoping I could try using some magic since this is a fantasy setting.


    While I was thinking about all those things the wagon continued to go forward at a steady pace, until suddenly the walls of trees came to an end and the walls of the city came into my field of view.


    ¡¸Ohhhh, is that the city of Veil?¡¹


    ¡¸That it is indeed.¡¹


    ¡¸It¡¯s quite big.¡¹


    Is the length of the wall more than one kilometer? The town must really be pretty big. Of course, it is still small when compared to the modern Japanese cities. Nevertheless, building such a wall in a world like this one must have cost a ton, so this city must be quite rich if they managed to build something like that.


    Outside of the walls there were fields spreading all the way into the border with the forest where city residents plowed the earth. The sun was still only about halfway in its journey across the sky, so if we include the time for that battle with the Gumi Slime, the journey from the village to the city took around three hours, so I think I can safely assume that the passage of time is roughly the same here as it is back on earth.

 Volume 1 - CH 2.08

    ¡¾Chapter 2: Veil, Part 8¡¿


    ¡¸I don¡¯t want to sound like I¡¯m bragging, but this city is the best one out of all the ones built in this region.¡¹


    The merchant says.


    Aside from our own, several merchant wagons were gathering near the ramparts, making a queue that was coming and going in and out of the city. The city of Veil had a main gate, but there was no gatekeeper to guard it and no one was conducting any kind of checks or inspections.


    ¡¸Is everyone free to enter the city as they please? There are no restrictions whatsoever?¡¹


    ¡¸But of course. The walls themselves are not high since this is not a castle town and they won¡¯t be able to stop those who posses the Movement Magic or other means of teleportation so everyone just stopped being bothered with such procedures.¡¹


    Movement Magic, huh? So they even have such a thing here? Truly, if this world possesses such methods of travelling then upholding the checks at the gate that pretty much everyone can bypass would really be a futile effort.


    Huh? But then¡­ what is that wall even here for? If a war was to ever break out, I¡¯m sure that the soldiers could be transported magically over it, without any need to come out of the city on their own feet. Also, if there is something as convenient as movement magic here, then why did we waste our time with coming to Veil by a wagon in the first place? And do they have any countermeasures against the monster attacks?


    ¡¸Hoo boi.¡¹


    I had so many things that I wanted to ask about, but for now the best course of action would be to wait until we will get ourselves into the city proper.


    A few minutes later we had passed through the walls and found ourselves in the city.


    ¡¸We will pay a visit to the Slave Merchant first, then we will go to the station of the Knights Order so you could turn the Intelligence Cards in and then we can go to the Weapon and Armor shops so you could buy yourself some new equipment. Is that okay, Michio-sama?¡¹


    ¡¸Sure, no objections here.¡¹


    We proceeded through the town along the wide, cobbled road. The buildings on both sides of it were all well-kept and about four-five storeys in height. For a civilization where goods and building materials are not as easily accessible like in modern day Japan everything looked to be relatively advanced. The streets were busy and filled with lively, energetic people, but not to the point where you could call this entire place chaotic. Quite the opposite, actually. All in all, this place seemed like a good town.


    I activated my Identify Skill out of curiosity and saw that the people who were walking past us were a mixture of various professions, like villagers, farmers, peddlers and even warriors. To think that such a menagerie could actually coexist in peace.


    ¡¸If you keep going straight along this main road you¡¯ll reach the city¡¯s center, but for now we¡¯re going to take a right here.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay.¡¹


    And the wagon turned right at the nearest intersection.


    ¡¸A fair word of warning: the neighborhood where the Slave Merchant is located is a place where it¡¯s best to be on guard at all times if you don¡¯t want to wind up involved in some¡­ shady situations. There are also brothels and sex shops nearby, but I wouldn¡¯t recommend using their services if this is your first time in a city like that. Besides, and don¡¯t take it the wrong way Michio-sama, but you look a little bit too young to be partaking of the services offered by the prostitutes.¡¹


    And he looked at me like I was some kinda kid who needs to be babysat at all times.


    ¡¸I¡¯ll be sure to take that under advisement.¡¹


    He probably thought I didn¡¯t even know what a prostitute was. Haha, joke¡¯s on you asshole, because I know very well what a prostitute is and exactly what kind of services they tend to provide. Granted, I have never visited any brothel and used said services, but I saw many movies pertaining to the subject, so I have all the theoretical knowledge I might need, so maybe, just maybe the time for me to get rid of my useless V-Card and enter the forbidden, dazzling world of adult, sensual fun.


    After all, since this is a medieval setting, then the demand for the prostitutes must be quite high and there are bound to be a lot of them. However, with the poor security around the walls and the unrestricted entry to town it is possible that most of them will either be nestled near the slums or they are going to be controlled by gangs or other criminals, just like in my own world.


    This matter will also need to be investigated in more detail. I mean, it¡¯s a standard procedure, right? In order to get to know the potential dangers of this new, strange world it would be best to experience and clarify them for myself after conducting an exhausting, complex research. Yeah, right, let¡¯s go with that argument. Huh? What¡¯s with that disgusted look like I was a sentient piece of unburnable trash?! This is a survey! A scientific practical survey of another world and the dangers that might lurk in it! Moreover, I have to conduct it personally in order to achieve the best possible results! I can¡¯t just rely on somebody else¡¯s (in this particular case, the merchant¡¯s) words because that someone might be biased against that particular profession, rendering his opinion useless from the scientific standpoint. That is why I am going to JUST DO IT! I WILL MAKE! MY DREAMS! COME TRUE!


    As soon as we turned right from the main road, the wagon stopped at the second house. Could this be the Slave Merchant¡¯s dwelling? It sure looks like an ordinary, red-bricked, three story house to me.


    ¡¸Good morning and welcome. How can we be of service?¡¹


    When the wagon came to a halt, a young man jumped out of the doorway almost immediately. A quick Identify revealed that he was a Lv3 Merchant. If his level is so low, then this must mean that he is still just an apprentice.


    ¡¸I¡¯m here to drop off the criminal who has dared to commit a crime of stealing from a hero. Check the cage at the back of the wagon if you would.¡¹


    Going with the merchant¡¯s instructions, the Slave Merchant¡¯s Apprentice did as he was told and removed the sheet that the cage at the back of the wagon was covered with. After that he examined the caged man for a bit and then said:


    ¡¸Very well. Please follow me inside the store.¡¹


    And we followed after him.


    ¡¸Since I told him you¡¯re a hero, we¡¯re bound to receive a good price for that slave.¡¹


    Merchant whispered that to me so that the apprentice couldn¡¯t hear us. Well of course we¡¯re going to get a good price. I mean, I have my 30% Better Prices Skill on and everything, so that is the only result we should be expecting.


    ¡¸The master will be here shortly. In the meantime, may I ask for the document of ownership necessary for the purchase?¡¹


    ¡¸But of course. Here you go. And here¡¯s a copy for you, Michio-sama.¡¹


    The merchant¡­ I¡¯m going to call him Picker-san from now on, it will be easier that way. Picker-san produced two documents and handed one of them off to me.


    ¡¸And this is?¡¹


    ¡¸An official Deed of Slave Ownership signed by the Village Chief.¡¹


    Oh, so I even get to have written confirmation of me having a slave, huh? That¡¯s neat, but also a little disturbing at the same time. I continued to look at it while we were guided to one of the rooms at the back of the shop, clearly meant for taking guests in.


    Soon after we made ourselves comfortable on the large leather sofa, a man appeared before us. He looked to me in his forties and Identify revealed that he was a Slave Merchant. In other words, he was the owner of this whole establishment. His level, 44, was also the highest I have ever seen since I came to this world. Or could it be that this village where I spawned was a literal stick in the mud in the middle of nowhere?


    ¡¸I am Alan, the owner of this shop.¡¹


    ¡¸Michio. Kaga Michio.¡¹


    ¡¸And I¡¯m Picker, a Merchant from the village of Somara. Pleased to make your acquaintance.¡¹


    ¡¸The pleasure is all mine.¡¹


    We stood up, greeted each other and sat down again. But damn, this sofa is really comfortable. Could it be that this Alan guy could afford to buy such a luxurious item because of how much money he was earning from the slave trading business?


    ¡¸The main gate looked to be quite lively. Did something happen?¡¹


    Picker-san began with a little small talk.


    ¡¸So I take it that the two of you don¡¯t know yet?¡¹


    ¡¸Don¡¯t know what?¡¹


    He glanced at us and revealed some curious information.


    ¡¸A Labyrinth was found two days ago.¡¹

 Volume 1 - CH 2.09

    ¡¸A Labyrinth you say? That is definitely a most curious bit of information.¡¹


    Ah, a Labyrinth, huh? Cool, that¡¯s very neato, especially since I can¡¯t remember if the setting I chose for my game was the one that had both open world and dungeons or only one of the two. But since they mentioned that it had been discovered only two days ago then this must mean that it is a setting with both of them after all. I guess for now I¡¯ll just sit here quietly and gather as much information out of their conversation as I possibly can.


    ¡¸Did you encounter any monsters outside of the town?¡¹


    ¡¸Not strictly outside of Veil, but we did run into two of them in a rather short amount of time.¡¹


    ¡¸Twice, huh? Then maybe that means that the activity of other Labyrinths and monsters outside of them will also start to increase? Hmm¡­ which monsters did you encounter?¡¹


    ¡¸First it was a Slow Rabbit, but the second one was a Gumi Slime!¡¹


    ¡¸I see. That must have been pretty rough on you, huh?¡¹


    Alan the Slave Merchant asked Picker-san with a tinge of honest worry in his voice.


    ¡¸It would have been if I was alone. But thankfully Michio-sama, this upstanding young man here, happened to be travelling here with me today and he took care of that wretched monstrosity before I even had the chance to blink!¡¹


    ¡¸This young man took such a monster down alone? I don¡¯t want to be rude, but he certainly does not look like the fighting type to me.¡¹


    ¡¸I thought so too when I first met him, but yesterday he also helped to defeat a Bandit party that tried to raid the village where I usually do business and he defeated the most of them all the while saving the lives of the villagers and the village¡¯s chief, so he has proven himself to me more than enough.¡¹


    Man, it felt incredibly good to be praised this much, but it was also making me super uncomfortable since I am not used to being complemented at all! Also, was that Gumi Slime really that strong? Or maybe it really was, but I just couldn¡¯t notice it because I fought it with Durandal and defeated it in three attacks? Anyway, it would be best to change the subject as soon as possible or else my poor heart might not be able to handle all those praises!


    ¡¸Y-You know, that man would have probably tried to steal that equipment regardless of me being there or not. Not to mention that I just happened to be in the village by sheer coincidence.¡¹


    ¡¸That may be so, but it does not change the fact that it was you, not anyone else who helped the village, Michio-sama, and that he tried to steal a part of the equipment that was your part of the spoils of battle. I see that you are uncomfortable with him being your slave, but trust me, this is for the better.¡¹


    ¡¸I agree with him. Now, may I have a look at that Deed of Ownership?¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, yes, of course. Here you go.¡¹


    I gave my document to the Slave Merchant.


    ¡¸Are there any changes to the usual deal that I should know about?¡¹


    ¡¸I wish to relay half of the selling price to Michio-sama.¡¹


    Picker-san explained to the slave Merchant as he was reading through the Slave¡¯s Deed of Ownership.


    ¡¸Certainly. I see no problems with that.¡¹


    ¡¸If I may ask, how much is that going to be?¡¹


    ¡¸It has been confirmed that the man you wish to sell is in good health and should have no trouble with performing manual labor, so I think that I¡¯m going to offer you the usual price of 30,000 Nar.¡¹


    I don¡¯t know if that is a high price or low because I don¡¯t know the inner workings of the slave market, so I just looked at Picker-san. He nodded his head lightly.


    ¡¸I see. This is indeed a good price.¡¹


    ¡¸I¡¯m glad we are on the same page here.¡¹


    ¡¸Then as I said before, I¡¯ll have half of that sum paid to Michio-sama.¡¹


    Looks like my Skill that should give me a 30% increased price did not work this time. Maybe it¡¯s because of my current Job settings? Or perhaps the fact that the transaction wasn¡¯t made with me directly?


    ¡¸Is this your first time using the slave selling services, young man?¡¹


    Alan the Slave Merchant asked me directly.


    ¡¸Yes. This is my first time coming to this city after all.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. Are you an Adventurer? Or do you plan to become one in the near future?¡¹


    Eh? Why did he ask such a thing? Could it be that my face looks like that of an Adventurer? Yeah right. What kind of an Adventurer wanders around random villages repelling Bandit attacks and stealing Sandals from old barns, am I right?


    ¡¸I am not an Adventurer just yet, but I do plan to join their Guild in the near future.¡¹


    ¡¸So can I assume that you will also be interested in buying yourself more slaves in this near future?¡¹


    Wait a minute. What did that guy say just now?


    ¡¸Like, uhm¡­ are there¡­. Well¡­. Are there many Adventurers who buy themselves slaves?¡¹


    I finally managed to connect my words into a relatively normal sentence.


    ¡¸Of course there are. More than you think, actually.¡¹


    Buying myself a slave, huh? I never even though of such a possibility, probably because in modern times slavery have been long since abolished and no one would even think of going back to those dark times. But this world is vastly different from my own. There are slaves here. Moreover, slavery seems to be a booming branch of business. And if slaves can be sold in exchange for the hefty amounts of money, then of course the opposite should also be possible. But if that¡¯s the case¡­


    Would it be possible for me to buy myself a female slave?


    Having¡­. *Huff¡­ Huff!* a beautiful girl as my slave¡­.


    The one I could order around¡­ and do whatever I wished with her¡­ haha, hahahahahahaha¡­.


    ¡¸If you don¡¯t mind me asking, why are you acting as if it was your first time hearing about all this? This is supposed to be common knowledge, one of the cornerstones of this world that every citizen, regardless of their social standing, should know about.¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, about that¡­ you see, I apologize for asking such obvious questions, but for the most of my life I was living with my master deep in the mountains where we trained together and we were only visiting civilized places in order to restock on food and necessary supplies, so I¡¯m afraid that I might not possess any kind of ¡¸common sense¡¹ that you all have. Sorry.¡¹


    I went for the first excuse that came into my mind. My logic was that if I spent all my life up to this point training in the mountains with no access to civilization whatsoever, it would perfectly explain my lack of knowledge as well as my supposed prowess in battle. The biggest question here is whether or not they are going to fall for it. Besides¡­


    My strength comes from me having Durandal as my weapon, nothing else.


    ¡¸Ah, now that I look at you, you do seem to be rather young, or rather like you just barely entered adulthood. I see, now I get it. You must have had it pretty rough, living a life like that, huh? In that case, do you want to go and see the Labyrinth near this city with your own eyes?¡¹


    ¡¸I have never been to one before, so that might indeed be a good experience for me. If it is not a problem of course.¡¹


    If they really have dungeons in this world, then exploring them might be a good idea. Just like every man feels like it is his duty to stick his¡­ finger into a hole when he sees one, I feel like every aspiring Adventurer should go to the dungeon. Especially if there is a possibility of finding rare treasures or obtaining more levels in a much faster manner.


    ¡¸Then I will explain it in more detail once you finish going about your business here in town. How does that sound?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course. Sorry for making you go out of your way like that.¡¹


    ¡¸Not at all. Anything if it means obtaining another prosperous client.¡¹


    I feel like we might have achieved more than simply selling a slave at a good price here. The Slave Merchant left the room for a minute and then returned with the money.


    ¡¸This is the half price of 15,000 Nar, as agreed.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you very much.¡¹


    Picker-san received the money gratefully. It was one gold coin and a crap-load of silver coins. So one gold coin is equal to 10,000 copper coins?


    ¡¸And for our newest customer here a sum of 19,500 Nar as a special bonus and encouragement to continue doing business with us. We look forward to any future transactions you¡¯ll be willing to make.¡¹


    So this time my Bonus Skill worked properly. That¡¯s good to know, but I am not really fond of the idea of making more people my slaves. This time was an exception, but the prospect of actively ruining someone¡¯s life like that is not particularly appealing to me. Buying slaves (female ones that is) might still be an option, but male ones are an absolute no-go.


    ¡¸We look forward to doing business with you, Michio-sama. Have a nice day.¡¹


    Looks like he has already remembered my name. Great, now I have no choice but to come here again. Ah well, maybe he¡¯ll tell me more about the Labyrinth, so I guess there¡¯d be no harm in that.

 Volume 1 - CH 2.10

    After our business there was done, Picker-san and I left the Slave Shop and got on the wagon again.


    That latest transaction added a lot more coins to my drawstring bag, and all that just from the 30% better prices. I repeatedly glanced at Picker-san, but he didn¡¯t seem to mind at all that I obtained more money than him for such a bizarre reason. The Slave Merchant said it was a gift to encourage more transactions in the future, but that was exactly the thing that I was the most skeptical about.


    ¡¸I have accepted the money, so I guess there¡¯s no backing out now, huh?¡¹


    But both my mind and my heart were telling me that getting any deeper into that slave business was a bad idea. I mean, in my time slavery has been abolished in its entirety and even thinking about buying one could be considered a serious crime! But this world seems to have its ethics code taken straight from the Middle Ages, so I guess to them buying and selling slaves is no different than buying things at your local grocery store. I know I myself said that I should get used to living in this new world as soon as possible, but that didn¡¯t change the fact that doing something I was taught was wrong to its very core still made me feel uncomfortable.


    After returning to the main road, we proceeded down to the city¡¯s center.


    ¡¸It¡¯s so lively in here.¡¹


    There were various stalls on both sides of the road selling various items: food, clothing, etc. and people were gathering near every one of them in large groups. A few of them even had people who looked like priests and street cooks. I couldn¡¯t help but to think on how many of those people are your ordinary citizens and how many of them were actually Adventurers.


    ¡¸The building over there is where the Order of Knights is located.¡¹


    Picker-san pointed towards a certain building placed at what looked to be the city¡¯s central plaza. It was a tall brick building with a bell tower. Apparently that was our next stop. When we parked the wagon outside of it, a young-looking knight came up to greet us. Identify told me that he was a Lv4 Knight, so since his level is so low then that must mean that he is still technically a squire, right?


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X. Michio-sama, please give me the Bandits Intelligence Cards, would you?¡¹


    Picker-san asked me as he held out his hand.


    ¡¸Oh, right.¡¹


    For a moment I completely forgot that our only goal in coming here was to exchange the Bandit¡¯s Intelligence Cards for¡­ presumably money? I took the backpack off my shoulders, opened the drawstring bag, took the Intelligence Cards from it and handed them over to the knight while Picker-san did the same. The two ones he handed over are from the two Bandits that the villagers managed to defeat.  I wonder if he¡¯ll be able to see something that I wasn¡¯t able to see on them. I mean, I already tried looking at those Cards earlier to see if they had any information about a possible bounty on their heads, but ultimately I found nothing of the sort.


    [I will now check your Intelligence Cards as well.] [Please do.]


    The merchant held his left hand up and brought it backside up to the Knight¡¯s face.


    ¡¸Investigate the will of the flowing spirit, the wisdom of Intellect: Intelligence Card, open!¡¹


    He chanted a short spell, after which the letters appeared in the air above the Intelligence Cards. So he¡¯s going to check our personal information as well, huh?


    This is bad. Now he¡¯s probably going to check my Intelligence Card as well! But do I even have one of those?! And what am I going to do if it turns out that I do not?!


    He looked at the merchant¡¯s Card for a while and then he nodded his head and handed the Cards back to Picker-san who nodded back at him, and then he turned his gaze onto me. Well, here goes nothing. Without much of a choice I stood before the Knight and raised my left hand towards the Knight¡¯s face, imitating Picker-san¡¯s movements as closely as possible.


    ¡¸Is this okay? Did I do it right? Will that do?¡¹


    ¡¸Investigate the will of the flowing spirit, the wisdom of Intellect: Intelligence Card, open!¡¹


    My heart was pounding like crazy the entire time he was chanting the spell, but much to my relief, the Card popped out of my left hand just like it did when the merchant was doing it earlier. That¡¯s one bullet dodged, but I still felt somewhat anxious when the knight began to scan the Card with his eyes. What is going to happen now? Is everything going to be okay?


    ¡¸And¡­ how is it? Is something wrong?¡¹


    I asked the knight when he was staying silent for a good while now. I am afraid of that silence.


    ¡¸You have a last name? Are you a Freeman?¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yes?¡¹


    I think I just shit myself a little.


    ¡¸Very well. Please, come with me.¡¹


    Looks like I managed to pass for now.


    The knight entered the building and went to one of the rooms that looked like an office and we obediently followed after him. While we were doing that, I had a look at my own Intelligence Card.


    <Kaga Michio: 17, Male, Villager, Freeman>


    All of the information about me were written neatly with kanji. Are kanji the official writing in this world? Also, maybe having a last name was a rare thing here? Not to mention that it was my first time hearing that I was a Freeman. Are the Freemen different from normal people here? Maybe they are someone who the nobles dislike?


    ¡¸So, what was that all about?¡¹


    ¡¸He was checking whether you had one of the criminal Jobs or not. If you had, then you wouldn¡¯t be able to collect the Bounty, since they canoot be handed over to criminals.¡¹


    Those words made the world around me freeze in place. I have a THIEF JOB!!!!! But the Job that was listed on my Intelligence Card was a Villager, so that would mean that only the First Job is visible to other people checking your Intelligence Card. Having Villager as my first Job was a little lame, but now I am happy to have it. That way, I will be able to avoid any unnecessary clashes with the law!


    ¡¸I-Is that so?¡¹


    That was all I could say before I heaved a heavy sigh.


    I tried pulling the Card off my hand, but no matter how hard I tried to do so it just refused to leave. I pushed it back into my hand, grabbed the tip sticking out of it and pulled gently, causing it to retract back. Even though it was sliding in and out of myown flesh, I didn¡¯t feel any kind of discomfort. So mysterious.


    ¡¸We will check the Bandit Intelligence Cards inside. I¡¯ll be back with the results shortly, so please wait here.¡¹


    Taking advantage of that brief moment of waiting , I asked Picker-san:


    ¡¸A question: how do you extract the Intelligence Cards in ways other than the owner willingly showing them to you? ¡¹


    ¡¸When a person is killed, their Intelligence Card is going to be ejected approximately 30 minutes after death.¡¹


    Picker-san explained matter-of-factly. So what I can understand from it is that you cannot get your hands on Intelligence Cards or steal them if the one bearing it is still alive.


    A short wait later, a beautiful female knight came out of one of the offices. Identify revealed that she must have been one of the big shots in here, because she had a noble-sounding name and her level was much higher than that of the guy who was in here with us. She was a beautiful lady with a tight-looking body that even the armor could not hide, even though her chest was medium in size at best. She had her flax-colored hair tied in a cute ponytail, but I bet that if she let them down they would reach all the way to her slim waist.


    ¡¸Are you the one who defeated the Bandits that raided the Somara village yesterday?¡¹


    And she directed her sharp, piercing gaze straight towards me.


    ¡¸Y-Yes, that¡¯s right.¡¹


    ¡¸That was a band of brigands who had their base of operation in the slums of this town. We are currently in the middle of the operation to root them out, but some of them managed to flee from the city before we could bring them all to justice with our steel. Am I correct to guess that you¡¯ve been paid for the two of them, but not for the rest?¡¹


    Miss Beautiful female Knight glanced at Picker-san.


    ¡¸Yes Ma¡¯am, that is correct.¡¹


    She then looked at the knight who led us here as if she saw something filthy stuck to her shoe, sighted deeply and snapped her fingers. Not 10 seconds after another Lv4 Knight came running to her with a white leather bag in his hands.


    ¡¸This is the prize money for the Bandits. Take it.¡¹


    And she threw the bag at me.


    ¡¸Uwah!¡¹


    That was sudden, but thankfully I managed to grab it before it hit the ground. Wasn¡¯t that kind of a dick move?!


    ¡¸There, you have your money. Now if that¡¯s all then I suggest you to go away quickly if you don¡¯t want to cause any more trouble.¡¹


    And she left without saying anything else to us.


    Eh? That¡¯s it? Just like that? Nonono, at least this once let me behave like a proper human being!


    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry for the trouble! And thank you very much!¡¹


    She stopped for a second and glanced at me, but said no other words besides that. Huh? What¡¯s going on? Has my sincerity not reached her? Did I mess up again? She didn¡¯t say anything. No words of thanks, or not even an explanation on how the village could be under Bandit attack even with all the knights in the city?


    ¡¸Don¡¯t beat yourself up over it, Michio-sama. A majority of the knights come from the noble families, and they always tend to look down on us commoners.¡¹


    Picker-san says that as we make our way back to the wagon.


    I know that. I understand that much.


    But I still think that¡¯s wrong.


    Why is it that the only ones who can get along with beautiful girls are hot-looking fuckbois from high society?! I thought that something would change once I decided to leave my old world behind, but apparently my luck has not turned for the better at all.

 Volume 1 - CH 2.11

    ¡¸*Sigh* So, where are we going next? Weapon & Armor shops?¡¹


    I asked Picker-san in a tired voice.


    ¡¸That¡¯s right.¡¹


    And the wagon resumed its travel along the paved road.


    As for the prize money from the bandit¡¯s Intelligence Cards, I have put it into the drawstring bag in my backpack, just like everything else. I wonder if my Skill also worked on it? If it really works on the basis that the money had to be handed to me directly then I guess it probably did work, so I guess that whole mess of a situation at the guardhouse was all in all worth the trouble, since now I should have quite a sum of money to purchase everything else that I¡¯m going to need. At least one thing worked as intended here.


    The weapon and armor shop was located just a short distance from the central plaza, so we didn¡¯t have to travel far to get there. When we entered, the first thing I saw was a greatsword in a huge display case in the middle of the shop. Identifying it revealed that it was a Steel Greatsword with 3 Skills, which made me think that it could be a pretty decent weapon. When we initially entered the shop there was no one behind the counter, but when the bell above the door rang, a man soon appeared from the shop¡¯s depths. He was a Lv11 Weapon¡¯s Merchant. So apparently this world can have many separate Jobs even when it comes to merchants and salesmen, not lumping them all under a single category.


    ¡¸Welcome to my fine establishment. How can I be of service?¡¹


    ¡¸We would like to sell some equipment.¡¹


    Picker-san said and proceeded to present the Weapons Merchant with all of the equipment that was at the back of the wagon.


    ¡¸Hmm, let¡¯s see now¡­ Souls dwelling in weapons, release your power! Weapon Appraisal!¡¹


    Weapon Merchant chanted the spell and began examining the Copper Sword.


    *BA-THUMP BA-THUMP!* *BA-THUMP BA-THUMP!*


    Uwaah, for some reason having the weapons appraised like that made me just as nervous as when that Knight from earlier was checking my Intelligence Cards. But on the bright side, appraisal of weapons should go a lot smoother than that previous endeavor and it shouldn¡¯t end with a nerve-wracking emotional roller-coaster, or at least I hope so with my whole heart. Also, if there are spells to examine Intelligence Cards and weapons specifically, then could it be that there are also spells meant for identifying Bonus Skills?


    ¡¸How is it?¡¹


    ¡¸How many of those do you have?¡¹


    ¡¸Copper Swords? 18 of them in total.¡¹


    ¡¸Then I will buy them off of you for 250 Nar per piece.¡¹


    That was the Weapon Merchant¡¯s offer. Picker-san closed his eyes and nodded lightly, and I can totally see why. That¡¯s going to be quite a nice sum, even if it has to be distributed among the villagers in the end.


    ¡¸Very well.¡¹


    ¡¸Next, that Iron Sword. I can buy it for 1000 Nar.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh really?¡¹


    ¡¸And then¡­¡¹


    He picks up the Flame Rapier and looks at it for quite a while.


    ¡¸What¡¯s it going to be?¡¹


    ¡¸This weapon, the Flame Rapier, I see it has a Skill on it. In that case I¡¯m willing to pay 18,000 Nar for it.¡¹


    I kinda expected the numbers to be different for a weapon that has a Skill on it, but for it to be that much?! I looked at Picker-san and he seemed to be just as surprised as I was, but nevertheless he nodded in acceptance once again.


    ¡¸I am content with that amount.¡¹


    ¡¸And 500 Nar for that Scimitar.¡¹


    He says so after barely glancing at the Curved Sword that was among the weapons we intended to sell.


    ¡¸Is this a price that include the Skill Slots?¡¹


    ¡¸With all due respect, Mr. Customer, please don¡¯t try to be smart with me. This weapon has no Skills in it, so I can only offer the usual price for it.¡¹


    That¡¯s what he said. So you want to tell me that even as the Weapons Merchant he is not aware of the existence of the Skill Slots?


    ¡¸No no, of course it doesn¡¯t have any Skills, I¡¯m not going to argue with that. By the way, what price would this sword here fetch?¡¹


    I handed the Copper Sword from my waist to the Weapons Merchant. It was the one with the empty Skill Slots that I obtained from killing the Bandits.


    ¡¸Souls dwelling in weapons, release your power! Weapon Appraisal! This is just an ordinary Copper Sword. 250 Nar and not a single Nar more.¡¹


    I didn¡¯t like how this asshole emphasized the word ¡¸just¡¹. That Copper Sword is not the same as the other ones, because it has empty Skill Slots. As I thought, this guy simply cannot see them for some reason. Okay, that¡¯s fine, I just confirmed that Skill Slots don¡¯t have any impact on the item¡¯s price at all. All that matters are the Skills themselves.


    ¡¸All right. We¡¯ll sell the Scimitar along with the other swords.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you very much. Since it¡¯s such a large transaction, I¡¯m going to give you a special offer and accept all of them for a total of 35,550 Nar. How about that?¡¹


    Is that the effect of my Bonus Skill? But this time the transaction wasn¡¯t made directly with me, so it shouldn¡¯t activate. Argh, I honestly don¡¯t know what is going on anymore!


    ¡¸Do we have ourselves a deal?¡¹


    ¡¸I believe we do.¡¹


    ¡¸Very well. Please wait a minute while I get the money.¡¹


    The Weapon Merchant went to the back of the building again and returned with the money shortly. He had three gold coins, five silver coins and an assload of copper coins. I took my share of the coins without even counting them because at this point it is just too troublesome.


    ¡¸Thank you very much for your patronage.¡¹


    ¡¸Pleasure doing business with you.¡¹


    I put all of my coins in the bowstring back and gave Picker-san the two gold coins.


    ¡¸Those two coins are the entire village¡¯s share, right?¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s right, Michio-sama.¡¹


    ¡¸I gotta say, this is quite a lot for that number of items.¡¹


    We managed to sell all of our Copper Swords, Iron Sword, Flame Rapier and two Scimitars for a total of 20,000 Nar.


    ¡¸Right? Even I¡¯m surprised we managed to sell all of them for so much. I guess luck is on our side today.¡¹


    Yeah, right, luck. And the name of that luck is my 30% Increased Prices Bonus Skill. Go ahead, thank me, praise me for it!


    ¡­¡­ what? A man can dream, right?


    Next shop we stopped by was the Armor Shop.


    ¡¸Since the Bandits who attacked the village didn¡¯t wear any armor we have nothing to sell here, but if you want to become a proper Adventurer it is a purchase we just can¡¯t neglect, Michio-sama. Don¡¯t worry about the price and just pick whatever will best suit your needs. If it¡¯ll be necessary I will lend you some of my personal funds.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you for the offer, but I don¡¯t think going that far is going to be necessary¡­¡¹


    ¡¸No no no, this is once again to express my thanks to you for saving the village. If you hadn¡¯t shown up, it is quite possible that as one of the wealthiest villagers I would have been killed and had my goods and savings robbed. It is no exaggeration to say that I probably will never be able to fully repay you for what you did yesterday, so allow me to do whatever I can, when I can.¡¹


    You say that, but such gratitude from a guy is kinda gay in my book. Then again, at the very least you thanked me. Teirichi-san, on the other hand, did not visit me during the night to thank me with her body.


    We parked near the shop and went inside the shop, browsing through all the different pieces of armor before we decided that the best fit for me is going to be a Leather Breastplate and a pair of Leather Shoes and we called the shopkeeper.


    ¡¸Welcome, welcome, oh esteemed customers! How can I be of service?¡¹


    I glanced at him with Identify and confirmed that he was The Armor Merchant. Man, they are really going all out with how many Jobs this World has. Could it be that every merchant has his own Job depending on what he is selling? Because if that really is so then the possibilities are literally limitless!


    ¡¸Yeah, we would like to buy this Leather Breastplate and these Leather Shoes and also sell this Bandana here.¡¹


    ¡¸Souls dwelling in armor, become an unbreakable wall! Armor Appraisal!¡¹


    Armor Merchant took the Bandit Bandana I presented him and appraised it with his spell. I would very much prefer if they did it normally without using magic, but if the appraisal can only be done in such a way then I guess there¡¯s no helping it. While we¡¯re on the subject of magic, I wonder if everyone can use every appraisal spell, or is it limited in such a way that Weapon Merchants can only appraise weapons and Armor Merchants can only appraise armor?


    ¡¸So? How much for it?¡¹


    ¡¸First things first: what the hell is this?¡¹


    Armor Merchant lifts the bandit Bandana and waves it in front of my face. Is he also going to suspect me of something shady just because I had an item which had the word Bandit in its name?!


    ¡¸A Bandit Bandana. What of it?¡¹


    There is no sense in trying to fool him so I just gave him the name of the item without even trying to hide it.


    ¡¸Oh, so you do realize what this is? Then again, you look surprised so allow me to give you a free lecture, kid: This is a Bandit equipment. It raises the physical abilities of its wearer, but only if he or she has a Bandit, Thief, or any Job that is connected to being an outlaw. Bandits could pay you up to 10,000 or maybe even 20,000 Nar for it, but since this is a normal store, I¡¯m afraid I cannot accept this.¡¹


    So it¡¯s only useful for Bandits and the like? All right then, since he won¡¯t even touch it let¡¯s just leave it at that then.


    ¡¸Okay, just forget about it and let¡¯s do business with something else.¡¹


    I put the Bandit Bandana away and continued to sell the other goods to him.


    Well, I have a Thief Job, so technically Bandit Bandana should be of use to me. I¡¯ll have to test it if the opportunity to do so ever presents itself. But for now all I can say is that buying and selling things in this world appears to be needlessly complicated, so if I want to make my life easier in the future I need to make a mental note to limit such escapades as much as possible or else my poor Japanese heart won¡¯t last long.

 Volume 1 - CH 3.1

    Chapter 3: Roxanne


    Player Name: Kaga Michio


    Character Information & Equipment:


    Class: Villager Lv.3,  Hero Lv.1, Thief Lv.3


    Accessory: Ring of Determination, Sandals


    Successfully selling all the stuff to the merchants meant that I have succeeded in doing everything that I¡¯ve set out to do in the town of Veil. This means that as of this moment, I am free.


    When that thought occurred to me, I felt both happy and somewhat empty inside. Sure, I can do whatever I want without anyone bossing me around and telling me what to do, but now that Picker-san and I went our separate ways, there was no one here who knew me.


    The reality that I was now alone in this foreign world hit me like a truck-kun hits a protagonist in an Isekai-story. That thought alone almost made me have an anxiety attack, until I remembered that I was technically not alone after all. That¡¯s right, there is one more person whom I got acquainted with very recently, like, not even two hours ago.


    The Slave Merchant! He must be waiting for me to get back to him so he can relay the information about that so-called ¡¸Labyrinth¡¹ to me! Since he offered to give me that information himself without me pestering him about that, it would be really dickish of me not to go and hear what he has to say, right? But first¡­


    I went into the shadows of the alleyways behind the Armor Shop with my new equipment in tow. I decided that it would probably be best if I wore the Leather Armor over my jersey for some extra protection, but I placed the Leather Shoes and Bandit¡¯s Bandana back into the backpack. That bandana is different from the ordinary ones, so there is always a possibility that those in the know will recognize it right away, so if I wear it in public, I might end up being mistook for an actual bandit, and that is the last thing I want to be dealing with. Finally, I had the Copper Sword on my back and two Scimitars at my waist. That is the closest to being a samurai as I can possibly get at the current moment.


    I made sure that no one was walking near me or looking at me and opened the bag with the prize money. It contained a total of 16 gold coins and a lot of silver coins, meaning that the total prize was more than 160,000 Nar! It¡¯s great that I have so much money now, but the sheer amount of coins weighing down my string bag began to feel like a great inconvenience. For someone like me, who is used to using the 5 or 10 yen coins, suddenly switching to the currency of this world which seems to be going up every 100 coins might require some getting used to. Also, if I remember correctly, the Village Chief gave me 15 gold coins total just before we departed from the village. I don¡¯t know if they are of the same exact value, but it should be almost as much as the prize money for those defeated Bandits. All right, time for some quick math!


    15 gold coins from the Chief plus 16 gold coins from the bounty for the Bandits plus the two gold coins from all the shopping and selling I¡¯ve done with Picker-san¡­ so it should be 33 gold coins in total. In addition, I also have a lot of silver and copper coins. Since the gold ones are the ones that are worth the most, I¡¯ll put only those into the drawstring bag, and then put it at the very bottom of the backpack in order not to lose them. Okay, now I should be ready to move on.


    I left the back alleyways and returned to the city¡¯s main street, which was still as busy as it was when we came here. Taking a closer look at the stalls, I noticed that aside from humans, non-human races were apparently also present here, and in surprisingly large variety. Tall, short, covered with fur, scales, even those with sharp ears¡­   sharp ears? Elves! So there are even elves in this world?! And wow, there are many more female ones than males, and¡­ and¡­ and OH MY GOD they are even prettier than the ones depicted in mangas, anime and books from my own world!


    Now then, simply staring at the female shopkeepers like some kinda pervert would probably get me in trouble with the authorities, therefore the best course of action will be pretending that I am interested in buying the products they are offering and have a gander at them during that window shopping.


    One of them was especially beautiful and had nicely shaped big breasts, so I spent the most time at her jewelry stand. Now, I know for a fact that when it comes to age elven looks can be very deceiving, so I tried checking her out with Identify, and the result is¡­  Age: 37? Shouldn¡¯t it be like, 370 or something, since she¡¯s an elf and all? I mean okay, as long as she looks like she just passed her twenties (in other words: perfectly smashable) I¡¯m fine with that. Oh and by the way, when I tried to Identify myself to see if it would display my age, it only showed my name and gender.


    After a short walk I came back to the Slave Merchant¡¯s shop, to which customers were coming and going as if they were out buying groceries. Welp, I get this is a world totally different from mine, but honestly, I expected at least one person to act suspiciously or nervously look around as if they have stolen something. Am I the strange one here, or are all those people not right in the head? Probably it¡¯s the former. Also on a side note: while I was walking around the stalls ogling the nicely looking ladies I tried to listen in on the other people¡¯s conversations in hope of gaining information about the typical slave¡¯s market price, but that plan went out the window pretty fast because most of them weren¡¯t speaking in Brahim, so I simply couldn¡¯t understand a word they were saying.


    ¡¸Hello? Is now a good time? Am I not bothering you?¡¹


    I asked after I finally mustered enough courage to go inside the shop.


    ¡¸Ah, the young lad from before. By all means, do come in.¡¹


    The one to greet me was the same apprentice as before.


    ¡¸Is Mister Alan here? I would like to talk with him about the matter we discussed earlier.¡¹


    ¡¸Certainly. Come and have a seat while I go fetch master for you. He¡¯ll see to you in a moment.¡¹


    I was shown to the room next to the entrance to the shop, not the one in the back. Could it be that this Alan guy has different rooms for different ¡°business¡± purposes? Am I going to be treated like an official customer now?


    This room was literally littered with expensive-looking furniture, complete with fluffy carpets, leather sofas, paintings on every wall and a big table and a pair of chairs made from what looked to be a dark oak. This must be a customer reception or something along those lines.


    ¡¸Welcome back to my fine establishment, Michio-sama! I have been waiting for you.¡¹


    The owner, Alan, came to me right away. I haven¡¯t even sat yet.


    ¡¸Y-Yeah, right.¡¹


    ¡¸But where are my manners? Please, sit wherever you like. Make yourself at home.¡¹


    I took his advice and sat on one of the sofas. It was even more comfy than the one I sat on when I was here with Picker-san.


    ¡¸Before we get any further, there is something I would like you to know about the man you sold to me today.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes? What is it?¡¹


    ¡¸I had a little bit of a¡­ friendly chat with him to get to know him better, as per the usual procedure in my line of business and he revealed to me information that might be of interest to you. That man became a slave because he committed a crime of stealing the Bandit Bandana, which was among your spoils of battle, right? Well it turns out that he didn¡¯t commit that theft alone. He actually had an accomplice, unfortunately, he didn¡¯t want to share his name no matter how ¡­nicely¡­ I asked him to do so. Do you understand what am I going at, Michio-sama?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I do. Thank you for telling me, I¡¯ll be sure to remain careful.¡¹


    Bandit Bandana is an item that raises the stats of anyone with a Bandit or Thief Job so criminals were ready to pay a high price for it. If that guy wanted to steal it from me, then that means he probably had someone willing to buy it off of him. I don¡¯t know who that someone might be, but I think we can safely rule out the Village Chief and his wife since they were very helpful to me after I helped stop the attack on the village and nothing in their behavior pointed towards them having any kind of ulterior motives. Maybe it was Picker-san? He¡¯s a merchant after all, and they mostly have only one principle in their line of business: to sell to the highest bidder. Then again, dealing with bandits was probably too risky for someone like him. For all I know, when the transaction would have been completed they might have just offed him to get away with both the item and the money. Then, who might that supposed accomplice be?


    But that is a matter for later. For now, let¡¯s focus on the task at hand.


    ¡¸When I came here earlier, you mentioned something about a Labyrinth, right? I would like to hear about it in more details, but first, where exactly is it located?¡¹


    It might be best to ask him about everything I want to know about before we get down to business.


    ¡¸It has been discovered in the forest just west of the town.¡¹


    ¡¸Meaning the opposite of where we arrived from.¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s right.¡¹


    When we departed from the village, we followed the sun as it made its way across the sky, meaning we were going from east to west. So in order to reach the Labyrinth, I¡¯ll have to keep going west from the city¡¯s other gate, got it.


    Shortly after we began our discussion, a female servant came to the room, carrying a luxurious tea set, probably with refreshments for me and Alan-san. But those clothes¡­ could it be that she¡¯s¡­


    UwU, what¡¯s this? A maid?


    SWEET STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE ON A ROCK N¡¯ ROLLIN JESUS WITH A FISHSTICK THEY HAVE MAIDS HERE!


    Ok, that¡¯s it. This world is the best world ever!

 Volume 1 - CH 3.2

    IDENTIFY HER! IDENTIFY THIS PICTURE-PERFECT BEAUTY RIGHT THIS INSTANT!


    Roxanne: Female, 16


    Beast Warrior Lv6


    So her name is Roxanne, huh?


    She is very pretty, no, beautiful, no wait, words cannot describe how much of a hottie she is! She¡¯s on a totally different level than the models and idols I knew from the Internet and TV back in Japan. Unlike them, who are basically made to look and act the way they are for the sole purpose of making men flock to them, she feels like something truly genuine, untainted by the corruption of show business (thank God that they don¡¯t have it here!). I mean just look at her! Truly an angel unfit to walk this dirty soil!


    She has gorgeous pale-red lips and a pair of big, shining eyes, and her hair, colored like the finest of chestnuts look so irresistibly fluffy that I just want to bury my face in them! And she even has that typical maid hat¡­ looking¡­ thing!


    ¡¸Here you go, sir.¡¹


    She placed a filled cup in front of me. When she was doing so, her rich breasts, clearly too majestic to be contained by the dark blue dress she was wearing under her maid apron were visibly swaying back and forth. Dayum girl, who would have thought that you¡¯re going to have such a nice pair of bazongas on you? Also, today is such a great day!


    ¡¸Thank you very much.¡¹


    I answered simply.


    Maybe that¡¯s just me not paying enough attention, but most of the clothing in this world seems to be rather loose and bulky, which makes it somewhat difficult to properly appraise the size of a woman¡¯s bust. But in Roxanne¡¯s case? Every article of clothing was tightly sticking to her body, as if they were made that way on purpose.


    This is a shocking, quite shocking discovery indeed, wouldn¡¯t you agree, my dear reader?


    Even when she finished bending over to place the cup in front of me and returned to her normal, graceful standing position, her breasts continued to sway and jiggle, drawing my eyes to them as if they used some kinda hypnosis spell on me!


    ¡¸As I said before, the entrance to the Labyrinth has only been discovered about two days ago so it hasn¡¯t even been fully explored yet. We currently don¡¯t know exactly how big it is nor how long will it take to clear it.¡¹


    ¡¸Uh-huh, I see.¡¹


    Whatever the merchant was talking about came in through one of my ears and immediately left through the other, because the entirety of my attention was focused on Roxanne¡¯s chest. Height-wise it looks like she¡¯s the same as me or a little shorter, so about 160 cm. I couldn¡¯t tell exactly because of the clothes, but if how tightly they fit her is any indicator, she shouldn¡¯t have any excess fat on her, except for her marvelous breasts of course. Like seriously, they must¡¯ve absorbed all the nutrients from her meals in order to grow this large. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that, as pointed to by her Job, she is not a human, but a demi-human or beastfolk of whatever non-human species are called in this world? It does not look like she has a tail or a pair of animal ears on her, but those may well be hidden from view by her uniform.


    Oblivious to everything that was happening inside my head, Roxanne walked to the table at which Alan-san seated himself, gave him the cup and poured him the same drink she poured me. He picked up the cup and slowly raised it to his lips.


    ¡¸Oh please, Michio-sama, don¡¯t mind me. Have a sip yourself.¡¹


    ¡¸Ah, right, sorry about that.¡¹


    Since he said it¡¯s okay for me to have a sip then I guess I¡¯ll do just that. But it would be nice if it was just some herbal tea and not something that has alcohol mixed into it, since technically I am still just a minor, although by Japanese standards. If I¡¯ll have some free time on my hands I¡¯ll have to obtain information on what is the drinking age here. And maybe the age of consent while I¡¯m at it.


    Urged by the Slave Merchant, I put the cup to my mouth as Roxanne leaves the room.


    ¡¸So? What do you think?¡¹


    ¡¸Hmm¡­¡¹


    He asked me that, but I barely managed to drink any of the cup¡¯s contents, so I had to make the answer up on the fly.


    ¡¸It¡¯s not a bad drink, to be honest. I¡¯ve never tasted anything like this in my life so far.¡¹


    ¡¸No no no, I¡¯m talking about the girl. Looks like she piqued your interest.¡¹


    Who, Roxanne?


    ¡¸Oh, her? Well yes, she¡¯s certainly an eye catcher, that one.¡¹


    ¡¸Right? Out of all the slaves I have in my inventory right now, she¡¯s probably among the best ones. And the one I would recommend the most.¡¹


    Ah, now I see. I understand what it was all about. So Roxanne is not a servant. She¡¯s a slave as well. One of the best ones, huh? I definitely see why he would want to do that. And I guess it makes sense. After all, Alan-san is a Slave Merchant, so why would he recommend anything else but slaves to a potential customer such as myself?


    ¡¸Allow me to cut right to the heart of the matter, Michio-sama. If you¡¯re going to set your sights on exploring the Labyrinth, buying a slave would be the best course of action for you.¡¹


    In that case, would I be able to buy any one of his slaves? Even the beauty such as Roxanne?


    ¡¸What I mean is, you¡¯re going to need to form a Party, since tackling a dungeon like a Labyrinth on your own would be nothing short of suicide.¡¹


    Debatable, seeing as how I have my OP Durandal with me, but let¡¯s assume that he¡¯s right for now.


    ¡¸¡­. Keep going.¡¹


    Of course, that Party stuff does not interest me all that much. All I really want to know is if I really want to buy Roxanne as my personal slave?


    I suddenly feel very hot, like all the blood has rushed into my head. I wonder if my face is red right now? This is not good, dude. Calm down, just try to calm down before you do or say something stupid! I might still be a kid, but that does not mean it¡¯s okay for me to do and say everything I want, consequences be damned. Come on, me, think with your head, not with your dick!


    ¡¸With a Party of your own. You¡¯ll be able to hunt monsters and earn money more efficiently. Of course, there are Adventurers who prefer to go solo, but all in all it is more beneficial to have a large Party, up to six members total.¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yes, of course.¡¹


    So Party¡¯s can consist of up to six members? That information might prove to be useful in the future. Being free as a solo player is my preferred option for now, but having someone to share my travels with might not be such a terrible idea either. We¡¯d be fighting together, eating together and sharing the stories of our lives while doing it, make a name for ourselves as famous Adventurers and sleep in the same room at an inn to cut costs¡­ wait, sleep together? Sleeping¡­ together with Roxanne¡­ if I bought her¡­


    ¡¸Naturally, the problems begin when it comes to splitting the loot obtained from adventuring, like magical items or platinum coins. The Labyrinths are mysterious structures that we don¡¯t know everything about, but we do know that by  clearing it you can get rich very fast at the risk of injury and quite possibly death.¡¹


    So I assume that a platinum coin is worth even more than a gold coin? I could probably easily buy Roxanne with one of those babies in my purse¡­.


    But wait. If Labyrinths really are filled with such treasures, then what about a situation in which one member of the Party decides that he wants to hog it all for himself?


    ¡¸What about disputes over items and money? Do they happen often?¡¹


    ¡¸Thankfully not that often, but there were times when some Adventurers desired some items to such a degree that they were willing to turn their blades on their fellow Party members.¡¹


    ¡¸And how were such situations resolved?¡¹


    ¡¸Simply and effectively. Eye for an eye, tooth for tooth. In the Labyrinth, if a Party member attacks you with an intent to kill you, you are legally allowed to defend yourself, by any means necessary.¡¹


    ¡¸I see.¡¹


    The most logical option here would be to continue to go solo in order to avoid such flaming messes, but if I do that, the possibility of buying Roxanne might be forever out of my grasp! Ugh, this is so frustrating! I know I shouldn¡¯t think about it, but I just can¡¯t get that thought out of my head!


    What do I do? What the fuck should I do here?! To buy or not to buy myself a slave, that is the question! But the right answer to that problem is nowhere near in sight!

 Volume 1 - CH 3.3

    On the one hand, I know that buying and owning slaves is morally wrong. After all, it was outlawed in my world for a reason. But on the other hand, she is such a beautiful girl that I felt that if I won¡¯t step up now and claim her as my own, such a chance might not present itself to me anymore, and I wouldn¡¯t be able to forgive myself to the end of my life if something like that ever happened. I need to make a decision now!


    ¡¸Of course, if your Party consists of people you know you can trust with your life, there will be no problem with betrayals. Or if you still worry about that, you can purposefully hire the people who are weaker than you. Thankfully, cases of such happenings are fewer now than they were just a few years ago.¡¹


    He was practically spoon feeding me valuable information, but Roxanne was all that I could think of.


    If this was a game, having conflicts within the Party wouldn¡¯t be such a big deal. Worst case scenario your in-game character would die and simply respawn at the nearest church/temple (whatever the spawn point was) and you could go on to exact revenge on the Party member who thought he could screw you over. Even in MMORPG¡¯s, where the interaction was almost exclusively between living, thinking players stuck together for better or worse, the possibilities for betrayal and PK (Player Killing) were limited by the game¡¯s systems.


    Reality, however, was a totally different nut to crack.


    No matter where you go, people around you are all ultimately complete strangers whom you don¡¯t know if you could trust at all. I mean seriously, let¡¯s consider the following: you¡¯re going to the Labyrinth with your Party members, you fight monsters, one of them drops some valuable item that one of your Party members wants so badly that he¡¯s willing to kill for it, and he does just that. What am I getting at? Considering that death is probably nothing unusual in a monster-filled dungeon like a Labyrinth, no one would probably even be suspicious when someone would die in there, since the culprit would be able to just play the whole thing off as a ¡¸He bit off more than he could chew¡¹ scenario. And while we¡¯re on the subject of valuable drops and treasures¡­


    ¡¸A question, if I may. While in the Labyrinth, is it possible to get stabbed in the back by one of your Party members?¡¹


    ¡¸There is such a possibility, yes.¡¹


    I knew it. It would have been too good if that wasn¡¯t the case. Knowing that she might as well try to kill me if she doesn¡¯t find me to her liking or that if the opportunity to run off with a valuable treasure presents itself to her, do I still want to buy Roxanne?


    ¡¸I see. That¡¯s not nice to hear.¡¹


    ¡¸However, Parties consisting of a master and his slave have some unique rules to them. Since a slave is a possession of its master, the same principle applies to any item or money the slave might obtain.¡¹


    That¡¯s one concern out of the way. But if I want to make Roxanne mine, there is still one thing that I have to know about.


    ¡¸Hypothetically speaking, if I bought Roxanne from you, would she be able to stab me in the back and run away with the treasure even though I¡¯m her master?¡¹


    ¡¸Something like that would not be possible. You see, master and slave are bound to one another by a pact. If the master dies, his slave dies with him.¡¹


    ¡¸For real?! Isn¡¯t that too harsh?¡¹


    So if Roxanne ends up being bought by someone else and that someone kicks the bucket, she will bite the dust as well.


    ¡¸Perhaps, but everything depends on how the master intends to live out his life. And if you decide that you no longer want a particular slave as your property, you can always release them from servitude or prepare a document which transfers the ownership rights to someone else.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, so there is such an option. That¡¯s good, very good.¡¹


    Knowing that I can release her before I die was a very useful piece of information. Sentencing her to die prematurely simply because something happened to me would be too cruel.


    ¡¸But if you aim to be an Adventurer, and one who aims to explore Labyrinths at that, you might as well prepare such a document beforehand, although having it on you would amount to nothing if you ended up devoured whole by some monster or disintegrated by a trap. My best advice would be as follows: if you want to have slaves, you¡¯d better resign yourself from exploring Labyrinths or other dangerous places. Or know exactly when to tuck tail and run if you value your life. I know that for someone young and eager like you the prospect of being an Adventurer might be the one which yields the biggest financial gain, but trust me, there are more safe, stable ways of securing a source of income. Not to mention the fact that you¡¯d need to have a place where you and your slaves could stay, eat and sleep and I¡¯m not talking about renting rooms at an inn all the time. If you want to be a slave master, your own house is an absolute necessity.¡¹


    I¡¯d definitely want to provide Roxanne with a place where she could live, eat and sleep in peace. Especially sleep, with me in the same bed¡­. Nonono kid, get your goddamn head out of the gutter and start taking this seriously by thinking of anything other than doing morally questionable things to that maid girl and that bombshell body of hers! I want to stop with the lewd fantasies that go through my head, but try as hard as I might, the picture of her perfect tits and the vision of what I would do to them¡­


    ¡¸On the bright side though, if you manage to pillage enough treasure from one successful Labyrinth raid you¡¯ll have enough money to quite possibly afford a comfortable lifestyle for the rest of your days. But there are a few things that you also need to have in mind before making the final decision. First, when it comes to their status and social standing, slaves are only slightly above Bandits.  Actually, the biggest difference that sets these two groups apart is that you are legally obliged to kill Bandits, Thieves and other Brigands and you can claim their possessions as your own whereas killing a slave who has its master is considered a punishable offense. But those who ran away from their master are treated just like any criminal.¡¹


    So they are only slightly above Bandits and their ilk, huh? Looking at someone like Roxanne, this is truly hard to believe.


    ¡¸Besides adventuring, are there any ways to make money?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course there are. As long as you¡¯ll be a member of a proper Guild and are willing to learn the ways of your new trade, you can become anything you want.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay, I get it.¡¹


    The biggest problem here is that you can¡¯t form a Party with anyone unless you trust them. I came alone from Japan to begin with, but even before getting isekaid out of the blue like that I had severe trust issues coupled with disdain for other human beings, who I assumed were all out to get me and pour salt onto my open wounds, so how can anyone expect me to form bonds of trust with the denizens of this world when I don¡¯t even know what are the laws of this land and what counts as common sense here?!


    And will I be able to procure enough money to buy food for both myself and Roxanne without delving into the depths of the Labyrinth? Well, I can always not buy Roxanne and begin my career as a solo Adventurer. With a weapon like Durandal by my side making a name for myself shouldn¡¯t be anything difficult.


    ¡¸So how about it, Michio-sama? Would you be interested in buying Roxanne? She¡¯s a Beast Warrior, so I¡¯m sure she¡¯d be a great addition to your Party.¡¹


    ¡¸Beast Warrior¡­¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, because she¡¯s a Werewolf. Beast Warrior is a Job that only a Werewolf or other Beastman can acquire.¡¹


    ¡¸Werewolf huh? Gotta say, she doesn¡¯t look like one at all.¡¹


    Of course I knew about her Job and its level because I used Identify on her.


    ¡¸Well, what do you say? Pretty tempting offer, am I right?¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, but¡­¡¹


    ¡¸And to top it off, she¡¯s the most beautiful one among the female slaves I happen to have in stock now. With her stunning looks and the intellect to match it, she¡¯ll be a perfect companion for a first-timer like you. And she¡¯s a Werewolf Beast Warrior at that!¡¹


    The Slave Merchant continued to pour his honeyed words down my ears.


    This is nice and all, but I need to keep a clear head. I mustn¡¯t make a hasty purchase under the influence of that sweet-talking of his! Besides, there must be a catch somewhere! There always is!

 Volume 1 - CH 3.4

    But¡­ but maybe this time it was actually an honest deal with no trickster strings attached? It would be strange to sell someone so beautiful as Roxanne without having some hidden agenda, but maybe that¡¯s just my damaged mentality speaking again?


    ¡¸So, why is her being a Beastman so important? Because you seem to be making a great deal out of it.¡¹


    ¡¸Are you familiar with the saying that elves are the number one non-human race when it comes to their lifespan and longevity?¡¹


    ¡¸Well, yeah.¡¹


    I mean, isn¡¯t it common knowledge that elves tend to live much longer than humans? Or could it be that this is another thing that¡¯s different in this world?


    ¡¸Then allow me to break it to you: that is just an urban legend.¡¹


    Oh really now? That¡¯s interesting.


    ¡¸Elves are said to be the longest living race because they stay young-looking for the longest. In actuality, the lifespan of Elves and Beastman are about the same.¡¹


    ¡¸Is that so? I have to admit, I didn¡¯t know that.¡¹


    The eleven woman I ogled back at the street shops was supposedly 37 years old when I Identified her, but she looked like she was in her early twenties at worst. But I have to say, when it comes to looks as a whole, Roxanne was even prettier than that elf lady. And her boobs are definitely bigger.


    ¡¸That¡¯s understandable, so don¡¯t worry about it all that much, Michio-sama. We humans and non-humans have different points of aging and ways in which we perceive the passage of time. To illustrate it with an example, I think you¡¯ll agree that for us humans there is little difference between a two years old dog and the one that is eight years old, right?¡¹


    ¡¸Now that you mention it, I guess you¡¯re right. I never given it much thought myself.¡¹


    ¡¸When it comes to Beastman, at the age of 16 or 17 they are no different than us humans, but the older they get, the difference becomes more apparent. Typically, we humans start to show visible signs of aging around 40 to 50 years of age, but when Beastman hit that same mark, they still look as young as they were in their teenage years, so from the perspective of our limited lifespans, the Beastman might as well stay beautiful forever.¡¹


    ¡¸Ahh, I see.¡¹


    Roxanne is one year younger than me and she¡¯s already so beautiful that it was unbelievable. So you want to say that even when she reaches her forties and fifties her looks won¡¯t change much from how she¡¯s looking now?


    ¡¸In addition to that, there is one more very important factor that sets the Beastman aside from other races, a factor that is held in very high regard by all of the customers.¡¹


    ¡¸And that factor is?¡¹


    ¡¸Since they are half beasts, or animals if you prefer lighter terms, they are unable to bear human offspring.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh.¡¹


    So people do tend to consider that aspect as important, huh? I honestly didn¡¯t think that anyone would pay any mind to something like that in a world based on medieval settings. Then again, that would mean that I could just go at with Roxanne over and over again without worrying about any pesky consequences nine months later.


    ¡¸To that end, the dear Roxanne is still a virgin, if that matter is of any interest to you.¡¹


    She¡¯s still a virgin? *Smacks lips* Nice!


    ¡¸Does her being a virgin have any impact on her price?¡¹


    ¡¸It does, but for a practical reason. With virgins, you don¡¯t have to worry about contracting any sexually transmitted diseases. Of course, we do have proper establishments of the sexual nature in this town, but I wouldn¡¯t recommend using them even if that was the last place of its kind in the entire world. If anyone asked you didn¡¯t hear it from me, but to be honest, instead of listing the diseases the local prostitutes have it would be faster to list the ones they don¡¯t have.¡¹


    So I take it this world still has no ways of countering STDs then? Kind of a bummer, but the one to be expected, since the medicine and modern drugs should be pretty much non-existent here. Looks like that puts my plans for an investigation of brothels to a grinding halt. Nevertheless¡­


    ¡¸Thank you for the warning. I¡¯ll be sure to remember it.¡¹


    ¡¸Good. Going back on the right track, Roxanne herself is perfectly aware that she might be used as a sex slave.¡¹


    ¡¸You don¡¯t say.¡¹


    So she¡¯s actually aware of how she might be used by her potential owner?


    ¡¸On top of being made aware of the possibility of her becoming a sex slave, she has also received all the theoretical knowledge required for pleasing any kind of customer, no matter what his kinks or preferences might be.¡¹


    ¡¸Hm¡­¡¹


    That made me both concerned and aroused at the same time, but all my concerns evaporated without a trace as soon as I imagined Roxanne in a turtle shell bondage. Just that image alone was enough to send my youthful imagination, which I tried to keep in check, running berserk again.


    ¡¸But that should come as no surprise, because, let¡¯s be honest here, if you weren¡¯t interested in those things you wouldn¡¯t have been interested in buying yourself a young slave girl in the first place.¡¹


    ¡¸I guess so.¡¹


    To be honest, learning that was kind of a relief for me. In this world, just like in my previous one, buying yourself a young female slave seems to have only one purpose, and everybody realizes that, so presumably I won¡¯t be the first one to commit such a (morally) dastardly deed and I sure as hell won¡¯t be the last one.


    ¡¸But I have to say, Michio-sama, I am glad that you decided to pay a visit to my establishment on a fine day such as this one.¡¹


    ¡¸Why is that?¡¹


    ¡¸After spending as many years in the business as I did I can proudly say that I have a keen eye for judging the customers who walk through the door of my shop, and it saddens me to say that even if many of them do want to buy themselves a female slave, many of them won¡¯t even lay a finger on them due to their ¡¸moral compass¡¹ telling them that it is wrong. To be totally blunt, those are the kind of customers I dislike the most. The way I see it, any kind of purchase, be it a slave or something as simple as a grocery shopping, needs to be done with a leveled head and hefty amount of consideration. You know what they say: haste makes waste, right? And I think we can both agree that wasting money on something you won¡¯t really need is the ultimate waste.¡¹


    So people like that are present in this world as well, huh? Lovely. If there¡¯s one kind of person I hate more than bullies and those who wronged me for no apparent reason, it would have to be assholes with loads of money who always buy everything in sight, only to throw it away after realizing that they don¡¯t really need it. Thankfully, I can say with certainty that I wouldn¡¯t treat Roxanne in such a way.


    ¡¸Well, I guess that¡¯s right.¡¹


    ¡¸So why do purchases like that keep happening, you ask? Well If you asked me for my opinion, I would have to say that the reason for things being the way they are is simple: inexperience, both at the side of the customer who walks in here without knowing what is he getting himself into and at the side of the female slaves who are not taught proper sexual education. Thankfully, I can proudly say that Roxanne is not someone like that. She received all the necessary education needed to be proper companion for any aspiring Adventurer, so you can rest assured that she will never be a burden to you.¡¹


    ¡¸I see.¡¹


    ¡¸And lastly, as an added bonus, she is able to speak Brahim fluently.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh yeah, you¡¯re right!¡¹


    Back when she gave me the cup with the drink I was able to understand every word she was saying, so I guess it makes sense for her to know Brahim, which must be the name for this world¡¯s version of the Japanese language, but I guess I was just too engrossed with the bouncy swaying of her tits to notice that. And honestly, can you blame me?! It was totally amazing! I would love to see it again if I had the chance.


    ¡¸And that concludes my speech on why I would highly recommend buying my dear Roxanne.¡¹


    Great, looks like his sales pitch is finally over.


    Roxanne.


    There is no doubt that she¡¯s the most beautiful girl I have ever seen in my life (not that I saw many of them to begin with). Her eyes were so bright and dazzling that just one look was enough for me to feel like I was being swallowed in by them.


    Can I really buy someone like her? I bent over my cup to give it one last brainstorming session with a heavy chest. Is that what the weight of freedom and responsibility feels like?

 Volume 1 - CH 3.5

    To tell you the truth, I still have my doubts about this entire matter, but above all else I don¡¯t want to be left alone in this strange, unfamiliar world. If I can have myself a companion, even if it will be a slave, then of course I would like to jump at such a chance right away. What about my moral dilemmas? They are still nestled at the back of my head of course, but let¡¯s look at it from another perspective: if I will buy Roxanne, I will do my best to treat her in a respectful manner and to one day set her free so she could decide her fate on her own. On the other hand, if someone else ends up buying her, there will be no guarantee that such a douchebag won¡¯t treat her like nothing more but his personal sex toy, and that is something that I absolutely cannot allow. Back in Japan I¡¯ve had my fair share of mistreatment, enough to last me several lifetimes and not wish a similar fate happening to anyone else.


    The biggest problem here is that slavery is apparently a part of the system of how things are ran in this world, and it looks like it is here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future, and we all know that if there is one thing that cannot be easily changed or overthrown, no matter what world you are living in, it¡¯s the established social hierarchy and the twisted ¡°norms¡± that come with it. In my old world, even though it is claimed that we were living in a progressive, advanced society where the concept of inequality has long since disappeared, it was nothing more but a nicely sounding slogan filled with hypocritical bullshit fed to the masses who were dumb enough to believe in it. Okay, we abolished slavery because we deemed it to be too inhumane, but even with that one problem gone, a myriad of others appeared almost immediately to take its place: illegal employment, framing, human and organ trafficking, child prostitution, those are but a few droplets which appeared in the cesspool of shit that humanity has turned into. And here¡¯s the real kicker: everyone seems to have agreed that the ones to be blamed for the present state of the earth are the members of my generation, the millennials! How fucked up is that?! And to top things off, the damn boomers expect us to fix everything while they continue to sit around on their lazy asses doing absolutely nothing! The vast majority of us are still either high school or college students, so how can they expect us to find solutions to the problems that ¡°responsible, full-fledged adults with a great amount of life experience¡± can¡¯t fix even if their goddamn lives depended on it?! Also, even if by some miracle I¡¯d be able to push this world towards the same changes that occurred in my world, the most probable scenario would be the one in which we managed to get rid of slavery, but we¡¯d be left with the same old developmental problems that the earth is struggling with right now: poverty, overpopulation, escalation of inequality and the like. Thankfully, going down such a path is not an option right now, due to a very simple reason: as a person, I lack both the mental capacity and charisma to enforce any kind of change or push through with the development of any invention of greater significance like computers, airplanes or solar panels and electricity.


    Another issue is the fact that in this world slavery is very strongly connected with the judiciary system and the apparent enforcement of justice. Just like I¡¯ve seen back in the village, making someone into a slave is a valid option of inflicting punishment upon the criminals, and my guess is that option is being chosen rather frequently, since it essentially gives you either a free servant or a lot of money if you decide to sell your slave just like I did. In that case, what would be the, maybe not the best, but a good alternative to slavery? I honestly have no idea, but at the very least I feel like more prisons would be built. And not just the small ones, like those cramped town dungeons you see in video games. This world would need one giant, big-ass prison for all those would-be slaves. But in order to build something like that, money would be needed, and when we say money, it¡¯s obvious that the first thing that comes to mind is taxation, but in order to gather taxes more efficiently bureaucracy would have to be introduced, but in order for it to be introduced, we¡¯d need to develop a better education system so more bureaucrats could be raised to collect the taxes which would then be spend to build prisons so that the people wouldn¡¯t have to be turned into slaves¡­ man, I¡¯m getting confused by my own thoughts and it¡¯s making my head spin!


    The worst part is that bringing bureaucracy into the fray would absolutely not be the end of problems and solutions, but I don¡¯t know what should be done next because I have absolutely no idea who and what else is connected to the bureaucracy and how in the hell are those connections making the world go round.


    But anyway, I digress too much. I didn¡¯t come to this new world with the intention of becoming a perpetrator of social change or some Abe Lincoln¡¯s second coming. No no no, I came here because I wanted to kill myself and was looking for alternatives. Can we just proceed to the part where I actually get to buy myself a slave already?


    Roxanne, oh my beautiful, precious Roxanne with that beautiful face and bouncy bazoongas of yours. Just wait a few more moments, I¡¯ll be buying you very shortly!


    ¡¸You look as if you reached a conclusion to your inner turmoil. Michio-sama. Has my elaborate explanation helped you make your decision?¡¹


    ¡¸I guess you can say that. So, can we proceed with the transaction?¡¹


    ¡¸But of course! Now then, if you would¡­.¡¹


    Alan the Slave Merchant reached his hand to me, and when he did so, a half-transparent window with a system message appeared in front of my eyes.


    ¡ºDo you want to buy Roxanne the Slave?¡»


    ¡ºYes¡» ¡ºNo¡»


    Finally, the moment is upon me at last. I have to say, this anticipation is becoming unbearable, to the point where my hands began to shake.


    ¡ºDo you want to buy Roxanne the Slave?¡»


    ¡ºYes¡» ¡ºNo¡»


    Of course I can¡¯t choose ¡ºNo¡» here. I want to buy her in order to have a companion who will aid me in my future travels and to free her when the time would be right.


    ¡ºDo you want to buy Roxanne the Slave?¡»


    ¡ºYes¡» ¡ºNo¡»


    Also, maybe she will finally be the one who will take my V-Card away from me, since both Teirichi-san in the village and the beautiful female knight from earlier showed no interest in helping me with that. At that moment, a thought occurred to me. Nothing related to the situation at hand, but just something I was curious about.


    ¡¸Is the price of sex slaves any different from the price of the normal ones?¡¹


    ¡¸No, it is practically the same.¡¹


    ¡¸Really? I thought they are going to be pricier.¡¹


    I honestly thought that was the case, since the sex slaves are mainly used for satisfying the bodily pleasures, just like their name implies.


    ¡¸Their market price is the same because the differences in their duties are minor at best. Both sex and non-sex slaves mostly perform the same jobs, hence the lack of difference in their prices.¡¹


    ¡¸Then what about the differences between male and female slaves?¡¹


    Alan-san nodded and continued.


    ¡¸Speaking of fighting abilities and the ability to do manual labor, men have better abilities than women. However, the price of a working adult male is about 120,000 Nar, whereas for a young woman, her price will be higher, depending on her good looks.¡¹


    It¡¯s true that if it¡¯s purely for work purposes there shouldn¡¯t be any difference in price between men and women. But it¡¯s also true that good looking girls are always very expensive, that is a principle that was true even in Japan, but they are always in higher demand than guys. That is why even if they cost more, I¡¯m sure none of the female slaves are left to gather dust for long.


    Well, the Slave Merchant¡¯s story started to be strangely relatable. Just like in real life, women tend to have it better, even when it comes to the price for selling them. And speaking of selling, I guess I should reset my character again.


    This time, I removed my points from 30% Increased Selling Prices and pumped everything into Buying Discount, which gave a discount of 30%.  Okay, now we can finally start talking about the actual numbers. Bonus Skill, don¡¯t fail me now!


    ¡¸Is Roxanne going to be expensive?¡¹


    ¡¸Hm, let¡¯s see here¡­¡¹


    He seemed to be counting from memory, and then he declared with a broad smile on his face. Is he content with the fact that I am finally willing to make my purchase?


    ¡¸Yes, the typical market price is about 600,000 Nar.¡¹


    ¡­


    ¡­¡­..


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­


    WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU¡­¡­¡­¡­..?!

 Volume 1 - CH 3.6

    ¡­ UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK?! No matter how you look at it, more than half a million is way too much for a slave! And that¡¯s the price with the active 30% discount, for crying out loud!!!!


    ¡¸Well, looking at your face right now I probably know what is going on through your head, Michio-sama, and honestly, I can¡¯t even blame you for it. So how about that: since I was the one who recommended Roxanne to you, I¡¯ll lower the price for a bit. Does 422,800 Nar sound more acceptable? ¡¹


    The merchant presented me with something that must have sounded like a nice bargain price to him, but for me it was still way too expensive, even after such a significant drop.


    I took a deep, long breath.


    422,000 Nar. What kind of a price is that?! If only it was cut down by another 50%, then I would have jumped at the transaction without a second thought, because honestly, what other choice do I have? Right now, it¡¯s either buy a slave and have yourself a Party companion or go solo and continue to be all by myself, a scenario I wanted to avoid at all costs.


    Roxanne has absolutely captivated me. Literally everything about her screamed to me that I should make her mine: her deep, bright eyes, her magnificent chest and her beautiful face. The biggest problem here is that I only have 33 gold coins. My ethics or personal feelings are not the problem here anymore, because I have already steeled my resolve to do this. I just don¡¯t have enough money to make the purchase, simple as that.


    ¡¸Unfortunately, it looks like it¡¯s a purchase that¡¯s beyond my current financial capabilities. ¡¹


    ¡¸Is that so? This is grave news indeed. ¡¹


    The merchant replied. If he was disappointed with such an outcome, he did an outstanding job at not showing it in the slightest. I, on the other hand, was very disappointed with myself.


    ¡¸I guess we have no choice then. Why don¡¯t you take a look at some of the other slaves then? ¡¹


    Ahh, I see what¡¯s going on here. It was all a part of your clever little marketing strategy, huh? Oh you rascal, you. Showing me your best slave first, making me eager to buy her, only then sell me a cheaper one? It¡¯s like those brothels in my world that scam people by marketing themselves with the best girl they have in their crew just to trick people into making an appointment with her, but when the push comes to shove and they muster the courage to arrive all that is waiting for them is ¡¸The Lady Handling the Phones ¡¹ who says that the girl you were supposed to meet up with is either busy with another guy, or that she¡¯s sorry but she couldn¡¯t make it in time and then just as you¡¯re getting ready to leave you¡¯re ¡°graciously¡± offered to pick one of the other girls instead, only to taken aback by how big of a step-down they are, but you can¡¯t just say no and leave with your money in tow, because some burly guy who looks like he just got released out of prison is blocking the exit and is threatening to ¡°make you one with the floor¡± if you don¡¯t make up your mind soon. A very specific example, I know, but do not worry, I¡¯m not speaking from experience. Of course a sad, little cherry boy like myself wouldn¡¯t have any experience in that field to back his stories up. It¡¯s just one of the many threads about brothels that I visited back when I was surfing the net looking for ways to end myself.


    On a side note, con artists and telemarketers often use similar trick, but with their own, unique twists added. But in this particular case, I can¡¯t say that I was deceived by anyone. I just don¡¯t have enough money to buy the best merchandise available, so I have no choice but to buy a cheaper replacement.


    All right let¡¯s get this over with. I already said A, so now I have no choice but to say B.


    ¡¸Very well. Show me the other slaves you have for sale. ¡¹


    ¡¸As you wish. ¡¹


    The Slave Merchant bowed down to me and showed me to another location. We went to the stairs at the back of the shop and proceeded to go to the third floor. The staircase was narrow, but well kept. Not a single floorboard squeaked under our feet.


    ¡¸Welcome. ¡¹


    When we got up there, an older-looking lady greeted us. The only things that were present on his floor were a small corridor beside the stairs and two pairs of doors, one on the left and one on the right.


    ¡¸Line up the girls for me, please. ¡¹


    ¡¸As you wish, master. ¡¹


    The lady stood up from the chair she was sitting on, took out a small key from her pocket and proceeded to open the doors to the left and disappeared inside.


    ¡¸This third floor contains women¡¯s quarters. Everything here is managed by female employees, and no men beside me have the right to enter here. ¡¹


    ¡¸I see. ¡¹


    ¡¸Right now, all the girls are undergoing a thorough inspection of their virginities. ¡¹


    He explained as if it was the most obvious thing under the sun. But now I get why he wouldn¡¯t let any guy work on this floor. One man and so many virgins¡­ the temptation would be too much to bear. While we were waiting in the corridor, the lady¡¯s muffled voice could be heard from behind the door. Apparently she was going through a roll call after she finished her physical examination. Eventually it ceased and she returned to us.


    ¡¸The preparations have been completed. ¡¹


    ¡¸This way, Michio-sama. ¡¹


    He guided me into the room, where many female slaves were lined up shoulder to shoulder. All of them were wearing simple, tidy clothes, they all looked properly fed, there was no excrement on the floor and the room itself was not giving off any particularly nasty odor. I guess that was understandable. They are a product to be sold after all, so they need to be kept in optimal condition in order not to scare the potential customers away.


    ¡¸So these are all the female slaves you have? ¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s right. Go ahead and see them all for yourself. Feel free to look to your heart¡¯s content. ¡¹


    ¡¸All right. ¡¹


    I walked in front of them and examined them all, one by one. A part of me regretted that they weren¡¯t told to strip themselves naked so that I could see every nook and cranny of their bodies, but it¡¯s better not to push my luck here. None of them were as eye-catching as Roxanne, so I haven¡¯t decided on buying any of them yet.


    They were all looking at me with curious eyes rid of anxiety and nervousness, which made me somewhat embarrassed and self-conscious about my average looks. I guess that they are judging me as much as I am judging them. I understand that they are doing so because when I finally decide to pick one of them her life is going to change drastically with me as her new master.


    That is what it means to buy a slave. It¡¯s not about grabbing yourself a free laborer or a sex toy, it¡¯s about giving them a chance at a better life or ruining it completely.


    ¡¸Is there a problem, Michio-sama? ¡¹


    ¡¸No, not a problem at all. I was just amazed at how well-kept your slaves are. It¡¯s totally different from what I was expecting to see, to be honest. ¡¹


    ¡¸This should come as no surprise. I run a business here, so in order to gain the upper hand over my business rivals it is essential for me to keep the entirety of my merchandise at the highest standards of both health and clothing. Their food is also being handled with proper care. Trust me, they are better off here than they would have been back where they came from before they were being sold into slavery. ¡¹


    The tone of his explanation suggested that he must have explained the very same thing he was explaining to me time and time again.


    ¡¸I see. ¡¹


    That was the only answer I could give him. Also, it made me wonder¡­ this place is actually pretty damn neat, since the slaves probably don¡¯t have much work to do aside from maybe keeping the shop clean. If not for the fact that they are going to be sold one day, they would have probably wanted to stay here forever, or at least that was the impression that I got from my time spent here and the information obtained from Alan-san¡¯s words.


    Also, the longer I looked at the girls, the easier it was for me to spot something critical:


    Their interest in me was nothing but an act.

 Volume 1 - CH 3.7

    The first one, who was smiling cheerfully just a few moments ago now looked straight ahead of herself with tired, unmotivated eyes, as if she was about to fall asleep on the spot. Looks like she totally lost any semblance interest in me.


    The second one glared at me with a smug smirk on her face, as if she wanted to openly ridicule me. She even glanced at my crotch for a brief second and snickered in a mocking manner! If we weren¡¯t in a Slave Shop I would have probably delivered a nice haymaker right to her face, but since I can¡¯t do that I decided it would be best to stay my pimping hand for now. Let it go Michio, you¡¯re better than that. No need to stoop so low just because a slave tried to act like a smartass around you. Actually, it makes things much easier for me, because now I am certain which one of them I won¡¯t buy even If she was the last girl on the planet.


    ¡¸Michio-sama, I hope you¡¯ll forgive them for displaying¡­ something of an attitude towards you? I assure you, their intention is not to mock you, it¡¯s just that¡­¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah yeah, whatever you say you¡¯re probably right.¡¹


    Look pal, whatever their reason for such impudent behavior might be, I don¡¯t want to hear about it. I¡¯m not here to play psychiatrist to their troubles after all. I¡¯m looking for a reliable companion, not the one who will be nothing but a burden to me since day 1. The way I see it, instead of allowing girls like that one over here to do a lot of negative PR for you you¡¯d be better off selling her to do manual labor, like maybe working at the mines or something along those lines. That way you¡¯d still have the profits from selling her and had one less headache in your shop. But you now, that is just my opinion. Anyway¡­


    The next slave girl had much livelier eyes than the first one, but on the flipside her face was nothing to write home about. The one next to her was pretty nicely-looking¡­ but nope, she¡¯s a no-go for me. Identify showed me that she was a Villager at the age of 27¡­. And that¡¯s much too old for my strike zone.


    Next one was cute as well, but had no breasts at all; an absolute cutting board, the kind that a chef of a restaurant would want to borrow when they ran out of their own. The last one, the one who was after Little Miss Cutting Board was still a kid, but she was pretty cute, all things considered. And no, I didn¡¯t mean it in a lolicon sort of way, all right? I am certainly no child molester, I prefer the girls who are of my own age, maybe a year older.


    My ideal girl, huh?


    Now that I¡¯ve seen every last one of them, I have to say that they are all pretty cute. The fact that there is some age diversity between them was definitely a plus, because I am sure that I will be able to find the one who will be just up my alley.


    That is what I would have said if I hadn¡¯t seen Roxanne first.


    To me, she was so beautiful that all those other female slaves looked so inferior to her that I probably couldn¡¯t see them as truly attractive even if I tried. Ugh, I fell for the merchant¡¯s trick completely. Even though I realized that he showed her to me first as a bait for buying the uglier ones (no offense ladies, except for the smugly smirking one, you can just go eat shit for all I care), but I can¡¯t do anything about it! I¡¯m a young, healthy, impressionable guy, so what other reaction would you expect when a hot chick was placed right in front of my raging hormone-driven eyes? In light of that, there could be only one solution to my current situation: I left the room without deciding to buy any of the female slaves presented to me. Probably knowing that that¡¯s how it was going to end, the merchant left after me.


    When we got out of the room, the older lady from before waited for us along with Roxanne. Did she finish all of her duties and come here to see us? Aww, now that¡¯s just precious! I knew it, she¡¯s an absolute angel!


    She bowed her head to us respectfully, and it was at this moment that I saw a pair of ears adorning the top of her head.


    Dog ears. They were the FUCKING. DOG EARS! OH MY SWEET JESUS, HOW CAN SHE BE SO CUUUUUTE?!!!!!!


    She didn¡¯t have the maid hat-thingy on anymore, so her ears were clearly visible for all to see. They were the big, hanging fluffy ones, like those of a Golden Retriever. They also look like they could be easily hid underneath her hair if she didn¡¯t want anybody to stare at them.


    ¡¸So I guess there¡¯s no use asking how it was, right?¡¹


    ¡¸Right. I¡¯m sorry, but it looks like we¡¯re back to square one.¡¹


    ¡¸That does seem to be the case indeed. You hear that, dear Roxanne? Looks like this customer took quite a liking to you.¡¹


    The Slave Merchant outright told that to Roxanne. What the fuck dude?! You¡¯re not supposed to blurt it out like that, have some compassion for your fellow man!


    Roxanne just looked at me without saying a single word. When our eyes met, all I could do was to look away from her shyly. I was never good at interacting with the opposite sex and I don¡¯t suppose that will change anytime soon, but the stares were always the worst for me. Every time a girl looked at me, it was almost certain that her face would twist in uncontrollable disgust, as if I was some kinda bug that needed to be squashed under the heel of their shoe, so I guess it¡¯s only natural of me to expect Roxanne to do the same now.


    However, much to my astonishment, she didn¡¯t do anything like that. She¡­ she smiled. It¡¯s true, I¡¯m not bullshitting you! Faintly, just faintly, but she really did smile! I¡­ I didn¡¯t expect that at all, but I¡¯ll gladly take it.


    It was a nice gesture, but it doesn¡¯t change the fact that impossible is still just as impossible as it always was. I won¡¯t be satisfied if it¡¯s not Roxanne, but I don¡¯t have enough money to buy her. I guess I should just forget about buying slaves and move on as a solo Adventurer.


    ¡¸Master, if I may¡­¡¹


    ¡¸Yes darling, I know what you are going to say. Michio-sama, while I can¡¯t lower Roxanne¡¯s price more than I already did, I am willing to wait for a few more days.¡¹


    ¡¸Huh?¡¹


    ¡¸Let¡¯s see here¡­ you said this was your first visit to Veil so you are probably not well versed with the terrain around the city, and there¡¯s also the matter of the Labyrinth¡­ so how about five more days to get the necessary amount of money?¡¹


    The merchant continues with his onslaught of words without giving me a single moment to wrap my head around what¡¯s happening here right now.


    Is this another one of his tricks? First he showed me his finest product to then bait me into buying the cheaper ones, so now he probably wants to firmly have me in his clutches by offering me such a kindness. Was I too careless? Have I let my guard down too much because Roxanne¡¯s beauty blinded me to everything else?


    ¡¸Ah, n-no, I¡­¡¹


    ¡¸Trust me, you¡¯re not the only one annoyed at the fact that you don¡¯t have enough funds to finish the transaction. But as long as you can procure the rest of the money in a few days, I will be more than willing to wait. You¡¯re fine with that as well, right, Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, thank you very much, master.¡¹


    And she bowed her head to him again.


    What is this? Why is he suddenly getting so cooperative? What is going on here?

 Volume 1 - CH 3.8

    Now that he¡¯s gotten so cooperative, there is no way for me to refuse unless I want to be taken for a complete douchebag.


    I would like to believe that he¡¯s doing it out of the kindness of his heart, but he¡¯s a merchant. Kindness is not a part of their trade, unless they can squeeze some coin out of it. Then again, even if he has some ulterior motive, I guess it works out for me just fine. Thanks to that I will truly be able to buy someone as beautiful as Roxanne for myself. Besides, what would both of them have to gain from trying to deceive me like that?


    Alan-san mentioned that she¡¯s still a virgin, just like all the other female slaves in this store, and we have already established that it is like that because virgin female slaves are worth significantly more than fully capable male slaves. Is it about the money after all? Could it be that the Slave Merchant and Roxanne know that once I¡¯ll set out to collect the rest of the gold necessary for the purchase I will probably have much more than that and they plan on stealing it from me after Roxanne kills me? No, that can¡¯t possibly be the case. If it was really like that, such a plan wouldn¡¯t have even a shred of sense, because Roxanne would have died along with me, and that would prevent both her from getting her share of gold and Alan-san from selling her to some other guy willing to cough up the dough. Well, that is all considering that his explanation about the relationship between a master and his slaves was not made up.


    Another option is that the two of them were really just trying to have me buy Roxanne, using the good business opportunity to their advantage. I am willing to bet that Alan-san thinks that if I will be satisfied with Roxanne, I will be willing to purchase more slaves from him in the future, but I¡¯m too blind to see this because my crippling social anxiety robbed me of one of the most essential abilities we humans can have: to have a little faith in your fellow men.


    ¡¸I¡¯m glad that you are willing to give me the benefit of the doubt, but even with that I cannot guarantee that I¡¯ll be able to procure the necessary amount.¡¹


    ¡¸In that case I¡¯ll have to sell her to another customer, which won¡¯t be hard at all, considering how beautiful she is.¡¹


    ¡¸So what you¡¯re telling me is that I have to get my ass up in gear and get the money as fast as possible because other clients are ready to buy her? Is that why you gave me those five days?¡¹


    I tried to get that information out of him.


    ¡¸Unfortunately I¡¯m afraid I cannot tell you anything, Michio-sama. That is a company secret. In other words, that knowledge is none of your concern. If you really want to buy dear Roxanne, then I suggest setting your priorities to getting the money, nothing more, nothing less.¡¹


    ¡¸And here I thought you were on my side!¡¹


    ¡¸I am on no one¡¯s side, Michio-sama. I am, first and foremost, a merchant, a man of business. As long as I get my money, the matter of who gets to be the girl¡¯s new owner does not matter to me.¡¹


    That statement was cruel, but also perfectly logical at the same time. I should have known. Of course. He¡¯s a merchant, the one dealing with slaves. To him, they are nothing that goods which need to be sold either to those who have the money and are willing to spend them, or to the highest bidder.


    ¡¸Dear customer, as I said, as long as it¡¯s those five days, I am willing to wait for you.¡¹


    Roxanne looked at me and smiled again. Her perfectly white teeth could be seen through the narrow gap between her glossy, cherry-like lips.


    Beautiful, she¡¯s just transcendently beautiful.


    ¡¸All right. Now that that¡¯s settled, Roxanne will be moving to the sold slave¡¯s quarters.¡¹


    ¡¸As you wish, master. I will make the preparations at once.¡¹


    Alan-san relayed the news to the older lady. So I guess that means the game is all set now.


    ¡¸Yes, be sure to do that. Michio-sama, let us be on our way. You as well, Roxanne.¡¹


    The older lady guided Roxanne to the room across the one I have previously entered, while Alan-san and I moved towards the stairs leading back to the shop¡¯s ground floor.


    ¡¸Yes. Uhm, Mr. Customer, thank you for your patronage.¡¹


    Roxanne bowed to me three times in succession, each bow deeper than the last one. Her dog ears were shaking in a cute way. Yup, the game is on for real. If I can truly have something so precious for myself, then I have to get the money no matter what!


    ¡¸Let¡¯s go.¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah.¡¹


    The two of us went down the stairs without looking back again. Okay, now that we were left alone again, I guess it¡¯s time to do a little prodding.


    ¡¸You took quite a gamble there. What if I really won¡¯t be able to get the money? Cause it¡¯s not like I¡¯m some kinda magician who can conjure them up from thin air you know?¡¹


    I started the conversation as we were going down the stairs.


    ¡¸Oh, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s like that at all. I heard that you have single-handedly defeated a group of wanted criminals. If that information is indeed true, then that would mean that you managed to earn between 120,000 to 200,000 Nar in less than one day.¡¹


    It was a guess on his part but wasn¡¯t that much off the mark. He actually managed to estimate the amount of Nar I got fairly accurately. But even so, he still seems to be forgetting about one thing: he wants me to get 420,000 Nar to pay for Roxanne¡¯s purchase. Now, in order to get so much money in the shortest amount of time possible, the best option would be to go to the newly discovered Labyrinth and hope to find some valuable items there, but if I want such an escapade not to be anything else than a glorious suicide method, I would have to get myself a Party first, and getting myself a Party would mean the necessity of splitting the loot obtained from raiding the Labyrinth equally between all the Party members, and that would automatically diminish my personal gains, to the point where procuring the desired amount of Nar would be pretty much impossible to achieve.


    What the Slave Merchant doesn¡¯t know, however, is the fact that just two days ago I was nothing more but a depressed teenager who wanted to end his own miserable existence, having achieved nothing and not obtaining any money at all, be it my world¡¯s Yen or this world¡¯s Nar. Even after being transported here, the only reason I was able to mop the floor with those Bandits was because I managed to obtain a ridiculously OP weapon for myself after countless experiments with Bonus Points and the Skills. Same goes for milking as much money as possible out of everyone. If not for the Character Reset option which can be used as many times as you want and the fact that performing a Reset takes less than a minute if you know exactly what you want to reset into, I wouldn¡¯t have as much dough on me as I have now. What I¡¯m trying to say is that I was only successful so far because my ¡¸special treatment¡¹ as a player allowed me to become somewhat of a demi-god compared to all those people who thought that a Slow Rabbit or a Gummi Slime were terrifying monstrosities that should be avoided at all costs.


    ¡¸I¡¯m just saying, you should prepare yourself to be extremely disappointed, just in case.¡¹


    ¡¸I will, you don¡¯t have to worry about that. But my intuition is telling me that you¡¯re going to be all right. I believe I have mentioned this before, but I have a pretty good eye when it comes to appraising people and their value as potential business partners.¡¹


    Dude, where does that confidence of yours come from and why don¡¯t you share some of it with me?


    With such thoughts in my mind, we returned to the guest room we were initially sitting in.


    Currently there are only two ways of obtaining money that would allow me to achieve my goal. One of them was raiding the Labyrinth on my own and hoping for the best. The ideal scenario here would be that I manage to find enough valuable Drop Items to get myself at least 100,000 Nar per day, peaking at 500,000 Nar after five days. Enough to buy Roxanne, and just enough to have some spare change for some initial lodging and food costs. Honestly though, such an outcome is extremely unlikely.


    Normally, one piece of Rabbit¡¯s Fur was 10 Nar, so in order to get any significant amount of money out of it I would have to hunt a shit-ton of them, and even then I have no way of knowing if all of those encounters would end with me getting an item that I want. From the info that I have gathered so far, it looks like one defeated enemy can only leave one item behind when it dies, and it won¡¯t always be the same one. Supposedly there are also stronger monsters who drop more valuable items with higher rarity, but whether or not I will be able to deal with them by myself is unknown at this point.


    Another option would be to hunt more Bandits and collect the bounties placed on their heads. If the average sum is 160,000 Nar, I should be able to get the necessary amount a little bit faster. Is the Slave Merchant¡¯s confidence in me coming from that? I¡­ I honestly don¡¯t know if I should think of it as incredibly na?ve or progressive of him.

 Volume 1 - CH 3.9

    But I guess I am still na?ve as well, since a part of me still doesn¡¯t want to admit that this is the real world, just like the one I left behind when I molested that ¡ºYes¡» button. Back in the village I wholeheartedly thought that this was nothing but an ultra-realistic game, and that¡¯s why I had no reservations about turning the Bandits that attacked it into salami, and besides, I did it mostly in self-defense. But now things are going to be different. We¡¯re not talking about defending yourself anymore, we¡¯re talking about assaulting other people, criminals though they are, but that¡¯s beside the point, so that I could trade their lives for money which is going to be used not for some chivalrous endeavor, but for the scummy reason of satisfying my own selfish desires. The only real problem with this approach would be finding a sufficiently large group of Bandits or a few smaller ones near the town across the span of two days. That pretty lady knight said that the group I had dispatched in the village was the one operating in the slums of Veil, so I can probably assume that no other group would take their place, at least not for the time being. Based on my video game knowledge, all the criminals in the city will either hide in the city sewers, or relocate to their hideouts outside of the town, most likely in some caves or encampments deep in the thickest parts of the woods. Chasing them down would be another matter entirely if I knew the terrain around Veil like the back of my hand, but without such knowledge, running blindly around the forest might just prove to be a giant waste of my precious time.


    As for the other ways of achieving my objective, I guess I could try doing the one thing that everyone who got sent to or reincarnated into another world would try sooner or later: use my knowledge from the time spend on Earth combined with my Identify Skill in order to multiply the amount of money that is already in my possession, but like I said before, I am just your average high schooler who knows jack shit about the economy and the processes which govern it, so I wouldn¡¯t know what to do, even if the method and resources were right in front of me. And as far as I know, there are no tricks to gain a large amount of money in literally a few days. Getting filthy rich always involves long-term investments with large amounts of risk to them.


    ¡¸Supposedly the Bandits whom you have defeated had decent equipment on them. Maybe selling them to the shops here in town could be a nice way to start?¡¹


    The Slave Merchant suggested once we got back to the guest room and I sat back on the sofa. As if I didn¡¯t know that already.


    Certainly, if I sold Durandal, it is more than likely that I would get 100,000 Nar for it, maybe even more. As for the Copper Swords, in my opinion they are just glorified, oversized butter knives unfit to fight not even against the Bandits, but also the weakest of monsters, so I don¡¯t think they¡¯d even be worth that much to begin with. But since the only weapon visible to others is the one I currently have equipped, there is no way for Alan-san to know about Durandal. When I first came here, all I had on me was a Copper Sword on my back, but now I also have a Scimitar tucked on my belt. From the outsider¡¯s perspective, I guess I¡¯m looking like some kinda weapons maniac or a sword collector.


    Now let¡¯s see¡­ combining the prize money and the money obtained from the Village Chief with the ones I would probably get for selling Durandal, I think I would be able to obtain the required 420,000 Nar pretty effortlessly.


    The thing is, no matter what happens, I absolutely cannot sell Durandal. Ever. If I did that, it would be lost to me forever, and that would mean a double loss for me: that of a powerful weapon and the Bonus Points I¡¯ve spent to obtain it.


    Even if obtaining Roxanne is everything to me now, losing Durandal would be equivalent to losing everything, because without Durandal, I won¡¯t be able to guarantee Roxanne¡¯s safety. Losing such a valuable weapon would spell no end of trouble for both of us. No, that sword is my absolute trump card. Even if it means facing more difficulties and adversity, I can¡¯t part with it no matter what.


    ¡¸If I chose to enter the Labyrinth, will I be able to make a sufficient amount of money out of it?¡¹


    I have to gather information about ways to obtain money without sounding too suspicious. First, let¡¯s try to get as much info about Labyrinth related matters as I can.


    ¡¸You can. It won¡¯t be an astonishing amount but at the very least it will be a steady one. The exact amount would depend on your ability and luck, but I think 1000 gold is the minimal amount you could get for a single item found in there.¡¹


    It depends on your ability and your luck¡­


    I guess so. But since the ordinary drop items would get me so little, gathering enough money out of them would still be impossible.


    ¡¸1000 gold per item, huh? While that might be good in the long run¡­¡¹


    Right now time isn¡¯t exactly my ally.


    ¡¸Can I get sell those found items to a Guild?¡¹


    ¡¸The Explorers and Adventurers Guilds are both here in this town. The Explorer¡¯s Guild is the second building on the right across the main road. The Adventurer¡¯s Guild is located in the center of the town on the west side. Just between you and me, they don¡¯t like each other very much.¡¹


    The Adventurer¡¯s Guild and the Explorer¡¯s Guild are not on good terms, duly noted. Having an Explorer Job might not be such a bad idea.


    ¡¸What about hunting down Bandits and collecting bounties for their heads?¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s certainly a possibility, but I wouldn¡¯t recommend it, if you want my honest opinion.¡¹


    ¡¸Wouldn¡¯t¡­ recommend it?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, and for a number of reasons. For example, the only place where the Bounty Hunters Guild is located is the Imperial City.¡¹


    ¡¸Bounty Hunting¡­¡¹


    So it can really function as a Job, huh? That was to be expected. If you can become a Thief by stealing something and a Hero by Saving a village, then by following that logic hunting down Bandits and the like should make you a Bounty Hunter.


    At least I thought that it¡¯s going to be like that, but apparently I was mistaken, cause when I checked my own status I have received no such Job. Maybe it is necessary to join a specific Guild first?


    ¡¸A Bounty Hunter? You need to accumulate a lot of experience at hunting criminals to obtain such a title.¡¹


    ¡¸I see.¡¹


    Apparently the prerequisite for that Job is to have a Warrior Job at Lv10 or so.


    ¡¸Even then, you won¡¯t be able to protect everything around you simply by being strong. Hunt down enough Bandits as a Bounty Hunter, and you¡¯ll quickly gain notoriety in the criminal underworld, becoming a target for everyone willing to exact revenge or increasing their infamy. When that happens, you won¡¯t be safe anywhere, even behind the walls of the Imperial City.¡¹


    From a criminal¡¯s point of view, Bounty Hunters must be their sworn enemies. It¡¯s natural for the two to detest each other. It¡¯s natural that both those groups would want to exact revenge if their members were harmed. I already murdered quite a lot of them, so¡­ have I already been branded as a potential target?


    ¡¸If you kill too many Bandits, can you end up being targeted by other outlaws?¡¹


    Looks like hunting Bandits might not be as good of an option as I have initially thought. Kill or be killed. That must be the absolute law of this world. But even if you¡¯ll be strong enough to kill many, the ones who¡¯ll come after them will eventually bring you down. History proved that to be true time and time again. Well, back in my old world at least.


    ¡¸That¡¯s right. And the prize money received in this way is absolutely not worth the risk of you and your relatives being targeted by other Bandits.¡¹


    Then is it possible that the Bandits I had killed during the raid on the village had extraordinarily high bounties on their heads? The ones going way above the usual price paid for the extermination of their ilk? No, that cannot be it. Picker-san counted the reward money for their slaying pretty accurately, so I guess it couldn¡¯t have been anything special.


    Either way, Bandit extermination should be my absolutely last resort. First, I should try my luck in the Labyrinth.


    ¡¸All right, I think I learned everything I wanted to know now. But one last thing before I leave: if I want to stay in this town for longer, are there any inns or hotels you¡¯d recommend? I don¡¯t want anything fancy or too pricey, but at the very least it should be something comfortable, with good food and soft beds.¡¹


    ¡¸Those are some pretty specific conditions, but if you¡¯re looking for something that is a middle ground between affordable and comfortable, The Veil Pavilion, an inn located at the southwestern end at the rotary in the town¡¯s center should be the place to go for you. It is managed by the Innkeepers Guild, so I can fully vouch for their quality.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay, I will go there immediately.¡¹


    I don¡¯t know what to think about that Innkeepers Guild, but it cannot be a bad place if Alan-san is recommending it to me. At the very least, it should be better than spending the night at the stables or with no roof above my head whatsoever.


    I stood from my seat. Now that we said everything that needed to be said, there was no reason for me to stay here any longer. For now I will have to secure myself a place to stay, but from tomorrow morning, I will have to work my ass off as hard as I would beat my meat on a Friday night (hopefully I won¡¯t have to take care of that myself for much longer).


    ¡¸Then I will be anxiously awaiting your return in five days, Michio-sama.¡¹


    Sent off by those parting words, I left the Slave Merchant¡¯s shop and moved forward towards my new goal: To gather enough money to buy Roxanne! And I think I don¡¯t have to repeat myself, but I will do so just to psyche myself up.


    Failure is not an option here!

 Volume 1 - CH 4.01

    Chapter 4: The Labyrinth


    Player Name: Kaga Michio


    Character Information & Equipment:


    Class: Villager Lv3, Hero Lv1, Thief Lv3


    Accessory: Ring of Determination, Sandals, Bandit Bandana


    The day was still young. If the main roads in this town are designed in such a way that they are heading directly to the north, south, east and west, then the sun has moved slightly over the west towards the south. So it should be¡­ a little over noon, if I¡¯m not mistaken?


    Now that I¡¯ve gotten back onto the main road, the first place I will try to visit will be the Explorer¡¯s Guild which is in that second building to the right, according to the information I have obtained from Alan the Slave Merchant.


    So that confirms that he wasn¡¯t lying: there really is such a Job as an Explorer. Just to be sure I used Identify on that one hot chick in the building and it showed me that she was a Lv17 Explorer, just like the receptionist-looking guy behind the counter.


    Okay, now for the most important part: do I really have to join the Explorer¡¯s Guild to become an Explorer myself? Also, I was expecting the inside of the building to look more like a tavern, or the medieval equivalent of an office building, but if I were to draw any comparisons, then I¡¯d have to say it looked like a primitive post office, wooden tables, counters and mailbox next to the guild¡¯s main entrance included. Several townspeople were already inside, apparently doing business with the guild¡¯s staff, because I heard sentences such as ¡¸I¡¯ll take that, then¡¹, ¡¸Sold¡¹ or ¡¸So how much is this going to cost me?¡¹ being used. If that is any indication, then I guess this place can also buy items off of you and made it possible for you to purchase whatever it is they are offering. But I am not interested in those, not for now at least.


    First of all, I¡¯ll need to do some information gathering. Listening to the people around me in hopes of catching something interesting, I headed over to what I assumed to be an information board with multiple pieces of parchment stuck to it¡­.


    Well, shit. I can¡¯t read any of those strange letters.


    Something is definitely written there, but I don¡¯t know what that is, which is strange since the Bandit¡¯s Intelligence Cards were written in kanji, so why are the letters here different? Is the Explorer¡¯s Guild special or were the Intelligence Cards special?


    ¡¸Excuse me sir, is there a problem? Do you need assistance with anything?¡¹


    A soft voice called out to me from behind my back. When I turned around, I learned It belonged to a young girl who looked roughly the same age as me. She was a Lv2 Explorer and was dressed in the same receptionist outfit as the guy behind the counter.


    ¡¸Uhm, yes. Actually, I¡¯m sorry to bother you but I can¡¯t read any of those.¡¹


    I said apologetically while pointing at the message board.


    ¡¸Of course sir. If that¡¯s the case then I can read the information you want for 16 Nar.¡¹


    I see. A substitute reader, huh? In a world in which the literacy rate is quite low and the ability to read is a privilege reserved mostly for those of noble birth who could afford to learn it, such an institution might actually be a quite lucrative business. And the price seemed to be pretty reasonable, but that is just my own opinion, that is to say a layman who doesn¡¯t know the actual value of this world¡¯s currency and the average hourly payment rate.


    ¡¸Then please do so.¡¹


    I took the backpack off my back and got the necessary amount of money out of the drawstring bag.


    I wonder if 16 Nar is the standard price, or the one that has already been affected by my 30% discount skill? Because my intuition was telling me that the former was the case here.


    ¡¸Please follow after me.¡¹


    She took the pieces of paper out of the board and we made our way to one of the tables. On the way, she passed the payment on to the receptionist dude. So I assume he¡¯s responsible for handling all the money that comes from the transactions with the people who want to read the information despite not being able to read themselves? That might be wise from the guild¡¯s perspective, but I hope that guy leaves all the money here when he finishes his shift. After all, if we assume that the Explorer¡¯s Guild earns a lot from substitute reading alone, then the caretaker of said money would make a perfect target for a robbery.


    Money, huh?


    It pained me a little that I had to spend some money so soon after steeling myself to save as much of it as possible, but if it¡¯s for the purpose of getting as much information about this world as I can, then I will take every little piece of info I can get my hands on, as long as it will lead me to making lots of money in no time.


    On a totally unrelated side note, that girl is as pretty as Roxanne is, at least when we talk about facial features. If we¡¯re talking about boobs, then hers were hidden under the uniform she was wearing, but at the very least the visible bulges confirmed that she was not as flat as a cutting board. But she was still inferior to Roxanne, who was an absolute bombshell all across the board!


    ¡¸All right , I can translate as many things as you want, as long as it¡¯ll be in the time it takes for the sand in this sand watch to finish falling. Is that alright with you?¡¹


    She then procured a small hourglass out of her pocket and showed it to me, probably so that I wouldn¡¯t try to accuse her of cheating on time. But I feel like I should point out that even for a pocket hourglass, the midsection was surprisingly narrow. I wonder how much time it will take for the sand to fall from one section to the other? 5 minutes? 10 minutes? Maybe 15 at best? Either way, I should get this lady to read as many documents as she can for me. In other words, be as precise with your questions and demands as you can.


    ¡¸Okay, I understand.¡¹


    ¡¸Then I presume we can start the countdown?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, please do.¡¹


    She then placed the hourglass on the table and turned it upside down, beginning the sifting of the sand inside.


    ¡¸So, what exactly do you want to know, Mr. Customer?¡¹


    She asked me. What I want to know is¡­ wait, actually, I don¡¯t even know what I want to know, because I have no idea what is written on those pieces of paper. I asked her to read them for me precisely because I wanted to know that! So I guess we¡¯ll start with that and then branch out to the specifics.


    ¡¸What is written in this document right here?¡¹


    ¡¸Those are the general information about the newly-discovered Labyrinth, The Labyrinth of Cooratar. The current exploration progress is 11 levels. The first level is inhabited primarily by Needlewoods, level 2 is the domain of Na?ve Olives, the third one¡­¡¹


    I don¡¯t get a single word of what she¡¯s saying to me. Like, I hear those words, but none of them is clicking with me. All I know is that she¡¯s probably talking about monsters prowling each level of the Labyrinth¡¯s dungeon.


    ¡¸What about the intel on the Labyrinth¡¯s deepest depths?¡¹


    She takes all the papers and searches through them in order.


    ¡¸Well¡­ it looks like no one has reached the deepest level yet, therefore we don¡¯t have any information on it yet. I¡¯m sorry.¡¹


    After all that searching, all she had for me was a disappointing answer. But I kinda expected it, since the Labyrinth was apparently discovered only a few days ago. Of course no one would have reached all the way to its end in such a short amount of time.


    ¡¸And the other papers? What are they about?¡¹


    ¡¸The ones over here contain the details of jobs for an Explorer.¡¹


    Another piece of knowledge which was imparted to me by Alan the Slave Merchant was that the Guilds generally did not offer quests and jobs to outsiders, and that they might find it difficult to recruit Party members, but he also said that the guilds are always open for accepting new members into their ranks. But for the time being I would like to avoid making any decisions that may or may not have an impact on the rest of my days spent here. Before I commit myself to one guild or the other, I¡¯ll have to carefully consider all of the options available to me to ensure that I won¡¯t pick the worst possible one on the worst possible conditions. Kinda like with job hunting back on earth, but with more dire consequences.

 Volume 1 - CH 4.02

    ¡¸What kind of jobs are there, exactly?¡¹


    ¡¸There are various kinds differing with specifics and difficulty level. Are you interested in anything in particular?¡¹


    ¡¸Not really, so if you could please start reading from the beginning¡­¡¹


    ¡¸Well then, first we have the services offered by the Knights of the Marquis of Negliva for those of 70 years of age or above, more details will be given when the candidates arrive in the Knight¡¯s headquarters. I believe that is one of the requests that are a part of the kingdom¡¯s elderly assistance initiative.¡¹


    So they have one of those here, even though this is clearly a medieval setting? Okay I guess. All that I care about is that there is nothing about recruiting potential Party members. Besides, I wouldn¡¯t want my companions to be a group of old geezers who are one foot in the grave already.


    ¡¸Next one please?¡¹


    ¡¸Goods carrying quest, commissioned by one of the warriors in service of Viscount Kustov. That is all.¡¹


    ¡¸Hmm¡­¡¹


    I repeatedly looked over the upper and lower pieces of paper sprawled on the table. All of them probably relate to the same kind of quest, that is transportation or escorting jobs, because their characters in the headers that apparently represented them were repeating across all the posters, or at least that was my guess from observing the movements of the guild lady¡¯s hand as she moved her slender fingers from words to word, explaining their meaning to me. I think I have a firm grasp of those two now, but the rest of the symbols were still a complete mystery to me.


    As I was lost in my own thoughts, about six minutes have passed.


    ¡¸I¡¯m afraid the time is up. What do you want to do, sir? Shall I continue or do you want me to stop?¡¹


    The sand in the hourglass seemed to have fallen from top to bottom in its entirety. So this pocket one lasts for about six minutes, huh? Technically I could ask her to read some more of those posters for me for another six minutes, but that would mean I¡¯d have to hand another 16 Nar to her, and since I don¡¯t want to spend any more money than absolutely necessary, I think it would be best to call it quits here for now.


    ¡¸We can stop here. Thank you for your assistance, ma¡¯am, you¡¯ve been very helpful.¡¹


    ¡¸I¡¯m glad to hear it. Thank you for your patronage and have a pleasant day, sir.¡¹


    We shook each other¡¯s hands and then I left the Explorer¡¯s Guild. To be completely honest, this whole endeavor wasn¡¯t helpful at all, except for maybe one thing: reaffirming my conviction that it would be more beneficial for me to actually learn the written language of this world. That way I wouldn¡¯t have to bother with finding someone to read stuff for me all the time, and that would be a huge relief for my wallet, and who knows, maybe it would also improve the way others look at me.


    Crossing one thing off of my to-do list, I headed towards the town center. My next priority was securing myself a place to stay, at least for the time being. To do that, I headed to the inn which Alan the Slave Merchant recommended to me. It was to the southwest, so just opposite of the knight¡¯s guardhouse. Supposedly it was run by the Innkeepers guild, so it should be a place that should be both safe and secure, but a part of me was getting worried that due to such a convenient location the accommodation fee might be off the charts. However, that was one of the few matters where I absolutely couldn¡¯t allow myself to be a scrooge. I have 33 gold coins on me and I won¡¯t allow them to be stolen from me just because I chose some cheap, but shady place instead of something more reliable.


    I entered the inn through the lightly colored, wooden door. One look at the place told me that it was just like Alan-san told me: kinda sloppy and definitely not cozy, but perfectly average for someone like me. It looked more like an interior of a restaurant than the lobby of a hotel. Curiously enough, almost all of the tables here were empty and there was barely a soul to be seen. Right about now should be one of the busiest times of the day when places like that should be bustling with customers! Or maybe the concept of lunch does not exist in this world?


    ¡¸Welcome!¡¹


    As I headed for the counter, a man standing behind it called out to me. He was a sturdy looking guy in his thirties, who was a Lv28 Innkeeper. Well, this shouldn¡¯t come as a surprise. If there was such an organization as an Innkeeper¡¯s Guild. He wore rough clothing which was somewhat similar to what I was wearing right now. Looks like the business really wasn¡¯t booming to such a degree that he could afford to buy himself something fancier. But enough about that. Let¡¯s talk business.


    ¡¸How much would I have to pay for a longer stay?¡¹


    ¡¸You intend to go to the Labyrinth as well, young lad?¡¹


    How did he know that I was going to the Labyrinth? Was it just a lucky guess? Or perhaps more people like me came here with exactly the same intention? That was what I initially thought, until it occurred to me that he probably deduced that from the way I was dressed. I mean, if I was in his shoes and saw a young man dressed in a bandana, leather armor and two weapons on him, I would assume that he was a) crazy  b) trying to rob me   c) heading someplace dangerous. And the only such place around these parts is the newly-discovered Labyrinth, so yeah, it must have been a simple cause-effect deduction.


    Since the Labyrinth is still brand-new, there might be a possibility of more people like me showing up, and once they do, it will be like an open hunting season, so I hope he still has some vacant rooms left. Please let that be the case!


    ¡¸That¡¯s right. That is my intention.¡¹


    ¡¸Hmpf, thought so. You look exactly like them adventurous folks who come to the big cities from the countryside to see what the world outside of their stuffy little villages has to offer and try to make a name for themselves. So what kind of room do you want then? A single? Or double? Or perhaps a shared quarter?¡¹


    ¡¸For now single room will be enough.¡¹


    A shared quarter? What¡¯s that? Is it similar to those  Japanese Edo period-styled hot-spring inns where you can have as much as six people sleeping together in the same room? And here I thought that medieval worlds in games were based exclusively on European middle ages where something like that wasn¡¯t as common. What a nice cultural addition. Regrettably, I have to turn that option down, for security reasons. I have too many valuable items on me to risk them getting stolen. That is why I cannot allow myself to share a room with other guests.


    ¡¸What about the furnishings? You want something that¡¯s a bit more on the fancier side?¡¹


    ¡¸Just your standard lodging will be fine. I don¡¯t mind if its furnishings are a little old.¡¹


    ¡¸What about the meals? Of course I can¡¯t force you to eat here exclusively, but if you choose to have your meals together with the room, then I could offer you a discount, as per the policy of the Innkeepers Guild. And just between you and me, dining in this city can get pretty darn expensive, going as high as 100 Nar per meal, and since you came here for lodging then I guess you¡¯re not exactly sleeping on the moneybags, right? Then again, if you were really strapped for cash, you would have chosen something even cheaper.¡¹


    So I have been branded as either a poor or stingy type of guy. But putting that matter aside, the Innkeeper makes a pretty solid point. What should I do about the meals I¡¯m going to eat? I know that since I came here from the 21st century Japan I¡¯m probably going to be heavily biased towards the food from this world, but what I had so far wasn¡¯t exactly what I would call terrible, so I think that given enough time I might be able to adjust my palette to it, even if it is many tiers below what I have been used to for my entire life.


    ¡¸Fine then, hit me up with the meals as well.¡¹


    If what this guy says turns out to be true, then finding a decent food place with affordable prices might be quite an ordeal. That¡¯s why having food waiting for me here at discounted prices might not be such a bad deal.

 Volume 1 - CH 4.03

    ¡¸Now, this is just a formality, but it¡¯s an order from the top brass of my Guild, so just bear with it for me, okay kiddo? Here, this is my Intelligence Card with the officially certified Innkeepers Guild¡¯s seal of approval.¡¹


    And he practically shoved his Intelligence Card down my throat. It really must have contained all of his personal and business information, but since I can¡¯t read any of those words I can¡¯t know for sure.


    ¡¸Ah, okay. Not that I didn¡¯t believe you, but it¡¯s nice to know that your Guild takes such small details into consideration.¡¹


    ¡¸Really? You¡¯re the first one who actually thinks like that. Other customers, even some of my most loyal regulars just think of it as a bother.¡¹


    No shit? But I can see why that would be the case. If Intelligence Cards can be said to be this world¡¯s equivalent of my old world¡¯s ID Cards that contain every little detail about a person then the owners of inns, shops and restaurants could definitely use them to keep shady customers out of their businesses by creating the list of the permanently banned ones and handing it over to the authorities. Kinda scary, futuristic concept, but as long as it gets the job done¡­


    ¡¸By the way, are there any restrictions as to who might stay in this fine establishment?¡¹


    ¡¸As long as you are a law-abiding citizen you¡¯re free to stay here. The only ones whom I won¡¯t tolerate here are Bandits, Thieves and other scummy criminals. I take pride in the fact that for as long as I¡¯ve been the owner here, none of them bloody outlaws set as much as a foot in here and I intend to keep it that way. Does that answer your question, boyo?¡¹


    ¡¸It does, thank you very much.¡¹


    ¡¸Good. Anything else you wanna know?¡¹


    ¡¸Nah, I think I¡¯m good for now.¡¹


    It would seem that this place will accept anyone, be it a noble or a slave, as long as they are not lawbreakers.


    ¡¸Speaking of Bandits, have you heard any rumors about their activity in the town or in its vicinity?¡¹


    ¡¸Not many of them, thank the Gods for that. But from what I do hear it seems that the activity of the Demi-human Brigands and Beastman Pirates began to be on the rise again. Not to mention the Robbers who commit brutal and atrocious acts on anyone who happens to be unfortunate enough to cross paths with them. I have never seen one of them for myself mind you and I¡¯m not going to complain about that. So to give you a short and precise answer, you¡¯ll definitely find them around here, but I wouldn¡¯t recommend looking for them unless you had no other choice. No matter who they are, criminals and outlaws are no good pieces of shit who should all be wiped out from the face of this earth!¡¹


    ¡¸I see. I¡¯ll be sure to take those words to heart.¡¹


    Looks like he really has it out for Bandits and other criminals. Perhaps it would be best not to pursue the matter further. Instead, let¡¯s ask him about the actual cost of my staying here.


    ¡¸How much would I have to pay for the lodging + meals combo, if you don¡¯t mind me asking?¡¹


    ¡¸Ah, that¡¯s right, I almost forgot about that! The cheapest single room costs 260 Nar and the cheapest meal set costs 60 Nar, so 320 Nar in total. If you intend to stay for longer, I can cut that price to 224 Nar per night. I always demand payment in advance, but you can pay for 1 day every day instead of paying for a week or a month.¡¹


    320 Nar a day for accommodation and food, downed to 224 Nar after applying my 30 % discount. Good to know that it works in this particular case.


    ¡¸That¡¯s a pretty sweet deal you have for me, and I¡¯ll gladly take it.¡¹


    I took the backpack off my back and took the drawstring bag out of it.


    ¡¸Thank you for your patronage then. The meals are served in this here dining hall. Breakfast is already included in the accommodation fee. We begin serving it 30 minutes after sunrise, sometimes a little earlier if there is a special occasion. Dinner is served starting from 30 minutes after the sunset, and will be served for 2-3 hours, so it will be in your best interest not to be late if you want to keep that stomach of yours full. As long as the lights in the canteen are on then you¡¯re safe, but if they are turned off then you either wait until breakfast or finding something on your own.¡¹


    ¡¸Sounds reasonable enough.¡¹


    That said, I placed 4 silver and 48 copper coins on the counter. If I knew exactly how long I would have to stay here then it might have been better to pay for more days in advance, but with my current budget I would have risked losing all the money I have on me right now without any guarantee that I would be able to get those back. That is why I will pay for 1 day of stay on a day-to-day basis, starting from 2 days payment right now.


    The Innkeeper counted the coins slowly.


    ¡¸Payment for 2 days, got it. Now boy, raise your hand.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay.¡¹


    I did exactly as I was told.


    ¡¸Investigate the will of the flowing spirit, the wisdom of intellect. Intelligence Card, open!¡¹


    I stretched my left hand with the newly-materialized Intelligence Card towards him. Showing him my Card sounded infinitely more convenient than filling the inn¡¯s logbook while being unable to write the letter or read the words.


    ¡¸Is this enough?¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, absolutely. Kaga¡­ Michio, huh?¡¹


    I know that the name on the Intelligence Card was written in the Japanese fashion, but I wasn¡¯t sure if I should go out of my way to tell him that Kaga was my surname, not a given name.


    ¡¸That¡¯s my name alright.¡¹


    ¡¸And your Job is still a Villager I see. Well, do your best to get yourself some decent one as fast as possible.¡¹


    ¡¸I will be sure to do that.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay, that takes care of all the formalities. Now come on, I¡¯ll show you to your room.¡¹


    And he left the counter. It looks like he does not intend to carry my backpack for me, so I have to do it myself.


    ¡¸Right behind you, sir.¡¹


    I followed behind him through two flights of stairs. Looks like my room is placed on the third floor.


    ¡¸If you really intend to go explore the Labyrinth, I can buy the ingredients you¡¯ll find in there off of you, as long as it won¡¯t be too large and it will be more than one piece of it so I can add it to the menu.¡¹


    ¡¸Roger that.¡¹


    If I¡¯ll obtain some monster meat I might as well sell it to him, since he seems so eager about the idea.


    ¡¸When you return here after the day of adventuring and you¡¯d want some hot water to wipe your body, come see me about it. A whole basin of hot water costs 20 Nar by the way. Take it to your room with you after dinner and bring it back in the morning before breakfast. If you want to use the lamp, the rental fee is 10 Nar, and it contains about an hour¡¯s worth of lamp oil. Feel free to add more oil yourself if you¡¯ll need it, just don¡¯t go starting any fires.¡¹


    ¡¸I will be careful not to do that.¡¹


    While we were talking about all those things we have reached our destination. The Innkeeper stood in front of the door as he was searching for the right key to the room, and then he placed it in the keyhole and opened the door.


    ¡¸Here we are.¡¹


    ¡¸Hoo¡­¡¹


    It really was a single bedroom the size of about 10 tatami mats. The only furnishings were a small closet right next to the room¡¯s entrance, a bed in the middle and a desk and a chair at the back. On the other side of the room was a medium-sized wooden window.


    All in all, this room isn¡¯t all that bad. It¡¯s certainly better than the one at the Village Chief¡¯s house, although I stayed in it for only one night and it was free of charge.


    ¡¸The shelves under the closet can be locked and I reinforced them with special shielding cement, but I would advise against putting any valuables in them anyway. If you have such items, you¡¯d best keep them close to yourself at all times. The servants will come clean the room once a day. If you want your clothes to be washed, just negotiate the price with whoever will be in charge of cleaning at that time. When you¡¯ll be heading out, please leave your room key at the reception desk. The number of this room is 3-1.¡¹


    He showed me the key and placed it on the closet.


    ¡¸Alright. Thank you for all the information.¡¹


    ¡¸Don¡¯t mention it. Now please enjoy your stay.¡¹


    And he left the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

 Volume 1 - CH 4.04

    Finally being left alone in my new temporary base of operations, I sat on the bed to test it out. It wasn¡¯t particularly soft, but also wasn¡¯t as hard as I was initially expecting it to be. Overall, it was not bad, like a solid 5/10 or 6/10.


    I lowered the backpack on the floor and took all of my luggage out of it. I think that my old jersey can be left here without any regrets. The Village Chief thought it was pretty valuable, but he couldn¡¯t have been more mistaken, so even if it was stolen from me, I wouldn¡¯t have been shedding many tears because of it. The same principle can be applied to the leather shoes which are currently on my feet. They were cheap as dirt, so even if I lose them I can buy myself another pair anytime.


    Next I took off the Scimitar and Copper Sword in order to rearrange the way I was wearing them. Since I was training kendo from a young age I was more accustomed to fighting with a two-handed sword instead of a one-handed one, but I wasn¡¯t going to use Durandal in a fight unless I had absolutely no other choice. Since the Scimitar was a relatively light weapon, it would be best to place it at my waist.


    Finishing my rearrangements, I placed the rest of my things in the closet and locked it, storing the key safely in my backpack. I did the same with the Bandit¡¯s Bandana since it was so light that adding it there made no difference to its weight. The last thing which ended up there were the two drawstring bags filled with my money.


    Inspecting the key to the room, there was something written on it. Probably my room¡¯s number, but it was written in a rather peculiar fashion. The Intelligence Card contained Arabic numerals, but those were different from them. They were more reminiscent of the ones I saw on the posters back at the Explorer¡¯s Guild. Could it be that the letters they were using there are the standard, or ¡¸normal¡¹ letters used by the inhabitants of this world?


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    Okay, now that I got myself accommodated, I feel it is high time for me to go hit the Labyrinth. I will accomplish nothing by simply sitting around on my ass doing nothing. Yup, that sounds like the best course of action for now.


    I got up, pulled the backpack back on my shoulders and left the room. Back at the lobby floor I just left the key on the counter in front of the Innkeeper who gave me a small nod and I left the inn and made my way towards the town gate which was facing the castle in the distance.


    There were no gatekeepers at the gate, so I just crossed it without being bothered by anyone and made my way towards the nearby forest. According to the Slave Merchant¡¯s instructions, the Labyrinth itself should be nearby.


    While I was passing by the wheat field, I noticed that a suspicious black wall  suddenly appeared between the trees right in front of me. It¡¯s a good thing that I managed to stop myself right in my tracks, otherwise I would have surely bumped into it head-first and then who knows what might have happened? What the hell is this thing? Is this some kinda trap?


    As I was thinking that, a group of six people before me approached it as if it was the most obvious thing to do. Is this some kinda transportation device? A teleporter, perhaps? That¡¯s amazing and cool in all sorts of ways! I want to give it a go immediately¡­. But wait a second! Identify! Just like I suspected that Party has someone with the Job of a Wizard among their Ranks. A friggin Wizard!


    ¡¸Here. This is the place.¡¹


    ¡¸Umu.¡¹


    All of them exchange a few sentences and the knight who I suppose is the Party¡¯s leader proceeds forward and enters the forest. Despite his fairly low level, he looks like a pretty proud and self-important fellow. For now, maybe I should try following after them to see where they will go and what they are going to do.


    Following after those guys (at a reasonable distance, of course) to the other side of the portal, I happened upon a small hill with the same kind of portal I passed through just now. Is that the entrance to the actual Labyrinth? I said that the portal was on a small hill, but to be honest, rather than a hill, it looks like just a sizeable mound of fresh soil. My guess is that this, let¡¯s call it entrance for now, is the only thing that¡¯s sticking above the ground level and that the dungeon itself is actually hidden underground.


    Apparently, someone was waiting for the group at the entrance. Looks like an Explorer. When the Party I was following approached him, he began the conversation almost immediately.


    ¡¸How far have you gotten?¡¹


    ¡¸The second level. I got out just now.¡¹


    ¡¸What kind of monsters have you encountered?¡¹


    ¡¸Needle Woods on the first floor and Green Caterpillars on the second floor.¡¹


    He gave them a short, methodical answer.


    ¡¸Well, you heard him. So? What should we do?¡¹


    ¡¸I think we can handle the first level.¡¹


    The knight presented his opinion. So he really must be the party¡¯s leader. The rest of his comrades nodded their heads and approached the black wall one by one, and then disappeared. So that really is the entrance.


    Should I go in as well? Ah, but before that, I guess I should do another Character Reset. I opened the menu and got rid of the 30 % discount and replaced it with Bonus Weapon 6. Now I have 1 Bonus Point left, because the second one was used to get the ability to shorten the casting time of Skills and Spells, since using them in-battle was difficult enough as it is. Not casting them should be easier for me, even if only for just a little bit. I am lucky that such a Skill has been implemented into this game¡­ I mean world. Upon closer investigation, that 1 Bonus Point should shorten the casting time of Skills and Spells for about 10%. I decided to place the last Bonus Point I had left into Critical Strike Chance Increase. Just like with the reduction of the casting time, one Bonus Point seems to be equal to a 10% increase. If that is the case, then I wonder what is the maximum cap for such abilities? 30%? 50%? !00%? Or does it vary from Skill to Skill, depending on what it is and the method of its use?


    With that out of the way, I closed the settings screen. Durandal is placed on my waist next to the Scimitar.


    With the preparations done, I finally approached the entrance to the Labyrinth. I was half-expecting the Explorer who stayed near the entrance to comment on how I shouldn¡¯t be going into such a dangerous place when I¡¯m clearly not ready, but he just ignored me and didn¡¯t even look my way. Okay, that works just fine for me I guess.


    I tried going through the black wall myself. When I inserted my hand into the portal, it went through it without encountering any kind of resistance. Encouraged by it, I went there properly¡­. and ended up in a room-like cave, or perhaps a cave-like room.


    It was a small square space covering about 4-5 square meters. There wasn¡¯t any artificial source of light, but thankfully it wasn¡¯t so dark that I couldn¡¯t see my surroundings at all. The dim light emitted by the stone walls was enough to give me the vague idea of where I should go to proceed.


    So this is a Labyrinth, huh?

 Volume 1 - CH 4.05

    Three roads were extending from this room: one in front of me, one to the left and one to the right. The black portal behind me served as an entrance to the Labyrinth, therefore it was of no interest to me for now, since I wasn¡¯t going to leave this place minutes after I entered it.


    All of the roads looked exactly the same, that is a narrow tunnel about 3 meters wide and even more dimly lit than this starting area, so much so that seeing what¡¯s on the other side was practically impossible. In your typical RPG terms, I found myself on the crossroads, and quite the complicated ones at that.


    Will I really be okay wandering around this place? After all, I didn¡¯t prepare any kind of mapping supplies. Moreover, I haven¡¯t even thought about buying myself some of those. The same goes for some portable sources of light, like torches or even that goddamn oil lamp from the Innkeeper. What am I going to do now if it turns out that the inside of the Labyrinth is all dark like a¡­ I¡¯ll better stop talking now before I say something I¡¯m going to regret. I mean, I didn¡¯t see those six players carrying any light sources with them either, but there is a possibility that their Wizard could create light with his magic. Alright, time to use my knowledge learned from video games in practice.


    When it comes to mapping and navigating the labyrinths, the general rule of thumb is that you should always stick to one side of the passages you¡¯re going through or to always turn in one direction so that you could eventually come back to the place where you started the exploration even if you end up getting lost.


    I chose to go down the path to the left. There was a fork at the end of it, and one of the available paths was turning left again. Both the floor and the walls are still solid and don¡¯t show any signs of crumbling down on my head or any traps launching themselves at me from out of nowhere.


    Luckily for me, when I made another step, I noticed that every time my foot touched the ground beneath me, that portion of the floor shone with the same dim light emitted by the walls of this place. So it turns out I don¡¯t need an external source of light after all. Good to know. It¡¯s nice that this Labyrinth turns out to be quite a convenient place to explore. This way, I won¡¯t have to worry about being suddenly attacked from behind by monsters who dwell in here. And speaking of surprise attacks, after I went a few steps ahead, I heard the sound of something moving behind my back. However, it was not an attack I was anticipating, ready to slash whatever tried to jump me with my right hand firmly on Durandal¡¯s hilt.


    Looking back towards where I came from, the black wall shone with a pale blue light, revealing another group of people. They were a party of 5 Knights and 1 explorer. I thought they were going to head through one of the pathways leading out from the main area, but apparently their intention was the exact opposite, because they faced the stony entrance and then proceeded to head out of the Labyrinth, one after the other. So the entrance to the Labyrinth is at the same time its exit. Expected, but having a visual confirmation is always nice. Anyway, I should proceed further. I cannot allow myself to waste even a single minute if I am to make a ton of cash required to buy Roxanne.


    One thing I wondered about though, was what I was going to do if a monster really attacked me in here. As I mentioned above, the passages were claustrophobically narrow and Durandal wasn¡¯t exactly a short sword or a dagger, so If I¡¯m going to be attacked in those corridors, I will have no other option but to run towards some wider space if I ever want to defend myself. Only an idiot or a total noob would attempt to fight with a longsword while being confined in an enclosed space. If this was just a game dying wouldn¡¯t be much of a setback, since I¡¯d just have to make the trip back here again from the nearest respawn point, but as long as I have no way of knowing if I only have one life here or not, I¡¯m going to assume that death here is like the one while playing games on Death March difficulty: you die = no do-overs, just the cold emptiness of the void in the afterlife.


    But before I worry more about that, a system message flashed before my eyes.


    ¡ºNew Job obtained: Explorer¡»


    Now what do we have here? Better check it in the Job settings screen.


    ¡ºJob: Explorer, Lv1¡»


    ¡ºActive Effect: Slight increase to Physical Attack¡»


    ¡ºSkills: Item Box    Party Organization   Dungeon Walker¡»


    Oh would you look at that, just by going into the Labyrinth and walking around a little I have obtained the Explorer¡¯s Job! So you don¡¯t have to join a Guild to obtain a Job they represent after all! Neat!


    So let¡¯s run a quick check, just to be sure. I have obtained a Thief Job after I have stolen a pair of sandals from the barn in the village, the Job of a Hero after I saved said village from a Bandit attack, and now a Job of an Explorer after entering the Labyrinth. What does that tell us? It tells us that you don¡¯t have to join a guild to get a Job, but you still need to complete an action that would act as a sort of ¡¸trigger¡¹ for obtaining it.


    I tried changing it to be my first Job, but it proved impossible. The only two Jobs which could be set as my main one were Villager Lv3 and Thief Lv3, just like before. I can¡¯t place Hero or Explorer at the first slot. If that is how it¡¯s going to be, then I guess I have no choice but to continue going forward with Villager as my main Job. Even if it was kinda lame, it was still a better alternative than placing Thief as my first Job and becoming the target of society¡¯s scorn in this world as well. Can you imagine how epic of a fail would that be? It would literally be the biggest of all ¡¸Oof¡¯s¡¹, and to add salt to the wound, the one I would have brought upon myself with nothing but my own stupidity. As long as the First Job is considered your main one, the one that can be displayed on the Intelligence Card for all to see, it¡¯s best not to tinker around with it too much and just leave it at the default, safest option. Besides, it doesn¡¯t change the fact that my second Job was the Hero Lv1. The Skill of that Job was called Overwhelming. As to what that Skill actually does, I have no idea, since I didn¡¯t have any occasion to actually try it out, for the obvious reason.


    The third Job I set was the newly-acquired Explorer Lv1. I think now¡¯s going to be a good time to test one of the Skills that came with it, the Item Box. Let¡¯s give it a shot.


    ¡¸Item Bo¡­!¡¹


    Before I finished speaking those two words, something that looked like a small wooden box appeared in front of me. Or at the very least, something that looked like a lid of the wooden box. I tried to look at it from the side, but all I saw were the edges of the thin portal out of which the Item Box appeared. Did it arrive from the other dimension? Is it governed by some kinda space manipulation magic? But why did it appear like that even before I finished calling out the Skill¡¯s full name? Is it because of the Reduced Skills and Spells chanting time I invested my Bonus Point in? I thought it will only work on Spells and Skills with longer incantations, but it looks like it works on the shorter ones as well. I wonder if the effect would be the same if I just mentioned it in casual conversation? That would be quite a weakness, or perhaps even a bug. I would have to pay attention to it from now on, but for now I yeeted the Item Box from its portal to the meat  and potatoes of the test that I wanted to carry out.


    Okay, here goes nothing I guess.


    I tried removing the Scimitar from my waist and putting it inside the Item Box. I had some concerns at first, but much to my relief it managed to get inside without any problems. Next I tried letting go of the box, and it disappeared, just like I expected. Then I called the Skill¡¯s name again, and the Item Box materialized itself in front of me one more time. I opened the lid and sure enough, the Scimitar which I placed inside not even a minute ago was there, waiting to be pulled out. Going by the video game logic, even if the sword was sizeable, it should only occupy one slot inside the Item Box. Hmm, I wonder if I can be like the protagonist of that one game¡­ I think it was called Gothic? I remember that you could carry every item from the entire game in your backpack because its inventory space had no limit. Wouldn¡¯t it be nice if that was the case here as well? Yes it would.

 Volume 1 - CH 4.06

    If only the circumstances allowed me to, I would love to twiddle around with the Item Box some more to thoroughly test its capabilities, but my common sense was telling me that a Labyrinth, a foreign, uncharted ground was not a place for such frivolous behaviors. If I¡¯m not careful, a monster might attack me the moment I let my guard down.


    I let go of the Item Box, allowing it to slide back into the dimensional portal it popped out from, and then proceeded to checking out the rest of the Skills. I can leave the Party related one be for now, since I don¡¯t have an actual Party yet.


    ¡¸Dungeon Walker!¡¹


    The best way I could probably describe this Skill was a navigation device which worked entirely in my head. Just like a professional GPS, it was asking me where I wanted to go, so I thought about the Labyrinth¡¯s entrance, the very first room I ended up in when I came through that black wall-portal. When I pictured that place in my mind, Dungeon Walker pointed me towards the right wall of the cave I was currently in. When I approached it somewhat reluctantly, it turned black, and the same pale blue pattern like before appeared on it. Could this be a shortcut to the starting area? Let¡¯s see for ourselves, shall we?


    I walked through the wall, and sure enough, I ended up going back to where I started, a dimly lit cavern with a wall-portal serving as the doorway inside the Labyrinth. As soon as I exited this newly formed doorway, it closed behind me and returned to being just an ordinary wall. I see, so that¡¯s how it works.


    So to cut the long story short, Dungeon Walker will show me the shortest possible route to any place I have previously visited as long as I remember it and can picture it clearly in my head. I could be pretty useful on the surface as well, but I think that this Skill¡¯s usage is restricted only to the inside of the Labyrinth and other kind of Dungeons, hence the name Dungeon Walker. Category-wise, I wonder if it is closer to walking magic or perhaps map magic? Are such magics even exist in here? I don¡¯t know, so I just make those names up on the spot for my own convenience. And while we¡¯re still on the subject of walking around and wall-portals, I walked through the same one earlier, when I entered the forest outside of the Labyrinth after that one Party. What was up with that, exactly?


    ¡¸Dungeon Walker.¡¹


    I chanted the name of the Skill again after visualizing a portal at the edge of the forest in my head. The wall in front of me has indeed turned black and the symbol has appeared on it, but I wasn¡¯t able to go through it no matter how hard I tried. So it can point me to a place outside of the Labyrinth, but it won¡¯t allow me to use the passage to go there? Looks like I¡¯d have to get a separate Skill if I wanted to use that kind of magic in the world outside of the dungeons. Kind of a bummer, but at least now I know that I won¡¯t have to worry about mapping the entire area and getting lost in here.


    ¡¸Dungeon Walker.¡¹


    I recast my Skill to go back to where I have come from and approach the newly formed black portal in the wall¡­ but I couldn¡¯t go through it at all. Another failure? But why? I thought I did everything exactly as I should! A shortage of some kind? No, that can¡¯t be it, because the black portal appeared. Could it be that the places that I can go to are limited to the Labyrinth entrance or places with doorways? If that¡¯s the case, then I guess I have no choice but to walk back on my own without any assist.


    On my way back through the corridors, I noticed that something was wandering behind me. It was a small monster that looked like a hybrid of a human with a plant. I was rather small and quite thin. I wonder if my current power will be enough to defeat it? I brandished Durandal from my waist, gripped it tightly with both my hands and rushed towards the monster.


    ¡¸OVERWHELMING!!!¡¹


    I placed my whole battle spirit in that shout and swung my weapon down, slashing the monster downward from its left shoulder. It fell to the ground immediately and didn¡¯t stand back up.


    Alright! Still managed to dispose of him with a single blow!


    I must¡¯ve looked pretty cool right now, right? I bet that if somebody saw my greatness just now, they¡¯d want me to join their Party right then and there. If Overwhelming is so OP, then I might as well make it my personal secret ultimate technique. Heh, I can probably kill the strongest of monsters with such a move. As long as I have Durandal and the Hero¡¯s Job, I feel like I might be invincible! And who knows? Maybe once I¡¯ll find a way to actually level that Job up, maybe I¡¯ll gat my hands on even more powerful abilities¡­ yeah right. That attack just now was not due to a Skill. It was a simple blow from Durandal. Overwhelming didn¡¯t activate at all. I shouted the Skill¡¯s name, but nothing happened and nothing¡¯s changed when I did so.


    What the hell is wrong with this damn Skill? Is it useless? Bugged? Broken? No, I refuse to accept that that¡¯s it!


    I used Identify on myself and checked that one bar under my HP which, as I assumed earlier showed the energy required to cast Spells and Skills, essentially my MP bar. Only ? of it remained. The rest was drained. 1/4th, huh? That¡¯s very low. That must also be the reason why Overwhelming failed to activate properly. I simply didn¡¯t have enough points left to use it. My first guess was that I still couldn¡¯t use the Skill, but I got it together with the Hero Job, so it should technically be possible for me to use that Skill even when the level of its corresponding Job was still just 1. *Sigh* this is my second failure at using a Skill in a span of like what, 15 minutes? Therefore not having enough energy was the only plausible explanation as to why I was unable to use it.


    But then, what is at fault here? My excessive usage of Dungeon Walker? Yeah, that has to be it. I must¡¯ve simply used it too many times which drained all of my energy down to such a pathetic level. But I was convinced that it was going to be more of a Passive Skill, the one which provides the user with benefits at all times without any actual cost of its usage! Was I wrong to think that? Does Dungeon Walker has to be activated at the cost of expending energy points, just like any other Active Skill? That must really be how it is. I mean, if you think about it carefully, there is no such thing as Passive Skills with active effects that can be turned on and off. Passive Skills are Passive Skills precisely because once acquired, they stay active all the time. But Active Skills, on the other hand, could have the additional, passive effects to them. So yeah, I think that settles it. Dungeon Walker is actually an Active Skill with a passive effect, and that¡¯s the end of that story.


    Anyway, the monster I have just defeated disappeared in a cloud of green smoke. After he was gone, the only thing remaining after him were the small branches, like the ones you often see on the trees in the spring. Identify told me that it was a Needlewood Branch, a drop item from the enemy I just killed, the Needlewood. Come to think of it, the Explorer Who talked to that Party I tailed did mention something about the first floor of the Labyrinth being taken by Needlewoods, and the second one was the domain of¡­ Green Caterpillars, if I remember correctly. I tried putting the dropped branches into the Item Box, but for some reason they got rejected. Hey now, so you¡¯re telling me that putting a giant-ass Scimitar in there is okay but a few twigs are a no-go? *Groan* Okay, fine, if you¡¯re going to be so anal about it, then I¡¯ll just place the damn thing in my backpack. There, happy now? Great. Now that that¡¯s done, let¡¯s move to the next prey who¡¯s clearly aching to be slaughtered.


    Along the way, I checked Durandal¡¯s Skills and saw that it also has a Skill called Absorption, meaning that with each enemy killed I should recover either a portion of my health or the energy necessary to cast other Skills. I have no way of knowing if I sis recover some health because that Needlewood earlier didn¡¯t even graze me, but it look like I did recover some energy. Maybe I should go and kill some more enemies just to confirm it? Yeah, that is what we¡¯re going to do.


    The next Needlewood rushed me from afar and twisted its wooden body in an attempt to slam into me and slash me with its branches, but my own attack was still faster. Just like the one before him, he ended up being one-shotted, this time by a slash which followed from the right shoulder to its left side. It disappeared, dropped the items, I collected them and moved forward, prepared for quite a lot of grinding to be done.

 Volume 1 - CH 4.07

    When I arrived at another wider cavern the only way I could choose was the one leading straight ahead. Right now I have ventured quite far to this floor¡¯s left side, but there is absolutely no cause for concern, since I can always use Dungeon Walker to go back to the starting point.


    In the next four caverns I also had no choice but to go straight ahead, until I happened upon another enemy. I was hoping to get a surprise attack at it, but unfortunately the mechanic of the floor shining with every step gave my position away too early. It¡¯s not that big of a problem, but I¡¯ll have to take that into consideration the next time I¡¯ll come to the bigger area. Also, it would be good if I could determine if the monsters in here move and hunt by relying primarily on their sight, or if they use other senses to determine the location of the potential prey. But that will come later. For now¡­


    ¡¸Overwhelming!¡¹


    Since I should have enough MP recovered, I tried casting the Hero Job¡¯s Skill one more time. At first I thought that nothing has happened, just like last time. But this time something about the enemy has visibly changed. The Needlewood¡¯s movements became much slower, as if he was moving in slow motion. He was slowed to such a degree that I thought he was going to freeze in place any minute now.


    In the meantime, I have approached it and positioned myself behind it. Due to the slow effect, it didn¡¯t even shift its head in my direction. For a second I thought about leaving it alone since there was no way that it would be able to hurt me in its current condition, but I discarded that thought almost immediately. This is a monster, and I am an Adventurer. This world operates on a very simple principal of [kill or be killed] where one wrong move equaled death. I didn¡¯t have to worry about it in my old world, but right now I have to keep telling myself that I am no longer an ordinary, powerless citizen. I am a warrior, and if I have the strength to fight, I might as well use it against anything which seeks to inflict harm upon me, no matter how defenseless it might seem! So sorry buddy, but I won¡¯t be risking letting you go so you could call the rest of your friends in an attempt to overwhelm me with your numbers!


    I raised Durandal into the air and swung it down, cleaving the slowed Needle Wood before me in half.


    There! How do you like that, you wooden dick?!


    Based on my observations, I can tell that the slow effect lasts for some time, but I¡¯ll have to confirm if it is the same for every enemy who¡¯ll be slashed by Overwhelming, or does it differ from enemy to enemy.


    I exhaled deeply and placed Durandal back at my waist as the monster, who probably didn¡¯t even realize what was going on until it was too late disappeared in a puff of green smoke. My own feelings have also calmed down sufficiently for me to analyze how exactly  the effect of Overwhelm worked. Was it really slowing down whoever was cut by my weapon? Or was it actually accelerating my own movement speed, making me see everything around me as moving extremely slowly? Or perhaps it¡¯s just increasing my Agility? Either way, to put it in the simplest way possible, it is a Skill which manipulates time. If it can really allow me to move faster than my enemies, than that is going to give me a tremendous advantage in battle. However, there is still one issue that I have to address.


    The negative effect that the loss of MP has on my mental state.


    After using Dungeon Walker too much, I have exhausted almost all of my MP, and as a result of that, my head was gradually being filled with gloomy, depressing thoughts which made me quite angry and irritated, and that anger and irritation reached their peak when I used Overwhelm to kill that Needle Wood whom I first wanted to spare. But after I slayed it and the MP recovery effect kicked in, I gradually started feeling better, as if something has chased away the dark clouds looming over my mind.


    Does my mental well-being really have something to do with how filled my MP bar is? Because I remember that something like that has happened to me before, when I used the Skill of the Flame Rapier, only then I simply felt extremely mentally exhausted. So if we assume that expending MP worsens my psychological state and recovering MP improves it, then that would mean that the more Skills I use in battle, the wilder of an emotional roller coaster ride I¡¯m going to go through.


    Great, that is simply wonderful. Here I was, thinking that this adventure is going to be just like your regular RPG kind, but now I feel like I have just discovered the existence of a hidden Sanity statistic, just like in those Call of Cthulhu games. And that means that if I want to avoid the scenario in which I¡¯m going to either go insane or so depressed that I¡¯m going to kill myself for real this time. So until I¡¯ll be able to afford using Skills without having my MP drop to zero almost immediately, I think it would be best to avoid spamming them left and right unless the situation really calls for it.


    Okay, after all these battles I think it¡¯s high time for another appraisal of my levels. I looked at my own hand and used Identify.


    Kaga Michio (Male, 17 years old)


    Villager Lv4 Hero Lv1 Explorer Lv1 Thief Lv3


    Equipment: Durandal  Leather Armor Sandals


    The only Job whose level went up was the Villager. Hero and explorer stayed exactly the same as they were.


    Exactly how many Needle Woods have I defeated so far? I don¡¯t know the exact number, but it must be approaching a hundred, and yet even with the two of my Bonus Skills, 1/5th Experience Required and 5 x Experience Earned the only Job to gain a level was Villager? Just how many EXP does the Hero Job needs to level up?! And don¡¯t get me started about the Explorer, my newly acquired Job! Is obtaining levels for anything that isn¡¯t your main Job really that difficult?!


    To begin with, I don¡¯t think that the actual level cap in this world is very high, probably because this is a reality, not a game that can be cleared in just a few days if you spend all of your time grinding and power-leveling. The denizens of this world can¡¯t do that, hence they have to amass experience gradually over the course of their entire lives, so it should come to me as no surprise that killing close to 100 monsters was still not enough for more than one Job to level up. Or maybe the Bonus Skills are not working as they should be working? Honestly, I don¡¯t even know anymore. Maybe by obtaining more Jobs the value got reduced to 1/3rd? Or perhaps the rest of the Jobs do get the EXP points, but not the entirety, but only a small portion of it? That would explain why did the Villager Job¡¯s level went up from 3 to 4, but the level of Hero and Explorer stayed the same.


    Ugh, at times like these I would really like to have some kinda strategy guide with me. Or a cheat compendium.


    Since my business with that monster is done, there¡¯s nothing left to do but to pack the branches he left behind and be on my way.


    Or maybe I should do another Character Reset?


    Since the Villager has leveled up, I should have one more Bonus Point. That is one thing which is totally praiseworthy: a system in which the total number of your Bonus Points increases as the level of your first assigned Job increases. With that said, I removed the Critical Strike Chance Increase and replaced it with Skill Cast Time Reduction. I feel like it might be of better use to me, because further down the line I will probably obtain much more MP, to the point where I will be able to spam Skills without running the risk of damaging my mentality, so it would be nice to have something that would allow me to fire those Skills off that much faster. As for the Critical Strike Chance, I think investing my Bonus Points into it might have been a mistake, because let¡¯s face it, with my current equipment I will probably never even get the chance to use it in an actual combat since I one-shot every enemy that is stupid enough to face me, and even if I didn¡¯t do that, 10% Critical Strike Chance is still a pretty low number, so it can go fuck itself for all I care.

 Volume 1 - CH 4.08

    The thing with having a strong weapon on you (and Durandal can certainly be classified as one such weapon or even going beyond, seeing how absurdly OP it is) is that if you can defeat everyone who dares to challenge you with one of two strikes, you will have absolutely no use of Critical Strikes, as they only serve to increase the damage done by weaker (normal) weapons beyond their usual capacity. In most games, the damage done from critical attacks varies between 100 ¨C 250% of the damage dealt by the weapon you currently have equipped, so I¡¯m sure that Durandal would have achieved truly absurd numbers, but that would only be a cosmetic touch. Against the current, low level enemies, the base damage done by it is perfectly enough for me to breeze through any challenge I might come across.


    With my latest Character Reset, I¡¯ve made sure to distribute my Bonus Points in such a way that I have none of them left. After getting rid of the Critical Strike Chance Increase I¡¯ve put 2 Bonus Points in Skill Cast Time Reduction and 1 Bonus Point in Skill Cast Speed Increase. I wonder if just with those 3 Bonus Points alone I¡¯ll be able to achieve the highest possible reduction time and casting speed increase? It certainly would be nice, but let¡¯s not get our hopes up just yet.


    For starters, I have to see with my own eyes how the current Cast Time Reduction and Cast Speed Increase will influence the usage of my Skills.


    As a trial I decided to use the Item Box Skill, and when I called its name out loud, it appeared in my hands almost immediately. Great. Now we see that those Skills do actually contribute to my performance in a practical manner. I¡¯m glad I decided to perform that Reset just now.


    When I ventured forward, I battled even more Needlewoods. I know that one Explorer at the entrance mentioned that they are on the Labyrinth¡¯s first floor, but did he mean that the first floor consists only of Needle Woods? Because so far, I haven¡¯t seen any other monster besides them. Well, it¡¯s not like I have any problems with that fact, especially since my Durandal ensures that I one-shot them every time, granting me an easy win and a relatively safe passage through the corridors of this floor, but I¡¯m just saying that some variety would be nice every once in a while, otherwise the process of farming monsters and their drop items will get extremely repetitive and dull.


    After plowing through hordes of enemies for a while, I decided to try wearing the Bandit¡¯s Bandana to see exactly how its effect is going to work. But in order to do that, I have to set the Thief as my first Job¡­. But I cannot do that. No matter how many times I tapped the Thief Job in an attempt to set it as the primary Job, the game just wouldn¡¯t let me do that.


    Why? What is going on here?! Why can¡¯t I do this now, when earlier both Villager Lv3 and Thief Lv3 could be set as the first Job without any issues?!


    No, wait a damn minute, a thought just occurred to me.


    Currently Villager is not Lv3, but Lv4.


    Oh, so that¡¯s how it is? Then that would solve the mystery quite nicely.


    Right now my Bonus Points are distributed as follows: 63 points in Bonus Weapon 6, 15 points in 1/5th EXP Required to Level Up, 15 points in 5 x EXP Earned, 3 points for the Third Job, 2 points for Skill Cast Time Reduction and 1 point for Skill Cast Speed Increase, Identify, Job Setting and Character Reset. A total of 102 Bonus Points, an increase by 3 points from the original 99 due to the Level Up of the Villager Job to Lv4.


    However, that way I¡¯d have to leave the Villager as the first Job, willingly discarding the option of switching it with the other Jobs that might provide me with better benefits.


    Back when the Villager Job was still at Lv3, it was possible to switch it up with Thief Job, which was also Lv3. Because there was no change in the amount of the Bonus Points.


    So what would happen if I tried a little something?


    I performed another Character Reset where I discarded the Skill Cast Time Reduction and Cast Speed Increase and recovered the 3 points I¡¯ve spend on them just a few minutes ago. Then I entered the Job Setting screen. If what I have in mind right now proves to be correct, then it might be possible for me to set the Hero Lv1 as my first Job.


    Bonus Points are a wonderful addition that can be obtained by leveling up the first Job you have selected, but once they have been used up, the level of the Job set as the first one cannot be reduced to its earlier value. The increase is permanent. That much should be obvious. But now with the adjustments I¡¯ve just made¡­


    I was able to set the Thief as my first Job!


    Now that I was finally able to do that, I can test the Bandit Bandana at last. If I remember correctly, it is supposed to increase its wearer¡¯s physical capabilities. When I placed it on my head I did had a feeling as if my body became somewhat lighter, but tat might as well be my imagination. I don¡¯t understand it very well so that¡¯s the best way I can describe the feeling that has enveloped me.


    It looks like this world is unlike the video games I have played thus far. Normally you¡¯d be able to see the effects of the positive changed to your status immediately, but that does not seem to be the case here, even after increasing your level. All I have in regards to whether or not the Bandit¡¯s Bandana¡¯s effect has worked or not is my gut feeling alone. I would have gladly tested it out on one of the Needle Woods roaming the Labyrinth¡¯s halls, but since I¡¯m killing them to death like One Punch Man (but like, with a sword, so¡­ One Slash Man?) it wouldn¡¯t prove anything, and I don¡¯t want to fight with anything else than Durandal right now. Even though I wouldn¡¯t have to use the Copper Sword since I have a Scimitar with me, I feel like it would be only slightly better than its copper counterpart, directly impacting the time it would take me to defeat monsters in here, and since I am strapped for time, I cannot allow myself to experiment.


    Finishing my little Job switching test, I took off the Bandana and reverted my character settings to the previous ones. It would be very bad if someone happened to see me wearing it, even by accident. The last thing I need right now is the spreading of the news that I have a Job that allows me to wear clothing that is exclusive to criminals.


    I don¡¯t know exactly how much time I have spent hunting in here so far, but I feel like it must have been around an hour or so. Technically that much should have been enough for my first bout into such an unknown ground, but a part of me was telling me that I can still keep going. But this is my first time in the Labyrinth, so maybe calling it quits for today is actually a smart thing to do? On the other hand though, I don¡¯t feel tired at all yet, and my mental fatigue was also holding up nicely because of that self-restraint on Skill usage I placed upon myself.


    Yeah, let¡¯s keep going just a little bit more.


    No matter how far or deep I will delve into the depths of this dungeon, I can always use Dungeon Walker to get myself right back to the entrance point by going through the shortest route possible. As long as I¡¯ll have MP to cast that, there¡¯s no way for me to get truly lost in here.


    Throughout the next hour, I fought around twenty more Needlewoods, which always came at me one at a time. Of course, I have spent most of that hour by going around the narrow corridors and the small caves they were leading into. Unlike in the video games, the real life didn¡¯t possess a random enemy encounters system that would allow me to fight a battle after battle in a span of seconds, which was quite regretful, because I¡¯ll admit that it would be nice if I could maximize the amount of battles and drop from enemies as much as possible without having to waist too much time on actually finding them.


    Although all I needed to slay Needlewoods was one blow from Durandal, the procedure of defeating them, gathering the drop items and placing them back in my backpack still too a considerable amount of time. That is a chore to be sure, but at least my life is not threatened. The Villager¡¯s level did not increase further, but both Explorer and Hero both got up to Lv2.


    And that¡¯s what I call fucking progress!

 Volume 1 - CH 4.09

    By doing another Character Reset I got rid of Durandal. Then I opened the Item Box and took the Scimitar out of it.


    Hmm? What¡¯s this?


    When I took the Scimitar out of the Item Box, I noticed that it freed some space right next to it. I think it means that I can place some additional items there. Kinda tricky and unintuitive, but I can work with that.


    I got some of the dropped branches from the backpack and tried putting them into the newly-freed space of the Item Box. Looks like one space slot can be taken by two branches simultaneously. It was exactly the same for the slot right next to it: exactly two branches could be placed there. So I guess that means that a single space slot in the Item Box can be occupied by varying quantities of items, depending on their size, and quite possibly weight?


    I tried to do another thing next. I tried to place some branches into the space that was already occupied by one Scimitar, but I couldn¡¯t do it, but two branches could still fit into the space right next to it. I¡¯m pretty sure that this space was not there before. But now that I think about it, it might also be related to the level of my Explorer Job. Maybe when its level will go up, then the number of spaces in my Item Box will increase accordingly?


    When I just got this Job, meaning it was at its base, level, Level 1, I only had one space in the Item Box that could only hold one item in it, but now that the Explorer Job gained a level, I have obtained an additional item slot and could not hold up to two pieces of the same item in one slot. That¡¯s why I should now be able to hold both of my Scimitars in a single item slot. I guess I could test that further when I will elevate Explorer¡¯s Job level to Lv3. If my assumption is correct, then I should get a third item slot and be able to hold up to three items of the same kind in one slot.


    But for the time being, I placed the Scimitar back onto my waist and made my way back to the Labyrinth¡¯s entrance and passed through the black wall-doorway back to the outside world, and then headed back to the town of Veil.


    When I got out of the forest, I noticed that the sun¡¯s position had changed drastically. I thought I was in there for only about an hour or so, but it looks like much more time have passed. It was probably due to my cautious approach since it was my first time in a place like this and I thought that it would be best not to go in too deep. But if I am to make all the money I¡¯ll need to buy Roxanne, then I¡¯ll have to cast that overly cautious attitude aside in favor of a more aggressive, gain-oriented approach. I only have so many days left until the deadline, so I need to pick up my pace from tomorrow onward.


    Even though the day was slowly moving towards the night hours, the city was still booming with activity. As I was making my way towards the town¡¯s center, I took my time to browse through various shops and stalls (and ogled the nice looking shopkeeper ladies while I was at it).


    Before returning to the inn and calling it a day I decided to pay a quick visit to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, the other place that Alan the Slave Merchant has told me about.


    The building itself was one story larger than the one belonging to the Explorer¡¯s Guild. At first glance, it looked like a really big post office, the kind that you¡¯d see in larger cities. There were about five or six people inside, not including the receptionist-looking staff members behind the counters by the walls. Huh, when I look at it like that, I realized that this place has much in common with the Explorer¡¯s Guild, even though the two were not exactly on good terms. Was it a conscious choice, or perhaps all of the public service buildings were build like that?


    ¡¸Uhm, excuse me? I would like to sell some items from the Labyrinth, if it¡¯s not a problem of course.¡¹


    I reset my character to get the 30 % better selling price and then I stood in front of one of the counters. Since this is my first time selling anything to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, I guess the actual amount of money I¡¯m going to get is not all that important, but it¡¯s always better to get more money rather than less and then regret it. That and I¡¯ll get to see for myself whether or not they are going to try and swindle me out (which was rather improbable, but I¡¯ll have to be ready for everything).


    I was expecting an older dude to be behind the counter, just like it was with Picker-san back at the village, but instead the one who was going to handle my inquiry was a nice-looking onee-san with an above average face. She looked much better than most of the village women but was still inferior to Roxanne in my opinion.


    ¡¸By all means. Please place your items here on the counter.¡¹


    She gestured me with her hand and a big friendly smile on her face.


    ¡¸Here you go.¡¹


    I placed my backpack on the ground beside my legs, took all the items that dropped from the monsters I have slain today and placed them on the counter. The spoils from my first-ever excursion to the Labyrinth were 21 Needlewood Branches. Even though I killed more enemies than that, only twenty-one of them actually left something behind them when they died. I guess this must be another game-like aspect of this world: a chance of obtaining a Drop Item from a monster when it is slain. On a side note, I wonder if the items here have varying degrees of rarity just like in all the RPG games that I¡¯ve played. If so, then the degrees would probably be Common, Uncommon, Rare and Very Rare, and the ones belonging to a Very Rare category would sell for much more than those from the Common one. Hehe, it would be nice if those branches were actually worth a ton; that would make achieving my current objective so much easier. But I guess we¡¯ll have to wait and see what this nice onee-san has to say about it.


    ¡¸Understood. Please wait here for a bit while I will go and check the exact price for your items.¡¹


    She placed all the branches in a small trey and then withdrawn to a room in the back of the building. She¡¯s probably going to examine all the branches to confirm how much they are worth.


    Since I had no choice but to wait, I decided to take a look around the guild building. As I was taxing everything with my eyes, I saw that one section of the wall to my left suddenly went all black, and that people emerged out of that newly-formed dark space.


    Wait a minute¡­ that looks like a wall-entrance to the Labyrinth! Then¡­ is that Dungeon Walker?! But I thought that it can only be used inside of a dungeon! The ones who emerged from it were two Adventurer-looking dudes. There were no Explorers with them.


    ¡¸Attention please! Anyone here interested in a one-way trip to Tahera?¡¹


    The first Adventurer who emerged out of the wall asked that question in a loud, lively voice. When he saw that apparently no one was interested in his offer he chanted something in a quiet voice, created another black gateway on the wall and disappeared inside it.


    Well, that sure was random as hell.


    Putting that aside, if that Skill wasn¡¯t Dungeon Walker, then it must have been Field Walker, a Skill that works similar to Dungeon Walker, but outside of Labyrinths and Dungeons. Or at least that was my assumption. I mean, it would be very logical, right? If Dungeon walker can be used to create passages and shortcuts in and out of the Labyrinth just like that Party did before me, then Field Walker must be used like a method of fast travel between various towns and cities. In that case, those two must have been heading to another city called Tahera. But if that was their goal, then why did they stop here? Did they just drop in to say hi? Also, I wonder if that skill is Job restricted. Would I need to become an Adventurer first in order to use it?


    As I was contemplating that, another portal has appeared in the exact same spot as before, and a group of Adventurers came out of it. Without talking to or greeting anyone, they left the guild as soon as they appeared.


    Yup¡­ that was definitely a series of events that happened.


    ¡­. Jesus Christ, how much longer will I have to wait?!


    ¡¸Thank you for your patience. Here is your money.¡¹


    Onee-san who took my items finally came back to the counter, so I turned my head back towards her. Now let¡¯s see, how much money did those branches get¡­ me?


    Huh?


    On a small plate before me, there were two silver coins and a lot of copper ones. When I counted it, their exact number was 73.


    73 coins. That is how much my hard work was worth.


    Is that a fucking joke?

 Volume 1 - CH 4.10

    Okay, alright, time for some quick math to figure this bullshit out. I sold 21 Needlewood branches to this fine lady here, and got 273 Nar in return. That would mean that a single branch went for as little as 13 Nar! And that¡¯s the price after it was already boosted with the 30% price boost, so normally one branch was only worth 10 Nar!


    That price is so laughable that it makes me want to cry bloody tears!


    I thought that I was in the Labyrinth for only an hour, but given how tilted the sun¡¯s position in the sky was when I got out, it might have actually been two hours. Now, for the sake of my big brain calculations let¡¯s assume that it takes an hour to kill ten enemies, two hours to kill twenty enemies and so on, all the way up to one hundred enemies in ten hours, and that a single enemy defeated was worth 10 Nar. That would result in a profit of 1000 Nar in ten hours.


    With that, my initial goal of earning two gold coins per day would remain nothing but a distant dream. And even if I somehow managed to double that amount, it would still be a far cry from the 20 000 a day that would allow me to get enough funds to buy Roxanne without any issues. With that said, the obvious solutions would be to either spend more time in the Labyrinth¡¯s upper floors each day, or to venture deeper inside in hopes of getting my hands on something that would allow me to get more money. Yeah, those are the only viable options I can think of at the current moment.


    ¡¸By the way, can you tell me the exact requirements for joining the Adventurer¡¯s Guild?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course. Truth to be told, becoming an Adventurer is relatively simple. All you have to do is to have an Explorer Job and have it at lv.50. If you are interested in joining, then do you want me to show you to the person who¡¯s in charge of the whole procedure?¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you, but that won¡¯t be necessary for now.¡¹


    After respectfully declining, I collected my backpack and headed out of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.


    So basically what I learned from my short visit there is that Adventurer is an Explorer¡¯s senior Job and in order to acquire it, you have to make so many explorations to advance the Job to a ridiculous level, but the lady in the guild failed to mention if actually joining the guild was one of the requirements as well. Maybe it won¡¯t be necessary, or maybe it will. If at all possible, I would like to not join it carelessly, seeing as joining a guild apparently forces you to buy, sell and in general do business with that guild only, which can prove to be bothersome in the long run.


    The slave merchant told me that the Explorer¡¯s Guild and the Adventurer¡¯s Guild do not like each other very much, and now I can say that I totally see why it is like that. In order to become an Adventurer you had to be an Explorer first, so it wouldn¡¯t be an understatement to say that joining the Explorer¡¯s Guild was nothing more but a stepping stone on one¡¯s way to become an Adventurer. Thinking about it, that is more than a little messed up and unfair, but it looks like that is how things are rolling here, so unless people won¡¯t change their way of viewing the Explorer¡¯s Guild, I guess nothing will really change in the way they are treated.


    For the time being, I decided to use the money I got from today¡¯s expedition to buy myself some basic clothing, like socks, pants, an alternate set of shirts and pants, and a cloak.


    The pants that I bought are the so-called pumpkin pants, the kind where the waist and both legs are tied together with a string. Along with the rest of the clothes that I bought, they are all used instead of brand-new, because that was a cheaper option. I¡¯m glad that something as convenient as second-hand shops is also present in this world. This is going to make my life that much easier, at least when it comes to buying clothes.


    When it comes to the cloak, I settled for a dark one with a face-covering hood. Edgy, I know, but what can you do? It looked really cool so I just bought it without a second thought. Both mornings and evenings here tend to be a little bit on a cold side, so wearing a coat to mitigate that wasn¡¯t anything unusual. Quite a lot of people seem to be wearing them, in fact. Also, with that cloak, I will be able to wear my Bandit Bandana without anyone seeing it and raising suspicion as a result. In other words, a perfectly legit camouflage.


    With nothing else to do, I returned to the inn, and sure enough, the Innkeeper was behind the counter, just like when I left the inn to go to the Labyrinth.


    ¡¸Yo, welcome back, kid!¡¹


    Yup, the atmosphere of this place was totally off-putting, but I guess there was no point in complaining if I wanted to keep my place to sleep for now.


    ¡¸Can I get my key?¡¹


    ¡¸Sure you can. Here.¡¹


    And he handed me the key to my room.


    I quickly got up to the third floor, left my baggage in the room and got back down to the reception.


    ¡¸You serving dinner yet?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, you¡¯re right on time. Go grab yourself a menu at the entrance to the dining area.¡¹


    ¡¸Also, when I¡¯ll finish eating, I¡¯d like to ask you for some hot wa¡­¡¹


    ¡¸That will be 20 Nar, thank you very much.¡¹


    ¡¸¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.¡¹


    I swear to God, this guy¡­ but wait a minute. 20 Nar? What about my 30% discount?! Why does it not apply here?! Well, it¡¯s certainly a bummer that it does not seem to be effective since I¡¯d like to cut my spendings as much as possible, but that much I can deal with. I took 20 Nar from my pocket and left it on the counter.


    When I entered the dining area, the first thing I saw was a table with four sets of dishes on it and a nice, friendly looking young woman next to it.


    ¡¸Welcome, please, feel free to choose you diner for today from the following dishes.¡¹


    Is this lady in charge of the dining area (or maybe I should start calling it cafeteria for short)? The aura around her was totally different than that of the Innkeeper when she opened her arms and invited me further. Taking a quick glance at her with Identify, she was a 28 years old Female Innworker.


    Even though this was supposedly the menu, it was different from the ones that I am used to. Looks like this one here is actually a system that allows you to select a real deal right from the get-go instead of picking a dish from the list and waiting for it to be prepared. If I were a betting man then I¡¯d bet my money on the fact that this was a countermeasure against those customers who couldn¡¯t read at all. With such a system in place, even those who are illiterate can pick a dish without any complications, allowing for a continuous stream of customers. I have to admit, whoever thought about such a solution, that was a really smart move. Then again, there was something written on a piece of paper that was placed on the table I was guided towards. It must be a reservation that was prepared for me before I arrived, because it was a number, the same one that was engraved on the plaque that was attached to the key to my room.


    Now let¡¯s see here¡­ hmm, out of all the dishes, the rightmost one struck me as the most delicious-looking.


    ¡¸I¡¯ll be taking this one.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood. And what would you like to drink?¡¹


    ¡¸What choices do I have?¡¹


    ¡¸We serve beer, wine and herbal tea. You can also order Slime Liquor, but you¡¯ll have to pay extra for that one.¡¹


    ¡¸Then I¡¯ll be having herbal tea.¡¹


    ¡¸As you wish. Now, please sit down and wait a minute while I go get your order.¡¹


    I had a little taste of the alcohol some years back, but I don¡¯t know how much of it I could tolerate without getting drunk off my ass, so it¡¯d be better not to touch any of it for now. I have too much money on me to lose it all carelessly if I were to go on a drunken rampage.


    When I took my seat at the table, my food was delivered to me literally minutes after. It was a stew with boiled meat and vegetables. The amount is¡­ well shiver me timbers, but there is a crapload of it! Is it because they only serve two meals a day here? Because if that is the case, then I have absolutely nothing against such a policy. The more on my plate for me to eat, the better!


    Well, without further ado, time to dig in!

 Volume 1 - CH 4.11

    ¡¸¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.!!!¡¹


    Oh¡­ my¡­ LORD ALMIGHTY!!!!!


    The bread was soft and tender, and both the stew and the vegetables and meat (probably beef) were equally taste buds-blowing, and seasoned just right with spices, out of which pepper was the one with the strongest taste. It might be just my personal opinion, but you could definitely make a fortune with this dish if you started selling it in Japan. Sure, it is a bit pricey, but something like that could definitely be sold as a high level gourmet dish back in my old world!


    I took my sweet time to enjoy this meal and then went back to my room. The rays of the setting sun coming in through the wooden window painted it with a slight shade of red. After literally a few minutes since I got here, I heard someone knocking at the door.


    ¡¸Please come in!¡¹


    ¡¸Excuse me. I brought the hot water you requested.¡¹


    A man whom I have never seen before came into my room, carrying a tub filled with hot water with him. He placed it in the middle of the room and then put a towel next to it, immediately leaving the moment he finished doing his work. I thought about giving him a small tip for all the trouble he had to go through to bring it all the way to the third floor, but it looks like there was no need for me to do that.


    I took off my clothes and wiped my body with the towel dipped in hot water. It was understandable that the Village Chief¡¯s house did not have any bathing facilities, but if an inn like that does not have them as well, then I guess bathing might not be all that popular in this world? Maybe it¡¯s just a luxury that only the filthy rich people can afford? This tub of water here cost me 20 Nar, so it was definitely not on the cheap side. But if I just neglected my personal hygiene and just kept on getting all dirty and sweaty without a care in the world then I¡¯d be no different from an animal.


    After getting myself clean, it was time to wash the clothes I was wearing as well. Unfortunately I do not have any soap on me, so all I could really do was to douse them in hot water and hang them out to dry. Besides, I don¡¯t even know if one of the shops in town is even selling soap, or does it even exist in this world in the first place. Before I always took things like soap or cleaning detergent for granted, but now that I won¡¯t have access to them anymore, I guess it will require some intense getting used to. The same goes for toothbrush and toothpaste. I think this world is still not technologically advanced enough to have those available. Also, when it comes to buying food, I could really, and I mean really use some convenience store right now. I¡¯m afraid that if I want to continue eating quality meals like the one I¡¯ve eaten today then that¡¯s going to get pretty darn expensive in the long run.


    Since it will take some time for my clothes to dry I put on the pumpkin pants and one of the spare shirts I bought today. The pants didn¡¯t have any kind of string or a rubber in them so I couldn¡¯t adjust them, but that was only a slight inconvenience. Now that I finally had some time for myself I could feel the fatigue of the entire day catching up to me, so I just laid down on the bed and drifted off to sleep in a matter of minutes.


    I must have gotten at least a few good hours of rest, but when I have woken up, it was still dark outside, so I just laid still on the hard hay-mattress, surrounded on all sides by pitch-black darkness. I think I was dreaming. About Roxanne. I couldn¡¯t recall what I was dreaming about exactly, but judging by the fact that my pants were still as clean as they were a few hours ago, at the very least I could be sure that it wasn¡¯t ¡°that¡± kinda dream. It¡¯s funny though. It¡¯s been a few days since I arrived in this world, and I have never once dreamt of Japan. Not even a single dream to remind me of my home world and the life I¡¯ve led there (as shitty as it was). Maybe that¡¯s because instead of longing for something that I will probably never see again, my brain has already switched its gears into thinking about the things that are within my reach, just waiting for me to grasp them firmly with my hands? Heh, who would have guessed that there will come a time when someone like me, who was considered to be a failure and a sore loser by anyone around him will have a real chance at snagging a real 11/10 beauty for myself (putting aside the fact that she is going to become my slave)? When compared to the girls in my old world, she is a million times better, there¡¯s no doubt in my mind about that! Not to mention that she is nothing like all those cutting board-like bitches that would report you to the police for sexual harassment the moment you¡¯d dare to point that fact out to them! I can still see it so clearly, that image that has burned itself in my mind. Oh how her lovely melons jiggled up and down when she handed me that tea cup!!! Oh man, and now my horny mind is going on a rampage again, even though I have yet to obtain her as my own!


    Initially I was afraid that I will always be alone in this new and strange world, but if I get her to be my companion, I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll be able to teach me everything that I¡¯ll need to know not to stand out like a sore thumb. That is my current objective, and I absolutely cannot allow myself to fail at it. If there is anyone whom I could rely on, I¡¯m sure it would be her.


    After that I must have dozed off for some more, because when I opened my eyes again, the room wasn¡¯t as dark as it was the last time. I exhaled heavily. Even though I went to bed relatively early last night (maybe it was around 7:00 pm, I can¡¯t really tell because there are no watches or clocks here), my limbs still felt kinda sore and I was still tired. That is probably because in order to get to Veil I have woken up pretty dang early and left the Village Chief¡¯s house and the village before sunrise, and then had a day full of surprising and taxing activities, both mentally and physically.


    This world has one major drawback: the lack of electricity and technology makes it so that there is pretty much nothing to do after dark, aside form the adult entertainment such as brothels, drinking and gambling. No gaming console, no TV, no PC, no internet, no manga, no books, no nothing! If all I can do is to just lay in here and bore myself to death, then maybe I should go out and collect more information from the bar or something like that? Yeah, that would be a pretty swell idea, if not for the fact that it probably wouldn¡¯t go very well for me. As a kid who was constantly bullied, my communication skills were at the level where I normally wouldn¡¯t be able to hold a normal conversation with others out of fear that they also might start picking on me. What about the last two days you ask? Ah right, I guess I was able to somehow get by just fine, but I think that is entirely because I¡¯m still treating most of the people here as nothing but game NPC¡¯s despite my best efforts to convince myself to switch that mentality into treating them like the proper human beings. You know how it is, right? In games, normal NPC¡¯s won¡¯t ever attack or turn on you, the player, unless they are scripted to do so or you provoke them yourself. As long as you don¡¯t do that, they will continue to behave in a neutral manner and spew exposition and quest info your way all day long without batting an eye. At least that¡¯s how I thought it would be here, but if any of those people outside are just as unpredictable as real people now, there¡¯s no telling when some of them might get offended or triggered by something I say and pull a knife on me. And that brings me to my second concern. The money I have on me right now. With the amount I have on me right now, wandering around without any legitimate reason might not be a good idea.


    One gold coin will allow me to stay at an inn for around a month, so 33 of them would allow me to have a place to stay for three years. Even back in Japan, no one would be parading around with that much money on them, much less go get themselves piss-drunk at a bar, so I¡¯m not going to do that either. I¡¯m going to be a better man and rise above!

 Volume 1 - CH 4.12

    Thirdly, I have no clue as to how much alcohol I could drink without getting shitfaced. I know that I am still technically a minor so I absolutely shouldn¡¯t drink even a drop of it¡­ but that was before I was transported here. As far as I know, this world does not have any limits on how old you should be before you¡¯re allowed to drink, so one of these days I might as well give it a go to see why everybody is so gung-ho about it. Besides, getting information at the bars is always much easier when the other party you want to extract information from gets drunk sooner than you, so learning my limits will be to my benefit. I just have to wait with it until I won¡¯t have so much money on me. And there¡¯s no telling how much of a blabbermouth I might become when the good stuff starts getting into my head. Just imagine, a young lad screaming some drunken nonsense about Earth, Japan and all the things the denizens of this world haven¡¯t even heard off while swinging his beer mug around with a beet-red face. Yeah, I¡¯m sure that a spectacle like that would guarantee me a nice round of questioning at the guardhouse at the very least.


    On the other hand, all those alcohol-related musings of mine are based on the assumption that I am the same as I was back in Japan, while that might not be the case at all! Who knows, maybe after I was brought here my physicality and metabolism have been altered to adapt to my new reality, so maybe I could actually drink a small waterfall without its side effects kicking in? Or maybe the alcohol in here is pretty weak in comparison to the one served on earth? Be that as it may, as long as I don¡¯t have any way to turn all those question marks into solid evidence, the wisest course of action would be to avoid any and all alcohol altogether.


    Fourthly, all I need for now is the information on how I can make money quickly and effortlessly. Every other information, such as what is considered common sense in this world and the general laws that govern it I can ask Roxanne about once I will finally make her mine.


    If I went to a random bar right now, I wonder if I¡¯d have been able to hear some nice, juicy stories? If not, I could just sit around and try listening to the conversations of others. That way, maybe I could pick a thing or two in the art of weaving ridiculous stories and honey traps meant to trick others? Then again, that would probably require me to have one hell of a silver tongue and a deep understanding of how this world works. Without those two, someone like me, an outsider without an ounce of common sense on him would just make a perfect sitting duck of myself.


    Ehh, in the end, information gathering looks like it¡¯s going to be more butthurting trouble than it¡¯s worth. Maybe I should just quietly go back to sleep again?


    It was just a precaution, but last night I slept with a Scimitar under my pillow in case someone tried to break in and rob me of my belongings. Maybe it¡¯s just me being overly paranoid again, but I also have to admit that doing so made me feel like one of those samurais from old historical dramas who even took their katanas to bed with them because they needed to be combat-ready at all times.


    Now that I was completely awake, there was no way I¡¯d be able to fall asleep again, so I might as well get up, even if the outside is still pitch black. Unfortunately for me, the rooms in this inn didn¡¯t come equipped with their own toilets, so in order to use one, I had no choice but to go out of my room. After finishing my business there, I decided to go down to the lobby. The corridors and the stairs were all lit with candles placed at regular intervals, making the inside of the inn lit just enough to avoid tripping over your own feet.


    ¡¸You headin¡¯ off to the Labyrinth?¡¹


    When I got down to the inn¡¯s ground floor, I heard a voice talking to me from behind.


    ¡¸Uwah!¡¹


    That scared the living hell out of me! I legitimately thought I was going to have a heart attack there for a second! Taking a look behind me, the one to call out to me so suddenly was the Lv. 28 Innkeeper.


    ¡¸If you do want to head out there now, just mark my words and be careful, ya hear me?¡¹


    ¡¸So I¡¯m not breaking any rules by going to the Labyrinth at night?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course not. Truth to be told, many Adventurers choose to go to the Labyrinths during the night hours. That might not be the case here yet since the Labyrinth has been discovered only recently, but normally that¡¯s what you¡¯d do if you want to avoid stumbling upon too much traffic during the day.¡¹


    I see. That certainly makes a lot of sense. Inside the Labyrinth, the concept of night and day does not apply. Many people were going into them at night, taking advantage of the fact that the inns for Adventurers were open practically 24/7.


    ¡¸Isn¡¯t it hard on you? Having to be at the front counter here at all times I mean?¡¹


    ¡¸Not really. You see, I am one of the Emaro. I guess you can say that we are kinda special, because we don¡¯t require as much sleep as normal humans to maintain the proper functioning of our bodies. Explaining it to everyone who asks about that is kind of a pain in the ass, so let¡¯s just say that I require very little sleep a day and just leave it at that, alright, kid?¡¹


    ¡¸Sure, but that sounds pretty rough.¡¹


    That has to have something to do with how the brains of those Emaro fellows function. I remember that some animals on earth are like that too. Dolphins, for example. It is said that the left and right halves of their brains take turns sleeping, because if both of them fell asleep at the same time, they would straight-up drown.


    ¡¸That¡¯s why I said that it¡¯d be best to just leave it as it is. You get it?¡¹


    ¡¸I¡¯m not that bright of a person so I might not be able to grasp the finer details, but I think I understood the gist of what you wanted to say.¡¹


    ¡¸You don¡¯t say? That¡¯s gotta be the first time a human has dropped the subject when I asked them to.¡¹


    The Innkeeper seemed to be happy with me not being too pushy regarding his race. Can¡¯t say that I blame him for being fed up with questions, but I don¡¯t think that many people in this world would know that a brain has left and right halves and how each of them works, so that goof cannot be assigned to them entirely, but still¡­ if someone does not want to delve too deeply into any given subject, you shouldn¡¯t grill them about it against their will. Only total douchebags do that.


    On a side note, following my dolphin digression, I wonder if Emaro have something to do with the creatures of the ocean, like mermaids, or should I say merfolk?


    *Glance~~~~*


    Nope, he has a pair of two perfectly normal-looking legs.


    ¡¸I¡¯m glad to hear that.¡¹


    ¡¸And that is why I¡¯m going to do you a solid and willingly talk about some things, so be sure to listen carefully because I¡¯m only going to say this once. Emaro people hate settling and being tied down in one place for too long, and that¡¯s why most of us will choose to become Innkeepers and work in the establishments run properly by the Guilds. I guess you can call it our race-specific Job. Since we can always be ordered to transfer to another place if need be, this is a perfect Job for us.¡¹


    ¡¸It would really seem so.¡¹


    Maybe his race really did evolve from some seabound species if the very concept of settlement appears unattractive to them. Anyways, I left the key to my room at the reception desk after I briefly went back upstairs to get my backpack and prepared myself for another round of money-hunting in the Labyrinth. If I am to just sit around doing nothing, then I might use that time to do something productive.


    ¡¸Hey kid, maybe you should consider taking a lantern with you, huh?!¡¹


    ¡¸It¡¯s okay, I think I¡¯ll manage without one just fine!¡¹


    I left the Inn, shouting that to the Innkeeper. I mean really, what¡¯s a little darkness going to do? I¡¯ll be fine.


    Except I wasn¡¯t.


    It was so dark that to say that I wasn¡¯t able to see shit was an understatement of the century!


    ¡¸Oh fuck me!¡¹

 Volume 1 - CH 4.13

    It¡¯s really, really dark outside, to the point where I can¡¯t even see one meter ahead of me. Why is it so dark in here? Is there no moon in this world at all, or is it that it is being covered by the clouds or something? When I looked toward the night sky, I saw the sea of stars way above my head. It was shining brightly, but their light was not enough to light up the path ahead of me. For someone like me who grew up in Tokyo all his life, the darkness of this night was a real shocker.


    Maybe I should go back and borrow the damn lantern after all? But something tells me that even if I had a light with me, going to the Labyrinth while being surrounded by all that darkness would still be scary. I mean¡­ what if a ghost shows up and suddenly jumps at me from behind? Normally I don¡¯t believe in the existence of ghosts and other supernatural beings, but if this is a world where magic exists, then it really wouldn¡¯t be strange for it to also have ghosts.


    Oh jeez, what should I do?


    I cannot get to the Labyrinth¡¯s entrance straight away since that is a Skill of an Adventurer, and I¡¯ve yet to acquire that Job for myself (and I don¡¯t think I¡¯m going to get it anytime soon). However, I do remember that one of the Bonus Skills available for me was the Warp spell. The specifics are not clear to me, but just by the name itself I could tell that it was a spell belonging to the Movement Magic category.


    The real question here is: will I even be able to cast the damn thing? Because I had my doubts, bearing in mind my experiences with how quickly Overwhelm has sucked me dry of my MP. Then again, Warp was not an offensive type of magic, but Movement Magic just like Dungeon Walker, so it shouldn¡¯t use as much MP as Overwhelm, or, let¡¯s say Meteor Crash (the name sound cool as heck, but I¡¯m not going to bother with picking it now, since I probably would not be able to cast it even once with my current stats). Plus, the levels of all my Jobs are higher now and I had a good long rest, so maybe that will also be a factor in the successful usage of magic, just like in Dungeons & Dragons?


    Alright, you know the drill, Michio. Character Reset time!


    Getting all of my Bonus Points back I used them to remove the shopping discount and got Durandal back. Then I also removed any Skills that won¡¯t be of any use to me during the Labyrinth exploration and used the Points that I got from doing so on the Bonus Spell option until I got the Warp spell. I turned towards the side of the inn and prepared myself to cast it, praying for it to work in the corner of my mind. Next, I summoned an image of the Labyrinth¡¯s entrance room. Then, with my eyes still closed, I reached out with my hand, but instead of stopping where the wall should be, it went right through it.


    I did it! Holy cow, I did it! Success! I have succeeded!!!


    Successfully casting that spell made me immensely happy, but at the same time I could feel a slight prick of sadness in the depths of my heart. I wonder why that is. Successes, no matter how small of insignificant, should always be a reason to rejoice, not feel down in the dumps. Be that as it may, all I could do now was to step forward, wondering if everything will be exactly the same as during my maiden raid, or will some things will change and the Labyrinth will try to throw a curveball at me?


    Just like before, the chamber I have ended up in was the very first one with three corridors stretching in different directions. Yup, that¡¯s the entrance alright. Good thing that I managed to get here first try without any unfortunate accidents happening.


    Even in the middle of the night, the room was still sufficiently lit. If I ended up in the middle of total darkness I think I¡¯d cry then and there. Same if I was sent anywhere else than my intended destination and was forced to use Warp again. And speaking of Warp, let¡¯s have a look-see at the amount of MP it consumed¡­. *sigh* almost as much as Overwhelm. I guess I should have expected an outcome like that. It¡¯s a Bonus Spell for a reason. So what I¡¯m getting from this is that the general principle with Bonus Spells is that they consume a fuckton of MP, but their effects are that much more powerful in return? Great, that¡¯s fucking awesome! This second visit to the Labyrinth is going great so far! Not even two minutes in and I¡¯m already down to ? of my total MP! And if that wasn¡¯t clear by my current manner of goddamn speech, the negative effects of MP consumption are already kicking the fuck in! I feel depressed, dejected and overwhelmed (no pun intended) by an intense desire to strangle everything in my immediate vicinity!


    But ok, whatever, it¡¯s fine! No, I mean really, it¡¯s all good. So what if I made an oopsie at the very beginning? It just means that I have to use Durandal¡¯s MP Absorption effect to recover all of the MP lost for that Warp spell. See, simple as that. Now I only have to thwart that crippling feeling of not wanting to be here and the urge to go back to my room at the inn to sleep and go forward to continue the process of money farming! Yay! Fun times ahead!


    I entered the Labyrinth¡¯s corridors once again with such a mindset.


    Just like the last time, Needlewood was the first enemy to appear before me. Pushing back any thoughts of running away I unsheathed Durandal and assumed my combat stance.


    ¡¸Well then, here goes nothing¡­LEROOOOOOOY!!!!! JEEEEEEENKINS!!!!!!!!¡¹


    I was worried that the monsters roaming the Labyrinth¡¯s halls today might be stronger than the ones I have encountered yesterday, but thankfully the encounter was still decided with a single slash of my trusted Holy Sword. Needlewood disappeared in a cloud of green smoke, leaving some of its branches behind.


    ¡¸Ahh, that hit the spot!¡¹


    Getting some of my MP back from the defeated Needlewood, I finally felt better. I exhaled heavily in relief. That demerit of losing MP is really something else, man. A really nasty shit. And don¡¯t even get me started on how slow the actual procedure of absorbing MP from defeated enemies is. Even with something as OP as Durandal, I was only recovering a portion of it at a time, so if I wanted to get it all back I¡¯d have to fight more enemies, which won¡¯t be hard, but extremely bothersome. If possible, I never want to experience something like that again, but there¡¯s not much that I can actually do about it except for holding back on using any Bonus Spells until I increase my levels and get myself some more MP.


    After regaining some of my composure, I resumed the hunt for the monsters. In this Labyrinth, you had to walk around for a few minutes to encounter an enemy. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s a rule for all of them or maybe just this one in particular, but what it means is that I won¡¯t be able to have as many encounters as I originally wanted. Right now, if I¡¯m able to battle 10 enemies in an hour I¡¯ll call it being lucky. Assuming I¡¯ve entered the Labyrinth around 3:00 AM, I¡¯d need at least 3 hours to get a decent amount of drops from defeated enemies. Maybe I¡¯ll be able to hunt down 20, but there¡¯s absolutely no way for me to get 30 of them.

 Volume 1 - CH 4.14

    So after hunting down twenty enemies and obtaining twenty Needlewood Branches I decided to leave the Labyrinth. I was not in the mood nor condition to use Warp again, so I just went back to the entrance room and used Dungeon Walker. When I got outside, the sun was just about to rise, so I daresay that my timing couldn¡¯t have been more perfect.


    I got back to the inn just in time to eat breakfast. Today¡¯s menu consisted of two items.


    ¡¸Good morning sir. Shall I take you to your table? Have you already decided what you are going to eat?¡¹


    ¡¸I haven¡¯t made the decision yet, but I¡¯ll probably settle for that one.¡¹


    I said pointing towards the plate that had more food on it than the other one.


    ¡¸Understood. Your meal will be delivered to you shortly, so a moment of your patience, please.¡¹


    I was then guided to the same table where I was eating dinner yesterday. It would seem that every room has its assigned table, which was nice. At least it¡¯s going to spare me the trouble of looking for it myself every day.


    Even if it was called breakfast, I was astounded to see how much food it actually included. I guess since this world has only two meals, breakfast in the morning and dinner in the evening then both of them need to be filling so that people wouldn¡¯t get hungry in the middle of the day after eating too little. Or maybe that is only the case for meals served at the inns?


    After eating breakfast I went back to my room and laid down on the bed for a bit. I guess now would be a good time to sort through my Jobs again. My current lineup is as follows: Villager Lv.5, Hero Lv.2, Explorer Lv.3, Thief Lv.3, Warrior Lv.1, Merchant Lv.1, Swordsman Lv.1.


    The number of my Jobs is steadily increasing. I knew that some of the levels have increased before, since the total amount of my Bonus Points was higher than it was the last time I performed the Character Reset to get Durandal, but I wasn¡¯t aware of the fact that I got myself some more actual Jobs. I guess Warrior and Swordsman were obtained as a result of defeating monsters, and I must have gotten Merchant due to all the items I sold. So going by that logic as long as you continue to do things associated with a given Job, you should obtain it sooner or later. Also, me getting Villager up to Lv.5 might have also been a factor here. Right now I was considering setting Explorer as my first Job, but I wonder if that will really be the smartest thing to do here? Even if I set the third Job, keep the shortening of the Skills cast time and Character Reset, I should still have around 100 Points to use. Things like warp and Job Settings can be applied whenever that will be necessary. However! If there are Jobs that can only be acquired by reaching Villager Lv.5, then there might be Jobs that I will only be able to get when Villager will reach Lv.10, right? And what about Lv.20, 30, 40 and so on, all the way to Lv.99? If that would be the case, then I still have a long way to go ahead of me, huh?


    With all that being said, I decided to switch the first Job to Explorer after all. Hero will remain a second Job. As for the Third Job¡­ maybe I¡¯ll set Warrior to it? But first, what are the specifics of that Job anyway?


    Warrior Lv.1


    I can already tell that the effects of that Job are much better than that of Villager or Thief. And it even comes with a Skill! Swordsmen and Merchant were more or less the same, but if my memory serves me correctly th Slave Merchant said that by increasing the level of the Swordsmen Job I could eventually become a Bounty Hunter.


    Skill-wise, Item Box and Dungeon Walker are essential to the maximum effectiveness of my money farming. Hero Job only has Overwhelm as a Skill, but it gives nice boosts to my stats so I would have to be a total idiot to remove it of my own free will. Currently I can only have three Jobs equipped at the same time, so ditching the Villager, a Job that has meh passive effects and no Active skills to speak of as well, seems like the best course of action. I finished adjusting my Jobs and took out the item Box. Since my Explorer Job is now at Lv.3, then the number of available slots should have increased accordingly. I tried jamming the backpack in there, but it didn¡¯t want to go in no matter how hard I pressed down on it. I thought that maybe its size was the problem here, so I tried putting the coin purse there instead, but it was also to no avail. Maybe they cannot be placed inside because the system does not recognize them as proper items? Next I tried with branches, and they went in without a hitch, all nine of them. Then how about¡­ coins?


    I was able to store three gold coins inside of the Item Box. Just to be doubly sure I used Identify on them and sure enough, it showed that the gold coins in my possession were indeed the genuine gold coins. Great, so that does make it clear that those coins are recognized as items and eliminates the possibility of people trying to scam me with fake money. It was the same for the silver coins as well. But there was one restriction, albeit a small one: gold coins cannot be mixed with silver ones. One slot in the Item Box can hold either three gold coins or three silver coins. With the Explorer set as the first Job, it looks that the schematic is 3 items into one item slot. Oh, and the copper coins were a no-go as well. I don¡¯t know why they are not treated as items when silver and gold ones are.


    Next came the inspection of skills. Judging by the names, the Skill of Warrior¡¯s Job, Rush and the Skill of Swordsmen¡¯s Job, Slash are probably Skills meant for attacking. I wanted to use Rush to test it out, but I wasn¡¯t able to do that since it wanted me to specify a target to use it against. But if I have Durandal which can pretty much one-shot every opponent so far, then do I really need those Skills? What about Merchant? It had the Skill called Calculation. I added the Merchant as a third Job and tried to use it by thinking about it, but nothing happened. Like, at all, just like when I didn¡¯t even know how to use Skills at all.


    Maybe I should try to actually calculate something? Hmm. Let¡¯s see¡­ maybe 224 x 365? When I thought about that equation, the number 81 760 immediately came into my mind. Is that the answer? So Calculation has to be a passive Skill then. Okay, so how about something more complicated, just for the hell of it? If I were to earn 224 Nar every day for an entire year (365 days, assuming that the year has the same length here as it did in my old world) and kept it going for around 60 years that would give me¡­ 4,905,600 gold coins total, so around 500 gold coins. With 500 gold coins, I could live in this inn literally until the day I died. Is that really right? It has to be. If I were to calculate this on my own I would surely make a mistake somewhere, but I was doing it with the Skill¡¯s aid, so it has to be accurate. 100 x 100 = 1 000 000, and 1 000 000 x 1 000 000 = 1 000 000 000 000¡­.


    Okay, that¡¯s enough quick mathing for today. My poor brain can only take so much until it will be fried from too much thinking.

 Volume 1 - CH 5.01

    Chapter 5: Prize Money


    Player Name: Kaga Michio


    Current Level and Equipment:


    Explorer Lv.3


    Hero Lv.2


    Warrior Lv.1


    Equipment:


    Copper Sword


    Leather Armor


    Sandals


    Taking a light power nap in my room I decided to take a short break from grinding in the Labyrinth to walk around the town some more. I had some time to think about my current situation, and I have to sadly conclude that with the current amount of money I can obtain from my dungeon-crawling expeditions, getting enough money to buy Roxanne will be impossible. The exact amount of money I can make by grinding monsters on the Labyrinths first floor for several hours is 200-300 Nar. At best I could earn a 1000 Nar, but only if luck was on my side. But then I had to consider the amount of money required to pay for an inn. It wasn¡¯t that much, but it¡¯s going to keep piling up, hindering my finances even more.


    In the end, it all boils down to getting more money. All for the sake of buying Roxanne.


    Even if I decided to go down to the Labyrinth¡¯s deeper levels, it would be foolish of me to expect that I¡¯ll ear 10 or 20 times more coin there. Maybe my luck would turn for the better if I happened upon a treasure chest, but so far I didn¡¯t stumble upon even one of those, making me feel like I shouldn¡¯t count on finding them at all.


    I should focus my efforts on making money outside of the Labyrinth after all.  There was one option that was available for me from the beginning, the one that might net me the highest profit.


    Bounty Hunting.


    When it comes to searching for possible Bandits, I just so happen to have a natural advantage in that field called Identify. With it, I can just take a casual stroll around town and scan everyone within my sight to see if their Job will point to them being a criminal. Making money just by looking at people and reading the information about them, that really seems like a dream job!


    To be honest, I am still kinda reluctant about this Bounty Hunter business, but the fact that this line of work seemed to be made specifically for someone with my abilities is a fact that absolutely cannot be denied.


    There seems to be no Thieves or Bandits or any other scum like that walking around Veil at the current moment, at least as far as I can tell. As expected, no one suspicious would be mad enough to walk around town in broad daylight. But if I want to increase my chances of finding someone like that, then maybe I should make my way to the northern part of the city, where Picker-san said the security was considerably weaker?


    The center and the south of Veil were filled with big,  beautiful-looking buildings and structures, but the further I went to the north, the more the quality and the size of the houses deteriorated. These have to be the quarters where the poorer citizens live, but it didn¡¯t quite have the look of a typical slum I was expecting to see. But just one step later¡­


    ¡­ Yeah, it¡¯s a slum alright.


    From where I was standing, I could see many more ruined buildings in the distance, and the smell of the air also worsened considerably. The same could be told about the people and the overall atmosphere of this place. With each step, the houses, became more and more dirty and unkept and the air grew even more stagnant. Looks like some of the residents here didn¡¯t even have a place of their own, because they were just sitting or laying on the streets. There was even a small child standing in the middle of the road. It wasn¡¯t doing anything in particular. It was just standing there, looking absent-mindedly into space. It looked like it was sick for a very long time. I wonder if it even knows what a medicine is?


    Anyway, hanging around here for too long might be a bad idea. This place is just too dangerous. Maybe it¡¯s because it¡¯s my first time being in a place like this, but my sixth sense was screaming for me to get the fuck out of here the entire time.


    There¡¯s just something about the atmosphere of this place that just seems¡­ off somehow, and I don¡¯t like it one bit.


    Compared to this dumphole and its inhabitants, delinquents crouching outside of a convenience store with their bats and pipes in the dead of the night almost seemed friendly to me now. Yup, I think the best thing to do will be a tactical retreat. Yes, falling back to a safe place now!


    Do I really have to go in there to find criminals? That place is just too dangerous for someone like me! I mean, of course it is, and I knew it well. Even in my old world, slums were never a place that was safe for proper, upstanding citizens to be in. And even if I managed to track even a single Bandit down without any major difficulties, there¡¯s no telling if his or her buddies won¡¯t be laying in wait to shank me when their buddy will be in danger. So for the time being, I retreated to the very edge of the slum area. If I don¡¯t know the terrain, it¡¯d be best not to go in too deep.


    A little bit to the east there were women who looked like prostitutes standing in front of the building that was most likely a brothel, because the men who were walking past it kept casting glances towards it and the girls in front of it, which wasn¡¯t all that weird because the outfits they were wearing were rather¡­ eye-catching, so to speak. Maybe I would have gone in and used their services myself if I wasn¡¯t warned that each and every one of them was supposedly riddled with STD¡¯s according to both Picker-san¡¯s and Alan-san¡¯s words. But putting the matter of their health aside, wouldn¡¯t you say that brothels are the exact place that comes to mind when talking about hangout spots for suspicious dudes?


    Some distance away from the brothel, a crowd of people was forming up, with lots and lots of slum dwellers gathering in one spot. I wonder if something happened over there. Maybe I should go have a look at it myself? While preparing to use Identify, I joined in with the rest of the crowd. Let¡¯s see, what the hell is that whole commotion about?


    The source of the growing uproar was a patch of dirty, cracked road where someone has apparently fallen down. When I used Identify to appraise the guy who was lying on the ground, the information that showed up was not the person¡¯s name or Job, but the name of a piece of equipment: Leather Armor.


    In other words, whoever that poor lad was, he was dead. How do I know this? Because apparently corpses are no longer recognized as human beings, and therefore they cannot be properly Identified.


    ¡¸That¡¯s a filthy thief! That man was robbed I tell you!¡¹


    ¡¸How do you know that?¡¹


    At the back of the crowd, a merchant was talking with an older-looking Adventurer. They were talking in Brahim, so I could understand everything they were saying.


    ¡¸Isn¡¯t that obvious?! Just look at his hands! See? The left one has been chopped off!¡¹


    ¡¸Ah, now that I take a closer look, you¡¯re actually right.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, looks like he¡¯s been offed less than half an hour ago.¡¹


    I couldn¡¯t see it properly from where I was standing, but it looks like the corpse in the street was missing it¡¯s left hand. Maybe it was because the culprit wanted to hide the victim¡¯s identity? After all, it takes up to 30 minutes for the Intelligence Card to disappear naturally after death. But I better not say that out loud. The last thing I want is to attract more unnecessary trouble towards me.


    ¡¸Make way! Make way I said! Let me through!¡¹


    Someone must have already reported that there was a crime, because the knights from the guardhouse have already arrived on the scene, with the beautiful female Knight from earlier leading them. So I guess that in this city the knights act like the police, huh?


    ¡¸A Bandit. Go and clean the body up. Once you do, dispose of it.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, ma¡¯am!¡¹


    The female Knight barely even glanced at the body before issuing her orders. This was obviously a murder case, and they¡¯re going to do literally nothing about it? That¡¯s cold.


    ¡¸Our business here is done. Everyone, back to the guardhouse!¡¹


    She ordered her company to return to their station, climbed on top of her stallion and headed back as well. Wait, is that it? Are they really going to leave this case as it is?! And everyone is fine with that?


    Apparently everyone was indeed fine with it, because as soon as the female Knight left the crime scene the crowd naturally dissipated and everything went back to normal as if nothing had happened.

 Volume 1 - CH 5.02

    Now that this mini-event has finished I just walked around the vicinity, listening to the conversations that people around me were having in Brahim. Out of all the people who were forming a fired-up crowd just a second ago, no one seemed to be complaining about the knight¡¯s behaviour towards handling the murder that apparently took place. Is that response considered to be normal here? Does no one really care that much?


    ¡¸The Bandits who have been driven out of town came back to exact their revenge.¡¹


    I suddenly heard someone speaking behind my back.


    Revenge? Someone was killed for such a petty reason?


    I hurriedly looked over my shoulder. I have no idea who said that just now, but it had to be someone who witnessed the gathering of the crowd and the arrival of the group of knights. So if that mysterious voice is to be believed there is a group of Bandits in the city that is out for blood. Without knowing the source of that information it might not serve as enough of an evidence if I chose to go to the town guard with it, but even so this is a matter that simply cannot be overlooked.  If what that beautiful Female Knight was  saying was true, the Bandits who attacked the village were originally from the slums of this town. Maybe the ones who did this were their friends or acquaintances? And most importantly, did only one of them wanted revenge, or were they all hell-bent on it as well?


    Suddenly I felt my stomach tying itself into multiple knots and a wave of cold sweat rushing down my back. What¡­ what if I¡¯m one of the targets of their revenge?


    No, nononono, that cannot be it. That¡¯s absolutely not possible. Think about it calmly, you moron! Them being out for revenge probably has nothing to do with me at all.


    First and foremost, the most likely reason for their revenge is the fact that they have been kicked out of the town, and I had nothing to do with it since I literally wasn¡¯t even existing in this world until a few days ago.


    Secondly, none of the Bandits who attacked the village survived. I have slain all of them together with the rest of the villagers (although I did the lion¡¯s share of the work).


    Thirdly,  even if some of them managed to survive the attack, finding someone without having a nice long look at his face should be borderline impossible in this technology=free world that probably never heard of something as abstract as photographs.


    But that does not mean that I can feel relieved just yet. Even if their goal is to take revenge for being driven out of town, I cannot imagine a group of Bandits willingly going against an entire Knight Order. It would be nothing short of suicidal unless they¡¯d have the advantage of both numbers and equipment, which I¡¯m sure they don¡¯t have right now. But if the grudge they are holding against Veil is strong, Then I don¡¯t think a setback or two would be enough to discourage them from pushing through with whatever it is they might be planning. They might have even obtained information about me through some illegal means unknown to me.


    Whatever the Bandits intentions might be, I still can¡¯t rule out the possibility that I might end up being targeted myself. Until I find and deal with them, I won¡¯t be able to have a peaceful night¡¯s rest. With all that said, looks like my decision to switch from dungeon crawling to Bandit hunting was the right one after all.


    I have spent the next two days exploring the town of Veil while avoiding getting too close to the slums. I wasn¡¯t able to find any of the Bandits, but at the very least I got the general feeling of the topography and the layout of the terrain in the slums. At the very least that¡¯s going to save me some MP I would otherwise wasted on using warp to get around here.


    I also understood why the slums were build in the northern part of the town.


    Two rivers run through the city of Veil. Both of them enter the city from the south and exit through the north. That water is used a well  behind the inn I am currently staying at, acting as the source of drinking water, and probably bathwater for the customers as well, and all the inn¡¯s sewage is probably drained to the sewers that run all the way beneath the city. The water that enters the town from the south is clear, but the further it travels downstream to the north the dirtier it gets. While I was making my way through the slums, I could faintly smell the smell of bad, almost rotten water in the air.


    Nobody would want to willingly live in such a place. The distinction seems to be clear here: the southern part of the city is where the rich people and the business canter dwells while the northern part is comprised entirely of slums and the quarters of the poor and those who could not afford to live in the southern part. I wonder if I didn¡¯t see any Bandits or other criminals because they were being careful not to be spotted? I don¡¯t think that many people can use Identify besides myself, but maybe they just don¡¯t want their faces to be seen or they are only active in the middle of the night? Also, the possibility that I won¡¯t  even be able to meet them inside the slums at all was extremely likely. If they were exiled from the town, they might as well have their base of operations outside of it.


    With nothing better to do at the current moment I made my way to the Labyrinth. Instead of worrying about the things beyond my reach, I might as well try to get myself a treasure chest. That, and I also might try to gain myself some levels, just to be on the safe side if I really end up fighting against the Bandits. I know that technically I don¡¯t have to worry about anything as long as I have Durandal, but you know what they say: if the wielder¡¯s shit, even the greatest of weapons will be shit as well.


    I gained a few levels, so now using Warp should be that much easier for me. Maybe I will even be able to use it two times in a row without exhausting my MP pool?  The number of available slots in my Item Box has also increased accordingly. My current levels are as follows: Explorer Lv.6, Hero Lv.4 and Warrior Lv.4. Since Explorer has been set as my first Job, it should now figure as my main Job on my Intelligence Card.


    Usually labyrinth¡¯s often tend to have secret passages and hidden doors in them, and this one was no exception from that rule. Way in the back of the first floor there was a small room behind a hidden door. When you passed it, you ended up in another small room similar to the one at the entrance. Just like that one, it also had a number of branching pathways extending from it, which created a truly magnificent maze. After checking every nook and cranny at the first floor, I made my way over there. When I stopped in front of one of the walls, a part of it made a rattling noise and then slowly slid down, revealing the pathway I was looking for. I went through it to proceed with my search. At first I didn¡¯t even realized that there was even a door since all I did was going back and forth between the places I have already explored. That was the safest method, but admittedly it was not very efficient, so the discovery of that new hidden passage was truly a Godsend to me.


    I might have not made any progress when it comes to the Bandit search, but as a consolation prize the exploration of the Labyrinth entered a brand-new stage!


    Today my current excursion into the Labyrinth occurred towards the end of the day, after I spend the daytime on another fruitless Bandit search in the slums of Veil. I wanted to do so mainly to improve my mood as I waited for the situation in the city to change.


    I once again made my way to the end of the first floor and waited for the portion of the wall to slide down, allowing me a passage to the hidden section. I wanted to go inside immediately, but¡­


    ¡¸¡­¡­¡­¡¹


    But someone was already there.


    Brown bodies with green heads. And not just two or three. There was so many Needlewoods here that they could make an entire bush or a small forest if they were to be placed beside each other, and they were all staring at me as if they wanted to say ¡¸What the fuck are you looking at?!¡¹ , or ¡¸You picked the wrong cave, fool!¡¹.


    ¡¸*Sigh*¡­¡­.. fuck.¡¹


    I said brandishing my Durandal as the enemies rushed towards me like an army of green, spiky toddlers.

 Volume 1 - CH 5.03

    Even though the enemies had an overwhelming numbers advantage over me, avoiding their attacks was nothing difficult. I avoided the ones coming at me from the right by stepping to the side and pulling my right hand back, and then I raised Durandal in front o f me to block the attacks that were coming at me from the front. Then I spun around on my heel and sliced the monsters around me in half from top to bottom.


    At one point I thought about using Dungeon Walker to get myself some more maneuvering space, but even with the complete chant the black portal on the wall did not appear. I suspected that something like that might happen. Looks like Dungeon walker cannot be used in the middle of combat. I should try that again when there will be only one enemy, but for now let¡¯s ditch the experiments and focus on the task at hand!


    The number of enemies was much bigger than I have initially anticipated. How many does that make now? A dozen? More than a dozen? Anyway, there is just so many of them. I¡¯m lucky that I began to fall back towards the room¡¯s entrance, otherwise I would have been surrounded in no time.


    Maybe I should really consider escaping? Unfortunately, that does not look like a possibility here. With their numbers, even if I tried to make a run for it, they would just come right after me and swarmed all over me. Nah, if I have time to think about such what if¡¯s, then I should just divert the energy spent for that towards cutting them all down.


    I slashed at the Needlewood that came at me from the right. After that, another Needlewood attacked me from the left, but I failed to block its attack in time, which resulted in a sharp pain pulsating from my left shoulder.


    The entrance to the cave was small, but it will be impossible for me to keep defending myself here all the time. If the battle goes any longer, then the Needlewoods in here might call for reinforcements, causing me to be attacked both from the front and the back. Maybe at the very least I should put my back against the wall to protect it from a surprise attack?


    I ignored the monsters to the left and moved to the right. I was wondering if I should try using Overwhelming? No, I shouldn¡¯t do it just yet. If I end up using all of my MP on ordinary mobs, I won¡¯t be able to cast Skills when I will really need them.


    I was beginning to get a little tired, but I did my best to push that feeling out of my mind and continued to slash at the Needlewoods that tried to approach me. I simply continued to hit the enemies before me with my Durandal. Next, with my right foot planted firmly forward I started two-handing Durandal, cutting down anything that dared to approach me, be it from the front, the sides or the back. To be honest, it felt as if the time around me had slowed down considerably.


    As I continued to swing my arms I was moving fore=ward, step by step. All this time I delivered painful attacks to the Needlewoods while sustaining very little damage myself.


    Finally I reached another small cavern. When I placed my back against the wall, I have effectively reduced the monster¡¯s range of attack to only 180 degrees instead of 360. If I could freely move between all four corners of the room that would allow me to reduce that range by another half, to 90 degrees, but in my current situation such greed was probably ill-advised.


    For a moment, my sudden movements were enough to disrupt the swarm of enemies, but nothing I did was able to change the fact that they were still coming in after me.


    Soon there will be so many of them that they will completely fill up the cave, leaving me no space to move myself.


    I pulled back and fixed Durandal¡¯s position in my hands and blocked the strike that was coming towards me from the left and whacked the Needlewood, but in return I was struck in my exposed right shoulder.


    Guh!


    Another slash took care of another two Needlewoods, but got me another hit, this time on the left shoulder.


    Gwaah!


    Another monster was split diagonally from the shoulder, but its needles pierced into my right side.


    Damn this hurts like hell!


    More and more of their attacks is hitting me. If this was still a one-on-one fight I would not have been hit even once, but this is one vs. many here, with me being at a clear disadvantage, so I do what I can, that is to say I swing Durandal left and right, up and down. Thankfully Durandal has the MP Absorption Skill, so if I wanted, I could have unleashed some of them just as long as I¡¯d have enough enemies left to replenish the MP I have spent. But that goes only for MP. If I continue to get randomly hit like that, at some point my HP is bound to get critically low to the point that not even HP Absorption is going to recover it fast enough,  and that is something that I wanted to avoid at all costs.


    *Sigh*¡­ Alright, I guess it¡¯s time to pop Overwhelming. If using it can help me get out of this sticky situation, then so be it!


    Instead of expending all of Overwhelming¡¯s power in one strike, I tried to suppress it so that I could use it continuously, and then slashed at the two monsters that were the closest to me. When the Skill¡¯s effect ended, I have slammed my back against the wall again. This might be working, but I still have to be mindful of getting myself surrounded.


    As I was moving along the wall to reach the room¡¯s corner on the right I avoided another Needlewood that tried to slash me with its branches. Damn, just when the Overwhelming¡¯s effects stopped working! And just 1 Needlewood won¡¯t be enough to get back the MP that I just used. As a result, I could feel my head being gradually filled with negative thoughts. Urgh, I knew I should have used that damn Skill only when the MP bar has been completely filled! Now I¡¯ll start acting more and more like an emo, and I don¡¯t want that in the middle of the fucking combat! And the worst part here is that if the negative thoughts begin to accumulate, they will have a huge negative effect on my battle performance. On the other hand, even if it costs me the mood swings, I should be using Overwhelming as much as I can to cull the enemy¡¯s numbers as much as possible. Everything to come out on top here.


    Another attack came at me from the left so I deflected it, only to be struck in the right shoulder again. For now HP Absorption manages to keep me afloat, but I cannot feel relieved by that at all. If the barrage of enemy attacks continues like that, the total damage should be enough to put me in the red zone of my HP bar. I guess you could say that I¡¯m balancing on a really, reaaaally thin thread right now.


    As it is now, the battle was going back and forth over and over again without any clear sign that the impasse I have found myself at is going to be broken.


    A certain thought has popped into my head. What if I die in here? Even though this world is totally different from my old one, it is my new reality, so being felled by monsters would spell the absolute, unavoidable death for me.


    Death.


    Death is close at hand. It¡¯s so close that I can practically feel its icy embrace closing around me. It¡¯s scary, but at the same time it is not. I¡¯m not shaking in my boots, but I¡¯m also not laughing about it either. Maybe that¡¯s because I was in the middle of a battle? Is it always like that? Are warriors able to calmly stare death right in the face and not feel a single thing?


    The next few Needlewoods that came closer to me got sliced into pieces. Even when some of their attacks manage to reach me and inflict damage I¡¯m letting it slide as long as I can reach them with my blade to get back the HP that I lost. Little by little, this back and forth we¡¯re having is starting to create a path that I can use to advance and move forward as I continue to slice & dice the branches that aim for me and cut their owners with Durandal in return.


    I guess that¡¯s all there really is to it. Even if death is literally knocking at my door, all I can do is to continue to fight. So as I continue for another corner of the room, I¡¯m trying to defeat as many monsters as possible. And before I knew it, the number of Needlewoods between me and the right corner of the room were reduced to only two.


    That is my chance!

 Volume 1 - CH 5.04

    I unleashed Overwhelming once again. First I slaughtered the Needlewood right in front of me and immediately followed with a diagonal slash to the right. The Skills effects have diminished by that point, but despite that I still followed the previous two attacks with a third one where I raised Durandal high into the air and slammed it into the ground with all my strength, slashing the third Needlewood cleanly in half.


    I finally arrived in the corner that I wanted to reach so desperately, all the while avoiding the attacks of the monsters who were still right on my tail. With this, the angle they can attack me from has been reduced to about 90 degrees. Lowering Durandal to the level of my waist, I looked through the room to assess my current situation.


    First thing I noticed almost right away was the enemy¡¯s numbers were greatly reduced. I only saw that now because I actually had the time to look around calmly, without having to swing Durandal left and right to avoid being overrun by the brownish-green abominations. Now there was only ten or so of them left. This made me realize that one of my earlier statements was a big fat lie: while I thought I was staring death in the face calmly, I was never calm at all. All this time I was simply thrashing around like a scared child oblivious to everything that¡¯s been going on around it. If I just took a damn moment to actually observe what was happening around me maybe I wouldn¡¯t be so obsessed with going from corner to corner like an idiot. Yup, my observational skills are truly of the Godly levels it seems.


    The next thing I noticed was the fact that my hands were sweaty as fuck. Like seriously, they are like friggin waterfalls right now. That¡¯s why I have to be extremely careful. If I end up dropping Durandal, even by accident, that¡¯s probably going to be a game over for me. So I did the only thing I could have done in this situation: even if I knew I¡¯m going to get attacked, I wiped my sweaty hands in my pants. Several vines of the Needle woods attacked me during that short while, but there was nothing I could do about it, since that was more important to me. I gripped Durandal again, this time with sweat-free hands and run to the right.


    First I dispatched the farthest Needlewood to the right. Now that so many enemies have been dispatched, I should be able to move however I want, or in other words: Go wild with my OP as shit holy sword!


    I jumped forward, swinging Durandal all around me, ruthlessly decimating the branches that were shot in my direction. They are being cut down as if they were no more than the blades of wilted grass, and their owners soon follow after them. Continuing the battle with the leftover enemies in such a manner, I kept on pressing forward.


    Another two Needlewoods came at me from the front, so I cut them down. Another one tried to ambush me from the left with its branches, but I dodged them and immediately countered with a slash that went upwards and to the left, and used the created momentum to deliver another powerful downward slash that instantly killed another Needlewood in front of me.


    There are only three enemies remaining.


    I am not going to run away now, and it looks like they are not going to run away either. I invoked Overwhelming again, defeating two of them with a single slash of my sword.


    Only one enemy remaining now.


    It rushed towards me head-on with its spiky army and vines, but before they could so much as reach me, I strongly stepped down with my left foot and swung Durandal from the last Needlewood¡¯s left shoulder all the way to its right leg.


    ¡¸Haaah¡­¡¹


    When it was all over, I finally had the time to catch my breath in peace. That should be all of them, right? I have defeated all of the monsters that ambushed me back in that room, right? Apparently that has to be the case, because when the last of the Needlewoods finally evaporated into a puff of green smoke, there was no more of them coming out to get me. Even though it was finally all over, it still took me a good while for my ragged breath to return to normal.


    Okay¡­now that that¡¯s taken care of¡­ maybe I¡¯ll finally have a chance¡­ to look around the room I am currently in.


    Characteristics-wise, it was the same small cave as all the other caves I have passed through on this floor. Same walls, same ceiling and the same doorway that you would find in the other parts of this Labyrinth, in other words: everything here was perfectly ordinary, except that the floor was now littered with the branches that all of the defeated Needlewoods left behind when they perished by my sword.


    Is there anything else here that¡¯s noteworthy? No, I don¡¯t think so. I mean, it would be great if a treasure chest or a piece of some legendary equipment were to appear before me right now, but come on, what are the odds of something like that happening? But just in case¡­


    As I went around the room collecting Needlewood Branches from the ground I made sure to scan the entire area with my sight again, but regrettably I have truly found one big pile of nothing. So was that simply a room filled with monsters? Because if so, then that¡¯s truly a pity. That was the worst random event I could have stumbled upon here. Let¡¯s face the facts here: if I didn¡¯t have Durandal with its OP as fuck abilities with me, I would have been killed like some random rookie Adventurer who wandered into the Dungeon unprepared, underlevelled and underequipped because he thought that everything¡¯s going to work out just fine because that¡¯s the first Dungeon in the game, only to be brutally buttraped by reality (TL NOTE: Looking at you, Goblin Slayer). This Labyrinth¡­ I have to admit that it is much more dangerous than I have initially anticipated.


    Does that mean I should just ran away from here with my tail tucked between my legs? Absolutely not! As long as I have Durandal and my Skills, I can still fight, even if the enemies might be stronger than me. I have already made my decision to live in this world, so I cannot allow a minor setback such as this to discourage me from going forward!


    I finished gathering all the branches, and since there¡¯s nothing else here in this room, I¡¯d best be on my way. I already wasted enough time here as it is.


    I brought up the Job Settings menu. My current levels are as follows: Explorer Lv.8; Hero Lv. 5, Warrior Lv.6, Villager Lv.5,  Merchant Lv.1 , Swordsman Lv.10. I also didn¡¯t get any new Jobs, which is strange, because I was sure that singlehandedly defeating so many monsters was bound to get me at least one new Job. Also, the levels of my Jobs start to look really nice. Not to mention that when I used that last Overwhelming during the end of the battle, I wasn¡¯t feeling depressed or swarmed by the dark thoughts. That was probably due to the fact that my level had increased and my MP regenerated at that moment. That would also explain why am I not experiencing that gradual feeling of mental recovery that I used to feel whenever my MP was going back to the certain amount.


    It is a little bit early, but let¡¯s leave the Labyrinth for now. After a round of walking around the town I returned to the inn. As expected, I caught no sign of bandits at all. If I want to find them, I guess I¡¯ll have no other option but to go deeper into the slums.


    ¡¸I¡¯d like to rent a room for another night. I¡¯ll  also be having a dinner, and after that, give me a some hot water and a lamp.¡¹


    ¡¸As you wish, kid. So a diner, hot water and a lamp¡­ you know what, I¡¯m feeling generous today, so I¡¯ll be charging you only 245 Nar for all of that.¡¹


    The Innkeeper told me. A single batch of hot water costs 20 Nar, and If I¡¯m remembering correctly the rent for the lamp (an oil lamp, by the way) was certainly 10 Nar. Curiously enough, when I bought the hot water yesterday my 30% discount didn¡¯t work, but today it worked like a charm! Maybe the discount is not taking effect if you¡¯re only buying a single item? That is a possibility that I¡¯ll have to check later.


    ¡¸Do I have to show you my Intelligence Card again?¡¹


    ¡¸No need for that if you¡¯re renewing your stay. Your room is the same one as before, do go ahead and enjoy our stay.¡¹


    And he offered me a familiar key, which I took upstairs, feeling glad that I won¡¯t have to flash my Intelligence Card every time I¡¯ll be renewing my stay here.

 Volume 1 - CH 5.05

    After I ate my meal and returned to my room to have a short rest, there was this thought that stuck in my head and didn¡¯t want to leave no matter how hard I tried to divert my attention away from it.


    Whether it¡¯s my death or the death of a common Bandit or even an ordinary citizen or members of the nobility, this world is the one where death is incredibly cheap and easy to come across. And whether I like it or not, I have to live in such a world now. This is one thing that is similar to my old world: if someone is standing in your way, all you have to do to ruin that someone¡¯s life it to make him a criminal in the eyes of the public, and that would be enough for his reputation to be destroyed. As much as I want to say that it¡¯s nice to see that some things do not change even in different worlds, this is one thing that I would have gladly got ridden of.


    And speaking of criminals, it would seem that I have no other option but to go deeper into the slum area if I want to find where the Bandits are hiding. What was that old saying again? ¡°You won¡¯t catch the tiger¡¯s cub if you won¡¯t enter its den¡± or something like that? Or was it actually ¡°You won¡¯t get a fetus unless you stick it in the hole¡±?


    Anyway, after leaving the inn I made my way to the slums, but instead of only lurking around its edges this time I actually went inside, making my way to the north along the slums¡¯ ¡°main road¡±. Along the way, I saw that one of the street corners was especially bright and lively. It was a building like any other, about one story high with the entrance and the windows facing the road, but that was most definitely a brothel. How can I be so sure of that? Well for starters, the woman standing in front of the building had only the bare minimum of clothing covering her body, and the other similarly dressed women were peeking from the windows on the first floor, seductively beckoning any men who were passing by to come inside. I have to admit, it all looked very inviting, totally different than it was during the daytime,  and if I wasn¡¯t warned about the dangers of such establishments before, maybe I would have allowed myself to be swallowed up by that atmosphere and my adolescent desires as well¡­


    No! I didn¡¯t come here to visit brothels! I am on a much more important mission! I won¡¯t be entering, but maybe, just maybe I could look at them girls some more¡­ oh man this is exciting. Just from looking at them practically flashing all the goods out in the open like that my heart is racing like crazy¡­


    Wait. Dude, just stop, take a deep breath and calm yourself down! Remember the warning you claimed to have known not even a minute ago. If you go there, you will most certainly catch some nasty illness. You also might end up ripped off and robbed. So what is the obvious solution to all those problems? A very simple one: NOT GOING INSIDE! Besides, those prostitutes might be attractive, but upon closer inspection none of them is as beautiful as Roxanne, so even if I did entered the brothel I don¡¯t think I¡¯d be satisfied with any of the girls in there. So instead, I decided to keep my distance and eavesdrop on the prostitutes in front of the building. Who knows, maybe I¡¯ll be able to learn something interesting? Assuming that the bustling of the main street will allow me to hear a damn thing.


    Thankfully, the noise of the surroundings wasn¡¯t the problem in the slightest, but another obstacle has presented itself before me: I can¡¯t understand a word of what that prostitute was saying. I heard her talking without any issue, but she was not speaking in Brahim. She was using some language that was totally unknown to me. In fact, none of the people around the brothel seemed to be speaking in Brahim at all! I guess I wasn¡¯t paying attention to that little detail up until this point because I could communicate with the Innkeeper and the workers in the guilds just fine, but it looks like the linguistic situation is the same here as it was back in the village: the people who are able to speak Brahim appear to be a strict minority. Instead, they must be speaking with a language, or perhaps a dialect used only by the locals. Well, if I search around some more, then maybe I¡¯ll be able to find a prostitute who actually speaks Brahim, so that might be worth a shot.


    I wandered around the slums until the light in my rented lantern went out, and then decided to head back to the inn by using Warp. I could have returned back on foot, but after concluding that strolling around the slums without any light at such an hour might not be the best idea I decided against it. Besides, even if I had to back on foot, I don¡¯t know if I could find my way around the slums in complete darkness. I could probably get back to the brothel area because it was not that far away from the main part of the city, but anything other than that would just be plain risky.


    In order not to attract any needles attention to myself I warped behind the inn and then casually went to the front. After returning the lantern to the Innkeeper, I went back to my room to catch some z¡¯s.


    I woke up around midnight, went to the lobby, left the key at the counter and headed for the slums one more time. The Innkeeper game me a glance, but didn¡¯t ask any further questions. The streets were dark as all hell, but I managed to go back to the brothel area without much difficulty. I wanted to eavesdrop on the prostitutes again, but it looks like all of them either went to sleep of retreated to the brothel¡¯s rooms with the customers they manage to score for themselves. Welp, in that case, let¡¯s scan the surroundings with Identify, maybe that is going to yield some results.


    The information of a single person appeared before my eyes. So there is someone here after all. Also, I already kinda knew it from my excursions to the Labyrinth, but it looks like the ability to Identify something does not depend on the light in your immediate surroundings, since Identify also worked in the dim light of the caverns.


    The person I detected was a lone 26 years old Villager woman. It looked like she was some distance away from me, but in this darkness I couldn¡¯t tell exactly how far it really was. But that is not important right now. The biggest question tha has to be answered right now is: what the hell is she doing alone in such a place at such an odd hour?


    I tried to follow her while making as little noise as possible, but after a few steps I had to duck behind one of the nearby house¡¯s walls because the corner of the building on the other side of the street has suddenly became very bright. Looks like someone who was carrying a torch was coming in the direction of the woman.


    There were three men in total. And their designation¡­ Bandits! All three of them are labeled as Bandits! That is the first time I have actually found Bandits ever since I¡¯ve come to this town a few days ago. But their levels are quite low. All of them had a single digits. Out of all the Bandits who attacked the village, only two of them had decent prizes for their heads: the Bandit Leader and the guy who looked like his second-in-command, in other words, the only Bandits who had their levels consisting of two digits. By the looks of it, if the Bandit does not have a level consisting of at least two digits, so Lv.10 at minimum, the prize for slaying him will be so laughably miniscule that hunting them almost seems like a waste of one¡¯s time.


    The three Bandits began to move apart from one another, but close enough to each other to stay withing the light of their torches and jump at the potential prey should the need arose. Man, I already feel sorry for whoever is going to stumble upon them. I was seriously contemplating if I should just get the fuck out of there by using Warp when I heard someone scream. Alerted, the three Bandits turned their heads sharply and headed for the scream¡¯s source. But who could have been¡­


    Oh no. Oh fuck. Oh fuck no.

 Volume 1 - CH 5.06

    As the three Bandits moved forward the light of their torches eventually revealed the presence of the Villager woman to them. She tried run away, but she tripped over her own legs and hit the ground pretty hard after only a few meters.


    [ X X X X! X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X!] [X X X! X X X X X X X! X X X X X X X X X X!] [X X! X X X X X X! X X X X X X X X X X X X X X!]


    The Bandits caught up to her in no time. They slowly surrounded her while screaming at her. I couldn¡¯t make up the exact words, but I was sure they were mocking her.


    [X X X X X X!!!]


    After another scream, one of the Bandits kicked the woman in the stomach so hard that she ended up coughing up blood. The other two followed after him and joined in on the ¡°fun¡±, even though the woman was already on the verge of losing consciousness after that first kick. Eventually the one who started the beatdown, the guy who looked like he was the boss of the other two grabbed her by the hair and began to drag her away into one of the back alleyways.


    [Now we¡¯re going to have some fun. And you can be sure that we¡¯ll take our sweet time with you!]


    The man, a Lv.9 Bandit spoke in Brahim. He and his comrades dragged the woman behind another corner, and then the light of their torches slowly disappeared as they kept on getting farther and farther away.


    After that incident, the area became silent again. Almost eerily so.


    The Bandits are now gone, so I can probably leave my hiding spot. There¡¯s no one here who would be alerted by my presence anymore, so I can stop worrying about that. But what I have witnessed right now¡­ that was a rather unpleasant experience. I didn¡¯t like it one bit, and I¡¯m not happy that I saw it. Even though it was kinda her fault for walking alone around such dangerous neighborhood this late at night, I don¡¯t think that girl was a whore. She was probably just a regular citizen who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. If she was not a prostitute going back to her brothel from visiting a customer, then maybe she was just visiting a friend and ended up staying at their place too late? Whatever her reasons might have been, they are not important now. What matters is that due to her misfortune she got beaten up, and now she will probably become a plaything for those guys.


    Of course, I¡¯m not proud of myself for not helping her, but even if I tried to do so, attacking those three blindly would have been a bad idea. That group only consisted of three Bandits, but who knows if there are no other, larger groups nearby. It¡¯s true that I want to find Bandits so I can take them down and collect the prize money, but nothing good would come to me from recklessly starting a war with them without any information about them.


    At the very least, that encounter showed me that they are a violent bunch. Maybe that violent tendencies were one of the reasons for their banishment from the city? I also pretty much confirmed that they are present in the slums, and that they are quite possibly ruling it from the shadows with an iron grip of violence.


    With the knowledge that I have obtained from this chance encounter, my current plan of action will be as follows: wait until tomorrow night and go to the part of the slams with the brothels (let¡¯s call it brothel district) around the same hour as today. If I happened upon three random. Bandits by a complete accident, then if I play my cards right I may be able to find the Bandits that I¡¯m looking for.


    And just like that, after going back to the inn and sleeping until morning I¡¯ve spent the majority of the day in the Labyrinth (making sure to avoid any suspicious-looking pathways in order not to bring another ordeal like that previous one down on myself, and after that I got back to my room and slept until dinnertime.


    And now, sometime after midnight, my mission to infiltrate the brothel district in search of the source of the Bandits begins!


    My first observation: even though the brothel district is quite busy, the closing hours come relatively fast. I wonder if that is a principle that holds true for all the brothels in this world, or is it a phenomenon unique only to the ones in Veil? Well, I call them closing hours, but I¡¯m sure that just means that some of the richer customers simply stay in them overnight. Come to think of it, that¡¯s actually a pretty valid strategy: get as many potential customers right before the closing hours arrive and coerce them into staying the entire night, adequately increased prices be damned.


    The hour was late, the shops were closed, and no people to be seen walking around on the streets. A perfect time for the Bandits to start appearing out of nowhere, and they did. So my initial assumption was correct: they really do come out during the nighttime, I just failed to nail the approximate hour correctly. Now they were casually walking around the streets like they owned the place, unafraid of being found out by the guards, because let¡¯s face it, no guardsmen with his sanity still intact would willingly go on a patrol to the slums in the dead of the night. Some of them simply walked around, and some of them were entering bars and houses that I thought were long closed. So it looks like that they have their own places for entertainment, hidden away from the prying eyes of those who would seek to deliver them to justice. If I hadn¡¯t decided to come here this late, I would have never learned that valuable piece of information. But that is still not enough for me to just go and randomly attack them.


    For now I have to continue observing them from the safe distance.


    Observation number 2: the Bandits who wander around the slums probably do not belong to a single group, but must be divided into separate ones that might be rivaling one another. I have arrived at that conclusion after witnessing that some of the smaller groups of Bandits avoided making any kind of contact with certain other groups, and that not every group was going to all the establishments opened for criminals. Maybe that has to something with some kinda turf wars between them? Anyway I didn¡¯t bring any lanterns with me this time, so as long as I stick to the shadows I probably won¡¯t have to worry about being caught.


    Some of the Bandits walked together and were chatting with each other, but those were always the ones who were dressed in similarly looking attires of possessing some article of clothing that made them distinguishingly different from the others, and it would seem that those groups were going in circles around specific areas while maintaining a safe distance from the other groups. Maybe they really are patrolling their respective territories?


    The ones I am tailing now wear the same clothes that that the Lv.9 guys I have encountered yesterday wore, and the area that they are going around is close to the place where they ganged up on that 26 years old Villager woman. Is this their territory? If so, then it does not seem to be very wide.


    After tailing them for a few more rounds, I had a stroke of luck, because the guys I have been following actually met with the Bandit from yesterday who could speak Brahim! Awaiting how the situation was going to develop, I gently approached them while making sure that my presence was being obscured by the darkness the entire time. Maybe their territory really is that small, or maybe there is just not that many people patrolling it at the moment, but this is definitely near the place I saw the Brahim speaking guy yesterday, so could it be that their hideout is somewhere nearby? If that is the case, then maybe their group really isn¡¯t that big after all. If so, then maybe I¡¯d actually have a fighting chance against them?


    [X X X X X Hugo X X X X X.]


    Well that¡¯s something new. Another Bandit from a different group has appeared, and he started talking with my Lv.9 target, but not in Brahim so I obviously couldn¡¯t understand a word they were saying and that was driving me nuts! Just what are you bastards talking about?! I didn¡¯t come this far to be cockblocked at the point of entry now!

 Volume 1 - CH 5.07

    Huh? Did I just hear that correctly? I could swear that in the middle of the sentence that I couldn¡¯t make heads or tails of. I heard a single word that I was able to understand: Hugo. Or was it just my imagination? Hugo. Hmm¡­ If I remember correctly, that was the name of the Bandit Leader who attacked the village together with his people. There could be no doubt about it, because back when we were making appraisals after the battle ended that was the name that was present on the Bandit Leader¡¯s Intelligence Card. Why did his name come up now of all times? And another question: is the leader of those Lv.9 Bandits also one of the criminals who were cast out of the city, or is he perhaps just someone related to them, but not directly involved?


    A few hours later, just before dawn when it was still dark I went to the back of the brothel district again. But this time instead of walking all the way there I used Warp to teleport there in an instant. Apparently as long as it was a place that you saw with your own eyes, you could use Warp to get there without any issues. In other words, it¡¯s like I have my very own fast travel system.


    I warped to the back of the building that was at the opposite side of the street to the brothel. It was the perfect observation spot, since even during the day most of that building was hidden in the pitch black shade. The only part of it that was a little brighter was the eastern part. While camping there, I patiently waited for the sun to rise and for the people to leave the brothel after the night they had spent there.


    Most of the people who were leaving the building were labeled as Male Villagers. Wow, who knew that so many of them were using such establishments? Then again, seeing as how this world is modeled after the middle ages, perhaps I shouldn¡¯t be too surprised. Most of them were carrying lanterns in one of their hands, most probably the one they brought with them yesterday night. Understandably, I didn¡¯t brought my own with me again in order to avoid gaining too much attention. When the men were leaving the brothel, almost all of them were making their way towards the exit from the slums. The lights of the lanterns they were carrying around with them were a real hindrance, making it difficult to get a good look at their faces, and that makes my investigation that much more difficult. If I could just see the faces of the customers who were leaving the brothel, then maybe I could spot someone suspicious or someone whose face practically screams ¡°Hey, I¡¯m a criminal!¡±. Not to mention that the Bandits might be hiding their Bandit Job in the same way I have kept my Thief Job hidden from everyone. That¡¯s why for the current moment the visual clues might be my best bet, but as I have already said, those pesky lanterns are not exactly making my job any easier! Ugh, if only they didn¡¯t have as many of them! Why did they even bother with setting the light in them again when the sun is going to be illuminating the entire slum any minute now?! Sigh, now when my initial plan has officially gone out the window, I guess there¡¯s no reason for me to stay here in this corner anymore, so I left my hiding spot and proceeded to walk along the street, just like everybody else around me. Using the increasing stream of people to blend into the surroundings of the slums I made my way across the brothel district, but before I go anywhere else I have to check that alleyway where the Villager woman has been dragged by the Bandits.


    The alley itself was a rather short one, and at the and of it was a perfectly ordinary one story house. This clearly isn¡¯t a brothel. Maybe this is the Bandit¡¯s hideout? It certainly doesn¡¯t look like it, but it is exactly that quality that makes that option all the more viable. I can¡¯t just stand outside of it and stare mindlessly, so I will just pass it by without stopping or glancing in its general direction.


    I just noticed it right now, but in the morning the brothel district looks like a perfectly normal town, all things considered. It certainly doesn¡¯t feel like a part of the slums. I guess it has to do so, because if it reeked like the rest of the slums then no one would want to visit it, since normal citizens want nothing to do with the poorer parts of the city at all. I hanged around the slums for a bit more and then once again headed back to the inn. I went out there again during the proper daytime, but I couldn¡¯t spot any thieves at all. As expected, they must be holed up in their hideouts throughout the day.


    [One night with dinner, hot water after the meal.] [As you wish. One night stay with dinner and hot water. And since you¡¯ve been behaving so far and you¡¯re not stirring any trouble, then I¡¯ll give you a special discount. 238 Nar please.]


    That was the exchange I had with the Innkeeper as soon as I returned to the inn in the evening. This time I got a discount even without asking him to borrow the lamp. Looks like the only time when my 30% discount is not kicking in is when I ask him for just the hot water and nothing else.


    [You know, a few days ago there was a murder not that far away from here.]


    Under the guise of striking a casual conversation I wanted to see if I could get some useful information out of him.


    [Ahh, that incident, huh? You don¡¯t have to worry about anything as long as you¡¯re staying here since this place is one of the safest in the entire city, even more so if you¡¯re staying away from the slums and its brothels.] [How can you be so sure of that?]


    He really seems to know something. If that¡¯s the case, then I want him to spill as much beans as possible. The knowledge he is privy to might be the exact thing needed for the continuous peaceful existence of this inn and it¡¯s guests, and who knows, maybe even the inns and their guests around the entire city?


    [That was a part of a battle for the influence between the criminals nesting in the slums. ] [Really? Well I heard something entirely different. From what I have heard, the victim was killed as a part of the vendetta the Bandits of the slums are carrying out against those who banished them from the city.] [Oh, so you know that much, huh? Okay, just between you and me, that is a load of horse shit. A hoax.]


    The innkeeper said to me, leaning over the counter and lowering his voice to a barely audible whisper.


    So that murder wasn¡¯t for revenge?


    [Uhm, could you perhaps¡­ go into a little bit more detail about that?] [So basically some time ago, the slums were divided between the two groups who fought with each other for dominance. As the result of that conflict, the faction that lost got cast out of the town by the one that bested them. And in order to vent their frustration over losing what they believed will always belong to them, the banished faction attacked some small village outside near Veil.]


    Small village? Bandit attack? Uh-huh, looks like the pieces of the puzzle are slowly falling into the right places. He must be taking about the group that I killed when I first arrived in this world.


    [So then¡­] [Yup, the poor sap that got offed the other day belonged to the group that emerged victorious from that turf war. I know that rumors state that he was killed in revenge, but to me that seems very unlikely and suspicious. My money¡¯s on the bet that one of the other groups is responsible for it. Worst case scenario, we might even be on the precipice of another turf war in the slums. But enough digressing. To answer your question: no, that murder does not look like the work of the Bandits who were cast out.]


    Well I¡¯ll be damned if that conflict between Bandits is not complicated as hell.


    [Is that conflict still going on?] [Nobody knows for sure. But as messy as the slums may be, no one from them would dare to cause trouble for the city in broad daylight with the Knights watching them. That¡¯s why we are all safe here, kid.]


    I¡¯m sure that¡¯s his catchphrase when he¡¯s trying to get himself new customers, but it was still reassuring to hear. With all the things that he knows, maybe he¡¯ll finally be the one who will point me in the right direction when it comes to finding the Bandits.


    [If the Knights have an eye on the slums, then wouldn¡¯t it be better for them to go and kill all the Bandits that are hiding in town? Because I was under the impression that they want to totally annihilate them.] [Oh, they will surely annihilate them, kiddo. Right after they¡¯re done with throwing everyone who¡¯s littering behind bars and ridding the city of its rat problem. See? Simplicity itself!]


    And the Innkeeper laughed through his nose. So I guess the Knights are unable to do anything of importance when it comes to the Bandit problem, and it¡¯s the open secret among the citizens of Veil. Kinda like the police back in Japan, actually.

 Volume 1 - CH 5.08

    Putting the matter of the usefulness of the Knights aside, if what the Bandits are after is not revenge for being cast out from the city, then wouldn¡¯t that mean that I¡¯m going to be targeted as the one who killed the group that attacked the village after all?


    The next day, I went to the slums a little earlier, sometime before midnight. The promised day of my payment to the Slave Merchant is almost upon me, so I have to do something about the rest of the money for Roxanne¡¯s purchase today.


    Once again I went out without borrowing a lantern, and observed my surroundings while blending in with the darkness around me.


    It took me some time, but I finally found him near the house in the alley I discovered yesterday: The Lv.9 Bandit who dragged that woman away, the one who was able to speak Brahim. He was leaning against the house¡¯s door, probably standing on guard duty, but luckily for me it doesn¡¯t look like he¡¯s got company. Assuming that we¡¯re alone in here, I called out to him.


    ¡¸Have a minute to spare?¡¹


    ¡¸Who the fuck are you?¡¹


    ¡¸No one in particular. And certainly no one suspicious.¡¹


    Yeah, that¡¯s the most suspicious line in the book. You can¡¯t get any more suspicious than that even if you tried.


    ¡¸The fuck do you want?¡¹


    The Bandit lifted the lantern he was holding in one hand to illuminate me. I on the other hand could not see his face at all, since he was weraing a hooded cloak that covered the entirety of his face.


    ¡¸I want you to tell me something. But not for free of course. I assume you know what this is?¡¹


    I reached under my own cloak and produced the Bandit Bandana from under it.


    ¡¸This is¡­!¡¹


    ¡¸Tell me what I want to know, and I¡¯ll be willing to part with it for as little as one gold coin.¡¹


    ¡¸Just one coin, huh? Alright, what do you want to hear?¡¹


    ¡¸Tell me about Hugo.¡¹


    As I suspected, just showing the Bandit Bandana to this guy loosened his lips immidiately. Offering it to him at such a dirt-cheap price was a nice finishing blow on my part as well. After all, if what I learned about the Bandit Bandana is true, meaning that it amplifies the abilities of whoever is wearing it as long as he or she has one of the criminal Jobs, I¡¯m willing to bet that he would pay every amount of money to get his hands on it, even if I wanted 10,000 or 20, 000 Nar for it.


    ¡¸It would seem that Hugo Boss got killed. (TL Note: the term used here is ¡°Aniki¡±,  a word used to describe a Yakuza of older, or senior rank within the family, and is said as a title of respect from a lower ranking family member to a higher, therefore the word ¡°Boss¡± is used here instead.)¡¹


    ¡¸I see, so he¡¯s dead, huh? Could you go into more details about that? I¡¯m afraid I didn¡¯t hear the full story of how it happened.¡¹


    After feigning feeling sorry for the dead Bandit, I asked the one in front of me to continue. So the Hugo who got killed must be the same one that I heard him being mentioned last time in that conversation I have been eveasdroping on. That must be the name of the Bandit Chief whom I have killed during the attack on the village. Since this guy called him Boss then I guess he was either on friendly terms with him or respected him a great deal. If he was a member of one of the factions opposed to the one this Bandit in front of me belonged to then he wouldn¡¯t be talking about his death with such sorrowful voice. So in order to get on this guy¡¯s good side, let¡¯s keep the act of me feeling sorry for his loss a bit more.


    ¡¸Sounds good to me. I¡¯m keeping the dough in my room, so we¡¯re going to continue our talk there. What do you say to that?¡¹


    ¡¸No objections here.¡¹


    I nodded in agreement. The man started walking, and I followed after him as he entered the house. So that really is a Bandit¡¯s hideout then? I had my suspicions about it, but I thought it would be too convenient to actually be true. But hey, if life¡¯s handing me an easy solution to my current problems then of course I¡¯ll take it without a second thought! This is so convenient for me, and worked out better than I expected. As I follow the bandit inside the house, I¡¯m darting left and right with my eyes to check my surroundings and keep my sword arm steady. If I get a good look at this place, I will be able to add it as one more location I can warp to should the need for that ever arises.


    ¡¸Wait here for a bit. I¡¯ll go get the money.¡¹


    ¡¸¡®Kay.¡¹


    The man told me to wait as we proceeded down the hallway. We stopped in front of the door at the very end when he told me to wait outside. He then opened the door and entered inside. Before he closed the door behind him, the light of his lantern illuminated the inside of the room just enough so that I could also have a good look at it. The more spots for me to warp to in case of an emergency, the better.


    ¡¸Sorry about that. That was the leader¡¯s room. Today¡¯s my turn to keep watch, so I also have to check up on him every once in a while. Good thing that he¡¯s a super heavy sleeper. He also knew Hugo Boss, you know? Want to greet him later?¡¹


    He told me when he came back to me. The faction he belongs to really must not be a hostile one.


    ¡¸That would be nice.¡¹


    After that, I followed the Bandit without saying anything. Arriving in one of the other rooms, the Bandit laid down the lantern and looked back at me. His lantern was shaped like a square without a lid. When I peeked at it from above, I could see the small flame as it flickered about. I guess this has to be this guy¡¯s room. Other than a simple bed there was pretty much nothing else in here. Now this is a one bleak room. Compared to this one, even my room back at the inn has more things in it.


    ¡¸Before I give you the money, I want to confirm that this is really a Bandit Bandana and not some kinda fake. You don¡¯t mind that, do you?¡¹


    ¡¸Sure. Just a second.¡¹


    I reached under my cloak to take the Bandit Bandana out¡­


    ¡¸Kuh¡­!¡¹


    Suddenly, the guy swung his fist towards me! I dodged the blow at the last possible moment, but as a result, the Scimitar I was carrying on my waistbelt was now being held by the Bandit. He must¡¯ve snatched it away from me when I was busy avoiding his punch.


    ¡¸That Hugo really was a moron. I assume you know about the turf war that happened some time ago, right? The one who was supposed to emerge victorious from it was supposed to be him, so my faction joined forces with another to get rid of that pest! We only wanted him out of the city so that he wouldn¡¯t get in our way anymore, but imagine my surprise when I heard that he tried to raid some random village and failed, actually getting offed in the process! I swear, I thought I was going to laugh my balls of when I heard that!¡¹


    ¡¸I see.¡¹


    ¡¸That I¡¯m going to get my hands on the Bandit Bandana, I will become a force to be reckoned with! But I¡¯m not just going to stop at taking control of the slums, oh no! My ambitions are bigger than that! Much, much bigger! It¡¯s no use trying to escape, kid. Nobody else is here beside us, nobody saw us coming in here, and nobody is going to come to your rescue. Now, hand over the Bandit Bandana and don¡¯t try to do anything stupid, or else.¡¹


    Now that he mentions it, I really haven¡¯t seen anyone else since we entered the house.


    What this guy said just now matched with my own information. I also think it is safe to assume that his aim was to steal the Bandit Bandana from me this entire time. That is why he has brought me here to this secluded place away from the eyes of other people. He can rob me of my item here and then kill me, and no one would ever noticed that anything happened here at all. He probably didn¡¯t even bring any money for that little act of his. But if he thinks he¡¯s got me cornered, than boy do I have news for him!

 Volume 1 - CH 5.09

    ¡¸Well, I thought you might try to pull something like that off since you kept glancing at my waist as if you knew that I am carrying a weapon there.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh really? And how is that going to help you now that you don¡¯t have any weapon on you? Or are you saying that you¡¯re going to fight me bare-handed?¡¹


    ¡¸I¡¯m not that suicidal yet. I¡¯ll give you the Bandit Bandana.¡¹


    I placed my right hand under the mantle again in search of the Bandit Bandana while hiding my left hand behind my waist in such a way that he wouldn¡¯t notice. As far as this guy is concerned, I¡¯m just rummaging through my belongings in search of the item he wanted. Good, let the poor dimwit think that, because unbeknownst to him, I do have another weapon on me, I just don¡¯t have it equipped yet.


    Keeping the Bandit Bandana in my right hand, I showed it to the Bandit who reached out for it. But before he could claim his prize, I threw the Bandana into the lantern¡¯s flame.


    ¡¸WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU¡¯RE DOING?!¡¹


    And he rushed towards the lantern to try and salvage the Bandit Bandana before the flames consumed it. That was his final mistake.


    ¡¸¡­¡­..! Gh¡­aaaaaa¡­.¡¹


    He didn¡¯t even realize what was going on until he looked at his own chest, out of which the Durandal¡¯s blade was now protruding. That¡¯s right, when he was overcome with panic at the prospect of losing the Bandit Bandana and showed his back to me, I used that moment to summon Durandal into my left hand and stab him in the back. I wasn¡¯t putting much attention to where I was stabbing him, but I think I either got him straight through the heart, or somewhere around it. I killed him when there was no one around to witness it, just like he wanted to do with me. Turns out that we both had the same idea in our minds.


    Soiled with his own blood, the Bandit¡¯s body fell to the ground with a silent *thud*. Bandit Bandana was also consumed by the flames, but I didn¡¯t consider that to be that much of a loss. I wasn¡¯t going to wear it myself because of the stigma it would have inevitably brought down on me, and selling it at a high price would be extremely difficult too. But I gotta say, using it as Bait to upset this guy so much that he would drop down his guard was a brilliant idea on my side. I was worried that this little provocation might fail, but apparently the Bandit Bandana is of such a high value to the criminals that they are willing to risk their goddamn lives to get their hands on it. And speaking of hands, I picked up the Scimitar that the dead Bandit dropped and cut off his left hand with it. Next, I wrapped a piece of the bedsheet around the wound to stop it from bleeding and then placed the Bandit¡¯s body in the bed and covered it with the sheets. Now it¡¯s looking like he¡¯s just sleeping, so that should delay the discovery of his body for at least some time. I waited until the Bandit bandana Burned completely and then put out the lantern¡¯s flame. Now I can warp to the room where the big cheese is supposed to be sleeping.


    The room was pitch black, making it impossible to see farther than my outstretched hand. There was no light source in my immediate vicinity, and nothing was making any sound. No, wait, actually, I do hear something if I listen calmly. It¡¯s the sound of the breathing of someone who is asleep. Someone is here with me after all! I used Identify to carefully apprise my surroundings. Man, I am thankful to whoever it was who designed the Identify in such a way that it can be used even without any light around the user.


    There was a total of four people in here:  Lv.11, Lv.14, Lv.35 and Lv.38 Bandits. A little surprising, but it shouldn¡¯t be anything that I wouldn¡¯t be able to handle with my Durandal. The levels of the Bandits are not that high, but they should be enough to fetch me a nice prize money after I¡¯ll dispose of them. Now, the room itself may be bathed in darkness, but thanks to Identify I also know where the enemies are in relation to my own position. Two of them, Lv.38 and Lv.14 are in the back, and lv.11 and lv.35 are in the front of the room. They are sleeping in two male/female pairs. Oh, la la, looks like somebody was enjoying themselves last night.


    Okay, there¡¯s no telling when any of them might wake up, so I¡¯ll have to move as quietly as possible. Slowly but surely, one foot in front of the other to avoid tripping over them like some kinda idiot.


    First, I made my way towards the Lv.35 and Lv.11 pair. I crouched next to their bed and poked them lightly with my fingers to determine if I am at their feet side or head side. Yup, those are their feet. Moving to the other side it is then. When I got to the right side, I confirmed the position of the Bandit¡¯s neck and placed Durandal on it. All that is left to do now is to pull the blade towards me as strongly and quietly as possible.


    *SLIIIIIIIIIIIIT!*


    The sound of the skin being cut open was so silent that I was the only one who could hear it. The Bandit died without uttering as much as a single word because I cleanly cut all of the arteries in his neck. With hat out of the way, I proceeded to cut off his left hand. I mustn¡¯t forget why I¡¯m here. Not to defeat the Bandits, but to claim their Intelligence Cards. With the second wrist in tow I opened the Item Box and placed it in the same slot as the first wrist, and wrapped the body in the sheets. Since this Bandit was Lv.35, I¡¯m bound to get a nice sum of money for his Intelligence Card, I¡¯m sure of it. Now to collect the Card of that other Bandit. And if something unexpected happens, I can always run away with Warp. I moved to the other side of the bed and placed Durandal¡¯s blade at the Lv.11 female Bandit¡¯s neck. This time I pulled it diagonally upwards.


    ¡¸Gu¡­¡­!¡¹


    The female Bandit moaned weakly. Looks like I overdid it this time because I pushed the hip of the blade further than I have originally intended and misjudged the distance. The second Bandit is dead, but there are still two of them remaining. And with that moan just now, there¡¯s no telling if they won¡¯t wake up, so I grabbed the third wrist and made my way to the other bed as fast and quietly as possible¡­


    ¡¸Ugh¡­ who¡¯s there¡­?¡¹


    The other woman¡¯s voice echoed throughout the room.  Fuck, so she woke up after all! I confirmed her exact position with Identify, and cut off her head with one swing of Durandal. The head fell onto the bed without making any sound, but even so I heard that something was moving hurriedly across the bed. That must be the Lv.38 Bandit attempting to escape. He rolled of the bed and hit the ground pretty hard, but seconds after that I heard the sound of something being picked up and swung around. Looks like my current enemy equipped himself with a Copper Sword. It must have been hidden under the bed. Dude, I understand that you might be confused, but who in their right mind would be grabbing a sword first thing after being awoken?! Were you assuming that you might get attacked in your sleep?! Anyway, this puts me at a disadvantage here. I don¡¯t know the exact layout of the room, so the wisest option is to fall back to the corridor where I will have more space to move around. So, I warped there without a second thought and waited outside the door. Just like the room, the corridor was now pitch black. I readied my sword, assumed the stance and braced myself.


    Seconds later, the door to the room where the Bandits slept seemed to have opened with a *click* sound. The real question is: what should I do now? If I allow the is Lv.38 Bandit to leave the room, he¡¯s surely going to try and call for help, assuming that there are still more people in here. If I allow him to do it, I will learn their location, which will in tur allow me to take their Intelligence Cards if their levels will be high enough. But that option might as well backfire against me if the numbers of the enemies will be too great for me to handle by myself. No, that is a risk that I absolutely cannot take. Alright then, I¡¯m offing this guy as soon as he walks out of that door.

 Volume 1 - CH 5.10

    I waited until the last possible second and thrusted Durandal forward the moment the Bandit¡¯s silhouette appeared out of the door. Durandal¡¯s blade pierced the guy¡¯s chest as if it was made of melted butter instead of flesh and bone. But when it came to getting it out of there, I felt a good amount of resistance before I finally succeeded. The lv.38 Bandit¡¯s body hits the ground. I cut of his left wrist and placed the body back in the room. With the Bandit¡¯s wrist in tow I went back to the corridor.


    I could hear noises coming from the outside. I should have seen it coming that defeating the four Bandits in a not-exactly-stealthy manner is going to attracts unwanted attention sooner rather than later. Perhaps some of the Bandits outside heard the commotion we were making and they were now rushing in to check what has happened? I looked around the corridor with Identify. It showed that there was no more Bandits around in my immediate surroundings. The only thing my Identity shown was the Copper Sword laying on the ground where the Lv.38 Bandit dropped it.


    Initially I wanted to have a look around the house in hopes of finding some Bandit treasure, but it looks like doing that might prove to be a tad difficult under the current circumstances, so I just grabbed the last wrist firmly and warped to the safest place I could think of right now where no one would come looking for me: the Labyrinth.


    I did it.


    That was the first thing that sprung into my mind.


    No, it¡¯s not like that. No matter what might be the reason behind it, murder should never be a case for rejoicing. Oh, hell no, I can already feel the effects of using too much MP kicking in. It might not be the same kind of moody trip I had when I used Overwhelming or Warp for the first time, but it¡¯s still going to be inconvenient, not that I could do anything about it. After all, I ended up using Warp three times in quick succession: first to move from that Bandit¡¯s move to the room where his boss was sleeping, second to get out of that room into the corridor and third to escape from the house in the slums to the Labyrinth here. I did it all so I could finally achieve my goal of getting enough money to buy Roxanne, but even so I felt like crap for killing those Bandits. Good thing that guilt is only induced by my MP dropping too much, because those guys were most certainly the worst scum there was, so dispatching them on a one-way trip to the afterlife should not be all that big of a deal. Okay so now, in order to improve my mental state, let¡¯s kill some Needlewoods to regain my lost MP. Michio, you need to remind yourself once again that this is how things are done in this world. This is not modern-day Japan. If you want to see something done, you have to haul ass and do it yourself, whether that something would be killing monsters to improve your mental stability or murdering Bandits to trade their ID¡¯s for money. There is no police force here to do your dirty work for you, and law and human rights seem to be more like guidelines than a thing to be upheld at all times.


    After killing a bunch of Needlewoods I have regained my confidence and stability. It good that I didn¡¯t have to do it longer, because exploring the Labyrinth, even if it was a floor I was fairly familiar with now might not have been a good idea in the mentally impaired state. Before I returned to normal I had some slight difficulties with moving around due to the waves of the anxiety attacks that were constantly washing over me, basically I only fought the ones that tried to stop me from reaching the Labyrinth¡¯s exit.


    After getting my shit together I walked out of the Labyrinth. I got the Intelligence Cards from the hands that I managed to snatch and threw the remaining left hands and bloodied rags into the nearby bushes, and ditched my bloodied mantle in a separate location. If nobody will see me walking around in clothes that are dirty with blood, then nobody will suspect me of anything, which will in turn allow me to avoid troublesome questions. When I finished disposing of the evidence of my involvement in the battle with the Bandits, I just casually returned to my room at the inn where I washed my hands and face with warm water, and then lay on the bed after hiding the Scimitar under my pillow as a precautionary measure. At first, I was having trouble with closing my eyes due to adrenaline still rushing through my veins, but eventually I managed to drift off to sleep. And this time, I woke up only after the sun has completely risen. Maybe it was because last night I slept very little before I went to deal with the Bandits, but today I slept better than I expected. I was in high spirits after reminding myself of what I managed to pull off just a few hours ago, but even more than that, I felt relieved.


    Right now, in this moment, obtaining Roxanne for myself no longer feels like an impossible dream to achieve. Of course, I cannot be sure of anything until I¡¯ll go claim the prize money for the Bandits, but for now I guess I¡¯ve done all that I could. So if it turns up that after all my efforts I still won¡¯t have enough money, I guess I can¡¯t be helped anymore. For now, all that I have left to decide is where I am going to redeem those Intelligence Cards. That was what I was thinking about even as I was well on my way to the land of dreams. The specific problem that I was mulling over was if I should go do it at the Knight¡¯s outpost here in Veil, or should I go somewhere else with it? Also, I can¡¯t help but to wonder how much of a stir my little stunt is going to cause throughout the slums? I guess I just have to wait and see, but if they know what¡¯s good for them, they¡¯d better sit quietly. Or maybe they won¡¯t make any kinda fuss at all, since murders in the slums are an everyday occurrence, so they might treat it as not that big of a deal.


    Still, I¡¯ve already cashed in some bounties for the Bandits five days ago. If I go claim another prize for myself in such a short amount of time, I will be bound to get some unwanted attention to myself. If I go to other towns, the possibility of that happening could be greatly reduced, but if I go for it, I have no guarantee if I¡¯m not going to get scammed since I don¡¯t know if the system of converting bounty to cold hard cash is the same in every city in this world, or if every town has its own separate systems. There is still too much that I don¡¯t know. As far as I¡¯m concerned, it might be that a bounty that¡¯s valid in one town will not be valid in another, because one town does not care about the problems of another. It is also quite possible that the money may not be paid on the same day the inquiry will be made, and that would be quite a problem since today is the day when I agreed to get the money for Roxanne¡¯s purchase to the Slave Merchant.


    Another thing that I have to look out for is the unwanted spreading of the information that another group of Bandits has been defeated. I didn¡¯t say much when we were at the station to claim the prizes from the attack at the village, but I don¡¯t now if Picker-san didn¡¯t come back for some additional questioning. It also might be possible that the Knights and the merchants who come to do business in Veil are well acquainted with one another, or maybe they are working with each other behind the scenes? It wouldn¡¯t be that strange, since as the only merchant in the village he¡¯d be a perfect source of information on everything that¡¯s happening there. But if that was the case, then the more probable scenario would be that the Knights would have alerted the village that they might get attacked, and he¡¯d report back to them right after the attack instead of waiting until his next shopping trip. Or maybe that¡¯s because he¡¯s actually a double agent, working with both Bandits and the Knights without them knowing?! Nah, now you¡¯re just picking at straws here you idiot! There¡¯s no way something like that would be true!


    What I¡¯m getting so paranoid about is essentially this:  will I be questioned again with regards to the circumstances of obtaining those Intelligence Cards? Cause if I bring them to Another town where I¡¯ll get to be interviewed by someone who¡¯s too inquisitive about the details then it will be rather troublesome for me. And if I told my interviewer that I cannot share any details such as where I defeated the Bandits because they would want to investigate the site that would only make me look distrustful and would induce further questions, like [If you defeated Bandits in Veil, then why didn¡¯t you bring those Intelligence Cards to them?], and I wouldn¡¯t want that to happen. So considering all of the above, I guess it¡¯s going to be the safest for me to claim the prize money from the Knights here in Veil after all.

 Volume 1 - CH 5.11

    After finishing my breakfast in the morning, I left the inn and made my way to the building opposite of it, the Knight Order guardhouse. After I walked inside, I noticed that the Knight who questioned me before and the beautiful Female Knight were nowhere to be found. Well, what should I do then? I guess it works out for me because it eliminates the possibility of the Knights being extra suspicious of me, but now that I think about it, the whole process would be a lot smoother if I could report to someone who¡¯s actually well aware of the situation in the city instead of just some pencil pusher who couldn¡¯t give two shits about it. In that respect, being recognizable might be to my advantage in the future, so I better make a mental note of it now so that I won¡¯t forget about it.


    For the time being, I¡¯ll just have a walk at the brothel district to see how¡¯s the situation there. According to the information I have gathered the Knights should have a duty rotation around noon, so I¡¯ll wait until then and come back to see if any familiar faces showed up.


    I walked around the slums for two hours and then some, but from what I saw it does not look to be any different from the usual. Maybe they have yet to find the bodies of the Bandits with their left hands cut off, or maybe the residents of the slums really just don¡¯t give a fuck about gang wars happening in their immediate neighborhood?  Anyway, if the situation here is stable, then I guess there¡¯s no need for me to be here anymore. Enough time should have passed, so let¡¯s make my way back to the guardhouse. Waiting turned out to a good decision, because when I came back, I saw a familiar-looking Apprentice Knight behind one of the desks.


    ¡¸Hello there. Working as hard as ever I see.¡¹


    I called out to the Apprentice Knight


    ¡¸Ah, yes, welcome.¡¹


    When I looked at him with Identify, I saw that he is still an Apprentice Knight, but now he was lv.5. Last time I was here he was only Lv.4, so that means that in the last five days he managed to Level Up his Job once.


    ¡¸May I take a moment or perhaps now is not a good time?¡¹


    ¡¸Oh no, by all means, please, do have a seat.¡¹


    And I did just that.


    ¡¸So, what can I help you with today?¡¹


    ¡¸Actually, last night when I was out on the town, I had a run in with some pretty shady guys. I think they might have been Bandits.¡¹


    I took out the Intelligence Cards of the Bandits I defeated and handed them over to the apprentice Knight.


    ¡¸Bandits, you say?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. They were the ones who attacked me first so I had no choice but to defend myself. They probably took me for an easy prey since I¡¯m still relatively new to the city, but I managed to turn the tables on them.¡¹


    I exclaimed somewhat proudly. That was my plan here: to make myself look like a capable guy who could stand his ground even when faced with the enemies such as Bandits. As to whether or not this plan will work, I guess we shall see, but judging by the fact that the Apprentice Knight smiled faintly when he heard me say that, I think he successfully bought my story. Or at least that¡¯s what I want to believe.


    ¡¸I understand. Can I see your Intelligence Card?¡¹


    ¡¸O course. Here you go.¡¹


    I placed my left hand in front of the knight. After he confirmed my identity, he said that he¡¯s going to run a check on the Cards belonging to the Bandits and told me to wait for a few minutes as he disappeared deeper into the building. And he did so without asking pretty much any questions at all, which is a huge success in and out of itself. Alright, so far, so good. Now let¡¯s just wait and see if we can keep it up. Eventually the Apprentice Knight came back with a pouch of coins. The beautiful Female Knight came together with him.


    ¡¸We¡¯ve confirmed everything we needed to confirm. The owners of those Intelligence Cards were Bandits without a shadow of a doubt. Two of them had a bounty placed on their heads, so you¡¯ll be getting the prize money for getting rid of them.¡¹


    Without any further comments he handed me the money pouch, so I took it and left the guardhouse. They didn¡¯t even want to hear about the details such as where the battle took place, what happened to the rest of the bodies. It was exactly the same as the last time: confirmation, handing of the money and that¡¯s it. I was once again reminded just how horrible the treatment of the outlaws seems to be in this town, and who knows if it¡¯s not like that in this entire world? But since I can¡¯t do anything to change that (and I don¡¯t even know if I¡¯d want to change that) I guess there¡¯s no use thinking about it. What I can do now, is to go and count how much of the prize money I have obtained, and be glad that this whole event went much smoother than I have initially expected it to go. I quickly moved to some shaded place and looked inside the pouch. How much gold and silver coins have I got this time?


    After confirming that the pouch contained more than seven gold coins, I felt a sense of satisfaction and unconstrained joy surging in my chest. If I add those to the 33 gold and 228 silver coins that are already in my possession, it will be more than enough for me to finally buy Roxanne!


    Returning back to the main street, I made my way towards the Slave Merchant¡¯s shop with incredibly light steps. These last five days have been filled with nothing but stress, tension and uncertainty, but soon it will be all over. But the closer I got to the shop, the more my heart was being filled with nervousness and anticipation. You cannot feel relax just yet, Michio! There is still one last hurdle for you to jump over. I have to make sure that this whole transaction is legit, and Alan the Slave Merchant won¡¯t just run away with my money after I hand it over to him.


    ¡¸It¡¯s Michio. I¡¯d like to have a word with mister Alan. Could you please get him for me?¡¹


    Finally, I arrived at the shop and asked the clerk who opened the door to get Alan-san for me.


    ¡¸Please wait here. Master Alan will be with you shortly.¡¹


    I passed through the room next to the entrance sat in the waiting room. I also summoned Durandal and placed it on my waist. Normally I would have kept it hidden, but in this case, it might be better to present myself with the most expensive looking equipment  got so that the Slave Merchant will know that I absolutely mean business, even if I can¡¯t exactly tell if Durandal is all that gorgeous-looking. Also, its going to be my countermeasure against any attempts at robbing me of my hard-earned 40,000 Nar. But for the time being, let¡¯s try to improve his image of me as much as possible, and maybe I¡¯ll get on the list of his best customers, or something along those lines. To that end, maybe I should have worn something a little more extravagant than a simple Leather Armor?


    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry for the wait, oh most esteemed customer!¡¹


    Alan -san has finally come to greet me.


    ¡¸No worries.¡¹


    ¡¸Since you¡¯ve come here, then am I correct in assuming that you have all of the necessary funds?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course.¡¹


    ¡¸Then please, come with me.¡¹


    ¡¸Alright.¡¹


    And so, he guided me to the room I have visited twice in the past. This will be my moment of truth.

 Volume 1 - CH 5.12

    I sat on the sofa and drank the herbal tea that was brought to me by a female servant who was not Roxanne.


    ¡¸Please enjoy your drink, dear customer.¡¹


    When she left, the Slave Merchant urged me to drink. So I placed the cup at my mouth and pretended to drink the tea. If he wanted to take me out and take my money, the fastest way to do so would be to slip some poison into my drink, so in order to prevent that I¡¯m just not going to drink any of it. I took the backpack off my back and removed the drawstring bag from it. I removed all of my silver coins from it first. All 228 of them.


    ¡¸I hope you don¡¯t mind so many silver coins?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course not. Such an amount was well within my range of expectations.¡¹


    Then I also took out the 40 gold coins.


    ¡¸This should be enough, right?¡¹


    That is all the money that I so desperately collected. I don¡¯t know what I¡¯ll do if it still ends up not being enough.


    ¡¸Most certainly, that¡¯s all the money we agreed upon. Dear Roxanne will be here in just a moment, so please wait patiently for her, alright?¡¹


    After diligently checking the number of coins, the Slave Merchant placed them all on a table in neatly arranged piles and had another servant take them away. I¡¯m actually impressed that he managed to count all of them up so fast and that he remained so calm and collected, because what I did was essentially pulling an equivalent of paying a multi-yen bill with 5-yen coins. Worst case scenario, you could even get sued for harassment. While we waited for Roxanne to arrive, I continued to fake-drink my herbal tea.


    And then she finally came.


    We heard a quiet knocking on the door, so Alan the Slave Merchant stood up to open them for her. She was wearing a simple yellow tunic and the pants of a matching color. She entered the room and timidly hid behind the Slave Merchant. Aww, that¡¯ s so cute, but it¡¯s alright. I¡¯m not going to do anything to you, so there¡¯s no need for you to hide. Then she stretched her neck and looked at me shyly from behind Alan-san¡¯s back. Ahh, her face is still beautiful. She is a beautiful girl through and through! I was afraid that the last time I saw her I might have beautified her in my mind due to how horny I was, but thankfully that was not the case at all! If anything, the real thing was even more beautiful than I remembered!


    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry for making you wait. Thank you for purchasing me. I will be in your care from now on.¡¹


    Roxanne looks at me, but when our eyes met, she immediately averted them back. Her dog ears also shook due to the motion she did with her head. Those ears are so uber cute! I want to touch them! I want to pet them! She could be a little less shy, but I guess there will come a time for us to work on that. I also don¡¯t think I did anything she should be thanking me for, but then again, that might be just common courtesy, so it would be best to respond to her in kind.


    ¡¸Likewise. I hope we will get along together just fine. I¡¯ll be looking forward to it.¡¹


    ¡¸I am looking forward to it as well, but first, allow me to express my heartfelt apologies to you!¡¹


    And she bowed her head down low. Why is she doing that? Could it be that she¡¯s apologizing to me for the Slave Merchant who wanted to screw me over by not giving her to me and running away with the money?


    ¡¸Can you¡­ explain?¡¹


    I gently asked her.


    ¡¸Master, even though I told you I would wait those five days for you, to come buy me, I doubted if you will be able to get all the money needed for that! I thought you will be incapable of doing that, and that you would not come back for me! I beg you to forgive me for my lack of faith in you, and I will understand if you will no longer be willing to have me as your slave!¡¹


    Sweet rock¡¯n rolling Jesus on a fish stick girl! If I could, I would have changed your name to Moexanne without a second thought!


    ¡¸Roxanne my dear, this is all so very touching, but I think our customer is dead-set on going through with the purchase. To that end, let us finalize the deal by signing an official contract. Michio-sama, your Intelligence Card, if you would?¡¹


    ¡¸Ah, okay.¡¹


    ¡¸Roxanne, you as well.¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yes.¡¹


    I walked up to the Slave Merchant and placed my left hand in front of him, and Roxanne did the same after a bit of initial hesitation. So apparently, she doubted if I will ever come back to actually buy her, and that¡¯s why she felt the need to apologize to me. Honestly, after hearing how much the Slave Merchant wanted for her, I had every right to do just that: forget about buying her, turn my back on her and never come back to this shop. But how could I have done something as cruel as that after witnessing how beautiful she was?


    Slave Merchant placed his own hand in front of ours and casted as spell, after which our Intelligence Cards emerged from our wrists. So not only authority figures, knights and innkeepers can manifest it, but merchants are capable of doing so as well. Then he murmured something that I did not understand.


    ¡¸And that concludes your contract. Please check your Intelligence Cards to see if everything is in order.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood.¡¹


    Roxanne showed her own Card to me.


    Roxanne: Female, 16 years old, Beast Warrior.


    Owned by: Kaga Michio


    ¡¸I see. And with that, the master-slave pack between you has been officially made.¡¹


    Roxanne¡¯s Intelligence Card now lists me as her owner. So I guess the Slave Merchant wasn¡¯t a scammer after all. But I don¡¯t regret being distrustful of him. One cannot be too cautious when it comes to the well being of his money after all.


    Anyway, since all the formalities have now been completed, I made the best smile I could muster and showed her my own Card.


    ¡¸Uhm, are you really sure about that?¡¹


    Roxanne¡¯s beautiful eyes peeked at me when she asked me if I was fine with her inspecting my Intelligence Card.


    ¡¸If it¡¯s you, then I have no problems with it being seen.¡¹


    ¡¸!!! ¡­. Yes!¡¹


    And she took it in her small, gentle hands. When I l glanced at it as she did so, I noticed that it has been rewritten indeed. The contents were now as follows:


    Kaga Michio: Male, 17 years old


    Job: Explorer, Free Citizen


    Owner of: Roxanne


    The Job that was displayed as my first one was still the Explorer. But now, it also listed that I am Roxanne¡¯s owner.


    I can¡¯t wait to see what life in this new strange world is going to have in store for us from now on.


    ¡´To be continued in ¡ºA Harem in the Fantasy World Dungeon Volume 2¡» ¡µ

 Volume 2 - CH 1.01

    Chapter 6: Double


    Kaga Michio


    Levels & Equipment:


    Explorer Lv.11


    Hero Lv.6


    Warrior Lv.9


    Swordsmen Lv.8


    Equipment:


    Durandal


    Leather Armor


    Sandals


    ¡¸Now that you have become Roxanne¡¯s owner, there are some thing that you have to remember, Michio-sama. As the owner, you are obliged to provide for your slave and keep her in good condition at all times by providing her meals, clothing and a place to live, as well as paying the slave owner¡¯s tax. If you fail to provide her with her basic needs or treat her in an unreasonably cruel manner without any proper explanation for such unjust treatment, the contract you¡¯ve made today can be null and void. If you so wish, you can visit my humble shop again should you desire to acquire another slave, or modify the contracts of the ones you already possess, since modification of contracts is also a part of my profession.¡¹


    Alan the Slave Merchant flooded me with a barrage of information, but the plain, emotionless tone of his speech, which was reminiscent of the performance from low-budget American dramas suggested that it was a routine that he must have been through thousands of times already. That has to be a signature statement that he¡¯s saying to everyone who buys slaves from him, but it didn¡¯t make any kind of impression on me, probably due to how bland its delivery was. To him it was just another sale, even though the merchandise he was selling, slaves, would be considered a highly illegal type of goods back in my own world, and if anyone found out that he was involved in slave trade, he would be thrown behind bars without even the right to remain silent. But no, in this world buying yourself a slave was nothing all that unusual, just like buying yourself another article of clothing or a new piece of furniture.


    That¡¯s right, I, Kaga Michio have bought myself a slave after, for whatever bizarre reason, I was transported into the world of the game I intended to start playing as an alternative to committing suicide.


    From what I was able to gather, this world is just like you any other cookie-cutter fantasy world, magic, dungeons and monsters/demons included. It would seem that for the people like me, called Adventurers, the main source of income (or just a thing to do in general) is to form a Party with other like-minded individuals and conquer the dungeons, which are called Labyrinths in here, but you have to look out when you form a Party, because if you do it with someone whom you do not absolutely trust, then you¡¯re risking being robbed of the spoils from the dungeon raids or even being killed in the worst case scenario. But once you¡¯ll have yourself a team of trustworthy companions, then you can search the Labyrinths for real, and if you¡¯re lucky, you might just land a jackpot and stumble upon a treasure that will allow you to live out the rest of your life comfortably and without any worries about your financial stability.


    As for me, I¡¯m way to suspicious of other people to form a Party with them, and that is why I bought myself a slave. That way, I can have a companion whom I know won¡¯t ever think about stabbing me in the back (because if the master dies by the slave¡¯s hand, the slave dies as well), effectively killing two birds with one stone. And to those of you who think that using another human (or in my case, demi-human) being in such a nefarious way, I have two things to say: one, no one said that such a practice is not allowed, and two, she is my slave, not yours, therefore I¡¯m the one who gets to call the shots! Besides, what did you expect me to do? Back in Japan I was an ostracized loner my entire life, so I wouldn¡¯t have been able to create lasting relationships even if my life depended on it, much less entrust my back to anyone else but myself. Unfortunately, for someone like me who¡¯s not especially smart or clever and exploring the Labyrinths is the only way of obtaining money for daily necessities like food and a place to sleep. I mean, technically I could go challenge the Labyrinths on my own because I have the advantage of the game¡¯s interface, which allowed be to obtain uber OP Skills and equipment right from the get-go, with me, but if I want to seriously become a full-fledged Adventurer and explore the deepest depths of every Labyrinth, then a backup is going to necessary. That is why I have decided to buy myself a slave.


    As a complete outsider, I have no idea what is considered common sense in this world, so I need someone to teach me everything from scratch if I don¡¯t want to stand out like a sore thumb everywhere I go. If asked someone randomly, they might think that I¡¯m crazy and give me false information or just shrug the matter off and not tell me anything at all. With a slave, there won¡¯t be any such danger, because a slave won¡¯t gain anything from deceiving their master. Also¡­


    I glanced sideways where Roxanne, my very own slave stood and swallowed my saliva. She is the most beautiful girl I have ever met in my life, an absolute bombshell of a babe. She totally looks even better than those girls you would meet in those fancy-ass night clubs in Ginza, not that I ever been to one myself mind you. She also has a cute pair of dog ears adorning her smooth chestnut hair, but she¡¯s not a dog. When I identified her last time, it showed that her race was a Beastman, and even more specifically, a Wolfkin, pointing to her being a werewolf. But her human ears are also cute. And most importantly, she has a big pair of perky boobies which are perfectly visible even through all the clothes she was wearing. All in all, I have to say that I couldn¡¯t have land a better catch for my first slave ever. Right now, all the signs on heaven and earth seem to be telling me that my nights are going to be much more fun than the used to be¡­


    Whoops, that¡¯s no good, no good at all! Michio, try to keep your little Durandal in your pants, at least for now! Right now, I need to concentrate on what the Slave Merchant is talking about. It might be a routine for him, but I¡¯m hearing it for the first time ever in my life, so the least I can do is to hear him out from beginning to the end and try to remember as much of it as I possibly can. According to him, I have an obligation to provide Roxanne with food and a place to sleep, but that is the part that does not require any explanation at all, since it¡¯s just common sense. Initially I wanted to ask what did he mean by ¡°unjust treatment¡±, but I guess that is a question that I should not ask with Roxanne by my side. It would be a real problem if she misunderstood my intentions and began to fear me because of it. There¡¯s also a question of what is going to happen to her if I happened to die prematurely, like, should I make a testament in regards to that or something? But first and foremost, I think I should learn more about the taxes Alan-san mentioned.


    ¡¸What about that taxes you were speaking of?¡¹


    ¡¸A poll tax. It is not being paid by the slave himself. Instead, it is being paid by the slave¡¯s owner.¡¹


    Such was the answer to my question that I have received. Well of course there would be fucking taxes here. I mean, why wouldn¡¯t they be? After all, there are only two things which are certain in this world (or at least my old one, but I think the saying can be applied here as well): death and taxes. It¡¯s a good thing I heard about it now, otherwise I would have probably ended with tax office on my ass for committing tax fraud, and I absolutely do not want that, no siree!


    ¡¸Is there anything more you¡¯d like to know about slave related taxes?¡¹


    ¡¸N-No, thank you. I¡¯m good for now.¡¹


    Maybe Roxanne knows something about it, so I¡¯ll just ask her about those things later.


    ¡¸Is that going to be all?¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, I¡¯m good to go.¡¹


    I nodded to the Slave Merchant.


    ¡¸Then I hope to see you again in the future.¡¹


    After being sent of by Alan-san, it was high time for me to leave the slave shop together with Roxanne. When it comes to personal belongings, all she has with her is a single big case which she is holding in front of herself with both her hands. If possible, I¡¯d like to buy her something nice as a gift to commemorate the beginning of our life together. A small gesture, but before she died, mother once told me that those are precisely the ones that matter the most, and since I am Roxanne¡¯s master from now on, I want her to have as comfortable of a life as possible.

 Volume 2 - CH 1.02

    Roxanne and I continued to walk down the main street amidst the hustle and bustle of the street merchants and the city dwellers who were just passing by. I wanted to openly stare at her, but felt too embarrassed to do so. But I have to admit, when viewed in the full brilliance of the sunlight, her beauty shines through all the more. Her glossy hair, small pink lips, her snow-white skin, literally everything about her is absolutely perfect!


    And that chest, oh lawd that chest of hers! How can it be so big yet so shapely at the same time?! Her shirt can barely contain those voluminous bulges! Yup, our nights are certainly going to be quite fun. I¡¯m probably smirking like an idiot now, but I don¡¯t care about that. More importantly¡­


    ¡¸Isn¡¯t it a little heavy? Want me to carry it for you?¡¹


    I said, pointing at the case she was carrying. She might be my slave, but she¡¯s also a girl, so she has to be at least somewhat uncomfortable carrying something so heavy around. Since I¡¯m a guy, I should do the heavy lifting for her. With my stats, this should be a piece of cake.


    ¡¸J-Just a little bit, but do not worry master, I can handle it just fine!¡¹


    ¡¸Aw come on, don¡¯t be like that! I asked you myself, so it¡¯s fine, really.¡¹


    ¡¸¡­.. T-Then, I would be very much obliged.¡¹


    Roxanne handed her case to me after she wavered for a moment. I grasped its handle with my right hand. Making it easy on Roxanne was the main reason why I wanted to take her luggage off of her, but now that I got my hands on it, it¡¯s going to serve me another purpose. Instead of carrying it in front of me like Roxanne did, I held it over my back in such a way that the case covered the Holy Sword Durandal I was carrying on my back. Now I will be able to do a Character Reset without alerting anyone with a sword suddenly disappearing off my back.


    Character Reset is one hell of a convenient function that allows me to redistribute all of my Bonus Points to obtain different Bonus Equipment or Bonus Spells. With the amount of Bonus Points that I got myself while I was creating my character for the first time, I was able to procure myself this baby that now rests on my back, the Holy Sword Durandal, awarded for investing in Bonus Equipment Skill up to Lv.6. Normally I¡¯m keeping it hidden because I don¡¯t want to risk anyone seeing it and recognizing how stupidly awesome it is, but I decided to have it on me before I went to the Slave Merchant¡¯s shop in order to look more professional, even if just by a little bit. Also, I was going to use it to cut down the Alan-san if he tried to scam me and run away with the money, but since he turned out to be a pretty okay guy there was no need for me to use Durandal at all, and now that my business there is done, I can safely remove it.


    ¡¸You know, it certainly looked heavier than it actually is.¡¹


    ¡¸I¡¯m glad to hear it. Uhm, master¡­ if you don¡¯t mind, could you¡­ hand my case back to me? I¡¯ll be fine carrying it for the rest of the way, so¡­¡¹


    ¡¸Sure, if you say so.¡¹


    Since she has specifically requested it, I handed the case back to Roxanne without any complaints. We¡¯ll be reaching the inn soon enough anyway. At first, I wanted to act like a gentleman and carry it all the way, but then I reminded myself that I do not know all of the customs and common sense of this world. As far as I know, slaves might be expected not only to carry their own luggage, but the one belonging to their master as well. Another reason is that I have another sword in my possession that I could use in case of an emergency. Out of the two of us I am the one armed with a weapon while Roxanne is bare-handed, so if anyone attacked us right now, it would be my job to defend us.


    To begin with, the idea that the man should carry a woman¡¯s belongings at all times originated in the modern society where there is no need for men to carry swords around with them at all times, but in this world violence in the cities might be an everyday occurrence, as was evident by an incident I witnessed recently where a man was killed in broad daylight in the middle of the street. Truth to be told it happened in the slums, but still¡­


    Having Roxanne carry both of our luggage might be more convenient for me, but on the other hand it would put her at risk of being attacked while she¡¯s defenseless instead, so that¡¯s all the more of a reason for me to carry an easily accessible weapon on me at all times. Servant carries the belongings while master carries a sword to protect both himself and his servant. Yeah, that sound like it might actually be one of the laws ruling this world.


    Returning the case to Roxanne, I opened my own Item Box and took the Scimitar out of it. When she took the handle back from me our fingers touched for a brief moment, causing my heart to beat faster. So that¡¯s how it feels to touch a girl¡¯s hand, huh? It¡¯s soft, smooth, and so incredibly warm. Man, what is going on with me? For some reason I feel like such a kid again. Keep it together man, you have to show Roxanne how manly and dependable you are!


    ¡¸A-Anyway, for the time being we¡¯ll be staying at an inn. It¡¯s not that far from here, all we have to do to reach it is to go back to the main street and go along it until we reach the rotary¡­¡¹


    ¡¸So, we¡¯re going to the vale Pavilion then. Understood.¡¹


    I didn¡¯t even know that the inn I was staying in for the past few days had such a fancy name, but whatever. I placed the Scimitar on my waist and started walking again. Roxanne was following half a step behind me. I have to admit, being seen with a girl carrying a large case by herself as she followed me was a tad bit embarrassing, or rather it made me feel like a dick.


    But I guess Roxanne must be feeling even more nervous than I am now, because, with a few exceptions, she only replies with ¡¸yes¡¹, ¡¸I see¡¹ or ¡¸understood¡¹ to everything that I try to say to her.


    ¡¸By the way Roxanne, can you read kanji?¡¹


    ¡¸Kanji? What is that?¡¹


    When I tried asking her if she could read, she only looked at me strangely. My God, her face is a marvel to look at no matter how many times I do it. Wait, no, that¡¯s not what you should be thinking right now! I just realize that she could not read kanji, because kanji could not be converted into Brahim language.


    When I arrived here, the Chief of the village of Somara told me that the language I am speaking with is called Brahim. Even though that was the first time I have ever heard this strange-sounding word, for some reason I could speak it and understand it as if it was my own native tongue. But the written letters were still displayed as kanji for me. They were not converted into Brahim. Since Brahim does not have the concept of kanji, it must have treated them as the element of a foreign language.


    ¡¸Okay, alright, let¡¯s try this one more time. You can read the contents of the Intelligence Cards, right?¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yes, I can do that without any issues.¡¹


    ¡¸And the writing on the Intelligence Cards that you¡¯re seeing is written in what language?¡¹


    ¡¸In Brahim. It¡¯s, well¡­ it¡¯s because the Intelligence Card interacts directly with the consciousness of whoever is reading it, displaying the information inscribed upon it with the letters of the language that the person who¡¯s reading it knows best.¡¹


    So that¡¯s how it is, huh? I get it now. So, the information on Intelligence Cards are not actually written in kanji, but the game¡¯s system is converting the letters written in Brahim into kanji for me, because Japanese is my native tongue. Now this makes me wonder, how would Intelligence Cards look like to someone who was completely illiterate?


    ¡¸Can you read Brahim?¡¹


    ¡¸I can, although I learned just a little of it.¡¹


    ¡¸And what about writing?¡¹


    ¡¸I can do that as well.¡¹


    Okay, so that confirms that Roxanne knows both how to write and read in Brahim.


    ¡¸To be honest, I cannot read or write in Brahim, so I would like to ask you to teach me how to do it.¡¹


    ¡¸O-Of course! I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll be a good teacher, but I will try to do my best!¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you. I¡¯ll be in your care then.¡¹

 Volume 2 - CH 1.03

    We went past the Explorer¡¯s Guild. Heh, from now on I won¡¯t need anyone to be my substitute reader, so suck on that, guild clerks ripping illiterate people off!


    [I want to apologize in advance if I¡¯ll be of not so much use. If we had met earlier I would have probably learned much more, but there was only so much information I could learn in five days.] [Hm? So you learned Brahim in the Slave Shop throughout those five days I had to get all the necessary money?] [Yes. When I heard you and the shop owner were talking in Brahim, I thought learning it myself might prove beneficial to you, and that¡¯s why I decided to learn it myself.]


    So he could actually do that much for her, huh? Normally I would say that it was quite nice of him to do something seemingly so selfless, but that was probably one of the strategies to elevate the value of the slaves he¡¯s selling. It wasn¡¯t an act of goodwill, but a pure business move. After all, a slave who can read and write will always be seen as more competent than the one that does not have those skills, but precisely because of the his/her price can be that much higher.


    [The place we¡¯ll be staying at is just over there, see?] [Right!]


    Since Roxanne has her luggage there¡¯s no sense in us doing any detours, so we just headed straight back to the inn. On our way there, I noticed that a surprisingly large amount of guys (some of them even with female companions on their own) were staring at Roxanne with envious eyes when we were passing by them. I know, right, she¡¯s a real cutie, there¡¯s no doubt about that. Knowing that I have such an eye-catching slave filled me with a sudden sense of superiority. But let¡¯ make one thing clear though: I¡¯m fine with others looking at Roxanne, but if anyone of those guys tried to make a move on her I would have cut the bastard down without a second thought. The only one who¡¯s allowed to do any dirty stuff to her is me, her rightful owner, and no one else. And if anyone has any objections to that, they are going to get their assholes really well aquainted with the business end of my Durandal!


    We entered the inn, or perhaps I should call it by its proper name: Veil Pavilion, now that I know it, and approached the reception desk.


    [I would like to rent a double room this time. You have any of those vacant?]


    I said to the Innkeeper.


    [We sure have. So, a double room for you this time, huh?]


    He replied, eyeing Roxanne with a look that was curious, but not in a malicious or mocking sort of way.


    [Right. Also, add dinner for two to it.] [Double room with a dinner for two, that would be 380 Nar, but with your special customer discount it will be 350 Nar per night.] [Coming right up.]


    I placed the money, 3 silver coins and 50 copper coins on the table in front of him. I have to say, that 30% Reduced Prices is a really handy Skill, although I still don¡¯t fully understand the mechanics behind how it works and the total extend of its limitations. For now the most important thing is that hanks to I can have lodging and meals at 30% cheaper prices, but I wonder what other services can it affect? Oh, and on a side note: 30% Reduced Prices is another one of my Skill that I have set up During that Character Reset I¡¯ve done on our way here. Just as the name implies, it allows me to buy items and pay for various services 30% cheaper. You know, just a handy little lifehack.


    [Okay then, can you show me your Intelligence Cards?]


    Oh, so now he wants to check them? Well, I don¡¯t really mind, but I don¡¯t understand why would he need an additional confirmation when it should be clear that Roxanne will be coming with me since we came here together. Maybe he thought she was actually a prostitute I hired to make my evening more entertaining? In that case, I wonder what¡¯s his reaction is going to be when he¡¯ll see that she¡¯s my very own slave! I extended my left hand to him, and Roxanne did the same right after me.


    [Double room are on the 5th floor. Allow me to guide you there.]


    Much to my chargin, the Innkeeper did not comment on our Intelligence Cards in any way. Maybe it is because commenting on thigs like having slaves is actually considered as rude, or maybe it is a straight up intrusion of privacy? Whatever the case may be, I grabbed the keys he handed me and proceeded towards the stairs.


    [Your luggage. Gimme.]


    I asked Roxanne to hand me her case once more. Now that we are inside an inn where we¡¯re safe, there¡¯s no need for me to constantly think about defending us from potential attackers, so I can allow myself to me a bit gentlemanly.


    [Th-Thank¡­ you.]


    Roxanne stuttered a bit and her cheeks flushed, but she followed me closely to the upper floors.


    [Before we go any higher, you might want to grab your things from your previous room.] [Oh, right. I completely forgot about that.]


    When we reached the 3rd floor we stopped at the room I have been using up until this point, room 311. The Innkeeper unlocked it with his key, and I handed the case back to Roxanne and went inside. I quickly proceeded to pack all of my belongings into the Item Box, leaving the jersey from the closet and a pair of leather shoes from the lockable shelf for last. When I was done, I left the key on the shelf next to the door.


    [Alright, that should be all.] [Then let us continue to the 5th floor.]


    The Innkeeper locked the room with his own key and we resumed our climb to the 5th floor.


    [Want me to take it again?]


    I said, pointing at Roxanne¡¯s case.


    [Thank you, but I¡¯ll be fine now.]


    If she says she¡¯s okay with carrying it the rest of the way, the I have no reason to distrust her words. There are only two floors left for us to go, so she should manage without any issues. On the other hand, I could really use an elevator right now. It¡¯s a damn shame that it¡¯s way too early for this world to even think about creating those. Climbing to the third floor was not that big of a deal to me, but two additional sets of stairs really started to make a number on my legs. I was beginning to feel as if someone took my kneecaps and capped them with a spiked baseball bat. For a second I thought about going there by using Warp, but then it occured to me that I have never been to the floors higher than the third, and that it would certainly raised a lot of suspicion if someone who was supposed to be a simple Explorer.


    [Fifth floor is where the rooms for two guests are located. The inn¡¯s topmost floor is where the special double rooms are located.]


    The Innkeeper explained as if he heard the complaints in my mind. To be honest, I couldn¡¯t really wrap my head around such reasoning.


    [Hmm¡­]


    I could only reply to him in such a way.


    [And this is the room the two of you will be staying now.]


    He stood in front of the second doors to the right after we arrived at the fifth floor.


    [This room, huh?]


    I went inside. The room¡¯s furniture was kept to the bare minimum here as well; it contained only a large double bed and a desk in the back, and two simple chairs. Is it called a double room because of that bed for two people? Anyway, I placed all of my belongings on the desk. Size-wise, this room wasn¡¯t all that different from the room 311 I stayed in for the last few days, the only difference being that is was a little bigger and didn¡¯t have a closet, but that could have well been just my imagination. And then¡­


    [The closet is built into the wall on the right. The shelves below it can be locked, but just like last time, I generally wouldn¡¯t advise you to keep any valuables in here. Go on, try opening it yourself.]


    Urged by the Innkeeper I walked to the wall to my right, which turned out to be a sliding door. The inside really was just like a closet, and a pretty spacious one at that. So I guess that really makes this room bigger than room 311. After that the Innkeeper gave me the same explanation he did when he brought me to my previous room, handed me the key and left, finally leaving me alone with Roxanne.


    Oh, that¡¯s right. We¡¯re finally alone.


    I sat on the bed, which was softer and comfier than the one in the previous room, but when I looked back at Roxanne, she was still standing at the entrance, visibly nervous, and maybe even a little scared.


    Hoo boi, here we go.

 Volume 2 - CH 1.04

    ¡¸Come on, why don¡¯t you have a sit over here?¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, r-right!¡¹


    Roxanne slowly walks inside the room. I don¡¯t know why, but somehow her nervousness is being passed onto me, making my heart race and my palms all damp with sweat. Come on, Michio, think of something to talk about! What are some casual conversation starting topics?!


    ¡¸Uhm¡­ is that number a five?¡¹


    I asked Roxanne while pointing at one of the symbols engraved on the key to the room. I know that the room¡¯s number is 517, but I¡¯m so desperate to keep the conversation going that I¡¯m literally willing to try anything, even if it makes me look like an idiot in her eyes.


    ¡¸Y-Yes, t-that¡¯s right.¡¹


    ¡¸And this here is seven?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes¡­ that is seven indeed.¡¹


    Aaaarggghh, just as I expected, the conversation is not going well at all! I feel like we talked more naturally while we were heading to the inn from the Slave Merchant¡¯s shop, but now everything seems to be getting to a standstill, not to mention that Roxanne¡¯s uneasiness started rubbing itself on me. But I understand why her current situation might be filling her with fear. After all, she is now completely alone in one room with a guy she barely knows, and there is only one bed in here. As far as she is concerned, I might be planning to push her down and take her by force. Just so we¡¯re clear on this, I absolutely do not intend to do that! I might be a garbage human being, but I¡¯m not a rapist!


    ¡¸So, uhm, like¡­ I hope you won¡¯t take it the wrong way but¡­ can I¡­ can I touch your ears?¡¹


    Feeling like I have nothing left to lose, I made that rather abrupt request. It might have sounded like something totally pulled out of my ass, but I really wanted to try touching her animal ears as a method of taming¡­. I mean convincing Roxanne that I have no ill intentions towards her. We¡¯ll see how she responds, and if she says yes, then maybe that will be a good sign that she will be willing to do some more wild things in the future. Perhaps. Probably. Maybe.


    ¡¸M-My ears? Y-Yes, of course, I don¡¯t mind¡­ as long as you¡¯re fine with someone like me¡­.¡¹


    FUCK THE HELL YEAH!


    ¡¸Then please, have a sit here next to me.¡¹


    I once again beckon Roxanne to my side in a true Chris Hansen fashion. And remember, everyone, what we¡¯re about to do here is nothing indecent. It¡¯s just skinship between a master and his servant. That¡¯s right, just wholesome skinship, with no lewd ulterior motives behind it! After all, when it comes to interpersonal relationships, skinship is one of the most important methods of deepening the bonds between people. Right now, Roxanne is nervous and filled with anxiety, but if I show her that I am genuinely interested in getting to know her better then I¡¯m sure she will come to accept me and trust me, no matter how long that would have to take. And if I play my cards like, maybe she will really become interested in doing more daring¡­ activities with me, or at least I hope so. But that is a matter for the future. For now, let¡¯s focus on the task at hand: deepening our trust by petting her cute dog ears!


    Roxanne came to the bed, but instead of sitting next to me she sat on the floor in front of me. Looking at the situation we¡¯re now in, it probably would have looked like an intro to a hentai anime for anyone who would watch us from the sidelines. But today is not the day for us to do hentai stuff, only wholesome bonding. Which is why I have to keep my little Durandal in check. Keep calm little one, your time to shine will come one day. I know it¡¯s hard to keep yourself in check with such a first-class beauty right in front of us, and our instincts are telling us to take advantage of this intimate one on one situation, but we have to be rational here. We have to be like the¡­ how did English people called it again? Oh yeah, The Person of Reason, or something along those lines, I don¡¯t really care all that much. The bottom line is: I have to keep myself from doing anything indecent to her if I want her to stop being so wary of me. That is the goal that I want to achieve here.


    ¡¸Uhm, Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes?¡¹


    ¡¸You can sit right here beside me. You don¡¯t have to sit on the floor.¡¹


    ¡¸Really? It¡¯s fine?¡¹


    ¡¸Yup. So come here. Right here.¡¹


    I patted the mattress right beside me in an inviting manner.


    ¡¸¡­Okay then.¡¹


    Roxanne stood up and sat next to me, on the very edge of the bed, as if she didn¡¯t want to take any more space than it was absolutely necessary. Not what I was expecting, but at least she won¡¯t be sitting on the floor like an animal. Now that she¡¯s so close to me I wanted cuddle to her or straight up hug her, but she can take such an action the wrong way, so I¡¯ll better hold on with that for the time being.


    I hope that by doing this I¡¯ll be able to soothe her anxiety, even if just for a little bit.


    ¡¸Just¡­ just be gentle¡­ please?¡¹


    I swallowed my saliva and silently placed my hand on Roxanne¡¯s head. Her face is so beautiful even when viewed from the side, and her hair slide through my fingers like the strands of the finest silk. It is also unbelievably soft and fluffy, making me want to touch it forever¡­. Yeah, right, we all know that what I truly want to do now is to just push her down, but I cannot allow that urge to overcome me! I need to keep my will strong and unwavering!


    Uwaaaah, this is a great feeling, one that could eliminate all sadness and purify even the evilest of spirits. After thoroughly enjoying the feeling of her hair, I finally tried touching her dog ears. They are large, droopy and even softer than her hair. There is also a certain pleasant thickness to them. They are not hard, and every inch of them is like a quintessence of fluffiness. A fluff incarnate, so to speak.


    Oh my God, this is so addicting that it might just become a habit for me! What am I going to do if I won¡¯t be able to last a day without touching those fluffy cuties of hers?! Ah, screw it, we¡¯ll worry about that later! For now, let¡¯s take it up another notch, shall we? At first I only touched her ears with one hand and I tried to be as delicate as possible not to hurt her or make her uncomfortable, but since she¡¯s not protesting to any of my caresses thus far, then I think I can try petting her with both of my hands.


    ¡¸You know Roxanne, ever since I first saw you I thought you were a beautiful girl, but your ears are on a completely different level.¡¹


    I allowed myself to be upfront with her. It¡¯s true that I think that her beauty is exceptional, but her droopy, cute ears multiply her beauty factor at least ten, no, a hundred times! Roxanne herself is incredibly erotic (especially those boobies of hers) and her ears are cute, and those elements combined result in the birth of the ultimate combo able to melt the heart of every guy: erotically-cute (TL Note: ero-kawaii in Japanese)! There¡¯s just something calming in them, something that¡¯s calm and comforting, yet arousing at the same time.


    ¡¸I, uhm¡­ thank¡­ you?¡¹


    Unable to look me in the eyes after I gave her such a direct compliment, Roxanne¡¯s cheeks turn red and her eyes start to wander all over the place, until finally she just casts her gaze down.


    So¡­ goddamn¡­ CUTE!!!!


    Seeing her as she is now, and after she filled my heart with peace and tranquility, there¡¯s no way I could do anything impure to her! I just continue to stroke her ears like an innocent child. It took a few solid minutes, but it looks like she finally stopped being so anxious and relaxed a little. I, on the other hand, still had to give it my all to remain as calm as possible.


    Looking at her from the side again, she really didn¡¯t look like she disliked what I was doing to her. Or maybe she does, but she¡¯s doing her best to accept it? Maybe she also understands that skinship is important in deepening the bonds between a master and servant?


    UwU, and what¡¯s this? When viewed from the side, her chest looks like its even bigger, and it jiggles up and down with every breath she takes! I want to touch those tasty melons! I want to fondle them! But I can¡¯t! Be patient, Michio! Rid yourself of the earthly desires to focus on what you have to do!


    ¡¸M-Maybe it¡¯s not the best time to say this, but¡­ once again, I¡¯ll be in your care from now on, Michio-sama.¡¹


    ¡¸And once again, likewise. I¡¯ll be in your care as well, in all sorts of ways.¡¹


    Roxanne bowed to me while still having her ears stroked. When she raised her head, I patted it again.


    ¡¸Those ears of yours are really nice. We should do this more often, if it¡¯s fine with you of¡­¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm¡­ Michio-sama?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, what is it?¡¹


    ¡¸Can¡­ can I call you my master from now on? Or perhaps you¡¯d prefer some other title?¡¹


    ¡­.


    ¡­¡­.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­


    That¡¯s it. I¡¯m done. If there is a God in this world, then let him strike me down right where I sit for I have achieved the ultimate fulfilment!

 Volume 2 - CH 1.05

    Maybe our skinship was already taking effects, because Roxanne initiated another conversation of her own volition. And she chose a wonderful subject to boot! I was so happy that I wanted to start jumping on the bed with joy, but that would probably scare her, or worse, creeped her out.


    ¡¸Hmm, let¡¯s see¡­ I think master is perfectly fine, so you can call me that if you want.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood. I shall do just as you wish, master.¡¹


    Oh lord. When she called me ¡¸master¡¹ just now, I felt as if something has awakened inside of me. This is bad, this is really bad. I want to hug her! Keep your cool dude, keep your god damn with about you! Calm your pubescent heart filled with raging hormones!


    ¡¸Anyway, isn¡¯t it kinda strange that there is only one bed here even though I asked for a room for two people?¡¹


    I tried to keep the conversation going while I still played with Roxanne¡¯s ears. No, wait a moment. Is it really okay for me to be starting such a topic?


    ¡¸Eh? But didn¡¯t you ask the Innkeeper for such a room specifically?¡¹


    ¡¸¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Come again?¡¹


    Roxanne said something really strange now. Did I really make a request like that? Because I don¡¯t think so.


    ¡¸Did I, really?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, you did, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Are you sure about that?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. Without a shadow of a doubt you have asked for a double room for us.¡¹


    ¡¸Well of course I¡­ oh¡­¡¹


    Oh indeed. Holy fuck, she¡¯s right! Now that I think about it, the way I have phrased my request really could have been taken in such a way. I see. So in this world ¡¸double room¡¹ does not mean ¡¸one room with two beds for two people¡¹ but rather ¡¸one room with one bed for two people¡¹. If that¡¯s the case, then this is really my fault for not properly understanding what I was asking the Innkeeper for, but you know what they say: there are no mistakes in life, only happy accidents. Good job, Mr. Innkeeper, omega good job!


    ¡¸You really had no idea what you were asking for?¡¹


    Now Roxanne was looking at me with visible concern. Well, of course I knew that it was going to be a room with one bed, but I cannot tell her that straight to her face! I need to phrase it in such a way that won¡¯t make me look like a total degenerate who knew what he was doing all along and was just feigning ignorance.


    ¡¸It is exactly as you say, but I have a good reason for it, so let me start with that.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay, I¡¯m listening, master.¡¹


    ¡¸I am not from around these parts. I am a traveler who came to this kingdom from a land far, far away to the east that you probably wouldn¡¯t believe it if I tried to calculate the exact distance.¡¹


    The best thing I can do right now it to tell her half of the truth. But I¡¯m not going to stop touching her ears while I¡¯m at it. Skinship is important after all. I cannot tell her everything because I have no idea if she¡¯s going to believe me, and even if she did it could just be an unnecessary burden for her, but I also don¡¯t want to lie to her about everything. That¡¯s why I will tell her the most important bits while omitting or changing the ones the are not absolutely necessary for her to know.


    ¡¸When you say far, far away from here, do you mean even farther away than Cassim?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, even farther than that.¡¹


    ¡¸Is that so? Then your journey here must have taken quite some time indeed.¡¹


    Roxanne seemed to be deep in thought as she stroked her chin with her fingers. I don¡¯t know what that Cassim place she was talking about is or where it is, but as long as it is very far away from here then that works fine for me. And on a side note, Roxanne looked very charming when she was thinking.


    ¡¸Also, I am a bit of a country bumpkin, born and raised outside of any big cities, so I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t have that much of a common sense and knowledge, so I would like you to educate me in those matters.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay, I think I understand so far. As I said before, I will try to help you to the best of my abilities, master.¡¹


    ¡¸I¡¯ll be much obliged, although I have to warn you that my knowledge of what can and cannot be done in this country Is so severely lacking that I¡¯m afraid we¡¯ll have to start from the very basics.¡¹


    ¡¸It¡¯s alright. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be able to figure something out.¡¹


    Phew, that¡¯s a dodged bullet right there. It¡¯s good that I managed to convince her, but it doesn¡¯t change the fact that not telling her the entire truth didn¡¯t sit right with me. However, for now half-truths are a necessity if I want to ensure a smooth sailing for us from now on. So now that we have the issue of my background out of the way, let¡¯s start talking some more serious business.


    ¡¸Also, you might have heard that already, but I am also exploring the Labyrinth. If possible, I¡¯d like you to help me with my future expeditions as well.¡¹


    ¡¸Of course. I think I¡¯ll be able to be of use to you during battles, so you can leave that to me, master.¡¹


    When I mentioned the Labyrinth, Roxanne immediately looks me in the eyes. Is it just me or are her eyes shining with some sort of mysterious light now? And the atmosphere around her has changed drastically. Apparently she must be very confident in her combat abilities. It was reassuring, but also somewhat scary, as if her bestial instincts took her over for just that one brief moment.


    I think that¡¯s going to be the best moment to stop petting her ears for now. All things considered, I¡¯m glad that she¡¯s so confident in her own abilities, because that means I will be getting a fine addition to my Party.


    ¡¸Can I put my clothes into the closet? I don¡¯t want them to get all wrinkled.¡¹


    Since our skinship session was over, Roxanne stood up from the bed. For a moment I thought she was going to dash straight to the door to run away.


    ¡¸Y-Yeah, please, go ahead.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you very much.¡¹


    Thankfully she just placed the case she brought with herself from the Slave Merchant¡¯s shop on the bed and opened it, and took the maid outfit out of it. Isn¡¯t that the uniform she was wearing during my first visit to Alan-san¡¯s establishment? I wonder is she brought that with her out of sentiment?


    Next she took out another maid outfit that we ended up buying on the way here. It was a pretty expensive purchase that cost me 4000 Nar, but I think that it was a good one. Unfortnately, since we were buying only one item, my 30% discount that I obtained by once again resetting my character did not work this time. Also, I think that for it to be effective I have to be the one making the purchase, so I need to keep that in mind in case I¡¯ll ever send Roxanne to do some shopping alone.


    The effect of my discount works perfectly on the things from this inn, assuming that I¡¯ll pay for more than one thing at once, so if I¡¯ll take the room for the night coupled with dinner, the overall payment will be cheaper than if I tried to pay for those two things separately. But if I were to get, for example, just a basin of hot water, the discount would not activate. In the same fashion, if Roxanne tried to buy the maid uniform without me around, the discount would not activate as well, even though she¡¯s my slave. Ans speaking of slaves, it was thanks to that Skill that I was able to buy Roxanne at such an affordable price. If I didn¡¯t have it on me at the time of visiting Alan-san¡¯s shop, I would have never been able to assemble the money for her original price, so I guess that was one hell of a lucky coincidence for me. Or maybe I shouldn¡¯t call it coincidence, because I clearly fell for Alan-san¡¯s clever business trap. By showing me Roxanne, he stimulated my young and impressionable (TL Note: in other words, horny) heart, imprinting the desire of claiming her for myself in it. In that sense, I am guilty of falling for his clever schemes, but I guess it all turned out all right in the end so I have no real reason to complain about anything anymore.


    Anyway, let it be a lesson for all of you kiddos out there: You shouldn¡¯t be greedy; greed is bad and greedy people end up penniless, homeless and dead. So don¡¯t be greedy.

 Volume 2 - CH 1.06

    Roxanne took her clothes and started putting them into the closet, allowing me to have a splendid look at her curves from the back, since the clothes she is wearing right now are a rather tight fit. Ahh, what a magnificent view it is! I want to hug her from behind, and then proceed to doing more inappropriate things! Yup, that purchase was a good one indeed.


    When it comes to the characteristics, I think Roxanne is rather slim for someone with such well endowed chest. She is of the same height as me, but her limbs are also more on the thinner side. Mind you, I¡¯m not complaining about her proportions, but rather to accentuate how feminine she is.


    ¡¸Huh? Wait a minute¡­ Roxanne, you¡¯re not wearing any shoes?¡¹


    I was so absorbed with looking at Roxanne¡¯s nether regions that I only just now noticed that she was barefoot.


    ¡¸Ah, yes, that¡¯s right.¡¹


    She replied as if it was the most natural thing in the world to say and didn¡¯t pursue the matter any further. Could it be that slaves not wearing any shoes is another element of the common sense of this land? So she came all this way here from the Slave Merchant¡¯s shop without me even noticing that she was barefoot. Heh, some master I am, failing to notice something as basic as that.


    ¡¸Could you take care of that as well?¡¹


    I took my jersey from the desk and handed it to Roxanne.


    ¡¸Of course, master. As you wish. Oh my, this is¡­¡¹


    ¡¸Hm? Something wrong with it?¡¹


    ¡¸N-No, not at all! It¡¯s just that I have never seen a material quite like this one. So elastic, and yet so firm at the same time.¡¹


    I¡¯m sorry to let you down, but it is nothing that impressive. Just a cheap article of clothing made of synthetic fibers, probably put together by Chinese or Indian children. But if I remember correctly, according to some people synthetic fibers were created to be a substitute for silk, so I can understand why someone from this world, where there are no such fibers at all would consider it something amazing. Even back in my old world, Nylon is sometimes considered to be more beautiful of a material than silk, or at least that¡¯s how the story goes.


    Roxanne admired it for a bit longer and then carefully placed it in the closet next to her own clothes. From what I have seen up until now, it doesn¡¯t look like she¡¯s forcing herself to do anything, nor was she giving off the feeling that she doesn¡¯t want to be here. She also showed incredible understanding when she listened to my made-up origin story, even though she could have used the opportunity that my monologuing gave her to escape. Maybe that means that she¡¯s willing to give me a chance to see what kind of master I will turn out to be?


    Honestly, the fact that I actually managed to buy her and make her mine still feels like a dream to me. So much so that I question if it actually happened in the first place. But she is here, and she even allowed me to pat her head and touch her cute ears. Looking at her behavior up until now, is it okay for me to think that she has fully embraced her position as my slave and acknowledged that I am her master from now on?


    I don¡¯t know what is going on inside her head, but even if she hates the idea of being the property of someone like me, then at the very least she¡¯s making sure not to let those emotions show on her face. The question here is: can I allow myself for a more¡­ direct display of affection towards her? If my guess is correct, she will allow me to do it. But if it¡¯s not¡­ we¡¯ll cross that bridge when we get there.


    I stood behind her and gently hugged her from the back. I have no experience in those things, so I¡¯m not even sure if I¡¯m doing it properly, but I don¡¯t care.


    ¡¸M-Master?¡¹


    ¡¸It¡¯s okay, I won¡¯t do anything more than that. Just think about it as my way of saying ¡°thank you¡±. But if you tell me to stop, then I will stop.¡¹


    ¡¸W-Well it was rather sudden¡­ but I do not¡­ dislike that.¡¹


    She answered in a small voice, making me feel weak in the knees. When I hugged her she obviously tensed up, but now it looks like she relaxed her body ever so slightly¡­ can I take it as a sign that she wouldn¡¯t say no if I tried to push her down here and now? Not to mention that I hugged her in such a way that a part of my arm is obviously touching her chest, but so far she didn¡¯t say anything about that. She really is more forgiving than I expected¡­ but no, I mustn¡¯t take that farther than I already did. Control yourself, and don¡¯t let you lust take over. There are still things that have to be done. That¡¯s one thing. And the other is that a part of me still feels guilty about buying her, while the other is completely fine with that. To be completely honest, I don¡¯t understand it myself. And here I thought that I have already made my peace with the fact that buying slaves is the same as buying clothes or groceries in here, and that there¡¯s no need for me to feel guilty because of that.


    ¡¸Roxanne.¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yes, master?¡¹


    ¡¸I have an order for you.¡¹


    I released Roxanne from my hug and presented her with a pair of Sandals, the very same ones that I supposedly ¡°stole¡± from the barn in Somara village when I was first transported to the world of this game.


    ¡¸I want you to take these Sandals and wear them. I¡¯m sorry if I¡¯m breaking another custom again, but as long as you¡¯re my slave I don¡¯t want you to go around barefoot, needlessly hurting your feet.¡¹


    ¡¸Master, I¡¯m glad that you think this way, but¡­ is it really okay for me to take them?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course it is. It might not be much, but if you¡¯re going to explore Labyrinths together with me, you will need your own equipment as well. May I?¡¹


    ¡¸Huh? O-Oh, of course!¡¹


    Having received Roxanne¡¯s permission, I knelt down and slipped the Sandals onto her feet. Even though she¡¯s not human, her legs and feet are no different than the ones of the ordinary human girls (says someone who never saw them from this close) with how glossy and smooth they were. Even though she is supposed to be a Wolfkin, that is to say, a member of the species that should have some werewolf-like qualities to their physique, she had not on strand of hair or fur on them. I¡¯m just surprised that we are roughly of the same height. Personally, my ideal strike zone are girls who are just a wee bit taller than me, but that is just my personal preference that has nothing to do with my current situation. Roxanne is an overall top-notch beauty so that one shortcoming is being totally offset by her other assets.


    ¡¸There, all done.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you very much.¡¹


    ¡¸How are they? Not to tight? Maybe walk for a bit to see if everything¡¯s okay with them?¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you for worrying, but that won¡¯t be necessary. You see, every piece of equipment is magically enchanted so that it can expand and contract to fit itself to the wearer¡¯s body. That¡¯s why everything will be fine.¡¹


    Roxanne explains while looking down on me, since I was still kneeling at her feet. And since I had no idea that every piece of clothing has such a function, that¡¯s another useful piece of information I have obtained. And since she didn¡¯t do anything to me when I was putting the Sandals on her feet, I also learned that she¡¯s not creeped out by my flimsy attempts at flirting through physical contact. That is more than fine with me, since her legs are so fluffy and cute to the touch that I could just touch them for an entire day and not be bored with it.


    ¡¸I see now. So that is one of the features of the equipment here, huh?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, that¡¯s right.¡¹


    Such a feature is quite convenient indeed. Implementing it means that whenever we¡¯ll go buy clothes and armor, there won¡¯t be any need to order them to be custom made.


    ¡¸Is this also a part of this country¡¯s common sense?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. I think that most people do know about this.¡¹


    ¡¸Then it looks like I will have much more to learn than I have initially thought. I hope you¡¯ll show me the ropes, Roxanne.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, of course!¡¹


    And that was my very first lesson in the common sense of the new world I have found myself in.

 Volume 2 - CH 1.07

    Looks like I have a pretty long and bumpy road ahead of me if I want to learn all about the laws that govern this place. Learning about the equipment automatically fitting itself to match the wearer might be not that important in the grand scheme of things, but at least it will allow me to avoid some silly misunderstandings. And it¡¯s all thanks to Roxanne patiently teaching me about it.


    ¡¸When it comes to weapons, like swords, which would you prefer? One-handed ones or two-handed ones?¡¹


    I got up and asked Roxanne about what type of weapon she would prefer.


    ¡¸I think I¡¯m leaning more towards one-handed swords, so I¡¯d like to go with that. Is that a problem?¡¹


    ¡¸Not at all. Here you go.¡¹


    I grabbed the Scimitar from the desk and handed it over to Roxanne. Under normal circumstances doing something like that might have been awfully foolish and risky, but judging by her attitude and actions thus far, I concluded that I could hand it over to her without worrying about it too much. Of course, the possibility that she is collaborating with the Slave Merchant in order to kill me and get all of my money and belongings still lingers somewhere in the back of my mind, because let¡¯s face it: if Alan-san is the one in charge of making the master-slave contracts, how hard would it be for him to leave some kind of loophole that would allow the slaves he¡¯s selling to kill their masters without having to worry about dying themselves?


    Should I be more careful around her after all?


    If she really is as confident in her battle abilities as she seems to be, then I guess taking me out wouldn¡¯t be a problem to her at all, especially since she¡¯s have more than her fair share of chances to do so, considering the fact that we share a room and will be sleeping in the same bed. Sooner or later we¡¯ll be entering the Labyrinth, so I would have to give her a weapon anyway, so now is a perfect occasion. If I give her the sword now, it could be read as a sign of my trust in her. If she¡¯s going to use it to kill me anyway, then maybe she will be considerate enough to at least wait with it until the next morning, after I¡¯ll have her take my wretched V-Card away from me¡­ man, I really have to tone down the paranoia. Why am I even worrying about such things now that she showed me that she bears no hostility towards me? Have some more trust in her, me!


    ¡¸Hmm, it¡¯s not in a bad shape, but its maintenance leaves a lot to be desired.¡¹


    Roxanne inspected the Scimitar with a serious look on her face.


    ¡¸Eh? You can tell that just by looking at it?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes.¡¹


    Her eyes are surprisingly sharp. Looks like she¡¯ll be able to help me in more ways than just teaching about the common sense of this world, fighting monsters and (possibly) bedtime entertainment.


    ¡¸Do you have any other pieces of equipment besides this one?¡¹


    And that was my very first lesson in the common sense of the new world I have found myself in.


    ¡¸Of course I do.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. That¡¯s good.¡¹


    All in all, her evaluation of the Scimitar I gave her was spot on. I haven¡¯t performed any kind of maintenance work on it ever since I bought it.


    ¡¸Master, from now on I will handle the maintenance of our equipment, but please do be sure to put more attention into the state of your weapons and armor in the future. It might seem like a trivial thing, but you never know when it might become a decisive factor between our life and death.¡¹


    ¡¸O-Okay. I¡¯ll be sure to remember about that from now on.¡¹


    Roxanne leaned towards me and preached on, to which I could only react by submissively leaning back.


    ¡¸Good. I¡¯m glad that you¡¯re so quick to understand, master.¡¹


    And she just casually returned to putting her luggage into the closet as if nothing had happened. She also took off the Sandals and handed them over to me.


    ¡¸Uhm¡­ you don¡¯t have to give them back to me. I gave them to you, so feel free to wear them from now on. They¡¯re yours. Now, come on here and put them back on, it would be bad if you caught a cold.¡¹


    I took the pair of my Leather Shoes, sat back on the bed and once again beckoned Roxanne to join me at my side, after which I put the shoes on and tied the shoelaces. The difference between Sandals and Leather Shoes was clear as the difference between night and day: not only did Leather Shoes provided better defenses to the entire foot, they were also of much better quality. To begin with, I only wore those stolen Sandals because at the moment of being transported to this world I had nothing on my feet and didn¡¯t want to go around barefoot in an unfamiliar environment. I don¡¯t think we¡¯re going to encounter any monsters that target the legs and feet specifically, but it¡¯s always better to be safe rather than sorry. Also, I don¡¯t think it has to be pointed out, but between the master and the slave, master should always be the one with better/higher quality equipment.


    ¡¸As you wish.¡¹


    ¡¸No, not there. Here.¡¹


    I once again patted the space next to me, seeing as Roxanne instinctively tried to sit on the floor again. Slightly embarrassed, she covered her mouth with her hand and sat next to me, and wore the Sandals again. They really have adjusted themselves to the size of her feet in a matter of seconds.


    ¡¸Alright, now that that¡¯s done, I was thinking of doing some shopping since I don¡¯t have anything urgent to do at the current moment. Is there any other equipment you would need, Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸If it¡¯s not too much to ask, then I think I could really benefit from having a Wooden Shield to complement the Scimitar. Would that be accepatable?¡¹


    ¡¸A Wooden Shield, got it. Anything else?¡¹


    ¡¸I think it would be best to get me an armor that matches yours when it comes to quality, master. Nothing too fancy or pricey of course, just enough for it to provide better protection than an ordinary set of plain clothing.¡¹


    ¡¸Sure thing. Whatever you say.¡¹


    And I started another round of petting her cute doggy ears. It was just a short while ago, but now she is not as scared or nervous as she was when he first entered the room. This must undoubtedly be the result of my skinship with her. You see guys? The old words do ring true: every woman will warm up to you if you just touch her in the right places (made up quote, not backed by personal experience).


    ¡¸And what about things other than weapons or equipment? Do you need anything like that?¡¹


    ¡¸An oil so I can take care of my hair and ears. You wouldn¡¯t happen to have any on you right now, would you?¡¹


    ¡¸Can¡¯t say that I do, sorry.¡¹


    ¡¸In that case I think a small bottle of olive oil should be enough to last me for some time.¡¹


    Olive oil, huh? I wonder if it could be utilized in some kind of ¡°play¡±¡­?


    ¡¸Duly noted.¡¹


    ¡¸Ah, in order to clean I would also need a rag or cleaning cloth. Do you have some worn-out underwear that could fill that role?¡¹


    ¡¸Nope. Just the pair I have on me right now and the one over there.¡¹


    ¡¸Hmm, it still looks new so that won¡¯t do.¡¹


    Going through the laundry, Roxanne noticed the Pumpkin Pants I bought five days ago and inspected them thoroughly as well. For some inexplicable reason, I felt as if she was examining my own crotch by doing so. Not a pleasant feeling in the slightest.


    Oh, and by the way, since today was the day when I was supposed to buy Roxanne, I donned my best clothing available before I headed to the Slave Merchant¡¯s shop. All for the sake of looking my absolute best so that he would raise his opinion of me.


    ¡¸You can go ahead and use them as a cleaning rag, I don¡¯t mind in the slightest. What else?¡¹


    ¡¸A container for holding water, like a bottle.¡¹


    Bottled water, huh? I have to admit, I never even thought to bring one of those with me into the Labyrinth excursions. Certainly, if we ever planned on making longer escapades there, having a source of water would be a tremendous benefit. It¡¯s not that light to carry around, but it¡¯s importance would completely justify such a purchase.


    ¡¸Okay, I¡¯ll be sure to buy two water bottles. What¡¯s next on the list?¡¹


    ¡¸A backpack or something similar so I can carry all the necessities with me no matter where we¡¯d go.¡¹


    ¡¸A backpack, understood.¡¹


    ¡¸And I think that¡¯s about it for the things that I¡¯d need.¡¹


    We had this entire conversation while I was playing with Roxanne¡¯s ears. I¡¯m honestly afraid that playing with them might become an incurable habit for me.


    ¡¸So to sum up: shields, olive oil, washcloths, water bottles, backpack, armor and shoes for you. Something I missed?¡¹


    ¡¸No, you memorized everything perfectly, master!¡¹


    Seven items in total, huh? Looks like we¡¯re going to do some bigger shopping.

 Volume 2 - CH 1.08

    Oh, since we¡¯re already at the subject of shopping, I might as well ask about that one thing.


    ¡¸Do you have soap around these parts?¡¹


    It should be fine for me to call the soap ¡°soap¡±, because I already confirmed that this word exists in the Brahim language.


    ¡¸Soap, you say? We do have it, but it tends to be quite expensive. For cleaning purposes, it is much more common to use the bran of the Kochi fruit.¡¹


    ¡¸In other words, it¡¯s another nice thing that only the rich can afford, huh? What about sham¡­ you know what, never mind that. We¡¯ll just buy that Kochi fruit thingy as well.¡¹


    ¡¸Of course.¡¹


    I bit myself in the tongue before I finished articulating the word shampoo because there is a risk that this particular word might not exist in Brahim, and that would only cause further confusion. So yeah, if this is a world where just your plain-ass soap is considered to be expensive, then I think it is safe to assume that beauty & aestethics products such as shampoos, rinses, treatments and hair conditioners also do not exist here.


    ¡¸And what about brushing your teeth? Do you have something for that here as well?¡¹


    ¡¸We have tuffed toothpicks made from the Sucre Branches. If my memory serves me correctly, they should be sold in every city.¡¹


    So instead of toothbrushes they use toothpicks?


    ¡¸Shields, olive oil, cleaning rags, water bottles, backpacks, armor, shoes, Kochi fruits and tuffed toothpicks. Nine items in total. Let¡¯s both make sure not to forget about any of them.¡¹


    ¡¸Roger!¡¹


    I got up from the bed and grabbed my backpack. As much as I want to continue to play with Roxanne¡¯s ears (preferably forever), doing something too much is almost as bad as not doing it enough. Right now, we have an errand to do, so let¡¯s get it over with quickly. For this little shopping bout, I think a Copper Sword from my Item Box and a backpack with money are all the things I¡¯m going to need.


    ¡¸Well then, shall we be on our way?¡¹


    ¡¸Understood!¡¹


    Roxanne also stood up and followed after me. Alright, onwards towards our shopping bout!


    We left the key at the front desk and left the inn.


    The first things we bought were the water bottles, backpacks, a small bottle of olive oil, the Kochi fruits and the toothpicks at the general store, although the bottles could hardly be called as such, since they looked more like goatskins to me, but hell, what do I know? Next item on our agenda, the Kochi fruit bran looked like one of those scented powders sold in sachets that I saw in the beauty shops in the shopping malls in Japan, so presumably I should be able to use them in the very same way, i.e just dump it into the water for it to take effect. The toothpicks were next, and they were dirt cheap, only 1 Nar per each, but that should come as no surprise considering that they were literally just ordinary small branches, similar to those that dropped from Needlewoods. Who knows, maybe some of them were actually manufactured from the Needlewood Branches that I¡¯ve been bringing to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild these past few days? Haha, would be fun if that was the case. After the first round of shopping has been concluded, I took everything we bought, placed it into the backpack and handed it over to Roxanne.


    After buying the toothpicks we went to the shop next door that was selling towels and other cloths where I bought two cleaning rags. Roxanne said that one would be more than enough, but since she¡¯s going to be using them to care for our equipment I saw no harm in buying an extra one.


    ¡¸Since they are also selling socks here, go ahead and pick whichever two you like the most.¡¹


    ¡¸Is it really okay for me to do so?¡¹


    ¡¸I don¡¯t see why it wouldn¡¯t be okay, so go ahead.¡¹


    ¡¸But I don¡¯t know the size of your foot, master.¡¹


    Hoo boi, here we go again with a botched attempt at communication.


    ¡¸No no no, when I said that you can pick two pairs of socks, I didn¡¯t mean for me. I want you to pick two pairs for yourself.¡¹


    ¡¸For me? Really?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, it¡¯s alright. Believe me, if it won¡¯t be alright, you¡¯ll be the first person to know that.¡¹


    As I continuously nodded, Roxane started to look through the various kinds of socks with an overly serious expression, which made me chuckle in my mind a little. She¡¯s wearing Sandals for now so there is no problem with her going barefoot, but it¡¯s better for her to have some socks now instead of waiting until she gets some other casual footwear. I¡¯m curious which of them she¡¯s going to pick in the end. As for me, I still have my socks from Japan, and they are slightly bigger than my actual foot size, but that is purely because I like them better this way.


    ¡¸I think I¡¯m going to go with those.¡¹


    ¡¸You sure?¡¹


    The two pairs she chose could only be described as the plainest among the plain.


    ¡¸Yes. I am positive that I want these two.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay then. As long as you¡¯re fine with them then I have no complaints.¡¹


    Then we brought the socks she selected to the shopkeeper to pay for them, placed them in the backpack along with the rest of our stuff and the we finally moved on to the armor shop. There, Roxanne¡¯s expression became even more steeper than earlier as she went from shield to shield and examined them, so thoroughly that a part of me thought she was going as the shop owner to test them in practice. I don¡¯t know if can call her a devilish customer just yet, but it was clear that she won¡¯t accept anything half-assed or subpar. But in this particular case I can at least understand where is she coming from. After all, those shields are going to be our lives insurances in the Labyrinth. If possible, I¡¯d like her to pick the one which has an empty Skill Slot, but how exactly should I go about that? I mean, I could tell her about the Skill Slots, but without the certainty that she could also see them I would have only made a fool out of myself, so I think I will settle for the best sub-option: I¡¯ll pick some shields with Skill Slots myself. Fortunately, I was able to find three of them across the entire shop.


    ¡¸I think those three might be pretty good.¡¹


    ¡¸Indeed, they seem to be of good enough quality. You have a good intuition, master.¡¹


    ¡¸You think so?¡¹


    ¡¸Umu!¡¹


    In response to Roxanne¡¯s words I nodded as confidently as I could. Truth to be told, if it wasn¡¯t for the Skill Slots I would have never picked them up because to me they all look the -frickkin¡¯-same.


    Roxanne took the shields from me and began to compare them to one another. But seriously now, she¡¯s such a beautiful girl and yet she willingly frowns so much just to make sure that she¡¯s going to choose the best possible equipment for us. What is she going to do if she gets wrinkles from it though? Anyway, it doesn¡¯t look like I¡¯m going to be of much use to her now, so I better give her some space by heading to the portion of the shop which held various pieces of armor on display.


    The most affordable one is, of course, leather armor. Now that I think about it, the Thieves who attacked the village of Somara all wore armors exactly like the one that is now before me. Damn, now a part of me wishes that it didn¡¯t sold the armors they left behind when I killed them all. But even if I didn¡¯t do that, what good would that made me if I didn¡¯t even have an Item Box on me at that time? A shame indeed, but that¡¯s in the past and there¡¯s no use dwelling on that now. Another thing on display is a Leather Jacket. Hmm, maybe I should go and try this one? Sure, it looks more than a little edgy, but also incredibly cool at the same time. And most importantly, it comes with an empty Skill Slot as well. Price wise it is¡­ more expensive than Leather Armor, but such a purchase might not be a bad one in the slightest, especially if you will think about it in the categories of a long-time investment. Okay, that settles it: I¡¯m going to buy it. But first I¡¯ll go to the changing room to try it on.

 Volume 2 - CH 1.09

    I went towards the gloves section next. Up till now, the possibility that I wasn¡¯t taking into consideration was the one where my hands or fingers might get injured or even cut off during a monster attack. If something like that happened to me, I would end up unable to hold up Durandal, meaning that I would become defenseless, and I don¡¯t want to test if its HP Absorption Skill can also heal mutilations. That is why I thought that I should also wear something to protect my hands. While we are on the matter oh what I want right now, I want something that is going to make my DEF stat skyrocket, but it needs to be at an affordable price. It wouldn¡¯t be worth it if it made me blow all of my hard-earned money on it, don¡¯t you agree? And it should also look good, making others look at me with jealous eyes. That being said, price is the most important factor to me right now, and by the look of it, the only category of equipment that has all of the above marks checked out is the Leather brand of equipment.


    In the gloves section, there are two available choices: Leather Gloves and Leather Mittens. The difference between the two lies in he fingers: gloves have the spaces for all five fingers properly divided, while a mitten is divided into a thumb part and the rest of the fingers, making it similar to a protective glove used in kendo practice. When it comes to the sheer usability they are probably more or less the same. However, none of those two goes beyond the wrist, all the way to the elbow, covering the entire arm, but since the store does not have anything else besides those two, I just bought one pair of each. I¡¯m sure that both of them will prove useful in different situations, I just have to figure out what those situations will be.


    Next I moved to the helmet section. That is the only part left to get since I¡¯ve already bought myself something for the torso, arms and feet. Just like with everything else, I think I will go with the Leather series, because you know, consistency. And also, price. But just from a first glance alone I can already tell that it¡¯s not going to be something that I would like to wear on my head at all times, because it looks like one of those oversized bicycle helmets worn by the road racers.


    ¡¸Master, I have finished picking the Wooden Shield. I have ultimately decided to go with this one.¡¹


    Roxanne showed up with a Wooden Shield in hand. It was one of those three with the Skill Slots which I have presented to her.


    ¡¸A question for you: do you have anything against headwear?¡¹


    ¡¸Not at all. Moreover, it¡¯s always better to have something protecting your head if you¡¯re going into battle, be it with a monster or a human.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. Then here you go.¡¹


    I placed a Leather Hat on Roxanne¡¯s head, and it immediately adjusted itself to the size of her head. That magic is amazing, but the way how it works remains a complete mystery to me. Now it completely covers her doggy ears, hiding them from view. Depending on our situation something like that might ne necessary if we wouldn¡¯t want to attract too much attention to ourselves, but if I had a say in the matter then I would opt for not hiding Roxanne¡¯s cutest characteristic from the rest of the world. They are just too fluffy to be treating them like that!


    ¡¸Okay that should give me six new Skill Slots.¡¹


    I muttered quietly to myself. I took all the items we gathered here and presented them to the shop¡¯s owner at the counter.


    ¡¸Thanks for stopping buy. Do come again!¡¹


    We paid for everything, and I placed the items neatly into the Item Box. But when I finished doing that, I noticed that Roxanne was looking at me with some suspicious eyes. When I summoned the Item Box I made sure to turn away from the shopkeeper and to murmur the incantation as quietly as possible, and it looks like I was successful with that, but apparently Roxanne must have heard each and every word I said perfectly. For now, I¡¯ve avoided casting any spells, as explaining to her how am I able to do it despite not being a mage would be painful, awkward and needlessly long, but maybe I should tell her about it without hiding anything? Or maybe I should still wait for a bit?


    ¡¸W-Well, now that the shopping¡¯s taken care of, how about we go back?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, master.¡¹


    Roxanne, however, didn¡¯t make any comments on it just yet. Maybe she wanted to wait until we were out of the armor shop to avoid making unnecessary scenes in the public space? But on our way back to the inn, I kept on noticing that she was glancing at me as if she wanted to say something. Oh my fucking God this is so not good! What if I she feels really offended by me not telling her about it?!


    When we were back in front of the inn, I noticed that there was a clothing store right across the street from the entrance. It had a lot of neatly looking clothes folded and arrange on a display stand. I thought that most of the goods offered by the stores in this world are going to be second-hand quality at best, but a surprising amount of them, including this one, looked like it offered the things that were brand new. But if their quality really is as good as they look, then they are undoubtedly going to be more than a little expensive. Maybe they are classified as a luxury item. One of such items was a black, hooded mantle. Seeing it made me think that maybe I should have bought something like that instead of the leather one I got for myself, because let¡¯s face it, if I¡¯m going to fight monsters while wearing the Leather Cloak, it is definitely going to get stained with their blood, and washing it away from it after every single bout in the Labyrinth is undoubtedly going to be a pain in the ass for Roxanne. Ahh, if only I noticed that shop sooner, I would have saved myself the money wasted on the purchase of the Leather Cloak. Just thinking about how much of a vain purchase that was and how hard I had to work to get all that money both in the Labyrinth and by doing the Bounty Hunting is giving me a headache.


    ¡¸Excuse me, what is that mantle made of and how much does it cost?¡¹


    ¡¸You mean the cloak over there? It is made of flannel and costs 4000 Nar.¡¹


    The shop clerk explains to me. So that¡¯s a cloak, not a mantle, huh? And just as I expected, its cost is abnormally high. The number of days I would have to spend in the Labyrinth farming mobs to get that much coin¡­ my headache is only getting stronger. And it¡¯s not because I can¡¯t afford something like that. It¡¯s more about the feeling that I have just taken a fistful on money and thrown it down the sewer.


    ¡¸You¡¯re going to buy it?¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, most probably. Just tell me, does it just look cool, or does it also provide good protection from the rain and wind?¡¹


    ¡¸That it does indeed. It might not look like it, but it is also quite warm, so it¡¯s a good choice of clothing even for colder days.¡¹


    So that basically covers the protection against all the basic elements no matter the weather.


    ¡¸Yes, I think I¡¯m going to take it after all.¡¹


    If it¡¯s going to be so handy, then I think I would¡¯ve bought it even if it was not available in the black variant.


    ¡¸Of course. That will be 4000 Nar, please.¡¹


    Wait, 4000? Wasn¡¯t there supposed to be¡­ oh, right.


    ¡¸On second thought, lemme grab something else real quick. You want a cloak as well, Right, Roxanne? Oh, who am I kidding, of course you want. Go ahead, choose whichever one you like, and don¡¯t forget: you¡¯re choosing for yourself, not for me.¡¹


    That was a close one. I almost forgot that if I buy only one thing then my 30% discount won¡¯t activate, just like when I ordered only hot water back at the inn. So, in order for it to kick in, I just have to buy another thing. I do feel kinda bad though, using Roxanne as a means of getting a discount, but it¡¯s for her benefit as well so hey, silver lining.


    ¡¸Uhm¡­ are you sure it¡¯s okay to buy something so expensive for me if it¡¯s not absolutely necessary?¡¹

 Volume 2 - CH 1.10

    ¡¸Absolutely. It¡¯s my treat, so don¡¯t hold yourself back and go a little wild if you want.¡¹


    ¡¸Is that so? Then¡­ thank you very much, I will be sure to do just that.¡¹


    Despite her initial reservations, Roxanne bowed to me thankfully and proceeded to chose a coat for herself. For some reason, this whole situation reminded me of when mother took me with her when she went shopping to all the brand shops in Akasaka and Hiro-o. The details are kinda blurry since I was nothing but a small kid back then, but I vaguely remember them to be some nice-looking shops at the 2nd or 3rd floor of some building, most likely a shopping mall. It also had those big windows where you could see all the cars speeding through the highway outside. It was a particularily shiny day, so the cars would reflect the rays of sunlight, hurting my eyes if I looked at them for too long. Why did I look at them in the first place, you ask? Well, the reason behind that should be obvious, right? Because I was bored out of my ass and I had nothing else to do. In case you didn¡¯t know, it¡¯s quite difficult for young boys to enjoy such a dull activity as shopping the way their mothers do. I think I also complained a lot, which earned me a slap on the wrist. That was the first-time mother took me with her when she was going shopping, and yet there she was, disciplining me for not enjoying it. Even now, I sometimes wonder what was she planning to accomplish by having me tag along on that day? Was there something more to it, or did she simply wanted to spend some quality time with her child?


    That was both the first, and the last time she ever took me with her before she died. Sometimes, when my mood was especially foul, I wondered if there was anything I could have done to make that day more enjoyable for her? And then she died so suddenly that I never got the chance to make it up to her for that. That was the first out of many cruel pranks that fate would pull on me.


    I had the knowledge that women enjoy shopping ever since I was a kid, but I never had the chance to actually put that knowledge to good use. Until today.


    Now, thanks to my suggestion to pick whichever cloak she liked the most, Roxanne was going through all of them with a big smile on her face. Actually, she was so into it that I felt like she is going to go through all the items in the store in a manner of minutes. I mean seriously, the speed at which she is flipping through everything is nothing short of terrifying. She¡¯s like, taking the cloak, has a thorough look at it, tries it on, checks if the sleeves are not too long or too short and if the collar and the hem are done properly, puts it back and takes out another cloak, all of that in a matter of seconds. There are no exceptions to that. She even takes into consideration the color of each and every cloak and how it combines with the rest of her clothing. This is one of those situations where even if I wanted to comment on it in any way I wouldn¡¯t have been able to find the appropriate words to do so.


    The shopkeeper does not say anything and just watches her patiently. I don¡¯t know if he¡¯s actually enjoying that little spectacle or if he¡¯s just not able to hasten the clients even if they¡¯re trying something for too long. And besides, in Roxanne¡¯s case it looks like asking things like ¡¸Do you need help with something?¡¹ would be an entirely futile endeavour, because she would have most likely replied with ¡¸Thank you, show me everything you¡¯ve got!¡¹. So, mister shopkeeper? What are you going to do now?


    ¡¸Ma¡¯am, if I may, I recommend this one here. I have no doubt it would look great on you.¡¹


    Ohh, so the absolute madman actually recommended something to her, huh? He¡¯s got balls of steel, I¡¯ll give him that.


    ¡¸Uwaaah!¡¹


    Hey, what¡¯s up with that super girly, overly cute reaction?! Don¡¯t tell me¡­!


    ¡¸This is it!¡¹


    Yup, the cloak that the shopkeeper presented to her seems to be Roxanne¡¯s favorite one out of all the ones she looked through so far. And, well, I have to say that this time the guy was spot on. Granted, the one he presented Roxanne with is a little expensive, but I cannot deny the fact that it combines greatly with all of her best features. She looks outstanding, and I mean it in a non-ironic way. My gut feeling is telling me that she¡¯s ultimately going to buy that one, but for the time being she returned to flipping through the rest of the cloaks the store had to offer.


    As for the shopkeeper, he moved towards the other customers who entered the shop. As far as he is concerned, he secured another purchase, and since it¡¯s going to be added to the one I decided to make, it¡¯s that much more of a win to him. And as for me, I will just lean against the wall and continue to quietly observe Roxanne¡¯s shopping spree. Now that I am older and (supposedly) wiser, I have to make sure not to repeat the blunder I did when I was shopping with mother. So I just have to watch her without complaining and everything should be fine. At least now I can be sure that I won¡¯t get bored with just watching, because I have something beautiful to feast my eyes upon. But the true curve ball came upon me at the end, when Roxanne approached me with the cloak she ended up choosing (the one the shopkeeper recommended, as expected) and asked ¡¸What do you think about it, master?¡¹. This question is a taboo topic to somebody like me, who has no fashion sense whatsoever. I desperately tried to find some words that wouldn¡¯t sound too forced, but the only one that came to my mind were ¡¸It really suits you¡­ I guess?¡¹. And judging by her happy reaction, at the very least I managed to prevent a tragedy from occurring. I hope so. Man, I really should think about some ways of improving my ability to communicate with the opposite sex. Since Roxanne and I will be inseparable from now on, it might as well turn out that I will be dragged in those kinds of situations and conversations more and more often. Also, it turns out that I was mistaken about one thing: Roxanne wasn¡¯t done with the shopping after she saw the cloak the shopkeeper showed her.


    At this point, she narrowed her selection down to two possible choices. The candidates were: in her left hand was the shopkeeper¡¯s recommended cloak, and in her right was one of the ones she found at the end of her spree. Both of them were in really similar colors.


    ¡¸Which of them do you think is better, master?¡¹


    She turned to me, expecting to choose on of them for her. I looked at the cloak in her right hand and then at the cloak in her left, and continued to alter my gaze between the two of them for a solid minute. If you asked me for my casual opinion, then my answer would have been 6:4 in favor of the one that the shopkeeper recommended to her. She should just pick that one so that we could be done with it, but what if she actually wants me to pick the other one? If I fail here, if I will make the wrong choice then all the progress I made with Roxanne will be lost! For example, if I tell her to get the cheaper one, I will be 100% done for since that is an all-to-obvious landmine, even though personally I do think that cheaper is better.


    Now let me think¡­ the cloak she¡¯s keeping on her left arm is the one from the shopkeeper, so that would mean that she kept it because she really liked it. If that is a hint, then the cloak on her left arm is the correct choice here.


    When I was a kid I wasn¡¯t able to take the hint, but not today. Today, I will definitely make the right choice!

 Volume 2 - CH 1.11

    ¡¸I like this one here better. It has a nice, relaxing, gentle and calm color that suits you better.¡¹


    I confidently recommended the cloak on Roxanne¡¯s left arm. I also believe that the argument behind my choice was solid and rational. It looks like it would be easy to repair if it was ever torn, and the color scheme makes it really easy on the eyes. I honestly don¡¯t know how else I could describe it. To me, it¡¯s good because it¡¯s not all that eye catching


    ¡¸You think so? I have to say, it looks like it would be comfortable to wear and easy to sew any eventual tears without ruining the design, but isn¡¯t the color a bit too heavy?¡¹


    ¡¸O-Oh yeah?¡¹


    Oh-oh, could it be that the right answer was the cloak on the right arm due to its color?


    ¡¸But¡­I guess you¡¯re right, master. Now that I look at it, it really is a nice, calming color after all. Alright, I think I¡¯ve made my final decision. I¡¯ll be taking this one.¡¹


    ¡¸I¡¯m glad you finally made your choice. Is there anything else you want?¡¹


    It would seem that the debate over which cloak to buy is now over, and the winner is the one from the left arm. I received the cloak from Roxanne and she puts the other one away.


    ¡¸No, I don¡¯t think I need anything else. Anything more than that would be¡­!¡¹


    So there is something more, huh?


    ¡¸If there is something else you want to buy then don¡¯t hesitate.¡¹


    ¡¸But¡­¡¹


    ¡¸No buts! Today is a special day, so think about it as a way to celebrate.¡¹


    I whispered that last part after bringing my face closer to hers. That statement is not wrong. After all, today is the first day of my life together with Roxanne, so I guess you could call it our first anniversary.


    ¡¸Well, in that case¡­ would you mind if I also bought some underwear for myself?¡¹


    ¡¸Sure, go right ahead.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you. I will!¡¹


    I nodded affirmatively and Roxanne went to pick some underwear for herself. And do my eyes deceive me or does female underwear look similar to my pumpkin pants? Unlike in my old world, it would seem that in this world the undergarments of both males and females are not all that different. Both of them lack any kind of sex appeal at all. Then again, I might be thinking that they have no sex appeal whatsoever because I¡¯m looking at them with the eyes of a human from 21st century?


    Contrary to how she was openly checking all the cloaks in the store, Roxanne was a lot more secretive about going through the various kinds of underwear. Maybe she didn¡¯t want me to see them because she was embarrassed? And on a side note, the case she brought with herself when we were leaving the Slave Merchant¡¯s shop contained only her main set of clothing. Other than that, she seemed to have very few personal belongings. Did she have a spare pair of underwear with her? Or maybe she id not, and that¡¯s why she wanted to buy it now?


    ¡¸You sure you want to buy only one pair?¡¹


    I asked Roxanne, who finished making her choice relatively quickly this time.


    ¡¸Eh? Uhm, I, b-but¡­¡¹


    ¡¸Just go ahead and buy some more. Hell, maybe I¡¯ll take some spare ones for myself as well. Excuse me, we would like to add four pairs of underwear to our previous purchase!¡¹


    I told the shopkeeper.


    ¡¸T-Thank you very much, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood. Four pairs of underwear plus two cloaks then. That¡¯s going to be¡­ 5656 Nar in total.¡¹


    This time the 30% Price Reduction worked like a charm. Total success! I paid the money to the shopkeeper, gave Roxanne her cloak, and placed the rest of the items inside the backpack.


    ¡¸So, ready to head back to the inn now?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes!¡¹


    When we walked out of the clothing store, I noticed that the day was slowly coming to a close. It¡¯s not that big of a deal, but we have spent as surprising amount of time in there. Maybe I should mentally prepare myself for such excursions from now on? Even if I had to, I guess I know that I will be able to endure it now, because watching Roxanne is never going to bore me.


    ¡¸Yo, welcome back.¡¹


    When we returned to the Veil Pavilion, I quickly grabbed the key to our room from the front desk.


    ¡¸I have some stuff to drop at the room, but in the meantime, I¡¯d like to request a dinner for two people. After that, please prepare two basins of hot water and two lanterns.¡¹


    ¡¸A meal, two basins of hot water and two lanterns. 35 Nar please.¡¹


    Leaving the money on the counter, we made our way back to the 5th floor and our room. As soon as we got back, Roxanne placed the coat I bought for her in the closet with the utmost care.


    ¡¸Thank you for today, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Don¡¯t mention it.¡¹


    I¡¯m grateful to her as well, because if it wasn¡¯t for her I would have probably not been as interested in that shopping bout as I ultimately was. I approached Roxanne as she was taking my coat out of the backpack, and stroked her head and ears. This really has become my habit, and who knows if I¡¯m not going to get addicted to it? But it doesn¡¯t look like she dislikes it either. She doesn¡¯t look scared by it anymore.


    Heaving a satisfied sigh, I left her side and plumped down on the bed, but Roxanne didn¡¯t join me, standing next to it instead.


    ¡¸You don¡¯t have to stand around like that. Come on, sit down.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes.¡¹


    ¡¸No Roxanne, not on the floor, we¡¯ve been through this already.¡¹


    ¡¸Of course, as you wish, master.¡¹


    She tried to sit on the floor once again. This is really something that we¡¯ll have to work on if I want to make her stop doing it. Without saying anything I just patted the spot next to me, and understanding what I meant by it, she replied with a short ¡¸Yes¡¹ and sat next to me, but she moved somewhat slowly and hesistantly to an almost frightening degree. Is she being wary because she realizes that I might try to push her down if she sits on the bed? And yet she still fulfilled my order.


    ¡¸Roxanne, I want you to remember one thing. You might be my slave, but that does not men that you have to sit on the floor.¡¹


    ¡¸But¡­ but the bed is yours, master, so¡­¡¹


    ¡¸It is yours as well. And I want you to sleep in it.¡¹


    ¡¸Ah¡­.!¡¹

 Volume 2 - CH 1.12

    I hugged her and declared that as confidently as I could. And don¡¯t worry, I realized how that sounded.


    ¡¸I¡­ I¡¯m thankful for your kindness, master, but there¡¯s really no need for you to go so far for me. I can sleep on the floor just fine.¡¹


    Roxanne murmured quietly.


    Make her sleep on the floor? What kind of an evil degenerate would I have to be to do something like that?!


    Inside of me, something seems to be screaming ¡¸Keep it up! Keep going and she¡¯ll be yours!¡¹, but I¡¯m doing my best to ignore that inner voice. I¡¯ve already decided not to rush with those things so that I won¡¯t break this fragile bond of trust that has been forming between us. This is going to make the eventual payoff that much sweeter.


    ¡¸Is that what¡¯s considered normal here? To have slaves sleep on the floor?¡¹


    ¡¸I heard that is how most masters treat their slaves, so that is probably the case.¡¹


    ¡¸Well, not in mine. The floor it too hard cold and uncomfortable for someone as delicate as you, so you¡¯re going to sleep in this bed with me where it¡¯s nice, warm and soft.¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yes! Thank you for your endless kindness towards me, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Good.¡¹


    I wrapped my arms firmly around her and enjoyed the hug. Her body is so soft, and yet so elastic. She is just as tall as I am, but so thin and small at the same time. It¡¯s complete mystery to me how the girl¡¯s bodies can be so delicate. Roxanne still does not move away from me, staying firmly in place, not doing anything to avoid the hug, proving that she does not dislike it. Looks like she really accepted me as her master, and herself as someone who belongs to me.


    The bulges of her chest touch my arms. T-This is so tempting! So irresistible! If she keeps doing that to me, then¡­


    ¡¸We still have some time before the day draws to a close, so I can use it to perform the maintenance of our equipment. Can you hand it over to me, master?¡¹


    Roxanne¡¯s remark and request cleared my mind and changed my mood in an instant.


    ¡¸Do you really think that a maintenance is necessary? I mean, we just bought all those things today, so¡­¡¹


    ¡¸That won¡¯t do!¡¹


    Roxanne raised her voice and glared at me with sharp eyes. Her current gaze was filled with a strong sense of conviction.


    ¡¸Eh?¡¹


    ¡¸When you enter the Labyrinth, your life or death with will depend on the state of your equipment. If you want to ensure that you will always come home safely, you have to take care of it whenever you can.¡¹


    ¡¸I¡­ I guess you¡¯re right.¡¹


    I know that what she¡¯s saying is true and that we¡¯ll only benefit from it, but what I still do not understand is why is she being so insistent about it? When I released her from my arms, Roxanne stood up and took the small bottle of olive oil in her hands.


    ¡¸So, uhm¡­¡¹


    She turned around and bowed her head to me. The atmosphere around her went back to the usual, gentle one.


    ¡¸Yes? What is it?¡¹


    ¡¸Since I bought myself new underwear, I will make the ones I am wearing now into cleaning clothes I will perform the equipment maintenance with.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay, I see nothing wrong with it.¡¹


    ¡¸In the meantime, you should go eat dinner, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Wouldn¡¯t it be better if you could take care of it first so we could go eat together?¡¹


    By the time we will finish eating, the sun will most likely set, and if she wants to take care of the equipment maintenance, then it would be better to take care of it while it¡¯s still bright outside. The lanterns might help remedy that, but their light will only be enough to keep the room lit for one hour at best. If possible, I would like to enjoy it while there is still light outside.


    ¡¸But¡­¡¹


    ¡¸It¡¯s okay. We can go eat together, there¡¯s nothing wrong with that.¡¹


    ¡¸Are you certain? The meals here look like they are pretty expensive, so they would be wasted on someone like me. That¡¯s why you can go eat the luxury meal yourself, while I will find myself some cheap place to eat on my own¡­¡¹


    Is she just extremely shy or does she not want to eat together with me that badly? Well, be that as it may¡­


    ¡¸Nice try, but I have already paid for dinner for two people, remember? It would be a damn shame if it went to waste just like that, don¡¯t you think? Or is it that you don¡¯t want us to be seen eating together?¡¹


    ¡¸No, that was not what I wanted to say. I¡¯m sorry if it sounded like that!¡¹


    ¡¸No worries. I take it we¡¯re good then?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, we are. Now then, with that said¡­¡¹


    I placed all of my equipment: Copper Sword, Leather Armor and Leather Shoes onto the desk, just as Roxanne requested.


    ¡¸N-Now, if you¡¯ll excuse me.¡¹


    She suddenly began to take off her pants. I was a little bewildered at first, but thinking about it, that¡¯s perfectly logical. She said she¡¯s going to use her old underwear as a cleaning cloth to perform the maintenance on our equipment, then it would stand to reason that she has to take it off first. Even though I have the best seat possible for such a spectacle, I don¡¯t know if I should just outright stare or be more tactful about it.


    ¡¸Ah, my bad. Please, don¡¯t mind me.¡¹


    I waved my hand lightly and turned my gaze away from her. Truth is, I want to look at her as she changes, but I cannot make it too obvious. Ideally I would like to see her chest, because that would be a soothing sight for my sore eyes, but I probably won¡¯t be able to see anything because of her tunic. But in exchange, maybe I will at least get to see her butt? Yeah, right.


    Ah, I can see a tail. A tail! Roxanne has turned sideways to me (of course), so I could see her tail. It¡¯s made of the same chestnut-colored bushy hair as her hair and ears. Now that I saw that her tail is just as fluffy as the rest of her, I will have to make sure to pet it later.


    Roxanne changes her clothes fast. And when I say fast, I mean it like, really fast. I wanted to see if I will be able to catch some more glimpses of her body, but I guess it can¡¯t be helped. I guess there¡¯s no point in complaining about that.


    Sitting on the chair, Roxanne¡¯s expression once again changes to a serious one as she began taking care of our equipment by adding a little bit of olive oil onto the cloth and polishing it.


    ¡¸If you take care of it like this, you will be able to keep your equipment in good condition at a relatively low cost for as long as you need.¡¹


    ¡¸So if you won¡¯t perform regular maintenance then the equipment¡¯s performance is going to drop, is that right?¡¹


    ¡¸Exactly. And if the user cannot wield his weapons and armor comfortably, it will hinder his overall performance.¡¹


    So it¡¯s also a matter of personal feelings, huh? Be that as it may, I don¡¯t think that Durandal also needs to go through maintenance today. For now it is good to go as it is.


    When Roxanne finished cleaning our equipment, we went down to the cafeteria and proceeded to select the meals from the menu.


    ¡¸I¡¯ll take the dish #1 and herbal tea. Which one would you like, Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm, is it really okay for me to choose for myself?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course. Pick whatever you want to eat the most.¡¹


    ¡¸Right. In that case, I will also have dish #1 and herbal tea.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood.¡¹


    We made our orders and were guided to our table for two.


    ¡¸You¡¯ll be sitting here, Roxanne.¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm, are you sure about that? What if¡­¡¹


    ¡¸It¡¯s fine. Just sit down already.¡¹


    I might have sounded really irritated just now, but what was I supposed to say? She has to sit down to eat. I would have been in a whole lot of trouble if people witnessed me eating normally while a girl accompanying me was standing all the time. When I finally managed to persuade her to sit down, our meals were brought to us shortly after.


    ¡¸This is¡­ incredibly delicious!¡¹


    ¡¸Right? It truly is.¡¹


    All in all, the food served in this inn proved to be much more delicious than I could have ever imagine. I¡¯m glad to see that even in such a world there is still food that I can enjoy. And seeing how Roxanne is munching on her own portion with such vigor that her ears shake left and right, she must think so as well.

 Volume 2 - CH 1.13

    When we finished eating and thanked for the meal, we have returned straight to our room.


    ¡¸It was a really good meal. Thank you.¡¹


    Thanking me for treating her was the first thing Roxanne did when we got back upstairs.


    ¡¸I¡¯m glad you enjoyed it.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I found it very enjoyable. And to add to that, you even allowed me to eat at the same table as you when I really would have been fine just eating on the floor.¡¹


    Sigh, and she¡¯s still going on about that?


    ¡¸Have you seen anyone else eating off the floor? Exactly. If you did that, you would have caused a scandal for sure.¡¹


    ¡¸Maybe so, but I thought that this is the kind of place that won¡¯t allow slaves to eat at the same table as their masters.¡¹


    Ah, so that is how you have interpreted this?


    While I was having difficulties with finding the right words to retort to this, the Innkeeper came with hot water and lit lanterns. While we were having dinner, the sun has indeed set already. He placed the items we ordered next to the door and them immediately left.


    ¡¸Now that we have hot water with us, can I ask you to wash my back for me, Roxanne?¡¹


    Since we are sharing this room and there are two of us, we agreed that when it comes to the matters such as washing ourselves we would help each other out, and now the time for that has come.


    Okay, you can do this, me. Just keep calm and keep your wits about you at all times. If you¡¯re going to get all flustered now, then you will embarrass Roxanne as well. First, I undress myself. Fully, pants and underwear included. What is there to be embarrassed about anyway? All human beings are born naked after all, making us all equal in that one regard. I place the lantern on the desk, and sat next to the basin with hot water.


    ¡¸Alright master, here I go.¡¹


    Roxanne then proceeded to wipe my naked back rom behind. Okay, so far so good, I¡¯m successfully managing to keep my head cool and composed. When she was done with wiping my back, she dowsed the towel in water, squeezed it, dowsed it again and passed it onto me so that I could wipe myself from the front.


    ¡¸By the way, can we use this?¡¹


    I grabbed the Kochi fruit sachet that we bought earlier and showed it to Roxanne. In order to do that I had to turn around, so I ended up showing my little Durandal to her, a fact that I have realized all too late. But something like that shouldn¡¯t be that much of a problem, right? Right?!


    ¡¸Hmm, I do not think that people use it to wash their bodies all that much.¡¹


    I thought she was going to be at least a little embarrassed, but she didn¡¯t react in any exaggerated way. This lack of reaction makes me feel really lonely and defeated. My little dude is in perfectly good condition! I know that better than anyone, because when I went to the toilet earlier I was able to bust a nut without any problems!


    ¡¸I thought as much, but still, that¡¯s kind of a letdown.¡¹


    ¡¸I don¡¯t know how it is back where you come from, but in this kingdom people usually just scrub themselves with wet towels, and that¡¯s pretty much it.¡¹


    ¡¸What about taking baths then? You¡¯re not taking those here?¡¹


    The word bath got translated into Brahim without any problems.


    ¡¸Only aristocrats are able to afford those.¡¹


    So that pretty much confirms that bats are something of a high-end luxury in here. Both the Somara village¡¯s mayor¡¯s house and this inn didn¡¯t have one, so that pretty much confirms it.


    ¡¸Right. And how do you use those?¡¹


    ¡¸Like that, and you have to remember that they have to be kept away from the water.¡¹


    She showed me how to use the them, but it looks like I¡¯ll still have to rinse my mouth with water afterwards. I¡¯ll have to make sure to do it later.


    After I finished cleaning myself, I put on my Pumpkin Pants.


    ¡¸Okay, you¡¯re next, Roxanne.¡¹


    I tried to be as calm as possible when saying that, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. And thinking about it, it actually is. Just like she helped me clean myself up, now it is my time to return the favor.


    ¡¸Y-Yes.¡¹


    Roxanne squeezed out a quiet response, and began to take of her tunic. She turned around and squatted in front of the basin.


    ¡¸Okay, I¡¯m ready.¡¹


    I turned towards her, but from here I couldn¡¯t really see anything, so I just doused the towel in water and squeezed it again.


    ¡¸Uhm¡­ I am a Wolfkin, so some parts of my body might be a bit hairy. I apologize for that.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh really?¡¹


    She might be claiming such things, but I¡¯m sure it won¡¯t be that bad. Finally, she undid the last button of her tunic, and with that action her marvelous body has been set free, looking all the more beautiful in the weak light of the lantern. Her breasts violently erupted from the gap between her clothes and her arms as if they were a pair of cannonballs. It was so erotic that it was almost unfair. They look so big and soft, to the point where my fingers would probably sunk right into them if I tried to squeeze them. It feels like they are no longer simple breasts, but rather a pair of lethal weapons of mass destruction that would annihilate any male who would look at them with the ultimate happiness.


    ¡¸The truth is, my back¡­¡¹


    Noticing my line of sight, Roxanne covered herself up and turned her back towards me. What a shame. If you ask me she didn¡¯t have to hide them, especially since they are so big that even by turning away she was unable to hide them completely, but if she wants to do this then I shouldn¡¯t forcibly stop her. All I can do now is to approach her with a towel in hand and clean her up the same way she cleaned me.


    Looking at Roxanne¡¯s back, it was covered with hair all the way to her waist. Or maybe it was not hair, but fur? And I don¡¯t mean it in a ¡¸her hair were so long that it reached her waist¡¹ sense, since it was too short for that. The best way to d3scribe it would probably be that the entirety of her back was covered with a light-brown, few milimeters long fur. Kinda like a crew cut hairstyle, but except its even shorter than that.


    Next, Roxanne removed her pants and underwear, setting the tail to hang freely between her legs. One thing particularily worthy of noting is the fact that only her tail was covered with fur, while the rest, by which I mean her butt, was deliciously smooth. I stroked Roxanne¡¯s back hair with my right hand which was free from holding the towel. I thought the fur is going to be more on the rough side, but it was surprisingly supple and soft, and very pleasant to the touch.


    ¡¸It¡¯s so bushy and soft, I really like it.¡¹


    ¡¸T-Thank you very much.¡¹


    I gently wipe her back from top to bottom, tracing my movements along her bodyline.


    ¡¸No problem. The pleasure is all mine.¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm, well¡­don¡¯t you feel inconvenient, having to wash a body like mine?¡¹


    ¡¸Why would I be? Besides, it¡¯s faster that way.¡¹


    That is only half of the reason why I¡¯m doing this. With the position I am currently in, I can see the two mountains of her chest from above. Two sacred summits, waiting to be claimed by the brave explorer. Roxanne wiped the front of her body herself, but with the movements that action required, she is not able to cover herself up all the time, allowing me to sneak a more direct glance here and there.


    Hers are truly the breasts worthy of worship. I want to worship them¡­ no, I will worship them from now on! Praise be to Roxanne! Viva la Roxanne! Amen!

 Volume 2 - CH 1.14

    No, in this case, something as simple as mere worship might not be enough! I have to pay the appropriate tribute to them! And in order to do that, I hugged her from behind again. May the radiance of her holy bulges bless me!


    ¡¸Ah¡­¡¹


    ¡¸What?¡¹


    ¡¸N-No, it¡¯s nothing¡­¡¹


    Roxanne tried to say something, but I promptly silenced her. Then I proceeded to use my hands to clean her holy peaks of sacredness, and the springy and elastic response that I got form them was simply marvelous. This is wonderful! While polishing their every inch very carefully, I made sure to savor every second of their heavy sensation weighting down on the palms of my hands. I wash them both gently, attentively and ever so carefully in order not to miss any nook and cranny. Oh my God, they are so incredibly soft that this is unreal! I can feel their fluffiness even through the fabric of the wet towel. When I grabbed her gentle hills more firmly, my fingers really started to sink into them. Normally I would have thought that this is all a dream, but this is all too real, and it¡¯s happening to me right in this moment! That is how big and soft they actually are, to the point that a man¡¯s hand is unable to contain them in their entirety. Now I switched to doing rolling motions with my entire hands, which finally allowed me to get a solid grasp of them in their elastic entirety. They have such an overwhelming shape and weight. When I tried to slowly push my fingers into them, they molded under my touch only to bounce back to how they originally were, as if they were trying to assert their existence.


    ¡¸They are absolutely the best.¡¹


    Obviously the whole process took much longer than if Roxanne wiped herself up, but she didn¡¯t protest, so she mustn¡¯t think that it was too big of a problem. And even if she voiced some complaints, I don¡¯t know if I would be able to heed them, in all honesty. I have gone too far down this bunny trail to come back.


    After spending a substantial amount of time making sure that Roxanne¡¯s breast were as clean as they could be, I finally released her holy mountains from my grasp.


    ¡¸So, like¡­ can I also wipe your tail for you?¡¹


    ¡¸Pardon? N-No, there¡¯s no need for you to do that, master. I can take care of that on my own.¡¹


    ¡¸Aww, don¡¯t be like that, what¡¯s the harm?¡¹


    I move to the next step in an attempt to touch her some more. Yes, I am now going to wash Roxanne¡¯s tail for her! The hair it is being composed of are bristly, and contrary to most of the normal dogs it looks like it doesn¡¯t have a core, which makes it similar to the tip of the painting brush. I have already established that the feeling of Roxanne¡¯s droopy dog ears is irresistible, but the fluffy texture of her tail, which is composed of nothing but soft hair is also quite addicting.


    ¡¸T-Thank you very much then.¡¹


    ¡¸So, can you tell me how does your tail work, exactly? Can you move it around freely?¡¹


    ¡¸Moving it around is actually somewhat difficult. Unless I do this¡­¡¹


    Roxanne shook her hips, and in response the tail between her legs also swung left and right. No, it¡¯s not the tail itself that¡¯s moving. She¡¯s clearly making it move by shaking her hips. She continued her demonstration by moving her waist passionately. Depending on how you look at it, it can be viewed as incredibly erotic, and that¡¯s the option that I¡¯m going with. I feel like I just witnessed something truly nice.


    ¡¸Hmm, I see, so that¡¯s how it works.¡¹


    ¡¸Well, also¡­ when I¡¯m happy, or in a really good mood, it happens to twitch on its own.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, is that so? Well then, I guess now it¡¯s my job to make it twitch as much as possible, huh?¡¹


    I whispered that into Roxanne¡¯s ears. Not the doggy ones, but rather the normal ones at the side of her head.


    ¡¸Y-Yes. T-Thank you for being so considerate of me.¡¹


    Ah, I saw that! Tour tail just shook slightly!


    Next, I took care of cleaning those perfect hips and feet of hers. Knowing what makes her happy is going to be quite a useful perk to have.


    ¡¸Now, how about trying out a little experiment?¡¹


    ¡¸An¡­ experiment? What kind of experiment?¡¹


    ¡¸You¡¯ll see. For now, just lay on the bed facing upwards, but with your head hanging of the edge of the bed please.¡¹


    I instructed Roxanne. This little experiment that I want to perform is to see if it¡¯ll be possible to wash your hair. It¡¯s something that I really wanted to try, because I don¡¯t even need a mirror to know that my hair is probably one giant, sticky, greasy mess. After all, it has been more than five days since I arrived in this world, and throughout the span of those five days I haven¡¯t washed my head once, and there is only so much that you can do by simply rubbing your hair with a simple wet towel. If I asked Roxanne about it she would have probably told me that this is just another part of the common sense of this kingdom, and perhaps this entire world, but even for someone like me five days without washing my hair is where I draw the line.


    I lifted the basin of the ground and placed it on the chair. I hope the fact that the basin is a little large won¡¯t be a problem here.


    ¡¸Is this okay?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, now keep it up just like this, and try putting your head just above the basin.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay.¡¹


    Heeding my commands, Roxanne places her head right where I told her to. I thought that such a position might be harmful for her back, but apparently she was fine with it. The only complaint that I have is that when she got on the bed, she covered herself up with a blanket instead of staying naked. What a shame. I mean, it¡¯s good that she still feels embarrassed, but with how thin the blanket is, it doesn¡¯t really cover anything all that much, so she won¡¯t cover her bulges or body line no matter how hard she tried.


    ¡¸Are you all right? You don¡¯t have to force yourself if you¡¯re feeling uncomfortable, you know?¡¹


    ¡¸It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m fine.¡¹


    With a green light to go ahead, I scooped some of the hot water and applied it to Roxanne¡¯s rich hair, rinsing them thoroughly with my fingers, after which I hot water on them over and over again. Since this world does not have any shampoos, this is the best thing I can do. Then I carefully proceeded to wash her doggy ears as well. Dogs have very delicate ears, so I have to make sure to be as delicate as possible in order not to hurt her by accident.


    ¡¸Doesn¡¯t your neck hurt?¡¹


    ¡¸No, not at all.¡¹


    ¡¸Then raise your head a little.¡¹


    After washing her hair, I told her to raise her head as I held the non-wet towel beneath her, which I then used to dry her hair until all the moisture was gone from them.


    ¡¸Thank you very much.¡¹


    ¡¸No problem. I enjoyed washing you quite a bit, so if you¡¯ll ever want me give you a hand with it again just say the word.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood. Do you want me to wash your head as well, master?¡¹


    ¡¸Please do.¡¹

 Volume 2 - CH 1.15

    When I finished washing Roxanne¡¯s hair, I placed the towel on her shoulders and switched places with her.


    ¡¸Maybe we should use the other basin for it?¡¹


    ¡¸There¡¯s no need for that, it¡¯s fine just like that. I will use the other one to wash our clothes and underwear.¡¹


    I just lay on the bed, stretch my neck beyond the bed¡¯s edge and entrust myself to Roxanne sh that she could wash me. Soon after, Roxanne¡¯s smooth, wet fingers got entangled into my hair as she gently washed them, and she did that with such a tender care that I almost felt like my body was floating in the air.


    Oh no, it feels so good that I can feel my little Durandal slowly emerging from its sheath! I closed my eyes and tried not to think about the pleasure too much, but much to my horror it had the exactly opposite effect to what I was intending to achieve! Just¡­ just try to clear your mind and do not think about anything else! Focus on your head being washed!


    It feels so good to have your hair washed after so many days of keeping them dirty. They might just be rinsed with hot water, but it still feels greatly refreshing. I raised my head and had it wiped with a dry towel. But when I finally opened my eyes, I saw the true paradise spreading before my eyes.


    Roxanne was wiping my hair not from the back, but from the front! Both of her hands are on my head, so she had no way of covering her chest, which seemed to be even bigger from up close than it was form the distance.


    ¡¸I¡¯m going to do the laundry now.¡¹


    Perhaps she knew where my sight was glued to, because Roxanne proceeded with her next task as soon as she was done with washing my head. I also don¡¯t know when it happened, but I was now wearing my Pumpkin Pants. Sigh, this is such a shame. And here thought we were actually onto something here, but no, Roxanne just crouched next to the water basin and began washing her socks, making her glorious chest sway left and right with every movement.


    This¡­ THIS IS PARADISE!!!


    ¡¸Are you not going to use the Kochi fruit?¡¹


    ¡¸I¡¯m going to use them to wash the cloaks that we have bought today. Besides, if you would use it every single day to was your clothes, you would have destroyed their material sooner rather than later.¡¹


    ¡¸Is that so? Then I guess I better make sure to remember that.¡¹


    We briefly talked about that as I was taking the other water basin off the chair. I thought that since I have bought it I could use it every single day, but apparently that is not going to be the case. Well, that¡¯s understandable I guess. Even back in Japan clothes could be damaged beyond repair if you went overboard with too many cleaning agents in one washing cycle.


    ¡¸W-What is this?! This¡­ this is amazing!¡¹


    Roxanne suddenly exclaimed quite loudly. When I glanced in her direction, I noticed that she has finished washing her own socks and moved on to wash mine, only to be captivated by the bizarre thing that was the rubber in their upper part. She was pulling it back and forth, watching with great wonder and curiosity as the socks expanded, only to go back to their original shape when the rubber bands contracted back. She repeated that one action many times.


    ¡¸Judging by your reaction I take it that you don¡¯t have something like that in here?¡¹


    ¡¸No, we do not, and even if we do, I have never seen something like this in person.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh really?¡¹


    So rubber can be considered as a rare material in this world. That must be the reason why my Pumpkin Pants are of the string-tied variety. Once she is finished with the laundry, she hangs it all back into the closet. And that means that all of the work that she was supposed to do is now finished.


    ¡¸Well, I¡¯m going to wear these clothes for now.¡¹


    Roxanne says, taking the other maid uniform from the closet.


    ¡¸Ah, no, you don¡¯t have to worry about that. There¡¯s no need for you to wear that now.¡¹


    ¡¸Eh? B-But¡­¡¹


    ¡¸Remember what I have told you when we were buying it earlier?¡¹


    ¡¸That it would make you happy if I wore this.¡¹


    The maid uniforms, both the one she had from the Slave Merchant and the new one we bought, were both excellent clothing, so of course Roxanne would make me happy by wearing them. But¡­


    ¡¸And it will make me happy if you wear this, but during the day. But now is the nighttime, so there¡¯s no need for you to wear that. Understood?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes.¡¹


    Roxanne places the maid uniform back into the closet and then silently approaches the bed. When she¡¯s close enough to me I reach out and gran her hand with mine, pulling her onto it. She fell on top of me, and when she did, I hugged her. She does not move away and does not try t resist.


    In our current position, I reached out with my hands and firmly grabbed the rich bulges of her chest. Prompted by the obvious intent behind my actions, she brings her face closer to mine and closes her eyes. That is when I kissed her on the lips. Her lips are touching mine now, and we stayed pressed together like that for a while. I want to go more on the offensive, but I have to remain patient. I think that I have heard somewhere before that only inexperienced fool jams his tongue into a girl¡¯s mouth from the get-go.


    ¡¸From now on, I would like us to kiss every night before we will go to bed and every morning when we will wake up.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, as you wish, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Then¡­ let¡¯s do it once more.¡¹


    We separated our lips from each other and then immediately moved back to devour one another, but this time I¡¯m going to try being a little more forceful. I also tried to sneak my tongue inside her mouth to see how she would react.


    Roxanne¡¯s answer is accepting it obediently without any complaints.


    And so, our tongues kept entangling around each other.

 Volume 2 - CH 2.01

    Chapter 7: Party


    Kaga Michio


    Levels & Equipment:


    Explorer Lv.11


    Hero Lv.6


    Warrior Lv.9


    Swordsman Lv.8


    Equipment:


    Durandal


    Leather Armor


    When I woke up the next morning, the first thing I saw after opening my eyes was the sight of Roxanne hugging into my arm as if it was a dakimakura (TL NOTE: Japanese hugging pillow). In order not to wake her up just yet I slowly tried to free myself from her embrace and lay her to my side, but her grip on me was still tight. Now this is what I can call a pleasant awakening. But wait, wouldn¡¯t it be better to say that I didn¡¯t have a ¡¸pleasant awakening¡¹, but rather that my awakening was pleasant because of what I saw right after I woke up?


    Roxanne¡¯s skin feels so good with how smooth and pleasant to the touch it is. The feeling of being hugged by her is also wonderful. I just can¡¯t get enough of that moist, elastic feeling around my arm, but it¡¯s not limited to just that one spot, oh no! Every part of my body that was in contact with her was filled with the pleasant, squishy sensation. Also, even though she was kinda pressing down on my arm with her body, it didn¡¯t feel like she was too heavy or that it was starting to go numb, even though we presumably spend the entire night cuddled like that. I guess that all I can do for the current moment is to hug her gently and stroke her back, enjoying the sensation of her short, fluffy fur.


    The only piece of clothing that both of us are wearing are the Pumpkin Pants. Roxanne did not have a brassiere at all. Maybe they do not exist in this world at all, or maybe they are just too expensive for everyone to buy them? Then again, I haven¡¯t seen a single one of them at the clothing store where we got our cloaks yesterday. Well, if it means that I will get to enjoy the feeling of Roxanne¡¯s boobies on my arm every single day, then I guess I have nothing to complain about, do I?


    And then suddenly, my lips have been sealed again.


    Roxanne kissed me. Did my sudden movements wake her up after all? Yes, that is what I am concerned about the most, not about the act of being kissed in itself, because I was the one who asked her to kiss me everyday before going to bed and after waking up. To be honest, I didn¡¯t really think she was going to go through with such a request, but apparently she is that kind of slave who takes her master¡¯s orders very seriously. Nevertheless, I allowed myself to be fully engrossed in the sweet sensation of her soft lips and slimy tongue. If this is how each and every one of my mornings is going to look from now on, mornings might become my new favorite time of the day.


    ¡¸Good morning, master.¡¹


    After sucking on my lips for quite a while, those were the words she greeted me with.


    It was still somewhat dark outside so I couldn¡¯t see her beautiful face clearly, but I tried to do my best to pay her back for that wonderful good morning kiss. I have to do it, even if I can¡¯t see her properly!


    I slowly inserted my tongue between Roxanne¡¯s half-opened lips. Slowly and methodically I found my way around her inviting mouth until my tongue could envelop itself around her damp tongue once more. I thought she wouldn¡¯t be as passionate about it as she was the first time, but much to my satisfaction she responded to my vigorous caresses with equal enthusiasm. So, since she¡¯s doing such a thing with me, is it okay for me to think that she does not dislike me or those kinds of activities? Well, even if she¡¯s forcing herself to cope with my selfish request, at the very least I do not think the situation is so bad that she would try to escape from me, and if that¡¯s the case, then I want to push her down, but for now kissing was all I was capable of, since I was still tired after last night, and I also wanted to use the chance to have some serious rest now that I was finally given it.


    Come to think of it, all I did for the last five days was the same unchanging routine of going to the Labyrinth before sunrise and making the rounds around the slums and the brothel district so that I could search for Bandits in order to obtain enough money to buy Roxanne, so I didn¡¯t even have a moment to truly appreciate how comfortable the lodging here at the Veil Pavilion is, especially in this double room. I mean seriously, last night after we were done I slept so well like I never slept before. I am truly glad that I decided to take this room, and I¡¯m thankful to the Innkeeper for it, but I¡¯ll better keep quiet about it around him. Technically what the guests are doing in the rooms shouldn¡¯t be his business, but one can never be too cautious.


    While I was kissing Roxanne, I placed my hand on her head and stroked her hair. After enjoying their smoothness and fluffiness, I finally let her lips go.


    ¡¸I would like the two of us to go explore the Labyrinth.¡¹


    ¡¸As you wish, master.¡¹


    With a great lot of regrets, I release Roxanne and decide that it is high time to get out of bed. Do not worry, Michio. You¡¯ll be able to continue this tonight. And tomorrow. And the day after tomorrow. Unless Roxanne decides to run away from me of course, which I sincerely hope won¡¯t happen.


    As I was putting on my leather shoes, Roxanne approached me from behind and helped me put on my shirt. Oh wow, this feels¡­ unexpectedly good. Kinda makes me feel like a king, actually.


    ¡¸Sorry for troubling you with this.¡¹


    ¡¸It¡¯s alright, master. Just let me do this.¡¹


    It might be because I¡¯m not used to such a treatment yet, but this is making me somewhat embarrassed. Also, during the process of putting my arms through the sleeves our arms have accidentally collided with one another, probably because our eyes are not used to the pitch-black darkness that surrounds us.


    ¡¸Do you not handle darkness very well?¡¹


    ¡¸Well, yeah. I¡¯m sorry to say this but I am neither a nocturnal creature nor can I see in the dark.¡¹


    ¡¸It¡¯s alright. Just don¡¯t overdo it and make sure not to push yourself too hard.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, you don¡¯t have to tell me that twice, believe me.¡¹


    All that is left for me to put on now are the pants, which I sadly had to put on myself. I also summoned the Item Box and took the Leather Jacket out of it. Since I bought it, might as well give it a shot at wearing it right off the bat.


    ¡¸That reminds me: do you know anything about empty Skill Slots, Roxanne?¡¹


    I was interested in them ever since I happened upon them, so now might be a good moment to ask about it. After summoning the Leather Jacket from the Item Box I Identified it. Well, what do you know, the Leather Jacket also has an empty Skill Slot. I just hope that Roxanne won¡¯t get confused by how I called them, but I have no idea how else could I describe them. To me, empty Skill Slots are exactly that: empty Skill Slots.


    ¡¸What about it?¡¹


    ¡¸I want to know if you can place Skills in the equipment¡¯s empty Skill Slots, and how exactly can I do it.¡¹


    ¡¸In the equipment? I¡¯m not sure I follow, but wouldn¡¯t you have to place them is special pockets or sockets?¡¹


    Thank you for the very insightful answer, but that is a definition of a ¡¸Slot¡¹ taken straight out of a dictionary. Okay, maybe I should try approaching from a slightly different perspective then. Here goes nothing.

 Volume 2 - CH 2.02

    ¡¸You can add Skills to equipment.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes.¡¹


    ¡¸Can you add more than one Skill into an empty Skill Slot?¡¹


    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry, but I do not know. All I know is that nothing will happen if there are no Skills infused with the equipment.¡¹


    So apparently it doesn¡¯t work like that. To begin with, the Weapons Merchant was not even aware that something like Skill Slots even existed, so I can probably assume that the availability of the Skills is not a part of the public knowledge.


    ¡¸And how exactly do you add Skills to equipment?¡¹


    ¡¸Well, normally you just buy weapons and armor that are already infused with them.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay, but what if I wanted to do that myself rather than buying them every time?¡¹


    I grabbed the Leather Armor from the Item Box. I wanted to hand it over to Roxanne, but I cannot see her well because of how dark it still is. For all I know, she might be changing right now.


    ¡¸Only a Blacksmith can combine Skill Crystals with Equipment.¡¹


    Okay, so it seems like I would have to obtain a Blacksmith¡¯s Job if I wanted to do it myself. Not much, but that¡¯s a start.


    ¡¸What is a Skill Crystal?¡¹


    ¡¸Supposedly it is a crystalized accumulation of monster¡¯s abilities that can be found withing the Labyrinths on rare occasions. When it is being added into a piece of equipment, the wearer will be able to use that Skill as if it was their own.¡¹


    For now it¡¯s all pretty much just as I imagined. With that said, let¡¯s confirm one more thing.


    ¡¸So if there are no empty Skill Slots on the equipment, then it cannot be infused with Skill Crystals, right?¡¹


    ¡¸Exactly. Also, it is said that the strength of the Skill¡¯s effect once it is infused into a weapon or armor depends on the quality and condition of the Skill Crystal that was used, as well as the skill and luck of the Blacksmith who performs the infusion.¡¹


    ¡¸Luck? So it is possible to fail the infusion process?¡¹


    ¡¸Most certainly. Moreover, the percentage of failures seems to be much higher then the number of successes.¡¹


    So it¡¯s kinda RNG based. If you won¡¯t try it you will never know whether you will succeed or not, but if you do end up failing, you will probably lose the Skill Crystal you wanted to infuse. But if that is really the case, then I am going to have a natural advantage with it since I can use Identify. As long as I¡¯ll be using it, no Skill Infusion will ever fail for me.


    ¡¸Do you know what the are requirements for becoming a Blacksmith?¡¹


    ¡¸I am sorry, but I do not know. The only thing that I am aware of is that it is a race-specific Job available primarily for Dwarves.¡¹


    *Depression Intensifies*


    Does that mean that I cannot become a Blacksmith myself?! And more importantly, there are Dwarves here in this world as well? But I haven¡¯t met a single one so far.


    Is there really no way for me to become a Blacksmith? Well, Roxanne did say that it is a race-specific Job, but I wonder what does that mean, exactly? Maybe that the specifications or requirements of this Job can only be satisfied by Dwarves alone, making it impossible for the members of the other races to obtain it? Well, that sucks.


    ¡¸I see. So I guess we have no choice but to leave it to a professional to create the equipment with Skills for us. Not an ideal solution, but what else can we do?¡¹


    ¡¸There¡¯s one thing you need to know though: most Blacksmiths dislike Skill Infusion requests. By any chance, do you happen to have a Blacksmith who is willing to do them among your acquaintances, master?¡¹


    ¡¸Would it be a big problem if I said that I do not?¡¹


    ¡¸That depends. When an infusion fails, you lose the Skill Crystals. That is why most of the Blacksmiths usually do not offer Skill Infusions in their services, and even if you find the one that does offer it, there¡¯s no telling if he can be trusted.¡¹


    That particular tidbit got me curious, so I asked her why that is. But when I heard the answer, it all made sense to me.


    When the Skill Infusion fails, you lose your Skill Crystals. But the thing is: when you lose them, you have no way of knowing if you lost them due to a failed infusion, or maybe because the Blacksmith whom you ordered the fusion from decided to screw you over and steal your Skill Crystals. After you make the request, there is always a possibility that the Blacksmith might not even attempt the infusion and pretend that it was unsuccessful in order to get your items for himself with literally no cost from his side at all. As much as I don¡¯t want to admit it, that does sound like a pretty neat strategy: you tell the client that you failed the infusion, but in reality you sell the Skill Crystals you appropriated for yourself, or even better, you fuse the client¡¯s Skill Crystals with your own equipment, which will in turn allow you to sell that equipment for a pretty hefty sum.


    ¡¸Let me get it straight then: infusion of Skill Crystals is nothing but a source of trouble?¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s right.¡¹


    ¡¸But if that is the case, then wouldn¡¯t witnessing the infusion process with your own eyes solve those problems?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course it would, but nowadays it¡¯s just not worth it. You see, master, in the past there were many Dwarves who made their fortunes by charging their clients with an additional fee if they wanted to be present to witness the entire infusion process. To say that those fees were outrageous would be an understatement.¡¹


    ¡¸No shit, really?¡¹


    Well, that is certainly one way of committing fraud. Similarly, if a magician tried to cheat at a card game, I guess very few people would actually be able to call him out.


    ¡¸Precisely. Ever since then, people only asked Blacksmiths to perform Skill Infusions in very rare cases, and Blacksmiths started to turn down such transactions. When you get the Skill Crystal, you sell it, and if you want equipment with Skills in it, you buy it from the weapon or armor shop.¡¹


    Certainly, if dealing with them resulted only in distrust and suspicion, avoiding such troublesome work was the most obvious solution to the problem.


    However, that poses a huge problem for me. If I can¡¯t become a Blacksmith myself because it is a race-specific Job and if no Blacksmith will accept a request for Skill Infusions, then it means that finding a way out of this particular pickle is going to be that much more troublesome. Even if I use Identify to reveal if the equipment has empty Skill Slots or not, it won¡¯t do me any good. And here I thought it¡¯s going to help me gain some advantage over the rest of the world. Then again, maybe I shouldn¡¯t dismiss it so soon, because it did allow me to see the Jobs of other people as well as the locations of monsters and that is something that I have really come to appreciate. The question now is: if I cannot obtain a race-specific Job myself and I don¡¯t have any connections with the Blacksmiths at all, then what can I do to remedy that?


    As it turns out, there is one more possibility available for me: get myself a Blacksmith as a Party member. But I fear that just getting him as a simple Party member might not be enough to eliminate the possibility of him trying to scam us. Unless¡­


    ¡¸Getting myself a Blacksmith, huh?¡¹


    ¡¸Hmm?¡¹


    ¡¸No no, it¡¯s nothing.¡¹


    At first I wanted to ask her about her opinion on getting myself a Blacksmith as another slave, but at the last moment I decided against it. Since I just got her as my first slave yesterday, mentioning getting another one so fast after purchasing a first one might have been a full-blown display of extremely bad taste and a lack of tact. I should go straight to the Slave Merchant with that particular matter. Another one will be how much money he¡¯s going to charge for it this time.


    Feeding Roxanne with an excuse for me to go out, I made my way towards the door, relying on my intuition throughout most of the way.


    ¡¸Can I open the door?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I¡¯m done changing, so it¡¯s fine.¡¹


    I waited for her reply and opened the door leading to the corridor.

 Volume 2 - CH 2.03

    ¡¸Roxanne, when we¡¯ll go to the Labyrinth, make sure you¡¯ll be wearing the Leather Armor, okay?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I will definitely do so, thank you very much.¡¹


    I grabbed my socks and put on my Leather Shoes, and then I glanced at the water basin on the floor. Last night we used it to clean ourselves up afterwards, so the remaining water was tinged with slight traces of both red and white. If I just leave it lying around as it is, the Innkeeper or the cleaning crew will surely connect the dots when they comes around to clean the room, figuring out what we were doing last night, and I don¡¯t want that to happen under any circumstances, so I did the only sensible thing I could do: grabbed the basin, headed to the toilet on the corridor and dumped all of the water there. We definitely could have saved that water for later, but it¡¯ll be better that way. Now that the evidence has been disposed of, I don¡¯t have to worry about anyone finding out.


    When I got back to the room, the light of the lamps hanging in the corridor illuminated Roxanne. She was now fully clad in the Leather Armor, just as I instructed her to be. And I have to say¡­ I didn¡¯t expect it to look quite like¡­ that. Roxanne herself informed me that every piece of armor is magically enchanted to fit itself to whoever is wearing it, but in Roxanne¡¯s case it looked less like an armor and more like a corset, visibly exposing the chest area. Well, of course it did. It had to do so to fit itself to Roxanne¡¯s figure after all.


    This¡­ this might be dangerous for me. For all kinds of reasons. Really, really bad.


    ¡¸Uhm¡­  just a suggestion, but maybe you should try wearing a jacket over it?¡¹


    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry. Usually, Leather Armor is not something worn by women.¡¹


    Roxanne apologized, but I really don¡¯t think there was any need for her to do so. If anything, I should be the one apologizing for not realizing something like that sooner. In fact, I will just do it right now!


    ¡¸No, you don¡¯t have to apologize for anything, since me and my lack of common sense are clearly at fault here, so from now on, if I¡¯m about to make another blunder like that, feel free to stop me, alright?¡¹


    ¡¸U-Understood! If that is your wish, then I shall do exactly that!¡¹


    And so I helped Roxanne put on the jacket. Now her curves will be hidden from the eyes of everybody else on the streets, and I will no longer be at risk of getting distracted by her boobs in the Labyrinth. Two birds killed with one stone. Now I just have to get the backpack on my back and the Copper Sword at my waist and I¡¯m all geared up and ready to go.


    Ah, but wait! There¡¯s one thing I have forgotten! We haven¡¯t formed a Party yet!


    I believe it should be here in the menu under the Party Organization section. But how do I even use this? I have no idea because I haven¡¯t teamed up with anyone up to this point. Literally.


    When I tapped on the Party Organization, I was asked to specify a target, so I specified Roxanne.


    ¡¸Oh.¡¹


    Roxanne twitched a little all of a sudden. It would seem that she has been successfully added to the Party. Am I assigned to it by default? I tried selecting myself and assigning myself to the Party formation.


    ¡¸Ah¡­¡¹


    ¡¸Oh¡­¡¹


    ¡­. I found out that the Party has been disbanded.


    I guess that was to be expected. I am a Party Leader, so it would stand to reason that if the Leader leaves the Party it¡¯s going to get disbanded.


    Party Organization is a feature that allows the formation of the Parties between the Leader and the members that have to be selected. If the Leader leaves the Party, then the entire thing will be disbanded. Note for the future taken.


    With that in mind, let¡¯s try that again. Once again I formed a Party with me as the Leader, and then chose Roxanne, praying that this time everything will be as it should be and our Party will be formed properly, without Roxanne being kicked out of my Party.


    ¡¸Uhm¡­¡¹


    ¡¸Sorry. I¡¯m experimenting a little, so please give me a moment.¡¹


    ¡¸I see.¡¹


    I have to select her as a Party member without kicking myself out of it at the same time. I¡¯m a little worried if I¡¯ll be able to do it properly this time, but let¡¯s be positive here. Alright, here goes: Party Organization, select target, Roxanne. Okay, looks like this time I was able to successfully add Roxanne to the Party. Now that it was done, I also saw some curious words in the corner of my eye.


    ¡¸What is this Party Effect?¡¹


    ¡¸If you have more than one person in your Party, then Movement Magic will transport all the members, not just the caster himself. Even if you lose sight of your Party members, you will be able to locate them without issues. I was also told that the Experience gained from defeating monsters is being shared between all the Party members.¡¹


    ¡¸Shared experience, huh?¡¹


    Does that mean that earning EXP points will be that much easier when you are in a Party? And also, I wonder if the EXP will be distributed evenly between all the Party members?


    ¡¸Yes. Since the gained experience is shared between the Party members, the nobles have adopted a certain strategy: They form a six-man Party with the newborn child as the Leader and they enter the Labyrinth with it so that it could effortlessly gain experience since its early days to ensure its growth.¡¹


    Now that¡¯s what I would call foul play. As expected of nobles, forcing others to do all of the heavy lifting for them so that they could hog the profits all for themselves.


    ¡¸Huh? But then, when such a child grows up, there won¡¯t be any need for it to go into the Labyrinth anymore¡­¡¹


    ¡¸Most of the nobles continue to utilize that strategy by making use of the multiple of their vassals, but there are also people who never entered the Labyrinth even once in their entire lives.¡¹


    Really? But then, if they won¡¯t even go to the Labyrinth themselves, then what¡¯s the point¡­ unless¡­


    ¡¸Is it possible¡­ to continue sending only your vassals or servants to the Labyrinth and live by leeching the profits they have made in there, without as much as lifting a finger yourself?¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm¡­ I, well¡­¡¹


    ¡¸Ah! No, please, do not get the wrong idea. I¡¯m not asking about it because I want to send you to the Labyrinth by yourself. I would never do something as scummy as that!¡¹


    I fully grasped the gravity of my words only after I have spoken them out loud.


    What would happen if you could just send your slave to the Labyrinth and then just take the money they earned there and the valuables they found for yourself? That would be, from a lack of a better word, quite a lifehack, but not of the good kind.


    ¡¸Such a strategy could theoretically be used to increase your Explorer level, but you don¡¯t hear about people utilizing it in such a way all that much. You must have heard what happens when someone finds anything valuable in the Labyrinth, right? They are being disposed of then and there, so as you can see, sending someone to go there¡­¡¹


    Is less than an ideal scenario. I guess that¡¯s true enough. But at least now I know a lot more about it.


    ¡¸All right then. Shall we go?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, let¡¯s go.¡¹


    We left the room, after which I closed it shut and we made our way down the stairs. As usual, I left the key with the Innkeeper at the front desk. Yes, just like usual. It might have been only a few days since I have arrived in this world, but this process has already become a part of my new daily routine.


    ¡¸Careful now.¡¹


    We went outside of the Veil Pavilion. It was still pitch-black.


    ¡¸Come with me for a second.¡¹


    I grabbed Roxanne¡¯s hand and dragged her along with me. I took her to an alley behind the inn, hoping that there will be no one there at the moment. Once I confirmed that the coast was indeed clear, I used Warp. The visibility was rather poor here, but I managed to place it on the inn¡¯s wall without any major difficulties.


    ¡¸There, all set.¡¹


    ¡¸Huh?! U, Uhm¡­¡¹


    Roxanne looked like she wanted to say something, but before she could voice her concerns properly I simply dragged her with me to the other side of the Warp portal, into the Labyrinth.

 Volume 2 - CH 2.04

    ¡¸Looks fine to me.¡¹


    ¡¸Eh? Ehhh?! Ehhhhhh?! This is¡­ the Labyrinth?!¡¹


    Roxanne seemed to be more than a little confused. But once she had a good, long look around and realized that we were indeed in the Labyrinth she immediately calmed down and returned to her usual, stoic expression. I would even go as far as to say that she¡¯s gotten unexpectedly serious and just a little bit scary, just like when we were talking about going to the Labyrinth back at the inn.


    ¡¸Yup. This it the first floor of the newly-discovered Labyrinth just outside of Veil.¡¹


    ¡¸But Dungeon Walker should only be usable inside of the Labyrinth. If it was Field Walker then you would probably be able to use it from inside the city, but then it shouldn¡¯t be possible to enter the Labyrinth directly with it.¡¹


    I see. Well, that was something that I was already aware of, but now I at least got confirmation of my suspicions. So if you use Field Walker, you would be able to go near the Labyrinth, but not inside of the Labyrinth itself. It also checks itself out with what I saw during my first expedition here: that one Party of Adventurers that materialized that black portal wall on a tree near the entrance before they proceeded inside.


    ¡¸So that¡¯s how it was.¡¹


    ¡¸But master is an Explorer, so you shouldn¡¯t be able to use Field Walker at all!¡¹


    It¡¯s natural for her to think like that, since Explorer was the First Job I had written on my Intelligence Card when she saw it back at the Slave Merchant¡¯s shop.


    ¡¸You¡¯re half right, but also half wrong. That was not Field Walker just now. It was a type of Movement Magic called Warp.¡¹


    ¡¸Warp? I have never heard of such magic.¡¹


    So I guess that Bonus Spells are not all that well known here.


    ¡¸It is a spell that only a few people beside me can use, so I would be grateful if you could keep it a secret for now, alright?¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yes, of course!¡¹


    ¡¸Good to hear it.¡¹


    It¡¯s great that she agreed to keep this matter under wraps without any additional convincing.


    ¡¸You¡¯re amazing, master.¡¹


    Wow, she¡¯s certainly not one to mince her words, huh? But it¡¯s great that she understands it, and yet she¡¯s still being respectful and kind towards me.


    ¡¸You think so? Nah, you¡¯re giving me way too much credit.¡¹


    I gotta say though, being praised so much by a cutie like her is not a bad feeling at all.


    I took a Leather Helm out of the Item Box and placed it on Roxanne¡¯s head, staring into her beautiful, glittering eyes. The only downside was that the helmet covered her head completely, hiding the cute doggy ears from view. It seemed like a huge waste to me, but I guess in Labyrinth safety should always come first above all else. That said, I also wore a Leather Helmet myself.


    ¡¸Uhm, was the thing you took the helmets out of an Item Box, or perhaps something different? Because the way you used was a little strange.¡¹


    ¡¸No, this is just an ordinary Item Box, nothing else to it.¡¹


    ¡¸Ah, I see?¡¹


    Roxanne tilted her head to the side as if she was contemplating something. I always thought that this was just an ordinary Item Box, but maybe it was really something different entirely?


    Next I took out the Leather Mittens and gave them to her along with a Wooden Shield. As for myself, I wore the Leather Gloves, took out my Durandal and that was the end of my preparations. I could see that Roxanne was eyeing Durandal quite intensely, but she wasn¡¯t saying anything. Was she staying quiet because she didn¡¯t want to say something that I as her master might have taken for an insult? In that case, let¡¯s make it a little easier for her.


    ¡¸By the way, take a look at my sword. What do you think about it?¡¹


    ¡¸It a wonderful weapon. And beautifully crafted at that.¡¹


    She sure is quick to comment on such things.


    ¡¸Say, Roxanne? Have you ever been to a Labyrinth before?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, but only about three times.¡¹


    ¡¸Are all the Labyrinths like this one here?¡¹


    Since she already has some experiences with Labyrinths, might as well take advantage of that and get as much information about them as I possibly can. Although, maybe I should limit myself to asking about specific things that might be the most important for us right now, in this very moment in order not to be too hard on her with all that ¡¸please teach me!¡¹ stuff.


    ¡¸Yes, they are, but that is something that you might have already know this since you are an Explorer, master.¡¹


    ¡¸No, it¡¯s okay. When it comes to the Labyrinths, I haven¡¯t been to that many of them myself.¡¹


    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹


    Okay, so maybe she will have to tell me everything she knows after all.


    ¡¸Uhm, so¡­ monsters are not going to attack us in this room out of the blue, right?¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s right. Monsters do not appear in small rooms that can be moved to by using Dungeon Walker, but I have no idea if master¡¯s magic is going to follow the same rules.¡¹


    ¡¸I think we will be fine. This is the entrance to the Labyrinth¡¯s first floor, after all.¡¹


    I pointed to the black wall behind us. Right now it serves as both the passageway to the entrance and the way to the other floors.


    ¡¸Yes, it would certainly seem so.¡¹


    ¡¸Alright. Now that we¡¯re here, let¡¯s try going a little further in.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, leave everything to me, master!¡¹


    ¡¸Ah, I appreciate your enthusiasm, but the monsters on this floor all die in a single hit, so you don¡¯t have to be so nervous and keep your guard up all the time.¡¹


    ¡¸A single¡­ blow?¡¹


    Yup, a single blow, baby (Durandal¡¯s single blow that is.).


    ¡¸Well then, let¡¯s go!¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm, before we go any further, I would like to borrow a Magic Crystal from you, if it is not a problem of course.¡¹


    Roxanne stopped me before we even got out of the small entrance room.


    ¡¸Eh? What?¡¹


    ¡¸A Magic Crystal.¡¹


    ¡¸Magic Crystal?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, a Magic Crystal.¡¹


    Roxanne nodded her head silently.


    ¡¸It is a crystal made from the magical power that is stored in the bodies of monsters. If you possess one, then the magic will slowly transfer to it upon the monster¡¯s defeat. Magic Crystals that have enough magical energy stored inside them can be used as the energy sources for various establishments, like Guilds, temples and the like.¡¹


    ¡¸Can¡¯t I just hold onto it instead?¡¹


    ¡¸If you do not have the Magic Crystal on you while defeating monsters, then their magical power won¡¯t be accumulated in it.¡¹


    Seemed kinda far-fetched to me, but it won¡¯t make me any difference since I don¡¯t even have such an item on me right now.


    ¡¸In other words, if you have that Magic Crystal on you, it will continue to gather the energy from defeated monsters each time you slay one, correct?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, that is exactly right.¡¹


    ¡¸While we¡¯re on the subject, do they sell for a high price?¡¹


    ¡¸I believe they are the most wanted item from the Labyrinths, so that makes them quite valuable.¡¹


    Say what?! Now I just feel like I¡¯ve been robbed! And also:


    Have I been a huge fucking dumbass this entire time?! I was, wasn¡¯t I?

 Volume 2 - CH 2.05

    ¡¸Ha, haha, hahahahahahaha¡­ I see¡­ *sigh*¡­¡¹


    ¡¸Ah, no, don¡¯t take this the wrong way, master. While it¡¯s true that Magic Crystals can be sold for a very high price, filling them completely takes a huge amount of time. No one will be able to sell more than a few Magic Crystals across the span of their entire life, so even if you don¡¯t have one with you now, it is not that big of a loss as you seem to be thinking it is. So¡­ don¡¯t let it get you down.¡¹


    Is she actually trying to comfort my stupid ass? That is so sweet of her.


    ¡¸So? How can we get our hands on this Magic Crystal?¡¹


    ¡¸Normally they can be found in the chests found in Labyrinths, but the Adventurer¡¯s Guild also sells the depleted ones.¡¹


    ¡¸Then we¡¯ll go do that later. As for the ones found in chests, I can¡¯t say that I saw any during my previous forages here.¡¹


    Yes, I don¡¯t think I ever happened upon an item like that when I was grinding the money to buy Roxanne. But now that I think about it, maybe there was something like that here, but I just ignored it because I didn¡¯t know what it was?


    ¡¸This Labyrinth has been discovered only recently, correct?¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s what I heard. Supposedly it has been discovered only a few days ago.¡¹


    ¡¸In that case I don¡¯t think we¡¯re going to find any Magic Crystals in here. It takes a long time for the magic to gather and the crystals to materialize.¡¹


    Then I probably didn¡¯t miss any of them. Good to know.


    ¡¸Is there any other way of getting money in the Labyrinth other than looting monsters and collecting the power in Magic Crystals?¡¹


    ¡¸We could always try finding treasure chests.¡¹


    Treasure chests, huh?


    ¡¸Regrettably, I haven¡¯t seen those around here as well.¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s because they rarely appear in newly-found Labyrinths like this one. I heard that they are the most common in the ancient Labyrinths.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh really, that¡¯s a shame then, but nothing we can really do about it. Let¡¯s just go and focus on finishing this run safely, okay? Now, where should we go from here?¡¹


    Now that I also know that I didn¡¯t miss any treasure chests due to my own negligence, I can fully focus on going forward without worrying. Onward ma¡­.!


    ¡¸Master, wait!¡¹


    But once again, Roxanne stopped me before I could so much as set foot outside of the room.


    ¡¸What is it, Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸There is a monster nearby. To the right.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh? You can sense them?¡¹


    ¡¸Not sense, but I can smell them.¡¹


    What the hell? I can¡¯t smell anything out of the ordinary in the air.


    ¡¸Does you being able to do that has anything to do with you being a Wolfkin?¡¹


    ¡¸Precisely. Even among other Wolfkin, my nose is said to be particularily sensitive, so detecting monsters through smell is my specialty.¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s amazing!¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you very much, master.¡¹


    I followed Roxanne¡¯s advice, and instead of heading straight like I initially wanted I chose to go through the passageway to the right, and sure enough, not even a minute of walking down the right pathway and a Needlewood appeared right before me.


    ¡¸Wow, you were right. There really is a monster in here.¡¹


    Roxanne¡¯s sense of smell truly is amazing. She has it all: stunning looks, she¡¯s great in bed, and now she¡¯s also of great help in the Labyrinth! A perfect hat-trick for someone like me.


    ¡¸Let¡¯s do this then.¡¹


    ¡¸Alright. I¡¯ll be right behind you, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Nah, you just sit back and let me handle this one.¡¹


    This time I was the one who stopped Roxanne from charging at the enemy. I brandished Durandal and went ahead. I ran up to the Needlewood and slashed at it from the left downwards. The Needlewood fell onto the ground and turned into a puff of green smoke, disappearing.


    ¡¸It¡­ it really fell with just one hit. Amazing!¡¹


    Roxanne caught up to me and showered me with words of praise and gave me a look of admiration. I gotta say, being praised by someone as beautiful as her was the best feeling ever, and a massive ego boost for me. It¡¯s moments like that that make me really glad that I decided to invest enough Bonus Points in Bonus Weapons to obtain Durandal. Looks like the value of my stocks in Roxanne¡¯s eyes have risen again, and I have it to thank for it.


    ¡¸As I thought, this sword is truly remarkable. Very well maintained at that. It¡¯s practically as good as a brand-new weapon.¡¹


    Roxanne says as she inspects Durandal carefully. She seems to be really pleased with it¡¯s condition and how well-maintained it is, but I think that¡¯s because apparently all of my equipment¡¯s condition is brought back to its highest value whenever I am performing a Character Reset. If it wasn¡¯t for that, then considering that I have been using it nonstop ever since I came to this world a few days ago, its condition would have probably been even worse than the ones of the Copper Sword or the Scimitar, and Roxanne was quite angry with the state those two weapons of mine were in. If it wasn¡¯t for her, I probably wouldn¡¯t even have thought about performing any kind of maintenance on the at all, and that would have probably came back to bite me in the ass sooner or later.


    ¡¸If I can ask this of you, then please keep the existence of this sword a secret, alright?¡¹


    ¡¸You want to keep the fact that you have such an amazing weapon confidential?¡¹


    ¡¸Yup, it needs to be kept as secret as possible. If it is not, then, for example¡­¡¹


    I grabbed Roxanne¡¯s hand and forcefully pulled her towards me. Then I turned her around and placed Durandal¡¯s edge next to her throat.


    ¡¸Eh?¡¹


    ¡¸If you care about this bitch¡¯s life, then hand that sword over to me or else¡­! Something like that might happen.¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yes, you¡¯re right, master. If that sword really ia as amazing as I think it is then that is certainly a possibility. I understand. I won¡¯t tell anyone about it.¡¹


    ¡¸Sweet.¡¹


    I released Roxanne from my villainous grasp. What I did just now might have been confusing, but just like Roxanne said just now, it¡¯s a scenario that might end up happening for real if we were to brag left and right that we have such an amazing weapon with us.


    ¡¸But if such a thing do ends up happening, then please, be sure to choose the sword over me.¡¹


    ¡¸Now that¡¯s a promise I cannot make, because if I had to choose between the sword and you, then I would choose Roxanne without a second thought. You are more important to me than the sword. But if it was at all possible, then I would have like to to avoid losing either of you.¡¹


    ¡¸I¡­ I see. Thank you, for thinking so highly of a simple slave such as myself.¡¹


    I know I just said that such a thing might happen, but I don¡¯t even want to think about such a scenario.


    Roxanne knelt down and picked up the branch that the Needlewood left when it died. She then handed it to me, and I have safely placed it in the safety of my backpack.


    ¡¸Alright, which way should we go now?¡¹


    ¡¸If we continue to head straight, we should eventually reach the point where we will be able to go to another level.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay, straight ahead it is then.¡¹


    ¡¸Th¡­ thank you very much.¡¹


    Roxanne said that out of the blue while bowing her head down deeply.


    ¡¸Huh? What for?¡¹


    ¡¸In the past, when I was taken to various Parties as one of the members everyone either ignored or disregarded my opinions simply because I was the newbie of the group. Not only that, whenever there were battles, I was always ordered not to get in everyone¡¯s way or to try and launch sneak attacks on the enemies.¡¹


    ¡¸What a waste of your talents. But fear not. You have such amazing skills on your disposal, so I intend to put them to good use. I mean, what¡¯s the point of having some useful abilities if you¡¯re not going to utilize them for the good of the Party.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes! I am happy that I can be of service to you, master!¡¹


    So Roxanne was being disrespected in the previous Parties she was a member of? So the relationship between Party members can also be like that, especially when we take into account the difference in experience between the veterans and the newcomers.


    Great, another thing that I had no idea of because I a a newcomer to this world myself. Just fucking great.

 Volume 2 - CH 2.06

    ¡¸I hate to be the one to calm your enthusiasm, but I can pretty much one-shot everything on this floor, so you¡¯ll have to put up with it for a while longer.¡¹


    ¡¸I do not mind, because that just proves how strong you are, master. The monsters here are clearly no match for you. That being said, are we not heading up to the next floor?¡¹


    ¡¸Up? I thought this thing will be going down.¡¹


    ¡¸No, it actually goes up. And if you pay a small fee to one of the Explorers at the Labyrinth¡¯s entrance, they will take you to any floor that you have previously been to, and higher than the level that you¡¯re currently exploring.¡¹


    ¡¸Duly noted, but since that would be my first time in there, I think it would be best if we didn¡¯t get too ahead of ourselves. Let¡¯s fully explore this floor first before we go advancing to a higher one.¡¹


    The prospect of getting my hands on some nice treasure from the upper floors is certainly appealing, but I prefer to play at a steady pace for now. That being said, I¡¯m quite surprised that the Labyrinth actually goes upwards instead of extending further underground like in most video games that I encountered in my life. And then there¡¯s also that stuff about the Explorers at the entrance taking you to the higher floors. I¡¯m learning quite a lot of things that I previously had no idea about today.


    ¡¸Of course. If that is your wish, master, then I will do my best to follow it to the utmost of my abilities.¡¹


    It¡¯s great that she¡¯s so eager, but it would be foolish of us to think that we will be able to clear the entire Labyrinth in just a few short days, and it¡¯s halls are bound to hide dangerous monsters that we won¡¯t be able to defeat just yet or floors that we will not be able to access right now. And let¡¯s not forget that running into a room filled to the brim with monsters like that last one I had encountered is the last thing that I wanna do right now, so in order to avoid plunging head-first into such dreadful traps, the best approach is to proceed carefully.


    ¡¸Now then, allow me to lead the way.¡¹


    ¡¸Please do.¡¹


    For the next part of our current Labyrinth excursion I allowed Roxanne to take the lead and we proceeded along with her guidance. Having her around was a huge improvement, because due to her keen sense of smell we were able to go from one monster-filled spot to the next in a matter of a few minutes, making the exploration process at least twice as effective. And we managed to get so many items while prioritizing not combat, but exploration! No monster group was able to harm us, and soon we covered pretty much the entirety of the first floor. Towards the end of the exploration, both our backpacks were filled with so many branches that I began to worry that they might end up bursting from being overfilled.


    ¡¸Amazing.¡¹


    ¡¸And it¡¯s all thanks to you, Roxanne. Your ability to detect monsters with nothing but your nose is nothing to sneeze at. Are you able to tell their types apart as well, by any chance?¡¹


    ¡¸I can recognize them if they are of the species that I have fought before, and I can sort of tell how many of them there are, but not perfectly. Also, if the enemies will be hiding behind hidden doors then I might not be able to detect them, and there¡¯s no guarantee that my nose is going to lead us down the shortest path to get to them.¡¹


    ¡¸Be that as it may, your ability is amazing enough as it is.¡¹


    Since our backpacks weren¡¯t able to hold anymore items even if we tried to stuff them there, we decided to go back through the Warp portal and head straight to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild to sell the entirety of today¡¯s haul. Even though it was already bright outside, it was still too early for the reception counters to be manned by the guild¡¯s employees, so we just returned to the inn for the time being. Once we hit the room to drop our luggage off, we went down to the dining area to have breakfast. When we finished our meal, we returned to the room to have some well-deserved rest.


    ¡¸Thank you for taking me to breakfast together with you again, master. But, do we really have to eat so much?¡¹


    ¡¸Well, since they are serving meals here anyway, then I say why not go all-out once in a while, especially since today we definitely had a reason to celebrate. Seriously, if it wasn¡¯t for you then I would have never been able to accomplish so much in a single day.¡¹


    I thanked Roxanne and sat down on the bed. In fact, her help was invaluable to me. Her ability to detect monsters is going to be a huge asset to me, and I intend to utilize it to its full extent to make the Labyrinth bouts as easy as possible for us.


    ¡¸Yes, thank you very much. That was the first time I saw someone single handedly defeating so many monsters. This just goes to show how incredible you are.¡¹


    ¡¸That was my first time killing so many of them as well. After all, I am still relatively new to this whole Adventuring business. I also had your guidance and expertise to rely on, so the success of today¡¯s foray into the Labyrinth was largely possible thanks to you, so I¡¯ll be looking forward to our expeditions to the Labyrinth from now on, Roxanne.¡¹


    ¡¸Not at all. The deciding factor was still your overwhelming strength and abilities. Therefore, I¡¯m looking forward to continuing working with you as well, master.¡¹


    Roxanne bowed to me as she continued to stand near the entrance to the room. Looks like that habit of hers still needs some working on. And here I thought that all those compliments and praises might have helped her to loosen up with her servant-like behaviors.


    ¡¸Well, what are you standing there for? Come here.¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yes, of course!¡¹


    I invited Roxanne to come sit next to me. If I work on it hard enough, then maybe the day will come when she will start doing so without specifically being told to?


    ¡¸Listen up, because what I¡¯m about to say will be really important, okay? From now on, whenever we¡¯ll be coming back here, feel free to sit wherever you want without waiting for me to order you to do so¡­ or you know what, scratch that. I want you to sit as close to me as possible. I know that you might feel somewhat uncomfortable because of what happened last night¡­ but it¡¯s not like I will always push you down and do that sort of thing to you, you know?¡¹


    Roxanne came to the bed and awkwardly sat next to me, so in order to prove to her that I was telling the truth, I gave her a hug that had no ulterior motives behind it; just a friendly embrace to ease her tension. That being said, I¡¯m going to have to work on my own restraint as well, because right now, just a glimpse of her white skin peeking from under her tunic was enough to tempt me with a myriad of lewd thoughts going through my head.


    ¡¸I-It¡¯s¡­ alright with me. I didn¡¯t really mind that, so¡­¡¹


    I could only respond to such a declaration by hugging her more tightly. This is bad. Whenever she¡¯s saying things like that with such an innocent expression, she doesn¡¯t even realize how dangerous she is to me!


    But then¡­ does that mean that she really wouldn¡¯t mind if I pushed her down again? Ahh, I want to do it again so badly! But I can¡¯t! I have to stay true to my own words and grab a hold of myself! So in order to calm myself down, there is only one option left for me!


    I gently grabbed her doggy ears and started playing with them. Ahhh, so soft and elastic, a true ointment for my tormented soul. Touching them feels so good no matter how many times I do it. So maybe¡­


    ¡¸May I have a taste of your ears?¡¹


    ¡¸Eh? But I don¡¯t really think they are going to be all that tasty, given how furry they are.¡¹


    ¡¸Just kidding, I¡¯m not really going to eat them. Just wanted to try saying that at least once. If it hurts or makes you feel uncomfortable be sure to tell me right away and I¡¯ll stop immediately.¡¹


    ¡¸Alright, but I¡¯m really fine with it, as long as it¡¯s not anything too strange. Also, uhm¡­ it, it feels really good¡­ when you touch me like that¡­¡¹


    Oh my God I want to gobble that angelic creature right away!

 Volume 2 - CH 2.07

    Jesus Christ, what are you saying, Michio?! I know, okay? I want to eat her out, but I know I shouldn¡¯t. But when she¡¯s sitting in front of me like that, all flustered and embarrassed¡­ then it should really be alright for me to¡­ no! Don¡¯t fall into temptation! Just¡­ just find something to divert your attention from how erotically-cute Roxanne is right now! Something! Anything!


    Oh yeah! Her ears! Her doggy ears totally remind me of something! Something puffy and delicious¡­  cream puffs? No. Marshmallows? Nah, not even close. Chiffon cake? No, that¡¯s not it either. Something¡­ something even puffier¡­ That¡¯s right, isobeyaki! (TL NOTE: Mochi rice cake with seaweed). How come I didn¡¯t notice that earlier?! Those droopy ears have the same feeling as those stretchy roasted rice cakes, and have the same softness and elasticity that can melt even the most stone-cold of hearts!


    Isobeyaki, huh? This used to be one of my absolutely favourite foods that I loved to stuff my face with, but I don¡¯t think I will ever have another opportunity to eat it. I don¡¯t even know if this world even has the ingredients necessary to make it such as mochi, seaweed or soy sauce to begin with, but if I searched hard enough¡­


    ¡¸You wouldn¡¯t happen to know if there are any places that serve isobeyaki here, wouldn¡¯t you?¡¹


    ¡¸Isobe¡­ yaki? I have never heard of such a dish. What is it?¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, right, I guess you wouldn¡¯t know it under that name, huh? It¡¯s one of my favourite dishes from my homeland, consisting of a sweet rice cake wrapped in seaweed.¡¹


    ¡¸I don¡¯t know about anything around here, but if you want seaweed and grilled fish then your best bet would probably be at one of the cities located near the sea that have beaches.¡¹


    Yeah, I figured as much, but what I wanted to eat right now was isobeyaki, not grilled fish. Maybe that¡¯s how isobeyaki was translated into Brahim? But that would mean that the concept is not always properly translated, since grilled fish and isobeyaki are two entirely different things, with their only common element being seaweed.


    ¡¸Is that so? Then we might as well go try it out whenever we will get the chance.¡¹


    ¡¸U-ummm, master? Are you planning to¡­ to return to your homeland one day?¡¹


    Roxanne asked me. She must have been quite worried about that matter.


    ¡¸My homeland, huh?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes.¡¹


    ¡¸I am way happier with what I have here so far. And you don¡¯t have to worry about that.¡¹


    As I continued to play with Roxanne¡¯s ears, our conversation has taken a rather serious turn. Time after time, I have to remind myself that this is not Japan, which has both its advantages and disadvantages. On one hand, I will probably never be able to eat isobeyaki again, but on the other, there is bound to be a multitude of dishes that can serve as its substitute. All I have to do is to put in an effort to find them. Worst case scenario, anything that is soft, smooth and elastic will do. Also, I know that the matter of my returning to my old world is something that I will have to consider eventually, I guess that for now¡­


    ¡¸I¡¯m not going back to my homeland. Or rather, even if I wanted to go back there, I can¡¯t.¡¹


    Roxanne contemplated my answer in silence.


    ¡¸So you really won¡¯t be going back?¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah. As I said, at the current time I cannot go back there, so I guess that means that I won¡¯t be able to set you free.¡¹


    ¡¸No, that is not why I asked about it¡­¡¹


    ¡¸It¡¯s fine. I understand.¡¹


    I picked her ears and shook them playfully.


    ¡¸It¡¯s just¡­  it¡¯s a common practice here to sell your slaves when you no longer need them, so I thought¡­.¡¹


    I see. Another part of the twisted common sense of this world? In any case, I get it now. So Roxanne was worried that I might sell her to someone else if I wanted to leave this kingdom and go back home.


    ¡¸You don¡¯t have to worry one bit. I plan on keeping you with me for as long as I live.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood, thank you very much. Your kindness truly knows no bounds.¡¹


    ¡¸But in order to get our Party stronger, we will definitely need more members, so I intend to gather them up in the foreseeable future.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, of course, such a thing is only natural.¡¹


    What I said just now could very well be interpreted as a proclamation of getting myself a harem, but Roxanne doesn¡¯t seem to have any qualms about that. And let¡¯s be honest here, if anybody wanted to nitpick, I specifically said that I¡¯m going to increase the number of Party members, not my personal slaves. But if I had to choose between making a dude or a beautiful girl a member of my Party, then I think that my choice would be obvious to anyone with more than one brain cell in their head.


    Just like Roxanne said, increasing the number of Party members is the natural thing to do for any aspiring Adventurer who wants to make a living out of Labyrinth exploration. Sure, more Party members means more expenses for me as a Leader if I wanted to ensure that each member is going to have the best equipment in top condition, but it also means earning that much more money to split between all the members. Not a bad way of living, but I cannot stop wondering if there is another way to go about it?


    But what can I do? I do not have any specialist knowledge in the areas that might be useful in this world such as agriculture, cooking, commerce or transportation, and I have no guarantee that if I tried to make something based on my modern knowledge it would actually work.


    Once upon a time long, long ago I happened to read the biography of that one fellow, James Watt was his name, I think. He was a great inventor who came up with the steam engine, but his success in that field only came after he won the patent trial with his rival. I wonder if this world even knows the concept of a patent to begin with?


    What about midwifery? It might be under a different name, but they should have midwives in here, and I bet that a vast majority of them are women. And if they don¡¯t, then that would be a great niche to fill!


    When taking care of the children right after they are born they could disinfect their hands with limewater. Medical instruments such as scissors and the like could be sterilized with boiling water. Sheets and towels could be sun-dried and sanitized. Those steps alone should be enough to significantly reduce deaths from infections and puerperal fever.


    Yes, the more I think about it, the more prosperous the prospect of introducing the profession of midwife becomes. With enough work put into it, maybe the day where gynecology and abortions could be implemented into the healthcare system (assuming this world has something like that to begin with.) That was the theory, but as we all know, the theory and practice can be worlds apart from each other, and from the practical standpoint this whole endeavor was not very realistic.


    First of all, it would be difficult for Roxanne to be a midwife due to the differences in biology of humans, elves, dwarves and beastmen. And even if she could work with all the races concurrently, the incidence of puerperium might be different for all of them. Not to mention that with the current level of medicine, which should be about the same as that of medieval Europe, there¡¯s no way that I would allow her to touch the babies with her hands washed with just some hot water mixed with plain old herbs. Nononono, such unsanitary practices are absolutely out of the question!

 Volume 2 - CH 2.08

    So now that we¡¯ve thrown the idea of Roxanne being a midwife out the window, what are the other thing she could be doing in order to earn money in a peaceful way? Hmm, maybe we could form a band and have her play an instrument, or be the lead singer?


    If there is one thing that you can be sure of, it is the fact that no matter where you go, music will always be popular, so with mu knowledge of music from my old world, we could definitely try giving it a shot. Of course, not every song I am familiar with is an international masterpiece, but we wouldn¡¯t have to worry about it here. If I were to count them off the top of my head, then I guess you could say that I am familiar with, give or take, two hundred or three hundred musical pieces from various genres, like popular songs, oldies, children¡¯s song or even some kuchi showa (TL Note: method of learning and teaching songs played on the Japanese drums, taiko. Wikipedia is your friend here if you want to know more) and classical music pieces. And the best part if we decided to this way? It¡¯s that we wouldn¡¯t have to worry about those pesky patents and copyright deals if we wanted to play songs that are not originals written by us, so we could just go to town with the songs of all the popular musicians of my world without worrying about giving away some of the earnings, and if we really included all three hundred or so songs that I know into our repertoire, we would probably have a lineup of songs that could last us for 10 years at worst, or if we decided to take the slower approach, then maybe they would even be enough to last us a lifetime! Then again, the biggest obstacle here is, once again, my sorry little ass, because truth to be told, I can¡¯t read musical sheets, I am unable to play even the simplest of instrument and I wouldn¡¯t be able to carry a tune even if my life depended on it, so Roxanne would have to carry us with it once again, and relying on her to do literally all of the heavy lifting would be straight up pathetic of me.


    So, in the end, I guess going into the Labyrinth is the most solid option of earning a living, considering the abilities of the both of us (especially mine).


    Of course, going into the Labyrinth is not all bad, ¡®cause it definitely has its merits. If there was ever a case of emergency where we would have to fight for our lives, additional levels and new Jobs gained from such excursions would be of invaluable help, especially since the Labyrinth itself turned out to be not as dangerous of a place as everybody painted it to be. Then again, I might be thinking like that just because I got myself a cheat-like weapon that makes fighting monsters a total cakewalk, therefore I should fix that slack mindset of mine if I don¡¯t want to be sorry one day. There¡¯s nothing worse in life than getting used to things being too easy only to be slapped in the face by reality at the worst possible moment. Then again, everything should be fine as long as I won¡¯t suddenly decide to do anything stupid, like challenging powerful enemies without preparation ¡¸just for the thrill of the challenge¡¹. Basically, all I need to do is to take things slowly at a steady pace, get more levels and grow stronger while doing so.


    Also, instead of going to the upper floors, we can always stay in the lower ones some more. Now that Roxanne has joined me in my Party the hunting of monsters became more efficient than ever, up to the point where we could earn more that a thousand Nars per day, so we should have no trouble earning enough money for a decent living this way.


    ¡¸By the way, the contract mentioned that the owner is responsible for providing his slave with food, clothes and a place to live, but are you really okay with living in an inn for the time being?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, of course. I find nothing wrong with it.¡¹


    ¡¸And sleeping in the same bed as me?¡¹


    I asked her in hushed voice while giving her a hug.


    ¡¸Y-Yes, I am thankful for that opportunity as well.¡¹


    She replied with her voice tinged with embarrassment. What kind of monster would I have to be to allow her to sleep on the cold hard floor after seeing that?! That was such a cute reaction, maybe I should tease her more often? Also, when I hugged her, the soft elasticity of her breasts enveloped my arm. Looks like she¡¯s going braless under her clothes.


    This is bad.


    I want to push her down again, but I just promised her that I won¡¯t be doing it literally every chance I get. But¡­ on the other hand, she said that she didn¡¯t mind it¡­ so if she said so herself, then maybe it would be okay for me to actually do it?


    ¡¸It¡¯s the least I can do for you to repay you for going along with my selfish whims. Now that I can bring you to the Labyrinth with me, I feel like my life won¡¯t be as hard as it used to be anymore thanks to your exceptional abilities.¡¹


    ¡¸Not at all, master. You¡¯re able to defeat monsters with but a single blow, so that in itself is pretty amazing.¡¹


    Oh, come to think of it, while we are on the subject of daily life¡­ I completely forgot about taxes.


    ¡¸By the way, can you tell me more about taxes and how do I pay them?¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, ahh, um¡­. About taxes¡­ ¡¹


    Roxanne had difficulties assembling her words. Did I say something I shouldn¡¯t have said?


    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry, is something wrong? Did I say something bad?¡¹


    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry, there was nothing wrong with your question. But, you see¡­ taxes are a bit of an¡­ unpleasant memory for me. You see, master, after my parents died I have been living with my aunt¡¯s family for a while, but my presence soon became a burden on them to the point that they were unable to pay their taxes, so¡­¡¹


    ¡¸¡­ I see.¡¹


    So she was sold because her family could not pay her taxes. I always thought that stuff like parents selling their children to get out of debt was something made purely for those cheesy historical TV dramas, but apparently it is a practice that is all too real.


    I placed my hand on Roxanne¡¯s head and patted her gently to reassure her.


    ¡¸As for how the taxing system works, the tax itself is counted individually for every citizen of the kingdom, and in the winter it is being collected and delivered to the local lord. Usually taxes are one hundred thousand Nars for a Free Citizen, and ten thousand Nars for a slave. But you don¡¯t have to worry about paying the taxes this year, because I think someone has already paid master¡¯s tax.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. That¡¯s good to hear.¡¹


    To whoever it was that paid the taxes for me this year: thank you. Dear sir or madam, you are a true MVP.


    So for the both of us, the total tax we would have to pay would be one hundred ten thousand Nars, huh? I have to take that into account for my future plans so that I could always have that much money safely stored away.


    As I continued stroking Roxanne¡¯s head, I brought her closer to my chest.


    ¡¸Uhm, I¡­ if I may, I am very happy to be able to be of service to you, master. And, well¡­ I am happy to have you, and that you¡¯re so kind to me.¡¹


    She spoke those last words quietly, and then she leaned her head against my shoulder.

 Volume 2 - CH 2.09

    After that, I asked Roxanne to tell me about the Labyrinths in as much detail as possible, and in doing so, learned something that was quite strange. Namely, that in this world, the Labyrinths are apparently treated as living creatures (TL Note: So, like giant Mimics then? Dark Souls PTSD blasts in full force).


    What¡¯s up with that, you ask? That was exactly my reaction.


    Anyway, as for the reason why Labyrinths are scattered is seemingly random places across the entire world is because the creatures that act as their cores live seemingly everywhere.


    ¡¸So basically they are like the larvae of flies inside of antlions, so to speak.¡¹


    ¡¸Ant¡­ lions? What is an antlion, master?¡¹


    ¡¸Nothing that we need to concern ourselves with, thankfully.¡¹


    To borrow another analogy, the Labyrinths can be likened to Venus Fly Traps, only instead of luring flies, they lure humans inside them. They use monsters that spawn inside of them to defeat the adventurers so that they can absorb them and use the nutrients gained from them to grow larger and eventually multiply.


    The creatures use magic to create Labyrinths around them, so I guess it can also be said that it acts as their shield, or barrier, or a protective shell, and that is also why they cannot be damaged or relocated by digging around or inside them. That might also explain why they are always going up instead of down.


    The only known way to dispose of the Labyrinth for good is to climb up all the way to the topmost floor and defeat the Boss Monster, and exterminating the threat the Labyrinths possess is the responsibility of every Lord who governs an inhabited area the happened to spawn in.


    ¡¸¡­ Moreover, if you dispose of the Labyrinth in an area that was unable to be populated because of the threat of that very Labyrinth, you will obtain the right to becoming the Lord of that land yourself!¡¹


    Roxanne¡¯s explanation has gotten quite enthusiastic.


    ¡¸I see. I understand now. Thanks for explaining it so thoroughly for me.¡¹


    ¡¸You¡¯re welcome!¡¹


    Well, that should do it for the lessons about the Labyrinths for the time being. After we gathered our belongings, we¡¯ve decided to go out once more.


    ¡¸By the way, how many days are in a year here? I want to know if there are any differences to the calendar we used back in my homeland.¡¹


    ¡¸Well, the entire year is three hundred and sixty days long, give or take a few days.¡¹


    According to what Roxanne told me, the year is divided into four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter, each of them lasting for about ninety days, with one or two days off before the season switches each time, so I think it would be safe to assume that the year in this world is the same as the one back in my old world.


    ¡¸And do you know which day it is today?¡¹


    ¡¸We have just entered the early spring period if memory serves me correctly, but as for the exact date¡­ I¡¯m sorry, but I do not know.¡¹


    She said that taxes are paid in winter, so we still have a long way to go before we enter another taxation period.


    Our next destination was the Adventurer¡¯s Guild to sell off the branches we were carrying in our backpacks. We managed to sell everything we had for a total of six silver coins and a few bronze coins, meaning that we got¡­ around six hundred Nars. One of the factors here was my 30% Increase in selling prices, which is as amazingly reliable as ever, but we never would have gotten that much if it wasn¡¯t for the other backpack packed with the branches we obtained thanks to Roxanne being in the Labyrinth with me. I know that I¡¯m probably sounding like a broken record now, but Roxanne is amazing.


    Our next order of business will be the purchase of the Magic Crystals, just like Roxanne suggested during one of our earlier conversations.


    ¡¸I would like to buy two Magic Crystals.¡¹


    I said to the lady at the reception counter.


    ¡¸Of course. Are Black Magic Crystals okay with you, sir?¡¹


    Oi, Roxanne. What¡¯s the deal with those Black Magic Crystals? That¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve heard of them!


    ¡¸Uhm, that is how the Magic Crystals completely depleted of magic power are called.¡¹


    Seeing my confused expression, she offered a fast explanation.


    ¡¸Two Black Magic Crystals then, please.¡¹


    ¡¸As you wish. Please wait a moment.¡¹


    ¡¸I will, thank you very much.¡¹


    The lady took the branches we gave her from our backpacks and headed to the back of the building. As we waited for her to return, Roxanne seemed to be reading through various announcements posted on the nearby bulletin board. I gotta say, being able to actually read the letters yourself instead of having someone else do it for you all the time sure is convenient.


    ¡¸There you go, sir. That will be 10 Nars each.¡¹


    Eh? 10 Nars each, as in, the original price? Huh? Why didn¡¯t my 30% discount work here?


    Even though I made sure to change my Skills properly, the discount didn¡¯t work for whatever bizarre reason. Why? I¡¯m doing everything as I always did so far and the Skill is active, so why didn¡¯t I receive my 30 % discount? I honestly don¡¯t know what the deal with this Skill is anymore. Normally, when I bought more than one item it would work like a charm, so why did it choose now of all times to suddenly stop working? I¡¯m not sure, but I definitely don¡¯t like it.


    There is nothing I can really do here now, so I just handed the twenty bronze coins to the lady. She took the first ten coins and handed me one Black Magic Crystal, and then she did the same with the other ten coins and Crystal, after which she carefully counted everything to check if there was no mistakes in the transaction.


    As for the Crystals themselves, they were the oval gems about the size of a chicken egg. Just as their name implied, they were jet-black in color. Now that I look at them, I am 100 % positive that I haven¡¯t seen something like that in the Labyrinth, be it as a monster drop or just laying around. Then again, maybe I really did overlook them due to their size?


    Looks like I can perform Identify on it, so let¡¯s see¡­ hmm, the appraisal says that the name of this item is not Black Magic Crystal, but simply a Magic Crystal.


    ¡¸Sorry you had to wait, Roxanne, but we got what we came for: two Magic Crystals. Black ones, to be exact.¡¹


    I showed Roxanne the Crystals that we got.


    ¡¸You¡¯re right, they really are black indeed.¡¹


    ¡¸Is there any significance to their color, or is it a purely aesthetic thing?¡¹


    ¡¸The color of the Magic Crystals changes depending on the amount of magical energy that is being stored inside them. It will turn red when you slay ten monsters, purple when you kill one hundred, blue after one thousand, green after ten thousand, yellow after one hundred thousand and white, meaning that it will be full, after one million monsters have been defeated.¡¹


    So the color changes indicate how full the Crystal is with magic power. Got it memorized.


    ¡¸Then, since it doesn¡¯t have any magic power stored in it, it is black, hence the name Black Magic Crystal, right?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, exactly. One thing worthy of noting is that the price of the Magic Crystal changes along with its color. Normally people sell them the moment the color changes, since it is more profitable than holding onto it until it turns white. Most common selling colors are green or yellow.¡¹


    So even if I were to kill anywhere between hundred and nine hundred monsters, because the color of the Magic Crystal would still be purple, meaning that the price for selling it wouldn¡¯t go up. And it takes one hundred thousand monsters to turn the crystal yellow and million monsters to make it white, then it becomes obvious why people are not waiting with selling them. Simply put, the amount of time and effort required to do it was just not worth it. Let¡¯s assume that it would take an entire day to slay a hundred monsters to turn the Crystal purple. Following that assumption, turning it yellow would require three years of continuous, day-today monster hunting, and turning it white a whooping thirty years! Effectively one third of your average human lifetime just to sell one item at the highest possible price? Now that¡¯s a turnoff if I ever saw one.


    ¡¸Okay then, now that our business here is done, shall we go to the Labyrinth again?¡¹


    ¡¸Umu!¡¹


    And with that we have left the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

 Volume 2 - CH 2.10

    Even though we¡¯ve spent quite a lot of time talking back at the inn, the sun has just risen. In the rays of the early sunrise, I looked over my shoulder, glancing back at Roxanne. Or rather¡­


    Holy shit dude, dat Roxanne¡¯s chest!


    With each and every one of her steps, her bountiful boobies sway left and right. It¡¯s like a drug for the eyes that you just can¡¯t help wanting more and more of, even when you know full well that you shouldn¡¯t stare, but you just can¡¯t help it because you¡¯re subconsciously drawn to them, and all of that thanks to the fact that the Leather Jacket she¡¯s wearing on top of her regular clothes adjusts itself to her figure due to some fancy magical gimmick!


    *BounceBounce!* *BounceBounce!*


    Uwaaaaah! They are doing it! They are definitely shaking!


    I had my doubts due to the dim lighting of the Labyrinth¡¯s halls, but now the undeniable proof is right before me, or should I say, right behind me! It is not an illusion!


    My guess is that the shoulder straps of the backpack have something to do with it as well, judging how tightly they are grasping her from both sides. Thanks to them, the big, soft fruits are getting pressed against one another in a bouncy rampage.


    ¡¸¡­¡­..¡¹


    As I continued to stare at that magnificent spectacle, our eyes suddenly met, and Roxanne smiled awkwardly at me with slightly red cheeks.


    ¡¸¡­¡­¡­!¡¹


    Damn it, she knows! She knows that I was staring at her chest all this time!


    Ahhh, it¡¯s over. All the trust I have accumulated, all the respect of me being an amazing warrior (thanks to my Durandal) gone in an instant!


    No, don¡¯t think about it, man! Roxanne is not that type of person, so you¡¯re probably still good, so just hurry it up and go to the goddamn Labyrinth already and hope that she is not glaring daggers at you from behind!


    Arghhh, if we were to just walk side by side I could sneak as many peaks at her as I want, but that¡¯s not gonna happen, because for some strange, unexplainable reason I haven¡¯t seen a male-female pair walking side by side ever since I came here. *Sigh* so much for my shaky boobies.


    And to top it all off, the longer we were walking among the growing crowds of people, the harder it was for me to hide Roxanne¡¯s bazoongas from the lecherous eyes of other males who were passing by us. Thankfully, we soon reached the alleyway behind the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, where I used Warp to get us to the Labyrinth without attracting any more unwanted attention.


    ¡¸A group of monsters to the right, master.¡¹


    When we finally got into the Labyrinth, Roxanne used her keen sense od smell to confirm the location of the first group of enemies. If it wasn¡¯t for it, I would have probably gone straight ahead and got ambushed by them.


    ¡¸So how are we going to use this Magic Crystal? Are we supposed to hold onto them, or can we leave them in the Item Box?¡¹


    For the time being I have taken both Black Magic Crystals from the Item Box and gave one of them to Roxanne.


    ¡¸No, if we leave them in master¡¯s Item Box then they won¡¯t be able to gather the energy from the defeated monsters. However, it should be fine if we keep them in our backpacks.¡¹


    I got the backpack off my back and placed the Black Magic Crystal inside. With that done and Durandal firmly in my hand, we proceeded along the pathway to the right.


    ¡¸Uhm, I don¡¯t know if I should be asking you this, master, but¡­¡¹


    Roxanne said as we were nearing the entrance to the larger cave.


    ¡¸What is it?¡¹


    ¡¸When you summoned your Item Box, you did so without using a chant. From what I know, every time someone uses a Skill or a spell, they have to chant it first. So I was simply wondering if the magic master is able to use is the one that does not require the use of chants at all. I apologize if it¡¯s something that you don¡¯t want to talk about, but I just wanted to know.¡¹


    Well would you look at that. She figured it all out from simple observation of me muttering things under my breath so that other people wouldn¡¯t hear me. And here I thought that my method of whispering something that vaguely resembled a chant in order not to draw unnecessary attention to myself was quite effective. Normally the fact that I was called out on that would be extremely bothersome, but I guess I don¡¯t have to keep my guard up so much around Roxanne.


    ¡¸Tell me, Roxanne, are you familiar with Character Reset?¡¹


    ¡¸Character¡­ Reset?¡¹


    ¡¸How about Bonus Points?¡¹


    ¡¸Is that some kind of special reward for quests or bounties?¡¹


    So it would seem that she doesn¡¯t know anything about either of those things. But there¡¯s no way in hell that I¡¯m going to explain how Character Reset and Bonus Points work, and that I can omit the chanting process (or shorten it, to be precise) thanks to them.


    ¡¸Roxanne, look, I¡¯m going to let you in on a little secret, because you¡¯re one of the few people I think I can trust with it, alright? It¡¯s exactly as you think: I can cast spells and use Skills without chanting, and I don¡¯t think anyone else beside me can do it, or at least I haven¡¯t met anyone who would be able to do the same yet.¡¹


    ¡¸T-Thank you for putting your trust in me!¡¹


    ¡¸You might have figured it out as well by now, but this is something that I wouldn¡¯t want to just casually show around other people, so I would be extremely grateful to you if you could keep it between us, okay?¡¹


    I can¡¯t just outright tell her that I¡¯m essentially using cheat-like abilities to make my life in here that much easier, and even if I did tell her that, she probably wouldn¡¯t believe me, or she¡¯ll just think that I¡¯m lying. Besides, if I went around sharing my secrets with everybody, someone is going to expose me one day, and all my secrets will be leaked to the public, and I don¡¯t want to get Roxanne involved in something like that, so my only option here is to take that secret with me to the grave.


    ¡¸Okay, I understand. I won¡¯t tell anyone about it.¡¹


    ¡¸Much obliged. Anyway, it doesn¡¯t look like there are many people around here besides us, huh?¡¹


    ¡¸It would seem so, but that¡¯s understandable, because the Labyrinth Search Conclusion Announcement hasn¡¯t been issued out for this Labyrinth yet.¡¹


    ¡¸Labyrinth Search Conclusion Announcement?¡¹


    I don¡¯t know what that is, but since Roxanne says that it hasn¡¯t been issued yet, then it must mean that there was nothing about it on the bulletin board in the Explorer¡¯s Guild. Come to think of it, if an announcement like that was posted, it would be bound to make quite a stir among Adventurer¡¯s, right?


    ¡¸It is an official announcement signaling that the exploration of an entire floor has been completed.¡¹


    ¡¸And from your words I¡¯m guessing that the number of people who¡¯ll come here will increase after that announcement is posted?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, because there will be no more Trap Rooms active.¡¹


    ¡¸Trap Rooms?¡¹


    ¡¸The rooms filled with lots of monsters. They are very dangerous for beginner-level Adventurers who can be overwhelmed by their numbers alone, thus meeting an untimely end.¡¹


    Ah, that one. The seemingly empty room with a fuckload of Needlewoods that I stumbled into by accident. So it is called a Trap Room, huh? Wish I knew about it earlier.


    ¡¸Those rooms will disappear when the exploration of the entire floor will conclude?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, that is how it usually works.¡¹


    ¡¸Hmm¡­ how are those rooms made, exactly? Is there some kind of rule to it, or is it random?¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm, let me think¡­ when monsters materialize in caves like this, they rarely stay in one place for too long. They will all move eventually, since they are subconsciously drawn to one another. Sometimes, it just so happens that so many monsters converge in one smaller room that they are no longer able to leave it, so they just remain there, waiting for an unlucky Adventurer to open the door and set them free.¡¹


    Roxanne explained further. I see, so that¡¯s how rooms like that are made.


    ¡¸As I thought, even with good weapons and equipment, the Labyrinth is still incredibly dangerous. Maybe we should also wait for the Announcement to pop up?¡¹


    Even if I get hit, I can always recover the HP that I¡¯ve lost with Durandal¡¯s abilities, but Roxanne has no such option, which makes her vulnerable. If we were to end up in a room similar to the one I was trapped in, the one with a literal legion of monsters in it, I worry that I wouldn¡¯t be able to protect her properly.


    ¡¸The announcement is targeted mainly towards the beginners, and only at the lower levels at that. It is to inform them that there are no more Trap Rooms on the floor that has been cleared. Also, the monsters on the lower levels are all relatively slow and weak, so they shouldn¡¯t pose that much of a problem for us. So there¡¯s nothing to worry about, master! If we¡¯ll be scared of every small room filled with monsters, we won¡¯t be able to advance to the higher floors, so we need to go bravely forward!¡¹


    ¡¸Y-yeah¡­¡¹


    We should be fine for now. Everything is going to be okay. Or at least I hope so, because for some reason, I can¡¯t help it but to keep being worried.

 Volume 2 - CH 2.11

    Even if we were to happen upon a larger group of monsters, their smell will be so strong that my nose will catch on to them in no time, so we won¡¯t have to worry about getting ambushed.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, you¡¯re right.¡¹


    She¡¯s absolutely right. As long as I have Roxanne¡¯s keen sense of smell on my side, all ambushes, except maybe for those very elaborate ones, will become meaningless against us. I myself am nothing more but a muscle head, so I wouldn¡¯t even bothered with any precautions and just charged ahead, slaughtering everything in my sights. But now that I am no longer alone, such loner strategies are no longer necessary for me to employ.


    ¡¸There it is!¡¹


    In the back of the new cave we have entered, a lone Needlewood could be seen. I ran over to it and slashed it in half with Durandal, felling it instantly. Heh, as long as there is only one enemy, I don¡¯t have to worry about anything else other than taking it on an express train to poundtown.


    ¡¸There, done in a flash.¡¹


    ¡¸Another enemy defeated with just one hit. As expected of you, master!¡¹


    Roxanne catches up to me and expresses her amazement as she picks up the branches left by the lone Needlewood and packs them into her backpack.


    It¡¯s true that as long as there are not too many enemies I can pretty much take all of them on myself, I¡¯m worried what would happen if we suddenly had to fight a large number of enemies all at once. Therefore, I think it is high time that I secure some means of attacking many enemies across a large area at once, or in other words, the means of inflicting AoE (Area of Effect) damage.


    My Skill associated with the Hero Job, Overwhelming, is a Skill that inflicts slow onto enemies to the point where they basically get frozen in place. If used continuously, I guess it would allow me to attack greater number of enemies, but that is not a genuine AoE that I¡¯m looking for. I don¡¯t want multiple attacks on single targets, but preferably something that would hit a large number of them at once.


    Warrior Job¡¯s Rush and Swordsman Job¡¯s Slash are strong attacks as well, but they too are not multi-target abilities. Well, if we were to examine this problem from a practical perspective, hitting multiple enemies at once is almost impossible with a melee weapon, even the likes of two-handed swords, spears or greathammers. Normally, this would mean that I am done for since there is seemingly no solution to my particular problem.


    But, there is one more possibility available for me. If the sword and swordsmanship cannot give me what I want, then maybe I should try learning magic? Since this is technically a game world, then there is bound to be at least a few magic spells capable of inflicting AoE damage. Every fantasy game worth its salt has some, so this one should be no different.


    ¡¸Is there a type of magic that would allow me to attack multiple enemies at once?¡¹


    I asked Roxane while we were once again on the move.


    ¡¸Magic? I have heard that there is, but to be honest, I don¡¯t know much about magic and mages. I¡¯m sorry. The only things that I know for certain is that you need to be  child of a nobleman or a very rich person and consume a special kind of medicine before turning five years old.¡¹


    ¡¸Special medicine and age restriction, huh?¡¹


    When I came to Vale, the merchant from the Somara village, Picker-san, told me more or less the same story. That ¡°medicine¡± that is supposedly needed to be able to use magic is probably some kind of special item. But even if I somehow managed to obtain it¡­


    I took a sarcastic look at myself. Yup, there¡¯s no sugarcoating it: my seventeen years old-looking ass stopped being five years old ages ago, and that means that the only way left for me to get a Job that would allow me to use magic¡­ was to actually use magic.


    If nothing else, I have to admire how straightforward the system of obtaining most of the Jobs is in this game. Steal something and you get the Thief Job, save the village from bandit attack and become a Hero, get an Explorer Job by entering the Labyrinth. This simple reasoning stays true for the Jobs such as Warrior, Swordsman and Merchant, although those have an additional condition of having your Villager Job at Lv.5. Going by that logic, I should obtain the Mage Job as soon as I use any magic spell.


    At first I also thought that it was strange that I didn¡¯t get the Mage Job when I used Item Box or Warp multiple times, since both of those are technically magic spells, but if that was the case then pretty much every explorer could easily become a Mage, so I guess that makes at least some sense.


    The solution is obvious here: if you want to be a Mage, you cannot do so by using Space Magic or Movement Magic. What you need is specifically Attack Magic. Use a spell belonging to that category, and you will become a Mage capable of casting Attack Magic.


    Buy and sell items to become a Merchant, fight to become a Warrior, and swing your sword to become a Swordsman. I did all od those things, and they were pretty effective so far Then, if I will use Attack Magic, I will definitely become a Mage.


    It might sound weird, but this is a typical egg or chicken dilemma, and that¡¯s probably why that special item is necessary. But, as I mentioned earlier, there is a way for me to bypass off of that crap.


    Bonus Spells.


    That¡¯s right. Even though I am not a Mage, as long as I perform another Character Reset and invest enough of my Bonus Points into Bonus Spells, I should still be able to pull that off.


    ¡¸Master, do you know someone who¡¯s a Mage and who we could add to our Party?¡¹


    Roxanne asks after we defeated the next Needlewood. Since we¡¯re on the subject of magic, I guess having another person capable of using it might not be a bad idea, but since I have no aquaintences, much less those who can use magic, then I guess that particular alley is as much of a dead end as it gets.


    ¡¸I do not, unfortunately. Not a single one. Which is a shame, since we¡¯ll have to bolster our ranks eventually.¡¹


    ¡¸As long as slaves are concerned, I think finding a one who is also a mage might be pretty difficult, but if you somehow managed to do that, that would be a great help, especially on the Labyrinth¡¯s upper floors.¡¹


    ¡¸I think it¡¯s still a little bit too early to be thinking that far into the future, but when that time comes I will be counting on you.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, of course!¡¹


    She seems eager to welcome another member into our Party, even though it will mean an increase in the members of my harem as well.


    Now that my declaration of increasing the number of my harem members have been accepted, I performed another Character Reset, focusing on getting the first Bonus Spell, Meteor Crash, the spell that I was unable to use due to a severe shortage of MP back when my Hero Job was only Lv.1. Now that it has grown all the way up to Lv.6, will I be able to use it properly?


    If using this spell will get me the Mage Job then that¡¯s fine. Well, even if it doesn¡¯t, my goal of obtaining an AoE magic attack will be achieved either way, so I¡¯m going to test it out on the next enemy that¡¯s going to come around which is¡­. This guy over here!


    Eat this! METEOR CRASH!!!


    I shouted the name of the spell in my mind, but nothing happened. The Needlewood just stood there, and I could swear I saw it looking at me as if I was some kinda idiot.


    FUUUUUUUUUU¡­¡­¡­


    I ran towards it and slashed it with Durandal.


    *Sigh* another failure, huh? And I even went as far as omitting the spell chant to avoid embarrassing myself in front of Roxanne is it didn¡¯t work. In my defense, Meteor Crash¡¯s MP cost is pretty hefty, so I guess it just means that I still don¡¯t have enough of it. But if I don¡¯t have enough MP at Hero Lv.6, then I wonder how much MP does it need? Okay, alright, so my first attempt didn¡¯t exactly go as planned, big deal. Not yet! I¡¯m not done yet! There are other spells that I can try!


    Alright, next!

 Volume 2 - CH 2.12

    Next spell on the list: Gamma Ray Burst! Suck on that, next Needlewood!


    ¡¸¡­..¡¹


    No good either, huh? And here I was, expecting some cool-looking beam attack to obliterate that Needlewood to smithereens. Oh, well, on to the next one.


    Extreme Drop Dead!


    ¡¸¡­¡­¡­¡¹


    Oh, come the fuck on! The name suggests that it should be one of those instant-death spells, the ones that kill you on the spot no matter how much HP you have, so this Needlewood should be dead! And yet it is not! He¡¯s just standing there as if it was the most obvious thing in the world! You know, I¡¯m slowly starting to feel like even though I have access to Bonus Spells I can¡¯t actually use them. Here¡¯s to me being wrong about that.


    *Sighhh¡­* NEXT!


    ¡¸¡­.. Yup, steering clear of that.¡¹


    The next spell on the list was called Suicide Bomb Attack. Well, technically I guess it could be classified as an Attack Magic that would surely obliterate my enemies if I were to use it, but you see, the problem here is that I would end up blown up as well, and as you can probably guess that¡¯s something that I would rather not do to myself (TL Note: Hmm, I swear to God, there is a terrorist joke somewhere in here but I can¡¯t seem to find it¡­ ah well). But wait, since this is technically a game, then wouldn¡¯t that mean that even if I were to blow myself up in a suicide attack, I would still live through it, but with like, 1 HP point left or something? Anyway, the only time when using a spell like that would be somewhat justified would be the encounter with the Last Boss, where defeating the BBEG (TL Note: Big Bad Evil Guy, courtesy of D&D) would end everything and restored piece to the world, and even then I would have used it as an absolutely last resort measure if my sword was broken beyond repair and all other measures have failed. Until that day comes, it¡¯d be best to forget that such a spell even exists.


    Now then, let¡¯s just keep scrolling down and see what else we have here¡­ oh, this one looks promising: Equivalent Exchange. The name itself doesn¡¯t suggest it, but this must be an Attack Magic as well. If my understanding of this spell is correct, it is a spell that reduces the caster¡¯s HP, but at the same time does the same to the enemy. I guess it can be classified as a suicide magic as well, albeit not as dangerous as the Suicide Bomb Attack. On top of that, I think that it is best to use it in one particular case: when your maximum HP value is higher than your opponent¡¯s maximum HP. Basically, the user and the receiver have their HP drained until one of them drops dead. It might sound needlessly dangerous, but in reality it is a very simple and straightforward mechanic: as long as you have more HP than the person or monster you are using it on, you will survive.


    Yeah, I can definitely picture myself using this.


    Of course, this spell also has a few downsides. First things first, I don¡¯t know if it works only on a single target, or if it can be used against multiple enemies at once, unlike with the Suicide Bomb Attack, where it is painfully obvious that a bomb-like explosion is going to be effective in a pretty broad radius.


    Second, what about using it in a battle where I would be pinned against multiple opponents? That would definitely require more strategizing, because mindlessly draining one enemy out of its HP while the others could still attack me is just like asking to get myself killed. And while we¡¯re already on the subject of monsters, another matter is that I have no way of discerning how much health the monsters I¡¯m fighting with have (at least not yet). It won¡¯t be anything groundbreaking when I will say that humans and monsters are not equal to one another, so the total HP of a Lv.1 Human won¡¯t be the same as the total HP of a Lv.1 monster. Between those Needlewoods and myself, which one of us has more HP? That is a question that might be the proverbial line between life and death for me.  But even if I was absolutely sure that I have more HP than my enemy, it still doesn¡¯t make Equivalent Exchange less of a double-edged sword in my opinion.


    For now, I have reached the following conclusion: Suicide Bomb Attack and Equivalent Exchange are too dangerous to be used against normal mobs. If I am ever going to make use od them, I should limit myself to doing so only if I am going to be fighting against an overwhelmingly strong enemy that cannot be brought down by the standard means available in my current arsenal. Ugh, the more I think about it, the more my head starts to hurt. Looks like leveling up enough so that I could use Meteor Crash might be the only sensible option left for me after all. This sounds a bit tedious as well, but as long as I have Roxanne by my side even that process should be finished that much faster.


    With all of that in mind I have defeated about ten more Needlewoods, which was a cakewalk, considering that Roxanne was guiding me towards them every time with her superior sense of smell. Without her I truly wouldn¡¯t be able to be as efficient as I am now with monster hunting, for which I am grateful to her beyond measure.


    ¡¸Thank you for being so vigilant all the time, Roxanne. I think now would be a good time to check on our you-know-what.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, Magic Crystals, right?¡¹


    Right indeed. I took the backpack off my back and took the Magic Crystal out, taking a good, long, inquisitive look at it. While it was initially black, mine has now turned red, so I guess instead of Black Magic Crystal I should call it Red Magic Crystal.


    ¡¸It¡¯s red already. What about yours, Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸My Magic Crystal is still Black, but that was to be expected. Magic power is stored only in the Crystal of the person who dealt the finishing blow to the monster.¡¹


    I showed Roxanne my Red Magic Crystal, and she answered me with another explanation. So only the person who actually kills the monster gets to cash in on its magic energy for his Magic Crystal? I thought that it worked for all the Party members simoultaneously, but apparently I was mistaken. On that note, I remember that one of the Bonus Skills available to me through the Character Reset was something called Crystal Acceleration. I dismissed it earlier because I had no idea what was it doing, but right now I think I understand it. It is probably something that speeds up the process of gathering energy for your Magic Crystal.


    I performed another Character Reset, this time focusing on Crystal Acceleration. With the amount of Bonus Points at my disposal, I was able to secure myself of x4, x8, x16 and x32. Since I need to have Durandal with me I can¡¯t put anymore points into it, but if I were to increase it to Lv.6, the multiplier would have hit x64, but for now, a multiplier of x32 should be more than enough.


    ¡¸Just as a quick reminder: ten monsters = Red Crystal, hundred monsters = Purple Crystal, right?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, that is correct.¡¹


    I confirmed the selection of Crystal Acceleration x32 and defeated three more Needlewoods with it, after which I checked my Magic Crystal again. I couldn¡¯t stop myself from smiling.


    ¡¸Roxanne, wanna see something cool? Well, I¡¯m going to show it to you either way, so just come here and have a look.¡¹


    Without waiting for her to reply, I took out the Red Magic Crystal from the backpack and showed it to her. Except for the fact that it was no longer red. Right now, it was a Purple Magic Crystal. That¡¯s right, baby! Ramp the respect points that I have lost earlier back with interest!


    Defeating three monsters with a x32 multiplier gave me, the end result was ninety six, and since my Crystal was already red from those ten kills from earlier, that gives me a total of one hundred and six, triggering the change of the Red Magic Crystal into Purple Magic Crystal.


    ¡¸Eh? It¡¯s already purple?! How did you do it, master?!¡¹


    ¡¸I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s a secret~~¡¹


    Oh yeah, being looked at with such admiration hits all the right spots for me.


    ¡¸Ah, okay! Master, you truly are amazing!¡¹


    I am, right? But please, don¡¯t stop, praise me some more!


    I know that I shouldn¡¯t keep using that same old excuse of secrecy every time I do something outstanding, but as long as Roxanne understands and doesn¡¯t ask any questions I guess that is fine.

 Volume 2 - CH 2.13

    ¡¸What is the typical price that Magic Crystals can be sold for?¡¹


    ¡¸Green are usually worth 10,000 Nars, and as for the yellow ones, it should be 100,000 Nars.¡¹


    Normally we can assume that one slain monster equals 1 Nar, so Green Magic Crystal would equal 10,000 monsters. With my current multiplier of x32, or x64 if I will ever need it, it is more efficient way of making money than selling the items that drop from the monsters.


    In order to make a lot of money I can use Crystal Acceleration, getting stronger is covered by Skills that will increase the amount of the EXP I¡¯ll gain from killing enemies, and for fighting against strong enemies I have Durandal from the Bonus Weapons Skill. I¡¯m doing pretty well for myself, all thing¡¯s considered. And since I am not exactly in dire need of getting more money for the current moment, so I think I can remove Crystal Acceleration for now, and instead focus on gaining more EXP points and keeping Durandal on me, so I did just that by performing another Character Reset.


    While scrolling through the list of Bonus Skills, I happened upon three curious ones: Break Level Limit, Break Damage Limit and Party Data Release. When it comes to the first two I can roughly understand what they are about, but it¡¯s not like I had any problem with my damage threshold or the ability to Level Up, but what is this Party Data Release one supposed to be doing? As long as I was going solo things like that didn¡¯t really matter to me, but now that I¡¯ve made a Party with Roxanne, maybe there are some restrictions placed upon us? Maybe I should take a moment to actually test it out?


    I tapped the Party Date Release window.


    Immidiately after that, the Party Settings screen got refreshed. Looks like some new options have been added to it, and to the bonus Spell list as well. It now contains something called¡­  Par,ti, fi, cation. Partification? What the hell is that? Something related to the Party, maybe? Or something related to its organization? Well, no harm in checking it out I guess.


    Another change that took place was in the Bonus Skills menu. The Job Settings have been replaced with Party Job Settings. So, a new option that looks like a variation of the old one. As long as I have no idea how it works, taking it through a trial by fire seems to be the most logical conclusion. You¡¯ll never know how something works if you don¡¯t witness it with your own eyes, am I right?


    Partification!


    When I thought about it, a new window popped up, asking me to do something. The exact text in the window was ¡¸ ¡º  ¡» use¡¹. What does it want from me? An item? Or maybe something else? Could it be that Partification is a spell that spreads the effect of an item to the entire Party?


    ¡¸Roxanne, do you feel like there was any change in you just now?¡¹


    ¡¸Hmm, no, I don¡¯t think so. Why do you ask?¡¹


    So it does not look like there were any changes to Roxanne¡¯s status, meaning that the change occurs only for the user. Well, that was to be expected I guess. Good thing that she does not seem to realize what I¡¯m doing though.


    Next, I focused my gaze on Roxanne and thought about the Party Job Settings. In the next second, a full list of her Jobs appeared before me.


    Beast Warrior Lv.6, Villager Lv.8, Farmer Lv.1, Warrior Lv.1, Swordsman Lv.1, Adventurer Lv.1


    So those are all the Jobs she managed to obtain, huh? It¡¯s great that she doesn¡¯t have a Thief Job or anything else like that. This means that before she became a slave she led a proper, pure life where she didn¡¯t have to resort to criminal acts just to see another day.


    Beast Warrior Lv.6


    Effects: Medium AGI Increase, Small STR Increase, Small DEX Increase


    Skill: Beast Attack


    The Beast Warrior Job seems to have a very good effect and her stats are decent, so I think she can continue with this one as she was. Speaking of it, aside from my Hero Job, the effects of Swordsmen and Warrior are not terrible, but they are not mind-blowingly good either.


    Yup, for now we can continue adventuring without making any alterations.


    The ability to change the Job of your Party members can prove to be a very powerful Skill, depending on how you will use it of course. Regrettably, however, the Character Reset did not result in Roxanne¡¯s Character Reset as well.


    As a Party we can now conserve MP by travelling together and dispatch enemies way faster due to not being alone on the battlefield anymore. I guess noticing that Skill and unlocking it when I did might actually turn up the be one of the best decision I made here so far.


    ¡¸Now, the only remaining issue would be recovery.¡¹


    ¡¸Recovery? As in healing?¡¹


    ¡¸Yup. Are there any Jobs that have Skills or spells capable of healing?¡¹


    I asked Roxanne.


    For now we are not in that much of a dire need to get ourselves some method of healing because Durandal can essentially one-shot everything it comes into contact with, but there will eventually come a time where healing will become a necessity, I am sure of it. Remembering how I panicked back in that monster-filled trap room, we should always have a quick and reliable method of recovering our lost HP from any kind of attack and any number of enemies.


    Durandal can circumvent that to a degree thanks to its HP Absorption effect, but that would only work for me if I was going to the Labyrinth solo. I could always hand Durandal to Roxanne is she was in a pinch, but that would in turn left me without any means of defending myself if I didn¡¯t have other weapons with me. Not to mention that such a method would simply be too uncertain and unreliable.


    Even with my Durandal around we might not be one hundred percent safe. For example, if we were to end up in the middle of a particularly steamy battle with a lot of tough enemies, then throwing Durandal back and forth between Roxanne and me might be impossible. I¡¯ve seen this kind thing in movies, games and anime. The moment the character gets confident that he¡¯ll be able to heal himself on time, he suffers a critical injury at that exact moment. Also, there will be times where we won¡¯t be able to wait with the healing for the battle to end, even if we stocked up on potions and other healing items.


    So that settles it: one of my next goals should be securing myself a Job that can use healing!


    ¡¸So, how about it? Any Jobs capable of healing that come to your mind?¡¹


    ¡¸Actually, I think there are Jobs capable of doing just that. If my memory serves me correctly, Priests and Monks are capable of using such Skills and spells.¡¹


    Oh, great, so there truly are Jobs like that. Good to hear. Now, if only I could obtain them without having to do anything tedious or time consuming, that would be even better.


    ¡¸Well, do you know the details, like how can one become a Monk or a Priest?¡¹


    ¡¸I am certain that it requires large amounts of harsh training and iron-willed discipline.¡¹


    Wow, talk about a tone-setter. Anyway, let¡¯s try inquiring about that training bit some more, because Roxanne¡¯s initial description was awfully vague and suspiciously nonspecific.


    ¡¸What kind of training, exactly?¡¹


    ¡¸There are many methods of going about it, and they seem to be varying depending on the Guild you visit, but I heard that the most common one is meditation under an ice-cold waterfall in order to rid oneself of one¡¯s earthly desires.¡¹


    ¡¸A waterfall, huh?¡¹


    ¡¸There is also one where you have to go visit eighty-eight temples to achieve the clarity of mind.¡¹


    ¡¸So a pilgrimage, then.¡¹


    ¡¸Pil¡­ grimage?¡¹


    Roxanne asked, but I ignored her.


    The way I see it, waterfall training is aimed at achieving spiritual enlightenment and tempering one¡¯s body so that it can endure the training in secret martial arts, which monks in video games are famously known for.


    Giving it some thought, it should be obvious that obtaining a Job that¡¯s clearly tied to faith and religion would be connected to some mystical experience such as meditation or visiting highly spiritual places in pilgrimage.


    You become a thief when you steal things, and get to be an Explorer once you enter the Labyrinth. Using magic attacks will net you the Job of a Mage, and reaching enlightenment seems to be required in order to become a Monk or a Priest.


    Anyway, looks like getting one of those might be more difficult than I initially thought. For the time being, let¡¯s see if the simple act of prayer is going to do the trick.


    ¡¸A~no ~ku~ma~ra~san~mya~ku~san~bo~dai. Amu namida butsu. Elohim essaim, allah akbar, amen.¡¹


    I checked my Job Settings, but no new Jobs appeared there. Hmm, maybe I¡¯m not praying hard enough? I will try praying harder.


    ¡¸Rin, Byo, to¡­¡¹


    But with each verse I recited, I was feeling more and more like an idiot.


    ¡¸Ygnaiih¡­ Ygnaiih, thflthkh¡¯ngha! Ph¡¯nglui¡­Ph¡¯nglui¡­ On Sochirishuta Sowaka. Wgah¡¯nagl fhtagn!¡¹


    Oh no, this is bad. I feel like¡­ as if something was awakening in the deepest recesses of my ignorant mind! Now come on Roxanne, come and join me in singing praises to the Great Ones!


    ¡¸Nyar shthan, Nyar gashanna!¡¹


    Note to self: religion is scary as shit and it¡¯s best to stay as far away from it as possible.

 Volume 2 - CH 3.01

    Chapter 8: Monk


    Kaga Michio


    Current levels & equipment:


    Explorer Lv.12


    Hero Lv.7


    Warrior Lv.10


    Swordsman Lv.8


    Equipment:


    Durandal


    Leather Armor


    Leather Jacket


    Leather Gloves


    To sum it all up, all of my attempts at reciting various chants, prayers and scriptures ended up in failure. Yes, that¡¯s right, I was making a fool out of myself for quite a while, and I still didn¡¯t unlock Monk¡¯s or Priest¡¯s Job as a result, so recovery magic and Skills were still beyond my reach. But I guess I can only blame myself for that. After all, if something as simple and trivial as a prayer was enough to obtain a Job, then it wouldn¡¯t require harsh training to begin with, right?


    I always thought that prayers and such have nothing to do with magic, however, in this world, spells and Skills are both considered to be a type of magic. Right now, it looks like obtaining literally any Job that has access to healing spells and abilities might be more of a pain than it is actually worth it, but I shouldn¡¯t allow myself to get discouraged so easily, especially if it¡¯s going to help us in the long run. Also, I refuse to believe that training and pilgrimages are the only way of obtaining a Monk and Priest Jobs. Maybe I should ask Roxanne if there really isn¡¯t¡­


    ¡¸Now that I think about it, I remember hearing that there is one more way to obtain the Monk Job, the one that was designed specifically for warriors, and it is to defeat monsters with your bare hands. And I don¡¯t want to brag, but I think I would more than up for this kind of task.¡¹


    Roxanne offered me a hint that I was waiting for at just the right time, most likely because she was starting to worry about my mental health. She could have told me about it before I started chanting random prayers like a madman, but I cannot say that to her, because that would be rude of me.


    Well, it¡¯s good if she¡¯s confident in her own abilities, but if at all possible, I would also like to give it a shot. But can I really pull something as crazy as that off? And wait a goddamn sec! If Roxanne says she is fine with killing monsters with her bare hands, wouldn¡¯t that make her one hell of a scary lass?!


    Then again, if defeating a monster with nothing but your fists wasn¡¯t possible, then it probably wouldn¡¯t be listed as a requirement for getting a Monk Job. It¡¯s the same as with the Swordsman Job or Mage Job: you get the former for defeating monsters with a sword, and the latter for using Attack Magic. Therefore, it would stand to reason that you should also get a Job for defeating enemies without the usage of any kind of weaponry.


    But, you know¡­ monks fighting with their bare hands? The only ones who fit that description to a T are the monks from the Shaolin Temple, since your typical Buddhist monks are more associated with sutras, Khakkharas (TL Note: Those staffs with lots of rings on them) and exorcising evil spirits. And even if I fail to get the Monk Job, maybe using hand-to hand combat will unlock some other offensive Job, like, maybe a boxer, brawler, or something along those lines? Either way, looks like it will at least be worth a try.


    Still, there are various uncertainties regarding the exact conditions of unlocking the Monk Job by fighting monsters bare-handed. Most likely you have to ¡¸defeat¡¹ them without using any kind of melee weapon, but what does ¡¸defeat¡¹ mean here, exactly? Do I have to do all of the damage with my fists alone, or does it only have to be the finishing blow? And is it going to count if both of us will attack a single enemy?


    For now, I guess we have no other choice but to test all of those options out.


    ¡¸Roxanne, there¡¯s a little something I want to try.¡¹


    ¡¸Something?¡¹


    ¡¸Well, I guess you can call it an experiment.¡¹


    ¡¸An experiment, huh?¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah. For now, I would like you to put away your sword and try fighting a few enemies with just your fists.¡¹


    ¡¸Roger!¡¹


    However, I am still skeptical about this. Before I came to Veil, I had trouble defeating a friggin (Caerbannog) Bunny with a Copper Sword, and now Roxanne was going to fight something stronger than a Bunny with nothing but her own two hands? I couldn¡¯t help it but to worry, even if there are two of us now and we should have a level advantage over the Needlewoods. Just in case, I will have my weapon ready to strike at all times.


    Oh man, if I tried doing it alone, it would certainly end up with my death, so let¡¯s just see how this goes without trying too hard. Let¡¯s try a single blow first.


    I placed Durandal back at my hip and then jumped in front of the next Needlewood we encountered and I threw a straight haymaker at it with my right hand.


    ¡¸Hng!!!¡¹


    Because I couldn¡¯t use my sword, I had no choice but to go up close and personal with it, which meant that getting hit myself was inevitable. Thankfully, it didn¡¯t hurt as much as I thought it will be, most probably because my levels went up, resulting in me being able to take more punishment now, but the numbing, burning sensation pulsating in the place that was hit by the enemy remained much the same.


    Then Roxanne joined me and we attacked the Needlewood together, both from its left and right sides. Faced with a 2v1 scenario, it wasn¡¯t able to respond to our strikes fast enough. While Roxanne kept its attention on herself, I stepped a few steps to the back and brandished Durandal. Noticing me, Needlewood waved its wooden fist at me. I blocked its attack with Durandal¡¯s hilt and then launched a counterattack, cleaving it cleanly in half.


    While Roxanne was busy packing the leftover branches into her backpack, I checked the Party Job Settings once again, but much to my annoyance neither I nor Roxanne obtained the Monk Job. So it would seem that simply fighting the enemies with hand-to-hand combat was not enough after all. Maybe we should try defeating them after all?


    The thing is, if we were to do that, then I don¡¯t know how long a brawl like that would take. I¡¯d need to get closer to the enemy than when I was using the Copper Sword, so that¡¯s going to literally be a battle where my life will constantly be on the line.


    At first, let¡¯s try only hitting it with our fists as a finishing blow. But in order to do that, we cannot use Durandal, since it is just too strong and it will kill the enemy in one hit. Copper Sword is out of the question either because it¡¯s just too weak. Luckily for me, Bonus Weapons Skill has six levels in total, so let¡¯s see what we are going to get when I choose Bonus Weapons 5, one level below Durandal.


    It gave a weapon called Fragarach. It does not have MP Absorption, but it possesses HP Drain, Chant Interruption and Attack Power 5x, so it¡¯s not that much of a downgrade, if I am to be honest.


    ¡¸Looks like you have quite a lot of weapons at your disposal, master. This one looks just as strong as your previous one.¡¹


    Roxanne praised me as she examined Fragarach with curious eyes and her hand on her chin.


    ¡¸Thanks. I¡¯ll try using this one next and we¡¯ll see if it makes any difference, okay?¡¹


    ¡¸Right!¡¹


    Following Roxanne¡¯s guidance, we immediately found our next target. Having her in the Party is so convenient that it is unbelievable. If everything goes well, maybe we could really go to the Labyrinth¡¯s next level soon. Since all the monsters on this first level die in one hit from Durandal¡¯s one blow, then as long as we only go one level up we should still be safe.


    However, the scariest part about this world is that even with all the things listed above, I still cannot be absolutely sure that everything will go exactly as I planned. It is a world filled with Labyrinths that are actually sentient creatures, monsters roaming the wilderness and a fuckload of Bandits and other villainous scum wherever you go. A world where you can never know what will happen to you next, and that is why it is imperative to keep getting stronger so that when the time comes that the world is going to hit you with a ¡¸Surprise Motherfucker¡¹ card, you¡¯ll just have to hit it back with a ¡¸No U¡¹ card and live your life in peace.


    But that is a talk for the future. For now, we have to press forward without any regrets, hoping that our plan is not going to backfire on us.

 Volume 2 - CH 3.02

    If we decide to go to the upper floors of the Labyrinth, it is quite possible that we¡¯re going to get more EXP points from defeating monsters. If we advance little by little without letting confidence to go into our heads too much, then we should be perfectly fine. We don¡¯t have to overdo it just yet. For now, my absolute top priority should be to guarantee our safety. As they say, slow and steady wins the race. If we were to force ourselves too much just for the sake of going forward, then I can already see us falling to the ground hard right before reaching the finish line.


    That being said, we can¡¯t allow ourselves to be neglectful either. Even if it¡¯s one step at a time, we have to keep getting stronger by increasing the levels of the Jobs that we already have and continuing to aquire new ones.


    That being said, I have delivered a ¡°steady¡± slash with Fragarach towards the Needlewood in front of me, cutting it horizontally at waist-height. Now, let¡¯s see how much damage it did.


    As expected, this time a single blow was not enough to kill it. Is that how big the difference between the Bonus Weapons is? And I just lowered it from Lv.6 to Lv.5 this time. Is every Bonus Weapon aside from Durandal useless? No, no matter how much weaker they are in comparison to Durandal, every Bonus Weapon should be stronger than the weakest of the weak weapons, Copper Sword.


    But still, from the very basic equipment to The Holy Sword Durandal¡­ the difference in the range of power on those things is a total bullshit. Not to mention that there¡¯s too many options in these things. If Fragarach from Bonus Weapon Lv.5 is that much weaker than Durandal, then what is a weapon from Bonus Weapon Lv.1 supposed to be, just a hair¡¯s width better than Copper Sword?!


    While I was busy with my internal monologues, the Needlewood threw its wooded fist towards me. I¡¯ve let my guard down too much, so there¡¯s no way for me to dodge it in time¡­


    ¡¸Huh?¡¹


    ¡­ but then Roxanne jumped in front of me and started to shower the Needlewood with a barrage of punches. Left hook, right hook, left straight, right straight.


    ¡¸Hah¡­¡¹


    She also dodges the enemy¡¯s attacks gracefully, after which she immediately jumps back into melee range to throw a jab or two its way.


    Using the distraction Roxanne provided, I moved in with my second slashing attack, after which the Needlewood collapsed. So Fragarach takes two attacks to kill an enemy instead of one?


    ¡¸W-Wow, amazing¡­¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, master. That new sword of your is plenty strong as well.¡¹


    ¡¸N-No, I was talking about you, Roxanne. Those movements of yours¡­¡¹


    ¡¸Really? Then, thank you very much, I suppose.¡¹


    No no no, you shouldn¡¯t be thanking me. But even if she herself doesn¡¯t agree with me, that doesn¡¯t change the fact that her performance just now was outstanding. Huh? But wait a minute¡­ if she doesn¡¯t think that something like that was amazing, then does that mean she wasn¡¯t serious just now?!


    This is a world filled with dangerous Labyrinths and vicious monsters. Taking that into account, the fact that Roxanne is able to pull her own weight in a fight shouldn¡¯t be all that surprising. Still, back when I was at the Somara village, I saw with my own eyes that ordinary people were having trouble with repelling Bandit attacks and Slow Rabbits, and even if they all banded together they would be unable to defeat something like a Gumi Slime. But those with enough strength to enter the Labyrinth would obviously be different than normal people.


    Anyway, as long as battling without Bonus Weapons is concerned, Roxanne is overwhelmingly stronger than me. Then again, maybe I shouldn¡¯t put that much though into it and just accept it for a fact?


    Guided by her superior sense of smell, we continued the exploration.


    The next monster we happened upon was killed by me with the usage of Rush, which I successfully activated by thinking about it as I raised mu sword in the air in preparation. I scored a clear hit on the Needlewood, which collapsed onto the ground with just a single hit.


    Rush seems to be a Skill that allows the user to instantenously close the distance between him and the enemy, attacking them at the same time. I tried switching it with normal attacks, but I was unable to determine how much the strength of the attack rose with the usage of Rush.


    Next, I tried testing the Swordsman Skill, Slash. Once again, the Needlewood unfortunate enough to be my test subject was killed with a single blow. Results? I don¡¯t really understand the difference between Rush and Slash. I guess I technically could run additional tests to test both of those Skills in more detail, but honestly, I don¡¯t want to do it. As long as they involve fighting against monsters, even the most harmless of experiments could quickly turn fatal if I wasn¡¯t paying enough attention. So instead, I¡¯m going to try something a bit safer, the kind of experiment I can perform without much of a risk.


    Character Reset not only allows me to redistribute my Bonus Points and change the Bonus Skills I want to use, but I can also change the values of my stats by adding and subtracting points from them. I was wondering what was going to happen if I tweaked them a bit, and now is as good of a time as any to find that out.


    The stat that I¡¯m going to fiddle around with is going to be STR (Strength), since it directly affects how much damage I am doing with my sword attacks, and my aim here is to always kill enemies with a single blow.


    While keeping the points that I¡¯ve put in Bonus Weapons to keep Fragarach (31 Bonus Points) and keeping the option of the Third Job, I used the remaining 75 Bonus Points to increase the STR value as much as possible, and with such settings I attacked the next monster. Surprising nobody, the Needlewood got obliterated with one strike.


    Yup, that confirms it: more STR means increase in the attack power.


    But even after increasing STR to 75 points, there wasn¡¯t really much of a change, by which I mean that my sword didn¡¯t feel lighter and my swings didn¡¯t get any faster. No, maybe it did become somewhat easier to swing around, or maybe that was just my imagination playing tricks on me. Maybe my mindset has changed, and I subconsciously started thinking that I am now really strong, and that affected my muscles in some weird way? No, that actually sound way too far-fetched to be true. Even when my levels went up or Jobs were added and removed, there was no real change to the sensation. It remained the same the entire time.


    I reverted my settings to the ones where I invested in increasing the amount of EXP gained (x10) and lessened the amount of EXP required to Level Up (1/10th), except this time I increased my STR to 45 points.


    Now, let¡¯s see how those are going to perform, shall we?

 Volume 2 - CH 3.03

    With an STR score of 45, the next monster I used Slash on died in one hit. A good result, but I don¡¯t want to use any more Bonus Points than it is absolutely necessary, so I might try lowering the STR value quite a bit before the next random encounter. If I want to min/max my stats, I have to figure out the exact number of points placed in STR to know how much should be enough to both one-shot the enemies and still have many points to spare for other abilities, so for the next battle I will lower my STR to 13 points and we¡¯ll see how this goes.


    Okay, I can say that the result was not ideal, but it wasn¡¯t all that terrible either. With my STR at 13 the Needlewood survived the initial slash, meaning that I must have lowered my stats a bit too much. Thankfully, that¡¯s what Roxanne is here for. When I finished my attack she immediately jumped into action and showered The Needlewood with attack after attack without giving it time to breathe (or whatever it is that trees are doing). One of its branch attacks was faster and more unpredictable than the others, so I thought she was going to get hit by it, but she avoided it at the last possible second by leaning forward and slightly to the side. That move! That right there was the same maneuver that boxers back in my old world were using when they wanted to avoid their opponent¡¯s punch and launch a counterattack right afterwards! I think it is actually called a duck. Using her body flow to its fullest extent, she moved and dodged around the monster with a combination of both grace and deadly accuracy. Using the opportunity she created for me, I swung Fragarach at the monster when its back were turned against me, ending the battle.


    ¡¸I should have expected nothing less from you, Roxanne. Your movements just now were amazing. Thank you for your continued support.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, just leave it all to me, master!¡¹


    ¡¸I thought about it ever since I first saw you fighting, but you are quite strong, aren¡¯t you, Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you for the kind words, but I think that someone who kills monsters with a single blow is even more amazing.¡¹


    I¡¯m happy that she thinks of me that way, but the entirety of my strength comes from my sword, not from myself. But that¡¯s okay, there¡¯s no need to be telling her that just yet, or ever. Next, I did another Character Reset to increase my STR by a few points so that I could kill Needlewoods with one attack with Fragarach. For a number of next encounters, I was gradually increasing my STR, trying to find that ¡¸sweet spot¡¹ that would get me what I was looking for. Every time when my stats weren¡¯t enough, Roxanne was there to finish the job for me.


    ¡¸Alright Roxanne, listen up. Next time we run into a monster, I¡¯m going to try to defeat it with my bare hands, and if that won¡¯t do anything we¡¯ll call it a day and go back to the inn.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes!¡¹


    With my current settings I should be able to damage the next Needlewood just enough not to kill but at the same time literally leave it at death¡¯s door. I have a good feeling about this. This time everything should work out, and there is no more room for mistakes.


    The next Needlewood that came at us was slashed by my Fragarach, but it didn¡¯t die. All right, so far, so good. Now for the next step. I took a step back, unequipped Fragarach and placed it against the nearby wall. All this time, Roxanne was covering me up by dodging the swings of its arms as she danced around it. Then she proceeded to go on the offensive.


    Roxanne punched it with her right fist, and lightly backstepped whenever one of the branches threatened to hit her. It tried to strike her shoulder but it missed, and as a result, its trunk swayed. When it got its shit together it tried to do another strike from the right but Roxanne avoided it once more, dashing straight back in front of it and making it eat a good ol¡¯ one-two combo and dodging it by half a step to the side. This exchange of dodge and hit continued for a while.


    It was spectacular. All I could do was to simply stare in amazement at what was happening right in front of me.


    Roxanne avoided each and every one of the Needlewood¡¯s attacks. None of it was even close to reaching her. From where I stood, it looked like it wasn¡¯t even trying to hit her. Not only she makes it look like all of those branch swings are easy to avoid, but she¡¯s also doing it by the paper length, the literal skin of her teeth. The distance between the enemy¡¯s bushy fists and her body could be measured in centimeters, if not in millimeters.


    At a glance it looks like she is constantly in a pinch, but it is actually the opposite.


    The Needlewoods are rather big and somewhat slow, and that makes their attacks methodical and easy to predict. It also means that they wouldn¡¯t be able to dodge swift and agile attacks even if their lives depended on it. But that is how battle works. If you can clearly read your opponent¡¯s moves, it is generally better to dodge them at the last possible moment for maximum effectiveness.


    All of Roxanne¡¯s movements were exactly like that. The way she moved her feet and twisted her body¡­ it was just like she was dancing on the battlefield. Compared to her, the Needlewood¡¯s attacks are all just so¡­ monotonous. I mean, what can you expect? It is just an oversized moving bush that can punch people, if you think about it. But this is a perfect moment for me to strike! I will also hit it now!


    Right now, the Needlewood is sandwiched between me and Roxanne from the back and front, and to its sides are the Labyrinth¡¯s walls. It literally has nowhere to run. I slammed my fist against its bark, but did that really do any damage?


    A branch was swung towards me from the left, so I dodged it by imitating Roxanne¡¯s movements, and what do you know, somehow it worked. Then another branch went flying towards me from the opposite direction, which I avoided by twisting my upper body to the side. Now that it has left itself wide open, it was the time for me to strike!


    My next two blows connected, and I avoided the counterstrike by pulling my body away from it, going back a few steps because of the momentum that carried me backwards. That was a close one. For a moment there I thought I fucked up, which would suck after I made such bold declarations.


    On the other hand, Roxanne continued to brilliantly dodge the Needlewood¡¯s clumsy attacks. The more I watched her, the more I understood that moving the way she moved was simply impossible for me. No matter how hard I¡¯d try, I cannot move as nimbly as she does, which would really come in handy now that I do not have a sword, which forces me to be withing the monster¡¯s arm¡¯s reach all the time, making me work my ass off quite a lot, so being able to dodge properly would take at least a bit of the pressure away from me. A damn shame, really.


    Moreover, Roxanne¡¯s punches were way faster than mine.


    Fuck!


    Using my rage and frustration as a catalyst, I dashed forward. First I threw a kick at it, and then followed up with a punch. When I was done, a branch was already coming my way. At this distance, there¡¯s no way for me to dodge it, so the only option left¡­ id for me to put my everything into this next straight punch and push through with brute force alone!


    With the impact of my fury-filled blow, the Needlewood¡¯s entire body shook. After a few seconds, it collapsed on the ground behind it.


    Fucking¡­ finally! It took like, forever, but we finally managed to beat it with our fists only. In this battle to the death, I was the one who emerged victorious. Of course, it was a death battle only for me, because Roxanne wasn¡¯t hit once throughout the entire encounter.


    The monster turned into smoke and disappeared.


    Almost immediately after it was felled I checked my own status. How was that, game? Good enough to finally get myself that Monk Job?


    Well, apparently it still wasn¡¯t enough, because I still didn¡¯t have it. So what, all that unarmed brawling I just did was for nothing? No, let¡¯s not get all pessimistic just yet. I¡¯ll try checking the Party Job Settings next and search through Roxanne¡¯s Jobs. Now, let¡¯s see here¡­ Beast Warrior Lv.6, Villager Lv.8, Farmer Lv.1, Warrior Lv.1, Swordsman Lv.1, Explorer Lv.1, Monk Lv.1 ¡­


    Oh, would you look at that. Roxanne got it.

 Volume 2 - CH 3.04

    ¡¸Roxanne, did you do something to that monster after I punched it?¡¹


    ¡¸Ah, yes, yes I did. After you delivered that punch that stunned it, I whacked it in the back one more time, causing it to collapse. Why are you asking, master? Have I done something that I shouldn¡¯t have done?¡¹


    ¡¸No, everything¡¯s fine.¡¹


    So she was the one who killed it, huh? Well, I certainly didn¡¯t saw anything that looked remotely like that, but to be fair, my eyes were pretty clouded with rage at that moment, so it¡¯s entirely possible that she truly did that and I simply missed it. But that gives me a crucial piece of information.


    Based on what Roxanne said, it looks like the Job of a Monk can be obtained as long as you deal the finishing blow to the enemy with your bare fists, and that is supported by the fact that Roxanne, who dealt the last blow to that Needlewood got herself a Monk Job, while I, who was fighting the enemy unarmed, but did not kill it unarmed, failed to get it. That would truly mean that what is needed to obtain it is the last blow.


    ¡¸That was some truly impressive dodging game there, Roxanne. I didn¡¯t know you could actually move like that.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you very much, but it really wasn¡¯t anything that impressive. Because there were two of us fighting it at the same time it was distracted, which made seeing through the patterns of its attacks that much easier.¡¹


    I don¡¯t really care that much now that it¡¯s all over, but¡­


    ¡¸Uh-huh, I see.¡¹


    ¡¸Everyone can avoid that kind of slow attacks as long as they pay attention and look closely enough.¡¹


    Yeah, right, not happening. Calling BS on that.


    But once again, I am reminded why Roxanne is such a great person. Not only she knows a lot of things that I do not have a clue about, but she can also sense monsters with just her nose alone, as well as avoid their attacks like it was nothing!


    Anyway, the lesson we have learned today is that you need to deal the finishing blow to obtain the Job, so now we can act on it properly.


    ¡¸Okay Roxanne, the plan for the next battle is as follows: I will try to deal the finishing blow, so I would like you to keep yourself distanced, but not to engage the enemy unless it will be an emergency.¡¹


    That way I will be one hundred percent sure that my kill is not going to get stolen, accidentally or otherwise.


    Or so I thought, but once again, the next Needlewood collapsed after only a single blow, which is strange, since I didn¡¯t do a Character Reset to change my STR value just yet. Apparently there is some fluctuation to the damage dealt to monsters, but at the current moment I have no idea if it is also affected by things like attack power or STR value, or just plain inconsistent damage.


    Well, whatever.


    For now, I was able to recover all of the damage I have sustained with Fragarach¡¯s HP Absorption, after which I added one more point to the STR stat and proceeded to hunt more monsters, waiting for the appearance of the one that wouldn¡¯t just drop dead on the spot after eating just one hit from me. It took some time, but finally such an opponent appeared again.


    Now I know that fighting monsters without a real weapon is an unbelievably butt-hurting chore, but if I want to add Monk to my list of Jobs there is nothing I can really do about it.


    All I have to focus on now is the enemy in front of me. Everything else will come after he will be dispatched.


    If this guy is the same like that one which gave Roxanne a Job of a Monk when she defeated it, then that would mean that even if my slash with Fragarach didn¡¯t kill it, it should still be damaged enough to be felled by my fists alone, that is to say on the brink of death.


    However, since I asked Roxanne not to interfere this time it means that it will still be incredibly dangerous for me since I¡¯m going at it alone, doing fifty percent less attacks than we did before, resulting in the unnecessary prolonging of the battle.


    Could it be that I fucked myself over without even realizing it?


    Be that as it may, the battle has begun, and right from the get-go I had to deal with branch-fists heading my way.


    I¡¯ve been thinking: are Needlewoods able to distinct between their front, back, left and right. I don¡¯t even know if they need it in the first place, since they can technically attack in a 360 degrees radius with the branches protruding from their bodies. On that note, do they even have eyes? Because, to be honest, I never really bothered to look at them closely enough to check. Somehow I feel that even if they were surrounded by two or more people, it wouldn¡¯t place them at that big of a disadvantage. They are technically moving trees, so they should be sturdy enough to take a fair bit of punishment from both humans and other monsters alike.


    Roxanne wasn¡¯t attacking just like I instructed her, but the Needlewoods behavior didn¡¯t change much because of it.  If anything, it gotten a little bit more aggressive when the other target wasn¡¯t doing anything to retaliate against it.


    Yes, I cannot forget that when it comes to hand-to hand combat, Roxanne is stronger than me. I told her not to fight with me this time¡­ but it does not mean that she cannot distract the enemy to make my job of hitting it that much easier! That¡¯s it Roxanne, keep doing your paper-thin dodges for me. One of them is bound to leave this Needlewood in a vulnerable position.


    This time I didn¡¯t simply unequip Fragarach, but completely erased it by doing a Character Reset mid-combat, pouring all of my remaining Bonus Points into STR. With that, by bare-handed attacks should be that much more effective. Roxanne continued to serve as a distraction, so I had plenty of room to prepare myself and launch a single, decisive strike.


    ¡­¡­ There!


    I jumped extremely close to the Needlewood while it was still recovering from a swing of its branches. It noticed me, but it wasn¡¯t able to get back into position in time. And like that, my outstretched fist collided with the enemy, sending it flying and tumbling along the ground. The Needlewood has fallen, and I was victorious once more.


    ¡¸Amazing! That¡¯s another one hit victory for you!¡¹


    One-hit victory indeed, but there is nothing to gloat about here, because I cheated a little here by hastely allocating all of my remaining Bonus Points into STR.


    Phew, that was tough, but since I was the only one who delivered the ass-whooping onto that Needlewood, then it should mean that this I should obtain that Job for sure. With those thought in mind, I opened the menu to check my Job Settings.


    Monk Lv.1


    Effects: Medium SPI Increase, Small MP Increase


    Skill: Medical Treatment


    Well, this is it.


    I set up Monk as my First Job and immediately proceeded to check the effects of the Medical Treatment Skill. When I did, the pain that was permeating my shoulder due to one of my earlier attacks has completely disappeared.


    ¡¸All right, the pain has subsided. From now on, if we ever get attacked by monsters and end up wounded as a result, I will be able to heal us no problem.¡¹


    I told Roxanne.


    ¡¸You can really do something so useful now?¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s right. And as always, promise me you¡¯ll keep it between us, capiche?¡¹


    ¡¸U-Understood. You really are full of surprises, master.¡¹


    To be honest, you can use that Skill as well, Roxanne. But it will probably be for the best if the one responsible for healing us in the middle of battle was me, since I have the Chant Omission from Fragarach and all that. One thing worth noting though: when I used Medical Treatment just now, a single usage used up ? of my total MP, so MP cost-wise it¡¯s going to be one of my pricier abilities to use, and that calls for going back to using Durandal, since it has the MP Absorption Skill.


    Yeah, I will be in charge of our healing.

 Volume 2 - CH 3.05

    After that, I tried experimenting with various settings and combinations of Jobs and Skills to see which one will allow me to kill the enemies in the least amount of time. First I tried to set my Job to Swordsman, which has the effect of slightly increasing STR, and checked if there were any changes to the amount of Bonus Points I still needed to add to the total STR in order to defeat a single Needlewood. If the total amount of Bonus Points required to do so, then it means that the added Job was a valid one. I am still not absolutely sure about it though, because there are the cases where I could defeat them easily, but sometimes I was unable to do so even when my Bonus Points remained distributed in the same way, but overall that little experiment ended in success.


    Once that was done, I tried adding more Jobs at once to check if their effects will overlap, or is it going to be that the ¡°better¡± effects with higher increase values are going to be prioritized over the ones with lower increase values. The result was that Job¡¯s stats and effects do stack with one another, meaning that setting four or five Jobs at once is will be more effective than just having the regular two or three.


    ¡¸I think it¡¯s high time for us to be making our way towards the exit.¡¹


    We were inside the Labyrinth for quite some time now, so I concluded that maybe we should call it a day for today, considering the fact that the progress we¡¯ve made today was substantial.


    I opened the Item Box and placed all of our current equipment: Leather Helmet, Shield, Mittens and Gloves inside. Taking it off of us while we were still inside the Labyrinth might have been a little careless, but at our current level we should be alright even if we were to happen upon another enemy, and it is certainly a better alternative to doing so while being outside where someone could very well see us and could start asking uncomfortable questions like ¡°Why are you able to summon the Item box without chanting its spell at all?¡±. If I am able to avoid annoyances like that, you can be damn sure I am going to avoid them at all costs.


    ¡¸Right!¡¹


    ¡¸How is your Magic Crystal doing, Roxanne?¡¹


    She showed me that hers was still black in color.


    ¡¸No change from Black, huh?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, unfortunately. It¡¯s because I wasn¡¯t able to defeat enough enemies. I¡¯m sorry for not being more useful.¡¹


    ¡¸Don¡¯t say that. It doesn¡¯t matter if you defeat monsters or not. Your presence alone is a huge help to me.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you master. Even though you are so amazing, you¡¯re still praising someone like me, who couldn¡¯t even defeat enough monsters to change the color of the Magic crystal.¡¹


    Assuring her once again, I placed both of our Magic Crystals, Black and Purple, into the Item Box as well. Right then, a question randomly popped into my head.


    ¡¸Say, what if one person held two Magic Crystals at once?¡¹


    ¡¸I don¡¯t know. I have never heard of something like that happening.¡¹


    Well then, that¡¯s all the more reason to check this out. If I were to hold both of our Magic Crystals in my backpack, I wonder what would happen? Will the energy obtained from defeated monsters be stored in only one of them, or is it going to be split equally among the two? Then again, tha would mean the amount going into each one would actually get halved, making the farming process unnecessarily longer. And finally, How would Crystal Acceleration affect both of them?


    ¡¸If possible, that¡¯s one last thing I would like to try before wrapping things up for today.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. You want to make an experiment with the Crystals to see what will happen if you have two at once, right? As expected of you.¡¹


    I don¡¯t think it¡¯s anything like that, but okay, I¡¯ll just let her think it is like that. But I guess that somewhere deep inside, a part of me was really eager to find out the answer to that question.


    Before we conducted the experiment we made a quick trip to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild to sell the items we¡¯ve obtained from all the Needlewoods we have slain, and then returned to the Labyrinth. Initially I wanted Roxanne to stay int the Labyrint¡¯s entrance room since selling the going back to the town, selling the items and doing a trip back would take me ten minutes at best, but she insisted that since we are a Party we should always go everywhere together, so we did.


    The experiment itself was actually extremely short. All I did was Reseting my character so that I would have Crystal Acceleartion x16, and then I just offed one, single monster with the two Magic Crystals in my backpack. Nothing fancy or complicated, just a trip from point A to point B without taking any unnecessary detours throughout the rest of the alphabet.


    Results of this particular experiment: Black Magic Crystal remained black, and the Purple Magic Crystal remained purple. With the x16 multiplier, the black one should have turned red from all the accumulated energy, but it looks like it does not accumulate the way I assumed it would. If that test was successful, I was going to invest in Crystal Acceleration x64 and use it to gain magic energy for both of our Crystal at once, but thinking about it now, if something like that was possible, it would be nothing less of a game-breaking cheat, so of course it was a no-go.


    ¡¸Okay, the next experiment will really be the last one. I know it¡¯s a bother, but please, just bear with me for a little while longer, alright?¡¹


    I said to Roxanne while giving her the Black Magic Crystal back.


    ¡¸How was the experiment, master? You defeated only one enemy, so¡­?¡¹


    ¡¸So it means that I would rather not talk about it. Or to put it simply: it was a failure.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. That is a shame.¡¹


    Yes, but not quite. Such tests are also needed, because failure is the mother of success. That is why tests like that are also important.


    ¡¸So, will you cooperate with me on this last one?¡¹


    ¡¸O-Okay, of course!¡¹


    I opened the Party Job Settings and changed Roxanne¡¯s Job to Monk Lv.1, and then I did the same for myself. Now, the experiment we are going to try is related to how the EXP points are divided between multiple Jobs. With both of us having the same Job at the same Level, we will see how fast the EXP for it is going to accumulate.


    Normally I should be the one to Level Up faster because of my EXP Boost Skill, but if I set it up so that we the both of us would use it, then we should be getting EXP at the same rate, but because Roxanne has only one Job while I have multiple ones set up, she would be the one to Level Up faster, so I can judge the results by how many time her Monk Job levels up.


    I went through a Character Reset where I only took the ability to gain x10 more EXP. I¡¯m going to use Durandal for this, I won¡¯t have enough Bonus Points for anything more than that. Technically I could use Fragarach to achieve x20 EXP Boost, but I cannot do that, since I need Durandal¡¯s raw power to kill the enemies with a single blow.


    x20 EXP Boost costs 63 Bonus Points, Fragarach costs 31 Points, 3rd Job is 3 Points, and then I also need Identify to check our statuses and Character Reset to make adjustments, which means that would have left me with an insufficient amount of Bonus Points to increase my STR enough to one-shot everything with Fragarach. I could try switching my Job to Warrior and fight by using Rush, but Fragarach does not have MP Absorption, and I absolutely don¡¯t want to risk running out of MP.


    Even though Fragarach is supposed to be only one level below Durandal, Bonus Weapon Lv.5 instead of Lv.6, it feels like it is so vastly inferior to it as if there was an insurmountable rift between those two weapons. But whether I like it or not, in the Labyrinth, mine and Roxanne¡¯s safety is my number one priority, and both stat and Skill-wise, the one that is better suited for this job is Durandal, hands down.

 Volume 2 - CH 3.06

    ¡¸How are you feeling, Roxanne? Have you noticed any changes to either your mind or body?¡¹


    ¡¸No, not particularly. I feel the same as always.¡¹


    So when I change my Jobs or make alterations to my stats, I am the only one who is aware of the changes happening, and Roxanne was not even aware of it.


    ¡¸We¡¯re just doing experiments right now, so make sure that you don¡¯t push yourself too hard, okay?¡¹


    ¡¸Are any of the other ones you have in mind dangerous?¡¹


    ¡¸No, I¡¯m not planning on doing anything life-threatening. Our safety always comes first.¡¹


    I hurriedly denied it. Have I phrased something wrong that she thought I was going to place her in danger?


    I don¡¯t know the differences between the Beast Warrior and the Monk jobs, so I just thought that being cautious for now would be for the best. Better safe than sorry, right? Also, with a new Job starting from Lv.1 she won¡¯t have stats as good as she did with her Beast Warrior Lv.6 one, and I suspect that until she leveled it up she won¡¯t be able to kill enemies with one or two strikes like she did before. Now, how can I put this delicately¡­


    ¡¸It¡¯s just that your Job has been set to the Monk which is at Lv.1, so¡­.¡¹


    ¡¸Eh?¡¹


    ¡¸Eh?¡¹


    ¡¸¡¸Ehh!?¡¹¡¹


    Holy balls, maybe I shouldn¡¯t have said that after all, or at least try to phrase that differently.


    ¡¸But my Job is a Beast Warrior. I have never been a Monk ¡­¡¹


    ¡¸Well, you are now, so keep it confidential, okay?¡¹


    *Sigh* There I go again. Another secret that I am forcing her to keep on top of not telling her everything about me and my circumstances.


    ¡¸You can do something like that as well? I probably sound like a broken record, but you are amazing, master.¡¹


    Roxanne seems to be convinced for now, so that¡¯s fine I guess.


    Both of us obtained the Monk Job now, so we might as well go hunt some monsters to level it up as much as possible. Due to the settings I have currently set up, we gained EXP at the same pace, as if we were both using the EXP Boost Skill.


    Most likely it¡¯s that the EXP you gain does not get divided even when you have multiple Jobs equipped, like twenty five percent of it for each of my three equipped Jobs, and its entirety to Roxanne¡¯s one Job. Maybe I should try how it¡¯s going to be when I use the Essential EXP reduction Skill? But as a result of that action, only my Monk Job quickly rose up to Lv.3, while Roxanne didn¡¯t Level Up at all. The skill that reduces the required experience value seems to be effective only for me, not for the whole Party.


    ¡¸Okay, that should be good enough. Let¡¯s wrap up the experiments for today and go back to the inn. If my estimates are correct, it should be evening soon.¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s right. I think it really is getting quite late.¡¹


    After we both agreed that this was the best point to stop, we got out of the Labyrinth. We ended up experimenting all day today, but I can¡¯t say that it was a wasted day. We managed to confirm quite a lot of my theories and suspicions, and we also obtained a new Job that might be essential for our survival when we go to the Labyrinth¡¯s higher floors. So overall, I¡¯d say that this day was pretty successful.


    From the Labyrinth¡¯s entrance, we Warped back to the alleyway behind the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, dropped by their reception counter to sell the rest of the Needlewood branches we had obtained today, and then we were on our way back to the Veil Pavilion.


    Thanks to Roxanne being with me, the number of monsters we are able to defeat in a single foray into the Labyrinth has effectively doubled, and her radar-like nose allows us to always be aware of the enemy¡¯s location, which means the possibility of us falling into a trap has also been significantly decreased. And of course, double the numbers of defeated monsters mean double the income from the items that they drop. When we sold the rest of the branches we had on us, we got 2000 Nars from them alone, including my 30% Price Increase Skill, which means that I can put over half of it, 1000 Nars into my personal savings. If I can save 1000 Nars in a single day, then it means that ten days worth of savings will give me 10,000 Nars, and 100,000 Nars for a hundred days. With savings like that, the two of us could easily afford to venture into the higher floors soon, which would not be so bad, now that I seriously think about it.


    But even if it doubles, we will still divide the earnings equally by half, so the income of each individual person will not change that much. Then again, Roxanne is my slave, so everything that belongs to her also belongs to me.


    Excited by the prospects of what is going to happen to us in the future, we returned to the Pavilion.


    ¡¸Double room for two nights, with dinners. After supper, bring two basins of hot water and a lamp to the room.¡¹


    I hope I didn¡¯t let any of my excitement slip just now, because he might have figured out that I¡¯m planning on getting some action again tonight. I should stop thinking about it so much, because at this point, people might read me like an open book if I won¡¯t be too careful.


    ¡¸Understood. 385 Nars, special discount included.¡¹


    I paid the fee and received the key. We went to the 5th floor and entered the same room as yesterday. Out of habit, I patted the space next to me on the bed, signaling Roxanne that it was fine for her to sit next to me.


    ¡¸Ah, uhm¡­ Sorry for the intrusion.¡¹


    She lowered her backpack and sat on the bed next to me.


    I immediately hugged her and played with her ears. Whenever I do this, I always feel refreshed no matter how tired I am. Ahh, this is the best!


    ¡¸Thank you for your hard work today.¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yes, good work out there as well¡­ *Glance*¡­¡¹


    Her attitude is still a little stiff, just like her body, but at the very least she is sitting closer to me, just like I asked her to do. I moved my hands as gently as possible, stroking her shoulders, thighs and her cute doggy ears.


    ¡¸How was the fight today? Was there anything strange or unexpected from your point of view, Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸No. You were as amazing and wonderful as always, master. I only wish that I could have been of more use to you. I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t help too much.¡¹


    ¡¸You don¡¯t have to be. Your ability to detect monsters alone has been a huge help to me.¡¹


    As we continued the conversation, I found that Roxanne was getting more and more relaxed, as if she was entrusting herself to me. I held her tightly, leaning my face closer to hers. As we approached one another, Roxanne slowly closed her eyelids.


    Th-This is¡­!


    Am I supposed to take it as an invitation? Because this totally is an invitation, right?!


    Her pale, soft lips shimmered like rubies in the red light of the setting sun.


    Roxanne closed her lips tightly, but then she opened them ever so slightly.


    With that gesture, her intentions became obvious, so there was only one thing left for me to do.


    The next morning, the feeling of her soft lips on mine was the first thing that welcomed me as soon as I opened my eyes. Once again, Roxanne did exactly how I ordered her when I first brought her here, and gave me a good morning kiss. At first I only stuck out my tongue and traced it along Roxanne¡¯s seductive lips, but it slipped into her half-opened mouth only moments later. I don¡¯t really know if it is good to be so forceful and pushy first thing in the morning, but nevertheless, I appreciate that she is the one who¡¯s showing the initiative in those matters every day.


    Gently and slowly, I move my tongue around hers to caress hers. I lightly hugged Roxanne¡¯s body. Her large, plumptious beauties are firmly pressed against my chest.


    ¡¸Good morning, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Good morning, Roxanne.¡¹


    This is bad. If this keeps up, we might end up doing it more than once a day, and that is sure to catch somebody¡¯s attention at some point. But I guess there¡¯s no use worrying about it now. We will cross that bridge when we get there.


    For now, I released Roxanne from her daily ¡°duties¡±, and we started another day of our life together.

 Volume 2 - CH 3.07

    Even though we had our fun yesterday, we still went to sleep relatively early the next day, and woke up when it was still dark outside. Looks like we woke up even earlier than usual today. There was no point in us going back to sleep, so we decided to go do some farming a bit early. We¡¯re not doing any experiments today, so we¡¯re just focusing on the usual mixture of battles with the monsters and exploration. Roxanne guided me with her nose and I just one-shotted everything that had the misfortune of ending up at the business end of my Durandal. Compared to fighting the enemies bare-handed, these motions were as secure as they could be. I know that such laid-back exploration cannot last forever, but for the time being both Roxanne and I are fine with it, and that is all that matters.


    After hunting monsters for an entire day, we left the Labyrinth, returned to the inn where we enjoyed our dinner in peace. When we finished eating, we went to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild to sell the items that dropped from all the monsters we managed to defeat today. Thanks to the fact that I do not belong to any particular Guild yet I can sell my stuff pretty much anywhere I want, but I usually just do my selling in the Adventurer¡¯s Guild since I have set up my Warp point on the wall of their guild building in an alleyway that is rarely frequented by anyone because that is the most convenient for us at the current moment, but maybe I should try going to the Explorer¡¯s Guild more frequently, since they have various information related to the exploration of the Labyrinths that might come in handy in the long run.


    Finishing our item-selling business, we went to the Labyrinth again. It has become our routine to delve into it three times each day: once in the early, morning, once before noon and once in the afternoon. Because we¡¯re going there so often, we¡¯re trying not to stay in there for too long, since it would be bad if the fatigue from overexerting ourselves caught up with us when we would least expect it, so we¡¯re always making sure to take nice long rests before going back in. We stayed inside all the way to the evening, and after we got back and ate another delicious dinner, after which we tended up to our equipment.


    And now that all the bother some chores have been taken care of, it was finally time for us to have some quality time together.


    As soon as the Innkeeper brought over the basins with hot water and was out the door, I hugged Roxanne. Ahh, it has been half a day since I could last enjoy the delicate, yet soft and elastic feeling of her body in my arms. Enjoying such an exquisite sensation two times in the span of a few hours, is today my lucky day or what?


    I brought my face closer to hers.


    ¡¸You¡¯re beautiful, Roxanne.¡¹


    ¡¸Th¡­ thank you v-very¡­ m-much¡­¡¹


    ¡¸Truly, seriously beautiful.¡¹


    She looked a little embarrassed, but didn¡¯t try to stop me from complimenting her, so I moved my hand to gently stroke her shoulders, arms and back¡­ and then I slowly started to undress her.


    Now that we¡¯ve done this a few times, I know that I don¡¯t have to hesitate anymore. It is clear that whatever I will try to do to her, she will not resist.


    ¡¸Ah, uhm¡­¡¹


    ¡¸It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine.¡¹


    Getting out of my own clothes was easy as pie, but when it comes Roxanne¡¯s clothes, taking all of them off took me more time than I would have liked. Honestly, being so clumsy about something so crucial felt embarrassing. I just hope that she won¡¯t think that I¡¯m lame because of it.


    ¡¸B-But¡­¡¹


    ¡¸Have some faith in your master, will you?¡¹


    I soaked on of the towels in hot water and proceeded to wipe Roxanne¡¯s entire body. My palms were literally sliding all over her beautiful skin, so I made sure to go slowly in order to savor this exquisite sensation for as long as I could. And when I got to a particular place¡­


    ¡¸Y-You don¡¯t have to do this, master. I¡­ I can take care of that myself¡­¡¹


    ¡¸And I said that¡¯s it¡¯s fine. It¡¯s not a bother for me at all. I¡¯m not doing this out of obligation, but because I want to.¡¹


    It¡¯s a dream like situation that I never even dreamed of finding myself in while I was living back in Japan. I didn¡¯t have any friends back there, and the chances of me scoring myself a girlfriend were lower than zero, but now¡­ now I found myself a girl who is not only obedient, but also strong, big-breasted, beautiful, and has an actual pair of friggin¡¯ droppy doggy ears! What more could you possibly want from life?!


    Is this what people call the joy of being alive? Of experiencing your youth to its fullest? It might as well be, because, to tell you the truth, ever since I have been brought to this strange, game-like world, I have felt more alive than for the past seventeen years of my life. So in order to feel even more alive, I asked Roxanne to wash me as well, ant to take care of my ¡°special place¡±


    ¡¸¡­¡­.¡¹


    ¡¸¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡¹


    What does it mean to be truly alive? And is it even possible in the first place?


    Spending our days like this, we continued the exploration of the first floor of the Labyrinth. Every battle was an easy victory for us, because the only monsters we encountered were the Needlewoods, and since I had Durandal with me, all of them died after only one attack, so we were basically parading through them collecting their branches like it was a leisurely Sunday afternoon stroll. But one day, just as I was thinking that we¡¯ve been making a great amount progress in exploration these past few days¡­


    ¡­ We happened upon a certain room with a big double door at the far back of it after the path we were walking down have been closed of from the rest of the Labyrinth by a wall that came out from the ceiling and slid down all the way to the ground behind us with a loud, thunderous sound. There was no monsters in there, but the door itself looked like they were emanating some pretty bad, ominous aura.


    What is this strange place, I wonder?


    Oh, right, one more detail I should mention. This room was different from all the others in such sense that it only had one set of doors dead ahead of us and one back where we came from, while normally there would be four pairs of them: in the front, in the back, to the left and to the right.


    ¡¸Roxanne, do you know where we are?¡¹


    ¡¸It¡¯s a Waiting Room, if I am not mistaken.¡¹


    ¡¸A Waiting Room?¡¹


    When I turned around to check if the doors were still there, they were still there. As I mentioned above, they were only behind us and in front of us.


    ¡¸Well¡­ behind this door is the Floor Boss of this floor. If we manage to defeat it, the door leading to the second floor should open. As per the old customs, only one Party can challenge the Boss at a time. If multiple Parties try to enter the Boss Chamber then it will not appear, and the door to the next floor will not open. As long as one Party challenges the Boss, the other Parties who wish to do the same have no option but to wait for their turn.¡¹


    Roxanne explained. It¡¯s a pretty standard in the most of modern MMORPG¡¯s, actually.


    ¡¸I see. So that is what a Waiting Room is, huh?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. This is a last safe heaven where you can check on the condition of your equipment, heal your wounds and make all the preparations necessary to challenge the Floor Boss.¡¹


    ¡¸Hmm, I see. You think we¡¯re ready to do this?¡¹


    ¡¸Master is super strong, so I don¡¯t think we will have any problems defeating it at this point.¡¹


    ¡¸Heh. Thanks for a vote of confidence.¡¹


    So we have finally reached this point, huh? Behind that door is the Floor Boss of this Labyrinth¡¯s first floor.

 Volume 2 - CH 3.08

    Roxanne doesn¡¯t seem to be concerned about this at all, but I still have my doubts, to be honest. I really don¡¯t know if we should be facing this Floor Boss just yet.


    We will only have one go at it, and no retries, because failure here means death, plain and simple. And we don¡¯t even know how powerful this guy is going to be, and we have no reliable way of judging that up. Sure enough, Needlewoods, the enemies of this first floor all die after one blow from Durandal, but Durandal is OP as shit, so that¡¯s not much of a milestone here. But then, what should I do? Grind and train until I could kill Needlewoods with the Copper Sword, the crappies of the crappy weapons? Technically that is perfectly doable, but I¡¯m afraid that it would take too much of our time and ultimately accomplish nothing. And while we are on the subject of grinding, stronger monsters from the higher floor would truly be more suitable for it than the weaklings found here. To that end, ascending to the higher floors as fast as possible would really be a good idea. And you know, maybe the fact that the enemies here can no longer offer anything to us really is our cue that it is high time to face the big baddie and be out of here onto the greener pastures.


    ¡¸Since it is a Floor Boss, then doesn¡¯t that mean that it is pretty strong?¡¹


    I asked her for confirmation.


    ¡¸It¡¯s going to be all right, master. I believe that the Floor Boss here won¡¯t be any problem to you. For you see, both the monsters inhabiting the floors and the Floor Bosses are a set. As for the Boss itself¡­ well, I seem to have forgotten the exact details about him¡­ but anyway, since you have been able to kill all the enemies thus far with one or two blows, he won¡¯t stand a chance against you, master!¡¹


    ¡¸Okay, that¡¯s¡­ cool, I guess?¡¹


    I feel like Roxanne¡¯s faith in me and my combat abilities might be a bit too enthusiastic, but on the other and, she might be right. If we were fine thus far, then how hard this guy can actually be. If the normal Needlewoods are any indication, she shouldn¡¯t be much harder than them, unless we¡¯re in for a sudden difficulty spike of course.


    ¡¸Ah! Master, look!¡¹


    While I was listening to Roxanne¡¯s explanations about the Floor Boss, the door to the Boss Chamber slowly began to open. Welp, if there was ever any chance for us to turn back, it just went and fucked itself out the window.


    ¡¸I know you might be nervous, master, but do try to relax. Not many people have entered this Labyrinth so far, and I bet that even fewer made it this far! Now then, let us be on our way. And who knows, if we¡¯re lucky, then maybe we¡¯ll be able to salvage some of the equipment from the Parties that tried to conquer this Floor Boss before us.¡¹


    Whoa there, care to run that by me again?!


    ¡¸Equipment from¡­ previous Parties¡­ as in¡­?¡¹


    ¡¸When a Party gets annihilated by the Floor Boss, the next Party to challenge him has all the rights to claim the weapons, armor and items of the ones who tried before them as their own.¡¹


    Should you really be calling that ¡¸being lucky¡¹ then? And more importantly, should you really be so excited about such a possibility?!


    Without delving into the matter further, Roxanne went ahead and entered the Boss Chamber before me.


    I don¡¯t know if I am just too cautious about this or is she being too casual, but a little caution never hurt nobody, but she¡¯s already inside the chamber so I guess there¡¯s nothing I can do about it now other then heading in myself, hoping that we are somehow going to pull through this.


    As soon as I set foot inside, the door closed behind me with a loud bang. As for the room itself, it wasn¡¯t all that different from the rest of the first floor, just your regular cavern measuring about four to five square meters. When I looked at the floor and near the walls, I saw no pieces of equipment lying around anywhere, which could basically mean one of two things: either the Party who challenged the Floor Boss before us succeeded without anyone dying and they have ascended to the second floor, or no one has actually fought this guy before us. Honestly, I think possibility #1 is more probable.


    Finally, when we reached the center of the room, clouds of green smoke gathered before us, revealing the figure of this floor¡¯s Floor Boss.


    It is taller than me and the normal Needlewood combined. It¡¯s body is entirely green, and it has two massive branches that could very well be the separate tree trunks instead of arms.


    Identify!


    When I appraised it, its name has been revealed: Udowood (TL Note: Udo: a type of medicinal plant related to ginseng, native to Japan, Korea and eastern China. It commonly is found on the slopes of wooded embankments. And that¡¯s your piece of useless trivia for today). Udowood, huh? Well, to me it looks like an oversized, beefed up Needlewood, but sure game, let¡¯s pretend that it is something else entirely. It definitely is stronger than the usual Needlewoods, but thankfully it is at the same level as them, so maybe it¡¯s a rule that the Floor Boss¡¯s level cannot be higher than that of the mobs.


    ¡¸Let¡¯s go, master!¡¹


    Roxanne run up to it and slashed one of its legs with her Scimitar. I hurriedly rushed in behind her.


    Udowood raised its branch arm and slammed it towards Roxanne, but she avoided it like it was nothing by lightly twisting her body. I also avoided it by backstepping.


    After recovering from its previous attack, Udowood attacked once more, this time with its other arm. Roxanne dodged it once again and counterattacked by slashing it with the scimitar. I wanted to jump in to attack it as well, but I just couldn¡¯t find the right timing to do so.


    Aside from its two main arms Udowood also had a second set of them located on its back, so it possesses the means of defending itself from being attacked by two people simoultaneously.


    Next time it attacked, Roxanne took its blow head on with her Wooden Shield and slashed back at it the moment it was briefly stunned after having its attack blocked. That was also a change for me to finally let it have a taste of Durandal¡¯s blade! Take thissssss!


    My attack connected, but even after eating it in its entirety, the Udowood was still standing. As expected of a monster classified as a Floor Boss, it probably has so much HP that it didn¡¯t even flinch from that strike just now. By the way, even though it was nothing more but a small fry when compared to this guy right here, the Gumi Slime that I though on the road to Veil also could not be felled with Durandal¡¯s single strike, even though it was Lv.1, the same as this guy here. But that was to be expected, since even though their levels might be the same, different monsters will have different HP pools and damage resistances.


    When it finally took notice of me, Udowood started employing its other set of arms to attack us more fiercely. Roxanne did her best to draw its attention away from me so that I could have another clear shot at it. Going behind it¡¯s back, I slashed it with a wide, diagonal arc. It was another successful hit, but once again, it was not enough to take this guy down. Just how much health does he have?! I¡¯m hitting him with Durandal, the strongest weapon at my disposal for Christ¡¯s sake!


    Comparing my movements to Roxanne¡¯s once more, it¡¯s obvious that they are completely different. It attacked her again, but she evaded and escaped his every attack like it was the most obvious thing to do in the world. After Roxanne¡¯s next dodge, I took another step back to get a better look at what we are dealing with. Those four arms are a problem, but I feel like as long as we will keep moving and attack it in a hit & run fashion, Udowood won¡¯t be able to keep up with us. It shook its branches and targeted Roxanne with its next attack.


    Yes, this might just work.

 Volume 2 - CH 3.09

    Well, to be specific once again, I do not have the power to finish this guy off, but my Durandal does. But of course, Roxanne does not know about that, and maybe that is why she is acting a little bit bolder than usual.


    Anyway, now that this guy¡¯s attention is focused sorely on Roxanne, I can switch my focus to another part of its body, specifically the back right above where its ass should be¡­ and go all out and go in dry with another slash, the one that will hopefully end all!


    Here it goes¡­. RUSHHHHHHHH!!!


    *SLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!!!!!!!!!!*


    There was dull sound of metal cutting through wood when my attack hit the Udowood¡¯s back and slid all the way down to his cheeks. And after that, it slowly took a few steps back and fell to the ground, where it disappeared in a storm of green clouds.


    Alright, we did it! The Floor Boss bites the dust, and we¡¯re both alive and well!


    ¡¸Ah, look, master it looks like a leaf.¡¹


    When the smoke from the monster disappeared, what was left after it was a single leaf. This is Udowood¡¯s Drop Item? But it really looks just like any ordinary leaf with no peculiar qualities whatsoever. Even after looking at it with Identify, it told me exactly that: this is a normal leaf.


    Roxanne went and picked it up for me.


    Essentially, it has to be said that while it was my damage that secured us the victory, what made that victory possible to begin with were her godly moves. I mean seriously, they were something that would be totally impossible for an ordinary human like me. Even if I were to use Overwhelming, I am sure I would only be able to imitate her motions in a truly non-graceful display, and even that¡¯s something I cannot be absolutely sure of, since Overwhelming only slows the enemy it hits down, doing nothing to improve my own reflexes¡­ ah! That¡¯s it! Maybe she¡¯ actually using Overwhelming, or a Skill that is similar to it? Wait a minute, what was the Skill of the Beast Warrior Job again? I¡¯ll have to check it in the Party Job Settings.


    Roxanne¡¯s current Job levels are: Beast Warrior Lv.7, Villager Lv.8, Farmer Lv.1, Warrior Lv.1, Swordsman Lv.1, Explorer Lv.1, Monk Lv.2 and Herbalist Lv.1.


    Oh? Looks like she unlocked one mor Job! A¡­ Herbalist?


    ¡¸Roxanne, what is a Herbalist, exactly?¡¹


    ¡¸Herbalist? That is a type of Healer who can turn leaves and such into medicine, salves, potions and the like.¡¹


    Roxanne explained when I asked her about it. Oh, and by the way, the Skill associated with the Beast Warrior Job is called Beast Attack.


    Now that we have defeated the Floor Boss, the door at the other side of the room opened in their own. Aside from the leaf that dropped From that Udowood, there was no other reward for us, no treasure chest, no pile of gold, no nothing. Maybe there was some kinda additional reward, but it was snatched by the Party that came here before us? That would suck serious ass. Just to be on the safe side we checked the entire room one more time, and when we found nothing we decided it is high time to move on.


    ¡¸Can I see that leaf for a sec?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course.¡¹


    Roxanne handed it over to me. Yup, nothing unusual or out of the ordinary here. This is just a normal leaf.


    ¡¸So¡­ about the Beast Attack. What kind of Skill is that, exactly?¡¹


    I asked while spinning the leaf in my fingers. What I specifically wanted to know was if it possesses any effect similar to that of Overwhelming. But if the name itself was to be any indicator, then I guess that it is a purely offensive Skill rather than a support one.


    ¡¸Ah, so you wish to know about it? Well, from what I heard it¡¯s a Skill that all the Beast Warriors possess, and that it can inflict a great deal of damage to monsters¡­ but that is all I know. Also, I¡¯m sorry¡­ but I cannot use that Skill myself.¡¹


    ¡¸Huh? What do you mean you cannot use it?¡¹


    ¡¸Every Skill can be considered to be a type of a magical spell that uses a chant that is composed entirely in Brahim language, and Brahim itself is a holy language so ancient that its words themselves became seeped in magic. Therefore, if you cannot speak Brahim fluently, then you won¡¯t be able to cast spells or use Skills.¡¹


    Is that so? Then it¡¯s a good thing that apparently I am able to speak it fluently. I always thought that it might be a very useful language, and I am happy to see that apparently I was right. So if you want to use Skills and cast magic, you have no choice but to learn Brahim, huh? At this rate, it might very well become a common language one day.


    ¡¸But, like¡­ weren¡¯t you studying Brahim before we met?¡¹


    ¡¸Well, yes, but actually¡­ I am still not all that good at using it.¡¹


    ¡¸How so? You don¡¯t know the exact chants needed to cast spells and Skills?¡¹


    ¡¸No, that¡¯s not it. The chants do come to my mind whenever I want to use them¡­ but there is just too much details and complicated nuances in them, like accent or pronounciation, and if you want get all those things right, the spell or Skill won¡¯t work at all. So as you can see, it is something way above the level of a casual everyday conversation where you have to basically be able to understand the entire language perfectly, otherwise you might as well just give up.¡¹


    Chants just come to her mind whenever she wants to use the spells or Skills? That sounds oddly familiar, but does not concern me, since I have the ability to omit the chanting part entirely. Anyway, it¡¯s good to know that those rules apply to other people as well, not just myself.


    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹


    ¡¸Also¡­ whenever the chants popup into my head, they always catch me off guard so I am unprepared, but not being able to use them is not that big of a deal for me anyway, and beginners like me are generally discouraged from using them, so¡­¡¹


    ¡¸I see.¡¹


    Well, it sure sounds like a big deal to me. And personally, I don¡¯t think that Roxanne is a beginner at all. If she¡¯s so powerful now, then I can¡¯t help but wander just how much stronger she would have become if she was able to properly utilize all of the Skills at her disposal.


    We proceeded to the next room through the newly opened door. Behind them was a simple stone corridor with a black wall-portal at the very end.


    ¡¸If we use this portal, we should arrive at the Labyrinth¡¯s second floor.¡¹


    ¡¸Let¡¯s go then. There¡¯s no point delaying the inevitable, is there?¡¹


    ¡¸Right!¡¹


    And with that we stepped right into the portal, eagerly expecting what was going to be waiting for us on the other side.

 Volume 2 - CH 3.10

    After entering the portal and passing through the momentary all-engulfing darkness, we have found ourselves in a room that was awfully similar to the Waiting Room before the Boss Chamber on the first floor. It was a room four to five square meters wide, but this time, instead of having only two doorways, one in the front and one in the back, the passages to the left and right were also present, like in the normal room with the crossroads on the first floor. When we got here, the portal behind us didn¡¯t disappear, meaning that we can probably use it anytime if we want to go back to the floor below us.


    But seriously now, everything here look exactly as it did below, to the point where it would be impossible to tell that you have ascended to the higher floor if you were blindfolded and kicked through the portal, because the process of teleportation itself didn¡¯t involve any kind of giveaways that you were being transported, like having goosebumps all over your body or that unpleasant, sinking feeling in your stomach. Also, if I¡¯m not mistaken or missing something, Dungeon Walker should work here as well, so there is no harm in giving it a try.


    ¡¸Roxanne, would you mind fighting the Floor Boss of the first floor again with me?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, of course! I see no problems with it!¡¹


    All right. For now, this will be our number one priority.


    When we defeated the Floor Boss, Roxanne obtained another Job: Herbalist. That is nice and all, but how exactly did she do that? What kind of condition she managed to fulfill for that to happen? You become a Thief when you steal things, and going into the Labyrinth makes you an Explorer. Going by that logic, the most probable condition for becoming a Herbalist was picking up medicinal herbs. I do remember, although vaguely, that some leaves can be turned into medicine, therefore they can be classified as medicinal herbs, so picking it up will grant you the Job of Herbalist. Then again, I have not obtained it after I held it in my hand when Roxanne gave it to me, so I guess just holding it won¡¯t do. Maybe I have to specifically pick it up right after it is dropped after the Floor Boss gets defeated. At least, that is my hypothesis about it, we will see whether it is right or wrong. But if it would be as simple as picking it up, then my life would be that much easier. From now on, I guess we just have to make a habit of collecting every single item that the monsters drop, not that we didn¡¯t do that already anyway.


    I gave the leaf back to Roxanne and then we went back through the black wall to the floor below. But instead of going back to the room right after the Boss Chamber, our eyes were assaulted by the flood of dazzling radiance.


    We were back at the entrance to the Labyrinth, where the Explorer guy who could teleport you to the floor of your choosing was standing. So I guess that door is a one-way street, huh? I can¡¯t say that it ruins our plans, but it is a kind of a bother. I thought we could go back to challenge the Udowood right in a matter of seconds, but now, who knows if we won¡¯t have to go through the entire first floor again? Whoever designed it in such a way must have had a very weird definition of the word ¡°convenience¡± written in his/her personal dictionary.


    Roxanne looked like she wanted to say something, but just as she was about to open her mouth she decided not to do so, because right behind our backs, a group of six people appeared. Judging by how they were dressed, they must be a Party. She must have heard them approaching, and that¡¯s why she didn¡¯t speak up. Good going, Roxanne. The last thing we want is some randos listening in on our conversations by accident.


    The one who looked like a rouge, a tall man in a long cape came to the Explorer and started a conversation.


    ¡¸How far?¡¹


    He asked. The Explorer answered him without even lifting his head or opening his eyes to look at him.


    ¡¸Fourth floor.¡¹


    Roxanne and I moved away to the side of the road where we pretended to organize the items in our backpacks so that we could evesdrop on what exactly they were talking about. We¡¯re not doing anything bad, or against the law, before you ask. Information gathering in one of the most important skills an aspiring Adventurer is supposed to have, and how those information are obtained is not anyone else¡¯s business but ours.


    The caped guy looked at his companions, especially at the one who looked like a Knight, and gestured them to come closer. Compared to the rest of them, the Knight¡¯s armor looked to be the most solid one, but that should be obvious, since in games Knights always fight at the frontlines, tanking the most damage. Good to see that some of the video game stereotypes I am used to still hold true here.


    ¡¸What monsters are on the fourth floor?¡¹


    The knight spoke directly to the Explorer at the entrance.


    ¡¸Minotaurs. Going up from the first floor to the fourth, there are Needlewoods, Green Caterpillars, Kobolds, and then Minotaurs.¡¹


    ¡¸We could deal with the Kobolds of the third floor, so I think we can try taking on the fourth.¡¹


    Everyone nodded in agreement, after which the Knight urged the caped guy. He held out hos hand and said:


    ¡¸Bring forth the stored riches of eight hundred thousand five hundred. Item Box, open!¡¹


    Was that the actual chant needed for the summoning of the Item Box? Ever since I have been able to use it I did so with the Chant Omission Skill, so I wasn¡¯t even aware that you needed to say something so mouthful just for it to pop out.


    The caped guy, who, for the ease of reference I assume to be the Party¡¯s Explorer opens up the summoned Item Box and takes something out of it. I couldn¡¯t see it well, but Identify revealed it to be a silver coin. As usual, Identify proves itself to be handy in a situation such as this. The Party¡¯s explorer then tossed the coin to the one at the Labyrinth¡¯s entrance. He caught it midair and stored it in his own Item Box, the one where he probably kept all the money Adventurers paid him for his teleportation services.


    ¡¸Faith in companions, with pure, honest hearts, Party Formation!¡¹


    The caped Explorer than sang another chant. What is it this time, some kinda Party-forming spell?


    The two Explorers then entered the newly opened portal, and went inside. Just the two of them, while the rest of the Party stayed behind, but the other two were back at the entrance before long, and the Explorer casts the Party spell again after he whispered something to the Knight.


    ¡¸Very well then, let us march onwards to the fourth floor!¡¹


    He declared that loudly, giving everyone else the signal to march through the portal. Watching them all as they disappeared one by one, I approached the entrance as well.


    What was that all about?


    Did those two went on to the fourth floor to scout out the terrain?


    Since Dungeon Walker can let you travel to any place within the Dungeon that you have previously visited, then I guess that the leader of this Party must have been to the fourth floor before. The Explorer at the entrance serves as a guide, so he probably visited the fourth floor before as well. I imagine his services must be especially valuable to those who have never been into the Labyrinth themselves before, but joined the Parties of the Adventurers who did. If two people form a Party, a guide who has already been to the fourth floor could go back there with those who have yet to reach that floor themselves, and once they are taken to the fourth floor, those who have never been there before could now travel there with their entire Parties.


    They went in with the Party of five people, but I cannot say whether those numbers will be enough to conquer the fourth floor or not. And more importantly, will the two of us even be able to go that far ourselves without enlisting additional help?


    Well, I guess there¡¯s no use worrying about that now when we just barely arrived at the second floor. We have to do the best we can for now, and worry about the next floor when we actually get to them.


    ¡¸Well, shall we go back inside, Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes!¡¹

 Volume 2 - CH 3.11

    Going back to that talk about being able to visit places that you have yet to visit yourself though¡­ I remember that when I was still gathering the funds for Roxanne¡¯s purchase, I once saw those two guys who appeared in the Adventurer¡¯s Guild building, asking is anyone wanted to get along for a ride to that one town with them. In that sense, I guess traveling to the places you have yet to visit yourself could also work like that. Let¡¯s assume that there are two Adventurers who can use Field Walker, but one of visited a town that the other one did not, once they move to that town together, they both will be able to travel there from that point onward. It might not be on the level of cars, plains and trains from my old world, but I guess in this one people also can travel pretty much anywhere rather freely, as long as they will make an active effort to do so.


    We approached the entrance to the Labyrinth once again. The Explorer at the entrance didn¡¯t even flinch when we went past him. He just stood there, back against the wall and his hands crossed on his chest, looking all cool. I wonder if there are cases where he takes people to certain floors but has to take them right back because they get overwhelmed by how strong the monsters are, to the point where they actually decide to skidaddle the hell out of there and re-enter the Labyrinth at a lower level? I just hope I won¡¯t have to make such an embarrasement out of myself, now and never.


    When we approached the black portal¡¯s wall, I noticed that I could now choose the point that I wanted to be teleported to. Up until no we were only exploring the first floor, so I didn¡¯t have much of a choice of where to go, but because we have defeated the Floor Boss and ascended to the Labyrinth¡¯s second level, the options available to us have increased. Well if that is the case, then second floor it is!


    Thinking about the second floor, I marched into the portal with lively steps. The small room serving as the entrance point was not all that different from the one at the first floor, to the point where it could be said that they are basically identical. Well, since I came through the portal then we should be at the second level, so I don¡¯t think there is any reason for worrying just yet. Before we head back to face the first floor¡¯s Floor Boss one more time, I might as well test something out. Dungeon Walker!


    One of the places possible to go on the list was {First Floor: Waiting Room before the Boss Chamber}. Choosing that travel point I wanted to go through the portal¡­ but I couldn¡¯t do it. *Sigh* So I guess that confirms my suspicions that even when using Dungeon Walker, there are places where you can go, but also the ones that you cannot go to. Waiting Room before the Boss Chambers seem to be one such place. Could this be¡­ a prevention method of sorts? Maybe against one Party challenging the Floor Boss over and over again, since it would bother the other Parties wanting to do the same?


    ¡¸So you won¡¯t let me take the easy way out? I see, so that¡¯s how it is. I understand, I totally get it! But it¡¯s fascinating nevertheless. Who would have thought that it just wont work this way?!¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm¡­ I¡­ I see?¡¹


    Roxanne looked at me with worried eyes filled with pity.


    Okay, alright. It¡¯s a bummer that we cannot go straight to the Boss Chamber, but that is nothing to be salty about. As they say, failure is the mother of success, much in the same way as boobs are the source of every man¡¯s libido (TL Note: Well excuse me, what about those who prefer butts over boobs, huh?!). For the time being, let¡¯s just move on to the warp point closest to the Boss Chamber. Maybe we would have been able to go straight to the Waiting Room by using Warp to get there, but there is always a possibility that other people might be there, and things would definitely get heated if they started asking questions about how we got there. And as for trying to use Warp to get into the Boss Chamber only to find out that that there is already a Party fighting against the Floor Boss¡­ yeah, so I¡¯m not even going to bother trying that.


    ¡¸Okay, we¡¯re here. Do you know where we are, Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, we should be pretty close to the Boss Chamber, so we should be able to go back there without any issues.¡¹


    ¡¸All right, then let us go straight there. Without any needless stops, if at all possible.¡¹


    ¡¸Roger!¡¹


    I ask Roxanne to guide us there. We proceede3d forward while swiftly dispatching any Needlewood that came into contact with us. The door to the Boss Chamber opened as soon as we reached our destination. Looks like we are in luck; no one seems to be fighting inside.


    If it¡¯s like that then we could have Warped here no problem, but now it can¡¯t be helped since we¡¯re already here. Once we stepped into the proper Boss Chamber, clouds of green smoke began to gather, revealing the figure of Udowood. So, we meet again, huh? Can¡¯t say it¡¯s been that long since we last met or that I am missing you, so be a good monster and die now!


    Together with Roxanne, we stood at the opposite sides of it. In response, it shook its branches at us. I hurriedly stepped back to get out of harm¡¯s way. Roxanne also dodged its attacks by twisting her upper body. I wish I could be right there next to her to help her, but with my sluggish, clumsy movements it is unavoidable. My safety is my top priority.


    Roxanne, who evades the incoming attacks with barely any movements slashes at the Udowood¡¯s branches whenever she can. I firmly grabbed Durandal with both my hands and lowered my stance.


    Udowood took a big step and swung its branches at her from overhead. Roxanne stepped back and avoided it, even though after such a strong attack the entire surroundings shook and trembled from the impact¡¯s force.


    Now that we put some distance between us, I noticed that something started glowing at Udowood¡¯s feet. A geometrical pattern shining with a pale blue light¡­


    That was a magic circle!


    Crap, this is not good!


    I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s an Attack Magic circle or Summoning circle, but whatever that thing is it¡¯s obvious that is nothing good! Literally every fiber of my body is screaming that I should not allow it to activate or else!


    A Skill, spell, or summoning smaller monsters to aid it, which one of those it¡¯s going to be?! In any case, if I don¡¯t want to find out the hard way, I¡¯ll have to defeat it quickly!


    I hurriedly smacked the Udowood with Durandal. When I did that, the magic circle, which started to glow so brightly that it began to hurt my eyes, disappeared. What the hell?


    Then I remembered that one of Durandal¡¯s Skills was the Chant Interruption. That is probably why the magic circle disappeared when its blade came into contact with the Udowood¡¯s body. Come to think of it, that thing doesn¡¯t even have a mouth, so technically it cannot use chanting, so that¡¯s why it wanted to use a magic circle instead? In that case, the magic circle could really be called a substitute for chanting, meaning that it could also be interrupted with a Chant Interruption Skill. Yeah, that makes a surprisingly large amount of sense!


    ¡¸Master, look out!¡¹


    Roxanne screamed towards me. I was so absorbed in my own thoughts that I didn¡¯t even noticed when a branch started heading my way. I was being targeted!


    Oh crap! I won¡¯t be able to dodge it in time!

 Volume 2 - CH 3.12

    ¡¸Ghaaa!!!¡¹


    Fuck! Even though this guy is nothing more but a walking piece of rotting tree, that one direct hit was more than enough to make me gasp for breath. Yep, its attack is definitely higher than that of the Slow Rabbit and the Needlewood¡¯s combined. Unlike the strikes of its smaller brethren, I can still feel that blow pulsating in my side and reverberating throughout my entire body.


    I could hear the sound of branches cutting through the air, meaning that another strike was coming my way. I wanted to hurriedly roll to the side in a desperate attempt at evasion, but before I could do that, the thick branch was stopped dead in its tracks. Looks like Roxanne blocked the incoming strike with her shield, and then she avoided the other one that tried to hit her from the right.


    I waited for the moment when the branches will go past me and launched an attack with Rush. Thanks to Durandal¡¯s HP Absorption I regained the health that I lost due that attack just now and I no longer felt like my lungs were about to burst with every breath. I tried to avoid the branch that was swiped at me from the left, and barely managed to do it, being literal inches from sustaining another injury. But at least now I know: if you watch their movements closely, even someone as sluggish as me will be able to dodge most of the attacks, it¡¯s just a matter of getting the timing right.


    Roxanne blocked another strike coming her way with the shield, and I aimed my second attack at the moment where the Udowood was briefly stunned after having its attack parried. Unfortunately it didn¡¯t connect, because its second left branch forced me to halt my advance just as I was about to bring my sword down on it. Damn it, and I was this close!


    Another attack was coming towards us from the right, right after the previous one. Roxanne moved swiftly and dodged it, but I couldn¡¯t avoid it in time. I was hit with another wave of dull pain, but quite ironically, this worked to my advantage, because the Udowood¡¯s movements stopped for a second again. That was the opening I needed for another Rush attack. It connected splendidly, and Durandal¡¯s blade cleaves through its body with ease. Udowood trembled, and then fell to the ground, and we were victorious once again. Eventually its body turned into the clouds of smoke and disappeared.


    ¡¸Phew, we somehow managed to pull through¡­ again.¡¹


    But this time I allowed myself to be hit by its attacks not once, but twice. No matter what, I have to get stronger so situations like that, where Roxanne has to protect me by putting herself in danger won¡¯t happen again.


    ¡¸Yes. It was also good thing that master was able to get rid of its magic circle before it activated.¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, but more than me, it is this sword that you should be thanking.¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yes, of course. Your weapons are as amazing as you are, master.¡¹


    As I said to Roxanne, the most likely reason for the disappearance of the Udowood¡¯s magic circle was Durandal¡¯s Chant Interruption Skill.


    When the smoke after the Floor Boss finally disappeared, a single leaf was left in the place it fell, just like before.


    ¡¸Wait a second, Roxanne. Allow me to pick it up.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, okay. As you wish.¡¹


    I stopped her just as she was about to pick the leaf. Now that I picked it up myself, I should have also obtained the Herbalist Job. I focused my mind and summoned the Job Settings screen. Ooooh, there it is. I have obtained the Herbalist Job. So it was just as I suspected, we really do have to pick up every single thing that monsters drop if we don¡¯t want to miss anything, and I have to be the first one to do it, otherwise Roxanne will be the one who will unlock the potential new Jobs first. Now then, what Skill does this Job have¡­?


    Looks like it¡¯s Crude Drug Creation. If I remember correctly, leaves could be processed into something like that. In that case¡­


    I changed my third Job to Herbalist and tried generating the Crude Drug from the Udowood¡¯s leaf in my possession, and watched as it turned into a bunch of pills in my palm.


    ¡¸There. Done and done.¡¹


    ¡¸Eh?! Umm¡­ master, amazing! That¡¯s amazing!¡¹


    Well, technically Roxanne can do it as well, but I¡¯d have to set her Job as a Herbalist first before she could use that Skill.


    ¡¸But remember: your lips are sealed.¡¹


    ¡¸R-Right, of course. Master, the longer I am with you, the more you manage to surprise me.¡¹


    Roxanne look at me obediently. The way she doesn¡¯t question anything when I¡¯m telling her to keep more and more secrets is truly awesome. That is one of the things that I admire the most in her. After all, I am nowhere near as amazing as she is making me out to be. All that is amazing about me is that I can have multiple Jobs equipped at once, and that¡¯s it. If anything, I am an amazing fraud.


    ¡¸Can you give me you leaf? I¡¯ll make some medicine as well.¡¹


    ¡¸Ah, okay.¡¹


    When I appraised the finished pills, it turned out that they are Poison Antidote Pills. So just as their name implies, they are supposed to be curing various poisonings, right? No, wait just a gosh-darn moment¡­!


    If something as Poison Antidote Pills exist, the status of being poisoned must exist in this world as well. Otherwise, there wouldn¡¯t be any need for making Antidote Pills for the poisoning if there was no risk of getting poisoned in the firs place!


    If that¡¯s the case, then coming to the Labyrinth for so long without any methods of countering poison was very reckless of me. Ridicolous even.


    ¡¸Roxanne, are there any monsters that can poison you?¡¹


    ¡¸O yes, there are, quite a lot of them, actually.¡¹


    ¡­. FUCK!


    Roxanne handed me the leaf left by the first Udowood we have slaughtered.


    ¡¸Can you tell me more about it?¡¹


    I need to know as much about them as I possibly can.


    ¡¸Well. I don¡¯t think we will have to worry ourselves with it on the first or second floor.And even then, I don¡¯t think it will be any problem since you are so capable, master.¡¹


    ¡¸I see.¡¹


    ¡¸In the first place, there is nothing to fear unless you get hit by such a monster¡¯s attack.¡¹


    Roxanne, it makes me happy that you¡¯re the only one who thinks like that.


    ¡¸You sure are wise, Roxanne.¡¹


    ¡¸T-Thank you very much.¡¹


    Next, I turned Roxanne¡¯s leaf into Antidote Pills as well. I made around ten of them from a single leaf, which I think is a lot. When I was done, all of them went into the Item Box.


    ¡¸Think we could sell those to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild?¡¹


    ¡¸Absolutely. Normally, if you¡¯re a Herbalist you¡¯d only be able to sell them to the Herbalist¡¯s Guild, but you can either sell them to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild since you do not belong to any guild yourself yet, distribute it between Party members or simply dispose of it. Actually, Adventurer¡¯s Guild is the usual place for people to buy those kinds of supplies.¡¹


    So normally you buy that stuff from the Guild rather than making it yourself, huh?


    If there is the medicine that can cure poison, then there are probably all kinds of medicine that can cure all kinds of different status ailments, am I right?


    It was really dumb of me not to think about them before, but what could I do? Up until a few minutes ago I had no idea those things even existed, so I guess that makes for a pretty viable excuse.

 Volume 2 - CH 4.01

    Chapter 9: Mage


    Kaga Michio


    Current levels & equipment:


    Explorer Lv.16


    Hero Lv.13


    Herbalist Lv.1


    Equipment:


    Durandal


    Leather Armor


    Leather Jacket


    Leather Gloves


    Leather Shoes


    After we defeated the first floor¡¯s Floor Boss for the second time, we headed straight to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild to sell the Crude Drugs what we made from its Drop Items. Technically we could go to the second floor, but we decided to postpone it until we get our hands on more medicinal items. Roxanne told me that we won¡¯t have to worry about being poisoned on the first and second floors, but it¡¯s better to be safe than sorry. That way, if we do end up getting attacked by something that can use poison, we will be ready to counter it at any given time.


    First off, we¡¯re selling the branches and Poison Antidote Pills I have made at the Guild¡¯s counter. I know that a viable option here was to leave some of the pills for ourselves, but let¡¯s be honest here, if all it takes to make them is killing the Floor Boss on the first floor for the leaves it drops over and over again, then that won¡¯t be a problem for us. And since the both of us acquired the Herbalist Job, then we can cheat the system a little by having some of it on us at all times.


    ¡¸Here you go.¡¹


    The very nice (and well endowed) lady behind the counter returned to us with the money for everything we have sold her plus the additional 30% from my Skill.


    ¡¸So, do you sell any medicine besides Poison Antidotes?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course, sir. Besides Poison Antidotes, we also sell Potions and Remedies, the cheapest ones for only 60 Nar each. We also have Anti-paralysis Potions, Softeners and Cure-All¡¯s, 100 Nar each.¡¹


    My guess is that Potions recover HP while Remedies do the same for MP? As for the rest, they probably heal various abnormal status changes, but I have no idea which of them are going to be an absolute necessity for now, so¡­


    ¡¸Give me two Softeners and two Anti-Paralysis Pills.¡¹


    For the time being that seems like the most practical thing to do. Since I don¡¯t know how many of them we are actually going to use, it is better not to buy anything in needlessly large quantities.


    ¡¸Understood.¡¹


    The woman left her seat and returned with the items shortly after, placing two white and two yellow pills before me.


    ¡¸And those are?¡¹


    ¡¸Allow me to explain: the white ones are the Softening Medicine, while the yellow ones are the Anti-Paralysis Medicine.¡¹


    Oh, so the effects are color coded? Neat.


    Just to be absolutely sure I appraised them myself, and it was just like the lady said: white ones where Softeners, yellow ones were Anti-Paralysis, there could be no mistake about that. The name of the Anti-Paralysis Medicine was pretty self explanatory: it is the medicine that cures the Paralysis status effect. But then, what does the Softeners do? Going by the name, it should have something to do with fixing the stiffness of the body, so maybe it is used to cure Petrification, or however this effect is called here? Anyway, no further explanations were given to me, so I just placed four silver coins on the counter.


    The lady counts each coin carefully and pushes the pills towards me one by one. But even though I bought more than one item, my 30% discount didn¡¯t activate, and it is starting to piss me off. When I was buying hot water and lanterns at the Veil Pavilion it always seemed to work as long as I was buying at least two of them, so I wonder why it didn¡¯t work this time?


    ¡¸What about something for the recovery of both mind and body? What are the prices of those medicines?¡¹


    ¡¸The cheapest healing medicine are the Nourishment Pills, costing 60 Nar, and the cheapest exhaustion Remedies are the red Strengthening Pills, also costing 60 Nar.¡¹


    ¡¸Then give me two of those as well.¡¹


    I decided to buy them as well. I am sure that having HP and MP recovering medicines will benefit me, if not in the future then in the long run. The lady left her seat again and returned with another set of Pills: blue ones and red ones. According to the appraisal, the blue ones were the Nourishing Pills and red ones were the Strengthening Pills. In the end, I guess it¡¯s good that they all have different colors, since without it distinguishing between them would be pretty much impossible.


    ¡¸Thank you for your purchase. That will be 240 Nar.¡¹


    ¡¸All right.¡¹


    So the discount didn¡¯t work this time either.


    ¡¸Ah, I am terribly sorry to ask this of you, sir, but could you make your payment in bronze coins?¡¹


    ¡¸Sure, no problem.¡¹


    I said, handing two silver coins and fourty bronze coins to her. Is is customary to pay for those Pills with bronze coins? Because if so then I didn¡¯t know that and no one bothered to inform me about that. And besides, she should be able to tell that I gave her the exact amount of money she requested, 240 Nar, simply by checking the amount of silver and bronze coins.


    ¡¸I am truly sorry for the inconvenience, sir.¡¹


    Well, if she honestly feels bad about it, then I guess there¡¯s no reason dwell on the matter any further. She then collected each coin separately, giving me one Pill every sixty coins. It took a while, but when she finished, I was absolutely certain that the total amount of money required for that transaction was 240 Nar indeed.


    ¡¸Thank you very much for your patience, sir. I have confirmed that the right price has been paid for your items.¡¹


    Well duh, of course it was. It should be obvious to anyone who could perform basic calculations in their head. Unless¡­ could it be that she is unbale to calculate the equation of 60 x 4 = 240 in a flash?


    I don¡¯t know what is the level of education in this world, but judging by the fact that the percentage of literate people is so low that they had to create a profession of Substitute Reader, it cannot be very high.


    I know for a fact that Merchants have the Skill called Calculating, which allows them to perform complicated calculations on the spot. But if this lady right here cannot do that, then that would mean that ordinary citizens or Villagers do not have access to it as long as they don¡¯t have the Job of a Merchant. And if they cannot calculate properly then that means the would be unbale to factor discounts into prices, because how can you know how to calculate 30% of something when you cannot even do basic multiplication and division. However, my 30% discount is supposed to be effective at all times, so why is it that it works when I¡¯m buying things from the Slave Merchant or the Innkeeper, but from the clerk at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild?


    ¡¸Who is responsible for calculating the prices for all the purchases?¡¹


    I asked the lady.


    ¡¸All the prices are set by the officials at the Guild¡¯s temple, but that is something everybody who came there to have a Job Change should know about.¡¹


    Damn it, another sticky subject that I had no idea about! I should just drop this subject entirely if I don¡¯t want to get into unnecessary trouble.


    So apparently this lady thinks I am an Adventurer. Well, I have my Warp point set up on the back wall of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild¡¯s building and I¡¯ve been coming here quite often to sell my items, so I guess I cannot really blame her for thinking that, and honestly, I much prefer it to stay that way.


    ¡¸Is there anything else I should know about the medicines?¡¹


    ¡¸They should be kept in your Item Box at all times to avoid them getting spoilt or damaged. If they do end up like that, the Guild won¡¯t buy them off of you, so please bear that in mind.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay, got it.¡¹


    Thankfully, she just offered me an explanation without asking any further questions. It might not have been much, but at least I have learned something new again today. After I packed all the Pills into my backpack, we left the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.


    So the clerks in the Guild are not responsible for calculating the prices of items themselves. This makes sense. She doesn¡¯t have the skills necessary for the proper calculation of discounts, so my 30% discount won¡¯t activate. So maybe that means that it will work with Merchants who do have the Calculation Skill, and with them only?


    Calculation. Looks like this Skill might be more important than I actually gave it credit for.

 Volume 2 - CH 4.02

    So far, according to my personal knowledge the merchants that can use Calculate include: Slave Merchants, Weapon Merchants, Armor Merchants, Clothes Merchants and Innkeepers, although I don¡¯t know if the Innkeeper¡¯s Job allows him to use it or perhaps he also has the Merchant Job. As far as I know, if people don¡¯t have any of the aforementioned Jobs, they won¡¯t be able to use Calculate, meaning that my 30% discount will become effectively useless when doing business with them.


    If the merchant possesses the Calculate Skill, my discounts will work without any problems, and the Skill itself is a passive one that triggers whenever a calculation has to be performed in one¡¯s mind, presenting you with the right answer straight away, factoring in the percentages from any increases or decreases the Skill in your possession might be giving you. Moreover, even though it is always active it doesn¡¯t use any MP. There is no need to use Calculate when you buy and sell things separately, because the numbers and their value won¡¯t change. 1 Nar is still 1 Nar, 100 Nars is still 100 Nars. That must be why my 30% discount didn¡¯t work, because when you buy and sell multiple things and the clerk¡¯s Calculate activates, the Prize Discounts Skills activate as well. Well, it is nothing more but a hypothesis, but knowing that might actually come in handy in the future.


    Once our buying business was completed, we were ready to go back to the Labyrinth¡¯s second floor, this time for real.


    ¡¸Stay vigilant, master. The enemy is really close by.¡¹


    We went forward with Roxanne¡¯s guidance, and soon we saw it, our first monster encounter on the second floor. Appraisal!


    Needlewood Lv.2


    Bah, what a killjoy. The first enemy we have run into on the new floor was the same Needlewood that was prowling on the first floor, except this one had a higher level. I wonder it is going to become a pattern where the enemies stay the same but their levels will progressively go up with each floor? But I must admit, a part of me was genuinely happy that the level of that monster is only Lv.2. That means we should expect Lv.3 monsters on the third floor and Lv.4 monsters on the fourth floor, right?


    But the most important question for now is: how much stronger did it get now that it is Lv.2? To test it out I attacked it with Durandal, and it died after a single blow, just like its brethren the floor below. It might have became stronger when its level went up, but in the end, when faced with the might of my Durandal it was still not enough to save it from being one-shotted. Also, I think the fact that I am much stronger and my levels are much higher in comparison to when I first entered the Labyrinth¡¯s first floor might have something to do with that as well. Or at least I want to think that it does. Then, I noticed something.


    ¡¸Roxanne, look. Isn¡¯t that another monster, right there in the shadows?¡¹


    ¡¸It¡¯s a Green Caterpillar. It is a monster native to this particular floor. It is a rule that aside from the new ones, the monsters from the lower floors may also be present on the higher ones.¡¹


    Roxanne imparted another piece of knowledge to me. I see. So the first floor only had Needlwoods because it was the very first floor. But here on the second floor, which is a native habitat of the Green Caterpillars (which are totally gross by the way), there is also a possibility of Needlewood¡¯s showing up, even though they are not this floor¡¯s main monster. So when we will go up t the third floor, we will encounter both Needlewoods and Green Caterpillars in addition to the third floor¡¯s main monster type, huh? I see, I see.


    ¡¸Okay, let¡¯s take this guy down as well!¡¹


    ¡¸On it!¡¹


    Our next target was the Green Caterpillar Lv.2 in front of us. It was a caterpillar in every sense of the word, meaning that is was all bouncy and slimy, and had those big, creepy segmented eyes, and to add fuel to the fire this monstrosity was the size of a medium dog. I can¡¯t say that I am afraid of bugs, but I am also not particularily fond of them either, so every time I saw it crawling forward by constricting the muscles of its entire body I couldn¡¯t stop myself from shivering. Thankfully a short mid-battle observation showed that it only possessed a few slow, telegraphed attacks, so avoiding it was much easier than with the Udowood in the Boss Chamber. Now if my guess is correct it shouldn¡¯t be all that mobile with a body like that, so it won¡¯t be able to dodge me when I will flank it from the side and swing Durandal down at it!


    Yes, this one was also downed in a single blow! When the green smoke disappeared, the Revealed Drop Item was a bundle of threads. I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s the thread that these guys would eventually use to encase themselves in it to wait until they could morph into butterflies¡­ yeah, right, as if something so ordinarily cute was to happen in a deadly dungeon filled with bloodthirsty monsters.


    As we made our way forward and fought more monsters, I started to notice a pattern of sorts. We are at the Labyrinth¡¯s second level, the enemies are all Lv.2, and so far all of them came in groups of two: either two Needlewoods Lv.2, two Green Caterpillars Lv.2 or a mixture of a Needlewood Lv.2 and a Green Caterpillar Lv.2.


    ¡¸Two monsters ahead of us: one Needlewood and one Green Caterpillar. Shall we proceed that way, master?¡¹


    By the way, is it just me, or is Roxanne able not only to smell the presence of monsters, but also differentiate between their types as well? Depending on how I choose to use it, it might become a very powerful ability recoinassance-wise.


    ¡¸As expected of my ever so reliable Roxanne. I am still not used to fighting two of them at the same time, but they die in one hit so I guess there¡¯s nothing to be afraid of. Lead the way then.¡¹


    ¡¸Right. Leave it all to me, master!¡¹


    Roxanne then guided me to the location of the two Green Caterpillars. They had their backs against us, so by the time they realized we were approaching them we were able to dispatch them in a swift and sure manner.


    ¡¸I wonder if we will always fight pairs of enemies here.¡¹


    I said after the finished battle.


    ¡¸Most likely. But we might as well happen upon just one enemy.¡¹


    ¡¸Huh. So, do you think that when we will go up to the third floor, we will fight a maximum of three enemies at once?¡¹


    ¡¸No. Based on what I heard, groups of three enemies start appearing from the 4th floor onward, and from 8t floor onward there will be groups of up to four enemies at a time.¡¹


    That¡¯s a relief to hear.


    ¡¸So going with that tendency, there would be five enemies starting from the 16th floor, am I correct?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, you understood it perfectly. That is exactly right. You are such a swift learner.¡¹


    That is nice to hear, but it doesn¡¯t change the fact that the further up we will go, things are only going to get scarier and more difficult. Even if the enemy numbers won¡¯t be increasing by one per each floor, we will have to face groups of three on the floors 4 through 7, and groups of 4 from 8th floor upwards. And if the Labyrinth will be big enough, we will probably have to face groups of 5 different monsters from the 16th floor onward, and six from the 32nd one¡­. And that one makes me more than a little worried. Hopefully this Labyrinth won¡¯t be this big.


    Well, there is no point worrying our asses off with such a distant future. For now we only have to deal with a maximum of two monsters at once, so when the time comes for us to finally take on larger groups, hopefully we are going to be richer and stronger, and capable of taking on any number of adversaries without breaking a sweat.

 Volume 2 - CH 4.03

    The next pair of enemies we happened upon was a Needlewood Lv.2/Green Caterpillar Lv.2 pair.


    ¡¸Take care of that Green Caterpillar, Roxanne!¡¹


    ¡¸Umu!¡¹


    I gave the battle instructions and we charged in together. Since the Green Caterpillars are just like their normal counterparts except for being really big, they are not all that mobile, which makes them vulnerable to the attacks from the back and the sides, since turning around takes them too much time. Because of that, in my personal opinion they might be even easier to fight than the Needlewoods, who are dangerous no matter from which side you try to approach them due to those pesky branches of theirs.


    I slashed the Needlewood in half with Durandal, while Roxanne attacked the Green Caterpillar with her Scimitar. Green Caterpillar tried to retaliate with a Rush attack, but Roxanne just twisted her body lightly, making it miss the mark completely and slam into the Labyrinth¡¯s wall with a rather squishy, wet sound. She¡¯s just so awesome. Taking advantage of the fact that the Green Caterpillar must have blacked out a little after its collision with the wall, I swung Durandal on its back. It screeched loudly and exploded into smoke. The way I see it, it doesn¡¯t matter if we face two, three or six enemies at once. As long as I have Roxanne with me, I feel like nothing will be able to stop us.


    Morning the next day. When I woke up, I noticed I was hugging Roxanne. Having her as my personal hugging pillow was the best thing ever, since she was soft, smooth and warm like no other, and when I pressed my face against her chest, I was met with the sweet feeling of bouncy elasticity that threathened to suck me in at the same time. This is great. This is truly irresistible!


    While still half-asleep, I received my good morning kiss from Roxanne. Her soft lips and mouth both taste so sweet, making all of my senses melt from the pleasure. While fully enjoying both the taste and the sensations, I slowly sticked out my tongue and made it twirl around hers. She welcomed me with little to no resistance, so I traced mine along its surface, taking my sweet time as I did so.


    With each passing minute, Roxanne wanted more and more of me, which I could tell by the obvious movements of her tongue, which only grew in intensity. As I did my best to satisfy her needs, I felt a familiar firmness rising between my legs, but I did not care about that. All I cared about for now, was the union of our intertwined tongues and how they danced with each other.


    When we both decided that we finally had enough, I let go of Roxanne¡¯s lips, although I did so very reluctantly.


    ¡¸Good morning, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Good morning, Roxanne. Here¡¯s to another successful day.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. May it be filled with success once again.¡¹


    We got dressed and left the inn, heading straight into the Labyrinth once more.


    Our exploration of the second floor is going well. Surprisingly well, I would say. Even if we¡¯re facing two enemies at once, both the Needlewoods and Green Caterpillars die with a single strike from Durandal. It can be said that so far our victories were all an easily achieved ones. In fact, they were so easy that I asked Roxanne to guide me to a lot of places on this floor without taking the time to rest, because we weren¡¯t even tired, even after a few battles that happened in quick succession.Also, out of all the groups of enemies we fought against, only about half of them consisted of the pair of monsters. It seems that Roxanne was right: even though this is the second floor, where the number of enemies per battle increased from one to two, the appearances of lonesome monsters were still quite frequent.


    If we are only facing a single opponent, it can be defeated it with only one strike from Durandal without possessing any kind of risk to us. When we¡¯re facing off against two, we split them up between us, meaning that Roxanne takes on one monster while I clean up the other one.


    Roxanne uses her tremendous moves to keep her enemy at bay by dodging, blocking with her Wooden Shield or parrying it with her Scimitar. Each of her actions is a display of splendid movements that makes me fall for her even more every time I see them. With her at my side, I cannot feel the increase in the enemy¡¯s levels at all, because the strength of our teamwork turns them all into an absolute cakewalk. Durandal has its role to play in making our battles even shorter. Whenever I happen to dispatch my enemy first and I see that Roxanne did not defeat hers after slashing it with the Scimitar a few times, I always Rush in to help her. Usually, one Rush attack to the back of the unsuspecting monster is enough to send it six feet under.The Green Caterpillars have an attack where they can spit their threads at you, but it is not a problem if you just move to their sides or behind their backs, since the threads only travel a little bit to the front in a cone-like pattern. Just be sure to do that, and you won¡¯t be in any kind of danger.


    Roxanne does not allow monsters to hit her at all, and I myself am rarely attacked because I kill all of my opponents with a single strike of my sword and then help Roxanne deal with the ones that focus on her, leaving them entirely at my mercy.


    The one thing that I am potentially worried about though, are the Trap Rooms, a.k.a the small rooms filled to the brim with monsters, just like that one I happened upon on the first floor.


    I¡¯m not worried about myself because of Durandal¡¯s HP Absorption Skill, but Roxanne is another story entirely. Even though her reflexes are superior to mine and she can evade almost every attack that is being thrown her way, I fear it would amount to nothing when faced with large number of enemies who could overwhelm us with their numbers alone, and that terrifies me. I know she¡¯s strong, but if anything happened to her, I would have never forgiven myself for it. We got ourselves the Monk Jobs exactly for that, to be able to heal ourselves if we ever ended up in a bad situation, but the question here is: would we be able to heal ourselves in time if such a situation ever happened?


    But you see, the problem here is that if we won¡¯t try to clear such a room with the two of us we won¡¯t even know whether we are cut out for it or not, but knowing the risk that it entails, I just don¡¯t want to push our luck more than we absolutely have to.


    Despite my continous concerns, today¡¯s hunting went extremely well. I guess that¡¯s the power of being overly cautious to you.


    Roxanne took the lead and guided us to another cavern, casually approaching the wall at its end. When she did that, a part of the wall made a noise and slowly slid down, reveling a hidden passage leading to a small room. Could it be? Did we really stumble upon the dreaded Trap Room just now?!


    Keeping all of my senses on high alert I re-grasped Durandal and readied myself for an intense battle¡­ but there was no monsters inside. Is this place actually safe? I found it somewhat hard to believe.


    ¡¸Roxanne, we should remain cautious.¡¹


    ¡¸It¡¯s all right, master. We should be fine, because the smell of monsters is very faint here.¡¹


    ¡¸I¡­ I see. T-That¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s good, I guess.¡¹


    Roxanne can locate monsters based on her sense of smell, but she also said to me herself that it is not a perfect method of detecting that might not be able to locate enemies in certain locations, like rooms behind closed doors or Trap Rooms.


    Am I still being cautious? Or is my cautiousness bordering on cowardice now? Well, I do have to admit that when that door moved with that pretty loud noise it made me freak out a little bit, but can you blame me? The last time I went into such a room I was in real danger of being gangbanged to death by Needlewoods, so forgive me for being a little on edge here, will ya?!

 Volume 2 - CH 4.04

    If there is any place for us to get in trouble here on the second floor, then there is no place better for it than the Trap Room. Just imagine it: we¡¯re brimming with confidence, thinking that everything is going to be fine as long as we can one-shot everything with Durandal and avoid the attacks coming our way and then BAM and we¡¯re getting jumped by so many enemies that all our advantages can just go fuck themselves. That is also why I think that being wary of it is not a bad thing to do at all.


    [In the first place, stumbling upon the Trap Room is already a pretty rare occurance. It¡¯s that kind of luck that you just don¡¯t see everyday.] [Can you really call that ¡°being lucky¡± though?] [Well, I guess normally you would call that unlucky, but since you¡¯re here, master, then we will be able to take care of all the monsters in no time! We might get surrounded if we¡¯re not careful, but isn¡¯t that why we worked so hard on obtaining the Monk Job for ourselves? So that we could use Healing Skills in the hour of need? That way, we will fight lots of monsters, waste them with one or two attacks and obtain a lot of their Drop Items. That¡¯s why I said we are being lucky.] [Y-Yeah.]


    I know what she wa trying to say, but I still find that idea to be rather strange, but of course I¡¯m not going to say that out loud.


    Going beyond the would-be Trap Room, we happened upon another Needlewood-Green Caterpillar pair. Without even thinking about it, I charged at the Needlewood and slashed it with Durandal. Now that one nuisance is taken care of, I can focus on supporting Roxanne by attacking the Green Caterpillar from the back if the need for that arises. For now though, I can just stay on the sidelines and watch how it¡¯s going to turn out.


    As expected, Roxanne was avoiding Green Caterpillar¡¯s attempts at harming her without much difficulty. What¡¯s more, she does so by only tilting her body ever so slightly to the sides, dodging the attacks at the last possible moment without making any wasteful or unnecessary movements. After witnessing so many of her fights, I developed an absolute trust in her ability to avoid attacks, and I am confident that she can handle every normal attack thrown her way, probably as much as she must be. When the Green Caterpillar Roxanne was fighting missed its Rush attack and briefly stopped moving, that was a cue for me to whack it with Durandal from the side, so I guess that makes it another time where I have basically defeated all of the enemies by myself, and that makes me feel kinda bad about myself. But just a little bit.


    The next group Roxanne guided us towards consisted of two Green Caterpillars. As per the usual routine, I ran up to the nearest enemy and promptly dispatched it with one strike. But just as I was about to turn around to how Roxanne was doing¡­


    [Look out, master! Something¡¯s coming!]


    She shouted a warning towards me.


    Looking closely at the second Green Caterpillar, it had an orange magic circle glowing under its body. I was too far to interrupt it in time, so it had all the time it needed to finish casting whatever it was that it was trying to cast, and when the circle disappeared, it opened its ugly mouth wide and spat out something.


    It¡¯s a thread.


    Much like with that one other attack that we saw earlier, Green Caterpillar threw webbings from its mouth, only this time, the threads it spat looked a lot stickier and covered both more distance and had a much bigger radius, flying widely in all directions. Such a move was definitely more befitting of a spider rather than a caterpillar, but now is not the time to be worrying about such technicalities!


    Sensing the danger behind it, Roxanne made a hasty retreat to put as much distance between herself and the flying wave of webbing as possible. I tried to slash it away with Durandal, but there was too much of it, so I ended up covered with the sticky stuff. The feeling was every bit as creepy as I expected, and to top it off, the web that landed on me seemed to restrict the movements of my arms and legs, as if a sticky tape was wrapped all around my body. I writhed and trashed about, but no matter how hard I tried, the web just didn¡¯t want to come off!


    Meanwhile, the Green Caterpillar that spat all over me turned its attention away from Roxanne and started to move towards me. Damn it! Does it prioritize the targets that it managed to immobilize with its web attack?! Roxanne hurriedly ran towards me with the aim of drawing its attention away from me with her Scimitar, but she will not make it in time.


    If the Green Caterpillar¡¯s intent was to slowly devour me, then I guess it will try to do so by biting into me, in which case I should be able to endure a few bites, since with my current levels the damage I would take from a Lv.2 monster should not be all that big, but if at all possible, I would like to avoid being chowed down on altogether. So how about¡­ if I try to do¡­ THIS?!!


    The web bound my legs below the knees, so thankfully I was able to bend them and move them just enough to kick the Green Caterpillar in its ugly mug just as it entered my melee range. Following up on that, I threw my bound hand, which were still gripping Durandal¡¯s hilt tightly, into the air, allowing the gravity to do its thing for me. As a result, Durandal¡¯s blade was driven into the Green Caterpillar¡¯s back as if it was made out of jelly, splitting it almost in half, after which it just rolled onto the floor, green blood spilling out of the fatal wound I inflicted.


    Not gonna lie, that was a closer one than I would have liked. I wonder if the webby restraints had no negative effect on my attack power, or they did, but it was so miniscule that I was still able to defeat the Green Caterpillar in a single blow despite being under their influence?


    The Green Caterpillar disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving it¡¯s usual Drop Item, its thread, behind. At the same time, the threads that were restraining my movements also disappeared.


    ¡¸Note to self: these assholes have not one, but two web attacks. Avoid at all costs.¡¹


    ¡¸It really does look that they possess such an ability. I¡¯m sorry, master. Due to my incompetence you found yourself in a position where the enemy could easily target you¡­¡¹


    ¡¸It¡¯s fine, don¡¯t beat yourself up over it. There was nothing you could do about it, and besides, it¡¯s also my fault for letting my guard down around them too much, so it is as much my L as it is yours. One saving grace here is that as long as you defeat the monster that use the Skill, then the threads disappear. If it wasn¡¯t for that, then I guess you can say that we would have been in a pretty¡­ sticky situation.¡¹


    ¡¸¡­.¡¹


    ¡¸¡­ Also, if we just watch the Green caterpillars more closely from now on, we should be able to easily avoid their attacks and stop them from casting that Skill.¡¹


    But the one who got caught in it was just me. Roxanne managed to avoid it without any difficulties.


    ¡¸So from now on, let¡¯s defeat the Green Caterpillars every time we happen upon one, okay?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, no objections here!¡¹


    Green Caterpillar can use the Skill that makes them spit sticky threads that seal the movements of whomever it touches. Still, we¡¯ve been around the second floor for quite a while now and that was the first time I saw one of them actually use that Skill, so it has to mean that they do not use it all that often. If we just focus on dealing with them first. The only potential problem can happen once they start appearing I large numbers, like, for instance, in¡­ yes, that¡¯s right, you guessed it, the Trap Room like the one on the first floor. If an entire room¡¯s worth of them were to use their sticky threads at all time, we definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to dodge them all or kill each and every one that used them.


    And then there is also the other web attack that will slow you down when it hits you. My bigger concern with it is that if we get hit with enough of those, we might end up becoming so slow that the fight might be grinded into a complete halt, and we will be opened for more thread attacks that will slow us down even more, Durandal¡¯s HP Absorption included.


    That, I¡¯ll have you know, would suck some serious scrotum.

 Volume 2 - CH 4.05

    What if we fail to annihilate the enemy on time? The answer to that was quite obvious: injury or certain death. Even Roxanne, who is quite adept at the art of dodging attacks might not be able to do anything when slowed down and faced with the omnidirectional attack, even if she tried to jump over the Green Caterpillar¡¯s bodies before they finished casting their Skills, which I can easily imagine.


    ¡¸For the time being I think that the best course of action will be to avoid the Trap Rooms whatsoever, since they still might be too dangerous for us to tackle with just the two of us. Let¡¯s exercise extreme caution if we happen upon one of them ever again, alright?¡¹


    ¡¸Understood. As long as master is with me, I feel like I can take on any kind of challenge, no matter what it is!¡¹


    I wonder what is she basing that rather pompous assumption on? And why did it sound so sexual? Maybe she is going to try and show off by dispatching the Green Caterpillars in some overly flashy way, like a leaping charge attack on the poor bastards that won¡¯t even know what hit them? I know it sounds ridiculus, but I also know that Roxanne would be willing to do something like that, and she is more than capable of pulling such a crazy stunt off, especially with her Monk Job.


    Maybe I should think of a way of pulling us out of the ambushes and other similar situations? For example, if I could use some powerful AoE magic that could hit multiple enemies at once, carving out an escape route wouldn¡¯t be a problem at all, even if we were facing off against a small army of monsters. Something tells me that Meteor Crash would be ideal for it, but regretfully I am still unable to use it effectively (read: I can¡¯t use it at all.) How much longer will I have to grind to change that? Even though I have been killing monsters diligently in order to raise the levels of my Jobs, I have a feeling that they are starting to get harder to raise now, but there is nothing I can really do about it, since it is only natural that the amount of EXP points required foe a Level Up won¡¯t be the same for a Job at Lv.1 and the Job at Lv.99. Now, should I just continue to do exactly what I was doing up until now until I can finally use Meteor Crash, or should I find some other way in case that does not work?


    Well if this Labyrinth turns out to be more dangerous than it is actually worth it we could always try moving into another one, but I feel like that would be nothing more but taking the easy way out, so I don¡¯t want to resort to using such a drastic measure, if at all possible. *Sigh* what should I do here? What is the right answer here?


    Finishing the exploration and leaving the Labyrinth for today, we returned to Veil and walked around it. The city seemed to be even livelier than usual, most likely because today should be the day of the bazaar. Yeah, come to think of it, it has been around five days since I started taking Roxanne to the Labyrinth with me, so that should be about right. Looking at what the various stalls had to offer, we went to the Explorers Guild. But before we could even set our feet inside¡­


    ¡¸Master? What are you¡­?¡¹


    I stood in front of Roxanne and covered her with my body, hiding her from view.


    ¡¸Roxanne, listen. Try not to make it too obvious that you¡¯re looking, but¡­¡¹


    Right now I am facing the Explorers Guild with my back with Roxanne pinned with her back to the wall, glancing sideways. Normally I would gloat about performing a splendid kabedon on her, but now was not the time for such trivialities.


    ¡¸Ah, y-yes?¡¹


    ¡¸Can you see that man standing in the shadow of that building over there?¡¹


    ¡¸Umm¡­ yes, I see him. He¡¯s standing there all alone.¡¹


    Roxanne turned her face to me and moved her gaze a little, so that it would look like we were just talking to each other.


    ¡¸Does it look to you like he¡¯s looking at Alan-san¡¯s slave shop?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, it doesn¡¯t look like that at first glance, but upon closer inspection, you¡¯re right. That is exactly what he is looking at.¡¹


    ¡¸As I thought.¡¹


    So Roxanne thinks so as well.


    When we were going through the city earlier and headed to the Explorer¡¯s Guild I saw that Bandit standing across the road. How do I know that he was a Bandit? Because ever since I hunted Bandits to get the money I needed to buy Roxanne, I developed a habit of Identifying suspicious-looking people when I see them, and that guy over there¡­ was the acquaintance of that one scumbag I killed in their hideout. And now he is just standing here, looking suss as hell. Could this be fate, or one of its sick jokes? Also, it is incredibly rare for Bandits to be seen in the good part of the city when the sun is till up. I never thought I¡¯m going to see them going out of the slums, if I am to be perfectly honest.


    ¡¸You think he might be a customer? Because he doesn¡¯t look like that to me at all.¡¹


    ¡¸I think so to as well. But if he is not a customer, then who is he?¡¹


    ¡¸Most likely a Bandit. And the one that is not probably not interested in your usual, legal transactions.¡¹


    ¡¸But what might he want form the slave shop I was in?¡¹


    That I do not know, but there is no doubt that he is eyeing up Alan-san¡¯s shop, the one located just across the road from where the Explorers Guild was.


    ¡¸I don¡¯t know that. Maybe there are some pretty important customers inside right now? For the time being, let¡¯s go back inside the Explorer¡¯s Guild.¡¹


    ¡¸Alright.¡¹


    We went inside and sold all of our items first, and after we got our hands on the money, we proceeded to check the boards for any useful information.


    Since this guild posts all of the information related to the Labyrinth and its exploration, it might be worth our while to check if there are any information regarding the Trap Rooms or the quests available at the second floor. If we¡¯re lucky, then maybe we¡¯ll find out that the End of Search Declaration has been posted? Once it is issued, we won¡¯t have to worry about stumbling upon any Trap Rooms, because issuing the End of Search Declaration means that the entire floor has been thoroughly explored and all the Trap Rooms have been cleared of the monsters inhabiting them.


    ¡¸And? Found anything over there?¡¹


    ¡¸No, no declarations have been posted for the second floor so far.¡¹


    Regretfully, we found no such notice on the Explorers Guild¡¯s bulletin boards.


    ¡¸Well? What do you want to do now? Should we at least go and give Alan-san and a warning?¡¹


    I made sure that no one was listening in on us and asked Roxanne in a voice that only she could hear.


    ¡¸I would be grateful lif we could do that. One of the ladies who works there has always been nice to me, so I would like to keep her safe if at all possible.¡¹


    Even though she was sold there by her relatives, it looks like not all of her memories of that place are the bad ones. Yes, giving them a warning is the least we can do right now, because if we just chose to do nothing, it would leave a bad aftertaste in my mouth.


    ¡¸Let¡¯s go then. And when we will be going past that guy, try not to stare at him or else he might catch that we are onto him.¡¹


    ¡¸Right!¡¹


    And we left the Explorer¡¯s Guild, heading towards Alan-san¡¯s slave shop while trying to behave as naturally as possible so that the Bandit didn¡¯t start being suspicious of us.

 Volume 2 - CH 4.06

    When we arrived at the slave shop and knocked on the door, the young servant came to greet us.


    ¡¸Welcome. What can I do for you?¡¹


    ¡¸Is Master Alan inside? Could you get him for us?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, of course. And please, do come in.¡¹


    We came inside, just like the servant told us to. As I was going through the door I glanced back over my shoulder, but I wasn¡¯t able to see the Bandit, meaning that he must have retreated deeper into the alleyway where it would be more difficult to spot him.


    Roxanne and I were guided to the back room, where Alan-san was meeting with all his customers. His servant opened the door for us and told us to wait inside, leaving us with a short ¡¸Please wait here for a moment¡¹.


    I entered the room and sat on the sofa. If Alan-san is really meeting with some customers right now, then it is possible that we will have to wait quite a bit for him to come down to meet us.


    ¡¸You can sit down if you want, Roxanne.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you, master, but it¡¯s fine.¡¹


    ¡¸So you¡¯re just going to stand the entire time?¡¹


    ¡¸I think that will be for the best. Besides, I am used to it, so it¡¯s not a problem for me.¡¹


    I sat down, but Roxanne continued to stand up, just like she said she would, but I don¡¯t know about that. What does she mean by ¡¸it will be for the best?¡¹ anyway? I want her to be treated as my equal, so maybe I should tell her to sit down, or stand up myself? Well, Roxanne¡¯s judgement in those kinds of situations is probably way more accurate then mine, since I cannot read the mood of people¡¯s intentions for shit, so I just decided to nod and drop the matter entirely.


    It wasn¡¯t long before Alan-san came down to greet us.


    ¡¸Oh, now what do we have here? Welcome, and thank you for stopping by my shop once again.¡¹


    ¡¸Sorry to bother you. Weren¡¯t you with another customer just now?¡¹


    ¡¸No, not at all. I am free at the moment.¡¹


    ¡¸I see.¡¹


    Yup, now I am absolutely sure that this place is 100% targeted.


    ¡¸So, what did you wanted to discuss today? Because I assume that is the reason for your visit?¡¹


    Alan the Slave Merchant sat on the sofa. After giving Roxanne a brief but stern look, he joined his hands together and leaned forward in front of the table.


    Ahh, I get it. He thinks that I came here today to discuss a refund for Roxanne. I can¡¯t say I really blame him it that is really what he thinks. After all, if I was in his shoes and a customer who bought a slave from me returned after just a few days, I would also assume that it was either to make a complaint or to try and get his money back. *Sigh* Maybe Roxanne was right about not sitting down after all?


    I remembered that the first time I came to this shop in order to sell the Villager who has become my slave because he tried to steal the Bandit Bandana that rightfully belonged to me, instead of being sent to this very waiting room he met with us inside of the shop itself. But the fact that we are sitting here right now seems to be indicating that he is not treating me as a random customer anymore, but maybe that was because that young aide, or worker, or servant or whatever you want to call him didn¡¯t tell him I came here to sell Roxanne? Then again, assuming that would have been kinda dickish of him, when we only asked him to announce to Alan-san that we wanted to speak to him. Well, I guess there¡¯s nothing I can do about it right now. I just have to go with the flow.


    ¡¸Allow me to cut right to the chase. This place is being watched.¡¹


    ¡¸Watched, you say?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, that is indeed what I said. We came to warn you about it, because Roxanne said that she couldn¡¯t ignore the shop that helped her out so much and the people who work here.¡¹


    That should make it clear enough that I am not here to sell Roxanne today, but now everything hinges on how is he going to react once he realizes that I will probably not be buying any new slaves as well.


    ¡¸Is that so? Ohohoho, I guess I¡¯m getting so old that even I fail to notice such things more and more often.¡¹


    The corners of Alan-san¡¯s mouth rose a little.


    ¡¸Duly noted. I will be sure to be more careful in the future.¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s it? I told you, there is a suspicious-looking man watching your shop from the outside.¡¹


    ¡¸I understood that, and I realize full well that things like that might be happening from time to time, due to the¡­ peculiar nature of my business. Nevertheless, I thank you for you attention and the time you took to inform me about this matter.¡¹


    He told me with a gentle expression. Looks like he¡¯s not taking me seriously. Again, I can understand why he is acting like that. Everybody would have done the same if someone suddenly came to them and told them that their business is being eyed by some shady individuals.


    For him, I am not a regular customer, not a nobleman, a great knight, a big-shot or even someone well-versed in the matters of slavery. To him, I am just your regular one-time customer same as all the others he probably has to deal with on a regular basis, no different than a total stranger. Thinking about it that way, it¡¯s not surprising that he dismisses the words of such a nobody as a mere triffle.


    ¡¸Anyway, we just wanted to give you this warning, so we will be on our way now.¡¹


    ¡¸Once again, thank you for going through the trouble of informing me about this, but running this kind of business often makes us a target of many-a-different people, many of whom are too indecisive to actually set foot in the shop, loitering around the entrance.¡¹


    ¡¸Trust me, the ¡°customer¡± we saw outside definitely didn¡¯t look like that. He seemed to be one of the more ¡°problematic¡± kind, the one that is not interested in simply ¡°buying¡± slaves.¡¹


    ¡¸Or perhaps he was a private eye hired by a wife suspecting her husband of infidelity.¡¹


    Is he trying to say that this shop being monitored is an occurrence so common that he stopped paying any mind to it? I guess that¡¯s true given the shady nature of his business, but still¡­


    ¡¸Uhm¡­ the person who watches your store right now¡­ is a Bandit.¡¹


    Perhaps she was bothered by the fact that we were not being taken seriously as well, so Roxanne chose to open her mouth with such bold words.


    ¡¸Hou¡­ a Bandit, you say?¡¹


    Alan-san¡¯s face tightened visibly.


    ¡¸Yes, that¡¯s right.¡¹


    ¡¸What makes you think that?¡¹


    When I confirmed Roxanne¡¯s words without batting an eye, Alan-san inquired further. Well, I knew that sooner or later it had to come to this. Even if someone is really eyeing the shop, that alone does not make them a criminal just yet, so obviously he wanted to know what I based that assumption on. But I cannot tell him that I found out about it by using Identify on that guy, so I have to feed him the best possible lie I have in my repertoire.


    ¡¸He¡¯s one of the people whom I got to ¡°know¡± while I was making money to purchase Roxanne.¡¹


    I managed to scramble up the necessary amount of money to buy her only because I decided to do some Bandit Bounty Hunting, but I imagine that since he is a Slave Merchant then he must at least have an inkling of how someone like me managed to get that much money so fast. He might not be getting the entire picture here, but he can probably guess enough to know that I wouldn¡¯t be lying about something like that.


    If you wanted to take on Bounty Hunts related to Bandits, naturally you had to know where to look for them and how to discern them from ordinary citizens. And I don¡¯t want to sound like I¡¯m bragging, but after all the investigating that I carried out in the slums, I guess you could say that I got to memorize quite a few suspicious faces rather well.


    ¡¸I see now¡£So that¡¯s how it is.¡¹


    Alan-san sank deeper into the sofa. He then closed his eyes and let out a big sigh. Was he finally going to seriously listen to what we had to say?

 Volume 2 - CH 4.07

    ¡¸I am afraid that I cannot say much more, for the sake of one of your workers who was especially good to Roxanne whom she wishes to protect.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I am very grateful to her for all that she did for me when I was still in your care, so I would like you to pass our warning onto her as well. If nothing else, I don¡¯t want her or any of this store¡¯s employees to be caught in something disastrous.¡¹


    She bowed deeply to him.


    ¡¸I see, I see. Certainly, I can¡¯t say I don¡¯t see where you¡¯re coming from, or what you are talking about.¡¹


    Alan-san acknowledged. So at the very least he has some inkling of what is going on here? Then why didn¡¯t he do something about it from the start.


    ¡¸Do you, really?¡¹


    ¡¸When you run a slave-trading business for long enough, you naturally give many people more than enough reasons to target you, and before you will realize it, you will have a full plate of things to worry about¡­.¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s how it is, huh?¡¹


    Sounds like a cheap excuse if you ask me, and frankly, I¡¯m not buying it.


    ¡¸¡­ especially since we are getting more acquainted with our slaves and those who buy them than you might be thinking. For example, the man you came here to sell, the one that tried to rob you.¡¹


    ¡¸What about him?¡¹


    The man who tried to steal the equipment from the Bandits I had defeated back at the Somara village. He was caught stealing by his fellow villagers, which resulted in him being stripped of his Villager status and becoming my slave, whom we had taken to Veil in order to sell him at this very Slave shop. Thinking about it now, I guess I should be grateful to the guy. Because he did what he did, I had a reason to come here, and thanks to coming here, I was able to have my fated meeting with Roxanne. So yeah, thank you, random Villager. You have my undying gratitude, but you were quite a messed up matchmaker, I will give you that.


    ¡¸He was sold just yesterday. The person who bought him has filled all the necessary paperwork that was required of him and finished all of the necessary preparations, after which he announced that he will come back to pick him up in two days time so that he could finish the preparations for accommodating him on his end.¡¹


    ¡¸Do you often have to deal with the cases that some slaves are unable to be sold?¡¹


    ¡¸I wouldn¡¯t say that such things never happen¡­ however, now that I think about it there is something strange about that man¡¯s case. He was practically a fresh arrival, being in this shop for only a few days, and he wasn¡¯t even able to speak Brahim at all. As far as slaves go, he had next to no value, but despite that he was bought astonishingly fast. Moreover, the client who bought him seemed to have been decided on buying him in particular right from the very beginning.¡¹


    Once you¡¯ve been made a slave as a punishment for theft, I can¡¯t imagine anyone would be willing to teach you Brahim, because that would be straight up too charitable. If you can¡¯t speak Brahim, I imagine your value as a slave would plummet down considerably.


    ¡¸And that client of yours really decided to buy somebody like that?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. Also, he seemed to be even more interested in him when he learned that the item he tried to steal was a Bandit Bandana.¡¹


    Yes, Bandit Bandana was the item that guy seemed to be the most adamant on getting from all of the items left by the raiding party that attacked Somara village. Supposedly that thing can only be worn by Bandits, and when done so, it increases their physical capabilities, most likely giving them boosts to all their stats. According to both Picker-san from Somara and the Armor shop merchant we initially tried to sell it to, it could be sold on the black market for a small fortune. If he wanted to steal that, then it most likely means that he must have had a buyer willing to buy it off of him.


    ¡¸His current owner will be here to pick him up¡­ tomorrow, am I right?¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s right.¡¹


    ¡¸Have you noticed anything suspicious about him? Anything at all?¡¹


    ¡¸There were two guests in total. One of them was asking me all sorts of question related to purchasing slaves, while the other talked with the slave in question. Perhaps he was passing some kind of instructions onto him? I tried to listen in on what they were talking about, but they were doing so in especially hushed whispers, so I am afraid I wasn¡¯t able to learn anything of significance.¡¹


    Maybe it¡¯s just my bias towards Bandits speaking through me, but that seemed suspicious as fuck.


    ¡¸If you asked me, those guys give me all kinds of bad vibes just from hearing about them from you.¡¹


    ¡¸Whatever the case may be, once the payment has been made and all the necessary paperwork has been delivered I¡¯m afraid that I cannot interfere in the affairs of my clients and their newly-bought slaves. We wanted to keep that slave in a locked room separated from all the rest, but the buyer requested that we did just the opposite: he specifically requested for his purchase to be kept in an unlocked room until the day he would come to pick him up. For the time being, we are keeping him in a separate room on this floor of the building. He¡¯s been on his best behavior for now, but there is no telling if he won¡¯t try to leave in the middle of the night, going as far as to meet the Bandits who bought him at the front door.¡¹


    Alan-san told us all of that with a calm face. He didn¡¯t look worried or scared at all, which was quite bald of him.


    ¡¸Is¡­ is that really okay with you?!¡¹


    Roxanne raised her voice worriedly.


    ¡¸Of course. We are in the middle of a city after all. Even if they do appear, a large number of uninvited guests will not go unnoticed.¡¹


    ¡¸B-But if something happens to that nice lady¡­¡¹


    ¡¸Do not worry. No matter what happens, we will probably be fine.¡¹


    Alan-san said that they will be okay, as if he had absolute confidence in his own words.


    Well, whatever. We have warned him about the potential danger to his shop, so I say that our job here is done. Whatever ends up happening next, it will be Alan-san¡¯s problem, not ours.


    ¡¸We¡¯re going home, Roxanne.¡¹


    I said, standing up from the sofa.


    ¡¸Ah, uhm¡­¡¹


    Roxanne mumbled as if she was having trouble with finding the right words to say.


    ¡¸Still worried after all?¡¹


    ¡¸¡­¡­ Y-Yes.¡¹


    *Sigh* What to do Michio? What to do?


    I mean I have dealt with Bandits already, so it¡¯s not like I feel any kind of aversion towards killing them simply because they are human beings just like me. And as long as I have Durandal, I am pretty sure that none of them could pose an actual threat to me. So, with that in mind¡­


    ¡¸How about this, Alan-san? Why don¡¯t you hire me as a bodyguard? What do you say to that?¡¹


    I presented Alan-san with my proposal.

 Volume 2 - CH 4.08

    By proposing to be Alan-san¡¯s bodyguard, I should be able to quell Roxanne¡¯s worries, even if just for a little bit, and avoid having a guilty conscience myself. Because you know, I might not give two shits about the guy I sold here, but if anything happened to innocent people because of him, I have no doubt that it would have left an incredibly bad aftertaste in my mouth.


    ¡¸Are you sure about that? For an owner of the shop to hire one of his customers as a bodyguard, this is rather unheard of.¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah. Besides, I don¡¯t want anything bad to happen to the slave I sold, so you can say that I have a bit of a personal interest in this matter as well.¡¹


    That was only half of the truth, but he doesn¡¯t need to know that. Also, if I get the chance, there is a little something that I would like to try.


    ¡¸Thank you very much, master!¡¹


    Roxanne bowed to me in gratitude. She really looks relieved now. So she was that concerned about the wellbeing of the lady who was nice to her, huh?


    ¡¸Very well then, I accept your humble proposal.¡¹


    Nice. Should things get too hairy for us to handle, the is always an option of getting the hell away from this place by using my Warp. I couldn¡¯t use Dungeon Walker while fighting against the monsters in the Labyrinth, but I think it should be good as long as our enemies will be just your regular Bandits and the battle won¡¯t suddenly move to the Labyrinth itself, since I am able to Warp between the Labyrinth and the Adventurer¡¯s Guild without any issues. Also, a mental note for the future: next time we happen upon one of those monster-filled empty Trap Rooms, I should try fleeing from them using Warp to see what will happen.


    ¡¸Great. Looking forward to working with you.¡¹


    ¡¸Likewise. Now, whether I hired you or not I do not think the problem is going to be as big as you are making it out to be, but let me be absolutely clear about one thing: above all else, I don¡¯t want for anything to happen to my customers and slaves, therefore I would like you to remain in the backline, and only step forward when it is going to be absolutely necessary.¡¹


    ¡¸Gotcha.¡¹


    ¡¸Do exactly that, and your payment will be 1000 Nar. If you manage to defeat the Bandit that threatens the shop, feel free to take any of his dropped items and goods as a bonus to your reward.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood.¡¹


    I thought he was going to be more wary or restrained towards the idea, but Alan-san accepted my proposal much easier than I thought he would. That aside, getting my hands on that extra reward would be pretty sweet, so maybe I should make it my priority to take that one particular Bandit down? Yes, in order to maximize the profits from this job, we absolutely cannot let that guy sneak out and rejoin with his companions. Still, even if we don¡¯t have the full picture of what is going on here, this looks kinda strange. Why would my former slave cooperate with those guys, if the possibility of them betraying him at literally any point in time was quite high? No matter how hard I tried thinking about it, all I could see was no merits to it at all, only the ever-increasing odds of getting backstabbed.


    Combat wise, I don¡¯t think any of the Bandits in the city or in its vicinity were on the level of a guru, since none of the ones I fought with so far displayed any remarkable skills with their weapons, but there has to be something more to it than that. If that was the case, then even the guys who attacked Somara village and were slaughtered by me when I was still a complete noob were guru¡¯s, which was not the case. Even Roxanne wasn¡¯t a guru, even though her combat prowess and the way she was able to avoid even the more complex attacks of monsters seemed to be indicating otherwise.


    Be that as it may, what I am getting at is that even if the chances of anything happening today are low, Alan-san still would lose nothing if he chose to hire us as an insurance against Bandits.


    ¡¸The one watching the shop definitely saw me going inside, so for now we will go back to our inn and come back here when the night falls. That way we won¡¯t make him unnecessarily vigilant.¡¹


    ¡¸If that is the case, then I think it would be best for you to come back here around dawn. If my shop really is being targeted by Bandits, I think that will be the most probable time for them to arrive.¡¹


    ¡¸You think so?¡¹


    Generally, I have to agree with him. The dawn seems like the most probable time for the Bandits to attack, since normally people would assume they would have made their strike in the middle of the night.


    ¡¸Some of my slaves are also capable of fighting. Three of them are here in the shop at all times, while the best five of them always venture out into the Labyrinth around daybreak. If we were being watched for the past few days, then it would be wise to assume that our observer has also taken notice of that fact. I¡¯ll also have you know that I am somewhat strong myself, since I did some adventuring together with my reliable Party before I started studying the ways of the merchant in order to become a Slave Merchant.¡¹


    ¡¸That makes sense.¡¹


    When Roxanne was explaining to me how Parties and adventuring worked, she mentioned that oftentimes the aristocracy and the noblemen would send their children to the Labyrinths accompanied by strong Parties so that the children themselves could gain experience and raise levels quickly and effortlessly since the EXP gained from slaying monsters is being shared across all the Party members. And based on what Alan-san just told me, it looks like that if you want to become a Slave Merchant, you have to raise the level of the ordinary Merchant Job first. Alan-san¡¯s Job is Slave Merchant Lv.44. His age is quite advanced, but even taking that into account, his level is still abnormally high. Now I really wonder if he was frequenting the Labyrinths in his youth.


    ¡¸The peak in the adventuring activities in the Labyrinths is usually early afternoon to an early evening, so my Parties always go there right before dawn to avoid running into an unnecessary traffic. But, as I mentioned before, the Bandits should be well aware of that routine of ours if they were keeping a close eye on us. If we assume that this is indeed the case, then the most probable time for them to make their move would be when the Party of combat-capable slaves leaves the shop for the Labyrinth, meaning from dawn until the afternoon. Of course, I won¡¯t be having them going there. They will remain here on standby, and those of them who cannot fight will serve as a deception.¡¹


    Was that why Alan-san sounded so confident and seemed like that entire matter wasn¡¯t such a big deal? Not that I am complaining, mind you. If anything, I quite like this new development, since instead of waiting cluelessly or getting dragged in the Bandit¡¯s trap, now it feels more we are the ones setting the trap for them.


    ¡¸Hearing that is certainly reassuring.¡¹


    ¡¸I have to admit that it has been quite some time since I retired from the adventurer¡¯s lifestyle and passed the place in my most reliable Party to my son, but I should still have enough steam left in me not to let some petty Bandits get the better of me.¡¹


    He said proudly. Maybe he actually is more amazing than I gave him credit for?

 Volume 2 - CH 4.09

    ¡¸Does this place have a back exit?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course it does. Why do you ask?¡¹


    ¡¸Because we should probably leave through there to avoid being seen.¡¹


    ¡¸Very well then. Allow me to show you the way. It¡¯s just over here.¡¹


    Alan-san showed us the way.


    ¡¸Here we are. I suggest that you use this entrance to get into the shop when you will come back here at dawn. The alleyway is connected to that street over there, so even if the front door will be constantly monitored, no one should notice you when you arrive. Just be sure to remember which building is ours to avoid any needless complications.¡¹


    ¡¸Thanks, but I think we will manage somehow.¡¹


    All we have to do is to Warp over here, so that takes care of that problem.


    He opened the door and let us out. There really was a narrow alley between the buildings. In such a tight space no one would really see us, and getting here would only require a small detour from us, so using this back entrance might really be a good decision. After we confirmed everything we wanted to know, Alan-san walked us all the way back to the front door.


    ¡¸Well then, thank you for your patronage today.¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, you¡¯ve really been a huge help.¡¹


    I said that in an especially loud voice to be sure that the Bandit watching over the shop could hear us.


    ¡¸I look forward to your next visit here.¡¹


    And like that we have left the Slave shop. We went straight ahead, without any needless wandering around, but when we were passing the alley adjucent to the shop, I couldn¡¯t see the Bandit¡¯s figure anymore.


    ¡¸Is he there?¡¹


    ¡¸I can¡¯t really see him, but I can definitely smell him from behind the building.¡¹


    ¡¸Good.¡¹


    I had a quiet conversation with Roxanne once we went past the Explorer¡¯s Guild. As expected of Roxanne, even in the crowded city filled with all kinds of smells, she was still able to track down that particular one like it was nothing.


    ¡¸Uhm¡­ I¡¯m sorry for being so selfish during the meeting.¡¹


    ¡¸You don¡¯t have to be. I was the one who made him the offer, and he accepted it out of his own volition.¡¹


    ¡¸But I was the one who blurted out that that man was a Bandit because I allowed my emotions to get the better of me.¡¹


    So she realizes how risky that was. True, things could have gone very bad if I didn¡¯t come up with an excuse, but since I did then I guess it¡¯s all fine. I managed to keep my secrets, so there¡¯s no use mulling over it now.


    ¡¸It¡¯s all fine with me. Just try to be more careful in the future, okay? And remember: any trouble of yours is a trouble of mine as well.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes! Thank you so very much!¡¹


    With Roxanne thanking me once again, we have returned to the Veil Pavilion. Initially I just wanted to eat dinner and go to bed, but with our current arrangement I guess that won¡¯t be happening. For the time being, Roxanne performed both the usual maintenance of our equipment and the laundry of our underwear by using the hot water delivered to our room after we finished eating. She had to do it, because, to be frank, I sweat a lot. Not because the Labyrinth is a particularly hot place, but because of all the fighting I was doing, which should be an obvious thing, right? Fighting requires you to move your body around a lot, and moving around a lot causes you to sweat, all the more if the equipment and armor you are carrying around with you weights a hefty amount. And since sleeping in sweaty, smelly underwear would be a straight-up unpleasant experience, I was grateful to have someone ready and willing to do my laundry for me. Unfortunately, there are no normal baths or showers available for everyone is this world, so we have to get by with the closest equivalent available, which is wiping our bodies with towel dowsed in hot water. It cannot hold a candle to a long, refreshing soak in the bathtub, but it was definitely better than not washing ourselves at all. Given the circumstances, it was actually quite comfortable. And since Roxanne was wiping herself without voicing any complaints, then she must be thinking that as well. And now it is my job to carefully wash every part of that work-of art body of hers.


    A fresh and clean-looking skin. A bust so magnificently big and well proportioned that it almost seemed like a miracle. Once again I have felt something slowly accumulating inside of me, but it shouldn¡¯t be a problem for now, because if it will be close to bursting, I have someone who will readily take care of it for me.


    ¡¸Mmm¡­ ngh¡­.¡¹


    A few hours later, after Roxanne made me spit out all of my accumulated lust, she once again woke me up with a passionate kiss. Since I managed to catch a good amount of z¡¯s, I was in a refreshingly good mood even though I have just woken up.


    Since we had a job to do very early in the morning, I asked her to wake me up a little bit earlier than usual. I gotta say, having my tongue massaged by Roxanne¡¯s own soft tongue is the best way to wake up ever. Never in my wildest dreams could I ever imagine that there will come a time in my life where I will be able to be woken up in such a wonderful way.


    After fighting off my initial drowsiness, I hugged Roxanne strongly, having the bulges of her chest bounce and press against my own torso. Enjoying that unearthly elasticity, I slowly extended my own tongue to give her tongue a friendly greeting, and our wet tongues started playing with one another, slowly returning the pleasurable favors, occasionally stretching deeper into our oral cavities and deeply entwining around each other.


    ¡¸Good morning, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah¡­ good morning, Roxanne.¡¹


    After tasting Roxanne¡¯s sweet tongue for a good while, I finally let go of it so we could exchange our usual morning greetings. As usual, I needed a moment to properly catch my breath after such an intense exercise first thing in the morning.


    ¡¸It is about time for us to leave.¡¹


    Prompted by Roxanne, we proceeded to put on our clothes and armor, finishing our preparations. I just hope that we didn¡¯t kiss for long enough to actually be late to the meeting with the Slave Merchant.


    ¡¸Ready? Then let us be on our way.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, let¡¯s go.¡¹


    ¡¸Actually, I was thinking if it wouldn¡¯t be better if you sat this one out, Roxa¡­¡¹


    ¡¸I. Am. Going. As. Well.¡¹


    Roxanne said, putting emphasis on every word.


    ¡¸Fine. You can come with me, but I want you to stay behind me as much as possible. Putting you in unnecessary danger is the last thing I need.¡¹


    If things get too dangerous for her, I can always order her to escape. I understand that she wants to protect those who helped her during what was probably the most difficult time in her life, but that does not mean that it is okay for her to be putting herself in danger.


    ¡¸Yes, of course!¡¹


    After leaving the room, we left the key at the front desk and walked out of the inn. I took Roxanne¡¯s hand and proceeded to go along the inn¡¯s outer wall, entering the labyrinth of the back alleys so that we would avoid being detected. Like that, we made our way to the alley behind the Slave shop which we were shown just few hours earlier. As expected, there was no one there and no one bothered us on the way. Shifting myself so that Roxanne was being placed between myself and the building¡¯s wall, I confirmed the door¡¯s exact location with my hand and knocked on it, doing so very lightly in order not to make too much noise. The door was opened not even a few seconds later. The one to greet us was Alan-san himself.


    ¡¸I have been expecting you. Please, come inside.¡¹


    We nodded at his invitation and went inside the Slave shop, ready for whatever might have been awaiting us.

 Volume 2 - CH 4.10

    ¡¸Wait here until my customers arrive, please. When we detect any form of movement downstairs, my combat-capable slaves and I will immediately go downstairs to meet with the Bandits. When that happens, your job will be to protect the stairs so as to not allow any of them to reach the higher floors, since that is where the shop¡¯s staff and the slaves who cannot fight have been told to hide. And do not worry with the possibility of the Bandits coming into the shop from above. The only points of entry to the shop are the main entrance and the back exit, and as you know, they are both located on the ground floor.¡¹


    As we followed Alan-san into the shop and then upstairs, he briefly explained the entire operation to us. When we nodded at him, signaling that we know knew everything we needed to know, he turned off the light in his lantern, but even with its light gone, the surroundings didn¡¯t turn completely dark, because apparently the lights in the other parts of the corridors were still on, so the area under the stairs and its surroundings were still fairly visible. For now, all I could do was to hold my breath and wait for how the situation was going to develop, allowing the time to pass.


    In addition to Alan-san, Roxanne and I, there are several other people around. They most likely were the members of Alan-san¡¯s Party that would normally go to the Labyrinth before dawn, but this time stayed behind specifically to take care of this Bandit situation. All of the were of mixed Jobs, such as Fighters, Warriors, Monks and Adventurers, and their levels also varied from person to person, but I think it is safe to say that if they fight alongside us, the eventual battle should be a piece of cake.


    After some time Roxanne suddenly stood up, and the rest of the people around us followed suit. What¡¯s going on, I thought to myself.


    ¡¸There¡¯s movement downstairs.¡¹


    Roxanne said to me, noticing my puzzled gaze.


    Wait, seriously? I didn¡¯t notice anything at all until she told me just now. But seeing how all of the other guys also stood up, there can be no mistake that something was definitely going on down there. One by one, they descended down the stairs without making any noise at all.


    ¡¸We will leave the defense of this position to you then.¡¹


    So Alan-san is going to go with the rest after all. Is he going to fight the Bandits as well? Or is he just going to issue commands from a safe distance?


    Beside me and Roxanne, only a few of the low-leveled slaves stayed behind while Alan and the others, probably the most elite of his team, went downstairs, and then everything was silent for a good while, until eventually, we started hearing noises coming from the shop¡¯s first floor. They were mostly human voices and screams.


    Looks like the party started for good.


    With my hands clenched tightly on Durandal¡¯s handle, I stepped a few steps down and assumed a defensive stance with Roxanne following closely behind my back. Alan-san said that the Bandits cannot come at us from above, so if they can only approach from the lower floors, Roxanne and I should be able to handle anyone that comes near the stairs to the second floor.


    I took another few steps and looked downstairs. It was too dark for me to see if anyone was coming from the other side of the corridor, so I had to rely on Roxanne¡¯s hearing and keen sense of smell.


    ¡¸Somebody¡¯s coming.¡¹


    Roxanne murmured in a whisper that only I could hear. And just as she said, little by little, a shadow of a man came into my view. A Lv.3 Bandit, the one we saw eyeing the shop! Did he survived Alan-san¡¯s group¡¯s interception? Or perhaps he¡¯s a scum who ran at the first sign of danger? Probably the latter, because with how strong his group was, I had a hard time imagining someone like that low-life slipping past those armed slaves and their boss, especially with how busy the first floor sounded now.


    Running past us, the guy took refuge in one of the rooms down the hallway. He didn¡¯t even seem to be paying any attention if someone was already there or not. If he really did so blindly, his mind must be in a pretty big disarray, and that is a chance I can definitely take advantage of.


    ¡¸Wait right here, Roxanne.¡¹


    I slowly went down the stairs into the dimly lit part of the hallway while carefully surveying if anyone else was coming. Confirming that I was the only one here, I quickened my pace and went towards the room the Bandit has holed himself in. I placed my back against the wall and my right foot against the door, and then opened them with a powerful kick. But I didn¡¯t immediately jump inside. For you see, normally, after hiding in a room, the villain would hide just behind them so he could pull a sneak attack on whoever tried to follow him inside.


    The inside of the room was pretty damn dark. If the hallway was dim enough for me to at least see where I was placing my feet, I don¡¯t think I can see anything that it inside there, especially while I still had my back against the wall next to the door. Since I opened the door, the bandit didn¡¯t show his face, so in order to find him, I used Identify.


    Bingo! He was standing right in the middle of the room, sticking to the shadows where no one could spot him, with his weapon pointed towards the door, weapon ready to strike. It would be another story if I could see him clearly, but if he is camouflaged like that, it means I have no choice but to test the thing that I wanted to try out on him.


    Up until now, Bonus Spells have been largely unreliable, if not borderline useless due to the fact that I was unable to use most of them, probably as a result of my extreme shortage of MP, Warp being the only exception to that rule. But the spell I wanted to use right now might be different, and it might just work.


    Equivalent Exchange. A spell that I was scared to use because I had no idea how exactly it was going to work. Will it decrease the HP of both myself and the target? Or maybe it will decrease my HP in exchange for sapping the target¡¯s MP? Or perhaps it will flat out deal damage based on the difference in our HP pools? As with every spell, I won¡¯t know how it works until I try it, but I was scared of using it on monsters because I couldn¡¯t see their stats, but this guy here is just a regular human, and a Lv.3 Bandit at that, so with the stark difference in our levels, checking out what exactly does Equivalent Exchange exchanges might not end up in disaster¡­ after all¡­ I have more HP and MP than him¡­ so it should be safe¡­


    Swallowing my saliva, I focused my eyes on the general direction that the Lv.3 Bandit should be, and I prepared to cast the spell. All right, here goes nothing.


    Equivalent¡­ EXCHANGE!!!

 Volume 2 - CH 4.11

    As soon as I start casting the Bonus Spell, I started feeling as if something was being drained from my body, and I was assaulted by in indescribably unpleasant feeling. Taking a pained look at my HP and MP bars, I saw that my MP pool was being rapidly depleted.


    I recognized this dreadful state all to well, because I felt like that once before: when I used Warp for the first time, and it drained me of almost all of my MP, making me feel depressed as shit. It is exactly the same as that time, but somehow it feels much worse. But never mind that. The Bandit! What about the Bandit I used Equivalent Exchange on?! I still can¡¯t see him well, but I am sure that I heard as strange noise as if something was popping, or exploding, followed by a wet noise of something falling onto the ground. Does it mean I succeeded? If I did, then that¡¯s great, but oh God a part of wished that I didn¡¯t.


    I wonder what exactly have I done to him? Oh great, the negative effects of MP loss start to kick in. Wonderful, simply fucking wonderful! Did I kill that guy? And if I did, then for what, some additional trinkets or a useless weapon he was probably carrying on him?! If I knew it was going to end like that I would have agreed to do this fucking job for free. Haha, do the job, not that¡¯s rich! Without my weapons granted to my buy my cheat-like abilities I am nothing, a literal piece of sentient trash that cannot do anything on its own, has no talent in any field outside of being a living failure. An absolute worst human being to ever walk the surface of this wretched shithole we call world!


    Incompetent, perverted, cowardly, lazy, insignificant. Why is someone like me even alive? What purpose does my meager existence have?! Now that I think about it, how stupid of me was it to think that a life in this new, fantasy-like world would be fun and exciting? So far, it has turned out to be just one annoyance after the other, absolutely not worth living in here! And that¡¯s coming from someone who couldn¡¯t find a place for himself back on earth so he decided it would be best if he tried to fucking kill himself!


    Feeling tired and exhausted with all that shit, I fell on my knees, catching every breath with great difficulty.


    ¡¸Master!¡¹


    I haven¡¯t even realized when Roxanne appeared behind me. That¡¯s right. If she is here, then it means someone else can come in here at literally any moment as well¡­ like more Bandits¡­ ugh, what the fuck am I doing? I hurriedly collected myself and started paying more attention to my immediate surroundings, scanning everything with Identify.


    Meanwhile, Roxanne placed her hand on my back and patted it gently. As she did so, the surroundings gradually began to get brighter, to the point where I could see that someone was approaching the room we were currently in. It was Alan-san. Great, just fucking awesome. The last thing I need is him finding me in such a sorry state, when I don¡¯t even have an idea what exactly happened to that Bandit over there! Man, fuck this shit! Not only I feel like I¡¯m dying of depression and dark thoughts, but he¡¯s definitely going to ask question when he finds me.


    This is bad! If he sees me the way I am now, there¡¯s no way he won¡¯t get suspicious, and he might just figure out that I am not from this world! That¡¯s right, I am not a member of this world. I am a filthy intruder. I wonder will I be branded as a murderer now, or perhaps a blood-hungry beast? Will I be executed, or just stoned and chased out of the city if I¡¯m lucky? Either way, Roxanne seeing me like this was one thing, but when Alan-san sees me, that¡¯s going to be it for me. Persecuted, disfellowshipped, and quite possibly killed, those were the only options left for me.


    ¡¸Roxanne¡­ Th-This is¡­¡¹


    The finally realized that I was neck deep in shit. This is it for me. The literal end of the line. But at least now I see how it is. From the very beginning, everything was a clever trick, a scam orchestrated by that bastard, Alan the Slave Merchant! A conspiracy aiming to get rid of me! I new there was no chance for someone like Roxanne to be so nice to me just because!


    ¡¸Michio-sama, are you okay¡­..¡¹


    ¡¸?!!!¡¹


    ¡¸!!!!¡¹


    ¡¸What in the world happened here?¡¹


    When Alan came inside the room with a lit lantern, we could finally see what happened to the Bandit who fell victim to my spell. There was literally nothing left of him. In the place where he was supposed to be, there was nothing but a big pool of blood. Witnessing this sight straight out of a horror movie, I desperately tried to hold up the urge to vomit.


    ¡¸Can you stand up, master?¡¹


    Roxanne asked me worriedly, giving me her hand to help me get up from the floor.


    ¡¸A Suicide Bomb? I had no idea Bandits had access to such items. I heard stories of how gruesomely effective it is, but this¡­ you¡¯re lucky you made it out alive, Michio-sama. Suicide Bombs usually claim the lives of those who are both on the using and receiving end of it.¡¹


    ¡¸Are you okay?¡¹


    ¡¸As I said, he¡¯s lucky to still be breathing. Since Suicide Bomb is an item, its effects are instantenous, so I imagine he only had a split second to get some distance between them.¡¹


    ¡¸Something like that always happens when such an item is used?¡¹


    ¡¸Pretty much. Which is why I am all the more amazed that Michio-sama is not in a much worse shape.¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s because master is amazingly strong!¡¹


    Roxanne and Alan were having some pretty bizarre conversation, which didn¡¯t center on me being a murderous monster for some reason. Does that mean I am in the clear? I sure hope so. Item¡­ Item Box¡­ Fuck, of course! Why didn¡¯t I thought about it sooner?! For now, I just need to shut up and take one of those MP Recovery medicines I bought from the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. If I do that, my head should be cleared just enough for me to get a proper grasp at my current situation.  *Sigh* I really am an idiot.


    I silently summoned an Item Box and took the two medicines out of it. I should have bought more of them exactly for those kinds of occasions. Me being a cheapskate has apparently finally come to bite me in the ass.


    When I took the medicines, my head felt much better because it was no longer in depressing turmoil. With that problem dealt with, I slowly rose from my knees. My entire body was hurting, most likely because of the fact that when Equivalent Exchange sucked all of my MP, it proceeded to drain my HP next.


    ¡¸Master, are you really okay? Maybe you shouldn¡¯t be standing up so soon?¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you for your concern, Roxanne, but I am fine, really.¡¹


    Now, I have to sort what the fuck happened in my mind. Let¡¯s see¡­ looks like initially Equivalent Exchange decreased my MP and the Bandit¡¯s HP in equal amounts, and when I ran out of MP, it switched to sucking my HP instead. In other words, if my total HP and MP were lower than that Bandit¡¯s, I would have been the one to bite the dust instead of him. It turned out to be quite the dangerous gamble, but thankfully I somehow managed to come out on top this time. But let me be clear on one thing, ok? I absolutely, positively don¡¯t want to go through something like that ever again.


    ¡¸We allowed one of the Bandits to escape, but other than that all of them have been swiftly dealt with, so we should be safe for now. Thank you for your help in settling this matter and sorry for putting your lives in an unnecessary danger. If it wasn¡¯t for your warning, someone would no doubt end up injured or worse. No amount of words can describe how grateful I am for everything that you have done for us.¡¹


    When I could finally stand up myself without Roxanne¡¯s aid, Alan-san bowed to us with words of praise, which probably looked neat, but unfortunately my vision was still kinda blurry from all that magical HP sucking I went through. For a moment it looked like things could have gone so south that I could have hit fantasy Mexico here, but as long as the client is satisfied with the quality of our work I guess we have nothing to complain about.

 Volume 2 - CH 4.12

    The inside of the room was, from the lack of a more suitable words, a total mess. The blood of the Bandit, and even his bits and pieces, were literally scattered all over the place. The same could be said about his equipment, or at least the one that wasn¡¯t damaged by him erupting into a bloody smear on the floor and nearby walls. The only thing that was in good enough condition to be salvaged was the Copper Sword. I already have one of those myself and don¡¯t need a copy, but hey, a deal¡¯s a deal, so I¡¯m going to take whatever I can. I will probably go sell it later when I will have some free time on my hands.


    ¡¸As per our agreement, I will be holding onto this.¡¹


    Now that everything has been settled, all three of us left the room. Due to the loss of MP from using Equivalent Exchange my body was still in a lot of pain, and now that I have used up the only two MP Recovery Medicines that I bought the only way to fill it back up was to go to the Labyrinth and kill some monsters with Durandal. A hassle for sure, but this time it is a necessary one.


    ¡¸Before you go, please wait a moment.¡¹


    Alan-san said to us before he went and disappeared inro one of the rooms.


    ¡¸Uhm, master¡­?¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah?¡¹


    ¡¸I am deeply sorry. Due to my selfishness, you ended up getting badly hurt like that.¡¹


    ¡¸No, that¡¯s not a problem at all. Besides, what happened to me was not your fault, Roxanne.¡¹


    I don¡¯t know why she is the one apologizing when this time I was actually the selfish one here, so what happened to me was 100% my fault.


    ¡¸Sorry I kept you waiting. Here is the promised reward for your work. That being said, I didn¡¯t expect thongs to escalate the way they did, so allow me to express my deepest apologies as well, and thank you very much for everything you did for us.¡¹


    I have a lot of mixed feelings about it, but if he¡¯s offering us a full reward without any buts, then who am I to complain? Now that the Bandits have been taken care of, we could safely leave the shop through the front door. Alan-san saw us off the entire way, and after saying our goodbyes to him we left the shop and got ack out into the streets.


    The outside was still very dark, so apparently sun hadn¡¯t rose up enough to start shedding its light onto the surroundings. Navigating the streets without any source of light might be a bit problematic, so much in fact that a part of me wished for Alan-san to share his lantern with us instead if giving us money.


    Right now, we need to go to the Labyrinth as soon as possible so that I could replenish all of my lost MP. And since it is dark and no one seems to be around, this looks to be as good of a place as any for a Warp. Warp¡­ just Warp to the damn Dungeon¡­


    I grabbed Roxanne¡¯s hand and went through the portal together with her, arriving in Veil¡¯s Labyrinth¡­ but that Warp was a bad move. A very, very huge oof. I thought getting to the Labyrinth as soon as possible was a good idea, but it turned out to be a bad one that just made my situation worse. How, you ask? Just think about it really carefully. Warp is a spell, and spells consume MP in order to be used, and right now I only managed to recover a small amount of it and almost immediately used it all up again¡­ so yeah, we are back at the square one with my MP completely depleted because of my fucking stupidity! Hoe could I be such an idiot as to forget something so crucial¡­ fuck, now my body hurts even more than it did before!! The only saving grace here is that we have Warped into the entrance room where there wasn¡¯t any monsters. Yes, such safe places are oh so very much like me. Now I can just curl up into a ball in a corner and shiver with fear like a blasted coward that I am. I will e safe and won¡¯t be hurt here anymore. Yes, this place can become my very own sanctuary of peace and safety¡­


    No, I came here for a fucking reason, and I am going to goddamn see it through! I have to find some of those dickless monsters and buttfuck the living shit out of them with Durandal¡¯s business end so that I can get all of my MP back with the MP Absorption skill.


    ¡¸Roxanne¡­ the shortest way to the nearest group of monsters¡­ please¡­¡¹


    But what if we won¡¯t happen upon any monsters anytime soon? Ahh, screw it, we will just look for them until we find them. That is why Roxanne is here with me, to give me the push I need to continue going forward even if I don¡¯t really want to.


    Right now I am sure I am nothing but a burden to her, since there is nothing half as bad as having an incompetent, unmotivated fool like myself for a companion. She is so always so good, you know? Keeping a failure like me company and putting up with my loser shenanigans¡­ okay, my self-deprecating rants are only growing stronger and more fierce, so let¡¯s just go out there and slay us some monsters before I really turn into a spineless quitter and run away with my tail up my ass¡­. Yeah, right, what are you even thinking about, you idiot?! Are you touched to the head or what? A dimwit like you, going outside, killing monsters? There is no way in hell you can do that. The fact that you somehow managed to do it up until now is in and out of itself a one-in-a-million miracle that should not be allowed to happen again! You are such a failure that when the monsters will find you, they will kill you without even trying to do so! You don¡¯t want to be killed, right? You just want to continue living like you did before, in the absolute safety of your cramped room, where you didn¡¯t have to do anything! So go ahead and stay in this entrance room. Not moving an inch from here is what really suits a spineless chickenheart like you!


    ¡¸The closest group of monsters should be this way.¡¹


    Roxanne pointed with her finger.


    ¡¸Master? Are you not feeling well?¡¹


    ¡¸No, it¡¯s nothing. I¡­ I will fight those monsters, so you just stay behind me, alright?¡¹


    Damn it all to hell! Roxanne is right in assuming that I am not feeling well in the slightest, but the only way out of this sorry state is for me to kick myself back into high gear and kill as many monsters as I can with Durandal, but¡­ is it really going to be safe? I mean, there are monsters roaming the halls out there, so who decided that they won¡¯t suddenly charge in here to murder me if they sense me? To be honest, I don¡¯t even know what I¡¯m thinking anymore. This is the Labyrinth, dangerous, and filled with enemies at every turn. No place is completely safe in here. There is no escaping them, and there is no escaping death. So that¡¯s it, huh? Well, if I¡¯m going to die, then at least I will die standing.


    Mustering every last ounce of energy I had, I left the entrance room.


    No! Go the fuck back! Do you have a death wish? You want to die that badly?! No. Whether I go back there or not does not matter. The monsters will eventually come to the entrance room, and since I won¡¯t be able to beat them, that place will become my graveyard. And suddenly, as if it heard my internal turmoil, a single Needlewood appeared at the back of the passageway. Run away. It¡¯s not too late to run, you can still do it! Just go back to the entrance room and stay there, where no one will be able to harm you! No, there¡¯s no time! Even if I run right now, I won¡¯t make it in time! I am going to be killed by this basic monster and die a horrible, meaningless death! The patrolling Needlewood is approaching, and it is definitely out for my blood!


    But then¡­


    I don¡¯t even know when it happened, but at some point I must have swung my Durandal at it, killing it in one blow. Was it survival instinct, or perhaps a motion that my body got so used to that it was performing the moves on its own? Well, it does not matter. What matters is that with a bit of MP I have regained, my head got a little bit clearer, and that was a start of my return to full mental health!

 Volume 2 - CH 4.13

    Durandal¡¯s edge slashed through another monster. The Needlewood fell onto the ground and disappeared in a puff of green smoke. Even tough I was still mentally handicapped due to my critical loss of MP, I was still able to swing my sword like normal to defeat monsters. Even in the state of severe depression, it doesn¡¯t look like my attack power was affected by it in any negative way.


    ¡¸Fuaaaaaah¡­¡¹


    I dropped my shoulders and exhaled deeply. Recovering my MP this time way harder than it needed to be, but slowly but surely the depression and pessimism which were hanging over me like a dark cloud have finally started to fade away.


    The continuous absorption of MP eliminated the feeling of pain and weariness that permeated my entire body, so right now I was feeling pretty okay. But man was that rough! I still have some amount of MP to recover, but other than that I got back to my optimal condition. I have to say though, that feeling of depression which grabbed me in its claws after I used Equivalent Exchange was beyond terrible. I had no idea that this was going to happen to you if you lose all of your MP. Also, I don¡¯t know if it is related to it in any way, but my memory of everything that happened after I used that spell is so foggy that I can barely even recall it, even if it happened literally an hour or so ago.


    ¡¸Sorry about that embarrassing display, Roxanne. Anyway, let¡¯s go to the next group of monsters. I f you could please lead the way?¡¹


    It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s alright. Now that I have regained my MP I can think clearly again. I kept saying that to myself as we moved forward. Under Roxanne¡¯s keen guidance we hunted a few more monster, and like that, my MP has been fully restored. All the negative thoughts disappeared as if they were never there at all.


    ¡¸How are you feeling now, master? Are you still sick? Maybe you shouldn¡¯t put yourself under so much physical stress just yet?¡¹


    ¡¸It¡¯s okay, Roxanne. Everything will be fine now.¡¹


    Now that I reassured Roxanne that everything was fine with me, I opened my Job Settings to check if the new Job Appeared there after I used the Bonus Spell. Glancing over the list, it was there, right at the very bottom: a brand-new shining Mage Job!


    Mage Lv.1


    Effects: INT Up (Small), MP Up (Small)


    Skills: Beginner Fire Magic, Beginner Water Magic, Beginner Wind Magic, Beginner Earth Magic


    I did it. I have finally done it! Getting it was more of a pain than usual, but I finally got my hands on the Mage Job! I have to say though, for all the trouble I have to go through in order to obtain it, starting with nothing more but the ¡¸Beginner¡¹ level of spells was somewhat disappointing. And how do I even use it anyway? Whatever I have to do to make them work, there can be no doubt that I can legitimately use them now. Also, isn¡¯t the requirement for obtaining the Mage Job kinda buggy? I mean, you have to use Attack Magic to be able to obtain the Mage Job, but in order to cast said Attack Magic you have to know magic in the first place. It¡¯s strangely unspecific, but now that I got it there¡¯s no need to dwell on the small details too much.


    Fiddling with the Job Settings, I set Mage as my First Job.


    ¡¸Are we going to go to the second floor now?¡¹


    ¡¸No, not yet. I have a number of things I want to try out, so for now we will be staying here.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood. This way then.¡¹


    As we were walking, I thought about testing the Beginner Fire Magic first. I tried saying the Skill¡¯s name in my mind and then to mutter it quietly, but nothing happened, even when taking the Chant Omission into account. Maybe the usable Skills themselves have different names, and ¡¸Beginner Fire Magic¡¹ was just a name for their general assessment? Maybe I¡¯ll try asking Roxanne to see if she knows anything at all about it.


    ¡¸Roxanne, I know you said you don¡¯t know much about Mages and Wizards, but do you know anything about magic in general?¡¹


    ¡¸About magic? Like Skill Magic, for example?¡¹


    ¡¸More like the one used for the purpose of battle, actually.¡¹


    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry, but since so few people can actually become mages, not much is known about them in general.¡¹


    ¡¸I see.¡¹


    You said you don¡¯t know much, so that means you have to know something, right? But if it¡¯s true that only the privileged groups, like the aristocracy and the filthy rich people can become mages, then it¡¯s a small wonder that the information about that Job was scarce.


    ¡¸What I do heard from those who witnessed Mages in a battle is that the magic can generally be divided into three types: Multi0target spells, spells that create a wall in front of the user, and spells that can be shot from your hand in the form of an orb. Oh, and they are activated with some difficult Brahim Chants. What was it again¡­?¡¹


    ¡¸A difficult Brahim, huh?¡¹


    Well, since I can speak Brahim then I guess all I have to worry about is figuring the chants correctly.


    Fire, Flame, Fire Storm, Fire Orb¡­ yeah, let¡¯s try those ones out first. Orb, an orb. I will keep that in mind for the time being. Fire. Fire Orb¡­ Fire Orb¡­. Ball¡­ Fire¡­ Fireball?


    As I kept repeating all those names, when I said fireball, the area above the palm of my hand lit up, and a small ball of fire was floating in there.


    Oh, this is it. Fireball was the right keyword here. When I pointed my hand forward, the Fireball also flew forward. A success! A goddamn success! Now I can properly use Attack Magic!


    After the ball finally dissappeared I looked at my hand in amazement. Knowing that I can now use magic filled me with all sorts of extatic emotions. So magic does exist, and I am one of the lucky few who can wield it however they want! See, moment like that make me think that I have really been transported to a wonderful world. So now I can use Space Magic, Movement Magic, and now I can add Fire Magic to the mix as well. In that sense, I guess getting myself depressed as fuck was well worth it.


    The fireball proceeded forward for a bit, illuminating the surroundings with a shade of red, until it eventually disappeared. I can now say it with pride: I have become a Mage before the legendary age of thirty!


    ¡¸Eh? Ehhhh? Ehhhhhhhh? Was that magic just now?!¡¹


    Roxanne seemed a little confused when she saw my magic.


    ¡¸It sure was magic.¡¹


    ¡¸But weren¡¯t you an explorer, master?I¡¯ve never heard of an Explorer using this kind of magic!¡¹


    ¡¸Well, keep it a secret.¡¹


    ¡¸A-Another secret, huh?¡¹


    Yup, another secret of how much of a cheater I am. Even if I wanted to, there would be no easy way to explain it anyway.


    ¡¸It¡¯s amazing that you can use magic,master! No, that is beyond amazing!¡¹


    ¡¸I can use it because you taught me. So this time it¡¯s thanks to you, Roxanne.¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm, so you weren¡¯t able to use magic before?¡¹


    ¡¸No, I was just¡­ you know¡­ keeping my hand close to my chest.¡¹


    If I could use it before, I would have done so a long time ago.


    I tried throwing a fireball at the Needlewood that appeared. When I looked at the monster and thought of a fireball, a ball of fire was formed over my head and flied towards the Needlewood, setting it on fire almost instantenously. Oh yeah, something is telling me that I am going to have so much fun with this spell that it is going to be unreal.

 Volume 2 - CH 4.14

    Seeing the enemy that was engulfed in flames right before my very eyes, I wasn¡¯t able to contain my happiness. So this is magic! It really is as amazing as I imagined it to be!


    Eventually the fire stopped burning, and when it did it became evident that it wasn¡¯t as strong as my attacks with Durandal, because even when it was set ablaze, the Needlewood was still standing. With its entire body covered with cinders and clouds of heavy black smoke, it slowly made it¡¯s way towards us. But I wasn¡¯t disappointed with that a result, not in the slightest. Moreover, I guess you could say that such a result was what I was expecting. After all, Durandal is an uber OP weapon obtained from investing my Bonus Points into Bonus Weapons Skill all the way to Lv.6 and most of my stat points have been allocated into STR to make sure that it will always kill enemies with one blow no matter what. On the other hand, I only just got my hands on the Mage Job so it was still at its default, lowest level, Lv.1, and Fireball was a part of Beginner Fire Magic Skill, meaning that it¡¯s inherent damage likely won¡¯t be all that high, and my rather low INT stat probably won¡¯t do anything to change that fact either. Anyway, maybe it was because it only had a tiny sliver of its HP left, but the burning Needlewood was exceptionally sluggish, which made disposing of him easier than taking the candy from a little kid. I didn¡¯t even have to put any strength in my next slash to turn it into a cloud of green smoke.


    Okay, so now that we know how the Orb, or rather Ball type of magic works, let¡¯s try taking the Wall-type magic for a spin, shall we?


    Hmm, let¡¯s go with the most obvious one first: Fire Wall!


    When I thought of those words in my mind, a literal wall of flames appeared before me. Both it¡¯s width and height were about two meters, making them quite reasonable measurements for that type of spell, but I bet that on higher levels both of those parameters could be sufficiently increased, so I have to keep that in mind as I continue to level the Mage Job and obtain new spells from it. The flames continued to rage of for a dozen seconds. And that takes care of the Fire Wall test. I guess in conclusion it could be said that it more of a defensive than an offensive spell that sets everyone who tries to walk through it on fire. My guess is that it would be at its most useful when there would be a lot of enemies in a small, confined space¡­ like the entrance to the trap room, for example! Oh baby, you can be sure I am going to be using that then!


    Alright, now that both Ball and Wall-type spells have been tested, all that is left is to see with my own eyes how the Multi-target, or perhaps I should simply call them AoE spells work in comparison to the previous two. But first thing¡¯s first, what would the name of such a spell be? Hell Flame? Burn Attack? Volcano Eruption? Nah, none of those option sound like the right pick. If the previous ones to hit the jackpot were Fireball and Fire Wall, then there is a high probability that in order for the AoE to work, the combination containing the word ¡¸Fire¡¹ would also have to be used. Hmm¡­ Fire Slash? Fire Explosion? Fire Storm?


    ¡¸¡­¡­!¡¹


    When I used the words Fire Storm, I felt the sensation of my MP decreasing, but nothing noticeable happened around us. So apparently I got the words right, but maybe there was no visible effects because there was no enemies around? Well, given how magic works, I shouldn¡¯t be surprised that there exists those kinds of spells that must have a target first. If that¡¯s how it¡¯s going to be, then I guess off to the second floor we go!


    Dungeon Walker!


    ¡¸Roxanne, we¡¯re going to the second floor. As usual, show us the shortest way to a group of monsters. Specifically a group this time.¡¹


    ¡¸Roger!¡¹


    Once we reached the second floor and found a sufficiently large group of monsters (for the record: they were all Needlewoods) I chanted the Fire Storm again, targeting it towards them. When I did that, the air around them has been filled with a myriad of red sparks which illuminated the cave¡¯s walls with a shade of red in much the same fashion like Fireball and Fire Wall did before them. Maybe it¡¯s going to sound a little bit too poetic, but it was kinda sorta as if I was watching fireflies gather¡­ only to explode in a fiery all-consuming blaze that swallowed everything in its vicinity, burning everything to ashes. The Needlewoods just burned and burned and burned until there was nothing left of them¡­ or at least that¡¯s how I envisioned it, because once more the spell itself was not enough to one-shot the enemies, leaving me to finish them off with Durandal, which I promptly proceeded to do, leaving Roxanne to collect any items that dropped out of them in the process of turning the stragglers into the puffs of green smoke.


    My thoughts on Fire Storm? Unlike Fireball and Fire Wall, it is a spell which works best when targeted in the middle of a group of enemies, since you cannot specify the direction where it should be going. The only question that is left unanswered for now is whether or not it can distinguish friend from foe, or is it that kind of spell which works on everything in its range indiscriminately?


    I wanted to go an and test the rest of the spells from the other branches of Beginner Magic that I unlocked, but for now I decided to go out of the Labyrinth and have a short rest after everything we have been though today. Just let me say one thing in advance:


    Magic is absolutely the best!

 Volume 2 - CH 5.1

    Chapter 10: Experiment


    Kaga Michio


    Current levels & equipment:


    Explorer Lv.19


    Hero Lv.15


    Mage Lv.1


    Herbalist Lv.3


    Equipment:


    Durandal


    Leather Armor


    Leather Jacket


    Leather Gloves


    Leather Shoes


    We returned to the inn where we had breakfast.


    It¡¯s a very good thing that I managed to become a Mage. Now that I can command the very forces of nature according to my whims and use them at the snap of my fingers, I got overwhelmed by a sense of omnipotence. From now on, I could technically set fire to everything around me simply because I felt like it, and knowing that made me smile involountarily. I am positive that everybody around me, Roxanne included, must be thinking that my smiling face looks very creepy, but at the very least Roxanne was tactful enough not to bring this up out in the open. I am glad that she¡¯s so good at keeping the mood positive without ruining it. It makes the food taste that much better in my opinion. We finished our meal early and then went back to the Labyrinth. Just like the last time, we started from the first floor.


    ¡¸Roxanne.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, master?¡¹


    ¡¸For today, I would like to focus on fighting monsters by using magic.¡¹


    ¡¸An experiment involving magic? Understood!¡¹


    When I used magic for the first time, none of the spells I tried were enough to defeat the Needlewoods, a.k.a the weakest of monsters with a single hit. I know that using Durandal finishes each and every battle in a literal flash, but if I wanted to do the same with just magic, it would take considerably more time.


    ¡¸This way, master.¡¹


    However, magic has one advantage over Durandal, and it¡¯s a rather significant one. In order to get Durandal, you need to spend 63 Bonus Points. But if I choose to fight mainly with magic, I can spend those points for other things without wasting them for getting Durandal. So whether I spend them on EXP related Skills, Crystal Acceleration or simply for getting multiple Jobs, the benefits are still going to be considerable. So if only I can find a way to fight effectively with magic alone, I should just go for it.


    The first of the tests I wanted to perform was to see how effective fighting with magic alone could be. That is why we have started today¡¯s foray into the Labyrinth from the first floor which has the weakest enemies. When Roxanne found us the first Needlewood, I tried launching a single Fireball at it to see how it was going to go. The attack was successful, but not enough for a one-hit kill, so I tried launching another fireball at it right after that first one, but for a few solid seconds nothing was happening, even though I was screaming ¡¸Fireball! Fireball! Fireball!¡¹ in mu mind like some kinda madman. The second shot was finally fired, but by the time it happened the Needlewood was close enough to met swing its now flaming branch towards me, but Roxanne got in front of me and blocked the incoming attack with her Scimitar, giving me enough time to prepare the third Fireball, the one that finally took the monster down.


    So taking down a Needlewood with Fireball requires at least three of them to hit it, huh? The delay, or maybe I should say the cooldown between each consecutive spell is a little troublesome, but with a little bit of practice I should be able to get used to it in no time. Also, it was probably because I said that I wanted to experiment today, but Roxanne didn¡¯t do anything else beside stopping that Needlewood¡¯s attack from reaching me, giving me the opportunity to defeat the enemy myself, for which I am grateful. As for myself, I was contemplating if I should switch Durandal for the Copper Sword for the duration of this test, but ultimately I decided it would be best for me to stay with Durandal. If the situation like that one form just now, where I won¡¯t be able to beat the enemy with magic happens again and it will come within melee distance from me, I will have no choice but to engage it in melee as well, and for that, I need all the damage I can dish out in order not to make individual battles unnecessarily long.


    The next Needlewood we fought with also managed to get close enough to me to try attacking me, so I backstepped to create enough distance between us to have a large enough safety margin, and used another Fireball. It slowly formed over my head and started advancing towards the monster, covering it with fire until it burned down and fell onto the ground.


    ¡¸Another one that needed three shots to be taken down. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s just me, but those Beginner-level spells seem to be unexpectedly powerless.¡¹


    ¡¸Not at all, master. The fact that you can use magic with such ease is a great achievement in and out of itself, but to be able to defeat monster with just three shots of it is even more amazing. As expected of my master!¡¹


    On a side note, we have been driven near the cave¡¯s wall without even realizing it. That¡¯s dangerous. Almost too dangerous I dare say!


    ¡¸If anything, master, I am sorry for my lack of knowledge about magic, but during my short time as an Adventurer I just didn¡¯t have much contact with the ones capable of using it.¡¹


    ¡¸It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s not like you could do anything about it. While we are on the subject, is there anything more you remember about magic and using it? Every little bit might be helpful.¡¹


    ¡¸Well, I heard that certain monsters can be either weak or resistant to certain types of magic. I think it was called¡­ Elemental Affinity? I think you were able to defeat those Needlewoods so quickly because they must be weak against fire.¡¹


    ¡¸So that means that if we keep on hitting the monsters with the element they are weak to, then we should be able to defeat them that much faster, right? In that case, let¡¯s try fighting by using magic some more. Any problems with that strategy?¡¹


    ¡¸None to speak of! If that is what you decided to do master, then I will follow your every command!¡¹


    Roxanne expressed her agreement with my general plan of action as she was picking up the branches left by the defeated Needlewood.


    ¡¸Also, feel free to use your Scimitar to assist me more actively. And be sure not to let yourself be pushed against the wall, even by accident.¡¹


    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry, I will protect you from the front, because mages always fight from the backlines. Not to mention that protecting you is my duty as your slave, master!¡¹


    Now that sounds like a solid strategy. Only a genius tactician like me could have come up with something as elaborate like that.


    We continued to walk around the Labyrinth with my magic ready to cast and my hand always close to the handles of both Durandal and the Copper Sword. Another Needlewood we have come across got hit with a Fireball straight to its ugly mug. If defeating monsters with magic takes time, then the remedy for that is quite simple: you just have to spam magic as soon as you see the enemy appear, and don¡¯t give him even a moment to react. That is my master plan.


    The Fireball advances through the cave, but then something rather bizarre happened: the Needlewood avoided my Fireball by ramming itself into the wall. Hot damn that was weird to watch. Well, they might not be intelligent, but monsters should still have their instincts which should be telling them when the danger is approaching, so it shouldn¡¯t be all that surprising that they are able to avoid attacks like that, so maybe launching the Fireball right from the get go wasn¡¯t as good of an idea as I thought it was? Unlike the Fire Storm, the Fireball is not an AoE spell, so it has to be precisely aimed in order to work properly.


    I tried using it again, but failed. It seems that you have to get close to some extent firing the next shot, so I did just that and tried conjuring the next Fireball. However, it did not work. Aww shit, another failure? Having no other choice, I finished the Needlewood with Durandal


    As I expected, there is a few seconds delay between each consecutively fired spell, even with my Chant Omission Skill, so even with it active the spells are going to be on brief cooldown each time. All in all it¡¯s not that big of a problem, but in tough fights that might require fast reactions from me it might make that just a little bit tight.

 Volume 2 - CH 5.2

    Since the Fireball always forms over my head whenever I cast it, the delay between casting consecutive spells must also include the period needed for each Fireball to form. After shooting another Fireball at that Needlewood it entered my melee range, so Roxanne slashed it with her Scimitar. It shook its branches at her, and she lightly dodged them. Using that opening she created for me, I casted another Fireball, shot it towards the Needlewood, hit it, and subsequently defeated it. It takes more work than I would have liked, but as long as Roxanne and I coordinate our actions and compensate for our weaknesses, it is definitely possible to fight with using just magic.


    ¡¸Sorry for putting you in the vanguard like that.¡¹


    ¡¸Not at all. Protecting you is my duty, therefore I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe, both as this Party¡¯s magic caster and my master!¡¹


    As much as I hate always putting her on the front lines, she is right. Normally Mages and Wizards have little to no melee capabilities, so it is only natural for them to be sticking to the backlines, where they can focus on casting their devastating spells without having to worry about being interrupted. And as far as I can see, Roxanne is more suited for the vanguard position than I am. If she herself is fine with it, then I guess there is no need for me to forcefully remove her from the position she feels the most at home at.


    ¡¸Okay, now that I have learned a lot about fighting with magic here on the first floor, I think it¡¯s high time for us to go hit the second floor, since there is another thing that I want to experiment with.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes!¡¹


    But before we go to the second floor, there¡¯s one more thing that I have to check: something that has to do with Leveling Up Jobs.


    When I previously leveled Monk to Lv.2 I was using three Jobs at the same time and defeated about fourteen monsters. Now, since I have gone through the trouble of getting myself the Herbalist Job, I have no choice but to use it, even though it is totally not my style. Now, what would happen if I had only one Job set up? If the EXP is divided equally between all the Jobs you have set up, then with only one Job, it should earn that much more EXP with killing fewer monsters, right? Of course, I have no guarantee whether or not putting it at my First Job will give it a different levelling rate compared to the others, but nevertheless it should be worth a shot. Even if the EXP I¡¯m gaining is divided between my Jobs and Roxanne¡¯s Job, they should still Level Up at about half the normal speed. Also, the amount of EXP needed to increase the levels of both Monk and Herbalist to Lv.2 will most likely be different, but that difference shouldn¡¯t be all that big.


    Let¡¯s give it a try.


    ¡¸¡­¡­?¡¹


    Hmm? I can¡¯t set Herbalist as my First Job. Why? I have more tha enough Bonus Points to do so, so why can¡¯t I do it? Maybe there are some additional restrictions to the process of Job changing? Bonus Points can be earned when you level up your First Job. That is why you cannot change your First Job to the one with a higher level if you ae using all of them. That much I understand. What I cannot understand though, is why can¡¯t I switch the First Job even though I have enough Bonus Points to do so?


    Think about it, Michio! Think! There must be something you have missed!


    Maybe it¡¯s an Item Box?


    My currently equipped First Job, the Explorer, has an Item Box Skill, and said Item Box contains pretty much all of my items withing it. What happens to all the items stored in there if the Explorer id removed from the position of the First Job? That is something that I have honestly never even thought about, and if I don¡¯t want to find out about it the painful way, it would be best not to change the First Job at all. I see. Good job for noticing such a crucial fact before it was too late, me.


    While I was lost in thoughts, we happened upon another Needlewood. I slashed him with Durandal, turning him into green smoke in an instant.


    ¡¸Wait a minute¡­ maybe that¡¯s what this is all about?¡¹


    I frowned and muttered to myself as I looked at Roxanne as she took the branches left by the Needlewood and packed them into her backpack. So far what I have in mind is just a hypothesis, and I don¡¯t know how to explain it well, so maybe I should just straight up try and do it?


    ¡¸Uhm, is something wrong, master?¡¹


    ¡¸No, no, everything¡¯s fine. We will continue the experiment for now. I still need some more time to get the results I am looking for. By the way, can you hold onto these for a moment?¡¹


    I asked, giving her the items from my Item Box.


    ¡¸Yes, of course.¡¹


    I took all of my items out of the Item Box and allowed Roxanne to pack them into her own backpack. Now, how about trying to set Herbalist as the First Job one more time now that the storage space in the Item Box has been freed?


    Sure enough, it worked like a charm. So it was about the Item Box after all. It is an item exclusive to the Explorer Job, so as long as I had items stored in there removing it was not possible, but once you emptied it, nothing was preventing you from switching Jobs to whichever one you wanted. I had no idea its contents actually mattered for things like this, but now I know, and will be all the wiser for it in the future.


    ¡¸Thinking about it that way, that¡¯s a really balanced system.¡¹


    ¡¸???¡¹


    Now I can challenge the next monster we encounter while having only the Herbalist Job set up. I wonder how it is going to go?


    To my surprise, I wasn¡¯t able to defeat the next enemy with just one hit.


    ¡¸Eh?!¡¹


    ¡¸Huh?¡¹


    It made the both of us very concerned, but thankfully a few more hits later it finally died.


    ¡¸Uhm¡­¡¹


    ¡¸Do not worry, Roxanne. That was a part of my experiment as well. Such a thing happening was well within my scope of expectations.¡¹


    ¡¸It was? Well, okay then.¡¹


    Up until now I always one-shotted everything that came close to the business end of my weapons and Roxanne knows that, so I had no choice but to play it off as a part of the experiment I was conducting so that she wouldn¡¯t get hella suss of me. Ever since the first time I entered the Labyrinth, I was always able to defeat the Needlewoods with one attack from Durandal, but I never really knew why exactly was I able to do that? OP stats and effects are one thing, but what about other factors? For example, when I defeated my first ever Needlewood with a single attack, my First Job was nothing more than a Lv.2 Villager if I remember correctly. Maybe the fact that I had more than one Job equipped had something to do with it? Like, you know, the more Jobs and their passive effects you have equipped the stronger your weapons get kinda thing?


    ¡¸Okay, that should do it for this floor. Now, let us be on our way to the second floor, and we will continue the experiment there.¡¹


    I declared to Roxanne, and with that, we moved to the Labyrinth¡¯s second floor. The experiment itself can be summarized in the following way: Even though it took more hits than usual, I was able to defeat enough Needlewoods to raise the Herbalist Job to Lv.2. It also seems like whether or not you have one Job or multiple Jobs set up, the amount of EXP you will get will always be the same. What that means for me is that I can have as many Jobs at once as I want, and I won¡¯t be suffering any penalties or negative effects for it.


    I increased the number of my active Jobs back to four, and placed all of my items back into the Item Box.


    ¡¸This way, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Right behind you.¡¹


    Finally back on the second floor, I made preparations for the continuation of my experiments.

 Volume 2 - CH 5.3

    As for the way we could proceed, we had two options when we reached the intersection: the left one and the right one, so I asked Roxanne if she could try sensing how many enemies were down each route.


    ¡¸On the right there seems to be a group of two Needlewoods and one Green Caterpillar. On the left there is only a lone Needlewood. What do you want to do, master?¡¹


    ¡¸The closer the enemy is to us, the better. We¡¯re going to the left.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood.¡¹


    And so we proceeded down the corridor to the left.


    Now that I have tested pretty much all variants of the Fire-type spells and their general usage, it would be good to try my hand at using different kinds of magic as well.


    I tried Beginners Fire Magic already, but the Wizard Job has given me access to three more Skills that I have to test out: Beginners Water Magic, Beginners Wind Magic and Beginners Earth Magic. If Fire Magic used spells that were based on the word fire ¡¸insert the rest here¡¹, then it should be the same with all the others, right? Like, for example, Fire Magic has Fireball spell, so for Water Magic it would be¡­ Waterball? Let¡¯s give it a try.


    (Waterball!)


    When I spoke the spell¡¯s supposed name in my mind, a ball of water materialized itself in my hand and immediately shot forward from it.


    Oooooh! So that is Water Magic, huh?


    Since there was an enemy not that far away from us, I concluded that there was no better time than the present to test it out against live, moving targets, and the Needlewood Lv.2 fit that bill perfectly, so when we approached it, I launched the Waterball at it from a safe distance. When the monster¡¯s body was hit by the rapidly flying spell it was pushed back a few steps and lost its momentum and was staggered for a few seconds, but it collected itself and continued its advance towards us immediately after that. Okay, aside from that brief stagger, it doesn¡¯t look like this Waterball attack did that much damage to it, so I patiently waited for it to come just within slashing distance and disposed of it with one blow from Durandal.


    ¡¸So, that did way less damage than I anticipated, which is admittedly kind of a bummer.¡¹


    ¡¸Some monsters may actually be resistant to certain magical attributes or have different set of weaknesses, so Needlewoods might be resistant to Water Magic. I¡¯m sorry I can¡¯t tell you more about this matter, but as I said before, Wizards and Mages are rare to begin with, and I didn¡¯t have much occasions to meet them and ask about magic.¡¹


    ¡¸Well, I guess we¡¯ll just have to keep trying different spells on them to see which are effective and which are not, but that will come in due time. For now, there¡¯s no need for us to worry about it too much.¡¹


    That being said, I wonder if what Roxanne said about Needlewoods being resistant to Water Magic was really true?  I mean, they technically are nothing more but sentient trees, and trees thrive from water instead of being harmed by it, so I guess that would make sense?


    ¡¸Well, then, shall we go to the next spot with the enemies?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course! The next ones should be over that way!¡¹


    Our next opponents turned out to be a group of Green Caterpillars, so I tried using Fire Storm on them. The sparks created by the spell gathered around two of them, and in the next moment they were engulfed in the series of fiery explosions, turning them both bright red before they turned into lumps of charcoal and burned body chunks. Oh yeah, as long as the enemies are weak enough, Fire Storm might actually be the best way of dealing with groups of them, provided that they won¡¯t prove to be resistant to fire damage.


    When the flames of the Fire Storm finally died out and the monsters slain with it turned into the puffs of green smoke, I decided to test Fire Storm¡¯s Water Magic counterpart, Water Storm on the remaining ones. Initially it looked like a single droplet of water, which made me think that it was somewhat unimpressive, but as soon as that droplet hit the ground it grew and erupted into a pillar of highly pressurized water that closed in on the Green Caterpillars¡¯ location, and then it swallowed them all, squeezing them in one place where the torrents of spiraling water continuously lashed at them. Water Storm might not be as destructive as Fire Storm, but that property of keeping groups of enemies bundled together in one place might certainly come in handy somewhere down the line.


    Then I tried eliminating Green Caterpillars using the Waterball spell. As expected, they didn¡¯t die in one shot, but I guess such an outcome was to be expected since I needed three Fireballs to kill a single Lv.1 Needlewood down on the first floor, so obviously it would be unreasonable to expect the Lv.2 enemies on the second floor to die in two or three hits from a Waterball. However, unlike with the Needlewood, it didn¡¯t feel like Green Caterpillars were particularly resistant to Water Magic, which was a good piece of intel to obtain.


    The next Green Caterpillars must have been a little tougher than the rest, because when I threw another Fire Storm at them, they endured the attack while being colored a mixture of charcoal-black and smoldering-red. I have to admit, there was something especially ghastly in the appearance of a giant, oversized caterpillars that continued crawling towards us even when their meaty bodies were slowly being consumed by the raging flames that wouldn¡¯t let go of them until they were burned to cinders. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m worried that they might kill us considering their current state, so we just have to stay calm and respond to whatever tricks they might try to pull on us with their dying breaths. And in case of any emergency, I will simply smack them with Durandal to kill them instantly for sure. Or maybe I should use Durandal right away and be done with it without sweating the small stuff?


    When they came into our melee range, they were only two of them remaining, so Roxanne and I each took on one of them. The Green Caterpillar that I faced tried to rush at me, and I avoided its attack, although barely, I have to admit that much. It was a really close call. I knew that things will only get tougher once we go to the higher floors of the Labyrinth, but to be honest, I thought we would still get some kind of leeway on the second floor. I guess the times of taking down enemies quickly and effortlessly couldn¡¯t have last forever, did they?


    I used Fire Storm once more after throwing two more Fireballs at it, but as soon as its sparks appeared in the air, I sensed a wave of negative thoughts washing over me.


    I cannot avoid the monster attacks forever. I want to, but that¡¯s simply not possible with my current self. Their attacks will reach me and kill me. I have to escape if I want to leave this place alive! Just do it, you insufferable idiot! Turn your back on everything in this shithole and run as far away as you can! Just when I was about to heed my basic instincts and turn tail and run, the Green Caterpillar finally collapsed right in front of me while burning bright red from the flames of the Fire Storm that did enough damage to it to reduce its remaining HP to zero.


    Haha, hahaha, kill them in one shot with magic? What the hell was I thinking?! It took a total of four spell to kill that one enemy. Was that how big the difference between mobs of Lv.1 and Lv.2 was? Or perhaps my own stats are to blame because my Magic ATK is too low? Is that it? So many shots to kill one monster because I am too incompetent?!


    I don¡¯t care about that now! This is bad! The amount of my MP has decreased too much, affecting my thinking processes in a negative way. I have to kill some more monsters with Durandal now to get myself back to normal before I will do something really stupid! Those spells decreased my total MP to around 1/4th of its total value, so killing a few more monsters should put me back on my feet as usual, and then, assuming I will live through it of course, I will be able to go back to checking the rest of the spells out. I already tested Waterball And Water Storm out, so next will be Water Wall.

 Volume 2 - CH 5.4

    After killing a few more monsters with Durandal and absorbing their MP into myself, I was back in the condition where I could cast a few spells without my MP supplies dropping into the mental danger zone, so it was about time to try how different Water Wall would be in comparison to the Fire Wall.


    (Water Wall!)


    Yes, the activation of the spell was a success, and soon I have watched as a wall made out of water was erected in front of me from, sprawling from the floor to the ceiling, and blocking most of the corridor with itself. Technically it should work in the same way as Fire Wall does, meaning that it should deal damage to whatever tried to pass through it, but will that really be the case?


    With Fire Wall it was obvious that the flames would cause harm upon contact, by now that I took a closer look at this Water Wall, it was not made from swirling, torrential water like Water Storm was, but from normal, still water shaped like an elongated square. Will something like that really be able to successfully stop monsters from coming near us? Maybe it was supposed to act like a trap that would drown them to death? Or maybe Water Wall is meant strictly for blocking fire-based attacks?


    After a few minutes the spell stopped working, and the water that made up the Water Wall lost its form and fell onto the floor, splashing a generous amount of liquid over my pants as well. Okay, what did we learn from this unfortunate misshap? That apparently, unlike Fire Magic, where the flames go *poof* and disappear when the spell is finished, water used in the Water Magic spells actually stays behind. That¡¯s kinda like¡­ like fir and water in real life I guess? You know, with how flames from fires have to be either put out or they have to die on their own but whenever there is a flood then all the water has to be pumped out manually because it won¡¯t evaporate on its own? So that¡¯s normal, right? Or not? Well shit, I don¡¯t know anymore, because now that I am in a world where magic seems to be a rare but integral part of the world I am not really sure what the criteria for being considered ¡¸normal¡¹ actually are.


    ¡¸Roxanne, do you think it is safe to drink the water created through Water Magic spells? Because to be frank, using all of those Fire Magic spells made my throat kinda dry.¡¹


    ¡¸I am pretty sure that water is safe to drink. It¡¯s just regular water after all.¡¹


    Yeah, since it¡¯s normal, plain-ass water, then drinking it should theoretically be okay to drink it. Also, if it¡¯s safe to drink, then it could serve more than one purpose. For example: from now on, we won¡¯t have to carry heavy water bottles with us whenever we would fancy a drink. But perhaps we should still carry one or two of them with us just in case? Yeah, that sounds like a reasonable thing to do.


    The next two Needlewoods Lv.2 we encountered were slain by me with four Fireballs, two for each one of them. Two spells needed just to defeat a Lv.2 monster. That result is far from an ideal one where I would dispose of a single enemy with a single spell, but I guess it cannot be helped for now.


    Anyway, now that I tested both Fire Magic and Water Magic, the next on waiting to be tested out was Wind Magic. If the patterns from the two previous tests also apply here, then something should happen once I chant the name of the spell.


    (Windball!)


    I chanted the name of the spell in my mind, but to my surprise, nothing happened. Huh? Strange, that¡¯s not how it went the past two times. Maybe I should try some different names?


    (Wind Arrow! Wind Storm! Wind Strike! Wind Cast!)


    I tried all the different names that I could think of, but the result was one and the same each time: nope, nope, nope and¡­ that¡¯s right, you guessed it, nope. And here I thought that since Fireball and Waterball worked, Windball would be the correct one as well. No matter, we just have to keep trying with the combinations of different words.


    (Airball! Thrustball! Galeball! Typhoonball! Tornadoball! Breezeball!)


    Oh, looks like that last one was it. When I thought about the name Breezeball, a ball made out of compressed air was formed in my hand and then flew forward at great speed. Or at least I assume that¡¯s what happened, because whatever I created with that command was invisible to my naked eye, and the sound of the wind cutting through the air around me was the only audible indication that something happened at all.


    So that was a breeze, huh? Part of me was hoping for something more epic like a tornado, but since this is the Beginner-level magic then I guess expecting something like that right from the get-go was more than a little unreasonable. Maybe it will come later as I will obtain more advanced levels of magic mastery, but for now this is what I have to make-do with.


    The opponent that would act as a test-subject for my Wind Magic testing was a Green Caterpillar. As soon as it appeared in my line of sight, I created a Breezeball and hurled it straight at it, expecting it to be hit one hundred percent since this attack was practically invisible, but just before it hit the Caterpillar bastard, it rolled over to the side and avoided taking any damage whatsoever! How was it able to dodge my Breezeball? Was it somehow able to sense it?! No, don¡¯t think about it for now. Once more. Just focus on attacking it with magic once more! And since now would be as good of a time to do so as any, I waited for the Green Caterpillar to get closer and tried Using Breeze Wall to see how it would look.


    (Breeze Wall!)


    I thought about it, and then a wall made out of invisible air formed before me and the Green Caterpillar. Alright, at the very least the spell seemed to have worked properly. Just as I predicted, it was must have been a wall made from colorless air, transparent and invisible to my eyes just like the Breezeball. Alright, come on, you stupid caterpillar, go ahead and charge head first into it for a real nasty surprise!


    I waited for the gory fireworks to pop up, because I assumed that once the Green Caterpillar gets trapped in the Breeze Wall it would rear I up to shreds, but once again, it stopped right in front of it as if it sensed the danger it was about to walk into. And then the son of a bitch actually had the audacity to activate an orange magic circle under itself, meaning it was preparing to use a skill of its own! If this is the same web spitting attack that caught me once before, then I am screwed!


    I just don¡¯t get it! Breeze Wall should be practically invisible, so then how was this mindless monster able to stop right before he walked into such a perfect trap? And not only this once! It was able to avoid the Breezeball I threw at it earlier, so in hindsight I guess I should have expected it to avoid Breeze Wall as well.


    The problem now is that it was getting ready to use its Skill. Form what I remember the webbing the Green Caterpillar spat last time had a pretty wide spread, so there is a possibility that even with the Breeze Wall deployed some of it might still hit me. But hey, such protection is better than no protection at all, so if I can use it to minimize the potential damage done to me, then you can be sure as hell that I am going to use it! And if I¡¯m really lucky, then Breeze Wall might just block the entire Web Spit attack altogether!


    A few moments later, the Green Caterpillar unleashed its Skill. From where I was standing, it looked like it was waiting for the exact moment where my Breeze Wall would begin to disappear. Ugh! Another L that is entirely my fault! I should have backed away to a safer distance while there was still a wall dividing us! Roxanne managed to get away in time, but I got hit with the sticky webbing, and while I was struggling to free myself out of it, Green Caterpillar used that opportunity to hit me with a ramming attack. Thankfully this one attack was not enough to seriously damage me, and when it was going at me with a second one I already broke my Durandal-wielding hand at it, killing it instantly.

 Volume 2 - CH 5.5

    The Green Caterpillar collapsed on the ground and disappeared in a cloud of green smoke, but its webbing still remained entangled around me.


    I made another careless mistake, but Durandal has once again saved me from falling into a pretty bad spot. That being said, it turns out that Wall Magic is much more difficult to use than I initially thought, or maybe it¡¯s just a matter of me not using it properly? I wonder if the result was the same even if I used Fire Wall instead of Breeze Wall? No, probably not. If such a simple monster was able to wait until my spell ran out of time and disappeared, it would have probably done the same no matter what type of Wall I would have used, be it Fire Wall or Water Wall.


    Man, what a total failure.


    Based on what I saw now, the exact width of the Breeze Wall was approximately one and a half meters, so as long as I or the enemy would move to the sides of it, it would technically still be possible for us to attack even with the Wall fully deployed, unless I would have used two of them to actually block the corridor entirely. Alright, I guess that is a lesson learned for me then. Now I just have to make sure that such embarrassing failures won¡¯t happen to me ever again.


    Our next opponents were Needlewoods and Green Caterpillars. I tried using Breeze Storm against them. With the sharp sound of the wind cutting through the air, the monster¡¯s bodies have all been shaken, especially the branches of Needlewoods who looked like they were nothing more but tree saplings ravaged by the tropical typhoon. Yup, it looks like Breeze Storm will also be pretty effective as a general-purpose Wind Magic AoE spell.


    After the spell died down, it became obvious that, just like with all the others, another attack will be needed to properly put all of the enemies down. I attacked the Needlewood that was coming towards me with a Breezeball, while Roxanne disposed of the Green Caterpillars by slashing them with her Scimitar. While using magic I couldn¡¯t attack with Durandal at the same time, so I had no choice but to stay in front of the approaching Needlewood before I could hit it with another spell. Launching another Breezeball at it to stagger it, I then hurriedly dodged one of its branches which was being swung at me with the momentum it gained before my spell hit it.


    ¡¸Here it comes!¡¹


    Roxanne¡¯s voice echoed in my ears. It was not a loud shout by any means, but it was audible enough for me to hear it firmly and prepare for what was approaching.


    When I turned towards one of the Green Caterpillars, I saw that it was deploying an orange magic circle beneath its body, meaning that it was preparing to unleash a Web Spit attack again. Okay, you big bug, you¡¯re on! This time I won¡¯t allow myself to be had like a noob.


    This time I waited until the Green Caterpillar began to spit the webbing out of its mouth, and deployed a Fire Wall at the last possible moment. Now that the sticky threads were already flying out of its mouth there was no way it could have changed their trajectory or adjust its position to bypass my Fire Wall, so it crushed into the flames and made a sharp hissing noise.


    Now that I successfully stopped the web from hitting me, I tried to see if I¡¯ll be able to cast a second Fire Wall While the first one was still active, but unfortunately that was a no-go. As long as the first Fire Wall was burning, I couldn¡¯t cast if for a second time next to the already existing one, so in a sense it was the same with how I could not use two ball-type or storm-type spells in rapid succession, meaning that only one spell can be used at a given time, which is a shame because being able to completely block the corridor so that the enemies wouldn¡¯t be able to approach me at all would be quite handy of an option to have, but I didn¡¯t have the time to properly contemplate it, because other Needlewoods were just about ready to attack me from the other side while I was focused on the web-spitting Green Caterpillar.


    I released another Breeze Storm towards them, their bodies were shaken along with one another Green Caterpillar that got caught in the blast. Overall, it took me four castings of Breeze Storm to finish off the current group of enemies. If only I had used Breeze Storm instead of that one Breeze Wall, maybe that number could have been taken down to three. Allowing me to save that much MP for other spell in case I ever needed them. Well, I guess situations like that cannot be avoided when performing experiments. Now I at least know that I can only use one spell at a time, which will save me the potential embarrasement and quite possibly harm if I tried to pull a stunt like that off while fighting against stronger opponents.


    Now then, let us move to the final phase of today¡¯s experiments. I have already tested Beginner¡¯s Fire Magic, Beginner¡¯s Water Magic and Beginner¡¯s Wind Magic, so the only one left to try out is the Beginner¡¯s Earth Magic.


    However, this time, instead of shouting things like Earthball, Earth Wall Or Earth Storm, let¡¯s try throwing the system a little curve ball, shall we? When we think earth, what do we typically associate it with? Most likely rocks, dirt and sand. With that said, going backwards from the list of those three things¡­


    (Sandball!)


    Well well well, would you look at that, I got it the first time around this time! Am I a genius when it comes to those things or what? The small Earthball was formed in my hand and shot itself forward, crashing into the Labyrinth¡¯s wall, cracking it a little. Oh, wait, not Earthball. The command that got e the immediate result was Sandball, so that¡¯s how I should probably call it. Yeah, Sandball it is then.


    Next, I tried casting Sand Wall. Like the name implied, it created a wall of solid sand to erupt from the ground in front of me. After a while, it dissipated just like the Water Wall, but instead leaving a pile of sand behind it. But unlike all the other versions of the Wall spell, I cannot possibly fathom what kind of usage would sand be off to me. Meaning that it was effectively useless if I cannot process it or utilize it in making it into anything else.


    The next monsters that appeared before us became my guinnea pigs for the Sand Storm spell.


    Summing up everything that I have learned about magic today: there are a total of twelve battle oriented spells I can use right now, divided into three types: Ball, Wall and Storm and belonging to the categories of Beginner¡¯s Fire Magic, Beginner¡¯s Water Magic, Beginner¡¯s Wind Magic and Beginner¡¯s Earth Magic. Balls are meant for single target attacks, Walls act as defensive barriers and storms are Area of Effect offensive spells. All of the above make what I believe to be the main core of the system of magic in this world. Spells of Fire and Water Magic have ¡¸Fire¡¹ and ¡¸Water¡¹ in the names of their spells, but Wind Magic and Earth Magic deviate from that rule, because spells of the Wind Magic are actually invoked by the word ¡¸Breeze¡¹ while Earth Magic¡¯s activate when the word ¡¸Sand¡¹ is used. There might actually be more offensive forms of magic that we simply do not know about yet, but since Roxanne, who is a native inhabitant of this world, says that generally there are only three of them, then I have no reason to distrust her words.


    ¡¸Okay, I think this should be enough when it comes to our experiments with magic for today.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood. You worked really hard to figure everything out, didn¡¯t you , master?¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you, but I would have never been able to do any of that without your help, Roxanne.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you very much for your kind words.¡¹


    The biggest question that I had to find an answer to now was how do I want to fight the monsters in the Labyrinth from now on. Should I focus on fighting them with magic, or maybe go back to the purely physical fighting style that capitalizes on Durandal¡¯s absurd strength?


    Currently, I can defeat Lv.2 monsters on the second floor with four spells, which is a bit much, and admittedly the battle times are a little bit too long for my liking, because the longer the battles, the more stupid mistakes I tend to make, and I am painfully aware of that.

 Volume 2 - CH 5.6

    Ugh, damn it, what should I do?


    I can certainly use magic attacks, but using them and using them properly are two entirely different things. Not to mention that if I decide to go down the path of magic, I will have to put Durandal away, turning me next to useless in purely physical combat. But on the flipside, if I store Durandal away, I would be able to invest the points that would otherwise be spent on Bonus Weapons 6 into something else, like increasing the amount of EXP gained from slaying monsters.


    Bonus Weapons 6, which gives you Durandal costs 63 Bonus Points in total. Usually, I tend to use it with the Skills that decrease the amount of EXP needed for a Level Up by 1/10th and increase the value of the EXP I earn x10, both of them for 16 Bonus Points, so the Points left after Durandal¡¯s removal could easily be used to double their effects, giving me x20 EXP earned and 1/20th of the EXP needed to Level Up. And since it is necessary for me to divide the EXP I earn between me and Roxanne, she would also benefit from it.


    With the current ¡°Magic Setting¡± that I am using, I have 1/5th of the EXP needed and x5 EXP gained, so the difference in EXP efficiency would be x8 better, and that is a really big difference, but..


    But to be honest, I am scared to put Durandal away. It has the ability to kill monsters in one strike,  not to mention the abilities to absorb both HP and MP from the defeated foes, which is why I could always just throw myself at the monsters before me without worrying about getting hurt or dying, which was infinitely more useful and reliable than the ability to shoot spells in rapid succession. So right now, I have to ask myself what is it that I really want: safety and stability or the increased EXP values?


    If I were to stick to my rule that safety always comes first, then I should continue to use Durandal, no questions asked, and it will get me out of probably every emergency imaginable. True, maybe there will be times where the lifeline such as Durandal won¡¯t be needed anymore, but that certainly won¡¯t be happening anytime soon. What if we were to happen upon some unbelievably strong monster while I could only use magic? Yeah, things definitely wouldn¡¯t be pretty if that happened. But the thing is, Labyrinth is a battlefield, and on the battlefield there can be no such thing as absolute safety. It is a chaotic cesspool where literally anything can happen at any given moment. That is why humans invented a very convenient mechanism called risk management in the first place. I know that every time I enter the Labyrinth I should be prepared for the worst, but on the other hand, coming into the Labyrinth does not have to equal throwing myself into certain death situations all the time, even if we take the ¡¸No risk = no gain¡¹ rule into account.


    From the efficiency standpoint, increasing the value of gained EXP would be the most reasonable thing to do. Gaining more levels quickly will help reduce a lot of risks in the long run. Also, I am no longer alone. I have Roxanne with me. So not only do I not want to die, but I also want to protect her at all costs.


    I looked back at her. She is unspeakably beautiful, has wonderful, big breasts, and most importantly, I finally managed to make her mine after overcoming many hardships to do so. She is a pure, gentle soul who devoted herself completely to someone as unremarkable like me. Right now, I don¡¯t even want to imagine what would happen to me if she was not by my side.


    If I want to protect her, then I should focus on getting as much EXP as soon as possible to increase our levels. Durandal can protect me, but I cannot say that having it will be enough to also keep Roxanne safe. And now that I confirmed that I can kill monsters with magic alone, Durandal is no longer an absolute necessity for keeping me afloat. Which is why¡­.


    After making up my mind and exhaling heavily, I did a Character Reset where I removed Bonus Weapons 6 from the list of my Bonus Skills.


    I will put it away for now, but once I get more levels I might go back to it, because its MP Absorption Skill will be useful to me. With Durandal, I won¡¯t have to waste too much money on the MP Recovery medicine, which isn¡¯t exactly cheap. And of course, if any emergency calls for it, I will go back to it immediately.


    With that, after the Character Reset was finished, I now have 1/10th Required EXP Value and x20 EXP Aquired. Next I took Second and Third Job, and set Explorer as my First Job. I could have taken up to Sixth Hob with the amount of Bonus Points I had, but in order to do that I would have to get not x20 EXP Aquired, but x10 at maximum. After all, getting EXP faster will always be more beneficial than having more Jobs, and for that the x20 option is definitely more efficient. As for the rest of the Bonus Skills, I took Chant Omission, Character Reset, Crystal Acceleration x8 and MP Recovery Speed x2. I doubt doubling it will do much, but it will always be helpful to have.


    ¡¸Roxanne, from now on I will try fighting while focusing on using magic instead of physical weapons.¡¹


    ¡¸Of course, I understand.¡¹


    ¡¸Defeating monsters that way will undoubtedly be much slower in comparison to doing it with my sword, so I am sure you¡¯re going to have your part of the work more than cut out for you.¡¹


    ¡¸Please do not worry, master. I am more than fine with that.¡¹


    She might be okay with that now, but I really hope she won¡¯t come to regret those words further down the line.


    ¡¸Now that I am going to stick to the magic-oriented combat, could you please continue guiding us to the places where there are no other people?¡¹


    That is one of the major risks associated with deciding to only use magic from now on: I absolutely cannot allow any other people to see me using it. Also, my Second Job and Third Job are Bonus Skills, so if someone were to see an Explorer who¡¯s capable of using magic they would undoubtedly start asking all sorts of risky questions, like how is it possible for someone to have the Skills of two or more Jobs at the same time, or why can I use both Warp and Dungeon Walker along with attack magic of the Wizard Job, because Warp, which falls under Space Magic category is not something that Wizards can use. Not to mention that if someone decides to observe me closely, they might notice that I am not using chants for my spells, and that would be the final nail to my coffin.


    ¡¸Of course. Leave everything to me!¡¹


    But Roxanne assured me once more to leave everything in her capable hands. Yes, I think I will do just that. After all, now Roxanne is not just my slave, but also my reliable, amazing-looking, irreplaceable Party member.

 Volume 3 - CH 1.01

    Chapter 11: Quratar


    Kaga Michio


    Current levels & equipment:


    Explorer Lv.20


    Hero Lv.16


    Mage Lv.12


    Monk Lv.13


    Equipment:


    Copper Sword


    Leather Armor


    Leather Jacket


    Leather Gloves


    Leather Shoes


    Right now, I am fighting monsters inside of the Labyrinth, but not in my usual, one-hit-kill-with-Durandal way. No, since I have decided to gain as much levels for my and Roxanne¡¯s Jobs as soon as possible, I am fighting by only using magic now. That¡¯s right, you heard that correctly: just magic, no Durandal. Since I got rid of Bonus Weapons 6 with my last Character Reset, the only purely physical weapon I have equipped right now id the very basic Copper Sword.


    Facing the current group of enemies, I shouted (Firestorm!) in my mind, and when I did, the activated spell created fiery sparks that appeared all around the enemies and erupted into fiery explosions as soon as they came into contact with the monsters that happened to be near them. I didn¡¯t have to use any matches, oil, gunpowder or any other materials in order to make it happen. The sparks which initiated that series of devastating explosions was executed from start to finish only by what I imagined, thought about and ordered, coating the two Green Caterpillars in front of me entirely in flames.


    This is magic. A power to turn what¡¯s seemingly impossible into possible and make various supernatural things unavailable to any Jobs aside from that of a Wizard or Mage happen. However, while it is true that you can certainly fight monsters by using magic, it¡¯s not all rainbows and sunshine as you might think, because while that method of fighting certainly has its share of advantages, it also has disadvantages. For example: you can use magic to fight monsters from a distance, which makes it much safer in comparison to physical fighting where you have to get up close and personal to them to do any kind of meaningful damage, but killing them that way takes a few attacks in a row, whereas with my earlier Character Setting, the one where I had a bunch of Bonus Points invested into the Bonus Weapons Skill all the way to Lv.6, which granted me my ultimate weapon, Holy Sword Durandal, I was able to defeat all regular mobs with a single strike, and the Boss of the first Floor with a few strikes.


    When the fire created by the Fire Storm subsided, one of the Green Caterpillars that must have survived its raging inferno came at me with its ramming attack, which I guarded against with the aid of the Copper Sword, the weapon that was now acting as Durandal¡¯s replacement for as long as I am using the Wizard Build that I am using now to accumulate EXP as fast as possible. I have to admit, using a weapon that is weak as shit in comparison to Durandal was tough to get used to, but thankfully the monsters here on the second floor are not as tough and do not hit as hard as to give me a genuinely hard time dealing with them. All I had to do was to switch my mindset and adapt to killing enemies at a slower pace than usual.


    Some distance away from me, Roxanne, who was wielding a Scimitar was nimbly avoiding the attacks of another Green Caterpillar that must have targeted her while I was busy with the ones in front of me, which is admittedly kind of strange, because normally she would have just wailed o it with her weapon without needing to avoid it that much. I wonder if something happened to cause it, or perhaps it used its Skill and she had no choice but to avoid it to not get caught in its sticky webbing? Well, no matter. For now we both have to focus on fighting, and the time to eventually ask questions will be after that.


    When I finished parrying the Green Caterpillar¡¯s charge attack, I went on and launched another Fire Storm that engulfed the one I was squaring off against along with the one that targeted Roxanne. Since they were already beaten up to some extent by our previous attacks, they weren¡¯t able to survive the flames that burned them up to crisps. Both of them fell onto the floor and disappeared in a puff of green smoke, leaving only their Drop Items, Green Caterpillar Thread, behind them. Looks like the victory once more belongs to us.


    ¡¸Phew¡­ we finally defeated them, huh? I have to say, even though we are taking countermeasures against that pesky Web Spitting Skill of theirs, fighting Green Caterpillars sure is much more mentally exhausting than fighting with the Needlewoods.¡¹


    I struck up a casual conversation with Roxanne as we went on picking up the items all the Green Caterpillars dropped onto the floor after their deaths.


    The Green Caterpillar¡¯s Skill that I am talking about, Web Spitting, is a Skill that they are using on those who let down their guards around them that allows them to pin their prey in place and prevent it from both moving and defending themselves by with their sticky threads that are pretty similar to spider¡¯s web now that I think about it. Also, I have to confess that I have been caught in that freedom-of-movement-robbing Skill more than a few times now, which makes me feel incredibly embarrassed about it, because it is actually very easy to avoid as long as you will remember to pay close attention to the Green Caterpillars to see if any of them does not have an orange magic circle on the ground under their bloated bodies. If they do, then you have to get as far away from them as possible, since the length and the width of that Skill are both deceptively large.


    ¡¸Maybe so, but still, your magic defeats them so fast that I can¡¯t help it but to feel at ease, master. Not to mention that thanks to you we seem to be getting much stronger extremely fast!¡¹


    ¡¸Y-You really think so?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes! And that is why I am grateful to you for this. Thank you very much, master!¡¹


    Roxanne answered me with a bright smile on her face. Truth to be told, it¡¯s not me that you should be thankful to, but rather to the increased EXP gain Skill that I have currently equipped. If not for that, then I really don¡¯t think there would be any cause for celebrations.


    Normally, Roxanne is able to avoid Green Caterpillar¡¯s Skill attack thanks to her superior senses and agility of the Beastman, and I still have to work on my own strategy of avoiding it, but we will definitely get there at some point. As for the rest of the monsters of the second floor, they are only Needlewoods that are slightly stronger and a little bit tougher than their counterparts from the first floor, so we have no problems with dealing with them, since all that it takes to completely avoid their branch swings are some light dodges. But the thing is, we might have a relatively easy time fighting the enemies now, but such a state of affairs won¡¯t be able to last forever. Which is why¡­


    ¡¸If at all possible, I would very much like us to become just a bit stronger before advancing to the next floor.¡¹


    ¡¸Stronger, huh? Let¡¯s see¡­ I heard that typically Mages and Wizards tend to use staffs and wands instead of swords.¡¹


    ¡¸Staffs and Wands, huh?¡¹


    Well, that certainly makes sense. After all, normally swords and other weapons like that are supposed to be wielded by the members of the front guard while Mages and Wizards are supposed to hand around the back of the Party and use their ranged spells to provide support to those fighting on the frontlines. That might be another thing I should be looking out for then. If anyone saw a guy using spells fighting along with the rest of the Party on the frontlines, that would probably net me all sorts of uncomfortable questions. In short, if you want to act and fight like a Wizard, be sure to also be equipped like one¡­ but wait a minute¡­


    What was the typical Wizard equipment again? I have to admit that when I was doing my shopping back in Veil when I first arrived there and later when I bought Roxanne, I didn¡¯t really paid attention to anything else besides the things I needed at that time, which is to say, a typical Warrior¡¯s equipment. And since Roxanne fights with the Scimitar and the Leather Armor I gave her, there was no need to optimize our stuff according to the Jobs we have, but now that I decided to change my playstyles so drastically, a change of both weapon and equipment might be exactly what I need. Kind of a pain in the ass, but hey, it¡¯s for the sake of keeping up appearances.

 Volume 3 - CH 1.02

    ¡¸That is what I had heard regarding magic users and their equipment, so I am sorry if any of what I just said turns out not to be true.¡¹


    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry about it. You¡¯re already helping me more than enough, so asking anything more of you would be downright rude of me.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you for your kind words, master, I really¡­ wait, the enemy is close by!¡¹


    Roxanne pointed that out while we were walking through the Labyrinth, having a nice, casual chatter, and just like she said, a Needlewood has appeared right before us. As expected of Roxanne. Her senses are all so perfectly sensitive that she¡¯s able to sense enemies even when she¡¯s in the middle of talking with me. Can you be more reliable than that?


    Normally I would be 100% against idle chatter anywhere outside the entrance to the Labyrinth and the first rooms on every floor, which function as safe zones for Adventurers since the danger might be lurking around every corner, but with mine and Roxanne¡¯s current levels, dealing with a single enemy when there is a pair of us should not be a problem at all. Now that she is a member om my Party, no monster attack will catch us by surprise anymore.


    I launched a quick Fireball at the Needlewood. Since the enemy is only one, then instead of using Fire Storm, which is an AoE (Area of Effect) Fire-type spell, it¡¯s more cost-effective to only use single-target spells. Also, that way I could technically attack this guy all the way from the safe zone, where monsters have no access to make sure that Roxanne, who would have to rush in close to it to hit it with her Scimitar, won¡¯t get hurt at all, but right now, there was no need for me to be so overprotective of her, because she fended off each and every attack with swift and agile movements. The are so fast and precise that sometimes I wonder if those are really her natural moves, or is that thanks to some kind of Passive Skill she might be possessing?


    Anyway, now that we have defeated that monster without any harm coming to neither of us¡­


    ¡¸Going back to our topic of equipment for magic users, I sure wish that Veil had more shops that are opened permanately, and not just on the bazaar days. That way we could go shopping whenever there would be a need for it instead of waiting for the specific shop to be opened on a specific day. Yeah, that would surely be nice.¡¹


    We continued the talk that got interrupted due to the sudden appearance of the enemy. So back to what I was saying, it¡¯s a shame that there are no permanately opened stores in Veil, but even if they were opened 24/7 (or five days a week for eight hours like most of the shops back on earth, I don¡¯t know which would considered to be more normal here), then I don¡¯t think any of the stores in Veil, which are open every five days when the bazaar opens would be able to offer me equipment and supplies specifically for the magic users since apparently they are a pretty rare breed around these parts. And that is¡­ inconvenient, to say the least.


    ¡¸Oh, if it¡¯s a store selling wands, staffs and supplies for Mages you want, then you should probably go to Quratar. The stores in the Imperial City should also have those kinds of items, but Quratar is much closer, so that would definitely be your best bet.¡¹


    ¡¸Quratar, huh? That¡¯s the first time I¡¯m hearing the name of that city, but if you say that it should have all of the things we might need, then I think checking it out would definitely be worth the shot.¡¹


    ¡¸Umu. I¡¯ve only been there once before, but that one visit was enough to know that there is also a big Labyrinth there, and it¡¯s pretty convenient because the shops which sell all manner of supplies for both Explorers and Adventurers alike are situated pretty close to one another.¡¹


    How admirable, she explained all that without me even having to ask, but that was probably due to my fake backstory that I told to Roxanne, that I am from a remote region of the world far to the east where I was raised without knowing much about the common sense of the world. She really is like my own personal guardian angel. With benefits. (TL Note: ( ?¡ã ?? ?¡ã) )


    ¡¸Well, that settles it then. We should really try going there if we ever get the chance to do so.¡¹


    If this Quratar place is even bigger than Veil, then the shops would probably be much bigger with better selection of items, which would be pretty convenient for me.


    We stopped the conversation once more to deal with two more enemies that appeared before as we continued to go deeper and deeper into the second floor. Since there are two of them, we did our usual thing where we split up so that each one of us would draw the attention of one monster to ourselves. Actually, I think that right now I would be more than enough to take care of both of them with my AoE spells so that Roxanne didn¡¯t have to put herself in unnecessary danger, but suggesting that to her now might be insulting to her, so I think it would be better if I shut up about it for now and just let each of us do our own thing.


    Fighting monsters with magic was harder than with normal weapons, but it was not impossible. I can shoot at them with my spells before they even get close to me, but if they get within striking distance without dropping dead I will only have a short moment to react before they will launch their attacks at me, causing me to either evade and reposition myself on use another spell from point blank range while taking the risk of tanking a potential hit, which is why defeating them while they are still relatively far away from me would be a preferable outcome, but as you all probably know, you cannot always get what you want from life. That is just how big of a bitch it is. I wish the battles on all floors of this Labyrinth would be simple ones, but that is little more than my own wishful thinking. Right now the monsters are weak because we¡¯re only on the second floor, but once we start climbing onto the higher floors, not only there is going to be significantly more enemies for us to deal with, but they will also grow stronger with each floor, so we should appreciate these short fight whenever we can, because pretty soon they will become nothing more but a distant memory that we¡¯re going to look at fondly. Well, I guess that is j=how a natural order of things works, so it cannot be helped. I still think that what we are doing now is the right thing to do. We are taking things slowly, adapting to tougher battles little by little, which is infinitely better than rushing ahead of ourselves blindly until we encounter monsters that will be too strong for us to defeat, sending us to the early grave because of little else than our own stupidity. Yeah, we will gradually get used to the raising difficulty level, and getting me a wand of a staff may wait until then.


    After finishing the exploration for the time being, we left the Labyrinth and went back to Veil to sell the items that we aquired. But before we went to the Explorer¡¯s Guild¡¯s building to do so, we took a moment to replenish our supply ow drinkable water by filling our bottles from the well behind the Veil Pavillion inn, in which we were currently staying. Initially I thought that since I learned how to create water with magic then we won¡¯t need to carry bottled ones with us, but that assumption of mine got quickly corrected once I learned that storing magically created water is not as simple as I thought it will be, so I guess it was a good thing that Roxanne mentioned Quratar now of all times, because once we go there, we will be able to buy water storing supplies, like cups, more bottles, or perhaps even bigger containers if we¡¯re lucky.


    When we sold all of the Green Caterpillar Threads and got our money, we returned to the inn to have a short rest, after which we have set off into the Depths of the Labyrinth once more.


    ¡¸This way.¡¹


    As usual, I followed after Roxanne¡¯s guidance. Navigating the Labyrinth¡¯s dimly-lit corridors, we soon happened upon a first pair of enemies.

 Volume 3 - CH 1.03

    The enemies this time are, once more, a group of Green Caterpillars.


    (Fire Storm!)


    I activated Fire Storm, and the sparks it created began to fall in the vicinity of the enemies. Most of them got burned down on the spot, but two of them actually survived, meaning that we were once again put in a situation where both Roxanne and I had one enemy to defeat. When the one I was closer two approached me, I slashed it with my Copper Sword and got body-slammed in return. It didn¡¯t hurt all that much, but it was all too evident that this shitty Copper Sword was not Durandal. If I had it with me, this bug would have been turned into shishkebab in a jiffy. I managed to avoid the second body slam that was heading my way and then wanted to launch magic at the Green Caterpillar in return, but before I was able to cast Fireball or another Fire Storm at it, it used that brief gap between my actions to get closer to me again


    Damn it! Why did I allow something like that to happen! Now, if I was the previous, close combat oriented me, then I would never allow such a blunder to happen, but now that I have switched my specs from sword-fighting to magic casting, it became all too apparent to me that I simply started paying too much attention to the process of casting spells, which resulted in me not paying as much attention as I should have to the monsters themselves!


    A moment later, Fire Storm finally activated, and its sparks managed to catch the Green Caterpillar just as I was in the middle of backstepping to create more of a distance between us. The flames swallowed it, and in the next moment it moaned loudly, keeled over and died, turning into a puff of green smoke.


    ¡¸Ugh¡­¡¹


    Just like I have previously said, fighting with monsters while being a magic user is much more difficult in comparison to having a purely physical build, and it made me groan a little in frustration. If this is how it is on the second floor, then a part of me cannot help it but get worried about how tough the things are going to get once we eventually reach the higher floors.


    In this world, someone like me who had no other talents besides those I gave myself while I was creating my character (and all those I have obtained through performing countless Character Resets) has no other way of earning money for sustaining himself aside from hunting monsters and exploring the Labyrinth. Maybe I could try mercenary work or some other job requiring physical strength on knowing how to swing a sword, but there is absolutely no guarantee that it would get me more money per day than foraging into the Labyrinth would give me. Fighting monsters in the Labyrinth might be a difficult depending on the floor you are exploring and you have to put up with the constant risk of certain death looming over you the entire time you are inside of the dungeon¡¯s halls, but other than that this so-called career path is easy and simple enough for someone like me to understand: go into the Labyrinth, kill everything that moves and acts hostile towards you, pick up any items the monsters might leave behind when they will die, sell those items back at the city, profit, repeat as many times as necessary. And speaking of items dropped by the monsters, I went and picked up all of the Green Caterpillar Threads that have been left behind by the monster we defeated just now.


    ¡¸Roxanne, give the Green Caterpillar Threads that you picked up. I¡¯m going to store them all in the Item Box.¡¹


    I called out to Roxanne as she was picking up the Drop Items near her.


    ¡¸In the Item Box? Not the backpacks?¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, into the Item Box. Right now I should have the necessary space to handle putting that many items inside, so no worries.¡¹


    Just recently I have hit Lv.20 as an Explorer, and since the overall capacity of the Item Box depends on the level of the Explorer Job, then the space of my Item Box has increased considerably in comparison to what I had when I was just starting in this Labyrinth crawling business. To be more specific, since I am a Lv.20 Explorer, I can now have 20 spaces for items, each of which can hold up to 20 pieces of small items. Before I had to be really selective with what I was putting inside there, but now I have more than enough to safely store all of my gold coins, silver coins, some pieces of spare equipment and various medicines, and I will still have some space left in that sucker! And since the only monsters we have been hunting in the Veil¡¯s Labyrinth for a while are Needlewoods of the first floor and the Green Caterpillars of the second floor only drop Needlewood¡¯s Branches and Green Caterpillar¡¯s Thread respectively, there won¡¯t be any problems with fitting them all inside there.


    Normally I would keep all of my coins in the string pouch in my backpack so that I could have an easy access to them at any time, but since now I have quite a lot of gold coins, which make the bulk of the entirety of my current monetary possessions, I decided to store them all in the safety of the Item Box where no one would ever rob them from me even if they tried. It¡¯s possible that I¡¯m getting a bit too paranoid about all of this,but we can never be too cautious when it comes to the safety of our funds, but even then we cannot be too sure of our money¡¯s safety. Who knows, even if Roxanne does not know about it, there is a tiny sliver of a chance that there might exist a spell that allows others to steal items from the Item Boxes without their owner¡¯s even knowing that they are getting robbed.


    ¡¸Uhm, forgive me for being too curious about the matters that have nothing to do with me, but may I ask what is your current level, master?¡¹


    Roxanne asks about my level in a timid manner as if she thought that she was doing something that she wasn¡¯t supposed to do. She wants to know what my level is, huh? Well, I see no reason for keeping it a secret from her, so¡­


    ¡¸My Explorer level, right? Currently I am at Lv.20.¡¹


    ¡¸Lv.20¡­?! As expected of someone as amazing as you, master. In that case your Item Box should still have a lot of free space for all the items we obtained today!¡¹


    She must know about the Lv. = number of spaces in the Item Box, but she didn¡¯t know my exact level, and that¡¯s why she wanted to ask for confirmation. I have to say, being praised by her for how big my level was felt quite good, almost as if she was saying that something else about me is quite big, if you know what I mean. So come on, Roxanne, praise my level some more!


    Then again, I guess me having such a high level can actually be considered to be pretty abnormal, since normally it looks like the process of gaining levels in this world is typically associated with aging, similarly to how back on earth there was this saying that ¡¸with the age comes experience¡¹. This world is like an example of putting that saying into practical use, except for the fact that there is a way of gaining EXP faster than normal people, but it has one prerequisite: you¡¯d have to be a child of the nobility, and then you¡¯d be taken to the Labyrinth from an early age so that you could have more EXP and the money until you¡¯d reach an age where you could start going there by yourself. But I am not a child of nobility according to the fake backstory I told to Roxanne. To her, I am just another country bumpkin, so it is understandable that she might be amazed at how someone who¡¯s supposedly no different from any other regular person is able to gain levels so fast.


    Thinking about it that way, I guess the level of my Explorer¡¯s Job might be considered a little high for my age, but it should not be that much of a deal. True, right now I am earning x20 more EXP points due to The Bonus Skill I have taken exactly for that purpose, and it was that that allowed me to achieve such a level in such a relatively short amount of time, while normally getting to Lv.20 in any Job would take a few more years, at least according to what Roxanne said at one point.

 Volume 3 - CH 1.04

    I also remember her mentioning that some noble children might have been taken to the labyrinths not only since they were little, but also even after their age went into the one with double digits, and they still wouldn¡¯t be able to level as fast as I did. I really have no idea if my high level should be a case for concern or not, but just to be on the safe side the wise move here might be keeping it hidden from anyone else unless revealing it would become absolutely necessary. So, to that end¡­


    ¡¸Roxanne, I would really appreciate it if you could keep my level a secret and not talk about it to anyone, okay?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course, master. My lips are sealed.¡¹


    Ahh, why am I even worrying about her spilling the beans on that information in the first place? Of course Roxanne wouldn¡¯t go revealing sensible information about me to anyone else. Her trust in me is absolute, and she would never do anything that would risk me losing that trust in her. Besides, we have our fair share of secrets already (TL Note: A bit too many if you ask me.) so adding one or two more to the mix should be okay and not make that much of a difference, and we have already established that the safety of my personal information should be our number one priority. She and the inhabitants of this world might not realize it, but information might be quite a powerful weapon when wielded in the right hands and used at just the right time.


    While we were taking on another group of monsters, I noticed that there has been a slight change in me. Up until this point I needed roughly four spells in order to defeat a single monster from the second floor, but right now, all I needed to take one of them down were three shots! You might think that this is not that big of a deal, but it is exactly the opposite! Now that I managed to lower the number of spells required to take the enemies down by one for some reason, I can actually defeat them before they can get into our melee range, significantly dropping the risk of us sustaining injuries in battle! That is some truly great news. Of course, it¡¯s not like I can snipe them away from like a kilometer or so away, because single target spells still have to be aimed manually in order to maintain the highest accuracy of the shot possible, but putting that little technicality aside, that is going to be a tremendous improvement that showed its usefulness even now, since I was able to finish the battle that much faster with the less spells required to do so.


    When there was only one enemy left, Roxanne jumped in front of me and finished it herself, which was a nice contribution, if not a little unnecessary, because with my new discovery I would have been more than glad, and most importantly, capable, of dealing with all of those monsters by myself.


    Anyway, I think the number of spells required to kill monsters has decreased because my level as a Wizard has increased, making my spells a little bit more powerful. All of my levels were going up at a pretty decent pace, but the increase that the Wizard Job was getting through was especially fast even among the rest of my Jobs, because it started at Lv.1 just like any other Job, and right now it was already at Lv.12 even though it was the newest Job that I have aquired, so I technically had it for the shortest amount of time in comparison to the rest like Explorer or Hero.


    ¡¸As expected of you , master. You are growing stronger and stronger by the day.¡¹


    ¡¸Nah, that¡¯s probably beginner¡¯s luck since I started using magic only recently. I bet I still have a long way to go when it comes to improving and mastering my skills at it.¡¹


    ¡¸That may be so, but with your extraordinary levelling speed, the day when you will be able to master more amazing spells might not be as far away as you might think.¡¹


    Again, that is only because I have the Bonus Skills that lowered the EXP required to level up by 1/10th of its original value and increase the amount of EXP I¡¯m receiving for killing monsters by x20. Roxanne already knows how much levels I gained when it comes to the Explorer Job, but maybe I should not be telling her how much levels did I gain for my other Jobs just to be on the safe side?


    We continued the exploration of the second floor and the extermination of the monsters living on it, and after a while we seemed to have reached the waiting room that was placed right before the Floor Boss¡¯s room. I looked around to be sure: no other ways and branching paths, just a pair of doors leading forward and a pair of doors leading back to where we came from. Yup, this is the waiting room alright. Who would have thought that we have advanced through the second floor so much? It felt much shorter compared to the time we have spent on the first floor before we reached its Floor Boss.


    Seeing how empty the place is, it doesn¡¯t look like any Party in particular was awaiting their turn to take a stab at the Boss of this floor, so this seems like a perfect moment to get Durandal back, since I would like nothing more than to have it as my standard weapon for Floor Boss encounters like that, since its HP and MP Absorption Skills might be all the difference between life and death in the battles with stronger opponents, and this is definitely not a place to be worrying about getting more EXP. For this particular fight, DPS and survivability is where its at.


    While performing a Character Reset, I also removed the increased EXP gain Bonus Skill and added myself a Fifth Job. Now that I have decided to bust out Durandal, it would also be good to use Warrior¡¯s Rush or Swordsman¡¯s Slash Skills, and the Fifth Job is exactly for the purpose of adding one of those Jobs to the rest of the ones that I already have. Obviously I cannot remove Explorer from the list of active Jobs, and Hero has to stay on as well because that Job is also very effective with its Stat boosts and Skill, Overwhelming, which might be pretty useful if I will find myself in a pinch. I should also keep Monk on, since that Job is the one I specifically wanted to get because of its focus on healing abilities that might prove to be more reliable than your standard item-based healing in the middle of a battle. For a moment I was considering whether or not to get rid of the Wizard Job, but maybe I should leave myself the ability to use magic just in case the battle goes horribly, horribly wrong for some reason. For now the only Floor Boss battle that I have experienced was against the Udowood back on the first floor, which was actually not that difficult from your standard battles against Needlewoods aside from the facts that Udowood was bigger than them and could attack in every direction thanks to the sheer number and placements of its branches, but as for the Floor Boss of the second floor, I don¡¯t even know what I should be expecting. For all I know, the Boss of the second floor might be the one that negates physical attacks, or he might negate magical attacks, or neither of them. Yeah, since there is too much unknown factors that I have no countermeasures against, the sensible thing to do here would be to prioritize safety over the gains to the EXP points, so I finally chose Warrior as my Fifth Job and ended up the Character Reset.


    As we approached the door to the Boos Room, they opened up by themselves, almost as if they were waiting for us, inviting us inside.


    ¡¸Alright Roxanne, we¡¯re going in. Let¡¯s go!¡¹


    ¡¸Yes!¡¹


    When I was walking through the double door, I felt my entire body instinctively tightening up. If this was nothing more than a game world where there would be no real risk of me actually dying I would have probably be excited as hell to face off against the new, never before seen enemy, but right now, knowing that my life is legitimately on the line here, I just couldn¡¯t force myself into enjoying this situation even if I wanted to.


    When we were about to reach the center of the large Boss chamber, our surroundings were filled with clouds of green smoke that gathered in front of us, forming the silhouette of our next enemy.

 Volume 3 - CH 1.05

    The Floor Boss this time¡­ turned out to be a caterpillar. But not the same like all the other Green Caterpillars we have encountered so far, because that one was like, way larger. After using Identify on it, I learned that it was actually called a White Caterpillar, which made sense since instead of being green it was pale-whiteish in color. Since it is the Boss monster for the second floor, it was Lv.2.


    Hmm, I wonder id this is a general rule that the Floor Boss of each floor is just a beefed-up version of the regular mobs that roam the given floor, because it was the same with the ones on the first floor. Normal monsters there were Needlewoods, and the Boss was an Udowood, which looked like a bigger, thicker version of a regular Needlewood. It would have been nice if we had a moment to stop and thin about it, but it was not to be, because White Caterpillar began the battle by creating an orange magic circle beneath its body.


    ¡¸It¡¯s going to use its Skill, master! Brace yourself!¡¹


    Since this thing is a caterpillar, then it probably means that it has a Web Spit attack as its Skill, so I probably should prepare Fire Wall to guard against it. Damn, if only I knew beforehand that it might have the same Skill as its weaker counterparts, then I could have prepared to attack it while it has its guard down during the Skill casting timeframe. But that¡¯s only assuming that its Skill will really be spitting that sticky thread out of its mouth and not something else entirely. For the time being, I will proceed while assuming that it will be a Web Spit indeed.


    While keeping a close watch on the White Caterpillars mouth, I chanted Fire Wall in my mind and deployed it just in the nick of time, because as it turned out, the Skill that the White Caterpillar used was indeed a Web Spitting attack. Kinda disappointing that it didn¡¯t have anything else up its sleeve, but whatever, I will take an attack that I know and can guard against it instead of something completely unpredictable any time of the day.


    Now that Fire Wall was fully deployed, instead of sticking onto me and restricting my movements so that the White Caterpillar could devour me, its threads crashed against the barrier made out of flames, filling the entire room with the hissing sound and the smell of burned thread. I knew it, this is the best way of using such spells after all. Also, now that I know that it is using Skills and exactly what kind of Skill it is, I might as well modify my strategy to incorporate hitting it with Durandal since it has the ability to interrupt the chants of the spells and Skills used by the enemies, unless it will always try using it while being far away from us, in a place where it would be impossible to hit it with physical attacks. But to be honest, that is actually something that we can use to our advantage.


    ¡¸Master, I¡¯m going in!¡¹


    Roxanne shouted back to me as she ran past the Fire Wall with her Scimitar in hand and slashed the White Caterpillar¡¯s side on her way towards its head, causing it to divert its attention completely to her as it tried to bite her with its many rows of teeth. Thankfully, Roxanne¡¯s innate nimbleness allowed her to sidestep and avoid each and every one of its attacks without breaking too much of a sweat. Capitalizing on the opportunity she created for me, I ran to the White Caterpillar¡¯s backside and started wailing on it with Durandal. It raised the upper half of its body in an attempt to slam Roxanne with it, but she managed to avoid getting squashed underneath its weight by blocking most of the attack¡¯s impact with her shield. While all of this was happening in front of it, I didn¡¯t stop slashing its ass for even a second.


    I have to say, fighting such a gigantic Boss in such a way was incredibly effective and relatively easy. Since this is a Floor Boss, both Roxanne and I knew that the battle is going to be a long one, but I was expecting to have a little bit more difficulties with it, if I am to be totally honest with you. But now that we blocked its initial Web Spit Skill with my Fire Wall and divided its attention between Roxanne, who can do less damage but actually has a shield that can block frontal attacks and myself who doesn¡¯t have a shield for protection but my attacks are having one hell of a wallop, it became obvious that right now we were the ones dictating the pace of the battle. Funny thing, huh? Take away the monster¡¯s strongest ability and surround it, ad it won¡¯t be able to touch you at all, since it cannot turn it¡¯s body so much as to use its Skill against those who are sitting at its ass all the time, and even if it tried to do that it would have to either let Roxanne hit it with her Scimitar, or keep focusing on her and risk having its Skill interrupted by Durandal¡¯s OP Chant Interruption ability. Even so, we still had to maintain caution, because we don¡¯t know if it won¡¯t start pulling some new moves out of nowhere or when its HP starts going into the red zone.


    Roxanne delivered another series of fast Scimitar slashes to the monster¡¯s head to continue provoking it, and I did the same with my holy sword to its backside while carefully observing its movements, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious that could have revealed what kind of attack was it going to use next, and when I saw that a sufficient enough opening has presented itself to me, I raised Durandal high into the air and used Rush, dealing even bigger damage than with my normal attacks. However, even though that attack fully connected without any issues, the Floor Boss was still standing, stubbornly refusing to keel over and die. Damn, for just a Lv.2 enemy, this thing must have a ton of HP if it was able to take the beating from both me and Roxanne and still be alive and kicking as if nothing had happened to it.


    I quickly backstepped as to not get hit when it started thrashing its ass around, and then watched as it once again tried slamming its body into Roxanne, only to have her dodge to the sideways to avoid the incoming assault, leaving the monster in a brief state of confusion when it realized that its charge didn¡¯t hit anything. Sensing that this might be an ideal occasion to do some big damage, I performed another rush from up close, driving Durandal deep into the monster¡¯s soft flesh, and then yanking it out to the side with all my strength behind that motion, leaving it with a large, open wound. The White Caterpillar make a loud, ear-piercing shriek, thrashed its body upwards and then finally fell onto the ground, dead.


    ¡¸Phew¡­ we finally managed to defeat the Boss of the second floor, but I have to say, that was more tiring than I thought it was going to be.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, it was certainly more difficult than the battle with the Boss of the first floor, but thanks to you we were able to once more defeat it rather quickly, master.¡¹


    Roxanne praised me, but to be frank, I don¡¯t know if I can accept that praise this time. It¡¯s true that we managed to achieve victory, and a win is a win, no matter how it was obtained¡­ but I couldn¡¯t shake off the feeling that this time it all went all too easy for me because all I did was molesting the Floor Boss¡¯s as from behind while Roxanne was playing bait in front of it where it was infinitely more dangerous. Not to mention that I once again ended up relying on Durandal¡¯s absurd strength for the duration of pretty much the entire fight, which feels like a personal defeat after all my talking of how I wanted to rely more on my own abilities instead of the Bonus Weapons, but on the other hand, what choice do I had here? I didn¡¯t know what we were going to be fighting against and didn¡¯t want to risk dying. Nevertheless, some sour taste was still left in my mouth, even as I went to pick up the Drop Item that the White Caterpillar left behind it when it turned into clouds of green smoke and disappeared.


    Surprising nobody, it seemed to be some kind of thread. Upon using Identify on it, it was revealed that this item was actually a Silk Thread. Silk, huh?

 Volume 3 - CH 1.06

    Since this dropped from the Floor Boss after its defeat, then it probably means that its quality must be higher than those dropped by the regular mobs native to the second floor, just like it was with the Udowood¡¯s Leaf back on the first floor. Floor Bosses dropping higher quality materials must be another one of Labyrinth¡¯s rules.


    Thinking about it, that White Caterpillar was acting pretty much in the same way as Green caterpillars did, aside from the fact that it used its Skill at the very beginning of the battle. But other than that, it followed a pretty clear pattern: It tried to seal our ability to move with its Web Spit, and when it failed to do so, it moved to attack us directly. Maybe since it is a bug, its brain could not process that such a pattern won¡¯t work on us? Or maybe it was not its fault, but rather the code that programmed its natural actions was to blame? Either way, my point is that the difficulty spike which should be present when fighting a Boss rank monster was pretty much nonexistent here.


    ¡¸Roxanne, hold onto this Silk Thread for me, will you?¡¹


    This time I had to give the Silk Thread to Roxanne so that she could carry it in her backpack for me, because I was starting to run a little low on the space in my Item Box due to all the Drop Items from the Needlewoods and Green Caterpillars we have hunted down on the way to the Floor Boss¡¯s chamber.


    Since we were having a little break of sorts, I removed my Leather Helmet and Leather gloves to give myself a breather from wearing them all the time. We were lucky that this Floor Boss also dropped its Drop Item after our first battle with it, because a perspective of fighting it multiple times just to earn something like that was not a prospect that I would like to entertain. The battle itself might have been simple, but the Floor Boss is still a Floor Boss, so it would probably hurt like hell if he managed to actually hit us with one of its attacks.


    After picking up the Silk Thread, I checked the Party Settings to see if Roxanne obtained some new Job, but sadly, no such thing happened this time. It was the same for me as well; the number of my available Jobs did not increase at all, which is a shame because a part of me expected one of us to get something along the lines of Weaver Job or something like that. I know it probably won¡¯t be like that every time, but it would be really funny if it did.


    Okay, enough jokes and let¡¯s move on. But before we move on from here, let¡¯s have a quick look-around first. Anything we have missed because the battle started right from the get-go? No, it doesn¡¯t seem like it. Any items left by the previous Parties who were unfortunate enough to get killed by the White Caterpillar? No, it doesn¡¯t look like it either. Yeah, there is really nothing left for us to pick up, meaning that either whoever was here before us managed to successfully defeat the Boss and proceed to the higher floors, or no one was fighting against it for quite some time. Whichever one of those two options it might be, that is not any of our concerns. With little else to do here, we nodded at each other and proceeded to the Labyrinth¡¯s third floor.


    The small room that served as the entrance to the third floor looked exactly the same as the ones on the first and second floors. Behind us was a black wall-portal, and before us, the road was forking into three possible directions. The question is: which one should we take. Let¡¯s ask our residual expert on the subject.


    ¡¸Alright Roxanne, can you tell if there are any enemies nearby?¡¹


    ¡¸If we go straight ahead, then we should encounter a Kobold and a Green Caterpillar, but if we take the path to the left, there will only be a single Needlewood there.¡¹


    ¡¸Then take us to the left, please. Since this is a new floor we are stepping into, then let¡¯s take it slow and go down the path that has as little monsters as possible first.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood. Please follow me, master.¡¹


    Just a quick note about the other roads in the room outside of the Floor Boss room on the second floor that also have black wall-portals on them: the road forward leads to back to the first floor, the road forward is a shortcut back to the second floor, and the road on the left, the one we ultimately took, took us to our current destination, the third floor.


    While still holding onto Durandal, I did a Character Reset to change my Third Job, and when I was done, we went down the road to the left. The first monster we encountered soon after was a Needlewood Lv.3. Makes sense. We are on the Labyrinth¡¯s third floor, after all, so it should be pretty obvious that the enemies we would encounter here would all be Lv.3, even the ones that were native to the first floor. Not waiting for it to come to us first, I ran towards it and slashed it diagonally with my sword in a fast blow, causing it to fall down to the ground and disappear in a puff of green smoke. Huh, so even on the third floor, where the enemies are supposed to be stronger than the ones from the second floor, one blow from Durandal was still enough to kill them in one strike? Good to know, but also disappointing. I thought that since the enemies were of higher level, then it would mean that they will also start improving in a fashion similar to me or the Adventurers in video games, but I guess the improvement that the third floor made to them are still not enough to turn them into any real threat towards the current me.


    For the next encounter, let¡¯s test how magic is going to work on the monsters here. I did another Character Reset, changed Durandal for the Copper Sword and got all of my Bonus Skills buffing the amount of gained EXP and lowering the amount of EXP required to Level Up.


    The next thing that appeared before us was a new enemy: a Kobold Lv.3. If I remember correctly, they were supposed to be the monsters native to the third floor, if what the guy from that other Party we have evesdropped on was telling the truth. If were to describe it, it looked like a blue dwarf, or perhaps a goblin (TL Note: please don¡¯t go full Goblin Slayer, please don¡¯t go full Goblin Slayer!), because it also had a pair of big, creepy-looking eyes and sharp fangs and pointy ears. Also, its face is friggin¡¯ huge! Like, I legitimately think that most of its head is occupied by its ugly face! And it¡¯s also holding a knife in its hand! I think that is the first monster that I saw using an actual weapon ever since I arrived in this world, and the though that some of the monsters are intelligent enough to be actually using weapons is more than a little scary. I mean, I know that any cuts and wounds my body may suffer will be completely heal with Durandal¡¯s HP Absorption Skill, but what about any other types of wounds? Simple cuts should be fine, but what about my limbs being completely severed? Because if I were to lose an arm or fingers of my dominant hand without any way of restoring it, that would mean my life as an adventuring her would be over before it even properly began. And what about my internal organs being gouged out? Or if the would I sustain will cause massive internal or external bleeding? Can HP Absorption heal damage like that, or is it limited only to the simple kind of wounds and the more serious ones would require the help of a proper doctor, or healer, or whatever the hell the medical stuff is called here?


    I am worrying about everything like crazy, and the actual battle hasn¡¯t even begun yet, but hey, look, this is my first time fighting against not an armed human, but an armed monster, so of course I would be freaking the hell out, you know?! And since this is the thing that I absolutely do not want to test out no matter what, then the answer to how I should proceed here should be obvious.


    The enemy is a Lv.3 monster holding a weapon, so in this case, victory will go to whoever will successfully make the first move, and it just so happens that I have the perfect tool for doing just that!

 Volume 3 - CH 1.07

    This is one thing that I would like not to test out no matter what, even though I m still worried about it.


    Alright Michio, stop distracting yourself with needless worries and focus. Your current enemy is holding a weapon, so it means that in this battle the victory is going to belong to the one who will attack the other first, and when it comes to attacking first, I have just the right tool for that very purpose!


    (Fireball!)


    I invoked Fireball, and as soon as it appeared in my hand I sent it flying towards the Kobold. Back in my old world there was a saying ¡¸never bring a knife to a gunfight¡¹, but here it¡¯s the exact opposite: never go with a knife against someone who can use magic!


    The Kobold¡¯s reaction, even when it saw the ball of fire heading its way was extremely slow. It got hit square in its ugly mug with it, and even then it didn¡¯t even try to put itself out, simply allowing the fire to engulf it entirely. Without making a single noise, the Kobold collapsed onto the ground and disappeared in a puff of green smoke.


    I really wish I could say something more about it¡­ but I can¡¯t, because that was literally it.  All it took to kill that Kobold was one Fireball attack.


    Weak! So pathetically weak! Was that really a Lv.3 monster?! Even Green Caterpillars, Lv.2 monsters from the floor bellow this one needed more hits, 2 to be exact, from the same spell to be defeated! No wait, maybe it was so effective because Kobolds are actually weak against fire? Let¡¯s ask Roxanne about that.


    ¡¸Roxanne, wasn¡¯t that Kobold just now awfully weak?¡¹


    ¡¸Well, yes, but that was to be expected. Generally speaking, Kobolds are so weak that they have been mockingly called ¡¸Beginner¡¯s Monsters¡¹ or ¡¸Cannon Fodder¡¹, so with master¡¯s strength killing it with one attack was to be expected.


    ¡¸Is¡­ is that so?¡¹


    It¡¯s a weak monster, so it carries a knife to compensate for that weakness, huh? No, actually, it would be more accurate to say it has to use a knife precisely because it is so weak. I wonder if that rule can be applied to all bipedal monsters carrying weapons with them? It would be nice if that was the case, but on the other hand, an attitude like that might be pretty treacherous, because if you assume that all weapons-using monsters are weak, then you¡¯re going to have a bad time when one day you¡¯re going to encounter a weapon-using monster that won¡¯t be weak at all.


    When the Kobold disappeared, it left something that looked like a white fang behind it. When I Identified it, it turned out to be something called a Kobold Salt. I wonder if this is something even remotely close to the rock salt that I know from earth. But since this is supposedly salt, then I wonder if it¡¯ll be safe to keep it in my Item Box without running the risk of dissolving it by accident?


    ¡¸Kobolds are supposed to be this floor¡¯s native monsters, so if we continue to kill them we are bound to get more of this Kobold Salt item, but I wonder if we won¡¯t have any difficulties storing it in our backpacks or my Item Box?¡¹


    I summoned my Item Box and placed Kobold Salt inside of it. When I got the chance to touch it a little bit more with my fingers, it really felt like your average lump of crystalized salt.


    ¡¸It should be all right to store it in you Item Box, but if we decide to carry it in our backpacks, we would have to be careful not to get it wet, because we won¡¯t be able to sell wet salt to any of the Guild shops, but even if that were to happen by accident, that wouldn¡¯t be that big of a loss, because Kobold Salt is the cheapest item that can be bought from Guild merchants.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh? How cheap are we talking about, exactly?¡¹


    ¡¸It costs only 4 Nars for a piece.¡¹


    Man, that is dirt-cheap! Ehhh, and here I was thinking that since it is an item obtained at the Labyrinth¡¯s third floor then we were going to make some serious profit out of it, but I guess that won¡¯t be the case after all, which made me feel depressed as hell. Seeing me like that, Roxanne started laughing. Her smile was more precious than any treasure this Labyrinth might have been hiding though.


    ¡¸We could always try selling the Kobold Salts to the inn, since they might use it for the seasonings in the food they are preparing, but I don¡¯t know if that idea is even going to work. Think we have any chances with that?¡¹


    ¡¸Unless you¡¯re very close with the inn¡¯s owner then that might be pretty difficult. Even though it is an ingredient that is frequently used in the gastronomical business, not many places beside the Guilds are willing to buy them due to how easy it is to obtain. That is how weak the Kobolds who drop the Salts are considered.¡¹


    So we have no chances of selling it outside of the Guilds, huh? I guess that makes sense. If Kobolds are so weak that a single Fireball was enough to kill them, then I bet they also die to regular weapons pretty quickly, and that is what got them their reputation as ¡¸Beginner¡¯s Monsters¡¹, and if they are weak, then it will always be cheaper to go and hunt some of them yourself than to rely on buying their Drop Items from other people who might try to get more money for their items than they are probably worth. Okay, so for now let¡¯s forgo the plan of selling the Kobold Salts and let¡¯s just proceed with the exploration of the third floor.


    On the third floor, where we currently are, the maximum size of the enemy¡¯s Party is still two monsters, the same as on the second floor. From the fourth floor onwards the maximum amount of monsters in one group we would fight will increase to three, but since Kobolds really are no actual threat, I think the battles on the third and fourth floor might be a little bit easier then the ones on the second floor, where the only enemies possible to encounter were buffed up Needlewoods from the first floor and the Green Caterpillars native to the second floor itself. That assumption of mine seemed to be truer when I tried to use Fire Storm on a two groups of two Kobolds, and a single spell obliterated them all without a trace. Even when Kobolds were mixed with Green Caterpillars, defeating such a group was still not a problem to me, because it took a single spell to kill a Kobold, and two more to finish the Green Caterpillar off.


    They certainly are weak. For a while I thought that they might have some powerful magic as a Skill at their disposal, but that didn¡¯t seem to be the case at all. Since they were the first humanoid-shaped enemies I have encountered here in the Labyrinth and because they are so gross-looking, with their big heads, even bigger faces and this bluish skin similar to those of fishes I thought that I won¡¯t be able to face them while keeping my cool (Needlewoods were obviously plant-type monsters while Green Caterpillars are just enormous bugs, so I guess I simply got used to their appearances the more we fought with them), especially since they are carrying knives with them, and there is not a human being in this or any world who wouldn¡¯t be scared when a monster with a sharp weapon would attack them out of the blue, but those concerns were entirely misplaced. Kobolds are just weak as shit, simple as that, to the point where I was actually beginning to feel sorry for them, thinking that placing them as mobs on the third floor instead of the first might have been some kind of fate¡¯s cruel joke. Unfortunate for them, but that is how it sometimes is with life: even though you want to do your best, you still end up picking up the short straw. I am a perfect example of that. But while it might seem not fair for the, that¡¯s actually all the better for us. I don¡¯t know if there is any reason for such weak creatures to be on the third floor instead of the first along with the Needlewoods. But I am not going to complain about that. That is what this world¡¯s reality wanted, so that is apparently how it was supposed to be. And if we¡¯re going to have an easier time exploring this new floor thanks to that, then that is the kind of coincidence that I will gladly take any day of the week.

 Volume 3 - CH 1.08

    However, now that I have become more accustomed to both exploring the Labyrinth and fighting with the monsters that dwell inside of it and raised the levels of my Jobs through repeating countless battles, I think I have begun to slowly overcome that fear, or at least that is what I would like to believe.


    But if instead of Needlewoods Kobolds were the enemies present on the first floor, then I don¡¯t know if I would have been able to conquer my fear of their weapons. But thankfully I didn¡¯t have to worry myself with things like that then, so I guess there¡¯s no need in worrying about them now.


    The next opponents we have encountered were a pair of Kobolds and a pair of Green Caterpillars, on which I tried to use Water Storm to how well was it going to perform, but even with Water Magic, which was normally supposed to be weaker than the rest of the elemental-type spells (At least if we consider how is it usually being portrayed in video games), the Kobolds still died after being hit with a single spell. When I saw that Fire Magic was so effective against them I honestly thought that fire must have been their weakness, but it would seem that they are also weak against water. With the next group of enemies, which was a pair of Needlewoods and a pair of Kobolds, I tried attacking them with Breeze Storm to see how effective Wind Magic would be, and as it turned out, Wind Magic was not very effective. But still, instead of  just one Breeze Storm, it took one Breeze Storm and one Breezeball, so all in all, Kobolds can still be considered weak in my book. But if they are so weak, then won¡¯t that mean that I will get a really shitty amount of EXP for killing them, which is going to put a wrench in my EXP gaining strategy which was designed with the highest possible efficiency in mind? I sure hope that this won¡¯t be the case, but now that this idea has popped into my head, I can¡¯t get it out of it. Great, now I will worry about it constantly and it will ruin the rest of my otherwise pretty pleasant day.


    After we killed all of the Kobolds and Needlewoods, I went over to the place where the Kobold disappeared and noticed that this time the item that it left behind was not Kobold Salt, but the knife it was holding onto instead. Further investigation revealed that it was a type of folding knife, aptly named Kobold Knife.


    ¡¸Huh. And here I was thinking that Kobolds won¡¯t drop anything other than Kobold Salt.¡¹


    ¡¸Because it seems that monsters can drop different items when they die, although the appearance of some of them is much rarer than the others.¡¹


    So in other words, to borrow the video game terminology, Kobold Salt would be Kobold¡¯s Common Drop, while Kobold Knife must be the Rare Drop.  I wonder if the number of drops is determined by the monster¡¯s level or some other factors, because thus far the Needlewoods on the first floor only dropped Needlewood Branches upon defeat and Green Caterpillars of the second floor were leaving behind their Threads. Roxanne picked the knife up and examined it closely.


    ¡¸That so? Good to know then. Here, let me put it in the Item Box.¡¹


    ¡¸Are you sure you want to do that, master?¡¹


    ¡¸Well, yeah? Or what, is there something wrong with it? Can it be sold at the stores back in Veil or not?¡¹


    Before continuing, Roxanne handed the knife over to me, just like I asked of her. When I saw Kobolds wielding them I was initially scared of them, but now that I look at it from up close it looks just like any other ordinary folding knife, pretty much the same as the ones I knew back in my old world. Something like that would be more useful as a multipurpose tool rather than a weapon. I mean, you could probably cut the skin open with t rather easily, but I doubt something of this caliber and quality would be able to pierce through the hardened leather of our Leather Armors.


    ¡¸I don¡¯t think we will be able to sell those at the Guild shops for much money either, since this is obviously a trash drop.¡¹


    ¡¸So you¡¯re telling me that even if the items we pick up here are considered trash, we can still sell them?¡¹


    ¡¸As long as the Guild will be able to process those trash drop into something that can still be useful, then yes.¡¹


    So it¡¯s like that, huh? Thinking about all the items we have already obtained in the process of killing monsters as I experimented with all kinds of magic and its usage against the monsters on second and third floors I was beginning to think that I might be running out of storage space in the Item Box, but thankfully my level as an Explorer has just risen, meaning that I should have obtained an additional bit of carrying capacity. Normally after clearing the second floor we would have went back to sell all of our items to free the space in Item Box and backpacks, but this time we went straight to the third floor, where the enemies were dropping much more items than I expected them to. If I hadn¡¯t Leveled Up just now, then we would have probably leave all of the drop items that would be too much for us to carry. The Item box can hold only one type of item in a single row, but the number of said item can be as much as the overall level of the Explorer¡¯s Job. With that additional level of mine just now, we should be able to carry everything we have obtained without the need to leave a single thing back.


    We left the Labyrinth and returned back to Veil so that we could have lunch and rest until noon, and then we have made our way to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild to sell all of the items in our possession by using Warp.


    When we arrived at the Guild, a pair of Adventurers, a male and a female one have just popped out of the black portal that appeared at the Guild building¡¯s wall opposite to the one at the entrance.


    ¡¸A one-way trip to the Imperial City! Anyone wanna tag along for the ride?!¡¹


    The female Adventurer shouted, asking if there was anyone willing to go with them.


    Adventurers have a Movement Magic called Field Walker, a type of magic that allows them to instantly travel to any place they have visited at least once through the black wall-portal similar to the one I am using with my Dungeon Walker, so I guess you could say that Field Walker functions somewhat like the busses did on earth, except Field Walker must probably be much faster than any bus I ever used when I was still back there. The problem is, we currently want to go to Quratar, not the Imperial City itself, because according to Roxanne there should be a permanently open shop that sells accessories and equipment for magic users there. But you know, even if we don¡¯t have any business in the Imperial City eight now, I sure as hell would like to see it someday.


    Now that we were on the Labyrinth¡¯s third floor, I could no longer kill Needlewoods and Green Caterpillars with just 3 spells, reverting back to needing four of them. That is an obvious sign that if I don¡¯t want to have a bad time when fighting mainly with magic, then I should go buy myself a wand or a staff as soon as possible. However, it¡¯s not like I am in any hurry to do so just yet. It¡¯s just that killing monsters with three spells is more convenient for me, because it allows me to kill them before they can enter my melee range, and besides, if we wait for a few more days, then surely enough the bazaar day would be upon us and the shops would be opened once again, offering us a chance to look for everything we needed here in Veil, so the timing of those two Adventurers and their lift offer couldn¡¯t have been worse.


    ¡¸Imperial City sounds tempting, but we should really go to Quratar first.¡¹


    ¡¸You know master, Quratar is actually pretty close to the Imperial City.¡¹


    Standing next to me, Roxanne whispered that into my ear.


    ¡¸It is?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes! When I went to Quratar that one time before, I stopped at the Imperial City first. I don¡¯t know if it is possible to go to Quratar from Veil, but a travel there is certainly possible from the Imperial City.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. Let¡¯s try going there then. ¡¹

 Volume 3 - CH 1.09

    Now that I have made u my mind, I have to say that I am getting interested in seeing what the Imperial City looks like. Since it is the capital of the entire kingdom, then I¡¯m guessing it has to be quite prosperous?


    ¡¸Okay, then I wish you a safe trip, master. I will be awaiting your return right here.¡¹


    Oh? So Roxanne is not going together with me? Well, I can see where that idea is coming from. Since those two are offering to take people to the Imperial City through the portal that they have made, it would be reasonable to expect that they will want some kind of travel fee, in which case the most cost-efficient option would be to go to the Imperial City with just me alone this once to cut costs, and once I have visited both of those places I will then come back there with Roxanne, especially after I¡¯ll obtain Field Walker for myself at some point¡­ or not, since I don¡¯t have to wait for that with all the Bonus Spells at my disposal, and Warp is that much better than Field Walker because it can take me not only to ¡°normal¡± places in the world, but also to the Labyrinth itself at a relatively low MP cost.


    ¡¸Alright then, I guess I¡¯ll be heading off. Hold down the fort for me while I¡¯m gone, okay?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course. Have a safe trip, master!¡¹


    And so I walked towards the pair of Adventurers near the wall on the other side of the room. To be honest, the thought that Roxanne might run off somewhere while my eyes are not on her at all times makes me a little bit anxious, but I probably shouldn¡¯t worry about such things. After all, I am her master and she is my slave, but even more importantly than that, we both trust each other. I think. No no no no, I am absolutely sure of that. If she ever wanted to run away from me, then she could have done so numerous times while I was asleep instead of waiting for a moment where I would be away that might have never come.


    It¡¯s fine. It will all be fine. Seriously, stop worrying about it! I want to believe that she¡¯s still going to be here when I get back. I have to believe it!


    While having such conflicting thoughts roam the inside of my poor mind, I approached the pair of Adventurers and asked about the price of the fare, after enabling my 30% Price Discount of course.


    ¡¸How much for the trip?¡¹


    I asked the female  elven Adventurer in a friendliest tone I could muster. She was quite beautiful, I¡¯ll give her that, but not as beautiful as Roxanne is. I wonder if the Imperial City will have many beautiful girls and women, or are they all going to be inferior to her? The male one looked like he was in his fourties, but since he had pointed ears, which indicated that he must have been an elf, then he might actually be way older than my estimation. The woman was 20 years old, according to my appraisal with Identify.


    ¡¸We usually charge 2 silver coins for a back and forth trip, but since this is a one way trip we¡¯re willing to drop it down to 1 silver coin.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay.¡¹


    My discount didn¡¯t seem to work. At this point I cannot even say that I am surprised about that, because from my observations so far it seems that the discounts only work if the one you want to use them on possesses the Calculate Skill associate with the Job of a Merchant. In other words: this female Adventurer does not have that Skill. Well, not that it changes anything here since this price is pretty small in and out of itself so that 30% discount wouldn¡¯t even do anything.


    In order to pay that one silver coin I summoned my Item Box and got the required amount out of it, but since I was in front of others I had to summon it with normal incantation, since I didn¡¯t want them to get suspicious of me for not using proper spells and still getting the desired results.


    ¡¸Respond to your friend¡¯s trust and provide proper service. Party Formation!¡¹


    When I handed the money to them, the elf Adventurer began casting the Party Formation spell. Whoa, that¡¯s right, I completely forgot about that! If I wanted t travel with those two and the portal they have created with their magic, I had to form a Party with them first, so I quickly looked back at Roxanne, with whom I was still in a Party and hurriedly disbanded it so that no one would get suspicious that a lovely girl like her was standing all alone without the Party Leader around. Once that was done, a system message asking me to confirm my new Party appeared in front of my eyes with the two options available for selection: Yes and No. I pressed Yes without even thinking about it.  I see, so that is how joining someone else¡¯s Party actually looks like, huh? This is my first time ever doing something like that, because all those times before I was always the Party Leader adding Roxanne to my own Party. I looked around to see if anyone was gawking at us, but strangely enough, nobody seemed to care about what we were doing, not that there was that many people around in the Guild building to begin with. Was this that common of an occurance to disband your own Party just so you could travel somewhere with other people? Because it certainly felt strange to me.


    Well, whatever the case with it may be, I didn¡¯t have any time to actually worry about it, because the elf Adventurer already chanted Field Walker and opened the portal leading to the Imperial City o the wall. The elven guy came through it first, and the lady Adventurer went inside next. Not wanting to be left behind, I swiftly followed after them.


    When I went through the portal myself, I found myself in a large room. Its basic structure was pretty much the same as the one of the Veil¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild, so this must be its branch in the Imperial City. The first thing that was obvious from the get go was how much bigger it was: about four to five times larger, or at least that was my initial estimation, and instead of just a single reception counter in the middle of the room, there are actually ten rows of them at the walls.


    ¡¸¡­¡­¡­ Party Formation!¡¹


    I heard the male elf Adventurer chanting the Party Formation spell, meaning that our Party made for the purpose of getting here has been officially disbanded.


    ¡¸Thank you for your patronage. Now, is there anyone here who wants to go to Veil?!¡¹


    The two Adventurers big me farewell with small nods and then immediately proceeded to fishing out those who wanted to travel from Imperial City to Veil, and they actually managed to get themselves five of them, an entire Party by the looks of it. Just like they did that with me, when each and every one of them finished giving them the payment for the fare, they chanted the Party Formation Spell to for one Party, and then the male one used Field Walker on the wall again to create a black portal leading all the way back to Veil and went through it with the others while leaving his female companion behind. Hmm, perhaps that guy was the member of that Party who never been to Veil, so he tagged along with that girl who had been there before take him there so that he could travel there with Field Walker himself with the rest of his buddies, similarly to how I wanted to do with the journey to Quratar now? And while we are on that particular subject


    ¡¸Excuse me, but if possible, could I ask you to take me to Quratar? One way is fine with me.¡¹


    I asked the female Adventurer. If she is free right ow then maybe she will be able and willing to take me to my destination? Asking does not cost anything and I won¡¯t lose anything, so might as well give it a shot.


    ¡¸Quratar, huh? Sure, that will be two silver coins.¡¹


    Yes, so they actually can take me straight to Quratar from here! Lucky me! I gladly handed the 2 silver coins to the female elf Adventurer and waited for her to add me to her Party and cast Field Walker again. And then, after another short walk through the portal¡­


    ¡¸Here we are: Quratar¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you, and sorry for the trouble.¡¹

 Volume 3 - CH 1.10

    ¡¸Don¡¯t mention it. Anyone up for a trip to the Imperial City?!¡¹


    We have disbanded our Party and went our separate ways when the girl tried to assemble a new group of people who were up to take the trip she was offering. As for the Guild building in Quratar, it was bigger than the one in Veil, but definitely smaller than the one in the Imperial City. Veil had only one reception counter, Imperial City had many more of them, and the one here is Quratar has three in total. Hmm, from what Roxanne was telling me about this place, I thought its Adventurers Guild was going to be a bit bigger.


    ¡¸A trip to the Imperial City! Anyone?¡¹


    The female eld Adventurer repeated her message, but once she saw that pretty much no one was coming along for the ride she simply clicked her tongue and then returned through the portal back to the Imperial City. Well, that¡¯s life for you I guess. You cannot always have a cake and eat a cake, or in this case always have people who would be willing to Fast Travel to wherever it is you¡¯re going.


    But that is none of my concerns. All that I care about for now is that my goal has been achieved. Now that I have personally been to both the Imperial City and Quratar¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild, I should be able to teleport to both of those locations on my own by using Warp, so I think I will do just that. And when I emerged from the portal back at Veil¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild building¡­


    ¡¸Welcome back, master.¡¹


    ¡­ Roxanne was still there, patiently waiting for me, greeting me with those warm words. My God, she has no idea how happy I am to see her!


    ¡¸Yeah, I¡¯m ba¡­ whoooa!!!¡¹


    When I tried to walk towards her after returning her greeting, I suddenly felt very weak in the legs and tripped, almost falling on top of her, but Roxanne caught me before that could happen.


    ¡¸Are you okay, master?¡¹


    Huh, that¡¯s strange. Did I use too much MP for that Warp from Quratar to Veil? But I don¡¯t feel the wave of negative emotions washing all over me, so it must have not go down to the critically low values just yet. But from now on I should keep it in mind that apparently the further I travel with Warp, the more MP will be consumed. When I go from Veil to the Labyrinth near it I don¡¯t feel anything, but that might be precisely because those two places are so close to one another, but a trip to Veil from Quratar must have teken a good chunk out of my MP bar, which kinda sucks, because I was convinced that no matter how far I would go with Warp all teleportations would require the same amount of MP, but apparently that is not the case, and the farther you want to go, the more of your MP is going to be consumed. And since the side effects of using too much of your MP include depression and being overwhelmed by negativity, such a result should be avoided at all costs, meaning that I should either avoid making too many Warp trips in a row without restoring MP or travel through short distances only. Anyway, the biggest surprise this time around was the fact that I didn¡¯t feel depressed at all but that instead my legs got all tangled up.


    ¡¸It¡¯s okay, I¡¯m fine. More importantly, would you like to go to Quratar?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, please, let me accompany you this time.¡¹


    After selling all of the items we have obtained in the Labyrinth, we walked out of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild¡¯s building and headed to the empty alley behind it where we have once again formed our Party, and I also checked the time by looking at the position of the sun in the sky, which was quite high. Could it be that it was about noon? Well in that case we should still have enough time to do all the shopping I might need, so after waiting for a bit to allow my MP to be restored we made our first trip to Quratar together. When we arrived at the Quratar Adventurer¡¯s Guild, we immediately left it, since we had no business to take care of there specifically.


    The streets of Quratar didn¡¯t look that much different from what we had in Veil, with one major exception: this town has its stores perpetually opened, and how many of them there were! Just the buildings across the street from the Adventurer¡¯s Guild had a dozen of them on their ground and first floors, which caught me off guard since I was expecting it all to have a more rural feeling to it, since this was my first time seeing the normal shops since I first came to this world. Most of them looked pretty similar to the ones you would see in the Japanese shopping districts of any major city, meaning that there was nothing particularly special about them from the outside, but maybe that was the compromise they had to go to if they wanted to have so many of them? Anyway, since these stores are perpetually opened, it probably means that from the business perspective Quratar must be more prosperous than Veil is. Then again, their Adventurer¡¯s Guild is smaller than the one in the Imperial City, so how prosperous is it in regards to adventuring business?


    ¡¸Now I see what you meant, Roxanne. This city really seems to have everything an aspiring Adventurer might need and then some. When you mentioned the size of their Adventurer¡¯s Guild, is this what you had in mind?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, although to be precise, it¡¯s not the Adventurer¡¯s Guild that is the most representative here. Since Quratar is a town with a Labyrinth nearby there are a lot of Explorers here, so as a result the Explorers Guild is substantially bigger than the Adventurers Guild.¡¹


    Roxanne explained. Thinking about it that way, it really makes sense. If the Labyrinth in Quratar is one of the bigger ones, then the services of Explorers, who specialize in, well, exploring Labyrinths and mapping them out would really be in higher demand than those of the Adventurers, who are much more oriented towards slaying monsters, which would also explain why their Guild in here is relatively modest in size.


    ¡¸Is that so? Have you ever visited the Labyrinth here, or did you hear that from someone who was there?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes! When I was here before I visited the Labyrinth outside of the city once, and many more people seem to be doing exactly the same thing.¡¹


    ¡¸Really? Then maybe we should do the same? If we do, then I¡¯m counting on you to guide me.¡¹


    ¡¸Leave it to me then! Please, it¡¯s this way!¡¹


    Roxanne pointed with her finger and began walking without hesitation.


    ¡¸you know which way the north is, Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t quite understand. Could you repeat that, master?¡¹


    ¡¸Nah, it¡¯s fine, don¡¯t worry about it, I was just talking to myself. I¡¯m surprised that you remember which way to go after not being here for so long. Ah, could it be that you¡¯re following the Labyrinth¡¯s smell? Also, aren¡¯t we going to go outside of the city to reach the Labyrinth?¡¹


    ¡¸No, there¡¯ no need for that, because this city has been built around the Labyrinth in its entirety. The Labyrinth is in the town¡¯s center, and all of the roads extend from there in a radial pattern.¡¹


    Wow, really? Initially I found it pretty hard to believe, but the further into the city we went, the buildings were gradually getting more and more sparse on the right side of the road, meaning that this was probably the direction of the town¡¯s outskirts, whereas on the left side of the road they continued like normally all the way to the heart of the town, where we were apparently heading right now.


    We continued to walk down the road towards the town¡¯s center. I looked at the sun to confirm its position in the sky and with it the time, and noticed that it was a little lower than it was back in Veil, but since I have no idea how far are those two cities located from one another, it became impossible to determine whether their longitudes and latitudes were exactly the same or different, causing differences in the length of the day of the amount of time one hour was perceived here, if such differences were even present in this world to begin with.


    The stores we were passing by consisted mainly of fishmongers, butchers, bakeries and hardware stores. When we went passed them, we arrived at what looked like a rotary.

 Volume 3 - CH 1.11

    There were several roads extending from it, and each of them had several shops on each side of the road. And in the center of the rotary, there was something that looked like a mound of earth with a portal right in the middle of it. Could it be¡­


    ¡¸Is that¡­ Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth?¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s right. Everything has been built around it, and the Knight¡¯s guardhouse is located right next to it so that they could move swiftly and surely in case that any kind of emergency would happen.¡¹


    As if to confirm Roxanne¡¯s words, the full scenery of the area of Labyrinth¡¯s entrance has came into our view. Indeed, the portal that was presumably leading inside was situated right in the middle of that mound-looking structure, and the Knight¡¯s guardhouse was situated in its immediate vicinity.


    ¡¸Oh, and by the way, that large brick building right across the entrance is the Quratar¡¯s Explorers Guild.¡¹


    Roxanne pointed at the large, five or six stories high building made out of brick that was sandwiched between the two roads coming off from the rotary¡¯s center. Yup, that building was most definitely what I would call majestic. Compared to that, the quarters of the Adventurers guild looked tiny and unimpressive, as if they just took whatever vacant building they could find for themselves. Just by looking at that towering building alone it became apparent how influential the Explorers must be for this city. The double door on the ground floor were widely opened, and we could see many people as they were coming in and out of it like a constantly flowing stream of human mass, and the similar thing was happening in front of the guardhouse, but there people were standing in an ever-growing line.


    ¡¸What¡¯s up with all those people? What are they waiting for?¡¹


    ¡¸They are queing up to pay for their Labyrinth Entrance Certificates.¡¹


    ¡¸Entrance¡­ Certificate?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, this is one of Quratar¡¯s laws: if you want to enter the Labyrinth and explore it, then you have to pay for it every time you enter. The usual price for one person is 100 Nars.¡¹


    So you actually have to pay money to enter this Labyrinth? Whoever came up with that idea, I have to hand it to them, they definitely knew what they were doing, turning such a dangerous place into something akin to a tourist attraction.


    ¡¸Well, if it¡¯s like that, then I think we will be better off just going to the weapons and armor shops today instead of a Labyrinth.¡¹ If we have to pay for the entrance, then it would be best to come back here when we will have more money on us, and most importantly, more time on our hands. Looking at the sheer size of that queue, I don¡¯t think we would wait five or ten minutes for our turn. Also, in order to maximize our gains from such an excursion, we would have to come here first thing in the morning to spend as much time as possible inside before we would have to leave and then come back and pay the entrance fee again.


    Then again, spending a whole day in the Labyrinth, from sunrise to sunset without taking any breaks in-between? Ugh, that might be difficult to do in and out of itself. Not to mention that our purpose of coming to Quratar in the first place was to buy equipment and accessories for my Mage Job, not to go delving into this city¡¯s own Labyrinth. But there are so many roads extending from the rotary that I have no idea which one we should take to arrive at the weapons shop, which would be our first stop.


    ¡¸Master.¡¹


    Suddenly I felt Roxanne pulling lightly at my sleeve.


    ¡¸Hm?¡¹


    ¡¸It¡¯s just a thought, but¡­ wouldn¡¯t we be able to enter that Labyrinth without having to pay every time if we used that Movement Magic of yours?¡¹


    ¡¸!!!!!!¡¹


    I looked at the entrance to the Labyrinth, then at Roxanne, and then at the entrance to the Labyrinth again.


    ¡¸Roxanne, that¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s a pretty clever idea! Atta girl!¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you very much, master!¡¹


    She said with a satisfied smile on her face.


    I see. Her suggestion was a very sly, but ultimately a practical one from the standpoint of our financial condition. If we were to come in and out of the Labyrinth here like any regular Explorers and Adventurers, then we would have to pay 200 Nars of entrance fee every single time we would want to enter there. But if we enter there once, then we could be using my Warp to come and go there as we please without worrying about any stupid payments, similar to how we can go inside Veil¡¯s Labyrinth by warping there from the alley behind Veil¡¯s Adventurers Guild. Oh Roxanne, you little evil impish devil, you! If you were wearing a kimono right now, the I would have grabbed your obi and untie it with one single, swift move so that you would start spinning around until even your eyes went all round, that¡¯s how happy I am right now!


    Since Roxanne¡¯s with helped us solve the problem of the recurring Labyrinth entrance fee, now we can focus entirely on our initial objective of browsing Quratar¡¯s stores in search of a wand or a staff for me.


    We begun our search in a nearby hardware store. It might not be the weapons or magic oriented shop, but maybe it will have swords or shields, and  it¡¯s as good of a place as any to start our search, especially since we definitely won¡¯t find wands or staffs at a fishmonger¡¯s or in a bakery.


    Unfortunately, the hardware store was a bust (who would have guessed) because the only things we found there were pots, scissors, hoes, shovels and all kinds of other metal products whose intended usage and purpose I could not wrap my head around. Oh, and also padlocks. So if we want weapons, we really have to go to the weapons shop specifically. Everything that is being sold by the hardware shop can only be classified as a gardening tool or a daily necessities. Not a single piece of weapons to be found here.


    ¡¸Welcome!¡¹


    The person who greeted us in a cheerful voice was a middle-aged lady. Identifying her revealed that she was a 37-years-old Lv.44 Merchant. Wow, for someone her age, her level was certainly quite high, but maybe it was like that because she was running a successful, profitable business? She didn¡¯t have any distinctive features that would point otherwise, so she must be an ordinary human as well. Maybe women had a natural predisposition to be merchants and the like, hence her high level? She was obviously older than that female elf Adventurer who brought me to Imperial City and then to Quratar, but she was an elf, so maybe there was no sense in comparing those two races in the first place? But you know, even that male elf, who was supposedly in his fourties looked younger than she looks now, so it really has to be the matter of different races having different points of aging. Humans who approach the age of fourty are classified as middle-aged people, but for the elves those who lived for fourty years might still be considered maybe not children, but most definitely young people, so maybe thanks to that Roxanne won¡¯t age as fast as me, staying as beautiful as she is now for longer?


    Ah, that reminds me! Back when I formed a Party with that female elf Adventurer, she could probably see my level through the Party Job Settings! And if she saw it, I wonder why she didn¡¯t comment on it in any way? Did she not find it suspicious? Or maybe levels are not as big of a deal as I thought they are? Well, whatever the case with that may be, it¡¯s not like I can do anything about it now, can I? Yeah, nothing that can be done, so it¡¯s best to just drop that subject entirely and not think about it too much.


    ¡¸Pardon our intrusion, ma¡¯am.¡¹


    Roxanne and I bowed to her lightly.


    ¡¸If there is anything you are looking for but don¡¯t see on the shelves, I can help you find it. Or perhaps you¡¯re here in order to buy a house?¡¹


    ¡¸Actually, I was wondering if we could find any weapons here.¡¹


    ¡¸Weapons? My oh my, no, you won¡¯t find those here. If its weapons you want, then you have to go to the weapons store. Let¡¯s see¡­ do you see the Knight¡¯s guardhouse outside? You should find a store that sells weapons easily if you go down the street that goes past it.¡¹

 Volume 3 - CH 1.12

    The woman instructed us on how to get to the weapons shop, and she even left the store to properly show us where we should be going even though we were not even her customers. How polite of her.


    So according to her words, the nearest weapons shop should be located just past the Knights guardhouse, so that is where we shall be heading next.


    ¡¸Thank you for telling us all this. We will be sure to come back here later to buy something.¡¹


    ¡¸Certainly. I will be eagerly awaiting your return.¡¹


    After thanking the kind shopkeeper lady, we left the hardware store. One detail I forgot to mention about that lady before: apparently her name was Honesta, and it really showed, because she was a truly sincere person to some random passers-by whom she met for the first time in her life like us. (TL Note: kinda weird that a Japanese person would know what the meaning of the word honest is in English considering that them being notoriously bad at english is basically a meme now, but oh well¡­)


    ¡¸She mentioned buying a house earlier. You think she is a landlady or a real-estate agent (TL Note: or a free real estate?) or something?¡¹


    ¡¸I think she might have been, actually.¡¹


    If it was to be from such an honest and sincere person, then maybe renting a room somewhere in this city might not have been such a bad idea. While we walked towards the weapons shop, I talked about it with Roxanne.


    ¡¸So far we have been staying at the room in an inn, but would it actually be cheaper to rent a room in a normal house?¡¹


    ¡¸Let¡¯s see¡­ although I have no idea what the proper market price in Quratar actually is, renting a room usually costs between 10,000 and 30,000 Nar for a contract that lasts for a full year. Also, I have heard that 50,000 Nars should be enough to rent a nice house in the suburbs.¡¹


    ¡¸Is that how it is?¡¹


    I don¡¯t know whether that is expensive or cheap, but that is most definitely cheaper than staying in an inn in the long-term, because the math is pretty clear about this: a year of renting a room would be between 10,000 and 30,000 Nasr, a year of renting a house costs 50,000 Nars, and if we assume that the accommodation in an inn costs 300 Nars per day, than a full year of living in such a way would easily end up costing more then 100,000 Nars, but if I wanted to increase the number of my Party members even further in the future, then the cost of accommodation would also go up accordingly.


    ¡¸Please, should you decide to rent a house, leave the cleaning and all the different chores up to me, master!¡¹


    ¡¸Ah, oh, I¡­ I see now. If we decide to go through with this, I guess it will make things especially tough on you, huh, Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸Please don¡¯t mind it, master. It would be my pleasure.¡¹


    Living in an inn or a hotel, you don¡¯t have to worry about doing household chores like cleaning, because the cleaning staff does all of that for you. But since Roxanne is my slave, she probably thought that doing all of that would fall on to her, but if she were to do all those chores alone then I feel like that would be too great of a burden even for her.In that case I would be helping her with those of course, but even so, since this world does not have such convenient things like gas, electricity, vacuum cleaners and washing machines and water is not piped directly to the houses, then my guess is that it would still take a considerable amount of time.


    ¡¸And what about cooking? Can you do it, Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes! As luck would have it, I happen to know a thing or two about cooking.¡¹


    ¡¸In that case I¡¯m sorry in advance, but I will be troubling you with that.¡¹


    So now Roxanne is basically going to be a maid and a cook on top of being my slave, huh?


    ¡¸Of course! If its master, then I think renting renting a house might actually be for the better for you.¡¹


    ¡¸So, are there any additional conditions to be fulfilled if one wants to rent a house?¡¹


    It will be pretty bad if it turns out that we need a guarantor for this. Also, can anyone just rent a house anywhere, anytime, without any formalities to be taken care of first?


    ¡¸I think there won¡¯t be any problems with that since this is quite a large city.¡¹


    ¡¸Ah, good to hear it then.¡¹


    If we were in a village or some other remote region in the boonies, this might have been tough because locals are always wary of strangers suddenly coming into their closed little communities, but since this is a city we should then we should be fine.


    ¡¸I have heard that many Explorers live both here in Quratar and in the Imperial City, but personally I think that thanks to master¡¯s magic abilities we could live pretty much anywhere we wanted to.¡¹


    By ¡°magic¡± she probably meant Warp, and there was some truth to her words, because as long as I have that Bonus Spell, then it won¡¯t really matter where we will live as long as we could use it to travel wherever we needed to go. However:


    ¡¸But we also musn¡¯t forget about remaining careful. We have to choose a place where it would be normal for an Explorer to live without raising too much suspicions. The last thing we would want is for everyone around us and their mothers to learn that I can use magic.¡¹


    ¡¸In that case, buying a house here should be perfectly fine.¡¹


    Yes, Roxanne was absolutely right. If this city really is so densely populated by Explorers, then one more of them taking residence here would not probably pick up anyone¡¯s attention due to how common of an occurance it was around these parts.


    Having decided on such a course of action, we navigated the roads between the entrance to the Labyrinth and the Knight¡¯s guardhouse, making our way towards the weapons shop.


    When we got to the place described to us by the owner of that hardware shop, we noticed that it had not just one, but a few weapons shops at the both sides of the street, each one of them apparently specializing in different kinds of weapons, as was evident by the articles of war placed at the displays next to the shop¡¯s entrances. I have to admit, at first I was truly taken aback by how wide the selection was, reminding me of the gun shops of America that are supposedly in each and every one of its cities around pretty much every corner.


    We entered the nearest weapons store, walking past many customers who were continuously coming in and going out after either browsing through the wares it had to offer and buying them or simply window shopping. The store itself was fairly large, with several people at once filling every one of its many isles, and they all looked deadly serious about making their selections, to no one¡¯s surprise, since choosing a perfect weapon for yourself to use could very well be a potentially life-saving decision.


    ¡¸Now let¡¯s see¡­ where wound wands and staffs be?¡¹


    Looking for wands and staffs we went towards the back of the shop, where we noticed the staff-type weapons being kept, and there were not that many of them. Could it be that they are somewhat unique, even in this world where the existence of magic is commonly known? Maybe because the number of Mages and Wizards is significantly smaller when compared to all the other Jobs?


    We looked at all the wands, staffs and canes the store had to offer one by one. The way they were lined up, it made me think that maybe they were lined up in order from the cheapest to the most expensive, with the former being placed in the front and the latter in the back. When I used Identify on them, I immediately learned why they have been arranged like that: Wands were the cheapest because they had only one empty Skill Slots, Canes had two empty Skill Slots and Rods, the most expensive of the bunch, had up to three empty Skill Slots.


    Thinking about it in such categories, it makes sense that the weapon with the most Skill Slots would be the most costly, but at the same time it should be the most efficient in battle, while the cheapest ones will have the least amount of Skill Slots, and therefore you shouldn¡¯t be expecting too much from them battle-wise.

 Volume 3 - CH 1.13

    Since I am still a beginner when it comes to using magic, I think a simple wand with a single Skill Slot might be the best for me for now, price-wise, so let¡¯s buy it.


    ¡¸This one looks good enough.¡¹


    I said to Roxanne out loud, indicating that I have made my choice.


    ¡¸I have no idea what separates a good wand from a bad one, so I will put my trust entirely in your judgement. But, just as I expected, you have a very keen eye when it comes to appraising the value of things, master.¡¹


    My dear, sweet Roxanne, I have no idea when it comes to discerning those things as well. All I did was to use Identify on those weapons, so all the credit should go to that Skill instead of me, really.


    The other side of the isle was dedicated entirely to canes, and there were many different types of them: Wooden Canes, Iron Canes, Steel Canes and so on and so forth, but as to what was the difference between them and why was there so much variety, I do not know. Maybe I could ask the shop clerk about that, but if at all possible then I would like to refrain from doing that, because it would be strange for an Explorer or an Adventurer to be buying a wand meant for Mages, so he would probably give me the suspicious look, and even worse, he might start asking all sorts of uncomfortable questions.


    However, when we went to pay for the wand the clerk at the counter didn¡¯t give me as much as a passing glance, perhaps because there were so many customers in the shop on that particular day. Ultimately I have decided to buy one of the cheapest wands with a single empty Skill Slot, and the Wooden Cane with 2 empty Skill Slots as well, but even then the price was lower than what I was expecting, maybe because my usual 30% discount worked because I bought only multiple items instead of just one. Now that our business there was pretty much concluded, we booked it out of there on the double so as to not attract any more unnecessary attention, and even after stepping out the shop¡¯s door I decided it would be vest if we go a fair distance away from the weapons store in the unlikely case that someone saw what I was buying and decided to follow me. While we were passing the stores, a certain thought occurred to me: there is not that big of a variety when it comes to the types of the shops. We have general stores, weapon stores, armor stores, bakeries, fishmongers, clothing stores, but that¡¯s probably my 21st century-living ass who could have bought everything he ever needed without even needing to leave the house due to haow many different stores we had back on earth. Putting that little digression aside, we probably moved a fair distance away from the weapons shop now, so this might be a good time to stop and put the items I bought into the Item Box.


    Unfortunately for me, the wand and the cane didn¡¯t want to fit in the same item slot in the item box, meaning that I would be forced to keep them in the separate ones, taking twice as much of my free holding space. That¡¯s a bummer, but not a one I could do anything about, unfortunately. Even if I won¡¯t be able to use one of them now then that¡¯s fine, because it can act as a spare I will be able to bust out once my Stats will be sufficiently improved. That being said, I know it can¡¯t be helped, but that is one of the many little things that start to seriously irritate me. Technically speaking, wands and canes should be more or less the same type of item with only small differences between them, so in my opinion it should be possible to place them in the same slot in the Item Box, and the same should be possible with Leather Gloves and Leather Mittens, but no, for some reason beyond my understanding, they are treated as separate types of items, leading to the unnecessary wasting of the storage space just so that I could store them in the Item Box instead of the backpack.


    It might sound like nitpicking, but it¡¯s a legitimate concern over a possible flaw in the game¡¯s design that should be patched as soon as possible (yeah, like that will ever happen.).


    Now that we were done with our shopping business, we walked to the suburbs part of the town to check how the houses which were located there looked like.


    ¡¸This is a nice neighberhood, even though it¡¯s a little walk away from the city¡¯s center. The houses look neat and quiet, and the shopping district is just a short distance away. I like it here, if I am to be honest.¡¹


    ¡¸I think so as well. The atmosphere here is quite serene.¡¹


    Yes, with how this residential area was located away from all the hustle and bustle of the main part of the city, it would definitely be a good place to live a nice, quiet life, and since the other houses are not crammed together next to one another like someone wanted to fit as many of them on the limited amount of land available, we probably wouldn¡¯t even have to worry about getting robbed or being jumped at in the middle of the night. And more importantly, all of the stores are perpetually opened here, unlike Veil where we would have to wait with the shopping every five days for the bazaar day to commence.


    You know what? I think it¡¯s settled. This might very well be our new home.


    With my mind firmly settled, I turned back and walked the way we came here, heading to the hardware store ran by that sincere lady Merchant, Honesta, who was so helpful to us even though she didn¡¯t have to. Taking a quick look down the nearby roads, it has an armor store, a tailor, and a general store all pretty close to one another, and I think I even saw something that looked like a diary store around one of the corner, so if we¡¯re lucky, then maybe we could buy things like milk, cheese or eggs there. I just wonder if there is a ranch or a farm somewhere nearby that supplies them with cows, chickens and the like? But anyway, this is much more than enough for me.


    After taking a light turn around the next intersection we have arrived back at the hardware store Honesta ran.


    ¡¸Oh, you¡¯re those two from earlier. Did you manage to find the weapons shop without any difficulties?¡¹


    ¡¸We were, thanks to you providing us with directions. Once again, thank you for your help with that.¡¹


    ¡¸Don¡¯t mention it. I¡¯m glad that I could be of help.¡¹


    ¡¸By the way, do you mind if I asked you something?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes? What is it?¡¹


    ¡¸When it comes to renting a house, is anyone allowed to live in this city? Or are there some additional requirements that have to be fulfilled in order to do so?¡¹


    I asked Honesta the Merchant after we exchanged greetings and some small talk.


    ¡¸There are no additional requirements aside from the one where your Intelligence Card needs to be checked by the authorities, so to answer your question: yes, pretty much anyone is allowed to buy or rent property here in Quratar as long as they are a law-abiding citizen.¡¹


    Yeah, that¡¯s understandable. The authorities would want to check your Intelligence Card to make sure that you are not a Bandit or a Thief¡­ which I am, but I should be in the clear because only the First Job gets displayed on the Intelligence Card as your main one. But aside from your name and the main Job, there are not that many information that can be aquired from the Intelligence Cards, so I wonder if there are any other potential pitfall that I would have to look out for?


    ¡¸So I won¡¯t run into any problems?¡¹


    ¡¸No, because there are many types of people who come live here, and in this city trying to obtain information about somebody¡¯s background without their permission is considered to be a strict taboo.¡¹


    ¡¸I see.¡¹


    Roxanne said that most of the Explorers tends to live either in Quratar or the Imperial City. So if we compare those two places to one another, then obviously Imperial City should be the one with more restrictions, but that would also mean that the folks running the shots there consider themselves to be better than Quratar simply because their city is the kingdom¡¯s capital, and that reeks of superiority complex to me.

 Volume 3 - CH 1.14

    I want to believe that this is not the case here, but could it be that every place that is not the Imperial City is treated like a slum in comparison to it?


    ¡¸Incidentally, I happen to be the Property Manager assigned to the 6th District of Quratar. It is a pretty nice and peaceful neighborhood that¡¯s located just upstream of the city. If you are seriously looking to buy a place for yourselves, then I really recommend that one.¡¹


    ¡¸6th District?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. As you have probably seen already, this city is divided by six roads extending radially from the center. The section with the Explorers Guild is the 1st District, and counting counter-clockwise from there, this is the 6th District.¡¹


    Certainly there were six roads indeed. Well, it would be more accurate to say that there were three of them at both halves of the rotary, because due to how the city was structured you couldn¡¯t go to each one directly from the other, and it would seem that the exact definition of a District is anything that is located between the two main roads, kind of like in wheel of the wagon.


    ¡¸Six districts, huh?¡¹


    A city with the Labyrinth in its center, divided into six districts by the rotary. That is the kind of city that Quratar is. So according to this distinction, the part of the town with the Explorers Guild in it is the 1st District, the part that is home to the Knight¡¯s guardhouse is the 4th District. I wonder if this particular order has been established around the importance of each of the major facilities Quratar houses? In that case it would make sense for this hardware store to be at the ebd of the 6th District, because that is just another shop among many others. I don¡¯t know if she should have told me that much, but thanks to Honesta being a real talker, we at least managed to obtain some useful information about this city and the way it operates.


    As for whether we can put our trust in her as our property manager, I think we can do that for a number of reasons: since she owns this store, then it¡¯s probably safe to assume that she makes most if not all of the things she is selling here herself, and Metalworking must be a really useful Skill in this world and its civilization, because it allows for the production of various essential home appliances and tools such as pans, rakes and hoes, and having someone like hat as a potential ¡°ally¡± and getting on her good side should benefit us in the long run.


    ¡¸Are you an Explorer, by any chance?¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s right, I am.¡¹


    ¡¸Uh-huh. And what kind of property are you looking for, exactly?¡¹


    When she asked me that question, I was honestly at a loss of words, because I have no experience when it comes to real-estate business and buying property for myself, because so far in my life I never even had to worry about such things. As shitty as my life was in the past, that was one of the things that remained consistently unchanged, for which I was grateful, at least to some extent. But going back to the topic at hand¡­


    ¡¸Rather than me telling you what we are looking for, I would like you to tell me what options are available at the current moment. All I can tell you with absolute certainty is that we have no other requirements other than the rent being up to 40,000 Nar a year, and if at all possible, we would like it to be a place with a relatively low crime rate.¡¹


    ¡¸Is it for the two of you so that you could live together?¡¹


    ¡¸For the time being, yes, something that yould be enough for the two of us, but in the future, well¡­¡¹


    ¡¸I see. You certainly are an Explorer all right.¡¹


    The Merchant Lady Honesta grinned in a smug way that made me feel somewhat uncomfortable. Could it be that she figured out that Roxanne is my slave just by looking at her? Or maybe from my way of speaking she managed to put two and two together and realized that my ultimate goal is the creation of my very own harem? Or maybe she¡¯s simply saying what¡¯s on her mind just because she likes to talk?


    Anyway, as a general rule, a single Party can be formed from up to six Party members, and from what I have heard from Roxanne before, it is not strange at all for the members of the Party to live together as long as they trust one another. Mu guess is that its also a nice way of cutting the costs and living expenses.


    Honesta gave Roxanne another glance, and smirked again. Yup, she really seemed to have both of us figured out pretty quickly. Maybe that¡¯s what¡¯s actually required to be working in that line of business, having a good eye for people and their characters, I mean? However, knowing is one thing, but I would really appreciate it if she stopped making that smug faces, because it¡¯s more than a little unnerving, having someone look at me as if they figured out my entire existence after as little as a single glance. Man, property managers are terrifying! And on a side note, I hope she won¡¯t think of me as someone who takes his slave to the Labyrinth with him.


    Then she moved in on Roxanne and started eyeing her from every angle possible with her hand on her chin. Just what us going on here?


    ¡¸Uhm, ma¡¯am¡­?¡¹


    ¡¸Hmm, you seem to have a good girl as your companion. If you two intend to explore the city¡¯s Labyrinth, then would you like a property that¡¯s located as close to it as possible?¡¹


    She left Roxanne, who was just about to open her mouth and say something and turned back to me.


    ¡¸We¡¯ll be fine even if it would be somewhere that would require a little walk to get there. Distance is not a problem for us.¡¹


    In Quratar¡¯s case, being close to the Labyrinth also means being close to the center of the city, so that might be the reasoning behind the logic that farther form the Labyrinth = smaller rent, closer to the Labyrinth = higher rent. But in our case, since I am able to use Warp, then even if we were to live relatively far from the city¡¯s center but had some business to take care of there, all we had to do was to Warp to the Quratar¡¯s Adventurers Guild, and voila! Suddenly everything is withing a short walk¡¯s distance, so no matter what kind of location we end up choosing for ourselves, it will still be enough for us to swiftly move around if the need for that ever arises.


    ¡¸If you want something for 40,000 Nar a year that¡¯s close to the Labyrinth, then I would recommend an apartment. But if you really are fine with a little distance, then I think I might just have a free house located in the suburbs available.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, a house would be a preferable option for us.¡¹


    We have my Warp after all, so we can get pretty much anywhere as long as we have visited that place at least once. Not to mention that the rent seems to be higher when the place you¡¯re renting is located close to the Labyrinth.


    There is no reason for us to live near the Labyrinth. If it gets cheaper the farther the housing is located from it, then that¡¯s all the better for us.


    ¡¸If you¡¯re not an Adventurer, then perhaps I could interest you in a house that is reinforced with shield Cement?¡¹


    ¡¸Shield Cement?¡¹


    Not understanding what she was talking about, I shot Roxanne a discreet glance, and she immediately followed up with an explanation.


    ¡¸Shield Cement is a material that is being used in reinforcing buildings so that could withstand harsh weather conditions, but Adventurers dislike it because for some reason it is preventing their Field Walker Skill from working.¡¹


    Thank you for the save Roxanne. It¡¯s good to know that you can always be my go-to when it come to needing information about the matters that I am completely oblivious to. That aside, I do intend to use Warp quite a lot to move around, so not being able to do it sounds quite concerning. So Shield Cement prevents Movement Magic from working properly. I see. That would mean that if I wanted to use my Warp I would have to either pick a place that doesn¡¯t use it or live near the Labyrinth because a place reinforced with Shield Cement that¡¯s going to interfere with my Movement Magic is essentially useless to me, but on the other hand I don¡¯t want to pay a high rent when I can avoid it. What to do, what to do?

 Volume 3 - CH 1.15

    ¡¸I realize that this might sound like quite the detriment, but as long as you set up a partitioning screen, you will be able to use Movement Magic indoors without any problems, even if you decide to become an Adventurer in the future.¡¹


    Oh, a chance!


    ¡¸Before we make our decision, could you please show us around the property first?¡¹


    This lady thinks that I am only an Explorer and that¡¯s why she was giving me all those information, but she had no way of knowing that I am actually what you might call a true cheat character who can have any combination of skills he wishes, as long as they can be obtained from the list of Bonus Skills, so even though I shouldn¡¯t be able to use Movement Magic, all I need to do is to get myself a Warp and there you have it; a non Job-limited spell allowing us to go wherever we want, whenever we want. However, it¡¯s still to early to be overly enthusiastic. I first need to see the place for myself and determine if I really cannot use Warp there, and we will see what we¡¯re going to do from there.


    ¡¸Most certainly. I can take you there at any moment, even now if you want. Just give me a moment.¡¹


    Saying that, Honesta retreated to the back of the store and returned after a while with someone else whom we were seeing for the first time.


    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry for the delay. If you¡¯re ready then we can go anytime now. Watch the store while I¡¯m gone, okay?¡¹


    ¡¸Certainly. Have a safe trip, ma¡¯am.¡¹


    The person who came back with Honesta from the back of the shop saw her off like that. Since Honesta is the shop¡¯s owner it would be unwise and unprofessional of her to be leaving the store during business hours just so she could show the houses for rent to two potential clients, so my guess is that this person must be the substitute shopkeeper who minds the store every time the owner is away.


    ¡¸This way. Follow me.¡¹


    She walked out of the hardware store with us and guided us on our way. Following in her footsteps, we went back towards the Adventurers Guild and then passed it, going further and further away from the city center until we reached the suburbs area, which didn¡¯t have as many buildings standing so close to each other. Well, I expected that much. After all, we said that we don¡¯t mind if the house would be situated far from the Labyrinth, so of course she would show us the property located the furthest away from it first.


    ¡¸What is the climate around here?¡¹


    Roxanne started a small talk with the Lady Shopkeeper.


    ¡¸It¡¯s a nice, peaceful neighborhood. It¡¯s cool in the summer and it doesn¡¯t snow much during the winter.¡¹


    ¡¸And how long is the rainy season?¡¹


    I don¡¯t know about Roxanne, but personally I began to wonder is it not too early for us to be renting a house. Oh, don¡¯t get me wrong, it¡¯s not that I am against it, it¡¯s just that I think that maybe we should wait a bit longer before making any legally binding decisions, do some more research and think about this really seriously, and think about the future some more. First of all, I feel like we should get to know more about the occurences of natural disasters like fires, earthquakes, cyclones floods and so on in this area.


    *Sigh* Then again, I guess it¡¯s not like we have much of a choice here, do we?


    Currently the two choices we have considered are Quratar and the Imperial City. There may be other places where we could probably live without any major issues, but for the time being I do not think we will be able to find any town or city better than this one, since there is always a threat that if we decided to look for other places first, it might very well take us week, or perhaps even months to find something suitable, therefore renting a house now is definitely a cheaper, more preferable option. If this place was downright terrible and unfit to live then maybe I¡¯d be willing to consider that, but based on what we have seen so far we have no reason not to pick Quratar over other cities.


    While we continued onward, Roxanne kept talking with Honesta about various things, and thanks to listening in on their conversation from while staying a step behind them I managed to hear and confirm a few of the things I was so worried about.


    About the natural disasters I just mentioned, it doesn¡¯t look like we would have to worry about them, because the buildings in Quratar were build so close to one another inly in the six districts in the city¡¯s center where the Labyrinth was, but the residential areas further away from the Labyrinth and the main part of the city were no higher that two stories, and there was always an ample amount of space between them. It was a good countermeasure against natural disasters such as fires and earthquakes, because even if they did happen, the potential damages would be contained to the houses and their immediate surroundings instead od spreading uncontrollably like wildfire, but on the other hand it made said residential areas look kinda like the countryside instead of the suburbs of a big city.


    Further up ahead on the road there was a man who carried a lot of wood under his arms. He stopped when he saw Honesta, and the two of them briefly talked about something. A Quick Identify revealed that he was a 40-years-old male, and a Lv.53 Villager. Wait, 53?! Wow, talk about it being high as hell! So you¡¯re telling me this lady is aquainted with someone like that?! Because either he has to be super strong and totally amazing, or I am just getting confused by his level.


    ¡¸In case you¡¯re wondering, that was my husband just now.¡¹


    She explained to us after they finished talking and the man went his own way.


    ¡¸He certainly looked like he is very strong.¡¹


    ¡¸I don¡¯t want to brag, but he is. He has to be, because due to how the city is structured around the Labyrinth, we have nothing in the way of defending ourselves from the monster attacks, and even if we had, mere walls would not be enough to keep monsters from the Labyrinth at bay. I know that those from the lower levels are relatively weak, but they have strength in numbers, and would likely overrun the entire city in no time. That is why those who are afraid of monsters are generally advised to stay clear of this city, and that is also why my husband and I made it our personal habit to go to the Labyrinth every three days so that we could both get stronger little by little.¡¹


    According to Roxanne, the monsters are present not only in the Labyrinth itself, but they can also roam its surroundings.


    I remembered back to my first day at the Village of Somara, when I was fighting Slow Rabbits (and that zombie one that refused to die no matter how many times I whacked it with the Copper Sword, fucking Caerbannog Rabbit) and the Gummi Slime I encountered when Picker-san took me with him to Vale on his carriage. It seems that the cities are surrounded by walls so as to not allow monsters to attack them from the outside, but in Quratar the Labyrinth is in the center of the town, so it would be meaningless to build walls since they could only stop monsters from outside, while doing jack shit to eliminate the threat of the ones that can escape from the Labyrinth into the city proper.


    In that sense I guess you can tell that this city is pretty scary, because having an entire settlement build around the Labyrinth which is like a nest of monsters that might or might not escape from it and saw chaos along the ones that might invade from outside of the town was a pretty crazy idea. This couple lived in such a city for so long that they ultimately decided to start going to the Labyrinth themselves to train and get stronger, and that¡¯s why both of them have such abnormally high levels, especially that Villager Lv.53.


    I have Durandal to defend myself if need arises so I don¡¯t care about it, but I wonder what Roxanne has to say about this?


    ¡¸Roxanne, do you have any problems with living in the city where monsters might randomly pop up at any moment?¡¹


    ¡¸No problems at all!¡¹


    It was stupid of me to even ask that question in the first place.

 Volume 3 - CH 1.16

    So far I never once saw a group of monsters outside of the Labyrinth. Be it the zombie Slow Rabbit or Gummi Slime, there wwas always only one opponent, no more, so it probably is the same here.


    ¡¸About your husband, Miss Honesta¡­ is he an Adventurer?¡¹


    ¡¸No, he is actually a Blacksmith. See that cabin over there in the distance? That is the one that we own and it is also where we create the ironware that I¡¯m selling in my shop. Well, part of it, because the other half is being sold to the other cities, including the Imperial City.¡¹


    ¡¸A Blacksmith?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes.¡¹


    ¡¸He certainly looks the type. And based on what we saw in your store, I can tell that all the tools you create are of exceptionally high quality.¡¹


    ¡¸Well thank you, I will be sure to pass that on to him.¡¹


    Thanks to Roxanne chatting Honesta up, I have learned another piece of information that could come pretty handy further down the road. If he is a Blacksmith, then it might be a good idea to ask her how did he managed to obtain that particular Job.


    ¡¸You said that your husband is a Blacksmith, but how did he got that Job?¡¹


    ¡¸Interested in Blacksmithing as well as being an Explorer? My oh my, what a curious customer I managed to obtain. However, I¡¯m afraid I have to disappoint you on that matter, because only Dwarves can become Blacksmiths.¡¹


    ¡¸Really? I thought that smithing is something that anyone can do as long as they have the necessary skills for it.¡¹


    ¡¸What you¡¯re talking about is not blacksmithing, but regular smithing, and those are two entirely different procedures.¡¹


    ¡¸How so?¡¹


    ¡¸Smithing is when you have a small workstation and a kiln or a fireplace where you can then solidify and finish the goods you created. That is what you had in mind, the job that pretty much anyone can do, regardless of their race. However, blacksmithing is the art of creating weapons and armor specifically using the Skills that are unique to the Dwarves, that¡¯s why I said that only they can become proper Blacksmiths.¡¹


    ¡¸Ohh, I see now. That does sound different than what I had in mind.¡¹


    I wasn¡¯t expecting this, but apparently smithing is an entirely different beast from blacksmithing, but when I thought about it carefully, it made a surprising amount of sense. After all, the Job of Honesta¡¯s husband was a Villager, not a Blacksmith. But I have to say, that bit about Blacksmiths creating weapons and armor by using the Skills that are unique to their Job got me all the more interested in them, which is why it is a damn shame that I won¡¯t be able to become a Blacksmith myself, but this is one of the things that my Bonus Skills cannot circumvent because there is no Bonus Skill that would allow me to change my race at will.


    ¡¸And here it is. We have arrived.¡¹


    Going a little further, when we walked along a narrow path, Miss Caretaker pointed to one of the white houses. It was a two-story white house painted with mortar. It is a house identical to those that you could often see in this area and in the town of Veil, so it was probably your typical style of making ordinary houses. It looked pretty plain, but at least the area around it was pretty spacious, which was a welcomed thing in my book. There was a small forest in its immediate surroundings, and it was around ten minutes of walking from the city¡¯s center. If I were to compare it to the cramped, suffocating style of building that was typical to modern-day Japan, then I guess you could say that the usage of space was another thing in which this world had my old one beaten, the other being a fact that there are animal-eared cuties like Roxanne in it. There is absolutely no way for me to stop praising  the cuteness of her droopy dog ears and petting them whenever I get the chance to do so!


    ¡¸Is this part of the property the garden?¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s right. And since this is a part of it, then you can use it however you like.¡¹


    So in addition to the house itself, we will also have an entire garden at our disposal, huh? It was at the other side of the road across from the building itself and was pretty wide, having some bushes and low growing trees. However, that was about it, because the rest of the garden¡¯s contents could be summarized with only one word: weeds. A whole lot of weeds, and all of them so overgrown as if nobody took care of them for a pretty long time.


    ¡¸Looks kinda rough if you asked me.¡¹


    ¡¸There is a lot of wild Rosemary here, but it truly looks like it¡¯s not doing all that well.¡¹


    Roxanne informed me as he kneeled down and had a closer look at one of the bushes and plants that still didn¡¯t completely turn into weeds. So apparently this herb-like looking thing is Rosemary? I have heard about it back when I wa still on earth, but I also have to admit that I have mainly dealt with the store-bought kind and rarely saw how it looked in its regular plant form, so I had no way of confirming whether or not it was the same as Earth¡¯s rosemary or was it different in some way.


    ¡¸I guess you can say that¡¯s what happens when there is no one who would want to rent the property and take proper care of it.¡¹


    Honesta explained with a dejected smile on her face when we inquired about the poor state of the garden. I see. Since the garden is part of the entire property, then it being poorly kept would led to the lowering of the property¡¯s value as a whole, and that¡¯s why Roxanne purposefully mentioned that the Rosemary looks like its in an especially bad state. Nice thinking, Roxanne. Maybe we will be able to actually eat a cake and have ourselves a cake if we play our cards right here.


    ¡¸You know, I¡¯m not an expert on the subject, but if the garden is in such a state, then doesn¡¯t that meant that it will be especially hard for it to make a complete recovery, even if we were to start taking care of it right away?¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s true. Even more so since we lack the specialistic knowledge required for the proper care of the plants and trees. ]


    Roxanne and I continued our verbal assault. With every word that was hitting the jackpot of the issue here, I could almost see our words stabbing themselves into Honest like in some comedy manga. Who knows, maybe she will really give in to the pressure if we maintain the offensive for a bit more?


    ¡¸Y-You know, I know it might look like things are pretty bad, but trust me, right now this garden is still at the point where everything can still be recovered back to the state of being perfectly usable, and you should be able to plant and grow other herbs if you want to.¡¹


    Growing and cultivating herbs ourselves, huh? Well, when I took a quick look at all the surrounding houses, pretty much all of them had something planted around the areas that were probably their gardens. There were no fences around any of the house premises, so my guess was the the borders between their vicinities were all agreed on between the residents themselves, or perhaps they were strictly visual according to the rule that ¡¸everything from here to here is mine, and from there to there it¡¯s not mine, but yours¡¹. In such conditions it would be problematic if we wanted to start growing not only plants, but vegetables as well (assuming that the soil in here would be sufficient enough to even accommodate them), and there was also the issue of monsters and stray animals ruining the crops we would cultivate if they ran through the garden even by accident, so maybe having a fence around our house would not be such a bad idea after all?


    ¡¸Would it be possible for us to get new seeds to plant them around if we decided to restore the garden after all?¡¹


    ¡¸If you really decided to do that, then I would be extremely grateful to you. In that case I could give you new seeds and saplings of various plants as a way of thanking you for deciding to rent the property. Oh, we could also sell you hoes, rakes and other gardening tools you would require to maintain the proper care of it.¡¹

 Volume 3 - CH 1.17

    ¡¸If so, how much would it be?¡¹


    ¡¸Since this is a kind of a blunder on my part, then I¡¯m sure we could offer you some favorable prices as a way of apologizing for all the trouble that you¡¯ll have to go through with it.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, in that case I guess we could definitely manage¡­¡¹


    Roxanne seems to be really fired up about the idea of cultivating her own herb garden, huh? And that Honesta, she¡¯s willing to go as far as gifting us tools and seeds just to make sure that we will rent this house without backing down once we knew that its upkeep would require more time and effort than we have initially anticipated? As expected of someone with the Job of a Merchant, she will never miss an opportunity to make the deal go through, huh? Well, if that¡¯s how it¡¯s going to be, then I guess all that we need is just one more small push.


    ¡¸Oh well, I guess it cannot be helped, right? Worst case scenario, we will simply have to replant all of the herbs and start the garden up from scratch.¡¹


    ¡¸Are you sure about this? This is definitely going to take quite a lot of time, work and effort¡­¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I am sure. After all, it¡¯s not like don¡¯t have a lot of time on our hands, so might as well put it to good use, right?¡¹


    How about that merciless counterattack, Miss Caretaker? Ready to give in now?


    ¡¸Ekhem! Regarding the house itself, in order to prepare it for the arrival of potential buyers I restored all of the wooden windows to the best of my ability and cleaned the inside of it thoroughly, so you can move in right away when you bring in your own furnishings.¡¹


    Realizing that we had her beaten in the matter of the garden, Honesta headed inside of the house while she explained that restorative work has been already done and what was still left to do. To tell you the truth, I was counting that we might squeeze some more concessions out of her, because even if she provides us with the seeds and the right tools to cultivate them, it will take some serious time before we will be able to actually harvest the fruits of our labor, but apparently that was as far as she was willing to budge in that regard. A shame, but I am still willing to call it our complete victory nonetheless.


    Honesta unlocked the front door and entered the house, and Roxanne and I followed her inside. Once we were there, no one bothered to actually take off their shoes, so I guess that custom is something that might be exclusive to Japan only, and it made me feel like an oddball when I was just about to reach to the laces of my boots so that I could leave them at the doorstep. Roxanne, who was normally going barefoot, but started wearing sandals ever since I told her to do so didn¡¯t even stop to consider doing that, so that must mean that in this world going into somebody¡¯s house while still wearing your outdoor shoes is not considered to be a grave offense.


    The inside the house was made entirely from wood on the floor and concrete on the walls and ceilings.


    ¡¸Ohhh, inside it is a lot more spacious than it looks from the outside.¡¹


    If I were to draw any comparisons, this place wa giving me that distinct developer¡¯s standard feel that some of the residences in Japan had. Not those cramped crappy apartments that are associated with perpetually tired salarymen from the middle class, but the mansions and those big suites at the top floors of the hotels where all of the rich and important people used to live, or like those really big rooms lined up with tatami mats from the TV dramas set in the Edo period


    ¡¸The former resident has made a lot of modifications to the structure already, so you¡¯re free to make even more alterations if you ever feel like it. The improvement that you may find the most interesting is the water-flush toilet that he ordered to be custom made for him.¡¹


    Honesta the Caretaker walked through the house and opened one of the doors at the back of the ground floor.To my surprise, it really was a small rom with a toilet inside of it. Wait a minute¡­ did she just say¡­


    ¡¸Water-flush toilet?¡¹


    ¡¸I know it might sound unbelievable, but that¡¯s actually what it is, and the way it works is actually quite simple: when you add water to the upper container, it will drain the contents of the toilet straight to the ditch located outside of the house. And because the water is being drawn from the river that¡¯s located not far away from here, you don¡¯t have to be worried about the ditch being particularly dirty.¡¹


    Having a toilet that resembles the ones I had in Japan by having a flushing system and being directly connected to the drain was a nice surprise that I wasn¡¯t expecting to have at all. Upon Honesta¡¯s approval, I flushed it once to see how exactly was it working, and it did in the exact way I was expecting it to: when you pulled the string located next to the water tank, it released the water collected in the tank, flushing the contents of the bowl down with its momentum. It made me feel at ease, because originally I thought we would have to collect our you-know-what into a jar or some other container in order to dispose of it manually. Knowing that we won¡¯t have to resort to such barbarism makes me happy beyond belief.


    ¡¸That will certainly be a useful thing to have.¡¹


    ¡¸It might be a little inconvenient to collect water from the river anytime you want to flush it, but apparently that was the previous resident¡¯s hobby. He also started another project, but I evicted them in the middle of making it so they were never able to finish it.¡¹


    ¡¸What, like, another toilet or something along those lines?¡¹


    ¡¸As I said, I ended up evicting him when that second project was about halfway done, so I do not really know what was it supposed to be. All that I know is that it only has the drainage pipes connected to it. It¡¯s here in the back.¡¹


    When Honesta opened the door she previously pointed to, I saw that it was an empty room similar to the main one, but bigger than the one where the toilet was located¡­ but what was its purpose? Another toilet room? No, they already had one practically next door, so that¡¯s probably not it. Could it be that this guy was just a nutjob with some strange hobbies? But even if that would be the case¡­ man, toilet making and tinkering with them was too weird of a fetish, even by my standards. Part of me wandered if this guy also made a washing room somewhere in the house as well. Heh, that would be pretty swell.


    ¡¸Uhm, excuse me, Miss Caretaker?¡¹


    Roxanne called Honesta back to the main room in order to ask her some questions about the kitchen area. She said she¡¯s able to cook, so she probably wants to know as much as she can about the kitchen¡¯s user-friendliness.


    ¡¸I¡¯m going to go take a look upstairs, so make yourself comfortable here, ok?¡¹


    Now that Roxanne was occupying Honesta¡¯s full attention, I can go upstairs where no one will see me and experiment with Warping while I have the chance.


    When I arrived upstairs and looked down, I noticed that I could actually see Roxanne¡¯s silhouette outlined through the floor. Could it be one of the effects of Party Formation? Then maybe I should briefly disband it as a precaution, since Movement Magic transports the entire Party? Yeah, let¡¯s do that.


    First, I opened the door to the room that I would be Warping to in order to check what was inside, but its shutters were all closed tight so it was pretty dark in there. Next, I went to the room that was adjacent to the one I just left, which was the largest room on this floor, ideal to make it our bedroom, since it also came equipped with its own fireplace. I walked to the wall and created a portal that should take me straight to the room right next to it when I will walk through it, assuming that it will work correctly and not get blocked by the shield cement.


    With pounding heart, I gulped my saliva down and took a step towards the portal on the wall while closing my eyes.


    Please, let it work. Let me go through! I just want to go through, nothing more!


    . . .


    . . . . . . .


    . . . . . . . . . . .


    When I opened my eyes again, I was standing in the next room, the one that had its shutters down. I did it. That Warp was a success! This means that Warp not only ignore all of the restrictions placed on Field Walker and Dungeon Walker, but it also bypasses everything that would normally prevent Movement Magic from working, like this Shield Cement!


    This is great! I thought that this Bonus Spell was nothing more than an alternative to Dungeon Walker and Field Walker, but it turns out that this is spell is superior to them both in every way!


    With this we can move in and out of the Labyrinth without any issues, but it doesn¡¯t mean that the problems end here. Quite the opposite, actually. The number of things I have to look out for only increased.


    First of all, I should avoid moving just about anywhere with Warp, because it would be pretty bad if I ended up Warping somewhere I normally wasn¡¯t supposed to Warp to and got noticed by someone, which means I have to select destination that can be easily accessed by either Field Walker or Dungeon Walker. The safest bet would be the walls of the Adventurers Guild because pretty much everyone is using them as their target for transportation. Trees in the woods should also be okay, should be the Labyrinth itself, but that much should have been a given. So unless I am certain that the place I want to Warp to is out of the people¡¯s gaze, I should only travel to the places which I have 100% certainty that they are normal.

 Volume 3 - CH 1.18

    Okay, for the time being, here¡¯s how we¡¯re going to handle this issue: from now on, I will only use Warp to move to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild buildings and into the Labyrinth¡¯s, just to play my cards safe. Before I went back downstairs to rejoin Roxanne and Honesta I stayed on the first floor for a bit pretending that I was looking around so that it would not look unnatural that I went upstairs and then immediately came down.


    ¡¸How about it?The obvious downside of this house is that the river and the well are somewhat far away from here so drawing water from them will always require a little walk and that it is also far from the Labyrinth¡¯s entrance, but since that shouldn¡¯t be a problem for you then I think you will agree that this place is not half bad, right?¡¹


    The Landlady welcomed me when I came back down, and then remarked after glancing at both me and Roxanne. Well guess what, Mrs. Honesta? Even if a well and a river are far away and drawing water from them would take time, those downsides do not affect us in any way because of my Warp distance will not be a problem anymore.


    ¡¸Most certainly. I think this is a good property.¡¹


    I don¡¯t know what Roxanne¡¯s thoughts on the matter are, but from the looks of it she does not look like she¡¯s dissatisfied with what she saw so far. In that case she should be overjoyed when I will tell her later that since I have access to Water Magic we probably won¡¯t have to bother ourselves with drawing it by hand as well if I could fill the water container by shooting at it with Waterball. Honesta said that doing it shouldn¡¯t be a problem for me, but from her perspective she probably assumed that Roxanne, my slave, would have been tasked with doing it while I stayed home. And you know what, let her think that. Whatever¡¯s inside her head is her business, not ours.


    ¡¸Really? Well I¡¯m glad to hear it.¡¹


    Yes, really. The shortcomings of this house do not apply to us because of my Warp, so I can definitely say that this is a good property.


    The problem is whether we should decide on this house or wait and see the other options Honesta has to offer right now. However, looking over the other properties and checking if it would be possible to use Warp from them would definitely take a fair amount of time. Renting such a house will definitely be cheaper then living in an inn for an entire year, is far away from the center of the city and has relatively few neighbors in the area, so for now I guess we can take this one and switch over to the new one if it does not end up being to our liking in the end. Besides, if Roxanne does not have any objections and agrees with my assessment that his is a pretty good house, then I think tha pretty much seals the deal here.


    ¡¸So, what should we do now? Set the price of the rent?¡¹


    ¡¸Precisely. You look like your mind¡¯s made up, so we can move on to that. Let¡¯s see¡­¡¹


    For a moment Honesta simply stood there with her hand on her chin.


    ¡¸Since the garden has been left unattended and neglected for so long I can subtract that from the overall cost od the rent, meaning that instead of the usual 50,000 Nar the cost of the yearly contract would go down to 45,000 Nar per year. Since the day is slowly drawing to a close, then let¡¯s say that the contract will start tomorrow and will be in full legal force until tomorrow of the next year, that is to say the 14th day of Spring.¡¹


    So it seems that today is the 13th day of spring. Regarding the cost of the yearly rent, it is great that it is not that far away from the usual market price. Not bad, not bad at all, if I do say so myself, but I guess that is the bare minimum required of someone who makes a living as a property manager. If all she did was tricking the customers into signing shady contracts like some kinda villain to extort them of their money, I highly doubt she¡¯d be able to last long in the industry. She has the ability to discern that Roxanne was my slave simply by looking at her (or at least that is my assumption), and she was kind enough to give us a tour of the house before we even decided to if we want to buy it or not. If that is her strategy for running her business, then my guess is that she must be one of the better ones from all of Quratar¡¯s landlords, of which there are bound to be multiple ones if the entire city is divided into so many districts. If she wanted to deceive others, she would have been better off not working as a property caretaker at all.


    I looked at Roxanne over my shoulder, and she nodded back at me.


    ¡¸Okay, we will be taking this house. What do we do now, sign the contract, or are there any other things we need to take care of before that?¡¹


    I also nodded at the caretaker, and conveyed our intentions of signing a contract to her.


    ¡¸There is one matter, actually.¡¹


    After we finished the inspection of what would become our new home, we were the taken to the Knight¡¯s guardhouse so that we could have our Intelligence Cards checked. Even though she is working as a Merchant, Honesta does not seem to have the Skill that would allow her to check our Intelligence Cards herself. From all the people I have met so far, the only ones capable of doing it were the Kinights in the guardhouses and the owner of the Veil Pavilion.


    ¡¸Now that that¡¯s done, all that is left to do is signing the rent contract. Can you write?¡¹


    Honesta asked me that question when we went back to her hardware store. I guess asking such a question makes sense, since apparently there are not that many people in this world who can actually do it, although I have to regrettably admit that I am a member of that vast majority myself.


    ¡¸Is it okay for someone else to be my ghostwriter and sign the document on my behalf?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course, as long as it will be someone whom you absolutely know you can trust.¡¹


    ¡¸Then, can I ask you to do it for me, Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸Understood!¡¹


    Honesta and Roxanne started taking care of all the necessary documents. Since there was nothing for me to do to help them with that, I decided to have a quick look around the store in order to kill time. As expected of a hardware store, it was lined up with all kinds of products and utensils made of metal,  and all of them must have been created by the couple of owners themselves, just like the landlady said before when we met her husband on the way to the house. I can¡¯t help but to wonder as to exactly how helpful tools like that can be in your daily life in a world such as this¡­ oh, looks like they even have a wok here. Huh, who would have guessed? Well, just to be sure¡­


    ¡¸Excuse me, but what is this?¡¹


    ¡¸That thing over there? It is a pot used by professional chefs. It is used primarily when the dish you¡¯re cooking requires a large amount of heat to properly prepare.¡¹


    ¡¸You don¡¯t say.¡¹


    Not gonna lie, looking at this thing made me feel kinda nostalgic, even though it¡¯s not totally the same, but extremely similar. But that should be expected, I guess, since I suddenly saw one of the things that I thought I was never going to see again. If both this wok and the one I know from back home are used for the same purpose, then it should be perfectly fine for them to have a nearly identical shape.


    ¡¸My shop is the only one around these parts that produces a tool of this type, so it¡¯s not strange that this might be your first time seeing such a thing. If you¡¯re interested in it, then why not buy it? If your girl-companion over there is a good cook, then she will definitely appreciate it. So? How about it?¡¹


    ¡¸Has anyone ever told you that you¡¯re quite good at your job? *Sigh* Then I will be getting this together with the rent. How much would that be in total?¡¹

 Volume 3 - CH 1.19

    ¡¸My oh my, you¡¯re quite the flatterer, you know? Well, since you seem to be liking our special high-flame saucepan so much, then I will gladly offer you a discount, and offer you a special service deal: yearly rent and the saucepan for only 31,850 Nar for both of them! How about it? I assure you that you won¡¯t find a better price anywhere else in the city!¡¹


    Under any normal circumstances she would probably never offered me such a sweet deal, but in this case I tried using my 30% Discount Skill on her, and since I am buying more than one thing, or to be exact, paying for more than one thing (a yearly rent for our new house plus the wok she was trying to so adamantly to make me buy just now) , then I am more tha happy to report that this time its usage has been successful, resulting in quite a drop in price. Who knows, maybe I will be able to get an even better deal if I try pushing her business-savvy buttons some more, but then¡­


    ¡¸Excuse me.¡¹


    After looking at us over her shoulder throughout the entirety of our wok-related conversation, Roxanne approached Honesta with the contract documents in hand, however¡­


    ¡¸Brahim is a very difficult language to write in, so can I ask you to check my writing very thoroughly and correct any possible mistakes that might have found their way in there? Please?¡¹


    Uhm, R-Roxanne? What is with that¡­ malicious aura you seem to be emanating? Because you¡¯re scaring me for real here! (TL Note: Oh My God, has Roxanne finally awakened to her yandere potential? About damn time I say)


    ¡¸E-Eh? Y-Yes, of course, no problem.¡¹


    Even if Honesta senses the same thing I did from her, she didn¡¯t allow it to show on her face and simply complied with Roxanne¡¯s request. I¡¯m glad she can behave like a true professional even in such unexpected situations, but still¡­ I¡¯m glad the situation didn¡¯t escalate into something more.


    After getting the payment consisting of three gold coins and a bunch of silver and copper coins out of my Item Box and carefully counting them, I handed them to the landlady, thus finalizing the payment. She gave me the keys to the house, and with that, the signing of our renting contract was over.


    ¡¸Thank you for your patronage. I hope you will make great use of your new home.¡¹


    ¡¸We should be thanking you for all that you did for us even though you didn¡¯t have to..¡¹


    ¡¸No, I should be doing that for your decision to put your trust in me even though you¡¯ve just arrived in the city.I will be lookin forward to your next visit.¡¹


    We exchanged some minor pleasantries with each other and then left the hardware store.


    ¡¸That should be everything we need for now, right? Is it okay if we buy anything else we might need for our new home tomorrow?¡¹


    ¡¸That should be okay for as long as the sundries and other necessities are concerned. However, since we don¡¯t know if the things that we are going to buy tomorrow are going to be delivered to our home on the same day, so I think it would be best for us if we looked for some basic furniture today so we could get our hands on as many things as we can. That way, we will be able to minimize the amount of time required for shopping tomorrow, and we will be able to spend that much more time in the Labyrinth if we decide to go there.¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s true. Thankfully the store that sells furniture should be just down the street if I remember correctly.¡¹


    After consulting with Roxanne on what our next move should be, we both agreed to pay a visit to the furniture-selling store that we briefly saw somewhere near the center of the town when we first arrived in Quratar. Oh, and for those of you who might be wondering about that, I didn¡¯t have a free space for it in my Item Box and it was way to big to fit inside of any of our backpacks, so I had no choice but to take the wok with us as it was, only instead of carrying it in both my hands, I asked Roxanne to fix it on my arm with a piece of rope, causing it to look like some kinda shield. If any Adventurer was passing by us right now, I¡¯m sure they would have more than one reason for letting out a good chuckle or two.


    When we arrived at the furniture store, the first thing we noticed and then asked about was the condition of everything they had available for purchase, and it turned out that everything in this store was actually used goods bought from the second hand. A part of me didn¡¯t like the idea of having used goods as the furnishings of our new home, but apparently that¡¯s just how things work in here, so I guess there¡¯s no point arguing or complaining about that now. Besides, as long as I will be able to replace the mattress with a brand new one, then I don¡¯t mind having a used bedframe as long as it will be sturdy enough and won¡¯t fall apart under our weight (or the weight of our nightly activities). Other than beds, the store also had quite a large variety of tables, chairs, cupboards, closets and other items we might or might not need in the future.


    The Job of a furniture store clerk was a merchant, so my 30% discount should work on him just fine as long as we will buy multiple items. At this point I have become so accostumed to using that Skill to make bulk purchases possible, but I have to look out not to waste too much money buying things we don¡¯t really need because of it, especially since I bought two wands and a wok already. That is why we have to buy the minimum amount of furniture, and buy the rest one by one when they will be needed, and why this discount is like a double-edged sword for me. That is why this time we only bought a bedframe and a new mattress, as well as some basic furniture necessary for storing our clothes and items. The bed we have chosen was king sized of course.


    For the time being we have decided to return home to drop off the things we bought. The clerk at the furniture store told me that the items we purchased shall be delivered to us by cart tomorrow at noon, so we have quite a lot of time on our hands before that happens. We walked to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, and I used Warp to transport us right to our new house. The contract might be starting tomorrow, but I don¡¯t think Honesta will mind if we move in today.


    ¡¸Uhm, master?¡¹


    Roxanne called out to me when we walked through the portal and I proceeded to unpack the things from my backpack and undoing the rope that held the wok on my arm.


    ¡¸Didn¡¯t the caretaker lady said that this house uses Shield Cement? So why were we¡­¡¹


    ¡¸That she did, but when we were here last time I went and checked if my Movement Magic will work nonetheless. Thankfully it did, and I decided on buying this house after confirming that. Field walker and Dungeon Walker might be useless here, by my Warp works just fine.¡¹


    ¡¸What? That¡¯s truly amazing, master!¡¹


    ¡¸I know, right? But keep it a secret from everyone else.¡¹


    With a movement restrictions-ignoring spell like Warp you could do pretty much anything ranging from creating a locked room murder mystery to committing a perfect crime. But I¡¯m not interested in using it for such scummy purposes. I am more than fine with just teleporting wherever I want with it.


    Also, a  side note: if Shield Cement prevents Field and Dungeon Walker from working, was Roxanne planning on walking to the Labyrinth or the Guild like normal every single time? Now that would be both tiring and incredibly annoying.


    Maybe I simply grew lazy after getting a taste of how convenient Movement Magic is, I don¡¯t want to travel anywhere on foot unless it will be strictly necessary. I mean, we rented this house precisely because of that: so that we wouldn¡¯t have to walk to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and the Labyrinth on foot every single time. If we can warp from our house, it would be foolishes of the highest calliber not to use that ability whenever we¡¯d have the chance.


    From our home, we went to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild of Veil, and when we will be coming back, we will go straight back here from the guild building. That method of travelling is so convenient for us that I honestly feel bad about not figuring it out earlier.

 Volume 3 - CH 2.01

    Chapter 12: New Home


    Kaga Michio


    Current levels & equipment:


    Explorer Lv.24


    Hero Lv.20


    Mage Lv.21


    Monk Lv.21


    Equipment:


    Copper Sword


    Leather Armor


    Leather Jacket


    Leather Gloves


    Leather Shoes


    When we were done with unpacking our things back at our new home, we decided to Warp back to Veil for a bit. Unlike in Quratar, when we arrived in Veil¡¯s Adventurers Guild and left it, it was already sunset, meaning that Veil is apparently further to the east, causing the slight differences with the time. We checked the time and then set our sights on Veil¡¯s Labyrinth. Normally I would never do something as crazy as going to the Labyrinth during the night hours, but this time was a little different. Since I aquired a new weapon for myself, then I had to take it for a test drive to see how it was going to perform. I am talking about my newly-bought wand of course.


    ¡¸We¡¯re here, master. How would you like to proceed from now on?¡¹


    Now that we have returned to the Veil Labyrinth¡¯s third floor, I can leave the navigation through it to Roxanne. With her and her keen sense of smell that allows her to detect monsters and their location we can pick our targets depending on what we need at the current moment, and we can perform the experiment with the wand relatively quickly. But before that, I performed a Character Reset and swapped Warp for Durandal.


    Warp is a convenient Bonus Spell, but it is not very cost-effective. A trip from Quratar to Veil¡¯s Adventurers Guild and then to Veil¡¯s Labyrinth took quite a large chunk of my MP out, so I had no choice but to use Durandal to absorb it back before it drops to the red zone and fills my head with debilitatingly dark thoughts.


    ¡¸Then, first thing¡¯s first, take us to some monster that is not a Kobold. It doesn¡¯t matter which.¡¹


    ¡¸As you wish, master.¡¹


    For a next few encounters, Roxanne was guiding me towards the groups of Needlewoods and Green Caterpillars and I killed all of them until I have regained all of the MP I have expended to get us here. With that out of the way, it was finally time to test my wand and cane!


    The next enemy that appeared before us was a Lv.3 Green Caterpillar. Great! Just the enemy I was looking for! Back on the second floor taking out those guys took me four shots of Fireball (later reduced to 3 shots after a Level Up). In other words, the ones that appear here, their stronger variants, should be able to endure more than that. Here it goes: the first shot!


    I held the wand towards the Green Caterpillar in front of me¡­


    (Fireball!)


    And launched my first spell. It didn¡¯t kill it, so I launched another one, and then another one, which caused the Green Caterpillar to hunch its back as if it wanted to do a Rush attack, which got me on high alert and all ready to dodge, but before there was any need for me to do that, the flames did all the work for me, killing it. So when using a wand, the number of spells required to kill an enemy dwelling on the third floor is three. Yes, right now fighting enemies with magic is definitely more viable option than using the Copper Sword, since spells are both stronger and faster than that piece of crap.


    Next, I tried to use the Wooden Cane by firing a Fireball at the Lv.3 Needlewood that we happened across next. Much to my surprise, killing one Needlewood with it took more shots than when I killed the same kind of monster with a Wooden Wand, which lead me to the inevitable conclusion that out of the two of them, wands are giving a much stronger boost to the user¡¯s magic power than canes, but then, what purpose do the canes serve in this world? Is there something that I still don¡¯t know about them? Ugh, I should have asked the clerk back at the weapons shop about it. That way I wouldn¡¯t have to spend money on something that I am probably not going to use, eve if it meat losing the 30% Discount due to not buying multiple items at once. Now that I think about it, I should have gone and bought a rod instead of a cane, since rods are probably the strongest out of all three types ow weapons used to cast magic, but on the other hand, they were much more expensive than wands and canes¡­


    Now that I have a wand and know that it is stronger than a cane, should I just keep it and use it to fight mobsters from now on? With a wand as my main weapon, I can defeat the enemies from the third floor with three spells without letting them get close to me, meaning that there will be no risk of me or Roxanne getting hurt, which is why I became interested in fighting with magic in the first place. Of course, it would be nice to have a stronger weapon that could make it possible for me to defeat enemies even faster, but do I really need something like that at the current moment, all the more so when I concluded that I have to save as much money as possible by not spending them on needless things? Nah, for the time being, three-shotting enemies is more than enough for me.


    As long as I continue to level up the Mage Job, then MP and magic power should not be a problem either, since both those stats increase with the Level Ups. After realizing how big the difference in attack power between the Copper Sword, Wooden Cane and Wooden Wand is, I concluded that since the numbers of the Copper Sword pale in comparison to the other two, there¡¯s no reason for me to use it as a primary weapon at all.


    ¡¸It¡¯s exactly as you said, Roxanne. Wands and canes do increase the strength of my spells. Without them, defeating that monster would have taken four shots instead of three. Thank you.¡¹


    ¡¸I just shared what I knew, and you were the one to utilize that knowledge in practice in an amazing way! As expected of you, master!¡¹


    ¡¸Each and every one of your advice has proven to be incredibly helpful so far, so I hope you will continue to guide me from here onward.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, of course! Thank you very much!¡¹


    And with that compliment for Roxanne, I hearby declare the test run of wands and canes to be successfully concluded! Now that our business here was done for the day, we Warped back to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and walked back to the inn on foot from there. That way, the reserves of my MP won¡¯t go down as fast so soon after I recovered all of it.


    ¡¸One night in the two-people room, with dinner. After the meal, I would like you to deliver two basins with hot water and a lantern to our room.¡¹


    ¡¸Right away.¡¹


    We went back to the Veil Pavilion and rented a room for the night. If everything goes well, this should be the last night we will be spending in this place. For a moment I considered telling that to the owner behind the reception counter, but ultimately decided to stay silent for the time being. It¡¯s not like him knowing that we won¡¯t be staying here any longer would change anything in the log run, since I¡¯m sure he has other clients besides us who stay here at the regular basis. Also, if he knew that this was supposed to be our last night here, there is always a possibility that he might have tried to add something shady to our food, or maybe try and steal from us at the last possible moment. The thing is, since I do not have Durandal with me right now and all of my money and other belongings are either safely stored in my Item Box or back at our new house in Quratar, that means that I don¡¯t have anything of value on me right now, so even if he tried that, he would find nothing of value to take away from me. Nothing except¡­ except¡­ Roxanne¡­ He might try to steal Roxanne from me, since he saw how much of a hottie she is! (TL Note: Sigh I swear to God, what the hell is wrong with the Japanese and their NTR fetish. Feels like Rent a Girlfriend all over again.)


    No! I am not having that! Over my dead body! I should be silent and not say anything about this being our last night here after all. Safety first. Yup. It is in my and Roxanne¡¯s best interest that I keep silent and speak not even a single word about it to the owner.

 Volume 3 - CH 2.02

    Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist


    Editor: Weasalopes


    ¡¸Here you go.¡¹


    I received the key to our room given to me by the owner without saying anything back to him. I want to trust this guy since he hasn¡¯t done anything to screw me over for as long as I have been staying at his inn, but now my concerns started getting the better of me. And that¡¯s why I will inform him about not going back here tomorrow when we will be after the meal and ready to leave.


    We entered the room that has been assigned to us, and I sat down on the bed, staring at the ceiling, contemplating our current situation, which is rather moving now that I actually thought about it some more. After all, this is going to be our last night we are going to be spending in this inn.


    This was the place where I was staying after Picker-san, the merchant from the Somara village recommended it to me as a relatively cheap and reliable lodging. This place then became my base of operations when I was desperately running around like a headless chicken trying to scrabble enough money to buy Roxanne and make her my own personal slave. This was also the place where I brought her to when I finally succeeded at gaining enough funds, and we even had our first night here.


    As I sat there, reflecting on all the events of a not-so-distant past, Roxanne sat next to me on the bed without saying a single word, staring at the walls and the ceiling in silence just like me.


    When she came here with me for the first time, she was all tense and nervous, most likely because she did not know what she should be expecting from me. But that was back then. Now, she is much more relaxed around me and her movements are much more natural, and not because I ordered her to do so. Well, initially I did order her to ease up a little and be more trusting of me, but that was only at the beginning. Now that she gradually warmed up to me after seeing for herself that I am not a bad guy, there is no more caution in her movements and mannerisms, which means that she must have decided to completely put her trust in me. I am both glad and relieved that this is what she decided to do, because I would feel sorry for her if she kept forcing herself to act politely around me.


    Right now, the trust between us is on such level that I could even push her down and she wouldn¡¯t even speak a word of protest. I¡¯m glad she is so proactive, but at the same time, a part of me is feeling a little guilty. God, I want to have my way with her right now! I want to do it with her so badly, but we still have not eaten dinner or performed the daily maintenance of our equipment, so we have no choice but to wait until after that. That¡¯s right, we just have to do some preserving and cleaning, eat dinner, and the we can jump right to the good stuff.


    Maybe it was because I was anticipating it more than usual today, but the conservation of our weapons and armor went by in a flash, just like dinner. Before I even realized it, we were already on the way back to our room, waiting for the lantern and the basins with hot water to be delivered to us.


    ¡¸The water is ready, master.¡¹


    Yes, this the moment I have been waiting for!


    ¡¸Then¡­¡¹


    [Well, then¡­]


    ¡¸Won¡¯t you allow me to wash your body for you?¡¹


    ¡¸I will wash your body for now, master!¡¹


    I wanted to tell Roxanne to take off her clothes as soon as possible so I could start feasting my eyes of her wonderful breasts, but I was swiftly cut off from my plans by her innocent request. I was looking forward to being the one to initiate the things today and that¡¯s why I have put up with my urges for so long, only to be denied ushering in them at the very last moment. Ah well, it¡¯s not like I¡¯ve been blue-balled, so waiting for a few more moments is not a problem for me. Without letting Roxanne know about the inner turmoil of my mind, I did like she asked and took off all my clothes. She wiped my body with gentle movements, and when she was done, I returned the favor to her by doing exactly the same.


    I wetted the towel in hot water and proceeded to wash every nook and cranny of her amazing body, moving my hands skillfully through all of the strategic areas of her backside. Then, I turned the attention of my hands from her back to the front, wiping and cleaning her noble and beautiful sacred peaks in their entirety. Carefully, politely, delicately. I touched them and kneaded them in my hands as if they were the world¡¯s most valuable treasures, not leaving a speck of them unattended. Once, twice, three times, many times, over and over again. I played with them to my heart¡¯s content without getting bored of it, until I was thoroughly satisfied, and then I made sure that Roxanne would be satisfied as well. After all, this was a celebration of our last night in the Veil Pavilion, so we might as well go a little wild. Though to be honest, I don¡¯t know if calling this a celebration is even right. After all, it doesn¡¯t feel like we have been here for that long, but that may be because life with Roxanne by my side has been so fulfilling.


    The next morning, we have decided to go to the Veil¡¯s Labyrinth while it was still dark outside. We had some quick breakfast first, and after finishing the preparations, we were ready to be on our way. Next, I connected this room in the in with our new home in Quratar with Warp, with myself acting like a bucket bridge that was half-in and half-out into the wall in order not to use too much MP travelling back and forth between those two locations. A magnificent display of smart and ingenious thinking, if I do say so myself. That way, I can move our luggage through the Warp Portal simply by sweeping it behind me with my upper half that was in the room of the inn in Veil to my lower half that was in Quratar. The only downside to that method was that apparently I cannot move objects that are too large, like furniture, by using it, so I will have to think about a way to circumvent that next time when I will get the chance. For the time being, I tested if moving a backpack filled to the brim with items would be okay, and it seems that we could move through the Warp portals while carrying that much with us on our backs without any problems. That way even someone like me, who does not have all that much strength in the arms department, can easily do it. I was a little worried about the case that contained Roxanne¡¯s clothing, including her maid uniform, but apparently that much was still considered OK by whatever system was governing the warping mechanics, because I managed to drag it through the portal to the other side without any difficulties.


    However, one problem was still remaining in regards to our moving process. Carrying our luggagewhile the portal was continuously connecting two separate places seemed to consume more of my MP than moving in the regular way was doing it, so if I keep the connection up, I¡¯m going to run out of MP sooner rather than later. Thankfully we didn¡¯t have that much luggage that required transportation, so I managed to get it done before my reserves dropped to the dangerously low levels. When the amount of my MP is reduced below certain level, its deficiency ends up affecting my mentality in a negative way, flooding my head with an unstoppable torrent of negative thoughts that are getting more dangerous the less MP I have, and that is something that¡¯s definitely bad. I have experienced that dreadful sensation enough times already to clearly know that I never want to go through something like that ever again. And that is why I have to make even bigger effort than before to properly manage my MP pool.


    When I finally moved all of our things, I stood in the middle of our room in the Veil Pavilion, knowing that this might be the last time I¡¯m gazing at those familiar walls and simple furnishings.


    ¡¸I know we should be going, but will it be strange of me to say that I almost feel reluctant to leave this place?¡¹

 Volume 3 - CH 2.03

    Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist


    Editor: Weasalopes


    ¡¸I feel exactly the same as you, master. This is the room where you first made love to me, but I hope that in the future I can continue to give you my affection and receive yours in return, this time in our new home. Lots and lots more of it.¡¹


    Roxanne, that cheesy line just now was just too cute!


    Finally, we looked over the room to see if there was anything we might have left behind, and then we just stood there, side by side. If Roxanne was willing to go that far saying such things, I had to muster all of my strength and willpower not to push her down then and there, resulting only to petting her doggy ears. She doesn¡¯t know this because she never refused any of the moves I was making on her, but since she was the one who took my V-Card away from me, I literally am crazy for her. Thanks to her, I am no longer a sad, loser virgin I once was, but that is exactly why I have to control myself and don¡¯t forget that I never would have met a girl as wonderful as her if it was not for Alan the Slave Merchant and his willingness to wait up until I will gather enough money. Now that I think about it, I feel like a dumb idiot for thinking that he and Roxanne were conspiring to get rid of me.


    Carrying the empty backpacks on our backs, we left the room and closed the door behind us.


    ¡¸We ended up staying a few more nights than we originally intended,but now all of our luggage has been moved out .¡¹


    I gave the room key back to the man behind the counter in the lobby.


    ¡¸I see. Thank you.¡¹


    ¡¸I should be thanking you for taking care of us for so long. You even supplied us with a lantern since it was growing so dark¡­¡¹


    ¡¸A lantern, huh? Well, you did pay for it along with the meal and water, so that¡¯s not that big of a deal now, is it? ¡¹


    His expression didn¡¯t even change that much even after I explicitly mentioned yesterday. I guess that makes those 10 Nars I paid for that lantern the money well spent. If I knew it will bring me the peace of mind, I would gladly pay even more¡­. But I do have to say that him not caring about us all that much makes me feel kinda lonely.


    No Michio, don¡¯t. Stop with those sappy negative thoughts. This matter is too insignificant to be giving it any serious thought whatsoever. This guy is an Innkeeper, so he has probably seen people like us all the time, and that is why he thinks nothing of such goodbyes now. So, as I already said, don¡¯t think about it. Besides, I am pretty sure that me getting emotional over such a trifling matter must be the result of me losing MP in the process of transporting our luggage from Veil to Quratar through the Warp Gate over an over again. Yeah, that has to be it, so let¡¯s just leave it at that and not dwell on it more than we need to.


    After saying goodbye to the Innkeeper and the Veil Pavilion, we made our way to the Veil Labyrinth so that I could use the monsters in there to regain as much MP as possible. And after we were finished with that¡­


    ¡¸Well then, I think that should be enough MP Recovery for the time being, so let¡¯s go back to Quratar. The question is, what do we want to do there? Should we go straight back home, or maybe we should swing by the Quratar¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild?¡¹


    ¡¸Hmm¡­ well, I think it would be best if we went to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. Out of all the daily necessities we have to buy, we have yet to procure cleaning tools and supplies, so we might as well get some right away.¡¹


    When I asked her, Roxanne gave me a swift and concrete answer.


    ¡¸I see. That definitely makes sense. Okay, let¡¯s do that. Any other things you would like to do?¡¹


    ¡¸Let¡¯s see¡­ if we are not going to the Labyrinth anymore, then it would be good if I could spend the rest of the day searching for various tools and then doing some light cleaning around the house. If we manage to get a hold of everything I have in mind today, then I could spent the next few days cleaning and beautifying the rest of the house, but if we don¡¯t than that¡¯s okay as well, since we are not in a hurry. Whatever the case with it will be, just relax and leave it all to me, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh come, on, you know I can¡¯t just dump all of that work on you. Let me help with it too.¡¹


    ¡¸Nope. No can do. You are my master, master, so obviously you should not trouble yourself with that kind of work, so you can leave it all to me, since this is my job as your servant!¡¹


    Is it just me, or does Roxanne seems to be deriving a strange sense of pride from the fact that she is the one responsible for all of the cleaning duties in our relationship? Well, if she is so insistent on doing the cleaning herself, then I guess that is what I should allow her to do, and while she keeps herself busy with cleaning, I can take care of other things that would need doing around the house. Dividing all of the chores in such a way will be greatly beneficial to us, because no matter how much work we will have, we will be able to finish it much sooner that way, meaning that we will have more time for ourselves in turn.


    We went to Quratar¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild, sold our excess items there and then promptly left. As we were making our way through the city, I noticed that most of the shops here were already opened, meaning that their business hours must be starting quite early, but in turn they are probably not opened for as longas I would have liked. Yeah, that¡¯s probably it. It might not be the best thing to draw comparisons with, but even the brothel in the slums of Veil was not opened well into the night, chasing all of their customers out well before midnight (according to my rough estimation).


    When we arrived at the general store, we spend quite some time there as Roxanne was insistent on choosing only the best tools ¨C such as brooms, towels, etc. ¨C possible, so I was once again relegated to only giving my opinion on the products she ended up choosing. As I was browsing through the store¡¯s wares, I noticed that apparently this world does not have its own equivalent of cleaning agents of any kind, so I guess the best things we can do to ¡°clean¡± our house up would be to dust the floors and then wash everything up with a wet towel without using any kind of soap. When we bought everything we needed there, we went back to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and used its wall to Warp back to our new home.


    Also, just a quick side note, but now that I think about it, if I was still back in my old world and saw somebody holding a bunch of brooms and cleaning supplies while they were going through some dark portal that appeared on the nearby wall seemingly out of nowhere, I would have either thought that such a person is a complete wackjob, or started questioning my own sanity and the well-being of my eyes, that¡¯s how unusual that would be to me. But now, seeing as I am the one doing that very thing I just described, I don¡¯t see anything strange about it, since to the current me, such extravagant behavior is right there on the list of things that Adventurers do. Yes, my current demeanor and appearance are not at all different from the other Adventurers around me. Since I will be using Warp (masked as a Field Walker or Dungeon Walker so that nobody would catch on that I have such an OP Movement Magic Skill) practically every day to move around between our home and the Labyrinth, having other people see me as just another Adventurer is not only not a problem, but a rather preferable result, if I were to be completely honest.


    I mean, there is just one concern that I might have, but it is a very minor, insignificant one: our landlady that we are renting the house from: Honesta. A very small part of me cannot stop thinking about what would happen if she saw me using Warp? She saw my Intelligence Card, and it states that I am an Explorer, and Explorers should not have the access to such Movement Magic. So if she ever saw me using it, would she be upset? Would she look down on me, thinking (and rightfully so) that I have deceived her in order to keep my real Job and abilities hidden? Well, since I plan on using Warp mainly inside of the Quratar¡¯s Adventurers Guild or in the back alleyways, I should be in the clear as long as anyone won¡¯t see me by sheer coincidence.

 Volume 3 - CH 2.04

    Also, even if Honesta happened to see me using it one day, as long as it will be far in the future, at the point where I managed to become a legitimate Adventurer, then me having those Movement Magic Skills would not be cheating, even if I cheated my way into obtaining them.


    Anyway, with our current batch of shopping done, we went through the Warp portal and drop it off at home again, only to come back the way we came a minute later so that w could shop for other things and then bring them home without delay. We went back and forth between the Adventurers Guild and our new home at the edge of Quratar for a number of times, each time bringing something different back with us: kitchenware, cleaning tools, various daily necessities, buckets for collecting water and jugs meant exclusively for drinking water¡­ you name it, we got it.


    ¡¸Phew, we actually bought quite a lot of stuff, but is that everything? We didn¡¯t forget about anything, did we?¡¹


    ¡¸No, I think we should have everything we needed for the time being. With that said, now I will be off to bring water from the river.¡¹


    The water meant for cleaning the dirty clothes, general cleaning purposes and toileting is supposed to be kept in a tub, the one meant for drinking is to be stored in a water tank, and there is also the toilet contraption and its separate water container, so if Roxanne wanted to bring enough water to last us for all of those purposes, then she would have to make a number of trips back and forth, which is going to be hellishly inconvenient for her. Thankfully, with me and my amazing magic, there won¡¯t be a need for us to waste so much time on this mundane task.


    ¡¸Wait, Roxanne, wait. Easy on the throttle there. You don¡¯t have to go for the water.¡¹


    ¡¸I don¡¯t have to? How so?¡¹


    Hoo boi, it is exactly as I have expected. Roxanne totally misunderstood my intention when it comes to the water and the ways of procuring it.


    ¡¸Roxanne, there is no need for you to bother yourself with getting water on your own. I can create it using my Water Magic, remember? And since I can do it, there is no need for us to go to the well at all.¡¹


    ¡¸Really? That¡¯s good to hear, but¡­ are you really sure about that, master? I heard that generating enough water for usage in the household chore is quite a¡­ chore in and out of itself?¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, I am sure that normally it would be a  ginormous pain in the ass, but with you by my side, even that should be no problem at all.¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm¡­ as long as you¡¯re fine with me, master, then I guess I don¡¯t have to worry about it. Above anything else, I want to be of as much use to you as I possibly can.¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s great to hear. And also, likewise.¡¹


    ¡¸So, what would you like to do now, master?¡¹


    ¡¸I was thinking of going to the Veil¡¯s Labyrinth for a bit again since I have used so much MP today.¡¹


    I said while brandishing Durandal.


    ¡¸Is that okay with you?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, of course.¡¹


    Now that I have established so many connections for teleportation with Warp, we can jump straight to the Labyrinth without the need to go to its entrance on foot every single time, which is very convenient for us. Less walking means more time we can spent hunting monsters and exploring, and that will always be good.


    ¡¸Okay, now that we¡¯re here, let¡¯s look for some monsters that would make an easy prey so that I can get back all of that MP I expended.¡¹


    Admittedly, that Warp we did just now made me feel a little sick, so slaying some monsters would definitely be welcomed right now. Anything to prevent myself from being flooded by negative emotions again.


    ¡¸Right, I am all right with that, of course, but¡­ but could you give me my equipment, master?¡¹


    ¡¸Ah, that? Do not worry about it. We are only going to hunt a few monsters this time, just enough for me to replenish my MP reserves, so there won¡¯t be any need for you to step onto the fray¡­¡¹


    ¡¸That is absolutely out of the question! Even though you are saying that we are only going to kill a few monsters, we are still in the Labyrinth, a place where anything can happen at any given time, so you always have to be ready for anything! On that account, my equipment, please!¡¹


    Oh wow, look at her getting all angry with me all of a sudden.


    ¡¸O-Okay, got it. Here you go.¡¹


    Somewhat bewildered by Roxanne¡¯s outburst, I handed the Scimitar, as well as the Leather Breastplate, Helmet and Gloves to her. I really don¡¯t understand what¡¯s gotten into her now. I thought it was already firmly established that we are stronger than the monsters on the Labyrinth¡¯s 3rd floor, so in my honest opinion there would be absolutely no harm in Roxanne sitting this round of monster slaying out, but if she is so insistent on doing it anyway, it will be better for me to just go along with her request, even though I find it to be annoying.


    That being said, I cannot deny that Roxanne and her keen sense of smell are pretty convenient to have around, because with her, we found the necessary amount of monsters needed to restore my MP rather quickly, making his particular excursion to the Labyrinth an extremely short one. Although, I cannot stop myself from thinking that going all the way to Veil¡¯s Labyrinth just so that I could replenish my lost MP feels more than a little inefficient.


    After returning back home, we took all of the jugs we bought earlier into the room with the drain so that I could fill them all up with water. I then used Water Wall and waited until the water I created in this way would naturally fall into the jugs so that it could be safely stored.


    ¡¸Roxanne, move them closer to one another, please. While we are at it, maybe we should add a few buckets as well?¡¹


    I said when the first Water Wall run out of its time and the water fell down, splashing a lot of itself around without going into the jugs. So yeah, now we know that using this method we can store water in containers and that they are sturdy enough to withstand the weight of the falling water when the Water Wall dissipates, but now it would be good if we could do something about all the water that splashes around them without landing in the buckets and jugs, therefore ending up being wasted as a result.


    Since I am able to use my MP freely, at the very least I don¡¯t have to worry about the delays between the consecutive usage of Water Magic, so maybe I should try casting Water Wall, or perhaps Water Ball directly into the desired containers, but I don¡¯t know if that would be such a great idea. We know for a fact that the jugs, and probably buckets as well will withstand the magic when its applied to them from the outside, but using the magic directly inside of them would probably cause them to break due to all of the excessive force. Not to mention that I have to look out for my MP consumption, because if I end up using too many spells then we will have to make another trip to the Labyrinth so that I could get my MP back, and that would be straight up counterproductive, what with all of the preparations of the equipment if Roxanne kept on insisting on assisting me and all.


    ¡¸Is that enough water for the time being?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, it is more than enough. I will use this water to clean then.¡¹


    After using Water Wall several more times to give Roxanne enough water to fill all of the jugs and buckets, Roxanne stood up and carried the bucket, which was only about 75% filled away with her.


    ¡¸Alright, so while you¡¯re  busy cleaning, then maybe I will go to the Labyrinth here in Quratar to get the admission fee business over with. Sounds like a plan?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, of course. Have a safe trip, master.¡¹


    With Roxanne on the cleaning duty, I made all of the preparations and then set up another Warp portal on the house¡¯s wall. Contrary to the Labyrinth of Veil, I won¡¯t have to use up as much my MP to Warp to Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth. Since it is right in the city¡¯s center I guess I could technically go there by foot, but now that I have awakened to the wonders of Warping, I don¡¯t think getting back into the habit of going somewhere by using my own two feet is going to be that easy.

 Volume 3 - CH 2.05

    Emerging back in the main hall of the Adventurers Guild building, I promptly left it and made my way towards the rotary in the city¡¯s center. The Labyrinth and its surroundings seemed like they were as busy as they were yesterday. I wonder if it is always like this or maybe it¡¯s only like that now because something happened? I think the time is around noon right now, but the queue in front of the Knight¡¯s guardhouse did not seem to be getting any smaller, so it would seem that this place is always crowded, no matter the time of day. The air was filled with the sound of the exchanges they were having with the Knights responsible for handling the admission fees, and they were all going more or less like that:


    ¡¸Admission for six people please!¡¹


    ¡¸That will be six silver coins.¡¹


    ¡¸Admission for five people please!¡¹


    ¡¸That will be five silver coins.¡¹


    Aside from them, there were also Knights who were selling maps of the Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth while marketing their products in a rather aggressive fashion:


    ¡¸Over here! How about a copy of the map of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth?!¡¹


    So not only do they handle the Labyrinth admission fees, but they also sell the maps of the Labyrinth¡¯s floors? Who would have thought that the Knightly orders can run so many businesses aside from keeping the peace in the cities? Out of sheer curiosity I decided to give one of those maps a look, so I leaned closer to where the Knight who was advertising them was standing, and all in all I have to say that they were rather nicely done.


    The table in front of the Knight who was advertising the maps of the Labyrinth was lined up with a multitude of brown pieces of paper that had a drawing of a simple map of the floors and the arrows showing the way drawn on them. It¡­ it really was a simple map. Like, really simple.


    ¡¸Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth¡¯s map sold over here! Come an get yourself a copy while you can! The price is 20 Nars for the map of each floor, with a 1000 Nars discount if you decide to buy them all in a single booklet! 20 000 Nars for the bound book version drawn on a high-quality parchment!¡¹


    Wow, talk about having a lot of different options to choose from. If I wanted to buy something like that for myself then the obvious choice would be the bound book version on a high-quality parchment, but for the time being 20 000 Nars for something like that is just way too expensive, especially now that I have told myself that I need to limit the amount of needless spending as much as possible if I want to stabilize my financial situation. The obvious cheaper option would be to be buying them floor by floor, but that way I won¡¯t know how many I would need, so the booklet seems like the best cost-efficient option, but it naturally comes with a drawback: since the booklet is nothing more than the cheap parchment maps combined, the question is if they are going to get more tattered and used up with time, because if there is something I definitely won¡¯t be needing, it would be a map booklet made from cheap paper that would get destroyed one day simply because it has been used one too many times. So looking at it from that particular angle, even the booklet might be useless in the long haul. Then again, judging how fast I tend to grow up and get levels with my 20x EXP Earned and 1/20th EXP Required to Level Up, buying a booklet might not be too much of a waste, or at least not as much as it would be if I settled for the maps of each individual floor.


    Okay, so buying a booklet it is then.


    ¡¸Admission for one person and this booklet here, please.¡¹


    ¡¸Let¡¯s see¡­ that will be eleven silver coins.¡¹


    ¡¸Here you go.¡¹


    I got the necessary amount of money and handed it to the Knight at one of the stands. Obviously, since he was not a merchant, then my 30% discount didn¡¯t work, meaning that I had little choice but to pay that price in full.


    Now that I have gotten my hands on the booklet with the maps of the floors of this Labyrinth, I might as well do some exploring while I¡¯m still here, since it would probably look very suspicious if I ended up buying both the maps and paying the admission fee without even setting a foot inside of the Labyrinth proper. Thankfully, since I have my Warp that I can use to teleport myself to the Labyrinth from our house, I won¡¯t have to pay the admission fee each and every time Roxanne and I would like to come here. For me, it¡¯s pay once and then don¡¯t pay at all. Talk about a cheat that works to my advantage! The only thing I have to worry about right now is to make sure that I use the map booklet in such a way that will guarantee that it won¡¯t get immediately destroyed or ruined any more then it actually has to.


    When the Knight received the coins from me, he began to count it one by one with shaky hands and worried expression. He looked pretty old for a Knight, and yet he had to handle the purchases and the counting of the money, which must be pretty difficult for someone who does not possess the Calculate Skill. The entire procedure took a few minutes, but when the guy was finally done I was handed my map booklet, along with another piece of worn-out paper with something written on it. I¡¯m guessing that this is supposed to be an admission ticket? I simply placed them both in my backpack and then I made way towards the entrance to the Labyrinth.


    At the entrance some distance ahead of me, there were two Knights and an Explorer. My guess was that he must be the guide hired by the other two to show them around. Not gonna lie, this looks pretty strange to me that the Explorers would be offering their guiding services here , especially since the Guild¡¯s building is literally around the corner. After a few more steps, they stopped in front of another pair of Knights, who then asked them something that I couldn¡¯t hear very clearly, but since they showed them the brown pieces of parchment, then I guess this must be the checkpoint where you have to show your admission ticket so that you could be allowed into the Labyrinth proper. Armed with that new piece of knowledge, I did the same thing that they did when I approached the Knights, and after they allowed me to go through without any major issues, I proceeded to go inside the Labyrinth through a short corridor filled with complete darkness.


    When I finally emerged on the other side in the entrance room, the Party that was ahead of me was nowhere to be seen. Could they have gone on ahead so fast? No, they probably went straight to a different floor. As for the entrance room itself, and the Labyrinth as a whole in general, then it would seem that the general layout is more or less the same as the one in Veil¡¯s Labyrinth, but there were some differences that could be seen from the get go, like the design of the decorations painted on the walls. Other than that, the entrance hall looked pretty much the same.


    Perhaps the most important difference between Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth and Veil¡¯s Labyrinth is that Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth has much more people inside of it, whereas the one in Veil looked like it was practically deserted most of the time, because we have never stumbled on other Parties while we were exploring inside of it. And here? Everywhere I went, I saw groups of people. There is so much of the that I began to wonder if it is really possible to hunt monsters effectively under such circumstances? I tried going a little bit deeper to see if the traffic situation was going to be any better, but unfortunately, it was just the same as near the entrance: a fuckton of people around literally every corner, in every last corridor.


    Okay, for now I should not worry about this too much, since I didn¡¯t come here today for that. Right now, I should focus on finding myself a nice, secluded location that is going to be outside of the view of as many people as possible so I could set up a Warp portal. Going around a number of corridors, I think I found myself a one that was far enough from the main route of the first floor to not be worried about any Parties coming here, but the one that was close enough to it that Roxanne and I should not get lost when we start coming here regularly. Okay, it¡¯s now or never.

 Volume 3 - CH 2.06

    (Warp!)


    Remember Michio, you¡¯re not doing anything that is against the rules. Your Intelligence Card says that you are an Explorer, and there is nothing wrong with an Explorer using Dungeon Walker (because that¡¯s how it should look to anyone who would happen to catch a glimpse of me) to move around the Labyrinth. So whatever you¡¯re doing, make sure to stay calm and act as naturally as possible.


    With such thoughts filling my head, I went through the Warp portal and emerged in our house on the other side.


    ¡¸Roxanne, I¡¯m back.¡¹


    ¡¸Ah! Welcome back, master!¡¹


    When Roxanne noticed my arrival, she immediately stopped wiping the floor, stood up and bowed to me respectfully. Her posture as she was doing so was flawless as always. The only thing that could possibly make that greeting even better would be her wearing her maid uniform. But I guess that would be asking too much of her, since these clothes looked like they were pretty expensive, and there¡¯s just no way she would use them during common household chores. But now that I think about it¡­  the way she did it and how she didn¡¯t even make a single needless move¡­ there¡¯s no way she learned to do that without someone teaching her how to do it.


    ¡¸Roxanne, the way you greeted me just now¡­ was that something that you have been taught back when you were still in the custody of Alan-san¡¯s Slave Shop?¡¹


    Initially I thought that maybe the time she spent in the Slave Merchant¡¯s shop might not be a pleasant memory to her, but if our one-time gig as Alan-san¡¯s bodyguards is to serve as an indication, then it does not seem like she found it all that bad, at least when the people there and the clothes that she had to wear were concerned. These information might prove crucial if I ever wanted to go back there to buy myself a new slave.


    ¡¸Yes, that¡¯s right. Uhm¡­ was it¡­ weird of me to do it?¡¹


    ¡¸Not at all. It was great.¡¹


    So my guess that she learned that kind of greeting at the Slave Merchant¡¯s shop was a correct one after all. Instead of getting into that matter further, I moved closer to her and gently stroked her dog ears.


    ¡¸Thank you very much. Uhm, master? Isn¡¯t it about time for the furniture we ordered to arrive?¡¹


    Even though she had to realize what I was trying to do by stroking her ears, Roxanne quickly changed the topic before the things got the chance to get more heated up. I can¡¯t say that I liked that, but I¡¯m not going to be pushy or forceful on her.


    ¡¸Hmm, I think it is. Back at the shop they said that the delivery was going to be made around noon, right? In that case it really should be about time.¡¹


    And, as if they were just waiting for my cue, we heard the sound of knocking on our door.


    ¡¸Delivery service here! Please come and collect your purchased items!¡¹


    Well wouldn¡¯t you know, it¡¯s the deliverymen with our furniture. When I walked out to the front of the house to check the order, I saw that everything we ordered was delivered by two carriages drawn by horses. Wow, did we really order that much? It surely didn¡¯t look like it when we were doing the shopping yesterday, but maybe that¡¯s not the issue of the quantity of items, but rather how big they are? Anyway¡­


    ¡¸Are there any documents I have to sign?¡¹


    ¡¸No, now that we have delivered your purchased items, there is no need for that. So, where do you want us to place them?¡¹


    ¡¸If it¡¯s alright, then just go and place them all inside the house in the main hall.¡¹


    ¡¸Are you really sure about that? We can carry them all to specific rooms if you want.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you for your consideration, but we will manage.¡¹


    It¡¯s great that they also offer to carry the purchased items wherever the client wants them to, but I think it would be better to only have them carry it all to the main hall, just to be on the safe side. It¡¯s not like I have something against those guys, but I would rather not have strangers walk around my newly rented house. That was a common sense back on earth, and I think that applying it in this world as well won¡¯t hurt me in the slightest, even though having so many pieces of furniture in a single room might make it somewhat difficult to move around it. If I didn¡¯t have Warp or using it inside of the house would not be possible, then this could have been a serious problem, but as things stand, I think Roxanne and I will manage just fine if all we have to do is to simply carry of all of the bought furniture to its respective rooms. From the looks of it we will have to carry the cupboards and the closet together, but the mattresses for the bed can be taken separately. The biggest thing from among all of them is definitely going to be the table, but since the kitchen is located here on the ground floor then I think it will be more then enough if we carry it to the room next to it.


    ¡¸Well then, before we do anything else, I think it would be good to lightly wash all of these.¡¹


    ¡¸Right. We will do it with every piece of furniture, but for the time being let¡¯s start with the chairs and the table so that we can assemble everything needed for the dining room. After that, let¡¯s move them to the room next to the kitchen.¡¹


    ¡¸All right.¡¹


    Now that the delivery guys left and we stayed alone once again, we proceeded to move with the work: Roxanne was in charge of cleaning the newly-delivered furniture and I was setting them up all around the house. When it was the table¡¯s turn to be moved, Roxanne helped me move it to the dining room. Now that the table and the chairs have been taken care of, plenty of room has been freed in the otherwise cramped room. When that part of the chores was done, Roxanne wiped the closet and the cupboards with a wet cloth to remove the dust that has stuck to it. My plan for them was that I wanted to have either the cupboards or the closet to go upstairs to the second floor. I think that the closet would be the better choice of the two, because we could place it in our bedroom or the room right next to it, meaning that we would have a convenient place where we could keep all of our clothes. At least that was my initial plan, but¡­


    ¡¸Man, that thing sure is heavy.¡¹


    When we tried to carry the closet upstairs, it immediately became apparent that it was too heavy for just the two of us to carry. Now I¡¯m really starting to regret not letting those guys from the delivery service carry it there for us.


    ¡¸In that case, maybe it would be best if the cupboards were to be in the kitchen and the closet in the room next to it, tucked in the corner where it won¡¯t take as much space?¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, I think that will be the best possible thing to do.¡¹


    Now that we actually proceeded with the work, the first floor has finally started to look like an actual home where people can live. When it comes to the second floor, then we are going to do just like we agreed and make the biggest room there, the one with the fireplace, into our personal bedroom. In two trips up and down the stairs, we carried the bed¡¯s frame and the mattresses up to the second floor. We got lucky that instead of being one giant one they were actually two separate ones, because otherwise we might have had a distinctly difficult time with moving them as well. We placed the frame in our bedrooms and then smacked the mattresses on top of it. For the time being, this was the only piece of furniture in the bedroom which was otherwise left exactly how we saw it when we first came here: no carpets, no other pieces of furniture, no wallpapers, nothing. Admittedly, it looks pretty terrible, but given the time I believe we will do something about it. However, now that the arrangement of furniture is done, I think it is high time for something else entirely.


    ¡¸How about we¡­check if the bed is working exactly as it should? What do you say to that, Roxanne?¡¹

 Volume 3 - CH 2.07

    Making my proposition, I lightly hugged Roxanne from behind after I briefly played with her tail.


    ¡¸U-Uhm, y-yes¡­ I¡­ I think it would be best if we did that¡­  mhnn!¡¹


    As soon as Roxanne agreed to my suggestion, I closed her mouth with my own. I then gently slid my tongue into her mouth to meet hers, and since she did not resist any of my actions, this has to mean that she was perfectly okay with whatever I wanted to do to her because she knew that I would not hurt her.


    Like that, we laid on the bed in order to check its functionality. As expected, the feeling of sinking into a really soft mattress was truly, absolutely the best. After a period of only sleeping in a hard mattress, it felt amazing to be embraced by the one so soft that I legitimately thought I was going to sink into it. That is one of those feelings that you won¡¯t realize how much you missed them until you actually get it taken away from you. And of course, sharing that sensation with Roxanne was absolutely the best. I hope that this bed will see lots of action and her sweet moaning voice in the near future.


    After we finished checking the beds usability (and we were very thorough in our investigation, you can take my word on that) we went out into the city in order to by the ingredients for dinner.


    ¡¸It might be a little late to ask that, but what kind of food are you good at making, Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸I don¡¯t want to sound like I am bragging, but I am quite good at making pot-au-feu (TL Note: Literally ¡°Pot on the Fire¡± in French, is a French stew of boiled beef and vegatables, widely regarded as the quintessence of French family quisine), so if you would be kind enough to trust me on this, I would be more than happy to make it tonight.¡¹


    Pot-au-feu, huh? I don¡¯t know what language is that from, but it sounds like something that will leave you feeling stuffed, and judging by the ingredients we have bought: beef and various vegetables, I am guessing that it will have something to do with combining all of those into a single dish.


    ¡¸If you are so confident then I will leave it all to you.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you very much. It would be even better if we had a bouquet garni (TL Note: ¡°garnished bouquet¡± in French, a bundle of herbs usually tied together with string and mainly used to prepare soup, stock, casseroles and various stews. On a side note, this is supposed to be a world different to ours, so how in the hell Roxanne knows French cooking terms. Ahh, sweet suspension of disbelief) but I guess we can do without it for now.¡¹


    ¡¸Bouquet garni?¡¹


    Another term that I am not familiar with, but if she needs it for pot-au-feu, then it probably is something that goes well with it? Maybe she¡¯s talking about herbs to spice it up?


    ¡¸Yes. It is great for spicing up any kind of stew, so when we finally start cultivating our own herbs in the garden, obtaining them will not be a problem anymore!¡¹


    Man, she really is fired up about making today¡¯s dinner, isn¡¯t she?


    ¡¸So we need to buy meat and vegetables, but is that all we need to make dinner today? ¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, that should be all¡­ but if I may speak honestly, then I have to ask: are you really fine with having meat for dinner, master? Wouldn¡¯t something lighter be more to your liking?¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah. As long as it¡¯s something prepared by you, then I am fine with whatever.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood. In that case, since we don¡¯t have any herbs that we can use, then I think it would be best if we bought salted or smoked beef rather than simply getting the raw one. That way we could eat it right away after boiling or grilling it.¡¹


    It¡¯s great that there are so many ways to prepare and preserve meat. Back in Japan things like beef or lamb were treated like a delicacy that could not be eaten on a daily basis unless you had a wallet that was literally bulging with money, but in this new world meat is one of the essential ingredients of pretty much every meal, so I couldn¡¯t imagine not being able to eat it now that I have gotten so used to it.


    With all of that in mind, we bought the necessary ingredients in accordance with Roxanne¡¯s advice and then we went back home. And when we were preparing dinner, the what ensued between us was a following conversation:


    ¡¸You know Roxanne, when I went inside Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth I noticed that there were many more people there than in Veil¡¯s Labyrinth, but I could not figure out why would that be at the time. Do you have any idea about that? What are they all searching for?¡¹


    Roxanne stopped cutting the vegetables for a moment to think before she answered me.


    ¡¸Well, Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth is more crowded than the others because it is a pretty popular place, and obtaining the map that will show you how to move around every floor is relatively easy, since anyone can buy themselves a copy al long as they have enough money, the same way as you did with that booklet you brought back, master. Since there are so many people as a result, the risk of happening upon a Trap Room where you can be ambushed by monsters is significantly smaller. Now, if there are many people wandering the halls of the Labyrinth on a daily basis, the natural consequence of that would be that the monsters are defeated at an accelerated rate, and the more of them are defeated, the more Magic Crystals and Skill Crystals will drop from them. Treasure chests also seem to be popping up there more often than not, so even though you normally have to pay each time you want to go there, then with just a bit of luck the potential benefits of a single expedition far outweight the demerits, making it a worthy investment.¡¹


    I understand that Magic Crystals are crystals made from the crystalized magical energy that makes up the bodies of monsters, so when many people defeat many monsters, it would stand to reason that there would be many Magic Crystals just lying around, but what about those Skill Crystals? That is a completely new term for me, so I wonder if the same logic that¡¯s behind /Magic Crystals and their origin can be applied to Skill Crystals as well?


    Also, that does not explain why there would be more treasure chests in Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth than they are in Veil¡¯s Labyrinth. Actually, I have yet to see any treasure chest spawn there, even though we have spent so much time hunting monsters in there.


    ¡¸Okay, now I get why there would be so many Crystals in Labyrinths, but what about treasure chests? Why do they pop up so often?¡¹


    ¡¸Because it is said that the contents of the treasure chests are actually the equipment and weapons worn by the Adventurers who were unfortunate enough to be defeated by the monsters roaming the Labyrinths.¡¹


    Ugh, why did she had to be so blunt about this matter in particular?


    Anyway, that sound all kinds of terrible in my opinion, but it also makes a lot of sense. After all, I never saw any actual corpse while going through the first three floors of the Veil¡¯s Labyrinth. Now I know that it was because the Labyrinths themselves are taking care of the bodies that litter them by turning them into treasure chests because even though they are said to be living organisms, they apparently cannot digest human bodies in any other way.


    That would also explain why there is always something inside of them, and why the contents might differ in both the quantity and the quality of the goods inside of them. But then¡­ in games I never thought about it, because the equipment from the treasure chests is always treated as something brand new that is randomly generated by the game¡¯s code, but to think hat the reality is that by claiming the contents of the treasure chests you are actually reusing somebody else¡¯s stuff¡­ that¡¯s pretty grim in its own right. So the more people enter the Labyrinth, the bigger the chances that a lot of them are going to be defeated by monsters, and when they die, they get processed into a treasure chests so that their weapons and armor could be used by other people, who are drawn to the Labyrinths by the promise of finding valuable loot inside them. Talk about a twisted microcosm of life.

 Volume 3 - CH 2.08

    Labyrinths are clever little bastards, aren¡¯t they.


    ¡¸Okay, that takes care of that one matter, but if there will always be so many people there, then how are we supposed to hunt monsters effectively? I only been there once, but from what I saw the number of Adventurers was so high that if I threw a stone in any random direction it would probably end up hitting someone anyway.¡¹


    ¡¸It¡¯s true that the Labyrinth of Quratar is a pretty popular place with a lot of traffic, but as we will advance to the higher floors, the number of Adventurers per floor should be gradually decreasing, because the first floors are usually filled with beginners who want get a feel of the Labyrinth and amass experience before they move on to higher floors. Also, the number of people should decrease even more if we decided to go there late at night, because the common sense dictates that Labyrinths should generally be avoided after dark if you value your life.¡¹


    ¡¸I-Is that so? Got it then. Thank you for the information.¡¹


    ¡¸N-Not at all, master! It was my pleasure!¡¹


    You only have one life, after all, so it¡¯s obvious that people will do anything they can in order to preserve it. But¡­ going to the Labyrinth in the middle of the night, huh? I admit that it is a tempting prospect, but if it really is as dangerous as Roxanne says it is, then maybe it will be better not to push my luck with it? Or maybe¡­ maybe I could try using my Warp to find myself a Labyrinth at ten other side of this world so that I could Warp between them anytime it would be getting dark in order to go back to the Labyrinth where there is still daytime? That would be great if I could pull something absurd like that off, but on the other hand it might be impossible for the current me to do, since I only have so much MP on me, and the further the warping distance, the more MP is consumed to travel. And if Warp would be no good for such an excursion, then I highly doubt that Field Walker, Warp¡¯s inferior version, would do any better.


    Later Roxanne also told me that the Labyrinth in Quratar is the one that has supposedly existed in this country for the longest time, and that presently it is still unknown exactly how many floors it has because no one was able to reach the top floor and defeat its Floor Boss as of yet. This makes me wonder: how big it is, and how powerful the Floor Boss of the last floor is going to be if the rue is that monsters and Floor Bosses are supposed to be getting progressively stronger with each consecutive floor?


    Generally it is said that once a Labyrinth has grown to reach fifty floors, it opens its gates and invites people in to explore it, only to consume those who will die by the monster¡¯s hands during the exploration process, making the Labyrinth grow even bigger as it digests them and turns them into treasure chests. According to the official records, the highest floor reached in the Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth is the 91st one, and that feat worthy of legend was achieved by none other than the Party of this country¡¯s first emperor. However, since no one was able to repeat this achievement in any other Labyrinths, it has been established that a Party can be considered a top-class one if it is able to reach the Labyrinth¡¯s 80th floor and come back to tell the tale.


    Although there are some rules pertaining to what monsters can appear at which floors, the exact species differ between each Labyrinth. In the case of Qurtar¡¯s Labyrinth it is as follows: the first floor is occupied by Kobolds, the second floor is the domain of Na?ve Olives, and on the third one the Spy Spiders reside. I already know from Veil Labyrinth¡¯s third floor that Kobolds are noob-friendly monsters suitable for those who have only just began their adventure with going to the Labyrinths, so the same must be true for those two other species of monsters. Because of how easy it is to access the first few floors without spending hours or even days to prepare for it, Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth has grown to be a popular tour destination for those who want to gain levels relatively easily.


    Roxanne has educated me about all those things while we were preparing dinner. It was an awful lot of information, especially for someone like me who does not have the biggest attention span and the capability for learning, but she managed to boil it all down into a digestable form that even I could understand. She would definitely made a good teacher if she ever decided to look for a normal, non-adventuring job.


    The end result of our joint cooking effort was pot-au-feu prepared by Roxanne and fried meat fried by yours truly. For the first meal that I prepared (partially) with my own hands in this world, I have to say that the taste¡­ well, it was not mind-blowingly great, but it also wasn¡¯t totally inedible either.


    ¡¸Hmm¡­ perhaps we should have added some spices and seasonings after all?¡¹


    ¡¸You think so as well?¡¹


    Ideally it would be best if we could boil the pot-au-feu some more, but since this world only has fire and it will probably be centuries before the gas and electric stoves will be introduced here, then such thought will have to remain nothing more but distant dreams and pleasant memories of how convenient my previous life was in certain aspects. Unfortunately, with the level of technology where it is necessary to stand next to the cooked dish for the entire process in order not to burn it we pretty much have to stay in home and cannot do any other things, like go shopping or to the Labyrinth for a quick monster hunting session. Damn, at times like these I realize how good it would be to also have a microwave in here.


    Perhaps in this world eating delicious food is a privilege reserved only for the wealthiest of nobles who can afford to have an army of dedicated cooks and chefs at their every beck and call? And I am sure that this world does not have anything like a solid dashi stock or powdered miso soup, so cooking a strictly Japanese meal is also probably out of the question.


    *Sigh* It cannot be helped since it was my first attempt at cooking something for myself in a new world, but now I know that I have to work on my ability to prepare not only fried meat, but also all kinds of different foods as well without using modern methods. Next time we will be out to do some shopping we also definitely have to make it a priority to look for some legitimate spices and seasonings, because if I had to choose between eating food that was not season at all and the one that is seasoned, then of course I will choose the seasoned one.


    After we ate dinner, we had to wait until it was sunset before the water that we were going to use to wash ourselves was boiled properly. In the dim light where it was hard to see anything farther than my outstretched hand¡¯s reach, I offered to wipe Roxanne¡¯s body for her, and as usual, she accepted my proposal without any resistance.


    ¡¸Don¡¯t we have any candles in here somewhere? They sure would be handy right about now, it¡¯s so dark that I can barely see anything.¡¹


    ¡¸We don¡¯t have any candles, and even if we did, we don¡¯t have a candlestick where we could put them.¡¹


    Note to self: for situations such as these, candles, candlesticks and candle holders are an absolute necessity. Right now, when Roxanne¡¯s naked body is in front of me I would like nothing more than to feast my eyes on it, but without a proper source of light I can¡¯t see her beautiful skin and seductive curves all that well


    ¡¸Damn, we really should have bought that candle stick today when we had the chance.¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yes, Master, I¡­ I agree. I¡¯m sorry. Candles¡­ haaah¡­ candles aren¡¯t cheap, so I thought¡­ huaahhh¡­ that there was no need to buy them just yet because¡­ because we might not need the just yet¡­ kyaaah¡­¡¹


    Well, at the very least I can enjoy the sweet elasticity of Roxanne¡¯s chest without relying on my vision all that much. Ahh, that wonderful feeling of solid weight in the palms of my hands is really out of this world. It¡¯s like her breasts are literally spilling out from between my fingers because they are unable to fully contain them. Whenever I try to wipe them with the wet towel, their softness and smoothness pushed back against the fabric, as if it was telling not to use anything other than my bare hands in order to take care of them. You know what, I take back what I said. Maybe this darkness that surrounds us now is not a curse, but actually a blessing in disguise.

 Volume 3 - CH 2.09

    With my vision pretty much blocked, the sensations registered by my other senses, including the sense of touch, were greatly amplified. And because there is no light and we cannot see what we are doing, there is no need for me to get embarrassed and I can devote myself fully to wiping every last part of her breasts before I will proceed to doing the same to her entire body. And who knows, maybe it will just so happen that my hand will slip in this darkness, leading me to something far better than simply wiping each other?


    ¡¸Hyaaah! M-Mas¡­ ter¡­¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, Roxanne?¡¹


    I know exactly what I did, but I have chosen to play dumb.


    ¡¸That¡­ that place you¡¯re touching now¡­ tha, that¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s the wrong¡­ h-hole¡­¡¹


    ¡¸¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡¹


    I know that we have already had our fair share of fun earlier when we were ¡°testing the bed¡¯s functionality¡±, but that does not matter to me. When it comes to pleasure, it is just like with eating sweets right after dinner: it can always be done, because there is a separate stomach for it. I hunger for Roxanne¡¯s body right here, right now during the night, so no one can hold it against me for trying to quench my thirst.


    *          *          *


    When I woke up, it was probably already morning. As usual, Roxanne was still asleep right next to me. Waking up next to her hugging into me day after day after a night of fun was the best possible way to start the day I could ever imagine. And not only can I sleep with her in the same bed, but she also wakes me up with a kiss every single day, just like she was doing in this very moment.


    ¡¸Mmm¡­¡­¡¹


    I just stayed still, allowing her soft and sweet kiss¡¯s taste and gentle sensation slowly spread all over my body. Then she gradually started getting more intense, moving her head around to adjust herself to my position and putting her warm, slimy tongue to good use. From now on, the two of us are truly going to be living alone under one roof, meaning that we can take as much time as we want for our little ¡°good morning greeting¡±. After allowing her to do whatever she wanted for a time, I finally decided to greet her tongue with my own. We massaged our tongues and sucked on each other¡¯s lips until we were both almost out of breath, only then separating ourselves from one another.


    ¡¸Good morning, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Good morning, Roxanne.¡¹


    Even though my eyes were opened now, they still could see little more but pitch-black darkness. Thankfully, having learned our lesson from back when we were still living in Veil Pavilion, we placed all of our clothes, including equipment on the mats next to the bed so that we could access them easily in the morning without having to trip over our own legs while we looked for them. In the darkness, with the windows only slightly opened we got ourselves dressed by relying on our other senses to guide us. Staying at home and just lazying about seemed like an enticing prospect, but we cannot neglect going into the Labyrinth. We have nothing else to do anyway. No, such a mindset might prove to be pretty dangerous, so I have to correct it in my mind right this instant. If I start treating it like a chore, they it will be a straight way into looking for excuses not to go there. I know that if I wanted, I could spend my every day, from morning till nightfall, here in this very bed with Roxanne. Knowing her, she probably would not refuse such a suggestion. Living such a degenerate life filled with nothing but self-indulgence sounds like a dream come true, but I have to pull my inner brakes here. In order to preserve this new, hedonist lifestyle of mine, it is necessary for me to continue working and putting a conscious, honest effort into the process of making money.


    It¡¯s just that a part of me wanted to keep kissing her without caring for anything else in the world. I hugged her once more, and tangled our tongues again as we exchanged frantic breaths.


    ¡¸Hnnn¡­¡¹


    ¡¸Haa¡­ aaaah¡­¡¹


    Roxanne moaned lightly, but nothing indicated that she was going to refuse my affections. She simply continued to move her sweet tongue to match the movements of our own in order to ensure that both of us will feel equally good with our mouths. It feels so good that I just want to push her down where she is, but¡­


    ¡¸I really want to stay here and continue like this forever, but unfortunately we cannot do that. As much as I don¡¯t want to, we should head to the Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth today.¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yes, of course.¡¹


    And just like that, we Warped from our house straight to the small room some distance away from the proper entrance room at the beginning on the first floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth. It was my second time visiting this place after a brief excursion that I made yesterday. Hopefully today¡¯s forage into its halls is going to be longer and more fruitful one. Sine it was so early in the morning I was expecting the place to be completely vacant, but much to my surprise a lot of people were already there, roaming the halls. Did more people had the same idea that I did: to go to the Labyrinth as early as possible in order to avoid running into too much traffic?


    ¡¸I wonder if we are going to be okay with so many people around?¡¹


    ¡¸I am sure we will, master. Besides, since this is the first floor, it isn¡¯t so bad, even though it is true that some of the people who come here tend to stay for absurdly long hours because they want to maximize their gains and get as much treasure for the entrance fee they have to pay every time they want to visit the Labyrinth.¡¹


    I wish I could share Roxanne¡¯s positive outlook on that matter, but unfortunately my inner sceptic prevented me from doing so. Well, I guess we just have to wait and see how things are going to turn out in the end.


    ¡¸Look master, it looks like the Boss Chamber is straight ahead.¡¹


    Huh? Say what now?


    I couldn¡¯t believe what Roxanne was saying at first so I checked it with the map of the first floor just so that I could be doubly sure¡­ and sure enough, according to it we were almost at the Floor Boss¡¯s Chamber for the first floor, which was further confirmed by the Party that was a bit ahead of us and their chatter about the strategy they were going to use to beat the boss. As a side note: the booklet that I bought yesterday, the one that was supposed to be showing the map of every floor, is not showing it. It literally shows only the easiest, most straightforward way how to reach the Boss Chamber, and my dumbass has only realized it just now. It contained no other information whatsoever. To be frank with you, I¡­ I feel scammed, actually. Not only about the fact that I paid more money for this booklet than it was actually worth it, but the feeling of being a little baby duckling following its mother duck while having my hand held the entire time left a somewhat bitter taste in my mouth as well.


    The ¡°booklet¡± might even be too big of a word for it, because those are nothing more but 90 pieces of paper tied together with a string, where one piece of paper represented one floor of the Labyrinth. The map of the 91st one was not included in the set, meaning that this particular floor must have not been captured as of yet. Just to remind you, I bought the booklet version because it was the cheaper alternative to buying the map of each floor individually. The booklet costs 1000 Nars, and the map of a single floor costs 20 Nars, meaning that if I wanted to buy them that way I would have to cough up 1800 Nars, so the booklet version is much better cost-wise. If you can store it properly that is.


    The overall quality of the paper that was used to make this booklet is quite poor, perhaps even poorer that the quality of Japan¡¯s newspapers and manga magazines, which are known to be even worse quality than toilet paper, so that alone should tell you how shitty it is. If I were to hazard a guess, they I say that this booklet won¡¯t last for even half a year.


    ¡¸I wonder if this paper is going to be okay here in the Labyrinth?¡¹

 Volume 3 - CH 2.10

    ¡¸It¡¯s not paper, but a papyrus, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Papyrus?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, a papyrus.¡¹


    So the thing this booklet is made out of is not ordinary paper, but a papyrus? I think I remember learning about it in one of the history classes is school, back when I used to still attend it. It was a thin, brown stiff paper used in ancient Egypt. No, actually¡­ I think calling it a paper-like material would be much more fitting, because it looks like it could be torn much easier than regular paper. This is my first time seeing it, but now I think I understand why the maps are written only on one side of it. It¡¯s because the entire page would probably end up torn to pieces if they tried to write the maps on both sides of it. *Sigh* I knew there would be a catch to producing a 90 pages booklet in mass quantities, but to think that it would actually be something like that¡­


    I looked at the ¡°map¡± of the first floor. Since it was the very first one in the entire booklet I didn¡¯t have to do anything to pull it out of there, because if I had to do it then I¡¯m afraid that it would have ended pretty badly. I briefly looked over it back home, but now I noticed something that I did not see before. In addition to being arranged in order, the papyrus with the map of each floor also had a number written in the corner. That¡¯s probably a countermeasure in case the booklet would fall apart for any reasons. With the map in hand, we went forward towards the path it indicated, all the while being careful not to bump into the other Adventurer¡¯s by accident.


    ¡¸So many people here even though it¡¯s so early in the morning¡­ you think the waiting room in front of the Boss Room is going to be just as crowded?¡¹


    ¡¸Quite possibly, but if we¡¯re lucky, then we should not have to wait for a long time before we can have our own turn to try challenging it.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh really?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. And while we are on the subject of this place being crowded, it¡¯s mostly because many people are forced to stay for a long time because they pay for it.¡¹


    Even though it is early in the morning, there are quite a lot of people around us, however, just by looking at them, I can clearly tell that the exact number is lesser than the number of people who were here at noon yesterday. It would seem that even those Parties that looked stronger than us and had more people in them were also making use of the maps as they were proceeding forward a few meters in front of us. And when we pushed ahead even further¡­ yeah, sure enough, there were already a few Parties ahead of us, all of them waiting in line in front of the door to the Boss Room. And on top of that, there were also some of them behind us. What is this, a queue for a friggin¡¯ tourist attraction?!


    This really makes me feel like we didn¡¯t need a map at all to get here. All that we needed to do was to follow whatever Party that was in front of us, and eventually they would lead us right to our target¡¯s very doorstep.


    Realizing that using magic to fight monsters in a Labyrinth as crowded with people as this one, I reset my character and equipped Durandal. I was still worried about other people realizing what kind of weapon it was, but since we are about to enter a battle with the Floor Boss, I cannot allow myself to skip out on my most powerful weapon because of something as trivial as fear. The saving grace here was that we didn¡¯t have to fight any monsters on the way to the Floor Boss, most likely because other Parties that went the same way before us already did most of the cleaning. After a few minutes the door to the Boss Chamber opened, and one of the Parties ahead of us went inside. Now we have no choice but to wait until they are finished so we could also have a stab at it.


    A short while later, the door to the Boss Room slowly opened. Great, now we can go inside, so we made our way there without any needless dilly-dallying.


    ¡¸That was rather fast. You think that Party that went before us managed to succeed?¡¹


    ¡¸I think so. This is the first floor and it has a Kobold for a Floor Boss, so I imagine you would have to put a pretty large effort to die in here.¡¹


    Roxanne answered my question like that. Putting an effort to actually die, huh? As someone who seriously contemplated ending my own life, that is a phrase that I would rather not hear again. But since I know from experience that Kobolds are actually laughably easy to fight because they are not that strong even though they possess weapons, then I guess it would make sense for other Parties to breeze through them. And if everyone breezes through them, then even if we had to wait in front of the Boss Chamber to have our shot at the Floor Boss, then the actual wait should not be all that long. Or at least I hope so. I would suck some major balls if it turned out that the Kobold Floor Boss is stronger than its cannon fodder counterparts.


    Whatever the case may be, we didn¡¯t have to wait long to find out about it.


    The green smoke gathered in the center of the room, reveling the appearance of the monster that came out of it. It was a small blue monster with sharp fangs and a comically large head. It is the same size as a regular Kobold, but instead of a small knife it is equipped with something that looks like a small machette, and the overall feeling it exudes it that it should be stronger than the regular weak-ass ones. According to my identification, this guy is actually called a Kobold Kampfer. Kampfer? Does that mean warrior or something? Yeah, that probably means its going to be tougher to beat than the regular Kobolds, with that larger weapon and its more intimidating posture it cannot be any other way than that.


    ¡¸Master, I¡¯m going in!¡¹


    Almost immediately after the Floor Boss materialized, Roxanne rushed towards him with her Scimitar drawn and ready to attack. Noticing her charge, the Kobold Kampfer readied his own weapon and swung it towards her, but she avoided it by bending her body sideways.


    I have to admit, even though we have already established that even though Kobold Kampfer is stronger than its normal kin, it should still be weak, it is still scary to go and face off against an enemy who uses a weapon in the same way that you do, because it implies that it possesses enough intelligence to wield it properly. If I was forced to fight it alone, I would have most likely lost my shit from the fear of what would happen if he ever managed to cut me or sever one of my limbs with that sword of his. But Roxanne¡­ she was evading his attacks like they were nothing. The Kobold Kampfer¡¯a attacks were also painfully slow, so I bet that even I could have dodged its attacks like a real pro if I had to fight with it in a one-on-one duel. So this has to be one of those cases where you can defeat even an opponent with the rank of a Boss as long as you keep your distance and continue to study its movements carefully. Also¡­ now that it is completely occupied with Roxanne who¡¯s keeping it busy from the front, nothing is stopping me from using that opening to slash it in the back when it is least expecting it! Roxanne exchanged a few attacks with it, and my single strike reduced its HP to zero. Kobold Kampfer collapsed onto the ground and turned into a puff of green smoke. The only thing that was left after it disappeared was a small fang-like object.


    ¡¸¡­.. Weak.¡¹


    Even for a Floor Boss, it Was still so weak that I almost feel bad for killing it.


    ¡¸Well, it is still a Kobold after all.¡¹


    Now that the Kobold Kampfer was gone, the only thing left to do was to collect the object that it dropped. Upon closer inspection, it was something that was called Kobold Flour.


    ¡¸Kobold¡­ Flour? What is that? It has a shape of a Salt Stone, but the name is obviously different.¡¹


    ¡¸It is a type of wheat flour produced exclusively by Kobolds. If rumors are to be believed, it is supposed to be more tasty than the regular wheat flour.¡¹

 Volume 3 - CH 2.11

    ¡¸Really? Well in that case, we should definitely take it with us and bring it to the kitchen back home. Think you will be able to do something tasty with it, Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸I will most certainly try.¡¹


    ¡¸Great. And while we are still on somewhat on the subject of Kobolds¡­ It might have been just a slightly stronger version of a normal Kobold, but it doesn¡¯t change the fact that this sword of his could have been pretty dangerous if it ended up hitting you. Knowing that, weren¡¯t you afraid of exchanging blows with it?¡¹


    ¡¸There wasn¡¯t anything for me to be afraid of there. He was only using slow, straightforward, telegraphed, easy to predict attacks without attempting to use any tricks or feints. When faced with something like that, you don¡¯t have to worry about exchanging blows. I daresay that against Kobolds, anyone could have done it with their eyes closed.¡¹


    So she says, and if she says that so confidently then it has to be true.


    For now, I materialized my Item Box and placed the Kobold Flour inside. After a brief inspection, I think we can safely put some more items in there before we run out of space and be forced to start putting the drop items directly into our backpacks. With everything done here in the Boss Room and the items securely in our possession, it was about time for us to go through the door at the other side of the room and proceed into the second floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth.


    ¡¸*Sniff Sniff* Looks like there are no people here on the second floor, or at least not in our nearest vicinity. If you want, I think it will be safe for you to switch back into using magic to fight, master.¡¹


    Roxanne informed me after she sniffed around when we emerged at the entrance room on the second floor. Certainly, she was right. As far as I could see, there was nobody else around but us.


    ¡¸It¡¯s nice that there won¡¯t be anybody around to interrupt us, but isn¡¯t it strange? There were so many people on the first floor, and now there is literally no one here. Why is that?¡¹


    ¡¸I think it¡¯s only natural. Half of the enemies that can be encountered on this floor are Kobolds, after all.¡¹


    Ahh, I see. Since Kobolds are such pathetic weaklings, no one probably wants to waste any more time on them than it is absolutely necessary, and I cannot say that I do not understand where they are coming from.


    ¡¸So essentially people gather on the first floor when they are novices who want to fight some easy battles to get used to the Labyrinth and how it operates, but starting from the second floor and upwards, they will essentially avoid the encounters that won¡¯t give them good items or experience in favor of the one on the higher floors that will do just that?¡¹


    ¡¸That might be oversimplifying things a little, but overall I think its safe to say that its mostly right.¡¹


    Kobolds are suitable enemies for beginners, so the first floor of the Labyrinth, the one which they are occupying, is popular among them. However, once you gain a few levels, the Kobolds stop being an appealing enemy, because fighting them no longer yields the same great results like those from a few levels ago. As a result, people will want to advance to the higher floors, the ones where there won¡¯t be any Kobolds that could hinder the process of their leveling


    ¡¸I think we should call it a day when it comes to Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth for today, don¡¯t you think? Conquering it all in one sitting would not be fun at all.¡¹


    ¡¸All right, I understand.¡¹


    Yeah, now that we reached the second floor, let¡¯s just go back to our house for a moment to drop all the things we have in my Item Box so that we won¡¯t run into the risk of running out of space when we continue to explore today. I mean, we could go some more without freeing the space in the Item Box, but if we want to go to Veil¡¯s Labyrinth (and we do), then it would be best to assume that our haul from there is going to be bigger than the one from Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth by the virtue of Veil¡¯s Labyrinth being mostly empty most of the time. That¡¯s why it will be important to have as much free space both in the Item Box and in our backpacks as possible. So we went back to our Quratar home, dropped the map booklet and Kobold Flour there, after which we proceeded to go to our next destination: Veil Labyrinth¡¯s third floor.


    ¡¸Here we are, the third floor. I wish I could be more excited about returning here, but let¡¯s be honest, it only means that we are going to be fighting more Kobolds.¡¹


    ¡¸It would seem so. In that case, should we ask the Explorer at the Labyrinth¡¯s entrance to take us to one of the higher floors?¡¹


    Now that she mentions it I remember that one Party we saw that decided to go to the fourth floor because they could easily handle the Kobolds of the third floor. Maybe we should do the same and skip the third one entirely?


    ¡¸No. We should continue to climb one floor at a time the way we were going up until this point. A slow and steady approach like that is much safer than jumping into the deep water without even preparing for what might be awaiting us there, don¡¯t you think?¡¹


    Bold behavior goes hand in hand with higher risk, and higher risk means the bigger probability of getting needlessly hurt or even dying, and since I hate the idea of getting hurt or dying equally, I will of course choose the best possible option for us: choosing the safest approach with the least amount of danger involved. If proceeding carefully throughout each and every level of this Labyrinth means that it will take us longer to conquer it, but neither of us is going to get hurt because of that, then I will always choose that approach over charging ahead blindly thinking that things will somehow work them selves out as long as we continue running ahead. That is why I suggested finishing this floor and going to the fourth one normally, but it is not the only reason. The other one, but just as important as the first is the total capacity of my Item box.


    When we go to the Labyrinth¡¯s fourth floor, we will be bound to run into battles with numerous monsters, and since part of the enemies will once again be Kobolds, the weaklings who always drop items behind them when they die, then my Item Box and our backpacks will run out of their carrying capacity before we realize it. That is why it is imperative for me to raise my levels as much as I can while we are still here on the third floor so that it won¡¯t grow up into a huge problem once we move on to the higher floors. If I remember correctly from what I evesdropped from the conversation of that one Party, the main enemies on the fourth floor are Minotaurs, and there will probably also be Kobolds from the third floor. I don¡¯t know about Green Caterpillars from the second floor and Needlewoods from the first floor, but if we assume that they won¡¯t appear anymore or appear in very limited amounts, then Kobolds, who should give more EXP here since they are native to the first floor instead of the third should give me enough EXP points to level my explorer Job, the one responsible for the capacity of the Item Box, enough to have ample space in it once we hit the fourth floor. In the meantime, it would be great if we could sell all of the drop items that can be sold and use the money from them to buy all of the things we want, but if we start leaving the Labyrinth in order to do it frequently its going to hinder the speed of our progress, so more space in the Item Box is absolutely crucial in if we want to achieve the perfect balance.


    For the next few hours we went around the third floor, exploring it until it was time to also call it quits and return home. I approached the Labyrinth¡¯s wall and created a Warp portal, connecting it to the wall of the Quratar¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild. Even though the main door was open and the lights were on, there was no one inside, even behind the counters. Maybe the guild building was opened twenty four hours a day because of the people who were going to the Labyrinth in the middle of the night?

 Volume 3 - CH 2.12

    Unfortunately for us, since there was no one behind the counter, it meant that we cannot sell our items even if we wanted to at the moment.


    ¡¸Think the shops are going to be open already or do we have to wait a few hours before we could do some shopping?¡¹


    ¡¸I think we won¡¯t have any problems with that. The shops in Quratar are opened for business from early hours in order to accommodate for the needs of the Adventurers who tend to go to the Labyrinth during the night or early in the morning, after all.¡¹


    We left Quratar¡¯s Adventurers Guild and made our way towards the shops located on the street that our landlady, Honesta pointed us towards when we first came into her shop. Most of them were indeed open foe business already, but not all of them. Even though it was still relatively early in the morning, there were a lot of people going back and forth between them looking for various tools and ingredients. Looks like Roxanne was telling the truth indeed. This particular part of the city was really well accommodated towards the Adventurer¡¯s and Explorer¡¯s needs.


    Unfortunately, Honesta¡¯s hardware shop was among the ones that were still closed at this hour, so we had to go to visit the other ones in order to buy all the ingredients we needed in order to make breakfast for ourselves. Not that much of a detour to be called inconvenient, but if we could buy all of the things we needed in one place instead of going from one shop to another, that will always be a preferable option for me. Well, it¡¯s not like we are strapped for time or have anything planned for the day, so we might as well have ourselves a little walk. After all, there is a saying that goes something along the lines of ¡¸exercising makes the meal that much more pleasurable¡¹, right?


    It is a shame that this world is not technologically advanced enough to have fridges and refrigerators in it. That way we could buy a bunch of things in bulk and not worry about keeping them in the house for longer periods of time, because with how things are now, we have no choice but to always buy things like eggs or milk fresh and eat them right away while they are still non-spoilt. I wonder how the shopkeepers handle things like that in here? At the very least I do not think that they bring them to their stores straight from the farms early in the mornings, so the more likely option seems to be procuring them in the evening and probably store them in the cool storage room so that they wouldn¡¯t go bad until the morning on particularly hot days. That way they would always have fresh produce for sale while switching it with the one from the day before that might be going bad, moldy, or stale. Nowadays we do not think about it all that much, but without the method to properly preserve food, it wouldn¡¯t be strange for it to start going bad across the span of a single day, especially in the summer where the temperatures tend to be especially high (judging by the Tokyo standard).


    From what I have seen so far, Quratar is located in a rather peaceful countryside, with the farms and the fields located not that far away from the city¡¯s center. Back in Vale, there were also fields right outside of the city, but there the distinction was much more clear-cut than in Quratar, because Veil had an actual wall separating the inside of the city from the outside, whereas here there is no wall and the cityscape gradually transitions to that of a countryside, making the boundary between the residential and agricultural areas somewhat ambiguous and unclear. Hell, there is a large field that someone was tending to just beyond the house we have rented, so if I were to look carefully, I would probably see cows and chickens running wild somewhere in the distance. Mind you, while I was still living in Japan I have never saw any kind of livestock in the flesh, so maybe I will have the opportunity for that to change sometime soon here?


    We bought the things necessary for breakfast and were on our way back to the Adventurers Guild when we passed by the bakery, where the lady who looked like the bakery¡¯s owner called out to us.


    ¡¸My my, good day to the lovely young couple. Why don¡¯t you take a look at the bread I¡¯ve made? Fresh batch made just this morning shortly after sunrise.¡¹


    ¡¸So bread is being sold from the early morning, huh?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course it is, young man. Buying it for breakfast is one of the more popular traditions of this city, and the fresher it is, the better! It gets harder the more time passes since it came out of the oven, so if you want it at its absolute softest, there¡¯s no time like the present!¡¹


    ¡¸Ah, yes, that¡¯s true. Fresh bread is infinitely tastier than the hardened one. Can¡¯t argue with that.¡¹


    Roxanne agreed with what the baker lady was saying. Seems like she has a good amount of experience with bread and its hardening. In modern day Japan there were a lot of ways to make not only bread, but also all kinds of confections and baked goods last for a fairly long time, but since there is ni modern technology in this world, I am afraid that a loaf of bread might not last even a few hours without going stale.


    ¡¸So, what¡¯s it going to be? Will you two lovebirds buy yourselves a nice, fresh, hot loaf of bread freshly out of the baking furnace?¡¹


    I could have sworn that not a minute ago she was saying that she was baking those since sunrise, and I am pretty sure that some time has already passed since then so there¡¯s no way that they are ¡°freshly¡± out of the oven but ah well, no use arguing about the semantics I guess.


    ¡¸In that case, can I ask for that one loaf from the back? The one over there?¡¹


    I said while pointing my finger at what looked like a medium-sized loaf of French bread.


    ¡¸Ohh, you have a really discerning eye, young man! The ones in the back are some of my most high quality breads, all for the lowly price of 8 Nars per loaf!¡¹


    So it seems like the loaves from the back rows are actually considered to be some kind of luxury items. I wonder if it will be any different from what we had bought for dinner yesterday, because that bread was not particularly tasty if I were to completely honest with you. I know that I am probably biased as hell when it comes to the culinary matters of this world because my tongue is still used to the superb quality of food from Japan, but if I want to get truly used to living here, I cannot allow myself to be picky about the quality of the food I am going to eat all the time. Normally I would say that this is something that simply cannot be helped, but if I work on tempering my expectations, then I am sure my taste buds will slowly accommodate. That, or we simply have to procure more spices and seasonings for ourselves to make the food less bland.


    My 30% discount did not work this time, but it was understandable since I only bought one item. Besides, last night when I bought two breads of almost the same size as the one I bought today, but taken from one of the front rows, the difference in the price was pretty miniscule, so I don¡¯t think using the discount matters all that much when you buy the things that cost less than 10 Nars. Also, maybe it is because the baker lady looks like she¡¯s quite a gluttonous eater (TL Note: Nice way of calling someone fat, Michio. Could have simply said she was big boned), but the size of this thing is definitely more on a larger side than anything else. Is this considered normal here? Because I think that if we go about it reasonably, this one loaf of bread could be enough for the two of us for two, maybe three days at best. Hmm, could it be that this is the bread that is made with the Kobold Flour as an ingredient? Because if so, then damn, maybe I should have bought another one with the discount after all? But then again, if I ended up buying more than we could eat, then some of it would undeniably go to waste and we would have to throw it out, and that won¡¯t do!

 Volume 3 - CH 2.13

    One of the most basic rules of financial stability is to ensure that you will only buy as much food as you will need, no more, no less, and that is the rule that I want to stick to no matter what!


    After we finished buying the high-quality bread from the baking lady, we went back home through the portal in the Adventurers Guild.


    ¡¸Since this bread is so large, let¡¯s split it between the two of us.¡¹


    ¡¸Are you sure that¡¯s all right, master? You won¡¯t be hungry with just half of it?¡¹


    Oh? There it is. The issue of the size of the bread I brought up just now.


    ¡¸Why would I be? This much bread is way too much for one person to handle by themselves.¡¹


    ¡¸Really? Because I was always under the impression that the bread should always be baked to such a size that will ensure that one loaf is going to be enough to feed exactly one person.¡¹


    ¡¸One loaf of such size is meant for just one person? Are people really such a heavy eaters around these parts?¡¹


    ¡¸I don¡¯t know about the people being heavy eaters, but Quratar¡¯s bread is one of the best in the empire, to the point where it became Quratar¡¯s staple food. Also it is rare to have meals with so much meat and vegetables like we had yesterday, so bread naturally became of such a considerable size in order to cover the lack of other ingredients while still ensuring that the meals people eat will leave them filled up and not hungry from morning to the evening.¡¹


    Oh yeah, that¡¯s right. I totally forgot that the standard of this world is not three meals a day but just two: breakfast in the morning and dinner late in the evening. I am used to having three meals a day and so I usually ate each of them in a lighter version in order not to overstuff myself, but it looks like I will have to switch my line of thinking in that regard to fit in with the rest of the people living in this world as well.


    ¡¸Now that I think about it, we did ate quite a lot  for that dinner yesterday, huh?¡¹


    ¡¸Umu. Normally a big loaf of bread would be enough for dinner, and as much meat and vegetable-based side dishes as we had yesterday would only be reserved for feasts made on special occasions.¡¹


    Bigger bread as a substitute for normal side dishes in a meal? That is actually a huge difference in comparison to the modern-day Japan.


    ¡¸Is that so? Well, that is one of the things that we approached differently back where I come from, but I will try to remember that things are different here and take those differences into account as much as I can.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, thank you and sorry for troubling you with such an insignificant matter, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Since you brought it up, then it means it was not insignificant.¡¹


    That being said, yesterday¡¯s dinner was pretty great (putting the somewhat bland taste of the food without the spices and seasonings aside) while remaining relatively simple in my opinion. Not to mention that it was my first time helping to prepare the meal since I came here. Now that we are not living in an inn anymore, we have to cook every meal ourselves. Leaving their preparations entirely to Roxanne is always a possibility, but if I decide to take that option, there will be no guarantee that every meal she will be preparing for me will be at least on the level of that pot-au-feu or even better (which would be preferable, if I am to be honest), so in order to be absolutely sure about the taste of the dishes we are going to prepare, I will have to participate in the process of making them every single time, because that dinner yesterday made me realize something: even though she said that she is quite good at making pot-a-feu, her actual cooking skills are probably not all that different from my own, and that boils down to simply boiling and baking stuff until its edible.


    Well, if I will make some of the dishes myself then it should not be too much of a problem. Ever since my mom died when I was a young kid I had to learn cooking from the very basics in order to get by all by myself, so while I cannot say that my skills are enough to make something that could be described as genuinely tasty, I can at least vouch for my dishes not turning into culinary crimes as soon as I touch the kitchen utensils. Another problem that I will have to tackle will be the difficulty to replicate the taste of the recipes I know without access to modern-day Japan ingredients, spices and seasonings, but once I get used to cooking without them, I am sure I will be able to whip up something that will be able to get a passing grade when it comes to the taste.


    Today, in order to test the waters with my culinary abilities I decided to prepare something relatively simple: ham and eggs. It is the pinnacle of the easy-to-prepare meals that only requires you to fry the ham and then slap some sunny side up eggs on top of it, but in this world it should pass for a true delicacy.


    ¡¸¡­¡­..¡¹


    Hmm¡­ overall, I have to say that this turned out pretty well. I wonder what is Roxanne¡¯s opinion about it?


    ¡¸Well, what do you think, Roxanne? Are ham and eggs to your liking?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course, master. Even if the dish you prepared looks simple, it is actually tastier than I anticipated.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you. The one you prepared is also pretty delicious.¡¹


    The side dish that Roxanne prepared to go with my ham and eggs was ohitashi (TL Note: Japanese blanched greens with savory broth; a side dish of blanched greens in a soy-based marinade) made from leafy vegetables that were boiled in the broth with the addition of the Rock Salt we obtained from our earlier bout in the Veil Labyrinth. Combined with the ham and eggs, they made a surprisingly harmonious combination. Having the bread to go along with them was also a good choice on my part. It is nowhere near the level of fanciness you would get at a restaurant or a diner, but what¡¯s the most important is that the taste turned out alright, because let¡¯s face it: with this world¡¯s lack of technology, even the simple task like baking ham and eggs could have gone south really quickly if even the smallest mistake was made, leaving us with either burned scraps or something that tasted like shit. Roxanne also deserves the words of praise. As far as I know, stewing the bouillon was ntot an easy task even in the modern-day culinary world, but she managed to get it just right (TL Note: right enough to impress Gordon Ramsey?).


    ¡¸It¡¯s been some time since I last had the chance to prepare ham and eggs, so I¡¯m glad that I didn¡¯t lose my culinary touch.¡¹


    ¡¸Ham and eggs, is it? It¡¯s my first time eating such a wonderful dish! What a great treat!¡¹


    ¡¸That bread is a nice addition as well. I am honestly surprised how good it tastes.¡¹


    Today¡¯s bread is unspeakably soft and delicious. So that is the difference between a common item and a luxury item? Because if so, then spending a little bit more money would be a small price to pay if it would mean that we could eat meals as good as this one every day. I know that I said that we have to be careful with our spending, but eating is this one area of life where being stingy on purpose will actually do you more harm than good.


    ¡¸Oh, but, uhm¡­ I know it might be a little late to bring it up, but is it really all right for me to be eatin the same thing that you do, master? I also didn¡¯t help all that much with the preparation of today¡¯s meal, so I feel like I only troubled you today.¡¹


    ¡¸Do not worry yourself with things like that. When we delve into the Labyrinths, our bodies are our most important assets, so it is absolutely crucial for us to keep them well maintained and in optimal condition, so you can simply think about it like that.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you. I will definitely do my best not to disappoint you, master.¡¹


    The entire loaf of that high-quality bread cost me 8 Nars, and we ate it all during this one meal after splitting it with Roxanne so that each of us would get half of it, which would mean that each of us paid 4 Nars for his half.

 Volume 3 - CH 2.14

    Now let¡¯s add the vegetables needed to make both today¡¯s ohitashi and yesterday¡¯s vegetable stew that each of us had to pay 6 Nars (12 Nars for both of us), eggs which were 10 Nars (5 Nars for a single person serving) and the ham cut from a 100 Nars worth piece of smoked meat worth 30 Nars (15 Nars per person), the total cost of our two meals, today¡¯s and the one from yesterday caps at about 30 Nars per person. If I had to guess, then I would say that it is not that big of a price for a meal that most would probably consider to be a very high-class one. I mean, just the ham itself was already super-duper tasty when it was only cut and fried a little along with eggs, so just imagine how mouth-watering it would be if we added some salt and spices to it as well. Not to mention that the actual amount of the food that¡¯s on the plate is much bigger than what I am normally used to eating.


    Even though it seemed strange to me at first, I think that will not have any major problems with getting used to this life where two meals a day are a norm instead of three. It is only a matter of switching your mentality to the following: eat breakfast after the sun rises and then eat dinner just before the sun sets. As long as you will have work to do in between those two mealtimes, then you should not feel hungry even if you won¡¯t eat anything in between them.


    ¡¸Ahh, thank you for the food, it was pretty great. I don¡¯t think our breakfast could have turned any better even if we tried to make it so.¡¹


    ¡¸Once again, I am sorry that you had to bother yourself with making most of the food for us today, master. I should have been the one who should have prepared the entire meal while you should have been focused on resting.¡¹


    ¡¸And I am once again telling you not to worry about small stuff like that.¡¹


    I remember hearing that during the Edo period the average height of Japanese people was around 1 meter and 50 centimeters, which is much shorter than the average height of the Japanese people of modern day, but they were not as fat as the members of today¡¯s society tend to be. Back then I sometimes wondered what might have caused such a difference, but now I realized that it was probably mostly the matter of nutrition, and the same rule probably applies to the inhabitants of this world as well. They eat two meals per day and do not have much in the way of sweets, so if we factor those things together with the existence of the Labyrinths that require those who explore them to fight monsters and constantly be on the move if they want to keep themselves alive, then it should not be surprising that the percentage of those suffering from being either overweight or obese would be pretty marginal.


    Putting all of those thoughts aside, having someone to share such a delicious meal with is truly a blessing. That is a new sensation for me, since up until now I didn¡¯t have that many chances to have a proper ¡°family meal¡± in my shitty life.


    The next day, we went to the second floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth in order to see how big of a challenge it would present to us. We hoped that there won¡¯t be that many people around so that I could use my magic to freely fight the monsters, but unfortunately today the second floor was a little crowded, so the circumstances forced to forgo my idea of fighting with magic, forcing me to use Durandal instead. *Sigh* so much for our great strategy to go to the Labyrinth as early as possible to avoid bumping into anyone who might find my ability to use magic suspicious if only they caught a glimpse of it. To the rest of the world, I am nothing more but another Explorer, because that is the first Job listed on my Intelligence Card. If any one witnessed my spells there would be no end to the barrage of questions and interrogations for me, since only a handful of people with very specific noble backgrounds are able to become Mages and Wizards, and no matter how you look at me, there is nothing about me that would help me deceive others that I am related to nobility. If anything, I am a picture-perfect example of the word ¡°mediocre¡±.


    Not being able to use magic will suck, but at the very least that is not my fault, but something that the circumstances imposed on me. Using Durandal also comes with the risk of someone recognizing that the weapon I am using is too OP for some novice-looking Explorer on the second floor, but with it I will be able to kill any enemy that will appear before us with a single blow, meaning that we will be able to advance quickly, avoiding any encounters with other Parties. I could always switch Durandal out for an ordinary Copper Sword, but that weapon is so weak and useless that I don¡¯t even want to imagine how much time it would take to kill even a single monster with it, so we just have to proceed carefully while staying ever vigilant and we should pull through just fine.


    ¡¸Roxanne, a route to the nearest monster, please.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood!¡¹


    I followed Roxanne while consulting the map of the second floor to ensure that we will be staying on the path leading to the second floor¡¯s Boss Room, and soon after we happened upon our very first enemy here.


    ¡¸Identify!¡¹


    Identification revealed that it was a Na?ve Olive Lv.2. It looked kinda like a Needlewood from Veil Labyrinth¡¯s first floor, except its main body was not as thick and somewhat smaller, than the Needlewood, but it exchange it had more foliage on its head and arms. It stood with its back turned back to us so it did not see us approaching, and it was a golden opportunity that I simply could not miss. Going as quiet as I could, I sneaked up behind it and then delivered a blow across its entire back. It fell to the ground and disappeared in a cloud of green smoke. Well, I guess you can say that it was a pretty¡­ na?ve enemy, huh? When the smoke from its death cleared, we saw that what it left behind was an oval ball that looked like it was form from some kind of liquid that was a little sticky to the touch. When I Identified it, it turned out to be Olive Oil.


    ¡¸Oh, It¡¯s an Olive Oil.¡¹


    Roxanne commented when she picked up the item and handed it over to me. Yes, Identicication showed that this thing was indeed Olive Oil. Contrary to my initial impression of it, it was actuall smooth and kinda rubbery to the touch, making it similar to a rubber ball.


    ¡¸Olive Oil, huh? The same kind that can be used for cooking and the conservation of our equipment?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. When cooking, it can be used for frying the ingredients. Just be careful when you apply it to the pan, because the thin rubber membrane that holds it in its oval shape breaks rather easily when exposed to high temperatures.¡¹


    ¡¸A membrane? Ohh, I see, so that¡¯s how it retains its shape even though it¡¯s a liquid! That¡¯s actually pretty clever!¡¹


    Now that Roxanne told me what it was, I examined the Olive Oil once more. When I pressed down on the membrane with my fingers, it bended its shape slightly and then retuned to its original one, but I can see it popping easily while placed on the hot frying pan. For now though, it should be kay for me to put it in the Item Box as long as I will remain careful about it.


    ¡¸Master, I don¡¯t smell any people on the path ahead, so I think that you should be able to use magic now if you so desire.¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s great to hear, but I was actually thinking about calling it quits here for today.¡¹


    I never told Roxanne about this and it would be a hassle to mention it now, so I have to keep her in the dark about Durandal, my earned EXP increasing Skills and that it is more than a little troublesome to continue switching them on and off every time I am doing a Character Reset before we are going into Boss Room to challenge the Floor Boss or when I am using magic but there are people around so I have to switch with melee Skills in a hurry.

 Volume 3 - CH 2.15

    Since I want to keep as much information about me a secret from the inhabitants of this world in order to avoid being targeted by them I have to keep the highest level of caution and secrecy at all times, even if it means switching weapons and Skills on the fly. So for the time being, I proceeded while still wielding Durandal.


    Thankfully there really were fewer people here on the second floor in comparison to the first, so we had more occasions to fight against the monsters here with Durandal without anyone bothering us. After a while of exploration we have reached the Boss Room and defeated the Floor Boss of the second floor, who was just a bigger version of the regular Na?ve Olive by utilizing the same strategy we used to bring down the Kobold Kampfer: Roxanne kept the boss busy from the front, while I delivered a smackdown to its back, finishing the encounter before it had the chance to truly begin. As long as I have Durandal with me, every battle is like a walk in the park with its OP stats and effects.


    When we went back home, it was already the time for breakfast, so we decided to put all of the Olive Oil we found today to good use and made stir-fry vegetables. I felt like something was still missing from it when we ate it, but for now there is little we can do about it, so there is no use complaining about it. The most important thing is that now that we can cook stuff like that pretty effortlessly, it feels like all of our basic necessities and the foundations of a satisfying day-today life have been covered up.


    ¡¸You know, sooner or later I would like to do something about this room. Right now it feels too empty to my tastes.¡¹


    While we were eating breakfast I started a conversation with Roxanne.


    ¡¸Do something about the room?¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah. You have to admit that aside from the furniture we have already bought the rest of the room looks pretty darn barren in comparison.¡¹


    I said while looking around. Aside from the things we have bought, the walls and the floor didn¡¯t have any kind of decorations on them, making the entire room look gloomy. I know that it hasn¡¯t been all that long since we moved in here, but that does not change the fact that the entire place lacks individuality, to the point where I can say that just staring at them makes me uncomfortable instead of invoking the feelings of relaxation.


    ¡¸In that case, why don¡¯t we decorate it with something? How about a carpet, for example?¡¹


    ¡¸A carpet, huh?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, a carpet.¡¹


    If we were to lay a carpet on the floor, then our feet would not get cold while walking around without any shoes or socks.


    ¡¸I see. A carpet sounds like a good idea, but this room is fairly large, so wouldn¡¯t it be hard for us to find a one that would fit the floor here?¡¹


    And while we are at it, will we even be able to find a carpet that¡¯s both relatively cheap and nice-looking at the same time? Even back at the Slave Merchant¡¯s shop, the only place with a carpet was the room where Alan-san was meeting his clients, so isn¡¯t that a testament to how much of a luxury product carpets are?


    ¡¸Uhm¡­ Rather than putting it on the floor, I was thinking we could hang it on the wall as decoration.¡¹


    ¡¸Decorate?¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s right.¡¹


    ¡¸So we wouldn¡¯t be¡­ putting it on the floor like you¡¯re supposed to do?¡¹


    ¡¸We could, but then we would probably have to buy more than one, and finding matching ones might prove to be potentially difficult.¡¹


    Roxanne nodded. I had no idea that carpets could also be used as a wall decoration as well. I thought that we would have to get some wallpapers for the walls if we wanted them not to be so rough and empty, but now I think that carpets could make quite a nice alternative for it. Heh, who would have thought that carpets could be so useful?


    ¡¸Is that so? Well colored me surprised.¡¹


    ¡¸I have heard that rich people sometimes place carpets on the floors in their homes, but if they are not rich enough they can only do so in a few rooms.¡¹


    ¡¸Uhhh¡­ Y-yeah, I guess that would look pretty bad, wouldn¡¯t it?¡¹


    I can see we are totally not on the same page here. What I had in mind were the kind of carpets that are being sold in pieces or by the meter, but the kind that Roxanne is talking about are definitely the hand-crafted ones that are bound to cost a small fortune for a single one. But now I see. That must be why Alan-san only had one carpet in his establishment. Even though he runs a slave-selling business and he supposedly has a lot of clients, the profits from selling slaves must not be as high as I originally thought them to be. In times like these, I really wish there were tatami mats in here. Maybe they were not as soft and comfy as regular carpets, but in every other aspect they are just as reliable as them.


    ¡¸Of course. In worst case scenario, such a blunder might even cause a noble to lose their social standing and position.¡¹


    ¡¸I-I see. W-Well, since we are at this subject already, what kind of store do you think sells carpets and other things like that?¡¹


    ¡¸Because it is a luxury item, normal stores found here in Quratar might not be selling them, but we might be able to find one if we go to the Imperial City.¡¹


    ¡¸Imperial City? Should we go there today and get this carpet matter done?¡¹


    The Imperial Capital was the stop I made on the way to Quratar, but now that I can use Warp here in the house, nothing should be standing in our way of getting there literally whenever we would feel like it. Now that our new life in Quratar has settled down a little, spending a day sightseeing in the Imperial City might be a good change of pace, especially since I have only been to the Imperial City once, and I didn¡¯t even leave the Adventurers Guild there.


    ¡¸Yes, I think today would be a good day for you to go there, master. While you will be there, I will collect the seeds we might need for the garden.¡¹


    ¡¸Seeds?¡¹


    ¡¸The ones that the landlady promised to give is since we decided to take care of the garden despite the state it is in.¡¹


    ¡¸Ahh,  those herb seeds! Now that you mention it there really was something like that, huh?¡¹


    Mrs. Honesta did tell us that we could drop by her hardware store to get some new herb seeds to plant them in the garden, and since she already agreed to do it for us, there is no reason for us to decline her offer. When we get our hands on them, then we can have a swing on some serious gardening, since it would be an extreme waste not to make use of our own gardening space and just leave it all there to ruin.


    ¡¸I¡¯m really looking forward to what kind of seeds I will get from her.¡¹


    Hmm¡­


    ¡¸In that case let me go with you, and once we grab them we can do some work around the garden itself in the afternoon since it should be warmer then, right?¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you for your consideration, master. Is that really okay with you?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, it¡¯s fine. It¡¯s not like we have to go to the Imperial City today. We can go therew whenever we will feel like it.¡¹


    It¡¯s decided then. We will spend today gardening.


    After breakfast, we entered the Labyrinth and returned back to the Quratar¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild in the afternoon.We sold ??the Drop Items at the counter and went outsideand had a short walk from the guild building to the hardware store.


    ¡¸Welcome. Oh, it¡¯s you two! Come on in, I¡¯ve been expecting you.¡¹


    When we entered the hardware store, the owner lady welcomed us.She told us to wait for a moment so she could go and fetch the seeds she prepared for us before she disappeared into the back of the store.


    While we were waiting, we looked at the tools she had on display. A hoe caught my attention. I have never used such a tool, but I know how it should be used.

 Volume 3 - CH 2.16

    It is used to cultivate the soil by swinging it down from above your head and then pulling towards yourself, so technically even a gardening noob such as myself should be able to use it without any major difficulties. Also, even though it was a simple tool, a part of me was able to appreciate its functional, simplistic beauty. When I held it in my hand to try how it would feel, I could sense a strange sense of familiarity emanating from it. Could it be that the sensation of holding a hoe in my hands has awakened the memories from one of my past lives? I am sure that I have never used such a tool or anything similar to it before, so it has to be that. Maybe I was actually a farmer who spent his entire life working the fields from sunrise to sunset while shedding blood, sweat and tears and enjoying the fruits of his labor while maintaining a harmonious relationship with Mother Earth? Yeah, right.


    ¡¸If we¡¯re going to be tending to the garden, is one hoe going to be enough?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, it should be. I know it sounds like a lot of hard work, but once you get to it you¡¯ll realize that gardening is actually rather simple.¡¹


    Rather simple, eh? Was I overthinking things again?


    ¡¸Oh really?¡¹


    ¡¸Usually, it is enough to use a simple wooden plank to till the earth.¡¹


    ¡¸Really? So how about this tool over here? You think it might be useful?¡¹


    I gave Roxanne something that looked like a medium-sized shovel that was next to the hoe.


    ¡¸It¡¯s a spade. It looks like a pretty good product, but I feel like buying it right now would be a kind of a waste.¡¹


    ¡¸Sorry for the wait.¡¹


    Honesta came back to the shop while we were busy looking over the gardening tools.


    ¡¸I¡¯d like to explain a few things about those seeds. Is that okay with you?¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, yes. I¡¯m all ears.¡¹


    Roxanne then listened to Honesta¡¯s explanations, which were mostly concerning the species of the seeds and the proper ways of cultivating them. When she was done, she handed her a bag that looked like it was made from the same type of papyrus like the one used to make the maps of the Labyrinth¡¯s floors. As for me, I simply stood on the side since I probably wouldn¡¯t understand a word of what she was saying even if I tried to listen as carefully as I could. Instead, I focused on deciding which tools to buy, since tending to the garden with just our hands would not be nearly as effective as it would be with the proper equipment.


    ¡¸Can we also get this plow and that hoe? And maybe some lumber, while we¡¯re at it?¡¹


    *          *          *


    ¡¸Thank you very much for buying all those tools, master.¡¹


    ¡¸No problem. They weren¡¯t that expensive anyway.¡¹


    If I were to buy all those tools separately, their price could have been a problem, but thanks to my 30% discount the price for everything we have brought back home with us was actually not all that pricey at all, so I really have no basis for seeing that purchase as a problem. Besides, we only bought two of them.


    We grabbed the seeds from the landlady and left the hardware store once Roxanne placed them safely in her backpack. With a spade in Roxanne¡¯s hand and a hoe in mine, we went back to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and travelled back home through the Warp portal.


    ¡¸Thank you for the purchase of the farming tools, master.¡¹


    ¡¸No problem. So, what do we do now? We plow the earth before sowing the seeds?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. I think we should also remove all the weeds.¡¹


    I grabbed a hoe, raised it above my head and then swung it down. For a moment I was worried that I might end up hitting my own leg, but thankfully nothing of the sort happened, and the earth itself was so soft hat I didn¡¯t even have to put too much force into my swings to plow it properly, but that should not be too much of a surprise, since the earth in the gardens needs to be soft for the ease of cultivating new plants in it. This just means that buying the hoe today was a good call on our part.


    ¡¸What about a fertilizer? Do we need to buy it later as well?¡¹


    ¡¸No. I think the weeds we¡¯re going to pull out today should be enough to cover everything we might be needing at this point.¡¹


    Using weeds as a fertilizer? I have never heard of such a technique, but that¡¯s probably how they handled the fertilization of the soil before chemical fertilizers were invented.


    ¡¸I see. Then we should also make a fence.¡¹


    ¡¸A¡­ fence?¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, a simple wooden one just so that we can clearly see where exactly our garden ends.¡¹


    ¡¸And what should we do in order to make it?¡¹


    Roxanne doesn¡¯t seem to know how to build a fence, so it was up to me to show her. We then proceeded to building the fence around the entire vegetable garden.


    Even though she was confused at first, she quickly adapted and made w number of wooden stakes just like I asked her to.


    ¡¸Now place them in regular intervals from one another and we will then link them all with wood and some rope.¡¹


    Using our makeshift fence that didn¡¯t turn out that bad in the end we covered the vicinity of the entire garden. Now it was clearly visible where our property ended, leaving no room for potential arguments with the neighbors.


    After that, we sowed the seeds and watered them with my Water Magic, but only after carefully ascertaining that none of the neighbors was around to see me using magic by accident. When we were done with all the work, the sun had already begun to set a little.


    The work was admittedly pretty exhausting, but the sense of satisfaction I am feeling right now is something else entirely. I sat on a chair in front of the finished garden and looked at it with pride. We just finished it so there is nothing by bumped up earth in it, but given the time I am sure it will frow up to be a splendid garden for sure. Now I just want to have something to drink in my hand, and I will be totally looking like an old man here¡­


    No no no. I¡¯m not an old dude to be doing such senile things. I am still young and able to push Roxanne down whenever I want to. But since we already did it yesterday during the day, so I have to refrain from doing it again for now. Self-control! Show some self-control, me!


    ¡¸W-Well, I will prepare some extra water for later,  and then let¡¯s hit the Labyrinth one more time. Will you guide me to the monsters?¡¹


    ¡¸Certainly!¡¹


    Sitting around won¡¯t help me keep my thoughts from going into the gutter, so I have to stand up and keep myself busy. I went to the room with the drain and created more water for us to use later. Since we worked so much in the garden, we were both pretty dirty, so we will need as much water as possible to wash ourselves up afterwards.


    I continued to make water with Water Magic until I noticed that my MP has decreased significantly, so I stopped there in order not to end up feeling depressed due to MP depletion and equipped myself with Durandal again. After that we went back to Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth¡¯s second floor. There was little people there, so after replenishing MP I could fight monsters with magic through several battles.


    When I tried changing my main Job to Warrior, I noticed that the total number of my available Jobs has increased by one. The new one was a Farmer Lv.1, meaning that I now have the same Job as the inhabitants of Somara, the first village I found myself in when I arrived in this world. All in all it was a pretty basic Job without any good special effects or Skills. I must have gotten it because of all the farm work that I did, like cultivating the Soil and sowing the seeds. I guess that makes all the time it took to finish gardening not go to waste. Roxanne already had that Job since way before we met, so there¡¯s no point in checking her status.


    And that is how someone who had little idea about farming became a farmer by tending to his herb and vegetable garden.

 Volume 3 - CH 3.01

    Chapter 13: Bath


    Kaga Michio


    Current levels & equipment:


    Explorer Lv.26


    Hero Lv.23


    Mage Lv.25


    Monk Lv.25


    Equipment:


    Wand


    Leather Armor


    Leather Jacket


    Leather Gloves


    Leather Shoes


    The next day, the two of us went on a shopping trip to the various clothing stores in Quratar. Our objective for today? To get ourselves some new sets of clothes of course, because even though I have my trusty jersey and Roxanne has her maid outfit that she took with her from the Slave Merchant¡¯s shop, but there is no way in hell that those clothes are going to be enough for us to wear all the time. What¡¯s more, because of all that gardening work we did yesterday, our clothes gotten more than a little dirty and needed to be washed, and for that we need the new one that we could wear as replacements when they will be getting dry in the sun. I should have though about it before we began working yesterday, but it is too late to be having regrets now that the deed has been done.


    ¡¸Before we buy anything, let¡¯s have a look around first. We may be looking for spare clothes only, but that does not mean that we should do a hasty purchase. If you see anything that you like, be sure to let me know, okay?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes master. Thank you for your kindness, but I think you should focus on finding a suitable set of clothes for yourself first and foremost.¡¹


    ¡¸Sure thing. Now, when it comes to the amount of clothes, how much should we buy? Is two sets for me and two sets for you going to be enough?¡¹


    Apparently Roxanne is somewhat reserved when it comes to buying new clothes for herself, which makes me think that I will have to choose something for her in the end and be insistent and firm about my choice, because otherwise she might just not accept it. Such a humble attitude is much different from the typical one displayed by the girls from Japan, and even though it can be somewhat difficult to deal with her humbleness at times, it¡¯s a welcomed change of pace.


    ¡¸If that is what you will deem as an appropriate amount, master, then I think it is going to be fine. But¡­¡¹


    ¡¸Hmm? Yes? What is it, Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, nothing really that important. It¡¯s just that¡­ this store is selling brand-new clothing, right?¡¹


    ¡¸Well, yeah? Or at least they all look like that to me.¡¹


    ¡¸In that case, is it really okay for you to buy such expensive clothes for me?¡¹


    ¡¸And why would there be anything wrong with that?¡¹


    When I was browsing through the various clothes that the store had on display, Roxanne started saying some weird things. Could it be that¡­?


    ¡¸Let me guess, is there a rule stating that slaves cannot wear nice clothes?¡¹


    ¡¸It¡¯s not as much a rule as common sense that masters wear the nice clothes while their slaves have to make due with the poor-quality ones or the ones from second-hand stores.¡¹


    So that¡¯s how it is when it comes to the clothes worn by slaves and their masters, huh? I am not from this world, so I can¡¯t really say that I understand why it has to be that way, but maybe that¡¯s really how it is supposed to be, because now that I think about it, many of the people whom I saw when we were living in Veil wore clothes that looked like they came from the second-hand shop. Now, as a person who lived in the modern-day Japan and was born in a middle-class family, I never really needed to wear second-hand goods myself and I do not like the idea all that much, but I can see how wearing good quality clothing might be a problem for the people living in the world that is as technologically advanced as the earth during the medieval times. If I were to hazard a wild guess, then the average life cycle of a set of clothing in this world must be something that goes more or less like that: rich people and aristocrats buy themselves new clothes, wear them for a few times, and sell them second-hand stores once the get bored of them. At that point they are sold to the common citizenry and the cycle continues to repeat itself as they wear the bought clothes down even further until they are sold yet again, and then, right at the very bottom of this messed up chain are the slaves, who are supposed to be wearing nothing but tattered rags to really drive the point of them being inferior to their masters across.


    This is something that only an absolute scum would do out of nothing but the sheer pettiness, but unfortunately those are the rules that this world is playing by. Well too bd for you, world, because if those are your rules, then I am not going to be abiding them!


    ¡¸It¡¯s going to be fine, Roxanne. Trust me. Now go and choose whatever you like.¡¹


    ¡¸Of course, master. Thank you.¡¹


    With that out of the way, we proceeded to properly explore the clothing store. That¡¯s right. Since I am not a proper resident of this world but someone who came here from modern-day Japan, I don¡¯t have to follow the rules established by this world if I do not find them to my liking. Therefore, I will be doing whatever I feel is right, especially if it means ignoring some unjust, douchebaggy rules made by a bunch of snobs!


    We looked around the store, but from what I can see, even though there are a lot of shelves filled with clothes from top to bottom, the clothes themselves did not have that much variety to them. Most of the bottom shelves were occupied by the tunics, shirts and robes of various colors, and the bottom ones were lined up with pants and trousers. And by the way, because some of you might not know it: tunic is the type of upper body clothing that you put on over your head, and the shirts are as shirts normally do: worn by unbuttoning them from the front and sliding your hands through the sleeves until they emerge from the other side.


    What caught my attention at one point was the disproportion in the types of clothing that women could wear on their lower bodies. This store had a lot of long hemmed skirts of the type that was so long that the hem reached all the way to the ground, covering the legs completely, but there was not that much female-styled pants. Maybe it was because the women who wore pants were mostly Adventurers and Explorers who were going into the Labyrinth, while skirts were generally worn by the women in the towns and villages? And even then, wouldn¡¯t it actually be more convenient for them to be wearing men¡¯s pants because of the relative freedom of movement those pants would provide?


    Roxanne was looking through all the clothes with keen eyes, and not just the ones she intended to try on, but also at the ones she thought would look good on me. Occasionally, she would even take some of them, press them against my body and mumble things like¡¸How about this?¡¹ or ¡¸Hmm, maybe this color would be good?¡¹and ¡¸Hmm, this stitch here is a little¡­¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm, Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸No, on the other hand, maybe something a bit lighter would be better¡­.¡¹


    ¡¸H-Hello¡­?¡¹


    I tried to speak up to give her my own opinion about some of the clothes, but each and every time my attempts were swiftly being shot down by her not even paying attention to me, that¡¯s how deep in a shopping trance she currently was. To add insult to injury, she was speaking with technical, fashion-related jargon that I did not understand very well, so I had no choice but to just suck it up and let her do her thing, because she looked like she was genuinely having fun choosing all those clothes, and I in turn had fun watching her having fun, so it¡¯s a win-win situation where everyone is happy no matter the outcome.


    When we finally finished buying all of the clothes and left the clothing store, half a day was already over. How do I know that? Because the house that we are renting is on the east side of the city, so when we were leaving it in the morning the sun was rising in front of it, but now that we were heading back, it was already behind it. We really spend so much time doing nothing but shopping for clothes, huh? I mean, I was mentally prepared that it would take a long time, but to think that it actually took one half of an entire day¡­

 Volume 3 - CH 3.02

    ¡¸Thank you, very much, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you too,  for choosing my clothes for me.¡¹


    Well, as long as I get to see Roxanne¡¯s smiling face, then I guess it was all worth it, especially since we didn¡¯t have to pay as much as I thought we would, since we bought all the clothes we needed for only 1500 Nars.


    ¡¸Ah!¡¹


    All of a sudden, Roxanne gasped as if she just noticed something that immediately caught her attention.


    ¡¸Master, since we bought so many new clothes, then would it be all right for us to buy a larger tub so we could wash them all at once?¡¹


    She said, pointing her finger towards the store that apparently sold all kinds of wooden products. *Sigh* it would seem that any time the amount of one thing in your possession increases, the amount of all the things related to it increases as well, and I cannot say for sure if this is a good thing or not. But since Roxanne said that she would need a larger tub to make doing laundry easier, then I guess there is no reason for me to decline her wishes.


    ¡¸Sure, why not.¡¹


    I replied while wondering how much money I would have to pay for a bigger washing tub. Since it¡¯s made out of wood, then surely it cannot be all that expensive, now can it?


    When we entered the store, we saw various wooden tubs of different sizes lined up right next to the store¡¯s entrance, but it looks like that¡¯s not the only thing that can be bought here, as was evident by the number of wooden cups placed here and there. We didn¡¯t buy any when we were shopping for the wok back at the hardware store a few days ago, so maybe it will be better to buy them here right now?


    ¡¸We¡¯re sorry for the intrusion! Is the shopkeeper around?¡¹


    ¡¸I am. Welcome, how may I help you?¡¹


    An old man who looked like a craftsman came out from the back of the shop. His Job was a villager. From what I could see with a short glance behind him, the part of the shop in the back where he emerged from looked like a workshop space where craftsmen processed wood. I guess that means that this guy is also a craftsman and probably made all of the things that are on display himself.


    Instead of approaching the shopkeeper and asking him if he has what we need Roxanne did the same thing she did back at the clothing store and started checking all of the tubs while not paying any attention to her surroundings. Yup, even the awkward atmosphere of having to just stand back and watch her was exactly the same, so the shopkeeper and I just kinda stood there like little puppies that waited for their master to return from a trip to the store, and it was admittedly making me a bit uncomfortable, to the point where I tried to actively search with my eyes for something, anything to talk about with the guy. Fortunately, I think I found just the thing to do the job nicely.


    ¡¸Is that the biggest size of the wooden basins you have in store?¡¹


    I asked, pointing at the largest basin in the shop which looked like it had more than one meter in diameter.


    ¡¸Yes, that is the biggest one I have in store right now, but I can make an even bigger one if its going to be a special order.¡¹


    Makes sense if he has a workshop space at the back of this place. And if that¡¯s the case, then maybe, just maybe¡­


    ¡¸So theoretically, if I were to make an order, you would have taken it?¡¹


    ¡¸As long as you have enough coin to pay for it? I don¡¯t see why not.¡¹


    Okay, getting more promising by the minute¡­


    ¡¸You had such requests being made before?¡¹


    ¡¸Not that often, but they do happen from time to time whenever people wish to have something where they could wash a large amount of clothes together in one go.¡¹


    ¡¸So it can be done. Good to know.¡¹


    You might be wondering what am I thinking about if I am asking him such things, to which I reply: I¡¯m thinking about ordering him to make a bathtub for us. Since I already went through the trouble of renting an entire house, I want it to have a proper bathroom.


    This world does not seem to be familiar with the concept of taking regular bath, since it is considered to be a luxury that only the rich folks can afford, and the rest of the populace has to resort to only wiping themselves with damp towels, and I don¡¯t think I have to tell you that doing something like that does next to nothing for you when you just want to relax after a particularly tiring day at work or a hard run through the Labyrinth. Now that I know water magic I could always try creating hot water with it, but other people who are not as lucky as I or those capable of using magic are, and have to resort to either wiping themselves, or ignore their personal hygene altogether, and since unconventional methods of washing yourself will definitely pump up the costs of it more and more, I can totally see people going for the second option. However, right now I find myself in a position where such dilemmas do not concern me anymore.


    Right now, I have both the means and the money needed for me to afford building a bath and upkeeping it. Also, if I decide to take a bath, Roxanne will definitely come in with me, and because she would enter the bath, then I would want to enter it with her as well. And while in the bath together, we will wash each other¡¯s bodies up until they will be sparkly clean, and then.. and then¡­!!!


    A bath¡­ yes, a bath is an absolute necessity for us! Because baths are the best, and as such, I absolutely, definitely have to get my hands on it! Even if making it proves to be challenging, this is a matter of utmost importance where no cost will be too great! But the question that I have right now is: how the hell are bathtubs even made? Back in Japan it was a matter that I never even thought about, because to be frank, there was never a need for me to do so, and I have also not seen any bathtubs or anything that would even resemble them in any of the Quratar¡¯s stores that we have come across¡­ hmm, maybe I could hire a contractor for all the interior-related work and the process of installation since the landlady said that we can make alterations to the house if we want to¡­ but then again, attracting too much attention to myself is the last thing that I want to do¡­


    Bringing water from well and river and boiling it would be a considerable cost. In case that we would want to bathe every day of every other day, that would put quite a bit of strain on me MP-wise. Also, in my case, even if I can prepare water and boil it by using magic, but I cannot reveal it reveal it so casually. When it comes to heating, we wouldn¡¯t need any additional boilers or other gizmos like that because it has already been verified that water can be heated with an ordinary Fireball. He might be surprised if we tell him that we won¡¯t need a boiler, but then again, that¡¯s not really his business and I don¡¯t have to tell him every little detail, right? On that note, I don¡¯t think I would be able to put a bathtub together myself, so like it or not, I have to rely on this craftsman to do it. Thsnkfully, it looks like he will make it for us without anytrouble


    ¡¸I have a positive track record, so I think I should be able to handle any request you might have for me without any issues.¡¹


    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹


    He seems to be awfully certain of his skills as a craftsman. I wonder how many people have ordered something from him and exactly how many of them feel satisfied with the quality of the finished product?


    ¡¸How big is the thing you want to order going to be?¡¹


    ¡¸Hmm, let¡¯s see¡­ ideally, I want something that would be as wide as an average person¡¯s height. Is that possible?¡¹


    The one that came to my mind when I imagined it was similar to the ones that sometimes appeared in the paintings of Katsushika Hokusai, not that this guy would know who I was talking about even if I mentioned his name.

 Volume 3 - CH 3.03

    ¡¸Should be easy enough to do. What about the depth? Is normal-sized enough or should that also be custom-tailored?¡¹


    ¡¸I think something about as deep as this one should be enough.¡¹


    I said, pointing towards the biggest and deepest basin that was in the store. Since it¡¯s going to be for the purpose of bathing, I should pick something that would allow us to sink into it just enough to have a nice, long, relaxing soak, but not something that would seem too extravagant or downright weird. I am already making quite a number of specific demands for this order, so it would not surprised me if the shopkeeper was already suspicious of my intentions behind making something like that, so I have to make sure to keep those suspicions of his to a bare minimum by sticking to the standards of something that he already has here in store as much as possible. Judging by my rough estimates, the actual depth of the deepest basin in this shop should be around 50 centimeters or something a little bit beneath that if we assume that the bottom of the basin has to be thicker than the rest of it, but I think that it should be enough to fulfill its ultimate purpose, which is to have a bath, but more importantly, to enter it together with Roxanne and have enough space left in it so that we could get a little frisky whenever the mood strikes us.


    ¡¸Hmm, in that case, how about 2000 Nars for it?¡¹


    The wood craftsman though about it for a while and finally gave me the price. I have to say, that¡¯s way cheaper than I originally expected. I thought that for such a specific custom order I would have to pay at least twice as much as the price he offered, so that is a pleasant surprise.


    ¡¸I¡¯ll take it, please.¡¹


    ¡¸Because it¡¯s a build-to-order, it will take around five days to make. Once it will be finished, I will send a messenger who will let you now about it.¡¹


    ¡¸All right, got it.¡¹


    It¡¯s great that we will be notified when it is finished instead of having to come here again of our own accord, even though it¡¯s probably going to mean that we will have to pay some additional costs for the transportation of the finished tub.


    ¡¸We will be looking forward to hearing from you in a few days then.¡¹


    By the way, even though this world is operating in a medieval setting, there seems to be a proper way of addressing the residences of the citizens in the big cities. The address of our rented house is the 6th District, 7th chome, 123rd residence


    ¡¸Roxanne, you found anything interesting?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I think this is going to be good.¡¹


    When I was having my conversation with the shopkeeper about the custom-made bath, in the meantime Roxanne found a tub that she deemed to be appropriate for the job of doing our laundry in it. Having a brief glance at it I concluded that her keen eyes allowed her to truly make the best selection possible. She handed the tub to me and I in turn showed it to the shopkeeper.


    ¡¸Okay, got it. For now, can we take this?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, of course. Thank you for your patronage.¡¹


    ¡¸We will be taking it as it is, there¡¯s no need for transportation.¡¹


    ¡¸As you wish. That will be 50 Nars.¡¹


    Since the Job of this guy is a Villager, my 30% discount did not work on him. We just paid the full price and left the store.


    ¡¸If I may ask, master, what do we need such a large washbasin for if we already bought this one?¡¹


    ¡¸It¡¯s for something that you definitely can look forward to. Trust me, you¡¯re going to love it.¡¹


    Now that all of our shopping was finally done, we returned home with the washbasin in hand, and once we arrived back at our place, we changed into our new sets of clothing we bought today.


    ¡¸We should wash our clothes early in the day so that they could dry as soon as possible, but are we going to be entering the Labyrinth today?¡¹


    ¡¸Hmm¡­ that¡¯s right. All that shopping took us way more time than I anticipated¡­ you know what? Let¡¯s take a break from going there today.¡¹


    We have already went to the Labyrinth before breakfast today, so I think we can have the rest of the day off for a change. We¡¯ve been making steady runs through both Veil¡¯s and Quratar¡¯s Labyrinths for the past few days, so taking it easy for one day should not hurt us nor our purses.


    ¡¸Understood. In that case I will start washing our clothes, and once that¡¯s done I will continue with the cleaning.¡¹


    ¡¸Of course, feel free to do that, but first¡­ how are you feeling with the new clothes? Do you find them all right?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, they feel really nice, thank you very much, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Well isn¡¯t that nice? If that¡¯s how it is then maybe we should check how it feels to take these clothes off? After all, we wouldn¡¯t want them feeling all uncomfortable or taking too long to get out of them now, do we?¡¹


    ¡¸Oh¡­ Y-Yes, of course¡­ right away.¡¹


    We are entering the Labyrinths practically every day, so having a day off like that feels like a much-needed change of pace, and it feels good to have one of these every once in a while. Yeah, once in a while such breaks feel super nice. Once in a while.


    Later, when we were finished with checking the clothes¡¯ comfortability when being taken off, I used my Water magic to get us enough water for washing our dirty clothes, making dinner and bathing. As a result of all that water-making, even though I said that we should have today free from going to the Labyrinth, we still had to go there for a quick MP recovering trip. It¡¯s great that currently my level is high enough so that I can get us all the water we need, but I should raise it even more to avoid needing to go the Labyrinth every time I¡¯m filling a bathtub altogether. I know that if it¡¯s just for the purpose of recovering my MP then all we need is to go to the lower floors and slay some low-level monsters, but no matter how fast I can go about it, it still consumes precious time that could be spend on doing literally anything else.


    ¡¸Now then. I will take care of the main dish for dinner. The menu for today will be white stew.¡¹


    ¡¸White stew¡­ is it?¡¹


    ¡¸Have you ever eaten it before?¡¹


    ¡¸No, I can¡¯t say that I have. This is the first time I have heard such a name before.¡¹


    Roxanne seems to have never eaten White Stew before. Either that, or the equivalent of White Stew does not exist in this world. Maybe I should have called it a white soup instead and see if that changes anything? Nah.


    ¡¸Well, if you have never tried White Stew before, then please look forward to it.¡¹


    With the ingredients available in this world I should be able to make White Stew without any particular problems.


    First, put the meat, wine and water into a large pot and boil for 30 minutes to extract all the juices from the meat, making them mix with wine and water. You can also add milk to make it thicker if you prefer your stew to be that way. By the way, in this world things like milk and wine that are available in stores are held in jars, so after they are used we will have additional containers to hold other things in it. It¡¯s a complete deposit system, kinda like PET bottles or paper bags that you hold bread in so that it won¡¯t go stale as fast.


    Next, you add in the vegetables, the same ones that Roxanne used while she was making her Pot-au-feu and simmer them all over low flame. I thrown some green onions in there to mask the smell of the meat. Although I read somewhere once that green onions are poisonous to dogs, Roxanne claims that there is no vegetable that she can¡¯t eat. I guess that means that even though she has dog features, that particular quirk is not among the ones she inherited from them. Besides, if those are the vegetables that Roxanne used herself, then there shouldn¡¯t be no problems.


    While all of the ingredients are boiling, be sure to add wheat flour and some butter to the wok and fry it.

 Volume 3 - CH 3.04

    Next, pour the milk into the batter and boil over a low flame and keep mixing it all up until it reaches the consistency of the white roux.


    On a side note, you should be able to make clam chowder and cream croquettes that way as well. If only we had a functioning oven here, then maybe I could also make gratin.


    Put the resulting white roux and vegetables in a pan and boil all of the ingredients together. Finally, I tasted it and seasoned it with salt and pepper.


    It¡¯s a success, as far as I am concerned.


    Roxanne also ate it with a huge smile of delight on her face.


    ¡¸Mashter, thish ish sho yummy!¡¹


    Maybe I should tell her that she should not be saying things like that while she¡¯s having her mouth full of white, sticky substances?


    Now that we had to wait for the bathtub to be finished before any work in the house could be advanced further, we both decided that the best course of action will be to advance through the Labyrinths as much as possible.


    The tactic we have adopted for our explorations was to go to to the Labyrinth at least two times a day: in the early morning before having breakfast and in the afternoon so that we could jump straight to having dinner when we get back, and to have a modest time of rest before each run. That was the minimum we agreed on doing, but whenever we could, we tried to go explore them at least several times a day. While going through our Labyrinth-foraging days like that, we quickly managed to reach the Boss Room in the Veil¡¯s Labyrinth¡¯s third floor. When we reached the waiting room outside of the boss¡¯s chamber I took a moment to do a Character Reset and equip Durandal, and once that was done, we entered the Boss Room proper without hesitation. Since we have already fought the Kobold Kampfer in the Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth where it was actually the Floor Boss of the first floor, we didn¡¯t have to be our guard too much. We simply have to employ our usual strategy: we will surround it from both sides where Roxanne will occupy it in the front and I will go to its back where I will wait for the right moment to slash the bastard down with a swing of my sword. Now, I don¡¯t want to say that I am getting used to fighting the floor Bosses or overly confident with fighting them, who are essentially just a bigger, more menacing variants of the regular enemies, but¡­ but I guess I am getting used to fighting them after beating so many of them.


    When the Kobold Kampfer appeared from a cloud of green smoke in the center of the room, Roxanne took her designated position in front of it and brandished her Scimitar, which she then used to slash at it and draw its attention to herself, while I assumed my combat-ready stance at its back, waiting for the right moment to attack to present itself. Since I have my OP abilities and an even more OP weapon, it shouldn¡¯t surprise anyone that I am our Party¡¯s main damage dealer, and as a damage dealer, I should be pouring all of my efforts into attacking and killing enemies with one blow rather than focusing on avoiding their attacks or defending against them. Dodging and defending is Roxanne¡¯s role, because as worried about Roxanne¡¯s safety as I may be, those concerns are always proven to be unnecessary. No matter if this is a normal enemy or a Boss, as long as Roxanne has her superior reflexes, there is no way for any attack to reach her.


    The attacks of the Kobold Kampfer are all slow and clumsy, and he is staggering under Roxanne¡¯s attacks. To be honest, I am starting to feel a little sorry for that monster.


    When the Kobold Kampfer was defeated and disappeared in a cloud of green smoke after leaving behind its drop items, we moved onto the fourth floor, where I decided to keep Durandal with me for a while longer until we happen across the first encounter with the monsters native to this floor and see how tough they will be to beat.


    The first monster that we encountered not long after arriving here was a Mino Lv4. So, this is the type of monster native to the fourth floor of Veil¡¯s Labyrinth, huh? It looks like a brown buffalo, or perhaps a bull, but it has a torso that looks like its strangely too short in comparison to its massive front and hind legs, giving it a bit of a comical looks. Could it be that whoever was responsible for creating the monsters for this game made a fatal design error with it and didn¡¯t bother to correct it? Normally cows and bulls I am familiar with look docile, or even kinda cute, but with the two sharp horns growing out of its head, I can safely say that there is nothing even remotely cute about this monster here.


    It looks our way with eyes filled with ferocious killing intent, and then breaks into a run with its head brought down and the sharp horns pointing directly at us. If those things hit us, I bet it won¡¯t end on just light wound. It¡¯s going to hurt like hell¡­.


    ¡­ If it manages to hit us at all, that is. I mean seriously, if all it is doing is charging at its prey straight ahead, then even someone as evasion-impaired like me will be able to dodge such a simple-minded attack like that of a common boar. Then again, it¡¯s just an oversized, muscular cow, so I don¡¯t know what else I have expected.


    Mino charges towards Roxanne and thrusts its horns towards her, but she simply twisted her body lightly and dodged it effortlessly, and I swung my weapon at it after dodge-rolling to the side. As a result, Mino collapsed to the ground before it got the chance to aim its horns at us again. So it looks like with Durandal, even the monsters on the Labyrinth¡¯s fourth floor can still be defeated in one blow.


    The enemy became a puff od green smoke and disappeared. The item it left behind is something called Mino¡¯s Hide. If it turns out to be sturdy enough, perhaps it could be a good material for armor-making? Or turning it into some nice clothing? Anyway¡­


    ¡¸So this is the kind of monster we will have to deal with here? Not only does it have quite the ferocious appearance, but it also seems to be pretty powerful.¡¹


    ¡¸It does look like a powerful opponent indeed¡­ but all you have to do is to watch its movements closely so that you can safely dodge its attacks.¡¹


    She¡¯s not wrong, but there are two catches to what she¡¯s saying: you actually have to be nimble enough to dodge and then swiftly counterattack, and have a keen enough eyesight to actually see the best possible moment for carrying out a dodge. As much as it pains me to say it, out of the two of us, only Roxanne is able to carry such manuevers out in a consistent manner. I don¡¯t want to always be burdening her with having to act like a decoy, so I will have to definitely do something about it in the near future.


    Now that the battle with Mino was finished, I unequipped Durandal and switched back to my magic-using setup. Now that we are on the fourth floor, it seems highly unlikely that I will be able to defeat monsters other than Kobolds with one or two shots of my spells. It¡¯ll be more realistic to assume that I will need three or perhaps even four of them to get the job done properly. The obvious downside to it is that if I can¡¯t defeat them in three shots or less, it means that the probability of them reaching me before I could dispose of them will be greater, but it¡¯s not like I can do anything about it besides gaining more levels and increasing my stats.


    As we moved forward through the fourth floor, we haven¡¯t encountered a group of two or more Minos. The groups of enemies we fought against always consisted of either one of them, or a mixture of just one Mino along with a Kobold, a Green Caterpillar or even a Needlewood. As a side note: Needlewoods; monsters native to Veil Labyrinth¡¯s first floor, were growing more and more scarce now. Perhaps after venturing a few more floors further we will stop encountering them at all? well, no point thinking about it now. Scarce or not, they are still enemies that have to be cut down for us to proceed.


    If we only have to deal with one Mino, dealing with it can be left to Roxanne.

 Volume 3 - CH 3.05

    Since she will be done with it in no time flat, and when it comes to Kobolds, Green Caterpillars and Needlewoods, they can all be defeated before they even come within our melee distance thanks to my tried and true method of shooting a Fireball at them until they die that I have developed over my countless battles with them thus far.  All in all, I think we are actually more than ready to take on the fourth floor.


    When I was thinking about all those things, a group of three Lv.4 Mino¡¯s appeared before us. Geh, I know it¡¯s about time a group made only of the monsters native to this floor appeared, but it doesn¡¯t make the prospect of actually fighting them any more appealing.


    By the way, three monsters should the maximum amount that should be encountered here on the fourth floor, meaning that technically no more monsters should appear during this particular fight. It is definitely a good thing that the monster ratio is so small on the lower floor of the Labyrinth¡¯s, otherwise we might have been in serious trouble. For the time being, let us take care of the guys in front of us.


    My opening gift to them was a Fire Storm right to their ugly faces, but since one shot was not nearly enough to finish them off they simply powered through the spell and continued their charge towards us. I readied my wand and fired a second shot of magic at them, and then the third one, but it was still not enough. Are they able to withstand so many attacks of Fire Storm because of the speed gained from the momentum of their charge? But in that case, I think I can use this to my advantage!


    Now that all three of them have eaten three shots of Fire Storm it shouldn¡¯t take much more for us to kill them, so while Roxanne focuses the attention of the two of them on herself, I can take care of the last one on my own. Its momentum is strong, but that means that if I just let it come as close to me as possible before evading and making my own move¡­


    ¡­ it won¡¯t be able to change its course and respond in time!


    (Fire Storm¡­ ughhh!!!)


    I definitely felt the sensation of its horns connecting with my hand just now, but soon after that, the fourth Fire Storm I fired at that Mino consumed it and it finally fell to the ground, dead.


    I actually got hit. Its horn reached me. The thoughts that if I didn¡¯t finished it off just now it could have been pretty bad for me rushed through my head. Even with all the powers and weapons at my disposal, the fear of getting hit by the enemies and being harmed is still very much real within me. Right now, I was once again reminded that fighting monsters is a scary endeavor.


    I should have expected as much. After all, these horns have to be as sharp as the weapons used by Adventurers, so its no surprise that it managed to penetrate through the parts of my Leather Armor, which might not be the best kind of protection against bladed weapons or sharp fangs, horns or claws, not to mention the fact that it does not cover my body in its entirety, leaving some parts of it exposed and therefore opened up to attacks.


    Should I buy better equipment for myself to make sure that such attacks won¡¯t harm me even if they somehow manage to connect with me? Like, for example, a set of full metal armor?Because I think that one of the guys from the Party we evesdropped on way back then at the Labyrinth¡¯s entrance, the ones that were discussing whether they should stay on the third floor or move to the fourth one, had an armor like that. Granted, it will definitely slow down my movements, but the damage reduction should be much bigger in comparison to my current Leather Armor.


    I know that now is not the time to be thinking about such things, but I just can¡¯t help it, especially since I know that the higher we will climb and the more floors we are going to explore, the monsters are only going to get stronger and scarier.


    I tried to recall how I felt when other monsters attacked me and managed to successfully land a hit on me, and the first one that comes to my mind was that one Green Caterpillar that body-blowed me. The initial shock of having a giant bug ram itself into me with the weight of its entire body was quite shocking and it was somewhat painful, but overall, it was nothing that would sweep you off your feet in such a way that you would have trouble standing back up. When it come to the Needlewoods, they are just trees smacking you with their branches, so that¡¯s nothing to write home about. As for the Kobolds, I¡­ I actually have nothing to say about them, because I have never been attacked directly by any of them. Okay, the knives they are carrying around are more than a little unsettling, but the Kobolds themselves are so weak that one strike of the sword or one spell from the ordinary wand are enough to kill them. Or maybe I just thought they were scary because that was the first time when I saw them carrying those weapons and now I gotten used to seeing them so I do not find it as scary anymore?


    In any case, now that I have finished dealing with my enemy, my eyes wondered towards Roxanne, who was fighting against the two of them at the same time. It should be more difficult for her, since she has to keep track of and avoid the attacks of not one, but two Minos at once, however¡­


    Roxanne hits the Mino right in front of her with her Scimitar to stop it from charging blindly ahead towards me and draw its attention to herself, and then lightly dodges the charge of the second Mino with her shield. It¡¯s amazing how she in not faltering in the slightest even when she is clearly outnumbered and at a disadvantage. She dodges the attacks and counterattacks almost immediately after they miss her, slashing at the Minos¡¯s bodies and horns so hard that sparks are created with every blow. The two Mino¡¯s Roxanne¡¯s been fighting with were dead soon after that.


    ¡¸Did you have any trouble fighting two of them at the same time, Roxanne? Because as far as I am concerned, fighting three Minos at once might be a little annoying. How troublesome¡¹


    ¡¸While it¡¯s true that having to face more of those particular monsters at once might be somewhat problematic, the battle was still shorter than it would have been without master¡¯s magic. Thanks to you, we could finish them off quickly and avoid any harm that would have been inevitable if the fight started to drag on.¡¹


    ¡¸So I take it you won¡¯t have any difficulties taking two of them on should the need for that arise again?¡¹


    ¡¸Not at all. Just now, they were only able to make two attacks before the battle was ended. However, I cannot guarantee that I will be able to evade all of their attacks if the battle lasts longer than a few minutes at best, so I think we should avoid encounters like that whenever we can afford it.¡¹


    My thoughts exactly. Aside from their charge attack being more than a little scary due to how sudden it can be, Minos are not that hard to kill if you keep your wits about you and your head calm at all times, but just like Roxanne said, we should avoid fighting bigger groups of enemies whenever we can, or grow strong enough to dispose of them in the blink of an eye. And for that, we will need more EXP and levels for our Jobs. Or to be more specific, I need more EXP and Levels for my Jobs because Roxanne is doing just fine as she is already; I am the one who has to get stronger not to constantly rely on her doing all of the heavy lifting for me.


    That, and having only her fight all of the enemies, like those Minos just now would be boring and anticlimactic, since this is technically my story.


    We then continued to explore the fourth floor of the Veil¡¯s Labyrinth. For the time being we have not encountered a group made out of three Mino¡¯s again, and even if we happened across a group of three monsters, it¡¯s usually one Mino mixed with a Kobold or Green Caterpillar. As long as the group of three Minos won¡¯t show up again, then I think our trek through this floor might actually be pretty uneventful.

 Volume 3 - CH 3.06

    If two monsters show up, then they are no problem for us since we can just take them on in a one-on -one combat, and as long as we (or in this case, I) won¡¯t panic, we can deal with them in a minute or so, but if one of them is a Mino, then I have to allow Roxanne to take care of it while I go for the other one. In any other case, they were all steadily defeated.


    The next trio of enemies appeared a solid while later. It was a combo of two Minos and a Kobold. Naturally, the Kobold got obliterated into a puff of green smoke by a Fire Storm before it could even begin to run towards us. Now that this loser was out of the picture, all we had to deal with were two Minos, who promptly began to charge towards us.


    The first blow from the Fire Storm reached them, but did not stop them exactly the same as last time. Roxanne jumped towards the one in front and stopped it from advancing by slashing her Scimitar at it, but the second one got past her and continued to approach me with its head lowered and horns in front. I launched a second and third Fire Storm at it, but again, three shots were not enough to bring it down. I need one more spell to finish it off for good.


    But before I could fire another spell, Mino, who got in my melee range lifted its head and attacked me with its horns during the downtime between one spell and the other where I could do nothing to defend myself. I tried to hastily twist my body to avoid it, but my left arm got caught up by its horn, resulting it a much sharper pain than during the previous battle where I was just barely grazed by it. It was un unpleasant kind of pain, but luckily not strong enough to make me faint on the spot.


    ¡¸Uooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!¡¹


    Danger. My life is in danger!


    Fire Storm activated, and emitted a series of sparks.


    ¡¸Buooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!¡¹


    The Mino got struck by most of them, which caused it to fall sideways as it was being burned to cinders. With that final blow, the battle was over.


    Dangerous.


    Dangerous. That right now was too much of a close call! One wrong move and I would have probably been done for! How could I allow this monster to get so close to me so causally?! How could I allow it to happen?!


    These guys are extremely dangerous! Even if Roxanne says they are easy to evade if you pay close attention, it does not change the fact that Minos are still dangerous as hell! Until now, I have been smacked by Needlewood branches and both slammed into and spat on by Green Caterpillars so I more or less know how to deal with them and how much of them I can basically facetank before getting worried about my HP, but I have yet to be exposed to a direct hit from a Mino, so its exact power is a complete mystery to me. However, there is no doubt in my mind that a day when I will get attacked by a Mino directly will surely come sooner or later. The question is: will I be able to live through that attack to learn my lesson and draw the appropriate conclusions?


    No, I should not think negatively like that when I am not affected by the loss of MP. Just stay calm and think, Michio, think! Ever since I came to this world I have been attacked by a variety of monsters, and each time I was panicking and thinking that just one of their attacks will be enough to kill me, only to discover that it was not the case and I was simply paranoid about the entire thing. If even the attacks from the Floor Bosses were not enough to kill me in one shot, then there will probably be no problems with me receiving an attack or two from a Mino, even if it were to be a direct hit from its horns. I mean sure, they look like they are as sharp as a sword, but would they really be fatal? Surely they cannot be. If they were, then that would be too much of a power spike in comparison to how easy the third floor was when it came to its monsters and Floor Boss.


    Except that little unfortunate incident, the exploration is going relatively smoothly so far, but that does not mean that we can relax. We have to stay vigilant at all times, since even with my Chant Omission Skill, my defensive options while using my magic-focused build are still limited in comparison to my Durandal-focused build. Swinging a sword is so simple that pretty much anyone can do it, but with magic, a significantly bigger effort has to be made in order to use it. Not only does it require the caster to concentrate his consciousness to properly formulate the spell¡¯s name or the chant (not needed in my case), but there is also a few seconds gap between each consecutively fired spell that leaves the user potentially vulnerable to enemy attacks. That is what happened in that battle against the group of those three Minos just now, and it almost cost me an injury.


    I wonder what are the other magic casters and wizards doing in order to protect themselves in the periods of the brief pauses between spells? They have to do something to keep themselves from harm¡¯s way, but since fighting the monsters requires their concentration to remain fully geared towards casting offensive spells, then what could that method of prevention be? Do they have some kind of special defensive spells in effect? Or maybe their robes and elements of clothing are enchanted in such a way that they protect them from hostile attacks?


    Well, the most logical choice for them is to stay in the rearguard and shoot their spells from a safe distance where no enemy will reach them. If only we had more members in our Party, then I could do the same without having to constantly pay attention to every enemy and their distance from me and leave the fighting up close and personal to the avant-garde. If we continue to go on the way we are now, then the burden placed on Roxanne, our only vanguard member, will only keep increasing, putting her in more and more needless danger.


    That being said, should we¡­ find more vanguard members as soon as possible? And then, should we opt for someone whom we could hire for a relatively cheap price, or maybe go for increasing the number of my slaves instead? However, if I were to give my honest opinion, then I would like not to get someone who¡¯s easily disposable if I can help it, and switching old Party members for the more talented or better equipped ones will be inevitable even without grinding excessively in the Labyrinths to get money. The thing is, I have too many secrets that absolutely cannot be allowed to be made public, so it will be better to collect a certain amount of money first and then find ourselves some trustworthy, long-term Party members that will stay with us for a long time instead.


    What should we do in the meantime though? Strengthen our existing equipment? Or perhaps try and get our hands on a new one? I guess that would not be a bad thing to do, considering the fact that things will only get tougher from here on out.


    With every floor that goes up, the levels of the enemies we are going to encounter there will go up as well, meaning that they will only get harder to defeat with a Party that has only two members in it, so increasing the number of allies among our ranks, and no, I am totally not saying that just so that I could have an excuse for adding more members into my harem. That development is still a prospect located somewhere in the future, because for now, we should focus on what we should do when we will reach the fifth and the sixth floor here in Veil¡¯s Labyrinth, and worry about increasing the strength of our equipment only when it will be absolutely necessary to do so.


    Here on the fourth floor, the number of monsters that appear with each encounter is still relatively small, and they are all enemies that can be defeated with relative ease with both magic and Durandal, especially Kobolds that go down with one hit from literally anything, be it sword or magic. These guys appear more often than Needlewoods and Green Caterpillars, most likely because we are only a floor above the one that is their natural habitat here in Veil¡¯s Labyrinth.

 Volume 3 - CH 3.07

    It¡¯s nice to have enemies that won¡¯t give us any trouble, but I think we should get a little more hang on fighting against Minos, since the Floor Boss of the fourth floor is going to be a bigger, stronger version of them if the pattern that has repeated itself up until now is to be believed.


    ¡¸Alright. Where is the next group of enemies?¡¹


    ¡¸It¡¯s over this way, master.¡¹


    Steeling my resolve to fix the problem f the lacking vanguard members as soon as the opportunity for doing so arises, I proceeded to go deeper into the fourth floor under the guidance of Roxanne¡¯s nose. Anytime when there was only one Mino in the group of monsters we had to fight, we generally agreed that Roxanne is going to be the one who will be taking care of it. Anytime I see her avoiding its charge attack and not having a single scratch on her no matter how tough or rough the battles seemed to be getting, I couldn¡¯t stop myself from being amazed at how skilled she actually was. It seemed to me like for her, every opponent who relied on physical attacks as their main offensive tool was trivial to fight. That being said, every time a pair of Minos appeared, there was now a part of me that was instinctively scared of engaging them, but nevertheless, as long as I kept myself calm, I could fight them. As long as this subconscious fear of getting hurt does not develop into something more serious, I am sure I will get used to it as long as I continue to work hard and get stronger.


    Now that we have conquered the third floor of the Labyrinth in Veil, we concluded that the most sensible thing will be to do the same with the third floor of the one in Quratar, and that is where we decided to go on the morning of the following day.


    ¡¸Is it just me, or do there seem to be more people here on the third floor than they were back on the second floor?¡¹


    This can be potentially problematic, since I would rather not be seen fighting with Durandal here, and with the increased number of people, there is no telling what might happen or who might catch a glimpse of it purely by accident or when they will be passing by.


    ¡¸That¡¯s right. It is because the number of Kobolds on this floor is decreased, making it a better place for hunting monsters than the previous floor, where the possibility of happening upon them was still relatively high. Because of that, either this floor or the next one should have the biggest number of people on it so far, but after that, I am positive that it should start to gradually decrease again the further up we go.¡¹


    ¡¸Ah, I see.¡¹


    I guess that makes sense since no one wants to fight weaklings that won¡¯t give them good drop items or much EXP, but I just hope it won¡¯t come back to bite us in the asses somehow.


    While going through this floor, we passed by a number of people, though thankfully not as many of them as back on the first floor. I don¡¯t wan any of them to see that I am fighting with or even carrying Durandal with me, so while we are passing by other Parties, I try to do everything I can to keep it out of sight while also trying not to look suss to them.


    The enemies native to the fourth floor of the Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth are called Spi Spiders, and just as the name implies, they are spiders. However, they are not your ordinary, small-ass spiders that crawl on the floor and walls looking all gross but nothing else besides that, oh no. You see, the smallest Spi Spider is actually the size of a large dog. Yeah, now let that thought sink in. Having your skin crawl yet? Do not worry, I also feel extremely unpleasant while fighting them, especially with all those eyes of theirs darting in all directions as they try to jump up on us and attack with those creepily-thin legs of theirs. The only saving grace with them is that, just like pretty much everything so far, they are defeated by only a single blow from Durandal, so at the very least I do not have to look at their monstrous physiques for too long before they disappear. On tha account, I guess even Minos should not be all that scary since they also should go down in one strike of Durandal. Moreover, when it comes to Spi Spiders, they are just uncomfortable to look at¡­ but nothing else. Unlike with Minos, I do not have that dreadful feeling that ¡°I will be killed if their attacks manage to reach me¡±. Maybe its because I am slowly adapting to the way of life and doing battles typical for the inhabitants of this world? After all, I have spent quite a number of days here now, so I guess it would be about time for me to start getting accustomed to it, right?


    As for Roxanne, ever since she became my slave and a member of my Party she was fighting whatever the Labyrinths threw at her without saying as much as a single complaint, and¡­ and she even looks like she is happy to be risking her life on the frontlines like she is now. Doesn¡¯t she feel repulsed by having to do battle against such disgusting creepy-crawlies? I though that since she is a girl she will have at least some reservations about doing it, but it does not seem to be bothering her one bit.


    The Floor Boss on the third floor here in Quratar is Spy Spider Lv.3. Although it is one size larger than the regular Spi Spider, Roxanne took the position in front of the boss, just like always. My role in this battle was once again to go to the boss¡¯s behind and wait for the right moment to strike it with Durandal.


    Surprising nobody, Spy Spider collapsed onto the ground after one hit. So even a Floor Boss of the third floor that¡¯s Lv.3 was still no match for the 1HKO power Durandal has, huh? In this particular case, since the said Floor Boss was a giant spider, I am perfectly okay with that.


    When the Spy Spider disappeared in a puff of smoke, the item it left behind was a bunch of small, round objects. I went and picked one of them up and used Identify on it, revealing that it was pepper. Black pepper. Kind of a strange thing for a Spy Spider to drop, don¡¯t you think? I always assumed that an enemy named Spy Spider would drop something¡­ well, I don¡¯t know, spy related?


    ¡¸Ah, its black pepper! I am sure that it must be worth a pretty hefty sum in gold, right?¡¹


    ¡¸I am afraid not. Black pepper is a pretty ordinary spice, and therefore it is not all that expensive.¡¹


    So, it would seem that black pepper being a costly spice was nothing but my own selfish wishful thinking. But now that I think about it and recall the taste of the dishes I have eaten here so far¡­ then yeah, I guess black pepper is being used quite a bit in meat-based dishes, and since it¡¯s not a special item, but a common one that drops after you kill the Floor Boss of the third floor here, then it would stand to reason that the local shops would have an overaboundance of it.


    With the Floor Boss out of the way, we moved on onto the fourth floor.


    ¡¸How crowded is this floor?¡¹


    ¡¸Let me check¡­ *sniff sniff* ¡­ hmm, it seems to be a little less crowded than the third floor, but we won¡¯t find any monsters to fight unless we go further in.¡¹


    ¡¸In that case, should we halt our progress here and switch to Veil¡¯s Labyrinth instead?¡¹


    Personally, I would like to see what monsters live on the fourth floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth, but it¡¯s an undeniable truth that fighting in a crowded place where we might bump into someone at any given moment is not an ideal scenario for us, so we should not try to bite off more than we can chew. Making progress is important, but not overdoing things just for the sake of overdoing them is even more important in my book.


    We moved to the Labyrinth of Veil and explored its fourth floor next. This time our goal was to explore while also getting me more used to fighting Minos, and I think that little by little, such an approach began to bear fruit, since after an hour or two of fighting them I noticed that I am not finding fighting them as big of a deal as I did during my first few encounters with them. I just have to fight them calmly and without panicking, and everything is going to be okay.

 Volume 3 - CH 3.08

    One part of my current training was to focus on being attacked by Minos on purpose so that I could get a hang of how strong their attacks were exactly. Their attacks are indeed painful, but not to an extent that could not be endured as long as I clenched my teeth to power through it. Worst case scenario, I ¡®m going to have a few bruises or cuts left from the Minos¡¯s horns, but any injury that looks like it¡¯s a more serious one can be quickly recovered thanks to my HP-regenerating abilities from Durandal and my Monk Job.


    When three of them appear in a single group, things are naturally getting a bit more hectic in comparison to fighting with only one or two Minos at once, but it¡¯s all down to getting the timing of my dodges down perfectly. And speaking of avoiding¡­


    As usual, Roxanne does not have a problem with avoiding incoming attacks even when she is facing all three Minos at once, even though having to face off against three massive opponents at once required significantly more movement and manueverability than the battles against smaller opponents. I guess this is one of the downsides to our current exploration strategy: even though Roxanne can locate groups of enemies thanks to her keen sense of smell, it cannot tell her exactly how many enemies there will be and what they are. Running away from the encounters that seem to be too much for us to handle is always an option, but I don¡¯t want to issue an order to retreat from the battle because it might create a situation where we will flee from the enemies and they will simply chase after us, possibly creating a situation where we will be unable to properly respond to any case of emergency that we might end up getting ourselves into if one or two groups of monsters will combine into a bigger one to get us.


    Rather than allow that to happen, what we need is an aggressive approach. I realize that fighting every battle regardless of how disadvantageous our positions might be is a risky thing to do, but it¡¯s actually a high risk, high reward thing: basically, you can earn much more items and EXP by defeating as many enemies as you can.


    However, even if a group of three Minos was best for us EXP-wise, then naturally we were not encountering them all the time. This is a dungeon in a game after all, so just as one would expect, the enemies we were encountering were most likely generated randomly, and I think we all know that whenever a player wants something particular, RNGezus will make sure that they will not get it. And so, we fought against quite a few groups of only two Minos, or two Minos and a Kobold. Kobolds were always first to die, and after a while, I think I even stopped noticing them when I was using Fire Storm as my opening attack. There was also a combination of a Mino and a Green Caterpillar, but Roxanne does not have any problems dealing with them at once. In the end, neither Mino¡¯s nor Green Caterpillar¡¯s attacks scratched her even once. She dodged them all gracefully and lightly like a sheet of paper dancing in the wind. I know that this metaphor is a pretty strange one to be using to describe a person¡¯s ability to dodge incoming attacks, but at the current moment it is the only one that comes to my mind as the one to most accurately describe what is now happening before my eyes.


    ¡¸You know what Roxanne? At this point your movements are so amazing that even though you are my model for when it comes to learning how to dodge, but on the flipside they are so incredible that I kinda gave up on trying to understand how exactly do they work since I cannot imitate them for the life of me.¡¹


    ¡¸If we¡¯re talking about just this degree of movement, then I think that this is something that even master could master with just a bit of patient practice.¡¹


    (No no no, no way in hell. That¡¯s absolutely impossible.)


    I know that Roxanne didn¡¯t mean to mock me with her words, but that does not change the fact that her advice was less than helpful here.


    The next three groups of enemies that crossed our path were also made out of three enemies, but they were not all Minos. They were two Minos and a Green Caterpillar. In order to gain as much advantage over them as possible, I released three consecutive Fireballs, one after the other as soon as the cooldown period was finished.


    ¡¸Roxanne, go!¡¹


    ¡¸Right, master!¡¹


    Almost immediately after I finished casting the third Fire Storm and send Roxanne out to the front, the Minos broke through the clouds of raging fire and attacked us. Roxanne bought the attention of the first one by slashing at it with her Scimitar while evading its charge attack and the subsequent attempts to slash and pierce her with its horns. Not wanting to be left behind, I pulled out my own sword and attacked the other Mino while dodging it as Roxanne briefly slashed it with a horizontal slash when it was rushing just past her. I also did my best to block the body blow from the Green Caterpillar that must have survived being hit with one of the Fireballs and was now coming towards me from the left. When I was trying to think of the best possible move to make next after stopping the Green Caterpillar in its tracks, an orange magic circle suddenly appeared under it.


    ¡¸Web Spit attack incoming, master!¡¹


    Roxanne shouted her warning out to me. That¡¯s right, the orange magic circle under the Green Caterpillar¡¯s body means that its going to launch its special Skill, Web Spit to try and bind me in place. If I allow it to do so, that is!


    Earlier I might have been scared shitless when I saw that magic circle, but right now I do not care about it!


    (Fire Storm!!!)


    I shot a fourth spell at it. The Green Caterpillar won¡¯t be able to use its Skill if it will be dead before it can cast it! And if it manages to cast it anyway, the thread itself is most likely going to disappear. Probably. I never managed to actually kill a Green Caterpillar mid-Skill casting so I do not know for sure.


    At nearly the same time as the Green Caterpillar began releasing the threads from its mouth, Roxanne jumped away from the place where she was still battling against the Minos. Second after she jumped to the safe place, the area where she just stood has been covered by the sparks of the Fire Storm that erupted into a series of explosions.


    As the sparks exploded one after the other, the white sticky threads spread and stretch widely before getting evaporated and covering the ground with its remains, a few of which ended up getting on my arm. Damn, I hope cleaning it up won¡¯t be too much of a pain in the ass.


    When the Fire Storm ran its course and disappeared, so did the three monsters. They disappeared in puffs of green smoke, and the remains of the Green Caterpillar¡¯s threads melted into the air.


    ¡¸Phew¡­ I¡¯m glad that this battle¡¯s over. I never would have expected that Green Caterpillars would still be so problematic, even though it was kind of a given now that we are on the higher floors.¡¹


    I exhaled a heavy sigh and lowered the Wand which I was still holding up just in case another monster would try to get a jump on us now that our guards were lowered after just finishing a battle.


    ¡¸That¡¯s certainly true. While we are on the subject, allow me to apologize, master. I was careless when I was dodging Minos¡¯s attacks, and as a result of that I ended up putting you in the place where you were vulnerable to Green Caterpillar¡¯s Skill attack.¡¹


    When she warned me that the Web Spit attack was coming my way, she immediately jumped back to get back to me, and as a result, we ended up right next to each other when the threads and my Fire Storm collided with one another, but it seems that none of the thread remains got stuck onto her, unlike me. I wonder if she also dodged them, or was she completely out of their splash zone and I was the only one unfortunate enough to get that sticky, white stuff all over my hand?


    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry about it, Roxanne. These guys can be defeated with magic alone, so it¡¯s not like they will be posing any real threat to us now. We were just unlucky that they appeared with those two Minos that absorbed our focus, that¡¯s all.¡¹

 Volume 3 - CH 3.09

    ¡¸Thank you for your kindness, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Don¡¯t mention it. By the way, it¡¯s great that you managed to avoid the remains of the Green Caterpillar¡¯s threads, but what would you have done if I wasn¡¯t able to use magic or if that last Fire Storm was late by a few moments? Wouldn¡¯t that put you in quite a pickle?¡¹


    ¡¸How so? The enemy was defeated and its threads disappeared in the idle of an attack so there is no point overthinking it, but in the case that it did not happen and the threads would still be there, I was simply planning to dodge it once more, but this time even further back.¡¹


    She was planning to jump even further back, despite the fact that the dodge she made just now was already over some pretty crazy distance? Is there no end to how amazing this girl is?


    ¡¸I guess you¡¯re right with that. And it¡¯s not like I could do much else on my end either, since here on the fourth floor I need four shots of spells to defeat our opponents.¡¹


    ¡¸True, but even when we are fighting against a group of three enemies, as long as master¡¯s magic is able to kill one of them, that is already a huge load off my own shoulders, since fighting against two enemies at the same time is much more manageable than fighting with all three of them at once.¡¹


    For someone like me, who still has to put an actual effort into dodging instead of doing it instinctively, fighting more than one enemy at the same time is still problematic, but as long as Roxanne says that she is fine with it, I guess I have no reasons to complain.


    By the way, after getting some more levels I tried to do an experiment where I tried to equip myself with a Sixth Job and filled that slot with the Job of a Merchant (which I apparently aquired after interacting with the people who already had it, but when exactly was it, I honestly have no idea) that has an effect of slightly increasing the user¡¯s INT stat and then round it up with a Herbalist Lv.10, but even after doing all that, I still needed four shots of magic to defeat the monsters dwelling on the fourth floor, so ultimately it was a useless endeavor on my end.


    However, if there¡¯s one thing that I am certain of now, it¡¯s that increasing my INT stat as much as possible will definitely have an effect on the overall power of the magic I am using, and that Merchant and Herbalist Jobs did just that: they made my magic stronger with their INT bonuses, it¡¯s just that those bonuses were simply not big enough to have a visible effect on the number of times I had to cast a spell to defeat the monsters here on the fourth floor. It also might be that my level is still too low for the spells to be stronger, and that¡¯s one of the reasons why I decided that I will fight every battle instead of running away from them. Unfortunately, my eagerness is not enough to change the fact that the process of gaining levels while having multiple Jobs set up is still more than a little tedious, even when I am using my Bonus Skills to give myself multiplicators to the gained EXP and lower the amount of it required for a Level Up. That being said, from the purely practical standpoint, the Jobs I should be focusing on the most right now should be Hero and Mage, and while I am at it, maybe I should also fill my Magic Crystals more by using Crystal Acceleration Skill. After all, filled Magic Crystals can be sold for a lot of money, and you know how badly I will need those if I want to buy me some new slaves for my har¡­ I, I mean for the front lines of my Party!


    For the time being, I will continue on with the following setting of four Jobs: Explorer, Hero, Mage and Monk. That way, I should have a pretty nice balance of magic and offensive capabilities rounded up by some healing abilities in case things ever got especially dire.


    On the day when the bathtub we ordered was supposed to be completed, we have arrived at the Veil Labyrinth¡¯s fourth floor¡¯s Boss Room. The Floor Boss for this floor was Hachinosu Lv.4 (TL Note: To those who might be confused why the hell is the Floor Boss called Hachinosu when the regular enemies on the fourth floor are called Mino: it¡¯s basically a kind of a Japanese pun. In Japanese, the word Mino means the first stomach of a cow, while Hachinosu is the second stomach. See what they did there?) It is the same kind of bull/cow as Minos were, but obviously it¡¯s way bigger and much more muscular than them. I¡¯m not gonna lie, I am getting genuinely scared here. I mean, just look at how big this thing is! I barely even had the time to get used to the size of the regular Minos, but this guy¡¯s humungous size is on a totally different level. It it hits me with those giant tree trunks-sized horns of his, there¡¯s no way for me to survive that! I will definitely be finished! Is this really what we are going to go against here?! Isn¡¯t that kind of an overkill, even for a monster with a Floor Boss status?!


    I might have been bewildered at first, but it has only now occurred to me that since there is only one enemy here, then we will be able to employ our usual strategy of having Roxanne keep the boss busy from the front while I will go to its back to molest it with Durandal. It should be as easy as always¡­


    ¡­ or at least that¡¯s what I thought, but then it tried to kick me in the head with its hind legs, scaring the living shit out of me! God damn it, if that giant hoove hit me, it would easily break at least a dozen of my bones!


    Doing my best not to go right into a panic attack, I slashed at Hachinosu¡¯s ass from the right, then from the left, then from up to down and down to up and then from upper right to lower left and lower left to upper right.


    The entire battle was more chaotic then I would have liked, but thankfully my barrage of slashes was enough to kill the Floor Boss, granting us free access to the next floor. I guess this was just another case of a Floor Boss looking all big and scary only actually be easy to defeat once you get the hand of its attack patterns down or have a Party member occupying its attention from the front while you hack away at it from the back.


    Even after such an intense boss battle, Roxanne was, as one would expect, completely unscratched and looked to be totally unfazed both by the Hachinosu¡¯s size and its ability to attack those who would stand behind it. I have to keep it a secret from her that I was scared the whole time, or else she might think that I am a lame master.


    When we reached the fifth floor, the first group of enemies we encountered were Minos Lv.5. I slashed one of them with Durandal, but much to my surprise, it was not defeated with a single strike. I have to say, I am impressed that it was able to one-shot pretty much every enemy throughout the first four floors, but I also think that it was about time for the difficulty bar to be raised higher, since there was no way for things to always go too smoothly for us. Having accepted that inevitable fact, I defeated a Mino that I was facing against with Durandal¡¯s second slash.


    The next group of enemies we have encountered after Roxanne guided us to it was made entirely form the new type of monsters, the ones native to this particular floor: Cheap Sheeps. Even though they looked all fluffy like regular sheep, their attitudes were not friendly at all. They were quite ferocious and looked like they were ready to bite your face off if only you allowed them to do so. They also have horns, but unlike those of Minos, the ones belonging to the Cheap Sheep are not straight and sharp, but thick and curved in a shape that resembled a spiral. Being hit with that will definitely hurt, but they do not look as terrifying as the horns of the Minos that were like small spears.


    I shot the one before me with Fireball while Roxanne focused on the other two and slashed away at them with her Scimitar.

 Volume 3 - CH 3.10

    The battle ended shortly after without any major difficulties.


    ¡¸So that is what the monsters of the fifth floor of Veil¡¯s Labyrinth are like, huh? I have to say, after Minos on the fourth floor, I kinda expected something even more scarier, but they turned out to be¡­ pretty disappointing, all things considered.¡¹


    ¡¸I wholeheartedly agree. Their movements were exceptionally slow in comparison to Minos. It¡¯s like they were actually moving in slow-motion throughout the entire battle.¡¹


    Roxanne, don¡¯t take this the wrong way, but when faced with you, I think everything looks like it is moving in slow motion. I wonder if the upper floors of the Labyrinths will have monsters that will give her a run for her money when it comes to speed? On second thought though, maybe it would be better if there were no such enemies. Having to fight something that even Roxanne could not dodge or keep up with is definitely not something that I would like to do, not now, nor in the near or far future.


    ¡¸Let¡¯s fight here a little bit more and then we¡¯ll go back home. Today is the day when my order from that wood-worker should be arriving, so I don¡¯t want to miss the messenger with the finished product.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay. As you wish, master.¡¹


    After fighting a few more groups of Cheap Sheep on the fifth floor we decided to call it a day and go back home. The most important thing we have learned during this round in the Labyrinth is that even though I can apparently no longer defeat enemies with only one hit from Durandal, I can still fight them effectively since all I need is just one more strike.


    When we got back home, it didn¡¯t take long for the messenger from the wood-worker¡¯s shop to arrive with my requested order. And it took him exactly five days to prepare it, just like he said.


    ¡¸Oh, is that the thing you have requested, master?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. It has finally arrived!¡¹


    Not waiting for the wagon to arrive, I left the house in excitement to meet the messenger outside.


    ¡¸Here¡¯s your order, as requested.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you very much for delivering it so fast, We will be taking care of it from here.¡¹


    After confirming everything, the messenger moved to the back of the wagon to get the bathtub off of it. The first thing that I noticed about it was¡­


    ¡¸Wow, this thing is huge!¡¹


    I knew it was going to be big because I ordered it as such, but the sheer size of it blew my mind. Looking at it from up close, this thing was even bigger than what I was imagining when I was looking at other tubs back in the store, the ones that I used as the base for what I was requesting.


    A large, perfectly circular tub was placed vertically on the loading platform of the carriage that was being drawn by a single horse. The overall size of it is¡­ I think it is three meters in diameter. About half of the basin sticks out from above the carriage, making it look like it was something that would be hard to transport with just one horse, and yet here it is, right on our very doorstep.


    If this thing was any bigger it would be difficult for me to call it a proper piece of furniture, but even as it is now, I think this bathtub emanates an aura of strangely imposing intensity, but since I was the one who ordered it to be made in such a way, wide enough for two people and with the depth going above the height of an average person, I have no one but myself to blame for how it turned out.


    ¡¸This is the item that you ordered to be custom made, master?¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, the one and the same. Now, let¡¯s see¡­ hmm, all the boards look like they are thick and sturdy, and they all look like they can hold their fair share of weight¡­¡¹


    Maybe that¡¯s how the bathtubs are supposed to be made, but the boards that make the tub¡¯s floor are even thicker than the rest of them. I looked at Roxanne, hoping that she will be able to offer me an explanation to this particular riddle.


    ¡¸The bottom boards have to be thicker than the rest, because if they were to be too thin, then the whole bottom would immediately break when it would be exposed to too much water. By making them in such a way, we can prevent that from happening.¡¹


    But the one who answered me was the messenger guy instead. Here I was thinking that he was just a simple deliveryman, but maybe he is actually involved in the production process?


    Anyway¡­


    So, the bottom of the bathtub might actually break if too much water is being poured inside and the bottom boards are not thick enough, eh? But then, how much water can fill into this bathtub, exactly? Let me just think about it and do the math (TL Note: Hoo boi, this is going to be good).


    One liter of water is a thousand cubic centimeters and one centimeter x one centimeter x one centimeter equals one cubic centimeter, so¡­ one hundred centimeters x ten centimeters x one centimeter equals one thousand cubic centimeters, meaning one liter, and since one meter is one hundred centimeters, then if the length and the width of the entire bathtub are both one meter and the depth is one centimeter, then that would mean that it can hold ten liters of water¡­ wow, that is a lot more than I expected. The surface area of the bathtub¡¯s base is roughly Pi R squared, and since the radius is one meter, then tha would be 3.14 square meters. If the depth of this thing is about fifty centimeters, than that gives us 3.14 square M x fifty centimeters x ten liters which gives us a total of¡­ one thousand five hundred and seventy liters? And since one liter is equal to one kilogram, then¡­


    Oh¡­ my¡­ fucking sweet jesus!!!


    No Michio, calm down and think about it once more. Cool that hot-blooded head of yours and do the math again, just to be sure.


    *Doing the math furiously*


    After doing all of the calculations multiple times in order to be absolutely sure that I did not make any mistakes anywhere, I arrived at a conclusion that I did everything correctly and the end result checked itself out every single time. Really? Does this bathtub really is able to contain 1.57 tons of water in it?


    That is¡­ a tremendous amount of it, and I mean it in an unironic way. Also, I didn¡¯t think that the day will come when I will be forced to use a unit of measurement as big as tons in my daily life calculations. But I guess that explains why the boards used to make this bathtub needed to be so thick: if not, the whole thing would not be able to properly contain all the water needed to take a proper bath without breaking the tub with its sheer volume. And while we are on the subject of storing water in the tub, I wonder how well it¡¯s going to be handling hot water and if the hot water itself won¡¯t be cooling off relatively fast without having some means to constantly keep it boiling?


    ¡¸W-Well, for the time being, shall we bring it inside? ¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, my master.¡¹


    Even though it barely fit through the door because of its sheer size, Roxanne and I managed to bring the washbasin into the house without wasting too much time to do so. You know what, no. I think that at this point there is no point in calling this thing a washbasin, even if it was based on it and others might think about it as a giant washbasin. Personally, I don¡¯t think that calling it a bathtub would be sufficient now. For me, this thing here is a full-fledged wooden bath now.


    ¡¸Roxanne, be careful not to get your fingers stuck between the tub and the walls, okay?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course. I will be sure to be careful.¡¹


    The whole thing was too heavy for us to be carrying it indoors, but thanks to it being all perfectly round we could move it around by rolling it on the ground. The only time we had to exert a little bit more effort was when we were getting it through the doorways, but other than that, we were perfectly fine with just the two of us. We ended up putting it in the room next to the kitchen, the one with a drain that I have secretly designated to be our bathroom.

 Volume 3 - CH 3.11

    Even though we only have this bath right now, I hope that we can decorate it with more bathroom-appropriate furniture soon enough, because even with the tub taking a large portion of the room, there was still a lot of space left in it to fill up. If I were to hazard a rough guess then I would have to say that the entire bathroom was about the size of eight tatami mats (TL Note: roughly 13.2 square meters, if anyone¡¯s interested.), so after settling the bathtub it, we still have roughly ten square meters to fill as we see fit.


    ¡¸Master, I know that this is the custom item that you ordered back at the washbasins shop, but what are we going to be using a one so large for, especially since we have already bought a larger washbasin for laundry purposes?¡¹


    ¡¸Can¡¯t help it but to fill curious now that the thing has finally been delivered, huh? Very well then, listen and be ready to be surprised. You see, this thing here is actually a custom-made bathtub!¡¹


    I declared so to Roxanne, filled with pride. That being said, now that said bathtub has finally arrived, it will have to be filled with water, and just that process might be¡­ more than a little pain in the ass. I have already established that since I have the ability to use magic then we would not need to draw water from a well or a river, but now that I actually started going over the logistics of filling the bathtub with without the aforementioned methods, it only now dawned upon me that in order to have just one bath a crapload of water would have to be made with my Water Magic, and then I would also have to use Fire Magic to heat all of that water up, and all those things will likely eat through all of my MP in no time, causing me a lot of headaches and plunging me into depression.


    ¡¸A bathtub¡­ you say? As in¡­ something you use to take baths in?¡¹


    ¡¸Yup, exactly. Just like you said, you use it in order to take nice, long, relaxing baths. If you don¡¯t mnd, then I would like to start preparing one right away.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood. Is there something I can help you with.¡¹


    ¡¸For the time being, why don¡¯t you bring some jugs in here? We can fill them up while I will fill the tub with water.¡¹


    Unfortunately, I have no idea exactly how long the entire process of filling the tub with water is going to take, but I will use my Water Magic as many times as it takes to get it done as soon as possible. The fastest way to go about it should be to use consecutive Water Wall¡¯s back to back and have just enough MP left to use Warp so that I could go replenish my MP in the Labyrinth when I will start feeling my mood worsening.


    First things first, we took the entire bathtub and washed it until it was squeaky-clean, and after that Roxanne brought a few jugs that were placed inside of the tub.


    ¡¸Could you place all of them a little bit farther from one another?¡¹


    That way some water is bound to be spilled outside of the jugs once they will be filled to the brim, but that would only be a problem if they were placed on the ground. Now that they are in the bathtub itself, we can spill as much water as we need to without worrying about it going to waste.


    (And now to raise the water¡¯s temperature¡­ Fireball!!)


    I threw a Fireball int one of the filled jugs to see how much warmer it would make the water. It went from straight up cold to somewhat lukewarm.


    (Looks like it¡¯ll need at least a second shot, huh?)


    And I fired a second fireball into the jug. This time, the water was hot enough not to need a third shot, so I repeated the process with the other jugs until they had enough water in them. As for why am I going about filling the bathtub in such a roundabout way, the answer to that is pretty simple: the jugs are made out of pottery which is somewhat heat-resistant, so no matter how many Fireballs I will fire into the water that is being stored inside of them, nothing bad should happen to them. On the other hand, since the bathtub itself is made out of wood, so there is always the danger of the tub itself catching fire and getting burned if I tried to throw Fireballs directly into it. There are probably more effective ways of increasing the water¡¯s temperature without risking doing any damage either to the bathtub or the surroundings, but for the time being noting better than what we are currently doing is coming to my mind. The other option available would be to pour the cold water into the tub and then shoot Fireballs at it until it gets to the desired temperature, but I have a feeling that it would take way too many spells to be called cost-efficient, so until we won¡¯t figure anything better out, the method of using water-filled jugs with Fireball-heated water and then emptying it into the bathtub proper is probably our best bet. The rest is only a matter or rinse & repeating the entire process as many times as needed.


    However, the issue of finding the best method for filling the bathtub with water was not the only one we would need to take care of: it seems that when it comes to the water placed in the jugs, one Fireball only makes it lukewarm, and the temperature that can be called just right is reached after adding another shot into it. That is cool and all, but that only stays true for as long as the water remains in the jug. We have multiple jugs that have to be filled and then heated, meaning that when I will move on to take care of the second jug, then the third one and so on and so forth, the water that has already been heated in the previous ones will start to cool down, so it will most likely require two more shots of Fireball to be heated back to the desired temperature¡­. No, that sounds like more of a hassle than it is actually worth, not to mention that it would also take a long time to fill in such a way. Hmm, what to do, what to do indeed¡­ maybe it would be better to lower the overall temperature by diluting it all with water form another Water Wall at the very end?


    No matter what I am going to decide to do in the end, it won¡¯t change what I have to do now: go to the Labyrinth in order to get back all of the MP that I have used up to filled all of the jugs with water.


    It is hard. I have to admit: filling the bathtub with hot water proved to be a much more of a difficult task than I ever imagined. And to add to the list of gripes that I already have, the process of recovering MP might also not be as efficient as I would have liked because we are in our house in Quratar, and the place where we are going to get my MP back is the Labyrinth in Veil, meaning that a trip back and forth is going to deplete my MP anyway.


    Currently, the quickest way to prepare a bath for me and Roxanne looks more or less like that: first, I use almost all of my MP up to create water with Water Wall that¡¯s going to be used to fill the bathtub, and then I use as many Fireballs as needed in order to heat up the water stored in ceramic jugs. When that part is over, I have to make sure to have just enough MP left to go to the Labyrinth, get back all of my MP, make the trip back and then repeat the entire process until I run out of MP again so that the cycle could continue. Do you see the picture that I am trying to paint here?


    However, whether we like it or not, the Labyrinth of Veil is the only place where we can go to do things like that because of how deserted its lower floors are. That is one aspect in which Veil¡¯s Labyrinth is a much more convenient place than Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth, where even the first few floors are almost always crowded with people no matter what time of day you would try to go there. That is why even though this is a closer, much more efficient option, we cannot go and use it.

 Volume 3 - CH 3.12

    Why is that? I know it might sound stupid from me because I already told that a number of times, but it is an option that we simply cannot allow ourselves to take, because with that many people around on every floor (the higher floors might have less people, but at this point in time this is purely my speculation and not a confirmed information) there will always be the danger that someone might see me either using magic or swinging Durandal around, and we cannot afford to go to the higher floors where there would be less of them too fast without proper preparations. Should we try doing that after all and take the risk? Or should we stop and continue at our current pace that is relatively safe and risk-free?


    Putting that musings aside for the time being, we made a round around the Veil Labyrinth¡¯s lower floors where I got my MP back after taking out a few Kobolds and Green Caterpillars. Since I have my Bonus Skills that give me more EXP for defeating enemies and lowers the amount of EXP required for Level Ups, then maybe if I gain enough levels with the Mage Job, I will get so much MP that what we are doing right now will no longer be necessary? Well, I guess I will just have to wait and see, and remain patient until then.


    Another thing that I sincerely hope will improve with time, would be my speed of switching between sets of equipment whenever I reset my character from a Durandal-focused build to a magic-focused one, because I have to do it every single time whenever there might be people around in the Labyrinths. All for the sake of keeping my abilities and OP sword a secret from others. That being said, did my Bonus Skills list contained something like a Skill that allowed you to keep like two sets of different items that could be switched between at any time? Because I don¡¯t think it did, which is a kind of a shame, because that would be very useful in our current situation, not to mention that it would be pretty neat to swing Durandal at one moment only to change it to wand and magic on the spot.


    ¡¸Ugh, if it¡¯ll always take so long to prepare, then I am afraid we will be forced to only take baths once a week at best.¡¹


    ¡¸¡±Once per week¡±? What does that mean, master?¡¹


    ¡¸¡­ It means once or twice every ten days.¡¹


    ¡¸Is that a big issue?¡¹


    ¡¸Not as much an issue as¡­ you know what? Nevermind.¡¹


    That was a small conversation that happened between us when we went to the Labyrinth so that I could recover my lost MP for the second time. Well, instead of a conversation, I guess it would be mor accurate to say that it was just me complaining while Roxanne listened to me without saying as much as a word. As such, I am sure that even though she would never have said that out loud, Roxanne is probably thinking that I must be some kind of unhinged weirdo who uses incomprehensible words that no one besides me understands. It¡¯s a good thing that she bought my story about me hailing from a distant eastern country (which is not technically wrong, by the way, since back in my old world, Japan was an eastern island nation), because I can always explain it by saying that this is how the people of that land to the east, whatever that land can actually be, talk during their everyday lives. Also, this exchange of ours allowed me to discover an interesting tidbit of information about this world: even though they have something akin to a calendar that allows them to track down the progress of time needed to know things like when will be the day of collecting taxes or when the first day of spring will arrive, there seems to be no concept of a week here, which admittedly is pretty weird, but ultimately I guess it should not hinder any of my plans for living here all that much.


    When we got back home and resumed the process of filling the bathtub, the temperature of the entire room began to steadily rise, until at one point the entire bathroom was basically turned into a sauna, that¡¯s how hot and steamy it actually got, to the point where it was getting a wee bit difficult for me to breathe. For the time being I asked Roxanne to wait outside of the bathroom since I didn¡¯t want her to get affected by the heat, since just by staying in that steaming hot room for a while I have become so drenched in sweat as if it was a scorching-hot summer day. I worked on filling the bathtub like that until I almost ran out of MP again.


    ¡¸Here you go, master. Have yourself a towel to wipe all of that sweat off.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you, Roxanne. You¡¯re just too kind.¡¹


    When I left the room to avoid turning into a dried-up, shriveled mummy, Roxanne was already waiting for me outside with a clean towel in tow. I gratefully took it from her and used it to wipe the sweat off my face.


    ¡¸What do you want to do now, master? Are we going to the Labyrinth one more time?¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, you got that right. We are heading to the Labyrinth alright.¡¹


    With the washcloth that she gave to me, I wiped the sweat off my face and neck. I probably have some of it on my back as well, but there¡¯s no time for me to be worrying about something so trivial when we need to go to the Labyrinth again. Come to think of it, how long have we been repeating the cycle of me filling the jugs with water, heating them up, filling the bathtub until I run out of MP and going back and forth between our house and the Labyrinth to replenish it? Was it an hour, two hours or even longer? I don¡¯t really know, but I do know one thing: if I am willing to go to such lengths just to have a bath with Roxanne, then it has to mean that I am a huge pervert. But you know what? I am perfectly fine with that. If having a willpower of steel and determination to go through with anything that is necessary to complete the goal you have set out to do makes you a pervert, then I will gladly become one.


    After going back from the MP recovering trip I continued the work of filling the bathtub, until finally it looked like there was enough water in it for us to have a nice, long soak. It took way more time than I would have liked it to take, but hopefully the end result is going to be well worth it. All that is left to do now is to prepare a few spare jugs with hot water, just in case that the current amount of it was not enough after all.


    ¡¸Alright¡­ I think¡­ I think it is finally ready.¡¹


    I declared with a triumphantly panting voice after walking out of the bathroom. Right now, the bathtub is filled with hot water in about ninety percent, give or take, resulting in the entire room being filled with piping-hot steam. It¡¯s a shame that this room does not have a window or any kind of ventilation shaft in it, because that way we might end up getting light-headed in no time.


    ¡¸Thank you for your hard work, master. You look tired, are you sure you don¡¯t want to rest for a bit?¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you for worrying about me, but I¡¯m fine. Since we still have some time, let¡¯s use it to go to the Labyrinth one more time and then have dinner once we return. And once we are done eating, then we can have a bath together.¡¹


    I got another washcloth from Roxanne and wiped the sweat off of me once more. It only occurred to me in the middle of it that I could have not done that since I am going to enter the bath in a few moments. But first we have to eat dinner. Only then after we finish eating we will enter the bath. The bathtub should be able to keep the water heated for some time, so we do not have to worry about arriving in the bathroom after dinner only to find an ice-cold bath.


    ¡¸Uhm¡­ Are you sure it is okay for me to take a bath together with you, master?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course it is okay for you to do so, Roxanne. After all, I have ordered this bathtub to be made the way it is made with exactly that intention in mind.¡¹

 Volume 3 - CH 3.13

    I wonder if she asked that because she dislikes taking baths and that was her way of being subtle about it because she did not want to hurt my feelings after I poured so much time and MP into preparing this bath just for us? Even if she herself does not want it, then I guess just this once it would be okay for me to use my authority over her as her master to order her to do it. It would leave a foul taste in my mouth, but that might be the only way here. Unless¡­


    ¡¸You don¡¯t want to take a bath with me, Roxanne?¡¹


    When in doubt, always ask directly instead of taking wild guesses.


    ¡¸It¡¯s not like that, master. Usually the only ones privy to taking baths are nobles and aristocrats, and you told me that I should wait outside instead of going in with you when you were still pouring water, so¡­¡¹


    ¡¸I only did that because I didn¡¯t want you to get sweaty because that whole room is now filled with steam. You saw how sweaty I was when I walked out of there, right?¡¹


    ¡¸Is that so? And here I was thinking that this bathtub was another  special thing that you wanted to keep a secret from everyone else and that¡¯s why you wouldn¡¯t want me to look at it and use it.¡¹


    Did you thought I would be so petty as to do something selfish like that? Oh Roxanne, my sweet Roxanne. I really think that she is still taking our master-slave relationship way more seriously than she needs to.


    While returning the washcloth back to her, I gently stroked her doggy ears.


    ¡¸Well, you¡¯re right about it being special. This bathtub is special to me, because I ordered it with the thought of the two of us taking a bath in it together.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, uhm, well¡­ in that case, I guess there is no reason for me to say no to this proposal, is there?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I definitely want you to enter it together with me, Roxanne.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, of course. Thank you, master.¡¹


    Good, my persuasion attempt turned out to be successful. Looks like Roxanne is going to bathe together with me of her own free will. If she refused me to the very end, then she would not know what kind of luxury she was missing, so I am glad that she made the best choice possible in this situation.


    After finishing all the work for the day and eating dinner, we could finally take a bath. Admittedly, the water inside was a little bit too hot for comfort, so I used a few Waterballs in an attempt to cool it down for even a bit, but I can already see that precise adjustments of the temperature with magic alone will be quite difficult. At times like these, I really am missing the greatness of the modern-day technology.


    I put my hand into the water and began to stir it in circular motions. Will this be enough to help cool it down a bit? I don¡¯t know about here, but usually it tended to work with the bath I had at home back in Japan.


    I also figured out how long it would take to make hot water, so from the next time onward, I will be able to save time by heating the water in the tub directly with Fireballs, which should make things a little easier for me. But just a little. Will it be a little easier if my level goes up? Hard to say at the current moment, honestly.


    Lemons are also floating in the bathtub after I threw some of them there. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s exactly the same as the lemons I am familiar with, but they are probably lemons because their name was translated as lemon. I would have preferred the yuzu fruits instead of lemons, but in a pinch they are a nice enough substitute. They have a nice scent, and it should not be possible for them to be dissolved in water.


    Roxanne sets a lantern in the corner of the room and begins to undress herself. She washed herself lightly, and then she finally entered the bath where I was already waiting for her in anticipation.


    It feels good.


    Warm water wraps itself around my whole body as I lazily spread out my limbs.


    Because of how big this bathtub is, it feels like I am in an actual hot spring.


    It¡¯s not a cypress wood one so it doesn¡¯t have a mellow woody scent, but it¡¯s still wonderful nonetheless.I placed a towel on the edge of the basin, put my head on it, and laid down with my eyes closed. Roxanne also laid down next to me. She stretched out her arms and hugged herself briefly before assuming a totally relaxed posture. Her thin and supple body is right next to me. Thanks to their buoyancy, I was able to see her breasts floating above the hot water¡¯s surface and have a nice long look at her seductive legs.


    Roxanne¡¯s skin is so wet and silky smooth when she¡¯s wet, just by looking at her like that I could feel a certain part of me getting hot and bothered already.


    ¡¸Aaah, this is the best.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, soaking like that does feel really good.¡¹


    I feel like we both meant different things by what we have said just now, but Roxanne seems to be happy about this, so I guess it does not matter all that much.


    Then, I felt something rubbing against the inner sides of my thighs. What a comfortable feeling. Curious to see what it was, I grabbed it with my hand.


    It was Roxanne¡¯s plump, shapely butt, and her tail that grew out of her back slightly above it. The hair that made her tail is spread in the water like some kind of exotic aquatic plant. She rubbed herself against me, and in turn I also slid my hands around her soft body that was flushed pink from the heat of the water that surrounded us.


    This is truly a surprising discovery.


    ¡¸Roxanne, your tail is really pleasant to the touch.¡¹


    ¡¸Is that so? Thank you very much for the kind words.¡¹


    To show her appreciation, Roxanne started moving her butt and tail right next to me, sending a series of gentle ripples along the surface of the bath¡¯s water. I never had a dog myself, but I am sure that this ticklish feeling is how it feels to have your pet wag its tail against your skin. It was a fluttery feeling that calmed the heart.


    Since she possesses certain dog qualities like her droopy ears or the tail, I thought that she might try to avoid getting those parts of her body wet, but apparently it didn¡¯t bother her in the slightest.


    Taking a bath with her is even more wonderful than I could have ever imagined. It¡¯s a shame that we cannot do this every day because of how butt-hurtingly long the entire process is, but if at all possible, then I would like to do this with her every ten days¡­ no, once a weak¡­ no, every five days! Or you know what, screw it, make it every three days!


    She continued to gently rock her body to the sides, causing her tail to brush against the entirety of the lower half of my body, sending jolts of pleasurable sensations all throughout it. In the meantime, I continued to use my fingers as a comb to keep the hair of her tail from getting all tangled up with one another.


    At one point I have submerged myself in the water entirely and then quickly emerged back while pushing my wet hair back with my fingers.


    ¡¸Master?¡¹


    ¡¸Ahh, there¡¯s no better feeling than getting your hair nice and wet when they get all sticky and dirty. You should try it out as well, Roxanne.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, gladly.¡¹


    And then Roxanne lowered herself down into the water, submerging herself completely. Since a bit of her hair were sticking out above the surface, so I stretched out my arms towards them and washed them for her together with her doggy ears. The feeling of the hair on her head was vastly different in comparison to the fur of her tail, but it still got entangled with my fingers in the hot water like normally.


    (Shouldn¡¯t she be out to catch her breath right about now though?)


    I didn¡¯t measure it down to every last second, but by my rough estimations Roxanne has been submerged underwater for about a minute now. But just as I was about to start seriously worrying about her, she emerged from underwater with a loud gasp, splashing water everywhere around her, and her two bountiful hills were displayed right before my eyes in their full glory.


    ¡¸Puaaaaah¡­ you were right, master. That felt truly refreshing!¡¹


    Baths are truly great. No, great is too small of a word to properly convey how amazing they are. The baths are well and truly the best thing under the sun!

 Volume 3 - CH 4.01

    Chapter 14: Soap


    Kaga Michio


    Current levels & equipment:


    Explorer Lv.29


    Hero Lv.26


    Mage Lv.29


    Monk Lv.28


    On the morning the next day, I woke up hugging Roxanne, feeling the warmth of her body against my skin.


    Maybe it is because that was the first proper bath that I have taken in quite a while, but because of that and what naturally came after that, I feel like the sleep that I just woken up from was the best one I had in quite a while. To be honest, the bed and the sheets are so warm and cozy that I do not feel like doing anything at all. I just want to stay the way we are now and continue to bask in this blissful moment. As for Roxanne, after she took the bath with me her skin feels like it is much more moist, elastic and smooth to the touch. The feeling of her pressing herself against me as she hugs me is absolutely wonderful. Oh how I wish that the bath¡¯s beneficial effects could stick around for longer than they actually do. This sensation is honestly something that you can get absolutely addicted to!


    Roxanne slowly opened her eyes and gave me the usual morning kiss as I continued to stroke her hot skin. Then she slowly stretched out her tongue and entangled it around mine. I responded to her in kind, enjoying the taste of our sticky kiss. When we finally had enough, we let go of each other¡¯s mouths.


    ¡¸Good morning, Roxanne.¡¹


    ¡¸Good morning, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Let¡¯s enter Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth today.¡¹


    ¡¸As you wish.¡¹


    After getting ourselves fully equipped and bringing the map along, we headed out and entered the Labyrinth of Quratar.


    Now that we have broken through the four floors of the Veil¡¯s Labyrinth, the next logical step according to the plan we have agreed on was to clear the fourth floor of the one in Quratar. The monsters that inhabited that floor were Cheap Sheep, the same kind of monster that we found in the fifth floor of the Veil¡¯s Labyrinth. Back there, I needed to use two strikes from Durandal to defeat a single one of them, but since here they are one floor below, they should go down in one hit.


    Maybe it was because there were many people wandering around this floor, but we managed to reach the Boss Room without running into that many random encounters with regular enemies. Luckily for us, there was no one in the waiting room, so we were able to jump right into the Floor Boss battle.


    The green smoke gathered in the middle of the room like always, and soon after, the Floor Boss made its appearance. And its name is (TL Note: JOHN CENA!!!) ¡­ Beep Sheep Lv.4. this is the identity of the Quratar Labyrinth¡¯s fourth floor¡¯s Floor Boss. It began to squeal (or meehing, or baahing, or whatever it is that sheep do) as soon as it materialized and noticed our presence in the room. I thought it was going to sound intimidating, or be so high-pitched that it will make my ears hurt, but no, no such thing happened. It was just a normal, loud battlecry. After fighting the Cheap Sheep on this floor and getting the hang of their battle tactics I can say that they are more annoying rather than dangerous, so this guy should not be a tougher challenge to topple than the Hachinosu was, and after taking a nice long look at it, it does not even look all that ferocious. It will take more than an oversized lump of wool to scare the pants off of me, you know?


    With keeping our focus and careful positioning, we should have no problem taking this guy down, so just like always, I left the front of the boss for Roxanne to take care of. I took my established position at the back of the Floor Boss and prepared to slash at it with Durandal. But then¡­


    An orange magic circle started forming beneath the Beep Sheep¡¯s body, so I hurriedly whacked it with my sword to interrupt the Skill chant from being completed¡­ or that¡¯s what I would have done if I was not too far away from it!


    ¡¸What skills does the Beep Sheep have?!¡¹


    ¡¸I do not know that!¡¹


    Damn it, it looks like I cannot count on Roxanne¡¯s help with figuring out what this guy can do.


    At the very least I think it is safe to assume that it won¡¯t start spitting out sticky webs and threads like the Green Caterpillar did. And even if it did something similar to it, then I can always prevent it by casting Fire Wall, but if I have no way of confirming what exactly is it going to do, then I will not be able to plan our actions accordingly. Now, even though Durandal has the ability to interrupt the chanting of the Skills used by the enemies, I am too far out of that guy¡¯s melee range to be able to stop it even though I desperately want to do so. In this particular case, my own cautiousness got the better of me!


    Damn it, the circle is almost complete! A little more, just a little bit more and I will be able to¡­


    I desperately threw myself forward and managed to slash the Beep Sheep¡¯s body just as it was to unleash its Skill.


    (There! Phew, safe!)


    I managed to stop the Skill from being activated, but it does not mean that I was in the clear just yet. Noticing my presence after I slashed it, Beep Sheep crouched on its front legs and came right at me with a kicking attack from its hind legs. Seeing that attack coming, I had to jump back to avoid getting hit by it. Heh, stupid sheep. It will take much more than that to stop me!


    Just from my battle against Hachinosu I can say that got more than enough experience in fighting enemies that used their hind legs to attack those who are standing behind them. I just have to do exactly what Roxanne told me earlier: observe the enemy¡¯s movements carefully and wait for the right moment to perform a dodge involving the minimal amount of movement possible. Sure enough, I accepted that I will never get on Roxanne¡¯s level of being able to doge so swiftly and gracefully that no attack would touch me no matter how close it would brush against me, as it was evident by that one time when Roxanne managed to avoid the Green Caterpillar¡¯s Web Spitting attack without as much as a single strand landing on her while I got my entire arm covered in it, but even a clutz like me should have no problems with the attack that I can see coming from a mile away.


    I was able to escape the hind legs kick by jumping back and then retreating some more just to be sure, but when I recovered myself and re-adjusted my posture to resume my offensive, but when I focused my attention on the Beep Sheep, a sight most dreadful has befallen me.


    A magic circle appeared under the Beep Sheep¡¯s body for a second time.


    Oh crap, this is bad!


    I ready my weapon and break into a mad sprint. I can¡¯t believe how big of an idiot I was for not noticing something that obvious much sooner. From the very beginning, the Beep Sheep¡¯s goal must have been to give itself more time so that it could activate its Skill again after I interrupted it. Come to think of it, maybe that first Skill activation coupled with that hind legs kick that forced me to back up quite a bit was an intentional manuever that aimed at getting me, the one wielding the more dangerous weapon away from it? But wait, monsters from the fourth floor of the Labyrinth should not be that intelligent to be able to plan something as cunning as that, meaning¡­ meaning that it was all the more woefully stupid of me to fall for such a trick. Way to go, Michio you dimwit, you have officially been outsmarted by a goddamn sheep. A mixture of anger and fear began to rage within me as waves of cold sweat started to go down my spine.


    I swung Durandal, but this time there is absolutely no way for me to make it in time. Even if I used Rush or Overwhelming, it would still not be enough to cover the rest of the distance between the two of us. The magic circle is completed, starts glowing with a blindingly bright orange light, and then¡­


    ¡¸Guooooh¡­.!!!¡¹


    (!? What the hell?! W-What the fuck was that?!)


    That sensation and the numbing pain accompanying it¡­ was I¡­ was I attacked just now?


    It would seem that Roxanne has been attacked by something as well, because she was holding her stomach in exactly the same way I did.

 Volume 3 - CH 4.02

    What was that attack that hit us just now? Teleportation? Telekinesis? Or perhaps some kind of omnidirectional attack redirected to our stomachs so fast that we weren¡¯t even able to react to it in time?


    ¡¸Are you okay, Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I am fine¡­ watch out, master!¡¹


    The Beep Sheep tried to headbutt me, but I barely managed to block its attack with Durandal. Even so, it does not mean that I got away completely unscratched from it, because while I the attack did not connect with me, I could feel the sheer force of the impact reverberating throughout my hands that were gripping the sword and slowly spreading along my entire arms length and seeping all the way to the bones. Now that I had a moment of peace, I briefly glanced at my Leather armor around the area where I have been hit by the boss¡¯ Skill. It was visibly damaged, but still holding together nonetheless. If I was not wearing it, then that attack could have pierced right through me.


    ¡¸Any ideas what the hell was that just now? How was it possible for something so big to attack me in a split second without even noticing it.¡¹


    ¡¸I don¡¯t know. I was also attacked without even realizing it.¡¹


    We slashed the Floor Boss with our weapons and distanced ourselves from it, only to rush in and attack again.


    In between the Beep Sheep attacks, I looked at Roxanne and confirmed that she has sustained the same wound that I did. That was enough for me to confirm that I absolutely have to kill this fucker as fast as possible. No matter how many wounds I will receive and how much damage will be dealt to me, as long as I will connect some of Durandal¡¯s attacks with the enemies then I should be able to go back to having full health. However, that goes only for me and my OP weapon, but not for Roxanne. She unlocked the Herbalist Job just like I did so she should have some emergency medicine on her, but other than that she has no way of recovering her own health, and that is why she focuses so much on evading the attacks that come her way. But, just like we saw just now, not even she is able to evade some of the attacks, especially if she cannot even see them coming. Her levels are also lower than mine, I have to prioritize defeating the enemy in front of me as fast as possible so that she wouldn¡¯t be in constant danger and have enough time to actually recover.


    ¡¸Could it have been some kind of status effect that affected our cognition in some way?¡¹


    ¡¸It¡¯s hard for me to say with absolute certainty, but from my perspective it looked like all of a sudden you stopped moving for quite a while, master.¡¹


    ¡¸I stopped moving? Really? I don¡¯t remember doing such a thing.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, it looked almost as if you were asleep, or petrified.¡¹


    ¡¸Asleep, huh?¡¹


    Asleep¡­ sheep¡­ ah, so that¡¯s it. It must have been something like that!


    I don¡¯t know how it managed to do that without me noticing, but the Skill that the Beep Sheep used must have put me to sleep, much like in that stereotype where children are told to count sheep jumping over the fence to help them fall asleep faster.


    But. . . . have I really fallen asleep due to the Beep Sheep¡¯s Skill? I mean sure, it would not be all that improbable for it to possess an ability that would put the target to sleep or stun it, especially since that chant-like meehing of it did sound like a kind of a warning call signalling that such an attack is incoming, and it would explain why I failed to notice what was happening around me until it was too late: I must have been put under the Beep Sheep¡¯s spell and lost consciousness which has been regained the moment an attack hit me, or to put it in the more technical terms, when my body has been exposed to an extensive physical trauma. That¡¯s only my hypothesis though. Let¡¯s ask Roxanne about it to be absolutely sure.


    ¡¸Roxanne, are there Skills that the monsters possess that could put their prey to sleep or immobilize them in any other significant way?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, some of them have effects like that.¡¹


    And there you have it. At least now I know that some enemies do possess terrifying techniques like that. And this one is especially nasty, because it practically guarantees that you are going to get hit at least once before you finally snap out of it. In that case, the best course of action would be to not allow the enemy in front of us to use that Skill of his ever again, so I need to Rush to it and stick to it like glue and don¡¯t stop swinging my sword.


    My biggest concern in our current situation is that even though I know Roxanne was also attacked by the Beep Sheep¡¯s Skill, I have no way of knowing exactly how much damage she suffered with that blow she took, since I can only see my own MP and HP pools when I use Identify on myself. For the time being, I think three od so strikes with Durandal should be enough to bring me back to full health, but if I don¡¯t want things to get dire very quick I should do everything in my power to avoid getting hit with any more of those Skills. Also¡­


    ¡¸Roxanne, switch with me!¡¹


    ¡¸Roger!¡¹


    We swapped our positions, so now Roxanne was in the back of the Beep Sheep and I stood in front of it, but I was not planning on simply staying there, waiting for it to come at me with its attacks, oh no. Instead, I ran from one of its sides to the other, whacking them with Durandal and getting back all the HP that I lost. The Beep Sheep did not stand there taking it either, because it tried to follow after me and ram me with its curved horns. Is it just me, or am I catching this monster¡¯s aggro way more easily than Roxanne did?


    I deflected the horns of the boss with Durandal¡¯s dull side and then countered immediately after with the sharp one. Every time it tried to attack me with its horns, I would repeat that process while jumping back or to the sides to evade an occasional body slam attack. After a while, the Beep Sheep did something new, which was a headbutt attack it performed after bending its front legs and lowering its head with its horns facing forward. It looked dangerous, but that was it. In truth, it was even easier to dodge than the horn swings, because just like with the Minos on the previous floor, all I had to do to get out of the harm¡¯s way was to wait for the last possible moment and then do a dodge roll. As an added bonus to risking such a perfect timing-dependent manuever I managed to confuse the Beep Sheep, who seems to be just as bad as making sharp turns during its charges as the Minos and Hachinosu. Good. That gives me even more chances for an attack.


    In the meantime, Roxanne was also attacking it from the back, but the damage she was doing to it with her Scimitar should be laughably small in comparison to the DPS from my own weapon.


    At some point The Beep Sheep started using its hind legs trying to kick Roxanne, but since she is a much more graceful dodger than I can ever hope to be, she dodges its outstretched hooves with minimal movements without letting herself be reached by them. No matter how many times I see her evade the enemy attacks, I still cannot believe that a person can actually move with such nimbleness. It¡¯s like she¡¯s moving, but at the same time that she¡¯s not, and just when you think that she¡¯s been hit it turns out that it was nothing but a vanishing afterimage.


    Her dodges are the complete opposite my own. Where Roxanne simply moves her body literal inches to the side, I need to roll or jump away, creating a large gap between the enemy and myself. That might work in tight spots, but as was evident by the earlier situation, when enemy possesses Skills, such a way of dodging is not an effective one if you want to interrupt their chanting. Even now I still have some difficulties with a swift continuation of the battle because after every dodge I have to do a short Rush to get back up close and personal with the boss.

 Volume 3 - CH 4.03

    But after what seemed like ages of just dancing around trying to deal damage, it looks like a chance to truly go in for the kill has finally presented itself to me. The Beep Sheep charged at me, and then immediately went for a sweeping attack with its horns, first to the left, then to the right, then to the left again. Now all I have to do is to position myself in the right place, and¡­


    The Beep Sheep¡¯s head moved to the right, carried by the momentum of its previous attack. It shook its horns wildly at me, but right now I could easily read the trajectory of the entire attack. Dodging out of the way of the incoming horn, I raised Durandal and dropped it at the Beep Sheep¡¯s neck in one powerful motion. Its blade tore through the skin, muscles and the tissues underneath, severing the boss¡¯s head from the rest of its body.


    Finally, the Beep Sheep has fallen. It left its item behind and then disappeared in a cloud of green smoke.


    ¡¸Okay¡­ it¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s finally dead. How are you holding up, Roxanne? Is your body okay? Are you hurt anywhere? When I snapped back to reality after being hit with that Skill I saw that you got hurt as well, so¡­¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I did suffer some damage, but I¡¯ve used recovery items several times now, so I should be fine for now. Nevertheless, thank you for being concerned about me, master.¡¹


    You don¡¯t have to thank me for it, Roxanne. You¡¯re my precious companion, so of course I would be worried about your well-being. If something ever happened to you, I would not be able to forgive myself for it.


    ¡¸If you think you have any kind of lingering damage left, be sure to tell me. Recovering our health and keeping ourselves in the best possible condition is our number one priority after all. And also, I¡­ I don¡¯t want to lose you¡­¡¹


    ¡¸Understood. If I notice any abnormalities, I will be sure to tell you immediately.¡¹


    With that said, we have proceeded to the fifth floor as I kept Durandal equipped on me just in case any dangerous enemy would pop up and tried to attack us.


    ¡¸All right, we have made it to the fifth floor. So, how is it, Roxanne? You smell any people nearby?¡¹


    ¡¸*Sniff Sniff* Hmm¡­ there should be a lot less people here in comparison to the fourth floor, and I also sense a monster nearby. How would you like to proceed, master?¡¹


    ¡¸Let¡¯s go have a look at the monsters inhabiting this floor then. Just, you know, let¡¯s be cautious about it, okay?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes!¡¹


    Now that we caught up with our progress of the exploration of the Labyrinth of Quratar in comparison to the Labyrinth of Veil, it was high time to see what kind of enemies are we going to encounter here. Normally I would have opted for going back home, especially since the Floor Boss fight was especially tough, but since the both of us managed to heal ourselves back to full health and we both still had the energy to spare, then I decided that why not, let¡¯s at least go and see what will be there in store for us.


    Walking forward under Roxanne¡¯s careful leadership, we have soon reached the place where the monster she mentioned was located. It was called Collagen Coral Lv.5. So this guy is the monster native to the fifth floor of the Quratar¡¯s labyrinth, huh? It looks like a round rock¡­ on a thin, twig-like body¡­ supported by only a single leg? And it is approaching us by hopping on that one leg very slowly¡­ I mean okay, but¡­ what does collagen has to do with anything here? Maybe it means that the rock-like thing acting as this guy¡¯s head is actually soft and easy to cut through? Let¡¯s check it out!


    I slashed it once with Durandal to see what would happen, and let me tell you, I was only partially surprised. Because the monster is called Collagen Coral, a part of me was hopingthat it would mean that its head will ne all light and squishy and easy to cut in half, but it was anything but that. Quite contrary to my assumption, the material this monster¡¯s head is made of was surprisingly hard, and making a dent in it required a pretty decent amount of strength to be put behind the slash of my sword. Is it because its head is made from solid rock? No, not rock. Since it¡¯s called Collagen Coral, then I guess coral has to be its main component. Yeah, that makes sense.


    Naturally, one blow was not enough to kill it, so I had to whack it in the head a second time. I guess that means that the fifth floor is the natural borderline of sorts, a place where one strike from Durandal is no longer enough to kill monsters. I have to remember that: floors one through four: pretty much everything except Floor Bosses can be one-shotted easily, but from the fifth floor onwards, every single battle, even against the mob enemies will require more effort from us.


    The monster collapsed in a puff of green smoke and disappeared, leaving behind an item. Now, let¡¯s see what we have here¡­


    ¡¸Coral Gellatin, huh?¡¹


    The body of the monster was all sturdy and hard to cut through, but when I touched this Drop Item, it turned out to be solid, but decently soft, to the point where I could easily make a dent in it by pressing it down with my finger hard enough. Maybe that was what the Collagen in the name ¡°Collagen Coral¡± referred to?


    ¡¸I wonder if maybe we could make some decent jelly out of it?¡¹


    ¡¸Excuse me, but what exactly is this ¡°jelly¡±, master?¡¹


    ¡¸ Nothing, it¡¯s nothing, forget I said anything. Just a little thing we had back in my homeland, is all. More importantly, do you know if this thing is edible or not?¡¹


    I asked Roxanne after I picked up the item and handed it over to her so that she could put it back in her backpack.


    ¡¸I don¡¯t know if it can be eaten on its own, but I heard that butchers use it when they are making sausages and they want them to maintain their shape. Also, I heard that once it is dissolved in hot water, it can become a pretty strong adhesive that can then be processed into glue. With enough of it, we could make enough glue that we could then use to attach the carpets to the walls like we talked about a few days ago.¡¹


    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹


    An adhesive used in the production of glue, huh? Then maybe it will really be quite convenient to have as much of it on us as possible? Also, Roxanne¡¯s talk about carpets reminded me that we have indeed talked about buying  a few of them so that we could use them as decorations in our house to make it look less empty.


    ¡¸Okay, we will worry about that later once we get back home. Can you scout ahead with your nose?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course¡­ *sniff sniff* *sniff sniff* there is someone a little bit further ahead. If we want to avoid being seen, we can go through the path to the left, but be advised that I do not sense any monsters there as well, master. The path to the right contains some monsters, but if we go there then we will be at risk of being seen. ¡¹


    So it is a choice between three possible routes then. The left one is automatically out of the question, because according to Roxanne there is literally nothing for us to find there. The way forward is also off limits to us, because you know, people. I could always switch from The Durandal Build to Magic Build and we could try going through the path to the right, but that might not be the best option under the current circumstances. We are currently on the fifth floor of the Labyrinth, the floor where one strike from Durandal, my best Bonus Weapon, is no longer enough to defeat monsters as quickly and efficiently as I was doing it on the lower floors. Two hits from Durandal are not all that bad, but when it comes to magic, I needed four shots of it to defeat a single enemy on the fourth floor, and that was already becoming a kind of an issue whenever we had to fight larger groups of enemies back to back without an option for me to switch back to Durandal Build so that I could recover my lost MP whenever it was dropping to the critical zone.

 Volume 3 - CH 4.04

    Here on the fifth floor, I would presumably have to use five shots of magic to defeat a single enemy, making it even more counterproductive. And if all of that was not enough drawbacks, we are back to the subject of people. If there is even the slightest possibility of someone already being there or going there and seeing me use magic, then that is a risk that I absolutely cannot and will not take.


    *Sigh* I was hoping that what Roxanne said about number of people dwindling around the fifth floor will turn out to be true, but once again I have received a grim reminder that reality is often disappointing. Well, no use crying over spilt milk I guess. Maybe the situation will improve as the day goes on, but right now, during the early morning, it looks like there is little else we can do in here. If we want to do whatever we want without worrying about anyone butting into our business, then we will have to change places.


    ¡¸Do you think that just one piece of Coral Gellatin will be enough to glue one carpet to the wall in a way that it won¡¯t detach itself from it after a few hours?¡¹


    ¡¸I think the amount we have on us right now should be just enough for a single carpet.¡¹


    ¡¸Well in that case, there is no reason for us to be overdoing things if we absolutely don¡¯t have to. Let¡¯s go to the Veil¡¯s Labyrinth for a bit and then let¡¯s go back home so we can grab a bite to eat, shall we?¡¹


    ¡¸Sounds good to me.¡¹


    If I don¡¯t want us to be seen, then there is no place better for it than the Labyrinth in Veil. It¡¯s almost completely empty, and we have never once bumped into any other Parties as long as we were going there. Truly, the Labyrinth of Quratar should borrow a page or two from the Veil one in that regard. If only it was to be like that, then our lives would be much simpler. By the way, I hope I don¡¯t have to spell it our for you, but the plan to go find a carpet in the Imperial City has been postponed until after we eat breakfast. For the time being though, we will spend some time on the fourth floor in Veil¡¯s Labyrinth, fighting against Minos, since I want to get used to fighting them some more. We could have gone to the fourth floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth to fight against Cheap Sheep, but I prefer Minos from Veil¡¯s Labyrinth because they are much more straightforward and easier to deal with. At least with them I do not have to worry about them whipping unknown Skills out of their asses.


    To change the subject to something less triggering: I am wondering what kind of carpets are they going to be selling in the Imperial City.


    There was no carpet-selling stores in Veil, but from what I saw back at Alan the Slave Merchant¡¯s shop, they are not all that different from what I was used to seeing back in my old world. In that case, the thing that I have to be wary the most of¡­ would be the price of carpets. As per the rule I have made for myself, I want to limit the needless spending of my money as much as possible, and that goes especially for the gold coins, the most valuable that this world has to offer. So for the good of my wallet, I sincerely hope that I won¡¯t have to bust out gold coins just to buy a single carpet.


    After we got back home and finished eating breakfast, Roxanne and I made preparations to go carpet-shopping in the Imperial City.


    We went out to the wall portal in the  Adventurer¡¯s Guild in the Imperial City. There are tall buildings on the other side of the road. The Adventurer¡¯s Guild was also a magnificent building, with tall side-buildings on either side of it.


    Although it is tall, there are no buildings that look like they would have more than five or six floors, and they were all made with the same type of brown brick, making me feel as slight sense of intimidation and oppression whenever I looked at them. It feels like I was in lost in ancient Rome or Baghdad, even though I was never in neither of those places, only seeing them on tv and in pictures.


    The road in front of me is wide and straight. I remember reading in a history book that the medieval cities were made up of intricate roads that did not allow the enemy to easily pass through them in cases of invasions, but apparently the Imperial City took a different approach than that.


    ¡¸It is my first time being here while not having any kind of urgent business to attend to, but this city is definitely an impressive one.¡¹


    ¡¸Could not have said that better myself. And the roads here are all wide and as straight as they could be.¡¹


    ¡¸If my memory serves me correctly, then I think all of the roads here in the Imperial City were designed that way as a part of a series of countermeasures against a monster or demon attack. After all, with the streets like that, you can spot any potential threat as it approaches from miles away, and that would not be possible if the streets and buildings were designed in a different way.¡¹


    Ahh, so it is actually because of a practical reason like that? I see, that definitely makes sense from a city planning point of view. Come to think of it, Imperial City is the third city that I have visited for now, and so far all three cities had a different layout: Veil was constructed like a grid or a Go board (TL Note: Go ¨C an abstract strategy board game for two players in which the aim is to surround more territory than the opponent. Similar to Othello but with bigger, 9¡Á9 board where the pieces are placed on the board¡¯s lines) and Quratar has roads that expand radially from the Labyrinth that acts as the city¡¯s center.


    The layout of the capital was certainly designed by a clever man. Just as Roxanne said, with the street so straight and wide you can see really far away. With streets like these, there is no way that those standing on guard duty would not be able to notice any threats to the citizens like monsters wandering inside of the city after they wound up there from beyond the defensive walls or getting in through the occasional cracks and holes in it. From what I managed to gather from my observations it does not seem like the empire is in a state of war with any of its neighbors, but such a layout of this city was definitely not meant for the peaceful times, or at least that is what my gut feeling was telling me. People may talk all they want about countermeasures against the swarms of monsters, but this setup is also an ideal one to handling the threats of the human variety. If anyone was dumb enough to attack the capital openly, they would definitely not go very far before being wiped out from afar.


    ¡¸Is that so? Well, since we are already here and there is nothing rushing us, do you want to go on a casual stroll?¡¹


    During our stroll around the Imperial City I managed to confirm what kind of shops were there and what exactly were they offering.


    Aside from the monster/bandit security angle, there was one additional benefit of having wide roads that were pretty tightly secured: with such an open road, the probability of getting pickpocketed should be extremely low. Maybe I am overthinking this, but even with the most of my silver and gold coins stored in the Item Box, I cannot feel completely safe without knowing for sure that there are no ways for thieves to pickpocket Item Boxes. Until I confirm that with one hundred percent certainty, I will walk around crowds of people with the highest level of vigilance maintained.


    As for the shops, most of them were gathered around the Capital City¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild, which has to act as the main landmark of the downtown area.


    Most of the shops in Quratar were made with the intention of Explorers being their target demographic, and as a result of that, they were lacking in variety of the products they had to offer. The only things they had to offer were miscellaneous goods and daily necessities as well as the basic weapons, armor and groceries. All in all, they got you covered as far as the basic items went, but little else besides that. In comparison, the shops here in Imperial City seem to be a bit more casual.

 Volume 3 - CH 4.05

    What I mean by that is that they seem to be geared towards everything a typical resident of a big city might need, and they also have a certain sense of class to them. Just look at the clothing they sell here, and the difference will become pretty apparent. The clothes sold in Quratar all looked like a rural ones that have already seen their fair share of wear, tear and use, but from what I see on the displays of the clothing stores here, the products they are offering look like something that might have been sold in the shops with brand clothing that could be found in Ginza. Needless to say, they are all expensive as fuck.


    Even the displays and the windows of the shops were all made from glass¡­ yeah, when it comes to luxury, this place really is a cut above all the other cities we have visited thus far.


    ¡¸Look, master! A carpet store!¡¹


    What Roxanne pointed at with her finger was indeed a carpet store. It was not on the ground floor, but on the first floor above the other shop, but even so, it had a solid set of steps leading up to it, there was a rug in front of the door so that people could tidy the soles of their shoes before entering, and the inside of the shop itself was spacious and luxurious to such a degree that a part of me was thinking tha a riff-raff like me has no place in here. The place was literally lined up from top to bottom with carpets in all sorts of colors and intricate embroidings that made me think of haute couture (TL Note: Basically expensive, fashionable clothes produced by leading fashion houses) items that were sold on earth. Maybe it was because of the closeness of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, or maybe because this is the Imperial City, but even though I was expecting the quality of goods offered here to go up in comparison to other cities, I would have never expected that it was going to be to such an extent. Maybe we should leave and go fins some other shop, the one that will be much more merciful to our money? How about that, Roxanne? No? Aww¡­


    Even though this carpet store was on the Imperial City¡¯s main street, the inside of it was unexpectedly quiet. The carpets on the floor were all made from soft and fluffy materials, adding some relaxing aspects to the coziness factor.


    ¡¸Welcome.¡¹


    ¡¸Hello, and sorry for the intrusion, mind if we have a look around the shop?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course, take as much time as you need.¡¹


    A middle-aged female clerk bowed her head lightly and gave us a polite greeting, watched over us from her spot in the middle of the room where she without budging for even an inch.


    Other than the two of us there weren¡¯t that many customers to speak of inside, making me feel as if were here alone with the clerk lady. Trying my best to suppress the creepy feeling that she was carefully watching our every move, Roxanne and I proceeded to inspect each and every one of the store¡¯s carpets, both the ones on the floor and the walls as well as the ones placed on small podiums and rakes scattered here and there around the entire building.


    ¡¸How about this one?¡¹


    ¡¸I think it is not bad¡­ but if we want to display it as a decoration, then I feel like we definitely need something a little more flashy and representative.¡¹


    ¡¸How about this one then. It definitely looks like it¡¯s made from better materials than that previous one.¡¹


    We took a look at the carpet with geometric patterns that was placed on a low platform. It looks like a pretty well-made carpet to me. The patterns are all different, but none of them were too vivid or extravagant. Rather, their colors were all warm and gave you a sense of calming just from looking at them.


    ¡¸You really can tell that much about a carpet simply from touching it for a bit?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, and I am sure that with a bit of practice you could learn to do that as well, master.¡¹


    Just like with dodging enemy attacks the same way you do it, huh? Sorry to disappoint you, but I do not think that¡¯s happening anytime soon.


    Roxanne slowly examined more carpets by touching each and every one of them and staring at them pretty intently. One with geometric patterns, reddish-brown one, a dark one, brown one with yellow stripes and so on and so on until she went through majority of them.


    ¡¸How about these ones?¡¹


    ¡¸They look like they would stand out too much in our house.¡¹


    Roxanne told me that after scrutinizing the carpets with a serious look. If Roxanne says they would not look good in our house, then I have no reason to distrust her. After all, girls always have better judgement when it comes to those kinds of things.


    ¡¸How about these other ones then?¡¹


    ¡¸Hmm, they are certainly not bad, but¡­.¡¹


    ¡¸Pardon my intrusion, dear customers, but is there anything I can help you with? What kind of goods are you exactly looking for here?¡¹


    The female clerk walked to us and offered her help with perfect timing. As expected of someone who must be well-versed in the art of customer service after a (what I assume to be) a lifetime  of work here?


    ¡¸Ah, yes, your advice will be greatly appreciated, ma¡¯am. Actually, we are looking for a carpet that we could hang on the walls in our house as decoration.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood.¡¹


    ¡¸For starters, could you tell us how much do the carpets in this section of the shop cost? Like this one, for example?¡¹


    I pointed at the carpet that Roxanne was now holding in her hands.


    ¡¸The carpets around sir¡¯s left side are the non-luxury variants, so the price of each one of them oscilates around three thousand Nars. As for the carpet held by your Wolfkin companion, both that one and all the other ones near her, their retail price is about five thousand Nars each, because they are all luxury products  designed and crafted by the way of special order commissioned from the famed carpet manufacturer, Dobrou.¡¹


    While it is good that apparently I won¡¯t have to bust out my gold coins to by a carpet, these prices still seemed to be a little bit on the expensive side. Since we want not something to be placed on the floor but rather as a decoration to be mounted on the wall, we won¡¯t be needing anything too extravagant.


    ¡¸And what about the carpets that are cheaper than the ones you have already shown us?¡¹


    ¡¸Those carpets right here are the one that are made by the local manufacturer. While not exactly on the same level as the luxury items we are offering, they also cannot be called cheap or badly made.¡¹


    ¡¸Uh-huh, I see. And their price?¡¹


    ¡¸Three thousand Nars per item.¡¹


    ¡¸Hmm, okay. What else do you have?¡¹


    ¡¸This way, please.¡¹


    And the female clerk guided us to the products that were located at the back of the shop, where the carpets were all arranged on the stands near the walls. Are those carpets as good as the ones in the front, or are we now getting to the ¡°options for poor saps¡± part of the establishment?


    ¡¸I have a question before we move forward. What sizes are the carpets you sell here in?¡¹


    ¡¸Most of our carpets are of the universal size, and that is such that a fully grown, adult Adventurer could be easily rolled up in it.¡¹


    Really? That¡¯s the description you¡¯re going with? Because let me tell you, it is, well, a very, very specific one. Also, if they are truly so big, then if we decide on buying one we will probably have to carry it together, since there is no way only one of us could haul something so big around. And there is another issue that we might end up having with it besides that. Is it going to be okay for us to Warp back to Quratar with such a huge carpet? Now that got me seriously thinking, because as much as Warp is better in comparison to Dungeon Walker and Field Walker, being so restrictive when it comes to the size and the number of the items you may carry with you during the Warping procedure is its most crippling shortcoming. In the worst-case scenario, we might end up being forced to ask one of the Adventurers in the Adventurer¡¯s Guild to give us a ride back home.

 Volume 3 - CH 4.06

    But even then we have no guarantee that it¡¯s going to work¡­. Ugh, that¡¯s a tough nut to crack, but thankfully I am not alone in this. Let¡¯s ask Roxanne what she thinks we should do.


    ¡¸What do you think we should do, Roxanne? Should we take the carpet that you¡¯re holding?¡¹


    ¡¸I think that is the best one out of the ones we¡¯ve seen so far, but let us look around some more first.¡¹


    ¡¸All right, sounds like a plan.¡¹


    It¡¯s good that she made such a suggestion, because if we decide to buy a second carpet in addition to the one she has already selected, then I should be able to use my 30% discount Bonus Skill. So, while Roxanne searched one part of the shop, I moved to the other in search of something that would catch my eye.


    ¡¸Roxanne, how about this one over here?¡¹


    ¡¸This one?¡¹


    After noticing a carpet with a dark brown and orange checkered patterns on one of the back stands, I beckoned Roxanne to my side to show her what I found. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s her opinion about it is going to be, but personally it looks so interesting that I ended up liking it almost immediately when I laid my eyes upon it. And since it is not in the front of the store I am sure that its price should be relatively affordable as well.


    ¡¸Ahh, I see this one caught your interest, sir? Excellent choice. Although the designer responsible for making this one is still young, they are already considered to be an up-and-coming genius in their craft, and we in this store wholeheartedly recommend their works.¡¹


    A genius, huh? I wonder if it is because that person¡¯s skills, whoever they might be, are that advanced, or is it because he or she is crafting such quality products by using the limited technology available to them here in this world?


    ¡¸I think it¡¯s a good carpet. It might mot look like it at first glance, but it has been crafted carefully and meticulously. ¡¹


    If Roxanne is saying that, then I have no reason to doubt her intuition and sense of beauty.


    ¡¸In that case, can we get this carpet along with this one right here, the one that my companion is holding onto?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course, thank you for your purchase. As a special service for buying a product recommended by our store, the price for the two rolls of carpets you want to buy shall be reduced to five thousand six hundred Nars.¡¹


    ¡¸Awesome.¡¹


    All that talk about ¡°special service¡± means that my discount worked exactly as I intended it to, making the purchase that much easier. If I did not have that Bonus Skill, then I do not know if I would have decided to buy two of those carpets. Luckily for us, that is no longer one of our concerns.


    The female clerk holds both carpets under both of her arms and carries them to the counter like that, and then she waited for us so that we could finalize the payment, which was made by only whipping out my silver coins. The woman then rolled the carpets up, tied them with a piece of string and handed them over to us.


    Roxanne and I took one of them each, and I immediately noticed that despite how they looked they were weighting quite a bit. If that woman managed to lift two of them at once like it was nothing, then she must have quite a bit of actual strength in those frail-looking arms of hers.


    ¡¸Before we leave, I hope you won¡¯t mind me asking about one more thing: ca those carpets be transported with Movement Magic?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, it is possible to do so. If you roll them up into a certain size, you will be able to travel with then by using Field Walker. This shop was made with Shield Cement so you will not be able to do it inside of here, but on the back wall in the corner here there is a hanging carpet display that acts as a space that you can cast Movement Magic on. The display itself is also changed every single day, so there won¡¯t be any problems with that.¡¹


    Oh, what do you know, so it is possible to move them while using Movement Magic after all. That¡¯s actually quite nice of them to take something not so obvious into account. So according to her, all we have to do is to go to where the display is located, cast Field Walker (or in my case, Warp disguised as Field Walker) and voila, we can be on our way home. And if they are replacing the display every single day, then that means they do not need to be worrying themselves about the possibility of theft, because the way Movement Magic works is that in order to travel between two set locations the portals have to be in the two fixed places. If that condition is not met, then the fast travel will not be possible. Also, I have to admit that it has never once occurred to me that such a countermeasure could be used in order to prevent Movement Magic¡¯s misuse. Maybe I should try employing it for myself from now on?


    With out business in the carpet shop concluded, we headed towards the carpet hanging at the display. The female clerk did not follow after us, but simply returned to her original position in the middle of the shop, escorting us with her eyes, which felt just a tad bit uncomfortable, if I am to be completely honest with you. At the very least I don¡¯t have to worry about her standing next to us when I cast the spell, but just to be on the safe side I still did my usual thing where I pretended to move my mouth as if I was reciting the chant for the spell as I casted Warp.


    Then, a certain thought occurred to me. The clerk here said that even though the carpets are quite big, you could still travel with them with Movement Magic as long as you roll them up, but she was saying that you could travel with Field Walker, she never said anything about Warp. I know it¡¯s probably because Warp is a Bonus Skill and the NPC might not be aware of its existence, but it does not change the fact that there is always a possibility that something that might be possible with Field Walker might not be possible to do with Warp, as unbelievable as it sounds. But if I won¡¯t be able to travel with the carpet while using Warp to get to our house, then what? And what if it won¡¯t be just when going from other places back to our house, but to the Adventurer¡¯s Guilds as well? That would be the worst disaster possible! There are many Adventurer¡¯s Guilds in this world and they will definitely be a convenient spots for travelling, so I want to continue using them, both when I have something to transport with me and when I do not. The only saving grace to this whole situation right now is that even if my Warp fails, the only one who is going to witness this is going to be this shop¡¯s clerk, and since she is an NPC I really doubt she will go around talking about this to anyone, but on the off chance that she might do just that¡­ I think I might be forced to do some unintentional murderhobo play.


    As I was thinking about such things, the black portal of warping appeared on the carpet like normal, so I went inside¡­. And what do you know, I have emerged at the destination I have set, the living room in our house, without any problems or difficulties. Looks like warping from the portal at the carpet has been successful. Good. It seems that there was no problems with warping even when it is being performed on a non-sold surface. That means that so far there was no accidents whenever I was using Warp to move around, and all the problems that I constantly imagined with it were nothing more than me simply getting overly worried for no apparent reason. Phew, that makes me feel relieved. Anyway, why was I worried about all those things anyway? I had no reason to think something will go wrong, but I ended u doing so anyway. Is getting too worried when I have no plausible reason to another one of my bad qualities that I should work on fixing? Maybe, possibly, but the time for that will be later. For now, since we managed to get back home safe and sound with our carpets, we can proceed to prepare the glue for affixing one of them to the wall.

 Volume 3 - CH 4.07

    ¡¸So, how exactly do we make glue out of Corral Gelatin?¡¹


    I asked Roxanne about that when we put down the carpets and took out the item that dropped from the Collagen Coral. Roxanne then took it to the kitchen and placed it inside one of the pots, after which she poured in some water inside and started boiling it over low flame, making it look like she was giving it a hot water bath.


    ¡¸The procedure itself is actually pretty simple. All you have to do is to place the gelatin in the pot, light a fire under it so that it starts to melt from the heat, and when it does, you have to leave it to cool off for a bit and that¡¯s that.¡¹


    ¡¸Wow, it really is that easy? And here I thought there was going to be some hidden trick to it.¡¹


    I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s surprisingly easy or purposefully devious. Be that as it may, as long as the process of making glue is simple, then so much the better for us, and I can¡¯t think of any easier method than melting something with hot water and leaving it to cool down.


    ¡¸As I said, now we just have to wait for the adhesive to cool down, so in the meantime we can take the carpets and roll them out before we prepare one of them to be hanged on the wall. On that note, have you already decided which one are we going to use as decoration, master?¡¹


    ¡¸I think it would be best to use the carpet you chose for that, Roxanne. As for the other one, we can lay it down in orb bedroom next to the bed.¡¹


    ¡¸All right.¡¹


    ¡¸All we have to do now is to get it to the first floor, which should not be difficult with the two of us carrying it at each side, so can I ask you to help me out with it?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course. It shall be done as you wish.¡¹


    Roxanne and I then carried a checkered carpet to the bedroom and placed it next to the bed. Since it was still early when we woke up in the morning we had a spare change of clothes prepared for when we get back, but now that I rolled out the carpet next to the bed I felt like I didn¡¯t really want to change just yet. When fully rolled out and spread on the floor, the carpet was about the same size as the bed, so it should be just big enough for us to lay down on it without our feet sticking out of it (our heads would be okay since I placed it in such a way that it was right next to the room¡¯s wall), in which case¡­


    If my assumptions about this thing are correct, then it should be just big enough for the two people to have some ¡°fun¡± on it.


    Oh no, this is bad. I feel like something is starting to awaken inside of me.


    ¡¸Now that I see this carpet all rolled out, I realize how luxurious having such an item feels.¡¹


    ¡¸Uh-huh, it sure feels like that. But don¡¯t just stand there, Roxanne, come and lay down here with me. It feels reaaaally nice.¡¹


    I laid down on the carpet and invited Roxanne to join me after testing if it is comfortable or not myself.


    ¡¸Okay.¡¹


    Roxanne did just as I asked her and laid down by my side.


    ¡¸Ohhh¡­ you were right, master. It feels so nice, and soft, and fluffy¡­¡¹


    ¡¸I know, right? Oh man, I could totally get addicted to this¡­¡¹


    Can I take it as an okay sign for us to have some fun on the carpet? I think I can, right?


    ¡¸Do we have some free time before the glue finishes cooling down?¡¹


    ¡¸I think we do.¡¹


    And with that, I, Kaga Michio have awakened a new fetish within myself: Carpet Play.


    A few hours after we played on the carpet, I realized that apparently I have obtained a new Job for myself: Cook.


    Cook Lv.1


    Effects: Increase DEX (small), Increase STR (tiny), Increase AGI (tiny)


    Skill: Rare Ingredients Drop Rate Up, Item Box Operation


    Cook, huh? It is definitely nice that it has so many effects and Skills associated with it, but to be frank I would have preferred it much more if it had Increase INT as one of the available stat increases since that could prove to be of help with strengthening of my Magic Build. The Skill unique to the Job, however, might come in pretty handy. I mean, Rare Ingredients Drop Rate Up means that enemies should have a higher chance of dropping rare ingredients as Drop Item, thanks to which we will have more options opened for experimenting with cooking food. It might be especially useful with Kobolds since they are so weak that farming items from them should not be much of an issue and I am curious what other items other than Kobold Salt they would have to offer. Assuming they even have a Drop Item other than Kobold Salt of course.


    ¡¸I will go do the dishes now.¡¹


    ¡¸Sure, take your time.¡¹


    Looking at the description of the Cook¡¯s Job and its effects and Skills once more, I once again realized that the world of this game is Labyrinth-centric to its very core, because normally everyone who would see the Job titled ¡°Cook¡± would probably assume that it will be a Job that either strengthens the ability of the user to cook or makes all the processes related to cooking easier or faster, but here, the Cook Job is doing neither of those things. All it is doing is to give me an increased drop rates for the rare cooking ingredient to be obtained from defeated monsters, but that¡¯s about it. It would be nice if ot had a bonus effect that goes along the lines of ¡°Prevents the ingredients stored in the Item Box from rotting¡±, but I guess that would be asking too much, huh? Unless it is a hidden effect and I won¡¯t see if it works until I will give it a go of course.


    Okay, for now, let¡¯s see what this whole Item Box Operation thingy is about. Character Reset¡­add Cook Lv.1 to the list of my equipped Jobs¡­ set it as a First Job¡­ all done¡­ now select the Item Box and¡­


    (Holy Cow it¡¯s huge!)


    When I finished adding Cook to the list of Jobs and selected it as my First Job for the time being, the biggest distinction that I have noticed was that the capacity of my Item Box has been practically doubled. When I had Explorer Lv.30 set as my First Job, I could fit thirty types of thirty different items in it, but now it looks like I can store thirty types of sixty different items in it, so yeah, the overall capacity has been doubled.


    (All right, that¡¯s admittedly pretty neat. But now, let¡¯s see if the system that is governing the Item Box is able to distinguish which Job¡¯s Item Box the items are placed in¡­ there.)


    I switched my First Job back to Explorer and moved part of the items from the Cook¡¯s Item Box to the Explorer¡¯s Item Box so in order to have the same amount of items in both Item Boxes, and when that was done I tried to remove Cook from my list of Jobs¡­ only to find out that I was not able to do that at all. So the system does distinguish by which Job¡¯s Item Box the items are placed in.


    To briefly summarize what I learned from this Item Box experiment just now:


    Those are the apparent rules that govern the combined Item Boxes and how the system distinguishes between them.

 Volume 3 - CH 4.08

    But as to whether or not there are more rules or those existing ones will not be altered or changed in any way, I have no way of determining that at this point in time.


    However, the size of the Explorer¡¯s Item Box is thirty types of thirty items because right now the level of my Explorer Job is at Lv.30. If my level increases and Explorer will change from Lv.30 to Lv.31, then the size of the Explorer¡¯s Item Box should also increase from thirty types of thirty items to thirty one types of thirty one items, so maybe the ever-increasing size of the Item Box will facilitate some changes in it further down the road? What about the Cook then? Well, since it started with thirty slots for items at Lv.1 I think it might actually be what the Item Box Organization Skill is all about, so it is probably safe to assume that this number of thirty slots is going to stay the same no matter what level the Job itself will become. Even if I level the Cook¡¯s Job to Lv.30 or Lv.31, the capacity is probably going to stay at thirty all the time.


    No matter how it is going to turn out in the end, the current setting where the Cook¡¯s Item Box has to stay at a fixed size no matter what the level of the actual Job is felt like a natural one to me, and thinking about all of the factors that might or might not facilitate changes in it only made my head hurt when I tried to wrap it around them.


    Finally, given the overall size of its Item Box, I think it is safe to assume that the requirements to unlocking the Job of a Cook is to have the Explorer¡¯s Job at Lv.30 and cook something.


    Since I got my hands on the Job with the Skill Rare Ingredients Drop Rate up, I decided to go to the Labyrinth of Veil¡¯s fifth floor while having it as one of my active Jobs to see how was that going to work, but much to my disappointment none of the Cheap Sheep we encountered there seemed to have dropped anything that would be out of the ordinary. Not a single rare ingredient, just the regular ass ones. We even went down to the fourth floor to see if Minos would drop something else, but that was a bust as well. Tch, what a bunch of useless cows! Then again, maybe Cheap Sheep and Minos only have common drops and do not have anything that could be classified as rare on them?


    ¡¸Roxanne, just to make sure that we are both on the same page here. There are monsters that drop rare ingredients when they are killed, right?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, they definitely are there.¡¹


    ¡¸So technically speaking, as long as we keep killing them, they should drop something different than their regular drops at some point, right?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, that is what I believe.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay then, I¡¯m going to trust you on this one. On to the next group of enemies, please.¡¹


    Since Roxanne has a much better sense of smell than I do, I guess we will eventually find an enemy that will drop something rare if we just continue to follow along her guidance.


    ¡¸Maybe we should try going to another floor?¡¹


    I proposed after the next few battles where the result was the same as with all the other ones.


    ¡¸We might as well. I think that the higher we will go, the better chances we are going to have.¡¹


    ¡¸While we are still on the subject, I wonder if one type of enemies has only one type or rare ingredient that can drop from them or do they have multiple ones?¡¹


    ¡¸I think some of them do, but I never had any opportunity to verify if that is true for all of them, or just for a select few.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay, we gotta start somewhere. How about Minos?¡¹


    ¡¸With Minos that started appearing from this floor onward, I think they have multiple rare drops that are floor dependent. For example, the ones here on the fourth floor drop one type of beef, but on the higher floors they might drop things like boneless ribs or other kinds of meat that can normally only be bought at the butcher¡¯s shop.¡¹


    In other words, that is another incentive to keep climbing higher and higher inside of the Labyrinth: the higher the floor, the bigger the risk, but also better chances of obtaining items of higher quality.


    ¡¸Also, I think there are other kinds of cow-related enemies dwelling on the higher floors, and they would definitely drop other kinds of meat that Minos won¡¯t be able to provide.¡¹


    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹


    Good to know that we might have an alternative way of obtaining meat.


    ¡¸And since you mentioned the butcher already, do you think we could sell the meat obtained from the enemies for some nice dough?¡¹


    ¡¸Dough? Why would a butcher pay us with that?¡¹


    ¡¸I meant money. That¡¯s how we sometimes call money back where I came from.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. Unfortunately, I do not think that meat obtained from Minos is worth all that much even though it is a rare item.¡¹


    So far I have only shopped at the butcher¡¯s once and I only bought ham and some chopped pieces of meat without paying too much of an attention to the other types of products the shopkeeper had to offer there. On a side note, I wonder if all the shopkeepers who run their own shops in the cities used to be Explorers or Adventurers who decided to pursue the business route because they were unable to make enough money in the Labyrinths? It would certainly make sense, since you can get a lot of ingredients relatively easy, and once you place them in the Item Box they will not rot no matter how long you will hold them there.


    ¡¸Since we have been on the topic of meat how these past few minutes, would you like to buy some of it for the next dinner or two?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, and once the herbs in our garden grow bigger, we will be able to make even better dishes by combining them.¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s settled then.¡¹


    Roxanne¡¯s right. For the time being the herbs in our garden are too small to harvest them properly, and the only spices we have on us are the Kobold Salt from Kobold Kampfer and black pepper from Spy Spider, both of whom are Floor Bosses. Once the herbs grow ready to harvest, then we will be able to go to town on the bigger number of recipes, but that is another bridge that we will have to cross no sooner than when we will get to it, so there¡¯s no reason to think about it too much right now. When it happens, I will leave that to Roxanne.


    Before we continued the exploration, I removed the Cook¡¯s Job and replaced it with Explorer. After that, we were able to quickly break through everything the fifth floor of the Veil¡¯s Labyrinth tried to throw at us. Cheap Sheep were a given, but this time we even managed to cut the Floor Boss of the fifth floor, the Beep Sheep without getting hit and allowing it to use its Skill even once. I think it is safe to say that this combination of enemies no longer is any particular threat to us.


    Once I made sure to always stay close to it and interrupt any of its attempts at trying to cast Skills, the victory was easily ours to claim, and it was even easier when Roxanne was taking the position in the front, leaving me in the back to do my thing with Durandal where I slashed the Beep Sheep in a rinse and repeat pattern. Even when it tried to kick me with its hind legs, I always tried to sneak an attack or two at them before it went to recover its posture without jumping back too far away from it. That was my countermeasure against its attempts to create a time-buying gap between us


    The next morning, we took a map and run through the entirety of the 5th floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth straight to its Floor Boss. The boss of the fifth floor of the Labyrinth of Quratar gave us a little bit of trouble because it was a little tricky where the Collagen Coral had its front and backside, but other than that this battle was not a big deal for the two of us, and I managed to beat it simply by swinging Durandal at its general direction.


    ¡¸Here is the medicine you gave me master. There was no need for me to use it.¡¹

 Volume 3 - CH 4.09

    Roxanne handed me the medicine pills she was keeping in her backpack in case of emergencies.


    Not knowing what would happen, I gave Roxanne some medicine pills before the boss battle. This is a valuable lesson that I learned from the boss battle with Beep Sheep the other day: to always have an alternative method of healing available on hand, since I wanted to avoid making the same fuckup we did while fighting the Beep Sheep and falling prey to its Skill ever again. I also brought a few antidote pills with me, just in case if some of the enemies had Skills that could inflict poison upon their target.


    ¡¸Wouldn¡¯t it be better for you to hold onto them until we will see what are we going to be dealing with on the sixth floor?¡¹


    ¡¸It will be okay. In Quratar, the monsters dwelling on the sixth floor are Minos, just like the ones on the fourth floor in Veil.¡¹


    The monsters on the sixth floor of Veil¡¯s Labyrinth were the same ones that live on the second floor of the one in Quratar: Na?ve Olives. We have already fought plenty of them before, so taking care of them was relatively easy for us. As an added bonus, I was able to defeat all of the Lv.6 monsters on that floor with only four shots of magic, so hunting and grinding for levels on the sixth floor was a literal piece of cake.


    As a way to celebrate our breaking through the Veil¡¯s and Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth¡¯s fifth floors, I have prepared another bath. Well, I say it was a celebration, but the truth is that I simply wanted to force Roxanne to go in with me so that we could have a little slippery & wet fun. The thing that did not change since the first time I prepared the bath was how troublesome it was to fill the entire thing with hot water from scratch and then keeping it warm enough so that it would not go cold on us throughout the entire preparation stage. At times like these, I think we could really use some pipes and a faucet. All we would have to do would be to guide the pipes from the source of the water to the bathroom, twist the faucet and voila, worry only about making it hot enough. It would have been quicker, more efficient and allow me to not waste so much time to go back to the Labyrinth over and over again in order to recover MP.


    The Labyrinth in Quratar is almost always too crowded to go on MP replenishing trips there, so we end up going to the one in Veil practically every single time, but that just puts me in a loop of back-and-forth trips that are not cost-efficient, because the eat up a good chunk of the MP that I have worked so hard to restore, so it always feels like a kind of a wasted effort. Not to mention that the process of constant shifting between Durandal setup and Magic setup and the need to collect all the items as well as taking my Magic Crystals in and out of the backpack so that they could collect the energy from defeated monsters.


    If only there was not so many people in Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth, then we could go there to recover my MP without any issues, and that would even make something as tedious as grinding the EXP more bearable, since higher floors with higher level enemies would naturally reap even more and better rewards. But since that is not possible, we have to stick to Veil¡¯s Labyrinth whether we like it or not. It would have been a totally different story if I could fight the monsters without having to switch equipment, Jobs and Skills all the time and not worry about Magic Crystals, but unfortunately I am not quite at that power level just yet.


    Anyway, back to the topic of bathing.


    Initially my intentions were to prepare baths for us only on special occasions, but I can¡¯t shake off the feeling that this conviction of mine has been thrown out the window sooner than you could finish spelling the sentence ¡°Roxanne is the best girl in the world¡¸. Why?


    Because I realize that it was looking for more and more excuses to be taking them so that I could have my ¡°fun¡± with Roxanne in the water (TL Note: I can totally understand that, soap and lotion plays are awesome), and taking a bath as a ¡°celebration¡± after conquering another floor in each Labyrinth turned out to be just the thing I needed to make that happen.


    Thanks to that, I have been more enthusiastic when it came to exploring the new floors in the Labyrinths and I tried that much harder during the Floor Boss fights. Some of you might think that it was a really scummy way of motivating myself to do something as crucial to my survival in this world, but that is just how it works, you know? And besides, every motivation is better than having no motivation at all in my book. It was exactly that mindset that allowed me to breeze through the sixth floor of Veil¡¯s Labyrinth in no time flat. That should be no surprise, am I right? I might have it easier than most because of my OP Bonus Weapon and Bonus Skills, but that does not change the fact that trekking through both of the Labyrinths day in and day out is still a physically exhausting job to do, and no one with their brain intact can deny that there is no feeling in the world better than having a nice, long soak in the bathtub after a hard day at ¡°work¡± followed by enjoying some sexy times with your girl right after that.


    Besides, with the way that Labyrinths are constructed, meaning that Floor Bosses are always the same ¡°type¡± of monster as the ones inhabiting the floor itself and that they are the same for every Labyrinth but spawning on different floors, fighting a few groups of them was always enough to give us the general gist of what we could be expecting from the big baddie. In the case of Veil Labyrinth¡¯s sixth floor, the monsters there were Na?ve Olives, on the sixth floor in Quratar had Minos and Hachinosu as its Floor Boss. Since we already had prior experience with fighting both of those types of enemies, we broke through both of those Labyrinth¡¯s sixth floors with our eyes closed.


    As we were going through the seventh floor, we saw two monsters, one we have already seen and two that we did not. It looked like a goat. This is the type of monster native to the Veil Labyrinth¡¯s seventh floor? What is this entire Labyrinth, a giant ranch or what?


    When I used Identify on it, it turned out that this monster was called Escape Goat Lv.7. Well yeah, it certainly looks like a goat. First of all, I will try using Fire Storm on both the Cheap Sheep and Escape Goat and see how many of them will I have to use to kill them.


    (Fire Storm¡­ huh?!)


    The spell was successfully cast, but before it could connect with the enemy Escape Goat it¡­ it literally escaped. What, the hell?!


    ¡¸Uhm, Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, master?¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, uhm¡­ care to explain what just happened here? I¡¯m afraid my brain is still too shocked to comprehend it properly.¡¹


    ¡¸That was probably the passive Skill that the Escape Goats possess. As the name implies, whenever they sense even the slightest whiff of danger, the first thing they will try to do before doing anything else is to run away until they won¡¯t feel threatened anymore.¡¹


    Roxanne explained that to me while the explosions from the Fire Storm that I unleased just now were serving as a pretty flashy, but ultimately useless background to her short lecture.


    (Then maybe inform me about such things ahead of time so we could avoid such nasty surprises in the future, okay?)


    Well, if they got away now, then I guess there is nothing we can do about it except chasing right after them¡­ huh? What in the¡­?!


    ¡¸Mehe¡­ mehe¡­. *snort*¡­!!!¡¹


    However, just as I was about to get a move on and chase after the Escape Goat in order to hunt it down, it came running back straight towards us with its horns pointing forward. Now this is confusing. An Escape Goat that, according to Roxanne¡¯s words, was supposed to run away at the first sign of danger, and yet there it is now, charging at us as if it was actually an Attack Goat instead.


    ¡¸Please stand back, master! I will handle this Escape Goat!¡¹


    Roxanne declared, stepping in front of me with her shield raised high.

 Volume 3 - CH 4.10

    In the meantime, I also prepared Durandal and assumed my usual combat stance, ready to take on the Cheap Sheep that retreated along with the goat.


    The Escape Goat is not as ferocious as Minos were, but it has the same stern look on its face as they did, and much in the same vein, is not cute-looking at all, even though the goats I remember from earth all looked so docile and passive that they probably would not hurt a fly even if it attacked them first. Unlike Cheap Sheep, the Escape Goat¡¯s horns are like ice picks that are curved slightly upwards, so getting skewered by them is undoubtedly going to hurt like all hell, and probably do more damage to me than Mino¡¯s horns since this guy right here is Lv.7, which is admittedly pretty darn terrifying now that my brain starts overthinking it.


    Okay Michio, just keep calm and do what you always do. Ready the sword, wait until the enemy, who has slipped past Roxanne when the Cheap Sheep suddenly changed its direction to charge right at her, is going to be as close to you as possible¡­ now move to the left to avoid the tip of the horns going through you¡­ that¡¯s right, just like that¡­ and now when the Escape Goat is exposed¡­ give it the good old Durandal bitch slap! Or I should probably say a good old one two, because since this is a Lv.7 enemy, it did not fall down after that one strike, even though it hit it right in the torso. In that case there in no reason for me to even try busting my magic build out, since if Durandal was not able to one-shot the goat, then magic will not do any better.


    ¡¸*Snort*¡­ *Snort*¡­ Meheee¡­¡¹


    After it went forward a bit due to the momentum that carried it, Escape Goat turned around towards me and once again held its head low, pointing its horns towards me. Heh, if only it learned from that previous hit it sustained that it will not amount to anything. I just have to wait for the right moment again¡­ and dodge!


    Thanks to me being constantly vigilant, I was able to avoid the escape Goat¡¯s second rush attack. Now it¡¯s only a matter of turning around¡­ and delivering the second strike!


    The Escape Goat that was slashed for the second time let out it¡¯s last ¡¸Mehee¡­¡¹before collapsing and turning into green smoke. Hehe, how do you like that, huh?! I have to say, I am pretty proud of how I was able to dodge two of its attacks in a row without messing any of my dodges up halfway through. Now that if what I call growing up as a fighter!


    Okay, since Roxanne has her hands full with the Cheap Sheep, it¡¯s high time for me to take care of that other Escape Goat which has been standing outside of our range this entire time. Come on now, have at¡­ you?


    I don¡¯t know if it was being complacent or unusually smart for a monster from the Labyrinth, but up until now the other Escape Goat which was present since the beginning of the encounter has been keeping itself in the back, not engaging us in battle like the other one and the Cheap Sheep. However, now that its companion was gone, instead of joining the Cheap Sheep on the fray and charging at us, that one remaining Escape Goat turned tail and tried to run away!


    ¡¸Huh¡­?¡¹


    Fuck! When I saw it running away like a coward instead of taking the aggro from me my brain froze for a solid few seconds, giving the damned goat an opening it need to initiate its escape! It is already too far away for me to reach it with Durandal and I will never catch up to it if I simply try to chase after it, so my only option is to switch to magic and try kill the damn goat with it hoping that one shot of magic will be enough to do it!


    (Please allow this to work, please be enough¡­ Fire Storm!)


    The activated spell generated sparks around the Escape Goat and then engulfed it in a series of fiery explosions. If the previous Fire Storm that managed to reach all three of the initial enemies managed to inflict enough damage to it, then this spell should be enough to definitely end its life.


    (Yes!)


    As it turned out, that one spell was enough. When the Escape Goat emerged out of the explosions, it was only to make a few weak steps and collapse to its side where it disappeared. Good. So it would seem that my earlier attacks did do enough damage to it.


    (All that is left now is the Cheap Sheep that Roxanne was fighting. Let¡¯s see how she¡¯s doing.)


    Since I took care of all the Escape Goats, all Roxanne had to do was to finish the Cheap Sheep. Being at Lv.7 naturally means that it will be tougher than the ones we met on the lower floors, but since it is not an Escape Goat then at the very least it will not try to run for its life whenever it feels threatened. Instead, it only tried charging straight at her whenever she was in front of it or kick her with its hind legs whenever she was moving towards its backside. That one shot of Fire Storm was obviously not enough to kill it, and since Scimitar is much weaker than Durandal, their battle was still ongoing. Well, since I am already done with the other two then there is no reason for me not to go and help her a bit, so I moved over to where Roxanne and the Cheap Sheep were and slashed it from the side, collapsing it on the spot. I don¡¯t know how many times Roxanne managed to hit the Cheap Sheep with her Scimitar, so I am only going to calculate the damage that only I have done to it: one slash from Durandal and one fire Storm. Whatever damage Roxanne did to it plus everything that I have inflicted was enough to kill it, and now it simply perished and disappeared in a cloud of smoke like two other monsters we fought. And since we are already on the topic of Escape Goats¡­


    It¡¯s great that we were able to finish the battle without letting any of the enemies escape, but I have to admit that this ability of theirs is pretty troubling.


    Back on the fifth floor, instead of just one attack, I was able to defeat all of the monsters with two attacks from Durandal. As Roxanne and I have already established, that probably means that from the fifth floor onwards, I will need at least two attacks to defeat the enemies that are going to stand in our way, and that amount will most likely only keep increasing the further into the Labyrinth, or in this particular case, the higher we will go. Also, judging my that one shot of Fire Storm that managed to catch all three of the enemies in it at the start of the battle, I would hazard a guess that the Escape Goat¡¯s ability to escape from the battle activates itself when their HP falls to about fifty percent of its original value.


    After the encounter that concluded just now we proceeded through the seventh floor only to happen at the lone Cheap Sheep Lv.7. Since there is only one enemy, this is going to be a great occasion to test exactly how many magic shots I am going to need in order to dispatch a single enemy with it. There was no need to use Fire Storm, so I launched a Fireball at it. And then the next one. And the next, and then two more of them. All in all, defeating a single enemy took five shots of magic, one more in comparison to the enemies on the sixth floor, who still required only four of them.


    ¡¸The enemies on the seventh floor require five shots of magic in order to be defeated, huh? Looks like I will have to resolve myself to fighting longer battles from now on. I only hope that the increase won¡¯t be significant.¡¹


    ¡¸Do not worry, master. At our current level, I do not think we should have any major problems with defeating enemies here as long as we remain focused and keep our vigilance about us at all times.¡¹


    I am afraid that this is easier said than done. The longer the battle lasts, that means more time when we will have to fight against the monsters. In turn, fighting monsters for a prolonged period of time means that the number of times where we will be attacked by the monsters is definitely going to increase.

 Volume 3 - CH 4.11

    Usually this is the part where I start saying that as long as I have Roxanne with me then everything is going to work itself out on its own, but just because she can dodge the enemy attacks like its nothing, that does not mean that I can constantly push her into harms way on the front lines simply because that is more convenient for me. Even if she says that she is fine now, sooner or later she is bound to give in if too much strain will be placed upon her.


    Now that I have gotten more of a hang on fighting various types of different monsters and begun to learn how to dodge their attacks more gracefully (although I still have ways to go to get on Roxanne¡¯s level when it comes to that), I think it would be a good idea to conquer the seventh floor at a more steady pace while being more aware of our surroundings, especially since for the time being I don¡¯t think we are going to have a repeat of the situation from the fourth floor where I allowed my paranoia of getting hurt to make me afraid of the Minos whereas in reality they were not all that difficult to deal with, only my panicked brain has made them out to be like that in my head. In a stark contrast to that, we have broken through the fifth and sixth floors of both Veil¡¯s and Quratar¡¯s Labyrinths so fast that it is actually legitimately scary, so it might be a good idea to calm down and have ourselves a little change of pace and go easy on ourselves for a while instead of running through the Labyrinth¡¯s contents at a breakneck pace.


    The next enemy we happened across was a lone Escape Goat Lv.7. Since it was by itself with no other monsters near it to provide it with reinforcements, I decided to defeat it from beginning of the battle to its end by only using magic. I have already confirmed that I will need five shots of it, so as long as it won¡¯t start running away and dodging my attacks like crazy while doing so then everything should be over relatively quickly, right?


    Up until the third Fireball that it has taken straight to the face it behaved like any other monster, meaning that all it was trying to do was to charge blindly towards me, but once the third Fireball connected, its Skill must have kicked into effect because while in the middle of a charge attack it suddenly stopped, changed directions and attempted to escape.


    Three shots of Fireball right? Right, I made doubly sure not to mess up my counting. If three shots of Fireball were enough to bring the Escape Goat¡¯s HP down to roughly fifty percent, then that definitely reinforces my earlier theory about escape command kicking in when they are at half HP. If only I was just a little bit closer to it, then I could have just Rushed to it and finish it of with a sword slash or two, but unfortunately I have to keep using magic to finish the job. Oh well, it has already been hit with three Fireballs, so two more should do the trick. Yeah, I can definitely do this!


    Or that was what I thought, but as per the goddamn usual, this world just had to shit in my oatmeal and then rain piss on my parade. Fourth shot of Fireball connected nicely, just as I intended, but the fifth Fireball has narrowly missed the Escape Goat¡¯s ass, leaving it free to escape. Seriously now? You really are going to make me bust out an AoE spell to use against a single enemy just because of one missed skillshot? Ugh, fine, whatever, I¡¯ll do it, okay? See, I¡¯m using Firestorm to finish it off just before it could turn the corner and escape for good. Sheesh. Good thing that I still have more than enough MP left, because if I was driven to its red zone now and started having negative thoughts because of one goat, that would be both pathetic and extremely unnerving.


    ¡¸Great work, master. Even though it almost looked like it was about to escape, you still managed to defeat it with your magic with ease. As expected of you.¡¹


    ¡¸True enough, but that does not change the fact that they still are some seriously troublesome monsters.¡¹


    And that does not even begin to describe it. The enemies that are all about running away from the battles and nothing else are truly the worst kind to deal with in video games.


    ¡¸Should we avoid fighting them from now  on in order to save our time and strength?¡¹


    ¡¸That would be an ideal scenario, but you don¡¯t have to push yourself too hard to try and find groups of monsters without them. It¡¯s not that they are unbeatable for us as we are now, but having to run after them or use magic every time they attempt an escape would be extremely counterproductive, so if we can help it, we should make it our priority for the time being to fight monsters other than them.¡¹


    Having Roxanne and her nose here with me is a very big help. If I were here by myself, there¡¯s no way I would be able to tell where the monsters are and how many of them are there and I would simply thrash around trying to finish every encounter as fast as possible only to fail miserably. But with Roxanne here, we can just avoid fighting Escape Goats altogether and focus our efforts on fighting other, easier to beat monsters.


    ¡¸I understand. From now on I will try searching for groups of monsters that do not include Escape Goats among them.¡¹


    ¡¸Roxanne, you really are wonderful. Thank you for always doing your best for me.¡¹


    ¡¸No, I should be the one thanking you, master. I will do my best to be even more helpful to you in the future as well.¡¹


    ¡¸I will definitely be looking forward to it.¡¹


    If we can avoid fighting against Escape Goats altogether, then so much the better. But in the case where we will have no choice but to fight them, I have to make sure to hit them with Fire Storm to kill them before they will have the chance to run away, and if that tactic fails, hit them with as much magic shots as possible and them immediately move in for the kill with Durandal¡¯s two strikes in rapid succession. It will always be a tradeoff between the speed of battle and battle efficiency, but whatever ends up happening, as long as I have Roxanne with me there is no need for me to be getting too nervous.


    Afterwords, we simply walked around the seventh floor exploring it and fighting the occasional groups of enemies. Thankfully, we didn¡¯t bump into that many more Escape Goats, but whenever we did, we always had to make them our priority target so that they would not run away, which annoyed me to no end.


    The next morning, we went into the Quratar Labyrinth¡¯s seventh floor along with its map.


    Back when we were breaking through the fifth and sixth floors of both Labyrinths like it was nothing, Roxanne was always in the front of enemies and I was keeping myself busy in the back, and that strategy was working wonders especially in the Quratar Labyrinth¡¯s sixth floor which was inhabited by Minos and as a result had a Hachinosu as its Floor Boss. The only difference to our regular strategy was that whenever it tried to kick me with its hind legs, all I had to do was to move away and slash diagonally at it instead directly from behind. All in all I was hitting it with Durandal pretty comfortably and without overexerting myself all that much, until the boss started to shift its position because it deemed me as a higher priority target. I expected him to do it when enough damage was dealt to it, but to be honest, I didn¡¯t expect it to be so nimble and surprisingly sly when it comes to turning around. Since Minos and Hachinosu are basically little more than oversized, more muscular bulls, I thought the only things they will be good for was going to be charging in, attacking with their horns and kicking whatever came behind them, but apparently I was mistaken in that regard. However, as surprising as it initially was, it essentially changed nothing in our fighting strategy. All I had to do was to get out of its range, then move myself to its sides and attack again from there. Like that, we have safely defeated the Hachinosu without getting hit by it even once.


    Once that was done and over, we moved on to the seventh floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth proper.

 Volume 3 - CH 4.12

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know why, but it seems like there are a lot fewer people here this morning, or at least that¡¯s how it seams to me.¡¹


    ¡¸You¡¯re right, master. With only this many people around here, I think it will be safe for you to use your magic without getting worried about anybody seeing you and finding out about it.¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s great to hear, but I wonder if it will be the same during the evening. Because if so, then we might be having a problem.¡¹


    It would seem that the number of people present in the Labyrinth really is decreasing the further up we are climbing, but what I want to know is whether or not this floor will be just as empty in the evening as it is right now, because if there won¡¯t be anyone else here by the time there will be time for me to draw the water for the bath, I might just teleport here instead of Veil¡¯s Labyrinth and save a bunch of MP that way. But that would be possible only if the place will be just as deserted as it is now, which I honestly highly doubt, since it is a well-known fact that the Labyrinths are much more crowded in the evening than during the early mornings. On the other hand, if there would only be a few people in here, then maybe I could do some MP recovering with just Durandal as long as we would make sure that there will be no other people near us? Anyway, whatever ends up happening, I just hope that there will soon come the day where I will be able to find myself some nice, quiet MP recovering ground that I could use inconspicuously without having to constantly be afraid about getting found out.


    ¡¸There will definitely be more people here in the evening, but I am afraid that I do not have any good estimates as to how many more of them will there be exactly though.¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s fine for now. For the time being, can you take us to the nearest place where the monsters are? We have to get a good look at what we can expect to find here before proceeding further, after all.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, of course. This way, please!¡¹


    We proceeded forward with Roxanne¡¯s guidance until we happened across the first monster encounter of the seventh floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth. As it turns out, it was¡­


    ¡¸Geh¡­ you again?¡¹


    As it turned out, the monster native to the seventh floor is actually a Slow Rabbit Lv.7, the very same one that I was fighting in the forest behind the first village, the village of Somara. I have to say, the sight of something so familiar has made me more than a little nostalgic.


    ¡¸Oh? Have you fought against Slow Rabbits before, master?¡¹


    ¡¸I did, in the forest outside of the village about three hours of cart-riding away from Veil. However, the ones I fought there were low-levelled and weak, so I never expected them to end up as the enemies in the Labyrinths.¡¹


    ¡¸They might have started appearing in the Labyrinths because one of the newly-discovered ones was located deep in the forest, and if the stories about it are true, it supposedly had Slow Rabbits as the monsters that inhabited its first floor.¡¹


    ¡¸A newly-discovered Labyrinth, you say? And here I thought that the one in Veil was supposed to be the newest. I wonder if they start popping up like mushrooms after the rain now?¡¹


    ¡¸They might not appear as frequently, but it¡¯s true that a lot of them have not been discovered yet. And this new forest Labyrinth is supposed to be a pretty ¡°young¡± one, since it has yet to reach fifty floors in size.¡¹


    So the Labyrinths that have yet to have had more than fifty of their floors explored are considered ¡°young¡± ones, huh? That piece of info might come in handy in the future, but for the time being let¡¯s return to the task at hand: exploring the seventh floor and talking about Slow Rabbits.


    Even though it was supposed to be a Lv.7 monster, it was just as easy to fight as the ones I fought back in that forest. It is slow, it does not have any weapons in its mouth whatsoever, and the only means of attack it has is the ramming attack that is so laughably easy to avoid that it is not even funny to look at. So yeah, even though it is of a higher level than the ones that I remember, the Slow Rabbit from Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth is still an easy-to-manage enemy.


    The monster continued to jump towards me with an obvious intention of attacking me, but instead of feeling even slightly intimidated by it, all I feel is my conscience telling me that I am definitely going to have a moral hangover when I will kill this guy. Ugh, look here, buddy. I know that you are cute, and that cute-looking movements of yours make me feel like an asshole for what I am about to do to you, but you have to understand that I have no choice in the matter at all here. I am an Adventurer (well, actually an Explorer/Hero/Warrior¡­ you get the gist), and you are a monster, and that means that in order for me to keep on advancing forward, you have to go down. This is going to hurt you a lot more than it is going to hurt me, but know that at the very least I do not feel happy doing this.


    And so I burned the Slow Rabbit with five shots of Fireball to its face. Even though the Labyrinth¡¯s are each like their own separate entities, they all seem to be following one common rule: as long as the floor is the same, then all the different kinds of monsters residing in them are going to have the same amount of HP. That is why even though the Slow Rabbits near Somara village were complete scrubs that I could kill with nothing but a Copper Sword, the ones here on the seventh floor of the Labyrinth have as much health as Escape Goats and Cheap Sheep, hence the five shots of magic needed to dispatch them. The Slow Rabbit turned into smoke and died, leaving an item behind it. It was Rabbit Fur, another item that I was all to familiar with.


    ¡¸Rabbit Fur? I remember selling it to the merchant in the village that I visited when I first came to this country, but the price for it was not all that high. You think that it¡¯s going to be the same if we try to sell it to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, unfortunately. I do not think that any Guild would buy it for a decent price, but I heard that you can earn more money off of it if you take it to the clothing stores around the Imperial City.¡¹


    Roxanne picked up the Rabbit¡¯s Fur and handed it over to me.


    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, that¡¯s right, or at least that is how the story went the last time I¡¯ve heard it.¡¹


    ¡¸Hmm, I think I understand why that might be the case, but still, it¡¯s kinda weird to me that people would find such a common item in such a high demand.¡¹


    Since Slow Rabbits are the enemies who generally appear on the lower floors of the Labyrinth and their fur is a pretty common item with a rather high chance of being dropped by them whenever they die, many people would probably get an overaboundance of that item as long as they would have taken enough time to grind it from the Slow Rabbits for a bit. That is also why the Adventurer¡¯s Guild has more of that item than they know what to do with it, and hence they do not want to pay all that much for it whenever someone is bringing them more of it, but what makes it so apparently special that the clothing stores would be willing to pay for it more than others?


    ¡¸So, would you be so kind and enlightened me why would clothing stores be paying better money for the Rabbit Furs than the Guilds?¡¹


    [As you wish, master. While it is true that the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, or any other Guild for that matter, does not have much of a need for Rabbit Fur because those who dabble in the Labyrinth exploring business have no use of such a material, the same cannot be said about the people who live in the cities, especially the young aristocratic women. To them, a coat made of Rabbit¡¯s Fur is an excellent article of clothing to wear because it is great for keeping you warm, especially during the winter season.

 Volume 3 - CH 4.13

    However, there is one major downside to the process of making such Rabbit Fur Coats. In order to make just a single coat from Rabbit¡¯s Fur, you are going to need quite a large number of them.


    ¡¸Hmmm? I see, I see.¡¹


    (Who would have guessed that such an underwhelming item can be used for something s useful?)


    I thought to myself while dangling the newly-obtained piece of Rabbit¡¯s Fur before my eyes.


    ¡¸I hope it goes without saying, but having a seamstress create such a coat is not a small and cheap undertaking either. Since the seamstresses have to sew together many pieces of Rabbit Fur, some of them pretty small and some of them the exact opposite, the process itself is always taking an exceptionally large amount of time and effort from them, so they always charge a lot of money for it and that eats away most of the profit they are making from them, and that is also why they are not commonly seen on the streets, even in places such as the Imperial City.¡¹


    ¡¸And the shops compete with one another to see which one will be able to create the best coats in line with the current fashion trends?¡¹


    ¡¸Trends?¡¹


    ¡¸No, it¡¯s nothing.¡¹


    Putting the matter of the fashion trends of this world aside, there is no way in hell that various clothing stores would not compete with one another to see which one can deliver a better product that will net them the most money possible. It does not matter whether it¡¯s my old world or this new, game-like one, because of there is one thing that always remains unchanged, it is how fierce the competition in the women¡¯s fashion department can get without any rhyme or reason to it whatsoever. To that end, I wonder if this world has its own equivalent of that one organization form earth that would try to protect the Slow Rabbits from being hunted for their fur? I can totally see that happening, but¡­ no, on second thought, let¡¯s not go there.


    ¡¸Do you want a Rabbit Fur Coat, Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸No, not really.¡¹


    Fuck. There goes my dream of seeing Roxanne is a soft, fluffy coat. Ad she ruthlessly denied it without a second of hesitation.


    ¡¸All of the members of my race, the Wolfkin, have a naturally high resistance to the cold, so there is no need for me to be wearing a coat to keep myself warm.¡¹


    ¡¸So you are saying that your kind is strong against the cold, huh?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, that is the quality that all of the members of the Wolfkin race are born with.¡¹


    So, this must be that specific race¡¯s special racial ability. In other words, even if it will be cold outside, Roxanne should be fine as long as she will have some light clothing on her. Also, now that I actually gave it some thought, it would definitely look odd and out of place if she who is my slave were to wore something that is almost exclusively reserved for high-class ladies.


    Imagining it right now, light clothing might be what really suits her. I think that the ones that would look especially good on her would be the ones that would expose a lot of skin and properly showed off how curvaceous her chest is.


    ¡¸Well, in that case, I have a proposition for you, Roxanne.¡¹


    ¡¸Of course, master. What is it?¡¹


    ¡¸Since you are so resistant to cold, then how about I hug you to keep myself warm at night from now on?¡¹


    ¡¸Ah¡­ yes, most certainly. If I can be of use to you that way, master, then I will be more than happy to do it.¡¹


    She sounded a little bashful, but one glance at her wagging tail was enough to tell me what were her true feeling about this.


    ¡¸Great, it¡¯s decided. Now then, since we are already here, why don¡¯t we go hunt the Slow Rabbits and try to get as many Rabbit Furs as we possibly can? This time, feel free to guide us to the place that has as many of them as possible, okay?¡¹


    Since Roxanne already told me that there seems to be not as many people as usual here, I made sure to properly use that occasion to hunt the Slow Rabbits on the seventh floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth until late in the morning. Since I took a map of this floor with me we do not have to worry about exploring this floor and we can divert all of our attention into hunting monsters by asking Roxanne to take me to the place where there was a lot of them and there was not many people nearby. Admittedly, despite its undeniable repetitiveness, it was an activity that I have enjoyed more than I was expecting to be. Maybe it was because now that I knew that there is nothing rushing me to go to the next floor I could simply turn off my thinking and focus entirely on swinging my sword and shooting magic around. Hunt Slow rabbits and collect their fur, go to the next place where they are present, and then rinse & repeat, that was a pattern that we were currently following. Thanks to that, we have managed to aquire more than an entire Item Box section¡¯s worth of Rabbit Furs and my levels have also risen accordingly, so I guess this particular Labyrinth bout was a success through and through.


    Having completed all of the objectives we have set for ourselves for now we returned home and made breakfest, after which we made our way to the Imperial City.


    Just a short walk away from the Imperial City¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild we happened upon a clothing store that looked promising. It was a solemn-looking one with large, expensive-looking double doors located at the first floor of a magnificently-decorated building. The door itself were constructed in such a way that they could be both pushed forward and pulled backwards, and from what I was able to see when people were going in and out of there, the inside of the store itself was also quite large, because the ceiling looked like it was close to three meters, and the polished stone floor made the entire establishment look more bright and welcoming than your typical shop with ¡°normal¡± floors. No matter how you look at it, this is a store that sells only luxury goods, and it is exactly because of that that I hesitated go inside. So far we didn¡¯t have any incidents where we were kicked from the store or denied entry based on our looks alone, but this is not Veil or Quratar, this is the Imperial City we are talking about here.


    ¡¸Master, there seems to be a poster placed here. It says that this shop is buying the goods that people are willing to sell.¡¹


    As we stopped some distance away from the entrance, Roxanne found a poster placed on one of the walls. If this is really about buying things that people want to sell, then depending on how much they would be willing to pay for our Rabbit Furs, it might very well turn out that we have already hit the jackpot.


    ¡¸Really? What exactly is written there?¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm, let¡¯s see¡­ ¡°All the customers wanting to sell Rabbit Furs, lease enter the shop through the side entrance. Do be advised that the shop will only buy the furs in batches of one hundred units¡±. That is what it says.¡¹


    Well I¡¯ll be damned, talk about uping the scales here! To me it looks like they only want to do business with serious traders, because that quantity barrier will instantly shoot down any small-time buyers (read: people like us) who only want to sell a few of the Rabbit Furs for some quick money. *Sigh* but you know, a part of me kinda expected something like that, except a little less blatant and upfront like that. Just a moment ago I remarked that this is a store that looks like it sells luxury goods, right? So maybe that is why the owner of this store or whoever was responsible for putting that poster up assumed that no run-of-the-mill Explorer or Adventurer would even think of coming here? And also: seriously, you only accept one hundred units of fur and more? That is way more than we have on us at the current moment, so there is no point in even walking into that store now. Even if we filled the entire Item Box with just Rabbit Furs and nothing more, we would still have to carry an number of them in our backpacks, denying ourselves the possibility of getting any other items, and that would be too counterproductive.

 Volume 3 - CH 4.14

    ¡¸Unfortunately we do not have a hundred of them, so we will have to collect more and come back to sell them later. In the meantime, why don¡¯t we go for a little stroll around the shopping district before we will go back home?¡¹


    ¡¸Alright. Where do you want to go?¡¹


    ¡¸Let¡¯s go check what is over there and see where the road is going to take us from there.¡¹


    We could have backtracked to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and see what other things the main street had to offer, but my gut feeling was telling me that it might be more beneficial for us to go and explore the places that were off the beaten path this time. Who knows, maybe we will find something nice in there? At times like these, it¡¯s better to just trust your own curiosity and go with the current and see where it will end up taking you.


    Even though we have entered a side street, it was still filled with a number of small shops. As expected of an Imperial City. This place really is on an entirely different level in comparison to other cities.


    ¡¸What¡¯s that over there?¡¹


    ¡¸What are you looking at, master?¡¹


    ¡¸That store over there, the one with all the weird¡­ mushrooms¡­ and plants and all¡­ is this an ingredients store? Or perhaps a food store?¡¹


    The store that I was talking about had a bunch of mushrooms and other weird-looking plants on its display. And also fish skeletons and jars with liquids of various colors and densities.


    ¡¸Maybe this is a drugstore? Or perhaps a pharmacy that also sells items and potion ingredients?¡¹


    ¡¸No. It doesn¡¯t seem to be the case here. Look.¡¹


    Looking into the back of the shop from the entrance, there were also dried lizards and frogs, and even a bat hanging upside down. Overall, I say it was pretty disgusting.


    We had no need for any of those obviously dubious items, and honestly, I don¡¯t know if I would get my hands on them even if somebody paid me for it, so we just walked past it without ever looking back. It would be a whole different talk if that place was also selling potions or medicinal slaves, but no, it does not look like that in the slightest. The only purpose all of those creepy-looking things might have is to be used in some definitely sketchy rituals, and if that¡¯s the only thing this place has to offer, then it is in our best interest to stay as far away from it as possible.


    Well, even in modern Japan, there were still people who would be willing to buy such occultic shit, so the demand for such things must be even bigger in this medieval world, but I do not count myself among the ranks of the freaks who enjoy things like that. Even if that store was selling something as simple as a cold medicine, I still don¡¯t know if I would be willing to drink it out of fear that something poisonous might have been added there without my knowledge.


    Continuing our stroll, we passed by a certain shop where I instinctively stopped dead in my tracks when the aroma that was wafting from it reached my nose. Hmm, this smell, I feel like I have smelled it before, but where exactly¡­ no¡­ no way¡­ could this be¡­ no, Michio, keep it together. You don¡¯t know if that assumption of yours if on point or not, so let¡¯s start by confirming it first.


    ¡¸Huh? What is this place? A jar store?¡¹


    I tried my best to hide my expectations and racing heart under the guise of genuine surprise when I threw that question into the air.


    ¡¸I think it is probably a store that sells seasonings.¡¹


    From the looks alone it was not at all obvious that this store, located a fair distance away from that previous, sketchy-looking one might have been the one that sells seasonings, and I certainly would not have been able to tell without having a closer look at it first, however, the smell of some of the jarred liquids has definitely reminded me of Japan! As weird as that may sound.


    ¡¸Welcome. We are selling various fish sauces in this shop.¡¹


    The old woman greeted us and explained what was the purpose of her shop without us even asking, meaning that she must have been listening to the conversation between me and Roxanne.


    ¡¸Fish sauce, huh?¡¹


    No wonder that it reminded me of home then. This might just turn into a discovery of the day!


    ¡¸Does that mean you also sell Shoyu (TL Note: the most basic of the basic types of Japanese soy sauces that uses wheat as its main ingredient) here?¡¹


    ¡¸Shoyu? I am afraid I have no idea what you are talking about, boy. What is this ¡°Shoyu¡± that you speak of?¡¹


    ¡¸No, it¡¯s nothing, nevermind. Just tell me what is your most popular sauce.¡¹


    When I spoke the word ¡°shoyu¡±, I noticed that it was not translated into Brahim, so perhaps soy sauces like I know them from back home do not exist here? That would have been quite a shame, because I was really hoping that I could someday get my hands on it here. What a bummer. But I cannot lose hope just yet. So what if they don¡¯t have shoyu or anything that would even remotely resemble it? Maybe they have other fish sauces in stock that are going to be exactly he same or similar to the ones that I am familiar with?


    ¡¸Hmm. You said to give you our most popular sauce, but truth to be told, all of the products we are selling here are pretty popular with the residents of the capital.¡¹


    Oh for crying out loud! You see this, people?! That is exactly why in the modern times we have this convenient little thing called sales rankings! Thanks to them, it does not matter if all of the products offered by the store sell ¡°good¡±, because the rankings will always tell you which ones of these ¡°good¡± products will sell better than others and form a nice hierarchy from the least selling ¡°good¡± products to the most selling ¡°good¡± products. That way, you won¡¯t ever get scammed into buying  ¡°good¡± products that will end up only being subpar at best and costing way more than you can actually afford. Popularity, is not the only quality that is important in the business, but I can see that people living in these times have yet to realize that simple fact. Unfortunately that is something that I cannot say to a newly-met shopkeeper, so I have no choice but to keep silent about it, and the only thing I can reply to her with is¡­


    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹


    ¡¸If you still insist on it, why not try this one then?¡¹


    The old lady poured some of the sauce on a shallow plate and handed it over to me, and I scooped a little drop of it with my finger in order to closely inspect it before trying it.


    ¡¸*Sniff Sniff*¡­ !!!!!!¡¹


    It has an incredibly strong, unpleasant smell that makes me sick in a second I smelled it. How about the taste then?


    ¡¸. . . . .  . . . . . .  . . . . . . . . *lick*. . .  ugh . . . my god¡­¡¹


    Not only it smelled so bad that you felt as if instead of going through your nose it was sticking onto it instead, but it is also incredibly bitter and spicy. What is this shit even? Rotten natto or funazushi?! (TL Note: Natto: a dish of fermented soybeans with a very pungent flavor and gluey texture that is eaten chiefly in Japan and usually served over rice. Natto is prepared by fermenting steamed or boiled soybeans with a bacteria, especially Bacillus subtilis natto. Funazushi: A form of sushi made with carp packed in salt and rice and aged for several years.) In my honest opinion, this can hardly be called a sauce, or even food! Just look at Roxanne! She has not even tried it and she is already making faces as if having to smell it was some kind of torture to her! Not surprising, since her nose is much more sensitive than mine. It¡¯s okay, Roxanne, you don¡¯t have to push yourself to do it, its enough that I had to go through it. I don¡¯t want to see you suffer anymore!


    ¡¸Don¡¯t you have anything a little bit more¡­ normal in stock? Because this thing right here is a little¡­¡¹


    ¡¸Hee hee hee. It seems that it was an impossible combination after all, just as I expected.¡¹

 Volume 3 - CH 4.15

    Just as you expected? So what, you want to tell me that this strange concoction was nothing more than you playing pranks on us?! The old lady did not respond at all, and instead passed another plate onto me.


    ¡¸This sauce right here is truly our most popular product. Try it and tell me what you think.¡¹


    This time the smell of the sauce I was given was also strong, but thankfully not quite as strong as that previous abomination. Or maybe that¡¯s just part of the old lady¡¯s strategy whenever new customers come around: First she gives them that awful sauce in order to paralyze their sense of taste so that everything she presents them afterwards would be considered as passable. Because if that somehow turned to be true, then I have to praise her for how shrewd and cunning she actually is.


    I dipped my index finger int the small plate once more and then licked it with reservation. Maybe it was because she saw that I wasn¡¯t making any funny or pained faces, but Roxanne soon followed in my footsteps. That was already a big improvement from how she was not even able to taste the first sauce at all because she was that repulsed by its small alone.


    When I licked it, it reminded me of a Chinese soy sauce with how sweet and spicy and slightly salty its flavor was.


    ¡¸And, how is it?¡¹


    ¡¸I think it tastes good, and it does not have the same unpleasant smell like before.¡¹


    I asked Roxanne for her opinion, and she gave me an affirmative nod.


    She was definitely right. With this sauce, I didn¡¯t have that feeling from the first as if the smell was sticking onto my nose without wanting to let go, which still clings onto me, burning my nostrils like the stench from badly prepared Kusaya (TL Note: a Japanese style salted, dried and fermented fish. It has a pungent smell and is similar to the fermented Swedish herring Surstr?mming) And if it felt that bad for me, then I can only imagine how hard it was for Roxanne.


    ¡¸Without a doubt, that is the most popular product offered by this shop. You won¡¯t regret buying it, of that I am absolutely sure.¡¹


    There are many things that I would like to say to her right now, but once again, it will be better to bite my tongue and just roll along with whatever she is saying. If I started shit-talking her now, then there is a possibility that she might increase the price of whatever sauce I would be willing to buy, and I do not want that. For my own benefit, I have to keep up appearances.


    ¡¸So, how much for the sauce?¡¹


    ¡¸The small jar is 300 Nars. The larger one is 500 Nars.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay, then I will take one large jar, please.¡¹


    Considering what these sauces are, I guess those would be pretty fair prices. But my hunch about this sauce is correct, then it should be the best possible seasoning for both meat and vegetables we could have asked for. And since the large jar of the sauce was actually twice the size of the small jar, having to pay two hundred Nars in exchange for almost twice as much product received almost felt like a steal to me. One large jar of Chinease Soy Sauce (Provisional Name) it is then!


    ¡¸Thank you for your patronage, young man. Do come back in the near future.¡¹


    The old lady¡¯s Job was a Villager, so my thirty percent discount did not work, meaning that I will be forced to buy the large jar of sauce for its original price. I placed the sauce jar in Roxanne¡¯s backpack, and then we were on our way out from the fish sauce shop and walked back towards the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.


    While we were on our way back there, we walked past something that looked like a small park of sorts. It was filled with various food stalls that looked like the ones that were selling fast foods back in Japan during summer festivals and such. There was a shop that sold grilled meat skewers, a shop that sold something that looked like pizza where ingredients were placed on raw dough and then cooked over flame in a special kiln, sandwich-selling shop that was selling¡­ well, sandwiches made by cramming all sorts of things between two slices of bread and many, many more.


    ¡¸Why are there so many stalIs? Is there some kind of event going on right now?¡¹


    ¡¸No, I do not think so. Even if it is, it¡¯s nothing that I have heard about.¡¹


    Roxanne is probably right. If it was an event or a festival, it would gather more people around than the scarce few that were present in the small park around the stalls. But if it is not an event or a festival, then what is it, exactly? Maybe some kinds street food sale held on a daily basis? There was even one stall where the only people who gathered there were children. The stall¡¯s clerk was selling some spherical food of brown color. Is this Takoyaki? Or maybe some kind of candy?


    ¡¸Do you know what you are selling over there?¡¹


    ¡¸No, I have no idea. But¡­ *Sniff Sniff* but it is something that smells really sweet.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. Would you like to try it, whatever it is?¡¹


    ¡¸If¡­ if it is not too much trouble¡­¡¹


    Oh my god, how can she be so cute when she is getting all bashful like that?


    ¡¸Okay, then I will go and buy it. Wait here, it will only take a minute.¡¹


    Something sweet is just what I need right now in order to cleanse my palette after that disasterously bitter sauce that granny gave us.


    Leaving Roxanne¡¯s side, I walked to the food stall that was selling that sweet thing. As soon as I approached, a sweet, pleasant aroma began tickling every inch of my nose. Yes, this is definitely how a candy smell. I never even realized how much I was missing them until just now. When it comes to the brown Japanese sweets, rice crackers are what typically comes to mind first. I wonder if this is going to be something similar to them, or perhaps something entirely different?


    ¡¸How much for the candy?¡¹


    ¡¸Ten Nars per piece.¡¹


    ¡¸Then I will take two please.¡¹


    When I placed my order, the stall owner immediately got to work. He took the pot with the sweet-smelling liquid and poured it into a smaller pot and began to stir it, at first slowly, only to gradually increase the speed and intensity of the stirring motions. The way it looks like, he is definitely not making rice crackers. Maybe this is going to be something more along the lines of the castella mixture?


    Eventually, after all the stirring he did the liquid has become very thick, to the point where it began to pile up in the middle of the pot like a small gooey mountain, causing the kids who watched the entire process of candy-making from the sidelines to erupt with loud cheers as if they were watching some kind of magic show. I have to say, that sight even managed to get a small smile out of me.


    When the thing looked like it was ready, the stall owner instantly removed it from the pot, wrapped it around in some provisional wrapping made from leaves and passed it over to me. I handed the money to the stall owner and received my finished order.


    Same as with the granny from that sauce shop before, this guy had the Job of a Villager, so my thirty percent discount did not work.


    With the two rather big pieces of candy in tow, I turned around and prepared to walk back to Roxanne, but I stopped and glanced at the children who were looking at the candy in my hands ever since that guy began making it.


    ¡¸You want one?¡¹


    I asked them while eyeing the candy in my left hand.


    ¡¸U-Umu¡­¡¹


    The girl who stood the closest to me nodded shyly. I do not know these kids, and there is literally nothing compelling me to do anything for them, and yet¡­


    ¡¸Here, you can have this.¡¹


    I handed my candy over to the girl and the other kids.


    ¡¸Really?! Wow, thank you, mister!¡¹


    ¡¸Don¡¯t mention it.¡¹


    There is something truly magical in seeing little kids enjoying simple things like that. After observing the kids as they went away while happily munching on the candy, I also left the stall and finally went back to Roxanne.


    ¡¸Are you sure about that, master?¡¹

 Volume 3 - CH 4.16

    ¡¸Yeah. Besides, I already know how they taste anyway. Here is your share, Roxanne.¡¹


    That¡¯s right. I couldn¡¯t tell by the smell alone, but now that I see the finished product I am one hundred percent sure what this candy is.


    It is honeycomb toffee. I will probably sound like a piece of useless trivia at the current moment, but I once tried making it as a science experiment when I was still in junior high school, only to somehow end up with soap instead. Even if it was not all that long ago I cannot say that I clearly remember the taste of the one that I have made, but I am pretty sure that I can say with all confidence that it would not be the same as, because all I can remember is thinking that I thought that it did not turn out all that well. And the one I just bought? I only managed to scoop a little bit of it for myself, but it was enough to make the bitter feeling in the back of my throat and nose to go away. That is how I expected a real honeycomb toffee to taste. And as I look at Roxanne who¡¯s happily wolfing down her own piece of it, I get all but assured that buying it was the right decision.


    ¡¸Is it good?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes! So sweet and tasty, it practically melts in my mouth!¡¹


    Roxanne nodded vigorously. Good. That is all I needed to hear. Also, I have to admit that while this honeycomb toffee does not have a start to its equivalent from my world, it definitely has its own kind of unique taste and charm to it. However¡­


    Making Roxanne happy with this small gift was definitely worth spending the money on it, but if I am correct in thinking what I am thinking right now, then it might be possible for this little stroll to yield a rather unexpected result. Now, let¡¯s see whether I am right or wrong here¡­


    While we waited for Roxanne to finish eating her candy, I turned to the side and glanced towards the stall of the candy-maker while pretending to be looking in an entirely separate direction. What am I trying to do? Well, trying to see what that guy used to make the honeycomb toffee mixture of course.


    In modern-day Japan, honeycomb toffee is usually made when you melt baking soda in liquid sardine and then heat the whole thing up, causing the carbonic acid to be emitted and then swell up. Even though the methods might differ due to the obvious disparity in technological advancement, I think the candy made on that stall also uses that very same principle, because the liquid mixture rapidly swelled the moment the heat was applied to the pot it was poured into.


    As I continued to observe the stall owner, he turned his back to me at one point and opened the box he was keeping at the back of the stall, most likely the one where he was keeping the ingredients needed to make the candy: water and two kinds of powders he kept in separate pouches. He then poured the water into a bowl and added a solid bits from both pouches of powders, most likely in order to make the base liquid that would serve as the base of the honeycomb toffee.


    This might be the opportunity that I was waiting for, so I am not going to miss that chance!


    I looked at the box and concentrated my sight on the contents of what was inside it, and then used Identify. What I saw there were essentially two ingredients: Kobold Sucrose and Shell Powder. Unfortunately, I was not able to properly identify what that Shell Powder was made of, but my guess is that is a mixture that uses sugar as its main ingredient. Sucrose is a type of sugar as well, but mixing two types of sugar with one another would not be nearly enough to make honeycomb toffee. The main ingredient needed here would be something that would make the entire mixture rapidly heat up and expand. When that shell powder was heated, it definitely must have released carbon dioxide, so I think it is fairly safe to assume that the Shell Powder is most probably baking soda, or to put it into more technical terms, sodium hydrogen carbonate (TL Note: Or to simplify it, sodium bicarbonate).


    That being said, these are all my assumptions not based on any concrete evidence, so I might as well be completely off the mark with everything I have said just now. The only thing that I know for sure is that the guy has three main ingredients that he uses: water, Kobold Sucrose and Shell Powder, but that is about it when it comes to the things that I can be absolutely sure of. I could always try asking the stall owner about it directly, but since the method of making it might be his trade secret I highly doubt that he would be willing to share anything other than the names of the raw ingredients with me, and even that I am not so sure about. But thankfully, that is exactly what I have Identify for. With it around, I do not have to worry about silly little things like people trying to keep the names of ingredients from me. Oh, but please, do not misunderstand, okay? It¡¯s not like I need to know all those things because I want to start making my own honeycomb toffee (which is fairly easy: you just have to mix sugar and baking soda with flour, and all of those ingredients or their substitutes should be available here). No, what I want to make is something else entirely, but let¡¯s leave the talk about it for a bit later, okay?


    ¡¸I¡¯m done eating, master.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. And? Was the candy to your liking?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, it was absolutely delicious! Thank you for the treat¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s great to hear. Come now, let¡¯s go.¡¹


    After a short distance, I asked Roxanne in a whisper:


    ¡¸Say, Roxanne¡­ how can we obtain Kobold Sucrose? Is it another drop from Kobolds?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. I actually heard that this item can be obtained form the advanced form of Kobolds that can be found on the higher floors in the Labyrinth.¡¹


    Advanced form of Kobolds? Does she mean Kobold Kampfer, or perhaps there will be some other variation of it once we will reach even higher floors of in the Labyrinths in Veil and Quratar? I do not know, but that would make sense since regular Kobolds and Kobold Kampfers we have been fighting up until now were leaving only Kobold Salt behind them, and no matter how much of them we hunted, they never dropped anything else, even when the Cook Job equipped, which made me think that its Rare Ingredients Drop Rate Up Skill might actually be useless.


    ¡¸Do you know what a Shell Powder is?¡¹


    ¡¸It¡¯s a fire extinguishing agent. Everybody knows that.¡¹


    ¡¸Fire extinguishing agent?¡¹


    ¡¸You¡­ you didn¡¯t know about that, master?¡¹


    ¡¸Back in my homeland we were using very different things as fire extinguishers, so this is my first time hearing that Shell Powder can be used for that purpose as well. To tell you the truth, this is my very first time happening Upon Shell Powder at all.¡¹


    More like I didn¡¯t know about it at all and just pulled out that excuse straight out of my ass just now, but it seems to have worked well enough, because Roxanne did not look like she wanted to question my words at all. So now would be a good time to get some more information about Shell Powder and its properties, so¡­


    ¡¸Can you tell me more about Shell Powder and how exactly it can be used?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course. Shell Powder itself is actually an item dropped by the enemies called Clam Shells. In and out of itself it is not strong enough to negate or counteract the effects of Fire Magic, but when you apply it to a fire that already exist, it will quickly extinguish it.¡¹


    ¡¸And what about totally nullifying the effects of Fire Magic? Is there an item that can do that?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I was just about to get to that. If you want to completely negate the effects of Fire Magic, then you would have to use Scallop Extract, Scallop Shell¡¯s Drop Item, but one dose of Scallop Extract can only negate one Fire Magic spell at a time, so if you wanted to negate Fire Magic continuously, you would have to carry multiple Scallop Extracts with you.¡¹


    (Hmm, in that case it looks like Shell Powder is something different from the baking soda that I know about.)

 Volume 3 - CH 4.17

    Because there is no way in hell that an ordinary baking soda would have any magic-stopping properties.


    ¡¸Would it be possible for the Shell Powder found in Wheat Flour to be mixed and then heated in order to be used for cleaning purposes?¡¹


    ¡¸You want to try using Shell Powder in such a way?¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s right, if that would be possible, that is. Can it be done?¡¹


    ¡¸I have never heard of anyone using Shell Powder for cleaning purposes, so I honestly do not know.¡¹


    Damn, so is this something different after all?


    ¡¸What about Vinegar then? Can that be used for cleaning instead?¡¹


    ¡¸I have never heard anyone mentioning something like that either.¡¹


    I was expecting such an answer from her, but I wanted to ask that question nonetheless, just so that I could e absolutely sure that I have thoroughly exhausted all of my options. For that matter, I wasn¡¯t even sure if this world had vinegar in it, but since Roxanne did not react in any strange way when she heard that word and it got translated into Brahim properly then they must have it. This is good news, because the only alternative to asking about it would be to walk round the shops that might be selling it and try every vinegar-like product that I could get my hands on, and since vinegar tastes just awful, this is not a prospect that I would be happy about.


    In any case, it looks like this world has vinegar and baking soda in it, but at the same time it does not look like the people in this world know that both of those things can actually be used in getting rid of all kinds of stains on all kinds of surfaces and in removing dirt in general. This is a bit problematic, but it is not any kind of a major setback for what I want to try out, and as long as I show Roxanne that she can clean using those two ingredients, I do not really care about other people still being kept in the dark about it.


    Our next stop was the general store where I asked the female clerk behind the counter if they were selling Shell Powder, and after getting an affirmative answer from her I also bought an additional two cooking pots (it never hurts to have too many of them in case one of them ends up getting damaged or destroyed, and even if it does not, having more spares around is always a good thing) and a bunch of Kochi fruits. Since I bought more than one product and the owner of the store had the Merchant Job, this time I was able to properly utilize my thirty percent discount, saving a nice bit of money that would otherwise go to waste. When that bit of additional shopping was done we went back to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild where we warped back home.


    Now, you are probably wondering what I am I going to be making with all those things that I just bought, huh? Well fear not, because I can finally give you the answer you wanted to hear! As I mentioned before, the purpose of that shopping was not so that I could make honeycomb toffee better than the one I made as the science experiment back in junior high. I want to make something a little bit more practical. Using all of the ingredients that I have gathered¡­ I want to have a shot at making soap. That¡¯s right, your eyes are not deceiving you, you read that correctly. I want to make a legitimate soap that we could use to clean ourselves up properly whenever we will be taking a bath.


    Truth to be told, I would be much more confident in this whole endeavor if I had access to some nice rice bran, but I should be able to make do with what I already have here with me: a mashed Koichi fruit, which should act as a nice soap berry substitute, since it¡¯s vegetable oil contains fatty acids, just like rice bran oil.


    The ingredients I am going to use to make soap are as follows:


    When combined, the fatty acids (?) from the Koichi Fruit¡¯s vegetable oil (?) and sodium bicarbonate from Shell Powder¡¯s baking soda (?) should create fatty acids sodium salt, or in other words, your regular, plain old soap.


    As for the procedure of creating it, I remember it quite well, even though the memory associated with it is a rather painful one, much like the most of the memories of my school life. That day, as per the usual I was left with no option but to make my science experiment together with the teacher, since all the other kids in the have already made groups of their own, and even if they didn¡¯t do that, I am positive that every last one of the classmates from my group would either not talk to me and assign me any tasks at all, or they would do everything in their power to make me feel miserable and unwelcome. And what¡¯s that? What about making groups in accordance with the numbers from the attendance list? From the reasons stated above, this would not have worked as well. I hate to remind myself of this, but I was mistreated or ignored by pretty much everyone around me. So yeah, there you have it.


    In any case, if you have baking soda, you can make soap. Everything rides on that particular assumption here. Ideally, I really would have like to have some bona fide rice bran and pure vegetable oil in order to ensure that the chances of this little experiment succeeding would be as high as possible, but you know, beggars can¡¯t be choosers, so I will just have to do my best with what I have been given, and if it ends up not succeeding, there¡¯s no point in beatig myself up over it since that will be my first attempt at making something from a truly modern world in the one where technology is pretty much nonexistent. Later, when I will have some free time on my hands, I might just go t the Imperial City and have a look across various shops to see if they will have a rice bran, but for now I won¡¯t worry myself with it anymore and focus on the tsk at hand.


    Immediately after returning back home, I headed straight to the kitchen with all of the ingredients in tow. I prepared about half the pot worth of water and proceeded to bring it to the boiling point. If all goes well, then I might as well start using this pot and a separate jar I bough exclusively for the purposes of storing soap in it. Next, I grounded the Shell Powder and added it into the water which was already boiling.


    ¡¸Ooooh, it¡¯s frothing! It¡¯s beginning to froth!¡¹


    The bubbles started forming on the surface of the water and Shell Powder mixture. So I was right, this is baking soda after all! In the meantime, I was carefully stirring the mashed Koichi Fruit in a separate container. If this will be anything like the rice bran, I will have to add in a crapton of it in order for the whole thing to succeed. I also do not remember the exact amount of the bran that had to be added, so I will have to make sure to stop adding it whenever I will deep the amount to be right. I just hope that I won¡¯t end up adding either too much or too little of it, ruining the entire thing as a result. Next thing I had to do was to mix both the mashed fruit and the water with Shell Powder together, and when I did that, it formed a brown, muddy liquid in the pot, and it kept on getting thicker and thicker, to the point where the simple act of stirring it all in the pot was beginning to seriously tire my hands. By the looks of it, it seems to have worked better than I have initially expected it to work. Something is telling me that the soap that I made as a byproduct of that honeycomb toffee experiment looked more or less like that.


    ¡¸What is this, master? What are you making?¡¹


    Having apparently been done with tending to the herbs growing in our little garden, Roxanne came over to me and looked at my creation over my shoulder with a curious look on her face.


    ¡¸I am trying to make soap, although I have no idea whether it will work out or not.¡¹


    ¡¸You know how to make soap? That¡¯s amazing!¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you for the compliment, but as I said, I have no idea if this is going to turn out alright at all. Worst case scenario, I might have simply wasted all the ingredients we just bought for nothing.¡¹

 Volume 3 - CH 4.18

    ¡¸Maybe so, but just the fact that you know how to make is is amazing in and out of itself!¡¹


    Well, if I didn¡¯t know how to make it then I guess I would have been plenty impressed as well, but since this is elementary knowledge in modern-day Japan, I guess knowing the process of how to create soap and what ingredients is it made of is not that big of a deal.


    ¡¸Now, I want you to take this here Shell Powder and use it when you will clean next time. If my hunch is correct and this will work exactly as I think it will, then all the dirt you will use it on should be coming right off.¡¹


    ¡¸Really? Is it really going to be that good?¡¹


    ¡¸Of that I have no doubt.¡¹


    ¡¸I didn¡¯t know about that.  Well, in that case, I will go and test it out immediately. Oh, but¡­ how exactly should I use it? Spread it all over the floor and wipe with the dry cloth?¡¹


    ¡¸Sorry to break it to you, but you missed with your guess. It is actually pretty simple to use it: just dissolve the powder in warm water and then use a damp washcloth to clean the floors with it.¡¹


    ¡¸I see now. I will make sure to follow your instructions carefully, master. Well then, off to the cleaning duty I go.¡¹


    I handed the extra Shell Powder that I bought to Roxanne and watched her as she left the room, all eager and fired up to try the cleaning method that I just told her about. I still do not know if the Shell Powder really is baking soda and if it can be used for the cleaning purposes, but if that little cleaning experiment fails, I can just buy more Shell Powder and dimply start from scratch one more time.


    Now that I know that the Shell Powder is essentially this world¡¯s baking soda, maybe I will give trying out its various uses a go? For example, during the ski training camp in junior high we went to Nagano, a prefecture that is famous for its hot springs, and I distinctly remember that one type of the springs at the resort we were staying in had something called ¡°baking soda spring¡±, and I remember that at first I was weirdly cautious of it because, you know, who in their right mind would go adding a freaking baking soda into a bath, but after I gave it a try I was very pleased with it, so I think it might be worth my while to actually give a baking soda bath a try. Also, I feel like I should mention that the main activity at the skiing camp was skiing alone, so that was one of the few occasions where I can say that I genuinely had fun doing something simply because for once in my lifetime I was not forced to join any kind of group.


    Okay, the soap looks like it should be done any minute now, and once it will be completed, I will no longer have to feel uncomfortable after taking a bath due to not being able to clean myself up properly. But then¡­


    ¡¸Uhm¡­ in the off chance that I will run out of it, how do I replenish it? Will it be enough to add the Shell Powder to the dump cloth on onto the cleaned surface itself?¡¹


    At first Roxanne was jumping with joy with her eyes all sparkly, but she soon returned to the kitchen with a perplexed look on her face as she asked me how to use the cleaning Shell Powder properly. Makes sense since what I handed off to her was a ready mixture of the Shell Powder that has already been dissolved in the water, so of course she would have no clue on how to do it herself.


    ¡¸No. You will have to do what I did just now. If you run out of the water mixed with Shell Powder, just replenish the water and dissolve more powder in it. In order to achieve the best possible effect the water has to be warm, so if you will need it, be sure to come and tell me and I will boil some of it for you.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay. Well then, off I go. This time for real.¡¹


    ¡¸Sure, take your time.¡¹


    For me it is basic knowledge that I don¡¯t even have to think about too much, but I am still forgetting that my viewpoint is biased as hell since I am not of this world. But now that I have shown Roxanne how to properly clean using Shell Powder, I have every reason to believe that she is going to put all that I have shown her into practice and it will become second nature to her in no time.


    ¡¸Master, this is  so amazing!¡¹


    Eventually, Roxanne came running back with her eyes shining like a pair of stars. It seems like the cleaning with Shell Powder went well.


    Finally, the time has come to remove the pot from the heat. Judging by how it all looked, I guess it was a success, but I ill not know for sure until it all dries up. And that is going to take roughly an entire day. A little long, but it is not like I need it right this instant, and since we have plenty of things we can do to kill time, the actual wait should not be all that long. I moved the pot with the soap into a shaded corner of the kitchen where the sun would not reach it and left it there.


    After that, we went and entered Veil Labyrinth¡¯s seventh floor and continued our daily exploration routine.


    (Okay, set the usual Jobs I usually use for exploring¡­ Job Settings¡­ huh?)


    When I performed a Character Reset so that I could equip myself with Durandal, I noticed that I have apparently unlocked yet another Job:


    Alchemist Lv.1


    Effects: Increase INT (small), Increase DEX (tiny)


    Skill: Plating


    A Job of an Alchemist, huh? But when exactly did I get that. . . oh, wait, could it be that. . .  Alchemist. . . alchemy. . . chemistry. . . yeah, I must have unlocked that Job when I made soap. After all, my attempt ad making it was basically a chemical experiment, not a cooking one, so I guess that would make sense. The condition for unlocking it must have probably been something along the lines of ¡°triggering a chemical reaction¡± or something like that. However, the real question now is what I should do with this Job.


    When it comes to the monsters on the seventh floor of the Labyrinth, I cannot defeat them with one normal strike with Durandal; I need two normal strikes in order to take them out. However, based on some experimental trial and error I made during our previous explorations, I noticed that I can actually kill the monsters with one strike, but it needs to be the one combined with Warrior Job¡¯s Skill, Rush. If I try anything other than that then it won¡¯t work, and I will have to use more than one strike.


    But, here is the thing: my usual combination of Jobs is Explorer, Hero, Mage and Monk, and with my current go-to setup of Bonus Skills I don¡¯t have enough Bonus Points left to add Warrior as a Fifth Job, and I definitely cannot throw any of the other currently assigned Jobs out because they all have Skills that I am using pretty much all the time. I absolutely need to have Explorer around so that I can continue to use its Item Box, Hero Acts as my main source of increases to all of the stats and its Overwhelming Skill is useful whenever I have to gain the upper hand over an enemy by having them move I slow motion/moving so fast that it seems like everyone and everything else around me moves in slow motion, Mage gives me access to the Beginner Magic of every element, and Monk is my source of healing whenever I am not using Durandal as my main weapon and therefore cannot capitalize on its HP and MP recovery Skills.


    If I opted for a less magical and more physical build without using as much magic then maybe I could remove Monk and only use Durandal for healing, but if I do that then I am going to lose the additional MP granted to me by the effects of one of Monk Job¡¯s unique effects: Increase MP (tiny), and in my opinion it¡¯s always good to have more MP on hand because more MP means more uses of offensive Skills and less chance that I am going to run out of it and end up all depressed.

 Volume 3 - CH 4.19

    Since Roxanne is able to dodge pretty much anything that comes her way I guess I do not have to worry about her getting hurt seriously enough, meaning that I can check how a different setting of Jobs would work.  With that in mind, the Jobs I have chosen were Explorer, Hero, Mage, Monk and Warrior


    After checking this particular setting and confirming that it works quite nicely for the purposes of recovering MP, I removed the Warrior and set Alchemist as my Fifth Job. Okay, time to see what this Job¡¯s Skill can do.


    (Plating!)


    When I chanted the name of the Skill in my head, a target indicator appeared before my eyes, just like with the Warrior¡¯s Skills. Basically, it¡¯s telling me that I can choose what to cast Plating on, huh? In that case, let¡¯s choose Durandal as the designated target¡­ or not. On second thought, let¡¯s not do that.


    Durandal is an important weapon for me. It is the first Bonus weapon that I obtained in this world, and the one that has saved my ass from many dicey situations. It is simply too good for me to be risking using a Skill whose effects I still don¡¯t know on it. For all I know, it might make it stronger, but it might as well cause the blade of Durandal to become brittle and prone to being damaged when the plating itself will be removed. So I order to avoid that, I have to check how it works on something else instead. And since we are in the Labyrinth, I know just what we should do.


    ¡¸Roxanne, I want to perform an experiment, so guide me to an enemy that is by itself, preferably not am Escape Goat.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood. Should I look for one right now?¡¹


    ¡¸Please do.¡¹


    At first, I should try this Skill against a monster and see what it will do to it. Escape Goats are a no-go for that purpose, because the probability of them running away before I could conduct the experiment properly is just too great. I need literally anything other than them.


    ¡¸Oh, master? If you don¡¯t mind me asking, could you tell me what kind of experiment are we going to be doing this time?¡¹


    Roxanne asked me while we were already on the way to the location of a single monster she managed to track down. Ever since she became my slave, we have performed quite a number of experiments together: the ones whenever I happened to obtain a new Job and wanted to test its Skills, the one where I wanted to test how weapons other than Durandal are going to fare in combat against the monsters, the ones where I tested all the different kinds of magic that became available to me when I got my hands on the Mage Job, and now the soap-making experiment and the one we are about to do right now. Maybe she already got used to me being an experiment-loving master, and that¡¯s why she asked about the current experiment¡¯s purpose beforehand?


    ¡¸Do you know what alchemy is?¡¹


    ¡¸Alchemy? You mean the art used by the greedy people to turn metals such as iron and lead into gold in order to make money?¡¹


    So alchemists do exist in this world, huh? But it looks like they are not too popular, which is really no surprise. If they really can turn ordinary metals into gold, then that must mean they have a crapton of money. Will I be able to do that as well as long as I level that Job high enough?


    ¡¸I-Is that how alchemists are viewed in these parts of the world? Well, in that case I regret to inform you that the experiment that I wanted to do involves alchemy.¡¹


    ¡¸Huh?! You can make money, master?!¡¹


    Roxanne shouts with her eyes widely opened.


    ¡¸Unfortunately. I only obtained the Job of an Alchemist after I made that soap, so for the time being the only Skill I can use is Plating, and that is what I want to test.¡¹


    Even if this world is a magical one, the economy would go down to shit in no time flat if every alchemist could turn metals to gold just like that, so it¡¯s probably a good thing that they cannot do that so casually, or at least I hope so. Perhaps they can do that, but keep it a secret, just like I do with my abilities? And if they could, then how would it be done? Can Plating be used for it, in a sense that they could cover normal metals with a thin layer of gold and sell it as the legitimate article?


    Whatever the case, all I want to do now is to check how Plating works.


    ¡¸I see. I¡¯m sorry forgetting overexcited like that.¡¹


    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry about it.¡¹


    The monster that Roxanne guided me to was a single Cheap Sheep. This should be enough for a test subject. Standing before the monster, I activated Plating and selected the Cheap Sheep as its target. Now I hope that the Skill will take effect and won¡¯t fail miserably, but I won¡¯t know if its going to be a success or not until I actually attack the damn thing, so let¡¯s get to it!


    Readying my sword, I ran towards the Cheap Sheep in the same moment as it began to run towards me as well, most likely after using Rush. Using Rush as well, I instantly closed the distance between us and swung Durandal down, but one blow was not enough, so I had to follow it up with another one. Only then the Cheap Sheep has fallen.


    ¡¸Hmm?¡¹


    ¡¸???¡¹


    At first glance it looks like nothing has changed, so even if Plating was successfully applied to that Cheap Sheep, I have no way of confirming exactly what kind of effect it had on it. At the very least, I gained confirmation that it is not an offensive Skill, because it didn¡¯t shoot or generated anything in the area. Either that, or the Cheap Sheep had resistance towards it, much like Needlewoods have their resistance to Water Magic.


    ¡¸The result of this experiment was inconclusive, so how about we switch locations? Let us go to the second floor now.¡¹


    We moved to the second level of the Veil Labyrinth, where I switched to my magic build to conduct the next experiment using magic. Then we found a lone Needlewood, a perfect test subject. With my current build I should be able to one-shot it with my magic, so let us apply Plating to it and see what happens when I attack it.


    It survived! The Needlewood survived my attack, so I needed one more shot of Fireball to finish it off.


    ¡¸What happened just now, master? It looked like something was limiting the power of your spell.¡¹


    ¡¸A limit, huh? Yeah, that about sums it up perfectly.¡¹


    From Roxanne¡¯s point of view, it certainly could look as if my magic got weakened, but what happened was actually the exact opposite. It¡¯s not that I got weaker, but the Needlewood got tougher thanks to Plating. By the looks of it, it must be a Skill that erects a kind of protective membrane around the target. That is why that Cheap Sheep needed two strikes instead of one to be killed, even though I was using Rush. The actual percentage of damage reduction must not be all that great, bur right now my bigger concern is that I don¡¯t know how long this Skill lasts. As long as I don¡¯t know that, I cannot use it as my insurance in battles.


    But verifying that should be relatively easy.


    ¡¸Roxanne, let¡¯s find one more lone monster, but this time, I want you to strike it first before me.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay!¡¹


    When we happened upon a Green Caterpillar, I attached plating onto it and then had Roxanne attack it once before firing magic at it. It died in one shot.


    It¡¯s not that the addition of that Scimitar attack was enough to defeat it, but rather that Roxanne¡¯s attack used up the stack of plating placed on the Green Caterpillar, allowing my magic to work as it was originally intended. This gives me certainty that plating is a defensive Skill that can negate one attack, regardless of it being magical or physical.


    Before aquiring Plating, the only means of defense I had were the Wall type spells, but now my defensive arsenal has expanded, even if only by a little bit. The exact amount of damage reduced might be level dependent and get stronger on higher levels of Alchemist¡¯s Job, but it can still be immensely useful to me if applied in the right moments during battles, so you can be sure that I will be using it for all its worth.

 Volume 3 - CH 4.20

    After that, we decided to take it easy for the rest of the day, simply exploring until the end of the evening. The next day, we spend the most of the day gathering Rabbit Furs in Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth so that we could amass as many as we possibly could after clearing our backpacks and organizing the space in my Item Box and then sell them in that clothing store we saw in the Imperial City, and in the evening we switched locations to Veil Labyrinth¡¯s seventh floor where we fought monsters and gained more levels all throughout the evening, as per our usual routine.


    When we got back to our house, I came to check how the soap was doing, but much to my disappointment, it was not yet all solid like all those bars of it that I was so used to seeing. I wonder exactly how long is it going to take for it to solidify properly? In the experiment back in junior high, the teacher used the refrigerator to harden it almost instantly, but unfortunately, there are no refrigerators in this world, which means that I just have to wait for it to harden on its own. But exactly how long is it going to take? A week? Month? I really have no way of knowing, and I cannot wait for that long either, so we will have to simply make do with what we already have here.


    When we finished eating dinner, we went to the bathroom and began preparations to make the bath. Today is definitely the day when I will wash Roxanne using the soap that I have created!


    While we were standing there, getting undressed, I kept stealing glances at Roxanne as she was removing her clothes one after the other. I probably said that a million times already and am just sounding like a broken record, but her bombshell body is simply spectacular no matter how many times I get to look at it. For a girl she is tall and thin, and all of her limbs are slender, not to mention that her chest is something that other girls her age would definitely get jealous of. To top it off, she has thick thighs, slim waist and a really plump butt adorned with her fluffy, adorable tail; in other words, she has practically everything that a normal, healthy guy might want in a girl, and this walking perfection belongs to me and me alone. Huehuehue, I really am a lucky guy to have someone like her as my partner. But enough digressing, it¡¯s about time to move on to the main event of today¡¯s evening.


    ¡¸Finished undressing?¡¹


    I asked, trying to sound as casual about it as possible.


    ¡¸Yes, I am done.¡¹


    ¡¸Good. In that case, let us wash each other.¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm, should I not be the one to wash master first?¡¹


    ¡¸Normally that would be the case, but not this time. Now that I have made soap, we have to try if it is working as it should be, and for that, we have to wash each other up for maximum effectiveness.¡¹


    Roxanne expressed some doubts, but I promptly hasted to quell them. It might be a little bit crude to be saying this, but the only reason why I went through all those trouble of making the bath, finding a way to fill it with water  and now making soap was so that I could have some nice, soapy fun with her, so I am not going to let anything stop me now when I am literal inches away from seeing my fantasy fulfilled.


    I want to wash Roxanne as soon as possible. I want to cover her with bubbles from top to bottom, and I want her to cover me in the same way as well. All I have to do now is to push her just a little bit more, and she should have no objections whatsoever about doing this with me.


    ¡¸So this is going to be another experiment?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, exactly. The one meant to test if I managed to create good enough soap for us to be using it from now on.¡¹


    Are those words going to be enough to convince her? Technically they should be, since I focused on the practical aspect of what we are going to be doing in a moment, so she has no reason to say no to it. Come o now Roxanne, don¡¯t fail me now!


    ¡¸Understood. Then¡­ please go ahead and wash me¡­ master.¡¹


    Yes! It seems that Roxanne understood what I was trying to say without me having to explain it in too much detail, which is definitely great, but with all of that said, what we are about to do is really going to be a legitimate experiment, because thinking about it for a moment, I have never done any tests to see if this soap is safe for the people to use. What if, for example, it turns out that it is too alkaline to be using on the skin, and Roxanne is going to hurt herself while using it? If that were to happen, I would have never forgiven myself for it, so I have to do everything I possibly can to make sure that such a thing will never come to pass, even by complete accident.


    Which is why I have to exercise extreme caution with it.


    I soaked the washcloth in hot water and made as much foam as I could by rubbing it together. Before using it on Roxanne, I am going to test it out on my own hand first. The foam and the bubbles form relatively easily, so everything¡¯s fine in that aspect. It is certainly not the amount that I am used to seeing after using shampoos and soaps I had in my old house in Japan, but for the time being this will definitely make do for us. It¡¯s been a good minute since I applied the soap, and the place where I put it is not tingling or burning in the slightest, so this soap probably turned out safe for usage after all. Just to be sure, I applied more of it onto my arm, but there was no problems with it whatsoever. Does this mean that we have ourselves a green light? Probably yes.


    ¡¸Hmm¡­ it does not sting or anything, so I think it should be safe to put it on our skins. Roxanne, show me your hand for a moment, if you would.¡¹


    ¡¸I see¡­ okay. Here you go, master.¡¹


    Roxanne stretched out her left hand and waited for me to apply the soap onto it, which I did after a short moment of hesitation. I made an ample amount of foam and smeared it over a part of her forearm by making piston-like movements with my fingers. Okay, so far, it does not seem like anything out of the ordinary is happening. Her soap-covered, moist skin feels incredibly good to the touch.


    ¡¸This is the first time that I have made legitimate soap, so if you start feeling funny or that anything seems to be off, even if it¡¯s just a little bit, be sure to tell me about it right away, all right?¡¹


    ¡¸All right. If anything happens, I will tell you about it immediately.¡¹


    After smearing the soap on her palms, I moved and did the same across her entire arms. Enjoying their softness, I slowly made my way towards the shoulders, and then took a turn to go for her armpits.


    ¡¸Fufufu~~~¡­ m-master, that tickles¡­ fufufu~~~!¡¹


    Smirking at her cute reaction, I grabbed the washcloth and doused it in the soaped-up water one more time, but I am only going to use it to make more foam, and nothing else. This is Roxanne¡¯s body we¡¯re talking about after all, so I want to experience it in its entirety with my own hands. Then, moving on from her armpits I made my way down, all the way to the bases of the sacred mountains. I moved from the bases all the way towards their summits, and then moving slowly, as if I was covering a canvas with paint I dyed them both white, as if it just snowed over them. As I wash them, they shake a little, causing the foamy snow to froth and raise the pinkish peaks even higher. But soon enough the time will come for this snow to melt and uncover the first buds of spring waiting patiently under the white blanket.


    ¡¸Ahh~~¡¹


    This is amazing. The slipperiness of the foam, coupled with the softness of her elastic skin, this sensation is just out of this world.


    ¡¸Master, it feels so good¡­ ever since I met you, I have experienced so many wonderful first times, including this one¡­¡¹


    She pants as I move towards her stomach. Roxanne, That¡¯s so hot!!!


    ¡¸Since today is your first time using soap, then as a special service I will wash your hair, back and tail for you, but only today. I won¡¯t be doing it tomorrow.¡¹


    ¡¸Huh? Why not?¡¹


    ¡¸Because using too much soap can actually damage your hair, and I think we both would like to avoid anything like that happening to us, right?¡¹


    ¡¸I see, so that¡¯s why.¡¹

 Volume 3 - CH 4.21

    ¡¸Yeah, that is exactly right.¡¹


    Or at least that is the story that I heard in the past, back when I was still a little whelp. And since I have no idea how to make the specialized beauty products like shampoo or hair conditioners, it would probably be better to let our hair rest for a few days before washing it with soap again. Yup, this is what all the kids in Japan were taught ever since they are young, so there¡¯s no reason to stop following that logic now. Preparing to wash Roxanne¡¯s entire body for her, I got a good amount of soap on both of my hands and rubbed them together to create as much fluffy foam as possible.


    First I got it all over her back, and once they were taken care of I carefully moved to wash her tail, for which I also had to employ both of my hands, which I then used to ruffle the tail¡¯s fur a bit before stroking it politely with my foamed-up fingers. It felt comfortably smooth, just like when you would wash a dog¡¯s tail. I never had a dog myself, but I imagined that this is how washing its tail up would feel.


    After bubbling her whole body up and letting go of her tail, the time has come for me to move towards her head. I took a washcloth and used it to make even more foam than I used when I was going over the rest of her body. Then I placed it all on top of Roxanne¡¯s head and began moving my hands in stirring motions, as if I wanted to combine the soapy foam and her hair together.


    ¡¸You okay there? You¡¯re not feeling itchy or got the foam in your eyes?¡¹


    ¡¸No, I am all right. Thank you for worrying, master.¡¹


    I washed not only the hair on her head, but her doggy ears as well. Even though I am touching it and playing with it every single day, cleaning it with soap was a brand-new experience with a whole new set of sensations related to it. Their front, back, their very base, I gently took care of it and scrubbed them with my fingers until there was no part of it left unwashed. As her ears were being washed, bubbles mixed with the droplets of water began to drip from their tips and hair down onto her body, but she did not see any of them, because she still had her eyes closed to prevent foam from getting into them.


    Now that her entire body has been thoroughly scrubbed with bubbles, I could take a step back and enjoy the full picture of my work. I have to say, she looked like a human figure made from bubbles, which got a small chuckle out of me.


    After washing her all over like that, it looks like she is wearing clothes made entirely out of foam that are similar to the ripped clothing from my times. Watching her stand before me in this white, bubbly getup is strangely alluring in its own right. Is it because parts of her body are clearly visible to me, while others remain obscured from my sight? And beneath all of that foam¡­ there is this gentle warmth of her body. I can¡¯t help but wonder¡­ if I press on it hard enough, will I be able to touch it directly? To touch her¡­ Roxanne¡­


    ¡¸¡­Ah! M-Master¡­¡¹


    I hugged her without even thinking about it. The need to do this was stronger than me, and I did not want to do anything to stop myself from doing it. I did this without thinking, but it can still be bad, so I have to come up with some kind of excuse, and quick!


    ¡¸Uhm, you know¡­ this way, we can wash each other up more effectively without using as much soap. In the country that I hail from, it is a traditional method of washing between men and women who are close to one another that allows them to deepen their relationship even further.¡¹


    I fed her a bunch of conveniently arranged half-truths.


    ¡¸Members of the opposite sex really wash each other like that?¡¹


    This is not entirely true, but right now I am willing to make every lie possible in order to enjoy this bubbly Roxanne for as long as I possibly can.


    ¡¸I see.¡¹


    You see? Well that¡¯s great, because I am not ready to give up this soft, slimy sensation up just yet. I want to continue to touch her and enjoy the moist feeling of her skin rubbing against mine.


    ¡¸That¡¯s right.¡¹


    I declared in order to strongly affirmed the legitimacy of my words. Roxanne¡¯s willingness and readiness to accept each and every one of my words as honest-to-good truths is both a little disappointing and kinda terrifying, but it cannot be helped. You know what they say, right? That it is very rude to be looking a gifted horse in the mouth? Well, my original intention was to simply have ourselves wash each other up normally, but as always, my greedy, pervy nature ended up causing me to ask for that much more. Then again, I should have guessed that it was going to end like that from the very beginning.


    ¡¸¡­ who are close to each other, huh?¡¹


    ¡¸Huh? Roxanne?¡¹


    I don¡¯t know if I was starting to see things from all the heat and steam of the bath, but I could swear that Roxanne had a strange glint in her eyes just now. Could it be that my talk about how this is something that couples that are close to one another are doing awakened something inside her or caused some kinda switch to be flipped?


    ¡¸In that case¡­ can I wash master¡¯s body up as well?¡¹


    She asked while taking off my towel and shyly wrapping her hands around my waist!


    Her movements are a little bit awkward, but overall, they all feel pretty nice. She clings onto me moving ever so slowly while she is diligently trying to cover my entire body with soap. Even my most important part, so I leave it all to her and allow her to wash me however she sees fit.


    Along with the bubbles that gradually cover my entire body, I can also feel her massive mountains touching my back, and from time to time, her fingers also happen to brush against my crotch, of which she takes full advantage, looking at me with moist eyes and asking provocative things like:


    ¡¸Am I doing it right?¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yes, thank you. Being washed by you feels really good, Roxanne.¡¹


    ¡¸Fufu, I am glad to hear it.¡¹


    Just as I did for her before, now Roxanne also washes every part pf my body: hair, neck, torso, arms, legs¡­ every last inch of my skin has been caressed by her soap-covered fingers, bringing me to the very height of satisfaction.


    ¡¸Look out, master. I will be washing the soap off of you now.¡¹


    When she finished washing me, she drew the hot water into her palms and poured it onto my head, flushing all of the bubbles from my body and into the water. When I was finally clear of it all after a few such water showers, we just laid in the tub and enjoyed the sensation of the hot water that was wrapping itself all around us.


    ¡¸My skin feels so smooth and comfortable¡­.¡¹


    Roxanne says as she washes the soap off her arm and squints her eyes happily. It looks like she is satisfied with the results of the soapy bath, and if she is happy with it, then that makes me happy as well.


    ¡¸We would have quite a problem if it didn¡¯t feel that way. I guess that means that the soap experiment was a success after all.¡¹


    ¡¸After using so much of it, it somehow feel as if I have been reborn.¡¹


    ¡¸I¡¯m glad to hear that, but you were beautiful even without using it, so I do not think it is going to change all that much.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, t-thank you very much¡­¡¹


    I wonder if that was the best thing that I could have said as a follow up to this entire situation? After all, there is no doubt in my mind that Roxanne was already stunningly beautiful ever since I have first laid my eyes upon her, but the soap made her shine even more, so¡­ should I have agreed with her? Or perhaps said something a little bit more daring? *Sigh* I guess I missed my chance, huh?But in the end, I guess things have worked themselves out pretty nicely even without that, so it is all fine.

 Volume 3 - CH 5.01

    Chapter 14: Carelessness


    Kaga Michio


    Current levels & equipment:


    Explorer Lv.32


    Hero Lv.29


    Mage Lv.31


    Monk Lv.30


    Equipment:


    Wand


    Leather Helmet


    Leather Armor


    Leather Gloves


    Leather shoes


    In the morning after the night when we washed each other with the newly-made soap, I woke up with a squeaky-clean body feeling all refreshed. Who would have thought that doing something so simple as washing yourself properly was going to have that much of a positive effect on me, both physically and mentally. But truth to be told, taking a proper bath was only one of the reasons for me waking up feeling better than ever since I have ended up here. As for the other reason¡­


    ¡¸Mmm¡­ fuu¡­ *kiss*¡­¡¹


    Certainly, last night has been quite refreshing, both to me and to Roxanne¡­ for a variety of reasons. Currently she is straddling me, allowing me to feel the smoothness of her clean and polished lower body with my own lower body. The feeling is so addicting that I want to do nothing else than to grab a hold of her and hug her all day long without leaving the bed even for a minute.


    She kisses me on the lips, continuing our ritual of waking me up with kisses every single day. Her lips are so soft that I feel like my tongue and the inside of my mouth are going to be melted in an instant if she continues to do it uninterrupted. It is so moist, and warm, and slimy and it slides across my own tongue as if it had a will of its own¡­ Huh? Do I realize that this has nothing to do with soap, and that it is like that by itself? Well of course I do! It¡¯s just that whenever I have an occasion to praise how good Roxanne is with her tongue, I am going to take that chance, no questions asked.


    ¡¸Good morning, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Good morning, to you as well, Roxanne. Just like you said yesterday, your skin so pleasantly smooth to the touch.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you for the nice words, but that would not be possible without the soap that master created.¡¹


    ¡¸True. *Sigh* as much as I would like to stay like this and enjoy the feeling of your skin beside me, I¡¯m afraid we have to go back to Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth in the morning. Are you all right with such course of action?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course. As long as it is something that master wants to do, I have no reason not to follow your decision and go with you wherever they might lead us.¡¹


    As much as I did not want to do it, I had no choice but to let go of Roxanne and start to prepare myself for another long day of grinding for levels in Veil¡¯s Labyrinth and hunting for Rabbit Furs in the Labyrinth of Quratar.


    In this world, it has been generally agreed that the time of day universally known as ¡°evening¡± arrives around 10:00 PM, or at least that is more or less when the candles are being lit and lamps are filled with oil. These two things are necessary if you don¡¯t want to spend the evening hours in complete darkness, and while individually they might not be all that expensive, then considering that candles and lamp oil both get used out rather quickly, so it is more than certain that you are going to have to buy more than just one or two of them, and that can be quite a costly undertaking when you take into consideration that you would have to buy enough of them for at least a few days, or perhaps even a week. Now, given our financial situation, try to guess how much candles or lamp oil I would be willing to buy. That¡¯s right, you guessed correctly: none whatsoever, since at least for the time being they are not something that we absolutely need in order to function properly when it gets dark, since in this world there is not much to do when the sun goes down anyway, aside from hanging around taverns or having sex. Well, saying that there is not much to do is not an entirely accurate thing, but so allow me to rephrase what I just said a bit: there might or might not be much to do in the evenings, depending on which ¡°tier¡± of society you happen to belong to.


    Since we have chosen to live our lives as Adventurers for the time being, our main source of income is going to the Labyrinths and selling whatever we managed to find in there or obtain from killing monsters, we have to take an especially good care of our bodies and make sure that they are always going to be in tip-top condition if we want to avoid running into any difficulties, and I personally don¡¯t want Roxanne to overexert herself more than she has to. The burdens that I am already placing on her shoulders are quite enough, so if there is anything I can do in order to take even the smallest portion of those burdens away, then I am going to do it, even if it is something as small and insignificant as going to bed early to get as much sleep as we possibly can, waking up when it is still pitch-black outside so that we could go to the Labyrinths when there will be as few people inside them as possible.


    Fighting away my drowsiness, I slowly got out of bed and looked for my change of clothes to put on. When all of our preparations were finished, I created a Warp portal to Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth, and thus another day of our dungeon crawling began.


    Hunting Slow Rabbits on the seventh floor here sounds, and admittedly is, a pretty repetitive undertaking, but we have no choice but to do this if we want to complete one of the small goals that Roxanne and I set for ourselves: obtain one hundred (Or even more than that, just to be safe) or more Rabbit Fur¡¯s and sell them to the clothing store in Imperial City for profit. However, one hundred pelts is quite a large number, and we want to bring all of them to one of the more luxurious-looking establishments located on Imperial City¡¯s main street, and I feel like arriving there with all of them in tow is going to cause me quite a lot of nerves. On the bright side, thanks to my access to Bonus Skills, selling such a large amount of Furs is going to be even more profitable than it would normally be, because if there is a Bonus Skill that grants a thirty percent discount when buying things, then there must also be a Bonus Skill that does the same when selling things to others.


    We entered the Labyrinth and headed towards the seventh floor, where the Slow Rabbits dwelled. Instead of following the map of the floor, I allowed Roxanne¡¯s nose to be our guide, since she is infinitely more reliable when it comes to detecting enemies than some scrap of paper, giving us a much higher Slow Rabbit encounter rate than every other Explorer or Adventurer could ever dream of. Luckily for us, we do not have to worry about Slow Rabbits not dropping their furs whenever they are defeated, because so far every last one of them dropped it without fail, which means that a Rabbit Fur must be their common Drop Item with one hundred percent chance to being dropped. As a result of that, we managed to get more than a hundred Rabbit Furs in no time and we will soon approach over two hundred Furs out of the initial one hundred, so I think that we might as well try and go for three hundred of them, because if we will keep up the pace at which we are currently going, then we are going to get that much without any major difficulties as well. If my Item Box was bigger we could have tried to get more than three hundred, but regretfully, three hundred free spaces for items is the maximum limit with the current levels of my Jobs.


    ¡¸Ah! Master, look!¡¹


    Also, while going through the halls of the seventh floor, we made a surprising discovery that made coming here this early in the morning well worth it.


    ¡¸What is it, Roxanne? Did you find something?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes! I believe there is a hidden passage here!¡¹


    ¡¸Really?! Let me see!¡¹


    Roxanne was right. Slightly off to the side of the main corridor there was a hidden passage in the wall. When we entered it after Roxanne confirmed that she can¡¯t smell any monsters lurking nearby, we found a most peculiar thing some distance from the entrance to the secret corridor.


    ¡¸Roxanne, what is that?¡¹

 Volume 3 - CH 5.02

    ¡¸This is a treasure chest, master!¡¹


    ¡¸A treasure¡­ chest? This thing right here?¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s right!¡¹


    Roxanne rushed towards the treasure chest in excitement, but I still could not understand what was she getting so fired up about¡­ because the thing that she described as a treasure chest looked like a simple mound of soil to me, very similar to the ones that moles make whenever they stop digging through the ground and want to come back to the surface.


    It this really the famous treasure chests I have heard so much about, and not just some kind of trap meant to lure in na?ve people blinded by the prospect of getting their hands on some easy loot? Also, according to Roxanne¡¯s words, treasure chests contain the belongings of those who have died while going through the Labyrinth, so it can be said that this is a pretty morbid take on the typical system or randomly generated loot found in most RPG games, but through the standards of this world, I guess its inhabitants will see nothing wrong with it.


    Back when we were only trekking through Veil¡¯s Labyrinth I have never seen even a single one of those pop up, most likely because that Labyrinth is practically deserted and almost no one goes there, or at least to its lower floors. As a result there was no one who could have fallen prey to the monsters living there, resulting in there being no treasure chests whatsoever.


    As for Quratar, we have not seen treasure chests up to this point either, but not because there was no people, oh no. Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth is always teeming with Adventurers and Explorers alike so there are bound to be more treasure chests here, but so far we were only sticking to the shortest possible routes to the Boss Room, focusing very little of our time towards exploration out side of the path dictated by the map. That is one reason., the other one being that with so many people here at any given time of the day, even if some treasure chests were to spawn, they would all be picked clean by the time we have arrived at the scene. We were probably only able to find this one because we came here unusually early even for us looking for the Slow Rabbits to slay and snatch their Furs off of them.


    Keeping a safe distance from the lump of soil, Roxanne poked it with her Scimitar a few times, but nothing alarming has happened. Still, it does not mean that we are in the clear just yet. This treasure chest might still be rigged with the kinds of traps that we cannot even begin to imagine, so we should still exercise extreme caution in interacting with it.


    ¡¸Do you think it is safe to open this thing up just like that? What if it is a trap?¡¹


    ¡¸It should be perfectly safe to open. And even if it was not and it turned out that it was, for example, a Mimic (TL Note: I fucking knew there are Mimics there!)  masquerading as the treasure chest, all we would have to do to claim the treasure is to defeat it, which should not be difficult with master¡¯s strength.¡¹


    Talk about having absolute confidence in her reply. Seeing her being so sure about that reassured me as well¡­ but wait, what was that about Mimics? They have Mimics here?! In that case, maybe I should stab this treasure chest a few times to see it  is going to suddenly come to life only to drop dead in the very next second?


    ¡¸Roxanne, maybe I should¡­¡¹


    But before I was able to suggest that to her, she already stabbed her Scimitar into the mound of earth and lifted it up from the ground like a carpet. I see. So, it looking like a mound of earth was a sort of camouflage, huh? In truth, whatever this treasure chest was actually made of was more like skin, or a piece of paper. I guess things like that are one of the reasons why even the people native to this world cannot say for sure if the Labyrinths are truly alive or not.


    Back to the treasure chest before us, the item that it contained inside of it was Leather Gloves. Just an ordinary set of Leather Gloves, without any Skills or Skill Slots to it whatsoever. We are relatively close to the end of the seventh floor now, so I guess the rumors that treasure chests contain the equipment of those who tried to brave the Labyrinth¡¯s corridors is not just a baseless rumor after all. I can definitely imagine people getting impaled by the Escape Goat¡¯s horns or bitten to death by Slow Rabbits¡¯ fangs even though these are not pleasant images at all. Well, these Leather Gloves are not a great piece of equipment by any means so it probably will not be worth all that much, but there is nothing we can do about it now besides selling it in the equipment shop, which is good, because it will allow us to have that much more extra Nars for whatever we would want to buy next. Who knows, maybe if the person who was the original owner of those gloves invested in better gear he would have still been alive instead of biting the dust and having his armor and weapons serve as random prizes for other people who came here after him? Let this be another reminder for all of you. Labyrinths are dangerous places, and coming into them without proper and careful preparation will only end up in catastrophe for you.


    ¡¸Whoever you might have been, we will be gratefully taking this. Namu amida butsu.¡¹


    ¡¸Namu amida¡­?¡¹


    While praying for the souls of the deceased Adventurer or Explorer who dropped those, under Roxanne¡¯s questioning gaze, I picked up the Leather Gloves from the treasure chest as the ground around it deflated and returned to its perfectly flat shape.


    After that surprising encounter with the treasure chest, we have returned home before the sun fully rose to have breakfast. When we were done eating, we had ourselves a short break, after which it was off to the Labyrinth with us again. Since we explored Quratar Labyrinth¡¯s seventh floor earlier, it was now the time for us to go to Veil Labyrinth¡¯s seventh floor for the purpose of exploration and increasing our levels. Unfortunately, I cannot say that our run there went all that well, mainly because the accursed Escape Goats continued to be a royal pain in the ass thanks to their pesky Escape Skill, which they were using every time they were at death¡¯s door and when they were conveniently too far away from me to reach them in time to kill them with Durandal or my magic, which annoyed me to no end, because we did not earn all that much EXP and did not get many items. But even so, we decided that we won¡¯t go back to Quratar to hunt for more Rabbit Furs. We have established that we will only do so in the mornings, and at this point it became such a routine thing for us that we didn¡¯t even have to think about it, so there is no point in changing that now just because we had a kind of a shitty luck when it came to the enemy RNG this time.


    But since we are on the subject of Quratar¡­ there is one alteration that might prove beneficial to us if we decide to implement it into our morning Quratar Labyrinth runs: I would like to try and divide our time there between getting Rabbit Furs and trying to take on the Floor Boss of Quratar Labyrinth¡¯s seventh floor. But first thing¡¯s first, we have another thing that needs to be done.


    When we woke up the next day, we got dressed and went to Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth to hunt some more Rabbit Furs as usual, and we managed to obtain more than three hundred of them without any major incidents happening to us along the way, meaning that we managed to achieve the goal we have set for ourselves, so after we got back home in order to have breakfast, we knew what our next stop before going to Veil¡¯s Labyrinth was going to be: we are going to Imperial City¡¯s clothing store in order to sell all of those Rabbit Furs. We warped to the Imperial City¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild, made our way to the store and walked through the entrance specified in the poster in front of the store as the one meant for those who wished to sell Rabbit Furs. Once we were inside, I noticed that this side part of the store was not divided from the rest of it by any walls, doors or even curtains. It was a simple side entrance to the store, from which you could see the inside of the entire store and go anywhere you wanted without being stopped.

 Volume 3 - CH 5.03

    As expected, the counter was located at the far end of the shop, straight ahead from the main entrance. I assume that this is where we will have to go in order to get right down to business with selling the furs in our possession.


    ¡¸Welcome. Since you have used the side entrance, then I assume you are here to sell Rabbit Furs, correct?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, that is correct. That is what we have come here to do.¡¹


    And old male clerk came up to us and offered us a polite greeting. When I used Identify on him, I saw that his Job was that of a Merchant, so if I will play things right, we might be able to get even more money from the selling of those Furs than we have originally intended. Sweet.


    ¡¸In that case, can I ask you to follow me to the counter?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course. Please, lead the way.¡¹


    The man bowed his head to us, turned around and walked towards the counter, and we followed after him. To be honest, I was quite surprised at how polite and professional this guy was towards someone who just came to the store from the street. I thought that we will be taken to some kinda staff room, but apparently no, everything is going to be handled in the main part of the store like with any other client.


    As we approached the counter, two other female clerks appeared seemingly out of nowhere and rushed towards the male clerk, lining up at both of his sides behind the counter. As expected of the personnel working at such a luxury store (or perhaps it would be more accurate to call this place a boutique?), they all look like they were so skilled in what they were doing that there was not even one wasted motion in their movements, and even when they were standing still they had this aura of gracefulness around them, especially the two onee-sans. They might have not quite been on Roxanne¡¯s level when it came to beauty, but if I saw them out on the city during the day I definitely would have turned over my shoulder when they would be passing by me.


    Since all three of them were Merchants and not Explorers or Adventurers, I mumbled silently to myself, pretending that I was casting the spell for the Item Box to appear, and when it materialized, I took out all of the Rabbit Furs and placed them neatly on the counter one right next to another. As soon as I was done, all three of them began taking and arranging them on their side of the counter. Wow, just look at them go, it¡¯s almost like they were machines programmed to do this kind of thing perfectly¡­ oh, wait. They are NPCs in a game, so I guess that makes them not all that different from machines, right? Anyway, the were taking my randomly placed Rabbit Furs and organized them in a few piles there they stacked them on top of each other by taking not one, but several of them at a time. In no time flat, they made as much as thirty piles of ten Rabbit Furs each. Seeing all of that unfold right before my very eyes, I could not help it but to feel impressed, so much so that I applauded them in my mind.


    ¡¸We have finished counting. Overall, there are three hundred Rabbit Furs here. Do you wish to sell all of them?¡¹


    The male clerk counted the number of fur hills on the counter and confirmed the exact amount.


    ¡¸Yes, I do.¡¹


    ¡¸As you wish. Please, if you could wait just a moment.¡¹


    He bowed politely and left the counter, presumably to get the money I was going to receive for selling all of those furs, which should be quite a lot.


    ¡¸We will be taking this then.¡¹


    One of the female clerks said to me as she took the piles of furs and followed after the male clerk.


    ¡¸Yes, thank you for your hard work.¡¹


    The other female clerk, the one who stayed behind at the counter with us. I wonder why did she stay behind when the other went with the male clerk? Maybe that is her programmed behavior, to stay at the counter if there is no one else behind it in case that any other customers came to the shop? She also bowed her head to us and smiled. Even if she is only meant to be staying there like a mannequin, it is still amazing that the creators of this game implemented her with such courtesy gestures. It might not be all that much, but it really makes me feel appreciated as a customer. Though I cannot help but to wonder, do they behave like that towards all the customers, or just towards the ones who come in here in order to sell Rabbit Furs?


    I don¡¯t think that just about any Explorer, Adventurer, mercenary or a person doing odd jobs would even come to such a high-class clothing store in the first place, but if they did, would they be treated the same way as anyone else based on their appearance alone? After all, Roxanne told me that the coats made from Rabbit Furs are very popular mainly among aristocratic women, so maybe it would be more reasonable to expect such ladies of noble birth to be frequenting stores like this one, even more so since this is the Imperial City, so the percentage of the people of noble and aristocratic birth is bound to be much higher here than in any other city in the empire. What I am trying to say is that even though we have any reason to feel inferior to all the other usual customers of this shop, a part of me still feels very out of place here, instinctively knowing that commoners should not try to forcefully involve themselves with the nobility and the establishments they are visiting, but this is only a small voice sounding in the back of my head, so I do my best to ignore it and continue to lift my head proudly.


    In order to clear my head of such concerns, I tried to take a look around the store, however, there was not all that many actual clothes placed on display. There are mostly rolls and sheets of various types of fabric, so it is quite possible that instead of selling regular clothes, this store specializes more in selling made-to-order goods.


    As I continued my surveillance, the male clerk finally came back to the counter, carrying a tray filled with coins with him. Indeed, there was a lot of them crammed in there, so much so that I was afraid that they might start spilling from the tray¡¯s sides at any moment now.


    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry to have kept you waiting, dear customers. Our usual price for one Rabbit Fur is twenty Nars, but since you have brought quite a lot of them with you, we are willing to offer you a special price of twenty Nars plus a bonus of additional six Nars for each of the rabbit Furs you have sold us.¡¹


    So that is why there are so many silver coins in that tray. He said that it was a special price, but I know that this is thanks to my thirty percent increase Bonus Skill. Taking all of that money from the tray which has been placed on the counter, I am putting them into my string bag rather casually and then off to the backpack it goes after the string has been tied tightly enough. Normally I would have taken my time to count every single coin to see whether they tried to scam me or not, but in this case it would be too much of a pain in the ass to do so, and this man has been so polite with me ever since I walked through the door to the store that I think I can give him a little benefit of the doubt. Besides, the math for this particular transaction is rather easy.


    Normally, I would have gotten six thousand Nars for selling three hundred Rabbit Furs worth twenty Nars each, but with my thirty percent bonus, I sold three hundred Rabbit Furs for twenty-six Nars each, which gives me seven thousand eight hundred Nars, paid with seventy-eight silver coins. See, no reason for me to count them at all when it is all so transparent.


    ¡¸Very well then, we gladly accept it.¡¹


    ¡¸Pardon me for asking this, Mr. Customer, but since you brought so many Rabbit Furs with you during a single visit, I feel inclined to ask: are you and your companion Adventurers, by any chance?¡¹


    The male clerk asked that of me when I finished putting the money in the backpack.

 Volume 3 - CH 5.04

    Oh, what is this? Could this be some kind of hidden event? Might as well check out what this is about then.


    ¡¸We are, as a matter of fact. Why do you ask?¡¹


    ¡¸When you were hunting for the furs you just sold, did you happen to obtain any other items from the monsters that dropped them, like Rabbit¡¯s Meat, perhaps?¡¹


    Yup, this is definitely going to be one of those fetch-type quests, no doubts about it.


    ¡¸Rabbit Meat? No, I believe we did not happen upon any such item during our hunts. But, forgive me if it sounds a bit rude¡­but what would you need Rabbit Meat for in a clothing store?¡¹


    ¡¸Ah, yes, of course, about that¡­ that is indeed not the type of goods that would be sold in this kind of shop, rather¡­ that would be something I would like to aquire for my personal use.¡¹


    ¡¸And how much of that Rabbit Meat would you want?¡¹


    ¡¸I would gladly accept even a piece or two of it, as long as it would be by tomorrow.¡¹


    ¡¸By tomorrow, huh? Roxanne, what are the chances of us obtaining some Rabbit Meat by tomorrow?¡¹


    ¡¸I would say pretty good, because Rabbit Meat should be the Drop Item left behind by the Floor Boss of the seventh floor of the Labyrinth in Quratar.¡¹


    Roxanne gave me the information that I requested out of her. A Drop Item from the seventh floor¡¯s Floor Boss, huh? Then it is no wonder that he would only ask someone who looked like an Adventurer if they had some of it on them or not.


    ¡¸Yeah, so¡­ as I already said, we do not have any Rabbit Meat on us right now¡­¡¹


    ¡¸I understand. I¡¯m sorry to have troubled you with my selfish request out of the blue like that¡­¡¹


    The male clerk¡¯s eyes were filled with disappointment, like a little puppy that was just said that he cannot get on the couch with its owner. He wants to get his hands on that Rabbit Meat that badly that he is willing to ask complete strangers for help with it? Honestly, seeing him like that makes me feel incredibly uncomfortable, so¡­


    ¡¸¡­ but I don¡¯t think that getting it by tomorrow would be impossible. We should be able to procure some of it for you.¡¹


    ¡¸Really?! You would really do me such kindness, even though we are complete strangers?¡¹


    ¡¸Sure, why not? I mean, we were planning to go to the Labyrinth where we will be able to get our hands on it, so obtaining a few extra pieces should be a piece of cake for us.¡¹


    I said with absolute confidence in my words. After all, if we can handle the normal enemies on the seventh floor, taking down its Floor Boss a few times should not be all that difficult, right? Even though we have yet to clear that floor ourselves and have no idea what the actual Floor Boss looks like and what it can do, we have a map of the entire floor that we can use to follow straight to the Boss Room, and  it is certain that the boss is going to be some kind of variation of the Slow Rabbit, so we should have no problems with swiftly dispatching it.


    ¡¸Then, can I ask you to bring me one or two pieces of Rabbit Meat by tomorrow?! Please, it is very important for me!¡¹


    The male clerk pleaded all the more vehemently.


    ¡¸Wow, you really are hell-bent on getting your hands on it, are you not? Is that thing really so valuable?¡¹


    Based on my previous experiences with ingredients that were dropped by Floor Bosses, they were always a pretty common one that would not give you much money if you tried to sell it.


    ¡¸Obtaining it is not all that difficult, but since it is quite tasty, it can get pretty expensive if you want to sell it at the butcher¡¯s shop. And since it is typically eaten on several special occasions, that makes it all the more valuable and in constant demand.¡¹


    ¡¸I see.¡¹


    Normally we would go to Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth and hunt Slow Rabbits and try to take on the Floor Boss if possible, spending our time there until the sunrise, then we would go back home to eat breakfast, after which we would go to Veil¡¯s Labyrinth to grind levels and items from the monsters we encountered there, but to be completely honest with you, Escape Goats and that Escape Skill of their have really been getting on my nerves recently, because of how they seem to abuse that Skill, our search of the Veil Labyrinth¡¯s seventh floor has not been proceeding as smoothly as I would have liked it to go. So, I feel like a little change of pace is exactly what we need right now. Therefore, tomorrow we will go to Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth first thing in the morning and stay there for a bit longer so that we could hunt as much Rabbit Meat as possible!


    ¡¸All right, we¡¯re going to bring you some Rabbit Meat. But just let me ask you this: do you have any means of storing that meat once we give it to you?¡¹


    ¡¸Unfortunately, since I am not an Explorer like you, I do not have access to the Item Box where I could store all my items, but you do not have to worry yourselves with that. However many Rabbit Meats you will bring me, I will be very much content with that number.¡¹


    Ingredients are the type of items that will not spoil or go rotten no matter how long you will keep them in the Item Box, but since this man is a Merchant, he does not have access to Item Box, so he will have to find other way of preventing it from going bad, even if we do deliver the Rabbit Meat to him while it will be at the height of its freshness. It is a good thing that he is perfectly aware of that, because it eliminates the possibility of him blaming us for the eventual spoiling of the meat.


    ¡¸Okay. As long as you are fine with it, then so are we.¡¹


    But still, even though he needs this meat so badly, asking people you don¡¯t even know still takes a lot of guts to pull off, and a crazy amount of good fortune as well, but on the flipside that would also explain his unusual level of politeness towards us: he was so nice because he wanted to ask us about the Rabbit Meat, most likely ever since he saw us walking through the door. For whatever reason, he is really adamant about obtaining the Rabbit Meat, and since he cannot obtain it himself, he was forced to rely on the help of Adventurers and Explorers who would have happened to come to the shop, and apparently fate, or perhaps nothing but blind luck had decided that those helpers would be us. And now, whether we like it or not we have to rise to his expectations. It¡¯s a little stressful, but I also have to admit that having someone rely on you with high hopes is not that bad of a feeling.


    On the morning of the next day, we woke up slightly earlier than usual, put on our clothes and equipment and headed out to Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth with a map of the seventh floor in tow. Our target for today: reach the Boss Room without making any unnecessary detours, defeat the Floor Boss, obtain Rabbit Meat from it, and if possible, repeat that whole process two or more times.


    When we arrived on the seventh floor, we immediately found ourselves some secluded corner, pulled out the map to see what route we would have to take to arrive at the Boss Room in the shortest time possible, and added Roxanne¡¯s nose into the mix.


    ¡¸And? How is it? Are there many people around?¡¹


    ¡¸Not all that many, but still more than usual this early in the morning. Right now it might be a bit dangerous, but once we go a little bit further in, it should be possible for you to start using magic without the risk of somebody seeing us, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Great. All that¡¯s left now is to get to the Floor Boss and defeat it.¡¹


    Looking at the map myself, the road from the seventh floor¡¯s entrance room to the Floor Boss room is relatively straightforward and does not have all that many branching paths to it, so as long as we stat on track we should be able to reach it in no time flat, excluding some unavoidable encounters with the Slow Rabbits.

 Volume 3 - CH 5.05

    Although there are fewer people here on the seventh floor, I should probably still use Durandal for most of this floor before switching to using magic, just to be sure that I will avoid any potential problems that might stem from me being seen by someone, even if by accident. After I recover my MP here for a bit, it really should be fine for me to use magic all the way to the end of this floor, where I will switch back to Durandal again to fight the Floor Boss.


    Despite not being able to use magic until we were about halfway through it, this floor was overall not that bad. Since the Slow Rabbits were rather¡­ well, slow on the attack and were simply hopping around for most of the time, We had no difficulties with dispatching them, and soon we were a stone¡¯s throw away from the Boss Room.


    ¡¸The Boss Room should be a little more up ahead. *Sniff Sniff* Looks like someone is already there.¡¹


    ¡¸Someone¡¯s there? Well that¡¯s new.¡¹


    Since there are people waiting outside of the Boss Room, then I would better put my wand away in the Item Box. Would not want anyone to see it and piece together that since I have it then I can probably use magic, which would be pretty strange for someone who has Explorer listed as his Main Job now, right? Yeah, taking Durandal out is definitely going to be the smart thing to do here.


    Overall, there were six people waiting in the Waiting Room out side of the Boss Room. They were most likely here because that must have pretty much the same idea we had: that if they decide to come to the Labyrinth so early in the morning, there will be little to no competition for fighting monsters and finding potential treasure chests. All right, that means I have to keep Durandal out of sight until they will enter the Boss Room to fight the Floor Boss and we will be left alone. I am not risking anyone having as much as a glance at it and figuring out what it actually is.


    Shortly after we arrived in the waiting room, the door to the Boss Room opened and five people entered. So it was not a full Party of six people? The only one left behind was a lone Explorer-looking dude¡­ and he had the audacity to go and stare at Roxanne¡¯s chest! Look man, I know, okay? I know that Roxanne¡¯s boobs are amazing¡­ but they are mine! Mine and mine alone, no one else¡¯! So you can stare at them all you want, but staring is all you can do. This magnificent rack shall forever remain out of your reach!


    ¡¸Just the two of you?¡¹


    The guy talked to us while we were waiting in front of the Boss Room.


    ¡¸That¡¯s right. What about you? You alone?¡¹


    To be honest, I feel an overwhelming urge to punch this guy in the dick for oogling my Roxanne with his lecherous eyes, but it should be okay to talk to him and display that I am above such petty grievances.


    ¡¸Yeah. I am trying to save enough money so that I could buy myself more Party members, but so far things have just not been working out very well for me on that front. The thing is, no matter how much money I manage to save up one way or another, I just can¡¯t seem to save up enough, because after you take all the costs of buying food and daily necessities, it always ends up being not enough to buy even a single Party member.¡¹


    Oh wow, he is talking so casually about something so shady as buying himself some slaves because he cannot afford to find regular people who would be willing to form a Party with him. I guess that pretty much solidifies my belief that in this world slaves are a perfectly normal thing and it is not taboo in any way to be talking about them or buying them for yourself. I don¡¯t know about you, but I certainly would not want to start a conversation with random guys met in a fucking dungeon with how much I want to get myself some slave pussy, but maybe that is just my prime and proper Japanese mentality speaking. Given enough time I should be able to adapt to how people in this world act and think, but for the time being some old mannerisms are bound to be still rubbing off on me, so I have to be careful not to do or say something unnecessary that might cause frictions between me and the people I talk to.


    Also, I wonder what the slaves themselves would have to say about such a situation. I glanced back at Roxanne to see if she was uncomfortable with the subject of slaves being brought up so openly, but she was simply standing behind me with her eyes closed and a slight smile on her face. That makes sense, since even though I am her master and she is my slave, our relationship if quite a far cry from how it was usually portrayed in the history books and media from my old world. But if we do not look like a typical master and slave, then how are others seeing us? As a young couple, perhaps? Then again, that might not be the case, because pretty much everyone would definitely think that such a beautiful girl as Roxanne is way out of the league of a plain-ass boring guy like me.


    Okay, I have to stop thinking about such distracting things so much, because right now it will lead me nowhere. Since we are waiting here though, might as well allow this guy to talk some more and get his worries out of his system. I am not particularly interested in his whining, but it is not like we have anything better to do to pass the time.


    ¡¸W-Well, I was in the same boat as you not that long ago, so I understand how you feel.¡¹


    If I had not met Roxanne, I might have very well turned out like this guy here, having to go through the Labyrinths all by myself.


    ¡¸To be honest, I am afraid to be facing the Floor Boss since I am all by myself, but unfortunately, I just cannot afford to go exploring any other Labyrints.¡¹


    ¡¸You don¡¯t say.¡¹


    I can say from my own experiences: if you stumble into a Trap Room filled with monsters all by yourself, you won¡¯t be in a big pinch, or royally screwed. You will be fucked, with a capital F. But here in Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth there are always lots of people on most of the floors, so that risk is greatly reduced. On the other hand though, more people means less chances for monster encounters, and less monster encounters means less EXP needed to level your Jobs up. And to top it off, unless you have access to cheat-like Skills like my Warp that allows you to teleport to the Labyrinth from practically anywhere in the world as long as you have the MP to do it, you would have to pay the admission fee to even be allowed to enter Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth every single time, and there is no way in hell that this would allow you to save money. It is unfortunate, but that is just how the business rolls in here.


    ¡¸It has been two years since I entered the seventh floor, and throughout all this time, I was unable to clear it. But now that my level and the capacity of my Item Box have finally increased, I think I finally have a chance to go to the next floor, so I am going to take that opportunity since it has presented itself to me. ¡¹


    ¡¸Well, best of luck to you then. I hope you will be able to do it.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you for your kind words. Even though I am all alone in this, I feel like I will be able to pull through one way or the other. Call it blind optimism if you want, but I feel like Lady Luck is on my side today.¡¹


    The Explorer dude entered the Boss Room with a light smile on his face when the door opened a short while later. Two years spent on the seventh floor alone? How fucked up is that? He looked like he was around my age or perhaps a little older, so if he spent two years here, then how old was he when he started going to the Labyrinths alone? Looks like the world of Explorers is much more brutal and unforgiving to those who cannot find themselves a Party than I initially thought.

 Volume 3 - CH 5.06

    I do not really care about how other people are doing in the Labyrinths, but now that I have Roxanne with me, I am grateful that I will never have to tackle their challenges while having no one to back me up. She might be just one person, but even so, the difference of having her here with me is a huge one.


    Before it was finally our turn to face the Floor Boss, another Party came and stood in line behind us, so I had to keep Durandal hidden from their eyes.


    ¡¸OK, we are going in. You ready, Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. Let us go, master!¡¹


    While psyching ourselves up, we entered the Boss Room and I prepared Durandal for battle. After the door closed behind us, I noticed that the Floor Boss was already there, waiting for us. It was a red-colored Rapid Rabbit Lv.7. So this is the Floor Boss of this floor, huh? I have to say, even though its red coloring looks pretty menacing, overall this guy is looking pretty cute. It even is the same size as the other Slow Rabbits.


    ¡¸HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSS!!!!!!!¡¹


    Or not! This goddamn thing is not adorable at all! Also, this is the first time when the Floor Boss was already waiting for us when we have entered its chamber. So far, every time we entered the Boss Rooms, they were all materializing from the green smoke that was gathering after the door closed behind us, but this time there was nothing like that. The monster was already waiting for us in the middle of the room, all ready for battle, so I hurriedly assumed a battle stance with Durandal readied in front of me.


    As soon as the door completely closed behind Roxanne, who was following after me, Rapid Rabbit began to move, dashing towards us with incredible speed.


    Fast! This thing is way faster than I ever could have imagined!


    Rapid Rabbit approached us in the blink of an eye. To me, it looks like it is at least three times faster than the usual Slow Rabbit! Could it be that this red coloring of his is what is making all the difference? I raised Durandal into the air and dropped it down onto the Rapid Rabbit as it was going for my leg with its fangs bared, but it dodged my attack without losing any of its amazing speed. I tried to predict where it would be going next and aim my next attack a little bit further, but it also dodged it, this time by making a sharp ninety degrees turn to the left! I swung Durandal in that direction without even looking at it, but of course such a half-assed attack did not hit it, missing the mark completely and utterly.


    (Ugh! Why won¡¯t you just stay still so that I can hit you, you damned rabbit?!)


    Until now, the Floor Bosses were all giant monsters, so even if the had somewhat fast attacks hitting them was not much of a problem due to their sheer size, but since this bastard here is the same size as the small fries, its speed and menueverability is what is making this battle all the more difficult. Unless we find a way to hinder its movement or create an opening so that we could land a solid hit on it, this will go on forever until it will drain us out of our strength!


    Changing its course with the next charge, Rapid Rabbit targeted Roxanne. It got as close to her as possible, and then jumped towards her upper body. At this rate, it is going to hit her¡­ or not, because when it was just about to sink its fangs into Roxanne¡¯s neck, she swiftly moved to the side until she was out of the way of the monster¡¯s attack, and then she used her momentum to deliver a spinning slash right into the Rapid Rabbit¡¯s neck. Hah! How na?ve of you to think that you would be able to hit her, you stupid beast! Of course my Roxanne would be much faster than you! Seeing that she could match the Rapid Rabbit¡¯s movements and beat it at its own game filled me with a fresh wave of confidence and determination. That¡¯s right, there is no need for me to be afraid of this boss when I have Roxanne by my side. Together, we can definitely bring it down!


    When it picked itself up from the ground, Rapid Rabbit once again changed its tactics and went towards me for the second time. I tried to observe its movements more carefully and adjust the speed of my own attacks, but it still managed to evade them, even though this time they were much closer to hitting home tha before. Still though, a miss is a miss. If I do not want the entire battle to ride on Roxanne¡¯s shoulders once more, I have to figure out a way to make my attacks connect. I am the main source of DPS in this Party, so if I play this right, one or two attacks will be all that I would need for this fight to be over with our victory!


    ¡¸Don¡¯t be so full of yourself, monster! You¡¯re going down!¡¹


    Rapid Rabbit is heading for me again.When I was following it with my eyes, I think I noticed something that looked like Leather Armor in the corner of my eye, but since we are in the middle of a fight, I decided to ignore it for the time being. Once we deal with this Floor Boss, there will be plenty of time to check out our surroundings, but for now, handling the Rapid Rabbit requires my full attention.


    It was hopping back and forth between left and right to confuse me, making aiming my attacks with Durandal exceptionally difficult. But nevertheless, I have to aim Durandal and do something instead of staying in place like a sitting duck or a damage sponge.A battle is always about being as far ahead of your enemy as possible. I reading one of its movements ahead is not enough, then I will just have to read two or three steps ahead!


    Predicting the course of the Rapid Rabbit¡¯s assault, I adjusted Durandal in my hands and swung it in the appropriate direction. I thought I nailed it this time, but once again the boss altered its course of movement just before my blade was able to reach him, escaping unscratched, all the while maintaining its speed, until¡­


    ¡¸Ghaaa!!!¡¹


    I felt a sharp pain in one of my sides. I guess that means that its attack managed to reach me after all. But even so, I have to power through the pain, withstand the impact of the blow and follow the boss with my sight in order to figure out what is it going to do next.


    The fight is not over yet. Not by a long shot. As long as I have my will to go on and refuse to give up, I will find the right moment to strike and beat it!


    Rapid Rabbit headed for Roxanne at its astonishing pace. It moves lightly from one side to another and jumps at her again at full speed, but she once again spun around and repelled its assault with the strike of her Scimitar. Looks like she already has the timing of its attacks down, and utilizes that knowledge to her advantage. It¡¯s a shame that I am not like her and I cannot do the same, but it is quite all right, because I have my own way of fighting. I know full well that movement speed alone is not the decisive factor that determines the outcome of a battles, because even those who are the swiftest on their feet will not be able to achieve victory without possessing the strength to back it up.


    Once again, rapid Rabbit rushes in, targeting me. It must have determined that Roxanne is too dangerous to fight since she can counter its attempts at attacking her effectively. Choosing me as you priority target because you think me inferior to her¡­ I can only call that incredibly careless of you!


    I waited until Rapid Rabbit was in my point-blank range, and then¡­


    (Over¡­ whelming!)


    I unleashed Hero¡¯s Job Skill: Overwhelming. As soon as I did that, the movements of the Rapid Rabbit, previously too fast for me to follow them properly with my eyes, have slowed down significantly. Yes, now I can see it clearly. I slowly turned sideways to move away from the trajectory of its plunge attack, prepared Durandal and then turned back around on my heel¡­. And unleashed a flurry of attacks upon it.


    Hahahaha! You feel that, you damned beast?! This is my way of fighting! Now that I have used Overwhelming, I can get multiple attacks in at once when there is nothing you can do about it!

 Volume 3 - CH 5.07

    Now that I have delivered so many blows to it that it could not have survived that even if it possessed zombie mode, all I have to do is to retreat a safe distance away just to be on the safe side, and wait for Overwhelming¡¯s effect to end while being out of the harm¡¯s way. Now, just be a good little Rabbit and turn into my meat so that I can finish the quest for that dude in the clothing store, and don¡¯t you dare make me use Overwhelming more than I have to!


    As soon as Overwhelming¡¯s duration ended, time has begun to move at a normal pace again. Because of that, it looked as if Rapid Rabbit has been suspended in the air by some invisible force that begun to slash away at it at the same time. It was a gruesome spectacle, but of an incredibly satisfying kind. Just like I ordered it to, the boss, or rather what was now left of it, fell onto the floor and rolled over to the side. Thanks to Overwhelming, the victory was now ours. Subsequently, Rapid Rabbit disappeared in a cloud of green smoke, leaving behind its Drop Item: a piece of Rabbit Meat.


    Rabbit Meat. I guess this is the item we were asked to bring to that male clerk at the clothing store back in Imperial City. He asked for at least two pieces of it, so that means we are halfway through fulfilling his request. But first, we will have to wash it thoroughly once we get back home, since I do not believe that laying on the ground would be good for the meat¡¯s sanitary values, and the last thing we need would be the client declining to accept it because it is dirty or aht it possibly caught some nasty bacteria from being on the ground too long.


    ¡¸Amazing, master! That was amazing! Simply amazing! I have never seen you ove in such a way before!¡¹


    While I was carefully picking the Rabbit Meat up from the ground, Roxanne spared me no amount of praises.


    ¡¸W-Well thank you.¡¹


    ¡¸Your movements just now were so amazingly fast that I have nearly lost sight of you for a moment!¡¹


    ¡°Nearly lost sight of you for a moment¡±, huh? So Roxanne was able to see my movements after I activated Overwhelming after all? It¡¯s actually pretty amazing of her that she only ¡°nearly¡± lost sight of me instead of losing it completely. But don¡¯t get too excited about it, Michio! She is only impressed because of Overwhelming¡¯s speed, although for me instead of giving me an increase in my own speed it simply looked like everything around me slowed down almost to a standstill.


    ¡¸Anyway, there is something that I want to check out.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, what is it, master?¡¹


    ¡¸While we were fighting the Rapid Rabbit, I think I saw some equipment in one of the corners in this room, so I would like to check out what it was. I think it was right around¡­ here.¡¹


    In addition to the Leather Armor, the equipment that we found in the room included a pair of Leather Gloves and Leather Shoes. I also picked up a Single Copper Sword. Overall, we will not be able to sell all of those items for that much money, but an extra income is an extra income, so you will not find me complaining about it. I simply took all of them and placed them in my Item Box.


    ¡¸You said that sometimes equipment is dropped in the Boss Room as well as the Floor Boss¡¯ Drop Item, right?¡¹


    ¡¸Umu. To be more exact, I think the equipment drops every time that the previous Party that challenged the Floor Boss gets defeated by it.¡¹


    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. It should be even more apparent since the Floor Boss was already in the room when we entered it.¡¹


    I thought that it was pretty strange that the Floor Boss was already here when we entered, since it was the first time something like that ever happened to us. Up until now, every Floor Boss we have encountered appeared in the room only after we reached the center of it by materializing from a gathering cloud of green smoke. At first I thought that this was some kind of rare encounter pattern occurring, but thinking about it carefully¡­ Roxanne did say that whenever the Floor Boss defeats the Party that tried to challenge it, it would be waiting for the next one to arrive, but I always assume that they will despawn first and then spawn again between encounters and not literally stand there waiting for their next opponents to arrive. But since it was already here¡­ then¡­ then that means that the equipment I just took must have belonged to the Explorer dude who went to fight Rapid Rabbit before us, right?! I¡­ I see. So he got killed by the Rapid Rabbit after all that talk about feeling like Lady Luck was on his side today, huh?


    I stood up and took another look at the room to see if there was anything else worthy of interest left here, and just when I thought that there was nothing¡­


    *Blink*


    (Huh? What¡¯s that?)


    After examining the ground where I found the equipment once more, I noticed something shining laying amidst the dust. It was a Black Magic Crystal. Could it be another one of that Explorer¡¯s possessions? If so, then he really must have no idea how to handle it properly if it was still black after two years of him staying on the seventh floor of the Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth alone. The order of colors, depending on how much magic power they have stored within them goes black = = > red = = > purple = = > blue = = > green = = > yellow = = > white, so if I were to take a guess I would say that he must have been keeping that one is his Item Box the entire time believing that it would still be gathering magical energy from defeated monsters, while in reality it is the exact opposite. In order to gather energy and change colors, Magic Crystals have to be present somewhere on their owner¡¯s body or else the only thing they will gather is jack shit. If he understood that, he would have had at least red, or maybe even a purple one on him. Or maybe he already sold the one that was filled and obtained a new, empty one. In that case all of the money he got for it were probably stored in his Item Box, and after an Explorer dies, I do not think there is any way of retrieving the contents of the Item Box that belonged to him. Shame.


    Last time when I checked it, the Magic Crystal I had on me had already turned green, so maybe it is about time to go and sell it to the Adventurers Guild. Based on what Roxanne told me about them, turning a Yellow Magic Crystal into White Magic Crystal would take too much time, so usually people sell their Magic Crystals when they turn green or yellow. Maybe I should also do the same sometime soon?


    ¡¸Ah, master! You found a Black Magic Crystal! As expected of you, your luck never stops to amaze me!¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah¡­ except it just happen to be laying here¡­¡¹


    ¡¸Black Magic Crystals are usually harder to find if they are on the ground because they do not shine as bright as the other ones, which makes them harder to spot, so even if it was just sheer luck, it is still amazing that you were able to spot it. You should be proud of yourself, master!¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah¡­ certainly, you are right¡­¡¹


    So that¡¯s how it is, huh? Certainly, that Black Magic Crystal did not shine in the same way that my own Magic Crystals did. Compared to them, it looked almost matte and lifeless, so I would not be surprised if someone were to mistake it for just another ordinary pebble in the Labyrinth¡¯s corridors, that¡¯s how difficult to spot it was. If not for that one weak accidental blink, I would have probably missed it entirely as well, and I would never have even noticed it. The same goes for the equipment of that Explorer who walked here before us. Without Identify, I would have probably dismissed all those pieces of equipment in the corner of the room as just another element of the background to be glossed over. Maybe I should make it a habit to scan my surroundings with Identify even if there is seemingly nothing to be found around me? That way, I will have absolute certainty that I am not missing any potential loot.

 Volume 3 - CH 5.08

    Then again, being overly cautious like that will probably make me look like some sort of idiot who does so because he has nothing better to do with his time, not to mention that keeping an eye on literally everything around me also seem like something quite impossible to do.


    Now, the question is: what should I do with this Black Magic Crystal? Hmm¡­


    ¡¸Well, this Magic Crystal is black, so it means that it is pretty much useless to us right now, right? All we can do with it now is to either sell it or keep it with us until it accumulates more magic power within it.¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm¡­ or we could just fuse master¡¯s Magic Crystal together with this one¡­¡¹


    Roxanne told that to me.


    ¡¸Fuse them¡­ together?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. If you press two Magic Crystals together, they will be combined into one Magic Crystal.¡¹


    ¡¸But won¡¯t the magic power stored in the Magic Crystal with less magic power stored get lost in this way?¡¹


    ¡¸It is okay, master, magic power will not get wasted, so you do not have to worry about that. As I said, when fusing two Magic Crystals together, you combine two of them into one, but it works not just for their physical shell, but for the magic power stored within them as well.¡¹


    I was thinking it would be nice to have a spare Magic Crystal on me, but since Roxanne recommends fusing them together so much, then I guess there is no harm in trying it out. And besides, even if it somehow ends up in failure, it will be all right, because a Black Magic Crystal is only worth ten Nars at best, so it is not like losing it is going to impact me in any particular way.


    I took out a Green Magic Crystal from my backpack. Even in the dim light of the Labyrinth, it was still shining beautifully in comparison to the Black Magic Crystal in my other hand. I would definitely be able to spot something like that even if it was on the ground, because that shine is pretty distinct.


    ¡¸Eh? Master¡¯s Magic Crystal is already green? But was it not red not that long ago?!¡¹


    ¡¸It was, but now it has become like that. Pretty shocking, huh?¡¹


    I tried to play it off as casually as I could.


    ¡¸Yes, that is amazing! How did you do it, master?!¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s a secret.¡¹


    I cannot tell her that my Magic Crystal has already become green because I have a Bonus Skill called Crystal Acceleration which drastically increases the speed of gathering the magic power form defeated monsters by multiplying its obtained amount, right? Roxanne would definitely freak out even more if she found that out. But while we are still on the subject of Magic Crystals and how they shine¡­ since the last stage of filling the Magic Crystal is the White Magic Crystal, I wonder how brightly that would shine in the dark? Maybe in the same way like a flashlight, or perhaps a streetlight? Anyway, I bet that finding it is going to be so much easier if it ever happens.


    I then placed my own Green Magic Crystal in the palm of my right hand, and the newly-found Black Magic Crystal in my left hand, and then I pressed the two of them together, just like Roxanne showed me. As a result, the Black Magic Crystal sunk into the Green Magic Crystal without any kind of resistance. It was a strange feeling, combining the two solid objects like they were neither hard nor soft like that, but it was also kinda addicting, like popping each individual bubble on a roll of bubble wrap. I think I could get used to doing this, that¡¯s how oddly satisfying it felt.


    ¡¸So, will this do?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, that is literally all there is to the entire process of fusing Magic Crystals together.¡¹


    ¡¸So they can become one just like that, huh?¡¹


    When the entire process has been completed, the only thing that remained was my Green Magic Crystal. Since its color did not change even after fusing it together with that Black Magic Crystal, I guess it means that it did not have all that much magical energy stored within it, and it does not surprise me, since the requirement for changing the color of the Magic Crystal from green to yellow was to accumulate the magical energy of a total of ten thousand monsters. With my Crystal Acceleration Bonus Skill it will definitely go faster than that, but I have no doubt that the amount needed will still be quite big.


    I placed the Green Magic Crystal back in my backpack, and with that business concluded, there was no more reasons for us to be staying in this Boss Room anymore, so we moved on unto the eight floor.


    ¡¸Roxanne, can you smell if there are any monsters nearby?¡¹


    ¡¸As you wish, master¡­ *Sniff Sniff* *Sniff Sniff* ¡­ hmm, I smell a single Needlewood nearby, but that is it. I do not sense any other monsters in our near vicinity. Do you want me to guide you to that monster now?¡¹


    ¡¸There¡¯s no need for you to do that now. I was not planning on fighting anything on the eight floor, even if we managed to get here. That battle against the Rapid Rabbit was pretty tough, so there is no need to be pushing ourselves too far just for the sake of going a little further ahead.¡¹


    I stopped Roxanne from going in the direction where she sensed the presence of the monster. Looks like the eighth floor of the Quratar Labyrinth is occupied by Needlewoods, but even though I already know them and their attack patterns like the back of my own hand, I have not felt like fighting them right now at all.


    ¡¸I see. In that case, should we go back and face the Floor Boss of the seventh floor again?¡¹


    ¡¸No, since we know that there might be other Parties waiting to face the Rapid Rabbit, going back to the seventh floor and waiting in queue to the Boss Room would only bring us more unwanted trouble. Instead of proceeding with the eight floor here, let us go to the Veil¡¯s Labyrinth, since we have yet to break through the seventh floor there. We can always come back here tomorrow if we won¡¯t have luck with the seventh floor¡¯s Waiting Room being empty.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood.¡¹


    I don¡¯t know why, but somehow I do not feel like going for a rematch with the Rapid Rabbit just now, so I came up with whatever reason for postponing the second battle with it until tomorrow. Could it be that the death of that friendly Explorer guy has shaken me more than I realizing it? Probably so, because with each step I took, I felt more and more like I didn¡¯t want to do anything at all, falling deeper into the embrace of apathy.


    Needless to say, even though we went to Veil¡¯s Labyrinth to do some exploration and monster hunting, this particular bout there did not go very well and we haven¡¯t gotten much further, because everything I did was done mechanically, without me actually putting my backbone into it like I was supposed to be doing. I just lost all the motivation, like a tire that has been deflated after being pierced with a sharp piece of glass lying on the road. The only thing that kept me from collapsing under my own weight which was crushing down upon was the knowledge that Roxanne was right next to me, so I could not allow myself to show any weakness in order not to make her worry any more than she already was.


    That night, I did it with Roxanne¡­ over, and over, and over again. And unlike all the other times we did it with each other, this time¡­ it was pretty rough and violent. I probably did that in order to slip away from the grasp of death that I felt around me stronger than ever (TL Note: Curious words coming from someone who literally wanted to off himself two volumes ago) and in order to prove to myself that I am here and I am alive, and to find a reason to keep on living.


    Yes, now I can say that for sure. The death of that random Explorer hit me pretty hard. It¡¯s not that I grew fond of him, because that would be strange after only meeting once and exchanging like, what, only a few sentences? No, it was not about that. The death of that guy came as such a shock to me most likely because if the events went differently, then we might have as well switched places.

 Volume 3 - CH 5.09

    He might have been the guy with a slave going through the Labyrinths with a reliable partner at his side, and I could have been a sad loser stuck on one floor of the Labyrinth for two years, too underlevelled and poor to buy myself slaves or be accepted by any other Party, destined to die on the day when I finally mustered enough courage to try and change something in my current, pathetic life.


    He knew, He knew full well that Labyrinths are dangerous places; places where your life can come to a swift end as soon as you lower your guard for even a second. And yet, he still chose to go and challenge the Floor Boss of the seventh floor, simply because he increased his level and expanded the capacity of his Item Box, which gave him a boost in confidence so big that he was certain that Lady Luck was on his side that day. Well, you can see how much she had his back. She had his back so much that now he was nothing more but food for the Labyrinth of Quratar and all of his items are now in my possession, waiting to be sold for whatever sum of money I am going to be offered for them.


    So yeah, while I should not have been affected by this seemingly random happening all that much, just knowing that it could have been me fills me with worries and anxiety that I cannot seem to shake off of me no matter how hard I try to do so.


    When he was going through the door and turned back to say goodbye to us, he had a light smile on his face. How can I know that I will not be doing the exact same thing, maybe not tomorrow or in two days, but sometime in the future, the one in which I fall to some Floor Boss unnoticed and not remembered by anyone?


    I just¡­ I simply cannot believe that there might come a moment where all the hard work I have been doing up until now will be completely and utterly shat on. Taking that Explorer as an example again: before coming to the seventh floor where he got stuck for two years he had to clear the previous, sixth floor along with its Floor Boss, and all the other floors and their Floor Bosses before that. Even after encountering a seemingly unsurmountable wall, he simply continued to do his best until he gained enough confidence to try and break the impasse that was keeping him from taking a shot at the possibility of changing something in his life for the better. And all of that, just to get killed by a fucking red-colored rabbit? Talk about irony. Maybe that is why I am seeing so many similarities between that guy and me? We both tried to do our best while fighting alone, simply trying to get by from one day to another hoping that tomorrow would bring some positive changes with it¡­ and we both could have it all end in an instant by trying to bite way more than we could chew. I don¡¯t know how that guy managed to get through all seven floors of the Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth while fighting by himself and being armed in nothing more but Leather Armor, Gloves, Shoes and a Copper Sword, but if not for my stat distribution, Bonus Skills and Durandal that I got thanks to them, I am positive that I would have died a miserable death sometime soon after arriving in this world. Maybe even during the Bandit attack on the village?


    Heh, it is so strange that I have never even put too much thought into things like that before, even while going through the Labyrinths and fighting against enemies that scared the living daylights out of me, but now here I am. I only knew that guy for like what, five minutes at best and I did not even see him actually die but I cannot sleep thinking about how his life might have went down if only he managed to survive and get to the eight floor just like we did? If I keep this up, then I will definitely go through the rest of the night without getting any sleep at all, and in a place like Labyrinths that can be as bad as coming inside them without any weapons or armor. The roads to them are much like broken bridges: you can traverse them if you stay careful enough, but one wrong step will send you plummeting into the dark depts below that wait so that they could swallow you whole.


    It is already bad that we have done next to nothing in the Veil Labyrinth because of my moping, so allowing this sorry state of mine to drag onto tomorrow simply because I thought too much is absolutely out of the question. However, if there is one thing all this thinking done right, it was reminding me of the one, simple truth that I seemed to have oh-so-conveniently forget: Labyrinths are dangerous death traps, where death might be lurking literally around every corner.


    That is my state of being after what we have been through today. As for how Roxanne is holding up¡­ I cannot say for sure. All this time she looked perfectly fine and unfazed, but maybe that is because she is a native resident of this world, so she is more used to being in the presence of death than someone like me, who grew up relative safety and never had to worry about getting hurt or dying. So it might be that she is perfectly fine, like I said, or she might have also been affected but she is simply not showing it, trying to put up a front for my sake. Whichever of those two it is, she accepted my offer of having sex without any protests like usual, and did not speak a word of complaint even when things got a little rougher after a few initial times, and you can be damn sure that I used that acceptance of hers to the best of my ability. We were going at it nonstop for a few hours straight, until our bodies finally gave up and we collapsed on top of each other from exhaustion, our consciousnesses drifting away into the dreamlands, leaving all the worries behind.


    On the morning of the next day, I was once again woken up by a hot kiss and Roxanne¡¯s hot tongue entwining itself around my own. Ahh, I will never get tired of the sweet feeling of drowning in Roxanne¡¯s kindness whenever she does this to me.


    ¡¸Good morning, Roxanne.¡¹


    ¡¸Good morning, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Did you sleep well?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, as good as always, which is a little surprising considering how many times we have done it yesterday. Speaking of that, are you not tired, master? Maybe you should lie down and rest some more? Or at least drink some water?¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you for being worried about me, but I am fine now. Or rather, I should be the one getting worried about you since I pushed you down so hard.¡¹


    ¡¸Ah, O-Oh no, it¡¯s fine, really! I mean, I was a little surprised when you suddenly became so forceful, but¡­ but it didn¡¯t feel bad, so¡­¡¹


    ¡¸Oh¡­ W-Well in that case I am glad that you enjoyed it. Okay, as for our plans for today, in the morning we are going to go to Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth as per the usual. Our target for today is to defeat more Slow Rabbits to get their furs, and defeat the seventh floor¡¯s Floor Boss one more time. Is that all right with you?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, it shall be done as you wish, master.¡¹


    To be honest, it still feels as if something whacked me in the head pretty hard, causing it to become numb and desensitized, but I cannot just stay home and mope around in bed forever. Trips to the Labyrinth are our lifeblood here, so we cannot allow ourselves to lose even a day of precious exploration. Forcing my groggy body to move, I somehow managed to get myself up.


    The Explorer that I met yesterday is dead, that is most definitely an undisputable fact. It is also a fact that I can end up the same way at any moment. But if you think about it rationally, skipping on going into the Labyrinths just because I am afraid of death is the worst possible thing I could do right now. If I allow myself to skip it even for a day, then I will most definitely skip it the day after as well, causing the spiral of skipping on Labyrinth-going to propel itself forever, leaving me as the same weakling that I am now just because I did not want monsters to harm me.

 Volume 3 - CH 5.10

    So I have to take the risk of getting hurt by them and fight them, because that is the only way for me to obtain more EXP to Level Up my Jobs and get stronger, and when I will become stronger, that automatically means that I will be that much safer. Not to mention that I also have Durandal, and my ever-so-reliable Roxanne to back me up whenever I will find myself in trouble.


    That is why I decided to go the Quratar Labyrinth again. I have made my decision to keep on going, and I cannot falter in it no matter what.


    In order to enter the Labyrinth the day after tomorrow, you must first enter the Labyrinth tomorrow, and to enter the labyrinth tomorrow, you must first enter the Labyrinth today. No exceptions, no excuses, no complaining, this is simply something that you have to do. Of course, going there after what I have been hit with yesterday is scarier than it was before, but this is a purely psychological problem of mine that I will have to overcome with the strength of my will.


    That¡¯s right. It is kind of like with balancing on a rope. It is easy to do this when said rope is safely spread on the ground where no harm will come to you even if you fall down from it, but walking on a rope that has actually been suspended in the air? That is another matter entirely.


    When it comes to people, there is not that much physical difference between them (TL Note: Okay, calling bullshit on that one. Yes there are, and we all know it.), but psychological differences are more diverse and frequent. Some are more resistant to things like fear and traumas, while some are less resistant to them, but you know what both of those types of people have in common? The fact that sooner or later they will all have to confront them, one way or another, so if I can choose when I will have to face mine, then I prefer to do it now instead of waiting for the right time to do so to come to me first. Instead of being forced to traverse the rope while it is still in the air, I will bring it to the ground myself!


    For the first half of the dungeon, I just focused in hunting as many Slow Rabbits as I could while following Roxanne¡¯s guidance. When it comes to the actual battle, Slow Rabbits themselves are not that difficult of an opponent to dispatch, even when they are all Lv.7. In that regard, nothing has changed since yesterday, and it made me breathe a sigh of relief. It is okay so far. I can definitely do it. I do not feel like my life is threatened so far. It does not matter whether it is a Slow Rabbit, Mino, Escape Goat or any other monster. They might be dangerous and only grow more dangerous the higher we will climb, but as long as they will not use any Skills that I am not aware of or try to take my by surprise, I will be able to handle anything they might be throwing at me as long as I remain calm and analyze their movements carefully. Like that, we have made our way through the second part of the seventh floor, arriving in the Waiting Room before the Boss Room.


    Okay, this is it. We will try to fight against the Rapid Rabbit for the second time now. With all the things that we have learned about it from our fight yesterday, hopefully this time things will go much smoother.


    Just as I expected, the second time challenging the Rapid Rabbit was indeed easier than the first, mostly because I now knew that the easiest way to counter its speed was to use Overwhelming to slow it down. When we defeated it and it disappeared in a puff of smoke, the thing that was left behind was a piece of Rabbit Meat, just like yesterday. Part of me was hoping for some kind of rare drop to go along with it, but no dice for now, we have to make do with the meat alone.


    This particular piece of Rabbit Meat looked like it could easily be enough for two or three people to eat, so I think we can bring this piece here back to the male clerk and keep the one from yesterday for our own usage.


    ¡¸Okay, we got what we came here for. That man in the clothing store said that he wanted a maximum of two pieces of Rabbit Meat, so I think he should be pretty satisfied with what we got here for him, don¡¯t you think?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, he definitely should not have any qualms about both the quantity and the quality of the meat.¡¹


    ¡¸Right, but here¡¯s a question, Roxanne. To my understanding, Rabbit Meat is not a rare drop from Rapid Rabbit, but a common one, meaning that it will always be dropped by it when it is defeated. But if that is the case, then why is it treated like some kind of delicacy worth of requesting people to get it for you when it should be the same just like any other meat you could find at a butchers shop?¡¹


    ¡¸Well, you are right that it is not hard to get it, but unlike the other types of meat, Rabbit Meat is pretty expensive. So much so in fact, that for regular citizens each time they are able to get their hands on it, it is treated with a real feast. I think it is also what the nobles tend to eat most of the time.¡¹


    So it would seem that this meat is valued by the commoners and nobles alike. Understandable, since no matter where you go, people will always want to eat delicious things whenever they have the chance. But here, since such a good meat can only be aquired as a drop from a Floor Boss in the Labyrinth, shops and the people are probably heavily dependent on its deliveries on Adventurers and Explorers who would be willing to part with this meat, hence the high price of it, since not every human is probably suited to became someone who could go to the Labyrinths and hunt the monsters for their materials themselves.


    ¡¸Sounds pretty rough.¡¹


    ¡¸It is, but in my humble opinion, Rabbit Meat is well worth it, since It is very delicious.¡¹


    ¡¸Would you like to try  having it for breakfast then?¡¹


    If it really is as delicious as Roxanne describes it to be, then we should definitely try it.


    Fighting Floor Bosses in the Labyrinths can be much more dangerous than fighting regular enemies, but it is something that cannot be avoided. They are nothing more than beasts who can only blindly follow their instincts and stepping stones that those who wish to advance further through the Labyrinths have to traverse, proving that their instinct of survival and intellect are vastly superior to the animalistic urges of monsters, and that we are rightfully the species that deserves to eat better and lead more comfortable lives than them.


    ¡¸Yes, I would very much like to try it.¡¹


    ¡¸All right, that settles it then. Before we go back to the Imperial City, we are going to defeat some more Rapid Rabbits and get their meat for ourselves.¡¹


    ¡¸Roger!¡¹


    We left the Boss Room and then went back to the seventh floor¡¯s Waiting Room in order to challenge the rapid Rabbit again. The strategy for this next battle is much the same as in the previous two encounters with it: wait until it gets close to me, use Overwhelming, hit it while it gets slowed until it dies and profit off of it.


    In comparison to the other Floor Bosses I had to face both in Veil¡¯s Labyrinth and in Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth, Rapid Rabbit is, without a shade of a doubt, the most dangerous of the bunch so far. But after fighting it two times now, I can say have began to recognize the patterns in which it was attacking, decreasing the danger and the risk of sustaining an injury in a battle against it by quite a large margin. Combine that with the knowledge of the strength gap between us, and the danger will decrease even further.


    All that is left to do now is to use all of that to my advantage. Because that is what we humans do. We exploit the weaknesses of others for our own benefit, so why would such logic not be applicable here in the Labyrinths when it comes to fighting monsters? I can fight the Labyrinth and its monsters steadily and calmly, carefully judging and analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of every enemy.

 Volume 3 - CH 5.11

    The most important thing is to not allow what¡¯s happening around me to get to my head too much. That¡¯s the safest thing to do after all. Do that, and nothing will be able to stand in your way, inconvenience you or upset you.


    Rapid Rabbit jumped towards me with it teeth bared, but I just slashed it diagonally with Durandal. See? If you take the calm and collected approach to the fight, there will be nothing that will be able to stand in my way, even allowing me to seize victory without having to rely on Overwhelming too much.


    After suffering a direct hit from me, the monster changed the course of its actions and this time opted for charging towards Roxanne, but even that attempt has failed, because she shifted her upper body slightly to avoid the incoming attack and then immediately countered with a fast spinning slash. That attack alone was enough to send the Rapid Rabbit flying backwards. Needless to say, its attack did not even reach her. I always thought that Roxanne should be kept as far away from the frontlines as possible since she does not have my levels of DPS, but even against a Floor Boss wielding overwhelming speed, she was still able to hold her ground. It is not that she is in danger here, she is the dangerous one! With her in the front and me in the back, this guy is already as good as dead!


    ¡¸GHYYYYYYYIIIIII!!!!!¡¹


    It screamed as it took another hit from Roxanne¡¯s Scimitar and switching its attention back to me. Sorry buddy, but now that you have taken so many hits, this next one is bound to be the last, so prepare yourself!


    I used Overwhelming to slow the Rapid Rabbit down, and then unleashed a flurry of attacks on it while it was completely defenseless and at my mercy, or rather, the lack of it. There can be only one conclusion to it then: it falls onto the ground and disappears in a puff of green smoke, leaving behind another piece of Rabbit Meat.


    ¡¸Now this should take care of all the ingredients we need, right, master? I am so looking forward to our breakfast today.¡¹


    ¡¸Same here. By the way, how exactly should we cook the Rabbit Meat to get the most out of its flavor?¡¹


    I asked Roxanne as she picked up the leftover Rabbit Meat from the boss.


    ¡¸Rabbit Meat is pretty versatile in that regard, being able to be prepared in a variety of ways, so the more appropriate question here would be: how would master like it to be prepared?¡¹


    ¡¸Well¡­¡¹ Even though she asked that of me, I cannot really answer that since I have never cooked rabbit meat before. She says that there is a myriad of ways po prepare it, but which one would be the correct one? You might think that this is a pretty trivial matter, but to me it is actually rather important. My mother died when I was a very young lad, so throughout the most of my life I had to learn how to cook, since my father was an asshole who could not prepare even the simplest of meals even if his life depended on it.


    At first most of my attempts always ended in a culinary disaster one way or the other, but gradually, throughout the systematic process of continuous trial and error, I finally learned how to prepare pretty decent meals. But that was back on earth, where I had the modern technology that made the entire process that much easier, as well as a virtually limitless pool of ingredients I could choose from. But here, things are going to be a tad bit more difficult. Not only do I not have access to all the tools I was so getting used to handling, but the supply of ingredients is also heavily limited, meaning that if I want to make something truly tasty or exquisite, I will have to rack my brain pretty hard to achieve the desired results. The only saving grace is that this time around I am sharing my house with someone who also is able to cook, and she is more than willing to help me prepare the meals, so at the very least the entire work will not be riding solely on my shoulders.


    That being said, throughout all those years where I had to cook for myself, I never once had to cook rabbit meat, or any kind of Japanese wild game for that matter. I know that it is generally said that pretty much all kinds of meat can be prepared in the same way but with different tweaks to them, but since this will be my first time doing something like that, I would like to know for sure how should I prepare it in order not to let a perfectly good piece of meat to go to waste or become heavily underutilized, forcing us to throw some of it out.


    ¡¸Hmm. In that case, how about preparing in in a Shema-yaki style?¡¹


    ¡¸Shema-yaki style?¡¹


    Since she used the word ¡°yaki¡±, then I am assuming this will have something to do with frying the meat?


    ¡¸Yes.¡¹


    ¡¸And¡­ how exactly does that work?¡¹


    ¡¸Basically, you just slice the Rabbit Meat and wrap it in Shema leaves before frying them.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay, sounds easy enough. What about those leaves? Are we going to have to buy them?¡¹


    ¡¸I think that will not be necessary. The Shema plants we planted in our herb garden should be sprouting about now, and there should be enough of its properly developed leaves to be harvested.¡¹


    Roxanne explained to me. Recently, I noticed that she has been taking more initiative when she was talking with me, not limiting herself to only offer explanations for the myriad of questions that I was throwing her way on a daily basis. It is a very good thing, and I sincerely hope that she will continue to do so even more in the future.


    ¡¸Sounds good. Let us prepare it in this Shema-yaki style then.¡¹


    ¡¸All right!¡¹


    This is the first time I have ever heard of such a dish, but since it is something recommended by Roxanne herself, then there is no way for it to be bad, so I agreed to her suggestion before she changed her mind. Personally I enjoy eating grilled meat to a great degree, so I cannot wait if this Shema-yaki is going to be on par with what I used to know in Japan. Well, of course it will not, but who knows, maybe I am in for a pretty pleasant surprise?


    After we finished hunting for the Slow Rabbits, we briefly went to the town to buy bread and some vegetable that would be served together with the meat for our breakfast, and then we went back home.


    While Roxanne went to the garden to gather all of the herbs we would need, I took it upon myself to do some preparations with the meat. First things first, I took the Kobold Knife that dropped from one of the Kobold Kampfers as a rare drop and whacked the meat with its blunt side for a minute or two. I do not know if rabbit meat is the kind of meat that has to be tenderized before it is actually cooked, but this method seems to be working for other kinds of meat like chicken, beef or pork, so it should probably be fine. When I was just about done with that task, Roxanne went through the door, carrying the herbs in her hands.


    ¡¸Done gathering herbs from the garden?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. Thankfully, Shema is a type of herb that sprouts pretty quickly, so I had no trouble gathering as much as four servings worth of it. But I think that we should still wait with harvesting its roots and other things we planted, just to make sure that they all had enough time to mature properly.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, so we can eat the roots as well?¡¹


    Looking at these Shema leaves from up close, they kinda look like giant ginger leaves. Who would have thought that we are going to have herbs like that in our garden? So, based on what Roxanne told me earlier, we are going to be wrapping those leaves around the meat and then fry them, correct?


    ¡¸Yes, the roots of the Shema herbs are primarily used for the purpose of masking the meat¡¯s bad smell. It is one of the most commonly-used herbs around here. Ah, and before I forget, I also happened to sharpen some skewers while I had a moment of free time. We can use them to hold the leaves wrapped around the meat together and prevent them from falling apart when the meat begins to fry.¡¹

 Volume 3 - CH 5.12

    ¡¸ Ohh, how clever!¡¹


    I am guessing that those roots must be similar to garlic then. Man, this Shema is turning out to be a pretty useful herb.


    Next, I used the knife to crush and grind Kobold Salt and Black Pepper into as small of a powder as possible and seasoned the tenderized Rabbit Meat with them. After that, it was time to wrap the seasoned meat in the leaves, and pierce it with skewers that are going to be holding this ¡°packaging¡± in place. After that, we poured some olive oil into the wok, where we then threw the meat when it got all hot and sizzling, fried all of them until they looked just about ready, and¡­


    Ta-dah!!! Chief Roxanne¡¯s Shema-yaki style Rabbit Meat has been finished! Nothing else left to do but to have a bite to see how it tastes, so don¡¯t mind if I do. Time to dig in!


    ¡¸*Munch Munch*¡­. This is pretty good!¡¹


    ¡¸*Munch Munch*¡­ *Munch Munch*¡­ spicy, and yet so tasty!¡¹


    Despite having some degree of spiciness to it (maybe because Shema leaves are similar in taste to leaf pepper?), this dish tasted quite good, and the mixture of its flavors was quite rich and exquisite. It was like a symphony in my mouth that went on and on without stopping. It was like these herbs were made specifically so that they could compliment the mellow taste of the meat itself.


    ¡¸Delicious! It is as if the meat was melting right in my mouth! I never knew that Rabbit Meat could be this good!¡¹


    ¡¸I know, right?! Maybe it became like that because of the tenderizing I subjected it to?¡¹


    ¡¸Tenderizing? What exactly did you do to tenderize it, master?¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, nothing that complicated, really. I just went and whacked it a few times with the blunt side of the Kobold Knife so that it would not be so hard, and that must have done the trick.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. I never knew that meat could be tenderized in such an intricate way.¡¹


    ¡¸Well, you know now. As they say, you learn something new every day.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, certainly!¡¹


    Judging by how the whole dish turned out and how Roxanne reacted to it, I dare say that this has been a huge success. And the best thing is that since the ingredients are all relatively easy to procure, then we might just be able make this dish whenever the fancy for it strikes us.


    We can get Olive Oil as a drop from Na?ve Olives who can be encountered either on the sixth floor of Veil¡¯s Labyrinth or the second floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth. Kobold Salt can be obtained from Kobolds, which can be found on the third floor of Veil¡¯s Labyrinth or the first floor or Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth. Black Pepper drops from Spice Spider, the Floor Boss of the third floor of the Quratar Labyrintth, and finally, we can get Rabbit Meat from Rapid Rabbit, Floor Boss of Quratar Labyrinth¡¯s seventh floor, the one where we currently are.


    After breakfast, we have returned to the Labyrinth to hunt some more Slow Rabbits for their Rabbit Fur and Rapid Rabbits for their meat. I have to admit, now that I have gotten the taste of how good Rabbit Meat is, I might have gotten addicted to it, I definitely want to eat more of it, and since items don¡¯t go bad in the Item Box no matter how long they are kept there, we can always save some of it for later instead of eating it all at once. When we were done after a few attempts, we warped to the Imperial City. We have more than enough Rabbit Meat on us, so we might as well fulfill the request of the male clerk at that clothing store while selling the additional Rabbit Furs we have accumulated.


    This time, instead of going to the side one, we entered the store through the front entrance, because our business here is not about selling the Rabbit Furs. No, today, we are here to deliver the Rabbit Meat to the male clerk that apparently runs the show here.


    ¡¸Welcome, how can I be of service¡­ oh, you are the pair of Explorers from yesterday. Since you are here, then does that mean¡­?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes it does indeed. Two pieces of fresh Rabbit Meat coming right up, exactly like you requested.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you so much for doing this for me. Please, if you would be so kind as to come with me, I shall prepare your reward right away.¡¹


    After receiving a rather enthusiastic greeting, the male clerk beckoned us to follow him to the counter in the back of the shop, just like he did it yesterday when we entered the shop through the side entrance. On our way there, I ¡°chanted¡± the incantation for the Item Box to appear, and then I took two large pieces of Rabbit Meat from it.


    ¡¸Here you go.¡¹


    Even if we hand those two pieces of Rabbit Meat away to him, we will still have enough left for ourselves, and in case we will run out of it, all we have to do is to travel back to Quratar Labyrinth¡¯s seventh floor and defeat the Rapid Rabbit to obtain more of it.


    ¡¸Once again, thank you, I am truly indebted to you. Normally I would pay one hundred and sixty Nars for one piece of Rabbit Meat, however, you and your companion have amicably accepted my selfish request even though you had no obligation to do so, so in order to show you my appreciation, I will give you a special price of four hundred and twenty six Nars for these two pieces of Rabbit Meat.¡¹


    You say it is a special price, but I know that is just a thirty percent increase in price thanks to my Bonus Skill. It is so obvious at this point that I do not even feel like mentioning that I am using it anymore. Why did you think I decided to give you two of them in the first place, huh? Precisely because I knew that the Skill would activate that way, allowing me to claim bigger profit. You might say that this is incredibly shrewd of me, but that is how it works in those kinds of games: if you have the Skill that can be used to give you an advantage, then you are using them without fretting about the small stuff.


    I brought two of them to increase the percentage by 30%, but although it was  exactly what I was aiming for, I is not surprised. I  do not feel as happy as I usually would be. Maybe I am getting too used to it?


    ¡¸Sure enough, that is fine with me.¡¹


    ¡¸Very well. Then, if you could be so kind as to wait here for just a moment. . . . . . . . .¡¹


    The male clerk took the plate and disappeared into the room behind the counter.


    ¡¸May we take a look inside the store while we wait?¡¹


    I talked to the remaining female clerks. Since we have to wait for the male clerk to come back anyway, might as well kill the time in a proactive manner instead of standing around all awkwardly.


    ¡¸Yes, of course. I can give you a quick tour if you so desire, dear customer.¡¹


    ¡¸Very well then, please do.¡¹


    And so we took a look at what exactly this store had to offer, although pretty much nothing has changed since we were here yesterday, reinforcing my belief that this clothing store must be dealing mostly in ready-made goods. However, that does not mean that there were no clothes present on the displays at all. Even though they were not that many, they all still looked beautiful, shining with the glossy luster typical to high-quality fabrics. As expected of the clothes targeted mostly at the women of the noble state. Even the thin shoulder straps on the dresses looked as if a great deal of time and detail were put into making them.


    Out of all of those women¡¯s clothes, one item in particular caught my attention: a camisole that looked like it was made out of silk, or perhaps satin, and was very similar to the ones from my old world. It was not completely see-through, but just thin enough that it would probably leave nothing left to the imagination if Roxanne were to put it on. When I too it in my hands to see how it looked in its entirety, I noticed that it was quite long, and that its lower hem was gradually opening up the lower it went, to finally split apart around the crotch area, so rather than calling it a simple camisole, it would be better to call it a camisole dress.

 Volume 3 - CH 5.13

    ¡¸This item is  very popular as both sleepwear and an innerwear among aristocratic women.¡¹


    The female clerk, who followed closely behind us, explained with a very professional voice while keeping her eyes closed all the time. I am thankful that she did not scold me for holding and eyeing such an item even though I am a man, meaning someone who is not supposed to be wearing clothes like these, but nevertheless I hurriedly put it back where I took it from in order to avoid making any unnecessary misunderstandings.


    ¡¸How is it, Roxanne? Do you like it?¡¹


    I asked Roxanne about her opinion on that camisole dress.


    ¡¸Uhm, well¡­ I think it is a little¡­¡¹


    ¡¸Personally I think that it is quite nice and that it would look great on you. How much is it?¡¹


    Light clothing like that would definitely suit Roxanne. If you wear this over your bare skin. Oh I can already picturehow she wears it over her bare skin, and it is¡­ hue, huehuehue¡­!


    ¡¸We are selling them at an affordable price of  eight hundred Nars per piece.¡¹


    Even though she just said that this price is affordable, I do not know the market value of Nars as currency, but I do know one thing: it is expensive. Just this one article of clothing is more expensive than all of the causal clothes that I am wearing combined, except for the equipment parts of it. At the very least I can understand why it costs so much. After all, things made from silk are never cheap, but thankfully it just so happens that I have a Bonus Skill that will take care of that particular setback, even if only partially.


    ¡¸Okay, we will be buying two of those then.¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm¡­ are you really sure about that, master?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, as sure as I can possibly be, so go ahead and pick up a second camisole for yourself. Do not mind me, just go ahead and take whichever one you like the most.¡¹


    I nodded at Roxanne and allowed her to choose the second item. Even though it will cost quite a lot of money, it is going to be all worth it as long as it makes Roxanne happy and give me some additional eye candy to look at while we will be staying at home. However, me allowing her to choose for herself had one significant downside: since this is a really high-end store, there are a lot of different colors to choose from, and because of  that, Roxanne is taking her sweet time making the selection. And by taking her time, I mean really, really taking her sweet time.


    I tried to offer my input to help her make the choice, but at the end of the day I do not know if it will be of any good, because my vision of what is looking good might greatly differ from what she considers to be good.


    Red one do not suit her, and like they could make her look plumper than she actually is; green is a nice and calm color, same as yellow, which looks refreshing on her, but I think that the ones that would suit her the most are black and pink.


    ¡¸I like the color of this pink one with frilly designs on it.¡¹


    I said, pointing at the light pink camisole, the first one that I noticed. It was not the bright variant of pink, but rather a pale one, which looked like it could make a nice combination with the natural color of her skin.


    ¡¸This pink one right here? I understand.¡¹


    Roxanne nods and choose that one. Phew, tha is one camisole down, another one to go.


    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry to have kept you waiting. I am ready to give you your payment.¡¹


    Eventually, when the male clerk returned with our coins, Roxanne was still in the middle of deciding what to take, unable to make the choice. I know that she was doing this because she wanted to make sure to make the best selection possible, but a part of me wished that she would not take so much time every time she was to decide on what to buy.


    ¡¸Roxanne, go ahead and choose the other one, okay? I will handle the payment for the meat in the meantime.¡¹


    I went back to the counter and received the money the male clerk has prepared and placed them in the drawstring back taken out of my backpack. It was fourty silver coins, so keeping that much in the bag without hiding it in the Item Box should still be fine.


    ¡¸At first glance it looks like it will easily tear apart, but upon closer inspection it is rather durable.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, that is because all of the camisoles here are being manufactured from exceptionally good materials.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. And how do I wash something so delicate?¡¹


    ¡¸All you have to do is to wash it gently in warm water with the addition of mashed Kochi fruit.¡¹


    Roxanne continues to choose her clothes while listening to the female clerk¡¯s explanations. At this rate, I am afraid that it might be nighttime before she finally picks up something she will find to her liking.


    It took a considerable amount of time, but ultimately Roxanne decided a pair ow white and light pink camisoles. In my honest opinion, both of them were a jackpot. Using my Bonus Skill to get a discount, I paid one thousand one hundred and twenty Nars instead of one thousand six hundred Nars for the both of them. If this was not a game world where pulling such stunts was perfectly legitimate I would have probably been accused of trying to scam that shop, but because of my thirty percent discount no one even bat an eye, even though we paid less than they initially thought we would have to pay.


    Most of the shops in the modern day would do everything they could in order to mitigate the benefits of customers using discounts to their advantage, simply because that would mean they would be getting less money on their end. But here is the world of this game, such a concept does not seem to exist at all, most likely because typical NPCs living in the cities have not been made to be inherently evil towards the players. It might not look like much, but in my opinion it is a pretty honorable thing to do, because normally you would have to go to many lengths just to obtain the right for a discount, like being a regular customer of a given shop, or collecting enough stamps on a special card, which might not be an ideal solution to regular Adventurers or Explorers who cannot afford buying things from high-end establishments all the time. If I was someone who would only have to make-do with cheap accessories or only with buying the cheapest stuff kept in the corner of the shops or the discounted products near the cash register, I would have probably felt the same way. Well, it would have been like that if the shops here were anything like the ones I have known, but thanks to the fact that they are not, I was able to snatch myself a pretty sweet deal.


    My feelings of having made an outstandingly good purchase have only been strengthened when we got back home and I saw Roxanne wearing the pink camisole dress. Oh yeah baby, buying this for her was a bullseye indeed!


    Then, in the evening after we came back home from our short trip to the clothing store in the Imperial City¡­


    ¡¸W-Well? What do you think, master? Does it look good on me? Does it not look strange?¡¹


    ¡¸Oh no, not in the slightest! It¡¯s amazing! It looks very good on you!¡¹


    ¡¸T-Thank you¡­ very much.¡¹


    The pale pink color looked great combined with Roxanne¡¯s skin, just as I expected. The silk camisole looked elegant and supple as it was shimmering and sticking closely to her body, accentuating the lines of her curves at just the right places.


    The parts of her that are highlighted especially well are the two massive mounds on her chest that are pushing up against the fabric of the camisole from the inside, as well as the two small bulges resting on top of those mounds, looking like a pair of rare fruits just waiting for me to pick them up and partake of them.


    Normally, just seeing Roxanne¡¯s naked breasts is one hell of a visual experience for me, but seeing them covered by this camisole is an entirely different experience altogether, as if I was gazing at something even more powerful, even though it should not have been possible.

 Volume 3 - CH 5.14

    As I thought, I am really glad that I bought this camisole for her. It is impossible for me to hold myself back against it after I was exposed to the combined softness of the silk and the luster of Roxanne¡¯s skin.


    I guess that in terms of temptation, this was a pretty bad purchase. Now that she is wearing something as erotic as that, there is absolutely no way that I will be able to stop myself from lusting after her whenever we will be alone.


    Fuck, this is really bad¡­


    ¡¸Roxanne¡­¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, master?¡¹


    ¡¸You are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen.¡¹


    ¡¸Uh, t-thank you for the kind words, mas¡­. Mmmpff¡­!¡¹


    I sealed Roxanne¡¯s mouth with a kiss before she was able to say anything else.


    Tonight, I am going to have myself some real good time, and it is going to be the best. Night. Ever.


    The next day we also went inside the Labyrinths in both Veil and Quratar, spending time in them from early morning to the early evening. Nothing eventful happened, it was our usual routine of grinding for items and levelling our Jobs, and in the evening it was bath time and sexy time with the negligee-wearing Roxanne. So far, we have not stumbled into any more problems in the Labyrinth, but now that we have been on the seventh floors for a while and we were finally ready to take on the eight floors, it was high time for me to start thinking what our next move should be.


    Starting from the eighth floor and upwards, we will have to face against groups of up to four monsters at once, meaning that I will have to fight against two enemies at once while Roxanne will be taking care of the other two. Up until now we were managing just fine against groups of three monsters, but I wonder if more of them to fight at the same time is going to put a bigger strain on us than before?


    For the time being we were having it relatively easy on the eighth floor and Roxanne also looked like she was still doing fine, but I want to focus more on my magic.


    ¡¸Haah¡­ okay, let us return home and take a bath.¡¹


    As usual, we went back home and I started making preparations for us to take a bath, where¡­


    ¡¸Roxanne, I am sorry to be asking this of you, but would you mind helping me with MP restoration at Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth? I used too much of it trying to keep the water at optimal temperature.¡¹


    ¡¸Of course. Since we are already going, then shall we rent some equipment before heading to the Labyrinth proper?¡¹


    ¡¸Sure, I don¡¯t see why not.¡¹


    I feel kinda bad asking her to come with me, but filling up the bath and keeping the water warm still takes quite a lot from me MP-wise, so there is nothing I can do about it. We just have to go and finish up our business as soon as possible so that we could go back.


    For the purpose of restoring my MP, we went to the seventh floor of the Quratar Labyrinth. Lower floors would have been better for it level-wise, but with the Slow Rabbits of this floor, we can also gather some additional Rabbit Furs while I continued to whack them around with Durandal, getting back bits of MP with every strike that successfully connected with them.


    Following after Roxanne¡¯s guidance, we found a group of monsters consisting of two Minos and a single Slow Rabbit.


    ¡¸Master, I will be going on ahead!¡¹


    ¡¸Right! Just remember: don¡¯t do anything careless!¡¹


    Roxanne charged towards the enemies with her Wooden Shield raised to her chest and her Scimitar already brandished. This is nothing new to us at this point, so as long as we keep a steady pace, we should be perfectly fine.


    With the way things are shaping up, it looks like Roxanne will fight against a Mino and Slow Rabbit, so I will have to deal with the other Mino, which is going to be a piece of cake. All I have to do is to keep my guard up and wait until it initiates its charge attack just like it is doing now¡­ and then I have to wait for the very last moment to duck to the side¡­ and the deliver the first strike! Now wait until it repeats that attack, not being able to comprehend that the outcome is just going to be the same as before¡­ aaand done! With the second diagonal strike from Durandal, the first Mino fell to the ground and disappeared. Now that this one has been taken care of, the only ones left should be the Slow Rabbit and the other Mino which should be heading towards Roxanne right about now¡­


    (Huh¡­?!)


    Or at least that is how I thought it was going to go down, but I was mistaken. Roxanne was engaging the Slow Rabbit, that much was true, but instead of focusing its attention on her, the second Mino was charging towards me instead!


    (Going for me instead, huh? Well, go ahead, do your worst!!!)


    I shook Durandal at it, aiming to cut its head cleanly in half since I knew that at this rate I will not have enough time to dodge its attack properly. My strike managed to hit the Mino, but because the impact of it was quite strong, it made Durandal¡¯s edge vibrate and caused the fingers of my left hand, which were gripping onto its handle tightly to slip up a bit. Not nearly enough to make me let go of the weapon, but unfortunately just enough for my fingers to get stuck, as a result of which the Mino¡¯s horn managed to pierce my index finger.


    ¡¸khhhh. . . . . . . . . . .!!!!!¡¹


    Oh¡­ my¡­ FUCK!!! What the hell is this?!!! It pierced only one of my fingers, but it hurts so much that I cannot help it but to tear up. Did it crack the bone of my index finger? Or perhaps broke it or downright shattered it?!


    ¡¸G. . . . . . . . . . . . .  g-guh. . . . . . . . . .!!!¡¹


    At first I thought that maybe this wound will not be a serious one, but the more time passed, the sharper the pain that was echoing from my finger throughout my entire body was becoming.


    In retaliation, I slashed the Mino with all my might, killing it. But even though I have emerged victorious, the damage has already been done, because I was not careful enough. I did not wear my Leather Gloves because I assumed we will only be hunting for a little bit and so I will not be needing them. And you know what¡¯s even better? That I ordered Roxanne to wear her Leather Mittens regardless.


    The Magic Crystal is still in my Item Box for now. This can¡¯t be helped, because when using Durandal, I have to get rid of the other Skills such as Crystal Acceleration and the one increasing the value of the magic power it obtains from each slain monster. I didn¡¯t know the exact specifications of how exactly that second Bonus Skill would work, so I just tried not to mess with it as much as possible unless it would be absolutely necessary.


    Thinking about it now, let¡¯s say you defeat 20 monsters and raise your level by one as a result. If you use the Bonus Skill that lowers the required EXP value to 1/10th, you could raise your level by defeating only two monsters instead. Then, what happens when one monster is defeated without the required experience value Skill, and another monster is defeated with one tenth of the required experience value Skill active? It will not be as effective as when you would slay both of them with the Skill in effect.


    On the contrary, if you defeat one monster with that Bonus Skill active and then ten monsters without it, will your level still rise? Maybe, but I never had the time nor the opportunity to verify this so rigorously.


    Not all monsters give the same amount of EXP, and it is not possible to completely match the types and numbers of monsters to suit your levelling needs every time you fight. If you mess up, you might end up hunting dozens of monsters without that grind being productive. And since I sometimes have to juggle from using Durandal to using magic, that process of grinding would take even more time, and I still cannot manage my Skills so effectively as to fit all of the ones I need into a single OP build. I wonder if I will ever be able to pull that off?


    For the time being considering the possibility of waste, it is okay for me to not mess with the Magic Crystal and EXP related Bonus Skills.

 Volume 3 - CH 5.15

    When all of the monsters have finally been defeated and my MP has been sufficiently restored, we immediately returned home. With the injury I have sustained, I did not want to do anything else right now.


    Even though we were sitting in hot water for a while now, I feel like my finger still hurts without showing any signs of getting better. And here I thought that using Durandal would make it feel better in an instant. Apparently that is not the case here. I guess I just got too used to thinking that Durandal¡¯s HP Absorption Skill can heal every little injury that I will sustain. Just another reminder for me not to underestimate the Labyrinths unless I want them to tear me a new asshole.


    ¡¸Are you okay, master? If you are feeling lightheaded, then maybe you should get out of the bath and cool off for a bit?¡¹


    Roxanne looked over at my hand with a worried expression on her face. Great, look at what you have done now, Michio, you got Roxanne all worried. Heh, serves you right for ignoring her advice that you should always, ALWAYS wear full set of armor when going into the Labyrinth, even for a brief trek through it. But no, I had to act like I knew better and did not wear any hand-protecting gear thinking that this will be a quick trip to recover MP and immediately go back.


    ¡¸Yeah, I feel fine. It is just that I am feeling a little lightheaded from the shock of sustaining that wound in that battle earlier.¡¹


    ¡¸This is not good then! Are you really sure you are fine?¡¹


    Yes Roxanne, I am fine. In the first place, it is entirely my fault that I got wounded like that because I was being too careless, even after I constantly mock the enemies for charging blindly at us and that experience with that dead Explorer guy which should have told me that in the Labyrinths there is no such thing as being too careful. So yeah, this particular L is entirely on me, no doubts about it.


    ¡¸Oh, I know what I can do to make you feel better, master?¡¹


    ¡¸Really? What do you have in mind?¡¹


    ¡¸I heard that in the past, in times well before our current era, licking the wounded place and applying saliva on it were one of the most reliable methods of helping the injuries heal faster.¡¹


    ¡¸Licking the wounded place, you say¡­?¡¹


    She just gave me a nice idea. Let me see if this will work¡­


    I raised my hand and placed my index finger right in front of Roxanne¡¯s face.


    ¡¸You know what, Roxanne? You might be right. Maybe my injured finger really will heal faster if you lick it for me.¡¹.


    ¡¸E-Eh?! Uhm. . . . . I . . . . I do not think that I will have to lick master¡¯s entire finger. . . if I remember correctly, that is not exactly how it works but. . . . if it is for the sake of helping you recover faster, then. . . . ¡¹


    Roxanne seemed confused at first, but when I mentioned that we are only trying to see if this will help in accelerating the recovery process of my injury, she did not look like she was particularly opposed to the idea of doing it for me. Good, very good indeed. That is exactly the reaction I was waiting for.


    Taking a hold of my hand with her own hands, she brought my finger closer to her mouth.


    ¡¸Uhm¡­ this will be my first time doing something like this . . . .so be sure to tell me if it hurts or not, okay?¡¹


    ¡¸Okay, got it.¡¹


    Roxanne started to open her mouth just a little bit, her pale pink lips slowly widened the gap between them with every second, exposing the inside of her mouth to my eyes.


    Her bright red tongue is so glossy and wet. . . I cannot wait to feel it all over me.


    Roxanne brought her face closer to my finger and closed her lips around it, wrapping my index finger in a heavenly fluffy feeling.


    The inside of her mouth feels pleasantly warm, soft and moist as her thick, slimy tongue enveloped itself gently around my entire finger.


    Roxanne closes her eyes and slowly sucks on my finger. (TL Note: Yeah, this is totally not suggestive. . .yup, not at all.) While she is doing so, strands of her ling hair tickle the sides of my hand. Even though she is a Wolfkin possessing some werewolf qualities, her hair, much like the fur on her tail and back, are quite nice to the touch. What she is doing to me right now is brilliantly bewitching, radiating the charm and allure of an adult woman, even though we are roughly the same age.


    I tried not to move it at all so that I would not hit her teeth by accident, and simply allowed her to go at it at her own pace.


    For someone who claims to be doing something like this for the first time in her life, she is doing it rather skillfully. It feels unbelievably good.


    Roxanne¡¯s soft tongue wraps itself around my finger many times, and each time she pulls back away from it, a white thread of saliva appears between my finger and her lips, connecting them in an unquestionably seductive way, only for it to disappear when she was closing in on me again, putting my finger back into her mouth, gently rubbing it against the inner walls of her puffy cheeks


    It felt as if her benevolent, soft mouth was going to heal my wounded finger in no time.


    Her crimson lips opened up again, showing me the inside of her mouth in all of its crimson glory. When it trapped my finger inside of it once more, I could feel all of Roxanne¡¯s saliva washing over me as her tongue resumed its licking motions. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. . .  by using those bobbing motions, she was making it really hard for me to control myself and not move an inch so that I would not accidentally hit her in the back of her throat. . . . but a part of me wants to do it oh so badly, just so that I could see how she would react to it. Maybe someday, one day, but definitely not today though.


    All in all however, that was an amazing healing session.


    ¡¸Well? H-How was it, master?¡¹


    She asked, swallowing down her saliva when she was done licking my finger clean. M-My god, that was erotic as hell!!!


    ¡¸It felt great. The pain is all gone and my finger does not hurt anymore. Thank you for your diligent service, Roxanne.¡¹


    ¡¸That is good to hear. I am always happy to help you, master, but. . .?¡¹


    ¡¸But. . . ?¡¹


    Roxanne turned her face away rather shyly before continuing.


    ¡¸Does my mouth really possess such healing properties? Perhaps this is some kind of Skill that I possess without even realizing it?¡¹


    ¡¸No, I do not think that is the case here.¡¹


    ¡¸But it has to be! The way you described it, it would seem that it has healing effects on par with those of Healing Magic!¡¹


    ¡¸I have indeed said that, but trust me, it really is nothing of the sort. That being said, it does not change the fact that it was absolutely amazing. If something happens to me in the future, I will be looking forward to having you heal me in this way again.¡¹


    ¡¸Ah. . .  yes, I will gladly do so again.¡¹


    I complimented the way Roxanne sucked me off, which made her promise that this was not a one-time gig only, but rather something that is going to keep on happening whenever the situation is going to demand it. Great job, me. That was some clever coercion if I ever saw one. Who knows, maybe I really do have a silver tongue when it comes to talking with girls (TL Note: Uh-huh, someone is getting incredibly full of himself I see)


    Anyway, if getting hurt means that I could ask Roxanne to do such amazing things for me more often, then suddenly the Labyrinth is not looking like such a scary place anymore. Maybe I will even try faking some injuries just so she could ¡°heal¡± me like she did just now again?


    Having regained my strength both in the physical and mental sense, I have gotten a new surge of motivation to take on the challenges of the Labyrinth once more.


    ¡´To be continued in¡ºA Slave Harem in the Fantasy World Dungeon Volume 4¡µ

 Volume 4 - CH 1.01

    Chapter 1: Sherry


    ¡ºPlayer Name: Kaga Michio¡»


    ¡ºCurrent Character Levels & Equipment¡»:


    Jobs:


    Explorer Lv.32


    Hero Lv.29


    Mage Lv.31


    Monk Lv.30


    Equipment:


    Wand


    Leather Helmet


    Leather Armor


    Leather Gloves


    Leather shoes


    To give you a brief summary of the events that happened thus far, I guess it would have to go a little bit something like this: I got transported into the world of an online game that I wanted to try out as an alternative to killing myself due to how miserable my life up until this point has been, and now that I have been living in this strange, medieval fantasy world for a while, I gradually got more and more used to my new lifestyle which involved delving into the dungeons, which are called Labyrinths in here, where I hunted down monsters and explored in order to make a living for myself and the slave that I bought, Roxanne. Today, just like any other day, we went to the Labyrinth from the early morning to maximize the potential profits as much as possible and to limit the possibility of me being seen by other Adventurers and Explorers. Now, you might be thinking to yourself: but Michio, why are you being so cautious about being seen by others since this is a game world, not a real one? Well, it is because of the stats that I managed to roll for myself when I was creating the Character which I assumed I would be using in the game, and the Bonus Points associated with them turned out to be insanely high, giving me access to some pretty OP Bonus Skills like Warp, which basically allows me to teleport pretty much anywhere in the world, be it inside of the Labyrinth or outside of it as long as I have enough MP for it and even more OP Bonus Weapons like my most trusted partner and the savior of my ass: The Holy Sword Durandal, which allowed me to make the majority of the fights with monsters a breeze that ended after one sword strike. . .  you see the picture I am painting here? These abilities are basically like cheats, so I am trying to keep a low profile so that nobody would get suspicious of me, which could bring me no amount of trouble that I most definitely do not want in my new life now that I managed to introduce some semblance of stability into it.


    Today, Roxanne and I went to the seventh floor of the Labyrinth of Quratar, where we are currently renting a house, early in the morning. Our target for this morning visit there? To hunt down as many Slow Rabbits as possible so that we could collect their Drop Items: Rabbit Fur and sell it in one of the clothing stores of in the Imperial City, where we recently happened to complete what I would call a miscellaneous quest for the male clerk who worked the front desk there, which ended up with him taking a debt of gratitude with us. This debt, which would normally be a pretty useless thing, can actually be used to get ourselves one huge advantage: normally, the shop where that male clerk works only accepts Rabbit Furs for sale if you bring over one hundred of them, but right now, that limitation does not apply to us, so we can bring as many of them as we want, which will be pretty convenient in making the fund gathering for my next big purchase that much easier.


    Now that we have cleared the seventh floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth and gained access to the eight floor, it means that from that point onward we will have to be facing against groups of monsters made of up to a maximum of four of them. This means that we will most lokely be dividing such groups in such a way that Roxanne will fight two monsters at the same time and I will also be doing the same, which means that things will definitely start getting rougher for me since Durandal is no longer able to one-shot the enemies we are fighting with, needing two strikes to kill them instead.


    If you asked me, with her absurd dodging abilities, Roxanne should still be able to effortlessly take on three enemies at the same time, leaving me to deal with the last one in the group. Ever since I started taking her to the Labyrinth with me, we had this unspoken agreement where she would take the aggro of the bigger part of the enemy¡¯s group on to herself so that I could safely engage only one monster at a time in a one on one battle, and I was fine with that because as much as I tried to copy what Roxanne was doing, that is observing the movements of the monsters carefully and evading their attacks at the last possible moment, most of them were still too unpredictable for me to be doing that reliably, thanks to which my confidence in my ability to fight more than one enemy at the same time did not increase at all. And to make things even worse, even when I am using magic, hitting the targets that are constantly on the move, jumping around from one place to another in a matter of seconds is just as hard, if not even harder than trying to hit them with normal weapons. Take the Floor Boss of the Quratar Labyrinth¡¯s seventh floor, Rapid Rabbit, for example. Hitting that guy with magic is straight up impossible, and I was only able to land my blows on it when I used The Hero Job¡¯s Skill, Overwhelming to slow the flow of time around me (or was it that I got such a speed boost out of it that everything else seemed to be moving like dorito-encrusted flies?) to such a degree where I could whack away on it while it was powerless to do literally anything else. That is exactly why I decided that instead of proceeding onto the eight floor, it would be better for us to stay at the seventh floor where we could fight against the groups of enemies that we already knew and knew how to deal with them instead of plunging ourselves into uncharted territory, at least for the time being. Here on the seventh floor, the maximum number of monsters that a single group can contain is three, and as long as there will be three enemies, then we could use our ideal strategy of Roxanne dealing with two of them, leaving me to duke it out with the last one.


    ¡¸Guh. . .  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .!!!!¡¹


    But then I remembered that time during our last trek through Quratar Labyrinth¡¯s seventh floor when we were fighting against a group of three monsters: one Slow Rabbit and two Minos. At that time, I also though that our usual strategy was going to work the same way it always did, but it turned out that I was gravely mistaken. Even though the attention of both Minos should have been focused on Roxanne, one of them ended up charging towards me, and due to how unexpected it all was I was unable to block its attack properly, injuring my finger as a result. This just goes to show: while in the Labyrinth, you absolutely need to be on high alert at all times and keep a close watch on your surroundings, because there will always be a chance that a monster that was not supposed to target you is going to target you after all.


    Anyway, there you have it, the reasons for my reluctance to go beyond the relative safety of the seventh floor where we do not have to deal with too many enemies at the same time.


    Right now, we were engaging a group of three Slow Rabbits in battle. Just as their name implied, they were pretty slow and mostly just hopped around on the battlefield giving you plenty of time to take care of them, but even such monsters that seemed to be pretty harmless at first glance could still be dangerous if you let your guard around them. They might not look like it, but those fangs of theirs could easily tear through a persons throat if they happened to be allowed to latch onto it.


    I dodged the jump attempt form the Slow Rabbit to my right, and then smacked the Slow Rabbit in front of me with my wand before I backstepped a bit and unleashed a spell to deal with the both at once.


    (Fire Storm!!!)


    Even though it is undoubtedly powerful, using magic has one major downside: when casting your spells, you are leaving yourself completely defenseless, even if it is only for a few second it takes to launch the spell properly.

 Volume 4 - CH 1.02

    Thankfully, my Fire Storm manager to hit both of the Slow Rabbits properly, leaving only one of them left, and that one ended up heading towards Roxanne, since she was much closer to it than I was, and as expected, she was able to easily avoid any of its attempts at attacking her. Using both her Scimitar and her Wooden Shield, Roxanne pushed the Slow rabbit back away from her and more towards me, giving me more than enough space to fire another spell, Fireball this time, which hit it square in its exposed back, burning it in an explosion of flames.


    Now that all three of the Slow Rabbits were finally dead, their corpses disappeared in a puff of green smoke, leaving behind their Rabbit Furs as Drop Items. . .  no, wait just a goddamn second. . . . .  hey, there are only two Rabbit Furs, even though we defeated all three of them and Rabbit Fur was supposed to be their common drop with almost one hundred percent drop chance? What the fu . . . . . . . . huh? No, hold up! Wait a minute! I think I see something. . . . . . yeah, my eyes were not playing tricks on me. Instead of a third piece of the Rabbit Fur, a small stone, or perhaps a Magic Crystal way lying some distance away from the place where the last Slow rabbit has fallen onto the ground. Upon closer examination, it looked like a small, shining pebble, similar to Magic Crystal, but at the same time somewhat different from it. What is this Drop Item, exactly? I have never seen something like that before.


    ¡¸Wow, you did it, master! You managed to find a Skill Crystal!¡¹


    Before I could use Identify on this thing, Roxanne jumped in and offered me an explanation. Oh, so this is a Skill Crystal, huh? Then it is no wonder that I did not know what that it, since this is my first time acquiring it. Now that Roxanne finished her abrupt explanation, let us have a little look-see at this thing with my Identify, shall we?


    ¡ºSkill Crystal: Rabbit¡»


    Yup, Identify basically confirmed Roxanne¡¯s words. This thing in my hand is most definitely a Skill Crystal. It is roughly of the same size as the Magic Crystal, so I would not be surprised if the people who do not possess Identify were mistaking one for the other. From what I have heard before, Skill Crystals are items that are used to grant various Skills to both weapons and equipment, as long as they have free Skill Slots in them. Or at least that is how it should be if I remember correctly.


    ¡¸So this is a Skill Crystal, huh? I have to say, it is a little hard to believe that something like that dropped from such a simple monster.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I agree. This is also my first time seeing a Skill Crystal in person.¡¹


    ¡¸First time seeing one in person? Then how did you know that this was a Skill Crystal, and not just another Magic Crystal?¡¹


    ¡¸Because I have heard a lot about them from various stories.¡¹


    Heard about them from the stories? Is that literally all it takes to gain knowledge about things in this world, or is there something else that I am not noticing here? Well, now that I take a closer look at it from up close, I guess it kinda shines a little bit differently than a Magic Crystal and its color is different from the standard ones of the Magic Crystals (Black, Red, Purple, Blue , Green, Yellow and White) but is that really enough to tell the difference without seeing both of them at least once in your life so that you could compare them?


    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹


    I felt like that was the best possible answer in this situation.


    ¡¸Thanks to master¡¯s amazing abilities we are able to defeat a lot of monsters in quick succession, so I thought that we are bound to happen upon one eventually, but the fact that we were able to obtain one so quickly makes me positively thrilled.¡¹


    I guess that hunting for and obtaining Skill Crystals might just be the main reason why some Adventurers and Explorers enter the Labyrinths in the first place, huh? That is definitely something I am able to understand, because those things are bound to be a very rare drop that should sell for a very high price. How can I be so sure of that? Well, because ever since I have come to this world, all I was doing was essentially nothing but monster hunting, and after all this time, this is the very first Skill Crystal that I have managed to obtain.


    That being said, even though we might be able to obtain a substantial amount of Nars if we sold that Skill Crystal, I do not think I am going to do that. Now that I have gotten my hands on one, I would definitely like to give it a try and see how it works on the equipment with the empty Skill slots.


    Whenever I use Identify on a weapon or a piece of equipment, I sometimes see that it has an empty Skill Slot, but I wonder if the procedure of infusing them with Skill Crystals is really as simple as combining the two together in the same way that I fused two Magic crystals before?


    According to all the information that Roxanne has shared with me before, more often than not, an attempt to fuse a Skill Crystal to a weapon or equipment usually ends in failure. Because of that, I think it would be safe to assume that weapons and equipment that have been successfully infused with them can be safely classified as ¡¸rare¡¹in terms of rarity while the ones that come with empty Skill Slots on them have to be at least ¡¸uncommon¡¹. However actually fusing the Skill Crystals with weapons and equipment is not that simple as it seems, because apparently you need someone with the Master Smith Job in order for the fusion to be successful. And as if that was not hard enough, only the members of the Dwarf race can become Master Smiths.


    So, all things considered, I guess you could say that in this particular matter the odds are stacked pretty heavily against us with so many hurdles to surpass. I mean seriously, where will we even find a Dwarf with a Master Smith Job who would be willing to help us?


    ¡¸Ah! Eh. . . . EEEEEHHHH???!!!!¡¹


    ¡¸What is it, Roxanne?! What happened?!¡¹


    ¡¸I-It is about the color of Master¡¯s Magic Crystal! I. . .  I do not know how I should explain it, but. . . but it changed its color! It was still green only a little while ago, but now it is already yellow!¡¹


    Now that we have been done with our morning portion of the hunting on the seventh floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth and we returned home, Roxanne was making quite a fuss about the color of my Magic Crystal when she checked out on it during the post-Labyrinth equipment inspection. When I looked at it myself, I saw that it has indeed changed its color from green to yellow, becoming a Yellow Magic Crystal instead of a Green Magic Crystal.


    Man, this might be the chance I was waiting for! According to my intel, Yellow Magic Crystals should sell for over a one hundred thousand Nars, and with so much money to our names, we should have the bare minimum of the funds required for me to buy myself a new slave, under the assumption that a Dwarven slave with a Master Smith Job is going to cost roughly the same amount of money that I paid for my ownership of Roxanne. In that case, I think we should pay a visit to the Slave Merchant in Vale as soon as possible.


    ¡¸Roxanne, I would like to go to vale with you this afternoon.¡¹


    While we were eating breakfast, I decided to share my plans with Roxanne. If we are to visit Alan-san in his Slave Shop, then naturally I would prefer if Roxanne accompanied me during such an outing.


    ¡¸A visit to Vale, you say? Is this something that I can help you with, master?¡¹


    ¡¸I-I. . . . .  . .. .. . . . I guess you could say that. You see, the thing is . . . . . . . . . I would like to visit Alan-san in his Slave Shop.¡¹


    ¡¸The Slave Shop? So it is about master buying a new slave so we could expand our Party like we discussed before?¡¹

 Volume 4 - CH 1.03

    ¡¸First things first, I want to make some adjustments to your will.¡¹


    ¡¸My will? Is there something wrong with how it is currently written?¡¹


    ¡¸I guess you could say that. Oh, but do not take it as anything personal, okay? We have been together for some time now, and throughout that time you have done so much for me that I feel like the least I can do to repay your kindness is to alter your will in such a way that in the event of my death you will be set free.¡¹


    The master slave system that is operating in this world works in such a way that in the event of master¡¯s death ¨C no matter what the circumstances of that death were ¨C the slave assigned to the master is going to die together with them unless there are provisions against it in the contract. To put it in simpler words: if the master bites the dust, then by default the slaves follow him to his grave. It is a system that has been designed to act as a deterrent from slaves turning against their master and make an attempt on his life, but right now I feel like there is no need for me to have something like that anymore. I trust Roxanne completely, and I have a feeling that she has also placed her trust in me.


    ¡¸Uhm. . . thank you very much for your consideration, master. . . but may I ask where did that come from? Because that seems like a pretty big topic to talk about so casually. . . ¡¹


    ¡¸Where did that come from, you ask? Hmm. . . There is no special reason for that in particular. . .  or rather . . . I guess that I just wanted to let you know about it beforehand, since you will also need to be present when the adjustments to your will are going to be made, and I felt like it would be best to have you be aware of my intentions instead of dropping it down on you out of the blue. Also, I trust you and I know that you knowing about it will not change your attitude towards me in a negative way, so you can be sure that will not be doing anything scummy like secretly changing the will back behind your back. That is also why I do not think that this is actually all that big of a deal to talk about, really.¡¹


    To tell you the truth, I do not know if Roxanne¡¯s presence is going to be strictly necessary, but I figured that since it is a matter that is directly related to her then it would be better to have her there with me when it will happen and to also have her know what was going on.


    ¡¸. . . . . . . . . I see. So that was your line of reasoning. You are right, master. Even though I know of your plan now, it is not going to change my attitude towards you in the slightest, but. . . ¡¹


    ¡¸I know, Roxanne. But I decided to put my full trust in you, even though such a thing might and probably will be frowned upon by the rest of society, but even so, I have already made my mind about that, and I am not going to change it. The will affects you, so I wanted you to know that I want to make changes to it to improve your situation. Also. . . ¡¹


    I knew that Roxanne was not going to betray me and stab me in the back now, but I still want her to have a physical, tangible proof of my trust in her. But then. . .


    Roxanne stood up from her seat by the table with a clatter. . . . . . .


    ¡¸Hmm? What is it, Roxanne? Is something. . .?¡¹


    . . . . . . . and then she knelt on one knee right in front of me.


    ¡¸. . . . wrong? What are you doing?¡¹


    ¡¸Master.¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yes? What is it?¡¹


    ¡¸If you truly decided to place your full trust in me, then please, I want you to leave my will exactly as it is now.¡¹


    ¡¸Leave it as it is? But why? Are you really sure about that?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. Whether it would be in my life or death, I want to always follow you wherever you may go. Also. . . ¡¹


    For that next part, she lowered her voice so much that I was barely able to hear what she was saying.


    ¡¸If you trust me, then do not make a will of your own.¡¹


    ¡¸. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eh?¡¹


    All of a sudden, Roxanne said something that I was genuinely not expecting. What exactly could she mean by that? What would she not want me to write my own will?


    ¡¸I. . . I am sorry, Roxanne, but could you please repeat that so that I could understand?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, of course. I will say that as many times as you wish, master. You do not have to write your own will.¡¹


    ¡¸B-But why though? This is the part that I cannot wrap my head around! Why would you. . . ?!¡¹


    ¡¸As master¡¯s slave, it is my duty to be the shield that protects you from harm no matter the circumstances, so I will not allow you to die in the Labyrinths. If I failed to fulfil that duty and survived on my own, it would mean that I am a disgrace as both a servant and a warrior. That is why I want to ask you for one thing, and one thing only: continue to order me to fight by your side.¡¹


    Roxanne said that with a straight face. It caught me so off guard that I forgot to chew the meat that was currently in my mouth and finish the rest of my share of breakfast and just stared at her, mouth agape. She does not look like she is joking about that. Moreover, she seems to be deadly serious about it.


    ¡¸W-Well of course I am going to keep relying on you in the matters related to both Labyrinths and combat and I totally understand your point, but look, this is a matter that is totally separate from the issue of the will, would you not say?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I do, but this is no longer just about that. I want to protect master until my last, dying breath, not because I am obliged to by our master-slave contract, but because I want that as a person. And to continue to know that I will always have your trust, I want my will to remain unchanged as a proof of that!¡¹


    So that is her reasoning behind it, huh? Admittedly, it is more than a little bit strange, but if that is really what she wants, then. . .


    ¡¸Hearing you say that makes me very happy, but Labyrinths are not the only things that might kill me, you know? What if I was to one day die because of an illness, or a sudden myocardial infraction?¡¹


    ¡¸Even though I know heart problems or disease might claim us at any moment, it changes nothing to me. No matter what the cause of your death will be, I would still wish to keep my will in its original form so that you would not have to worry, and follow you to the afterlife when the time comes, no matter when that time might be.¡¹


    Myocardial infraction did not get translated to Brahim language, which was not all that unexpected seeing how it is a medical term from a modern world, meaning that a medieval one such as this would not be medically advanced enough to even know that an affliction like that existed in the first place. Or rather, the people of this world might know the condition of heart attack itself, but they probably do not yet know what exactly is causing it.


    If you also did not know, heart attack is otherwise known as myocardial infraction because it is a medical condition where the arteries that supply the blood to the heart muscle are getting infracted. Maybe here it is known under some different, localized name, or perhaps it is lumped together with all the other similar illnesses under the common name such as ¡¸Chest Illness¡¹?


    ¡¸Uhm. . . are you really sure you want to leave it as it is?¡¹

 Volume 4 - CH 1.04

    ¡¸Yes. I am absolutely sure that that is how I want to leave it, so do not worry about it anymore, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm. . .  you really mean it?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. I really, really mean it.¡¹


    Roxanne¡¯s eyes were shining with determination like I have never seen before in them. Looks like she really is serious about keeping her will as it is without making any alterations to it whatsoever.


    Also, this might be just me getting a little bit sidetracked, but this whole situation looks kinda as if she was a Knight who is swearing allegiance to her new lord. Yeah, given the development of this world¡¯s civilization, I would not be surprised if it could be seen in such a way.


    ¡¸Okay Roxanne, fine. If that is what you wish for, then we can keep our contract exactly the way it is now.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you for your understanding, master.¡¹


    ¡¸But I feel that I should at least ask: why are you willing to go to such lengths in regards to this matter?¡¹


    ¡¸Because I think that master is a truly wonderful person. . .  no, I think that you are a great man. Even though you are so young, you are already so strong, and you have more amazing abilities than I can possibly count, and you are adept and capable at using them. Even though now we are starting pretty small, I am sure that given enough time, you will definitely be able to achieve great things one day. Based on my experienced, if anyone else would be in the same position as you they would allow it to go over to their heads, but not you. You are still kind and compassionate towards someone like me, who you should be treating like nothing but a lowly slave, your personal possession, so I feel like I have to return that kindness to you in any way I possibly can.¡¹


    So in the end, it all boils down to her sense of loyalty, similarly to how it was with the samurai in the Edo period and their lords in Japan. If my guess and observations about her are correct, she probably longs to live her life in accordance with the warrior¡¯s code, upholding all of its noble values such as loyalty and honor. And if that is the case, then rejecting her here, it would be a straight-up insult to her and all that she stands by and aspires to become. So the only thing that I can possibly do here is. . .


    ¡¸All right Roxanne. I see that you are serious about this, so I will accept your feelings. However, there is still one thing that I feel like I absolutely have to say: even though you praised me so much, I do not thing that I will accomplish anything great, or even worthy of mentioning in my life.¡¹


    ¡¸And I am sorry for being so blunt about it, but I wholeheartedly disagree, master.¡¹


    ¡¸You are free to do so, but it will not change the facts. Then again, maybe I was the one who said that in the wrong way, so allow me to rephrase that: I am here right now precisely for the sake of not doing anything that would put me on everyone¡¯s radar.¡¹


    I am not an original inhabitant of this world after all, so why would I do anything to change it in any way. If someone like me, who bends the rules of this world simply by having access to a tool that allows to change my abilities and characteristics in any way I see fit began to take unnecessarily flashy and eye-catching actions, it would only cause unwanted confusion in everyone around me and quite possibly caused me to gain attention of the big-shots of this world, and that is something that I would like to avoid at all costs. The only thing that I want right now is a quiet, simple life where I would not have to worry about anything, and for that to happen, I have to constantly be on my guard against getting drunk on the power that is in my possession. I mean, do not get me wrong, it is all well and good to possess the strength and use it in good faith, but if that strength leads to carelessness and reckless behaviors fueled by the belief that I am invincible and nothing will be able to harm me, it will bring doom upon me sooner rather than later. Just as the flames that are isolated from the oxygen that would empower them are naturally going to disappear all on their own, I should also make sure to extinguish my own fire without spreading it too much.


    ¡¸I. . . I am afraid that I do not understand.¡¹


    ¡¸And you do not have to understand. Just know that this is what I think about myself. Now come on, we should finish eating breakfast before it gets all cold.¡¹


    ¡¸. . . . . . . . . . . . .  Understood, master.¡¹


    It was done in a kind of a forcible manner, but I managed to convince Roxanne not to pursue that subject any further.


    ¡¸With all that being said though, the matter of the will does not affect the second reason why I want to go to Vale¡¯s Slave Shop. If we are not making any adjustments to Roxanne¡¯s will then you do not need to go with me if you do not want to, but it remains a fact that once we will reach the eighth floor in the Labyrinths we will have to be facing against a maximum of four monsters at once, and because of that, I think it is high time for us to acquire more members for our Party, since it can be hard for just the two of us to fight effectively from now on. At the very least, I think that what we would need the most would be a good warrior who would fight at close distances, since while we explore the Labyrinths I tend to fight more with magic, which is effective at longer distances, but makes it so that there will be situations that I would not be able to handle with it, like those ones where the monsters that were not interested in me at all are suddenly changing their minds and end up targeting me after all. That is why I thing that another member of the vanguard who could fight together with Roxanne would be ideal, but if you have your own opinions on the matter, then please, go right ahead and share them with me.¡¹


    This is an important matter that we have to discuss, but it does not change the fact that this is still a kind of an awkward topic to talk about right after we had that little spat about changes to Roxanne¡¯s will. Be that as it may, it is a conversation that needed to happen eventually. I guess I have become a little more talkative due to my guilty conscience from basically tricking Roxanne into green-lighting my idea of creating a harem for myself. . .  but wait, do I really need to feel guilty about this? No, I do not think I do! After all, it is not set in stone that the next Party member I am going to acquire for myself will be a woman. Yeah, exactly! Since right ow the person we require the most would have to be a Dwarf with Master Smith Job and a warrior at that, then the image that naturally comes to mind is that of a short, muscular, bearded man hammering away at the weapons and armor pieces on an anvil. . .  although I cannot say that a prospect of having another girl in our Party is not an enticing one. Just thinking about scenarios such as waking up in the morning with Roxanne and another beauty at each of my sides. . .  or having my body washed by them during a soapy bubble bath from the front and the back at the same time. . . hehe, hehehehe. . . . .


    Oh crap. Just imagining it right now is already awesome, and when I think that this fantasy might very well be turned into reality. . .


    However, the biggest unknown right now would be the price I would have to pay for another slave. Roxanne herself was already expensive since she possessed the unrivaled beauty, had a kind and caring personality and could also detect enemies in the Labyrinths through her sense of smell alone. . .  and she was also serving me pretty well in bed, so even though I had to go through a lot to get her, ultimately it was all worth it.

 Volume 4 - CH 1.05

    I think we have to prepare ourselves for the eventuality that the purchase of such a clearly specialized personnel will definitely not be a cheap one. However, no matter how much money this next slave purchase is going to cost us, I feel like we cannot allow ourselves to make any compromises on it, because our safety in the future battles in the Labyrinths is going to be depending on it.


    ¡¸I think that bolstering our ranks with the new Party members is a good idea as well, since it will definitely be exactly like you said, master: the higher in the Labyrinths we will go, the more difficult it would be to fight the increasing numbers of enemy monsters with just the two of us alone.¡¹


    Good, it looks like Roxanne is not opposed to the idea of getting more Party members after all.


    Going back to the issue of choosing a male or a female slave for my next one for a bit, this is a problem that runs deeper than it initially looks. I mean, just think about it. Labyrinths are supposedly like a living organism all their own, and so they actively seek out ways to kill Explorers and Adventurers so that they could use their remains as sustenance for themselves to grow and expand, so there might come a time when I will end up having to sacrifice one of the Party members to prevent the rest from getting annihilated and allow them to escape with their lives. Should it come to such a worst-case scenario, then admittedly I would have an easier time sacrificing some bearded old man instead of a potential hottie that could still be of good use to me outside of the Labyrinths, either with house chores or in the sheets during the night. Yup, taking an old man might just be the best thing to do after all from a strategic point of view, actually. Having someone like that on board means that I will easily know who to sacrifice in the event of things getting dicey beyond the point of no return, and be able to make that decision in a split second without any delays or having second thoughts. If such a time ever comes around, I will do everything I will have to do to ensure that Roxanne and I will emerge from such a predicament without as much as a scratch on us! It might sound like a dickish thing to say, but thank you, some random old man that I have yet to meet and turn into my slave. The sacrifice that you will be forced to make one day will definitely not be forgotten, because you will sacrifice yourself so that Roxanne and I, two younglings who still have their entire lives to live, which you can be sure as hell that we will do at your expense. And after that, it is No More Old Man! No more. . .  oh, but. . . but then it would be back to just Roxanne and I, so we would be back at square one, huh? Well, dang it.


    ¡¸You think so as well? That is good to hear then.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. That is why I think I am going to come along with master after all. Would that be all right?¡¹


    ¡¸Sure it would be, most definitely. Having a second opinion is always appreciated, especially since there are still many things that I do not know about or do not fully understand, so I am gladly going to take any advice you would be willing to offer me.¡¹


    This is also going to be a good opportunity for me to see how Roxanne is going to react to my attempt at picking a girl as the new slave. If it so happens that I will try to pick a girl and she is going to hate that idea, then I will not push it any further and just pick a guy instead.


    ¡¸Very well then. Just let me know when we will be going and I will be sure to be ready to depart at any time.¡¹


    ¡¸Please do.¡¹


    Then again, another thing that I forgot to consider with taking a man as the next member of our Party. An ideal choice would have been an old man who could be easily sacrificed without any regrets if push ever came to shove, but what if the old man I would aquire turns out to actually be a perverted old man?! Having someone like that in the same Party as Roxanne would be pretty dangerous, not to mention that it would make me hellishly angry! I swear to God, if I catch such an old geezer eyeing Roxanne¡¯s chest EVEN ONCE, then the old fart will be sentenced to death. . . no, scratch that, EXECUTED on the spot! So note to self: if I ever decide to include guys in my party, old, young or anything in between, it does not really matter. What really is going to matter is that I will have to discipline them in such a way that they will know they cannot look at Roxanne, cannot talk to Roxanne, are forbid from so much as breathing the same air she does or else! She is my very first slave, and that makes her special in such a way that I am the only one who is allowed to interact with her. . . . . . . . . . . .  Arghhhh! But even such a strict discipline would not amount to anything, since if we all lived together in our house in Quratar, they would still be able to see Roxanne¡¯s glamourous body clad in nothing but the negligee that I have bought for her just the other day. . . . . . .! Just as I thought, old guys and men would be useless to me! No More Old Guys! No More Men! From now on, I am introducing a new policy: only girls and young women are allowed to be added to my Party from now on! That is my final word, and something I will not be budging on no matter how others might beg me to do so!


    After we finished eating breakfast, we warped to the Labyrinth of Vale where we hunted for the good portion of the day after which we went to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild located in the town of Vale. This was the little detour that we had to do before heading off to Alan-san¡¯s Slave Shop so that we could sell all the items we have obtained during our trek through Vale Labyrinth¡¯s seventh floor.


    ¡¸We would like to sell all of those items, please.¡¹


    ¡¸Certainly. Please give me a moment while I calculate the exact amount, sir.¡¹


    There is another reason why we did some hunting in the Labyrinth before coming here, of course. Now that I am selling all of the items we got from the monsters there, I can safely utilize the gimmick of my Thirty Percent Discount Bonus Skill. Since my aim is mainly to sell the Yellow Magic Crystal here, doing so along with other items will not make the whole operation as conspicuous as it could have been if I was selling the Yellow Magic Crystal alone and nothing else beside it. After all, one hundred thousand Nars is ten gold coins. If I only sold the Yellow Magic Crystal with the Thirty Percent Discount Bonus Skill active, I would obtain one hundred and thirty thousand Nars for it, in other words: thirteen gold coins, and there is no way in hell that the Adventurer¡¯s Guild¡¯s staff would not notice this clear-as-day discrepancy. That is why I should avoid selling anything else or buying things from the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and make my shopping somewhere else for a good while, just to decrease the chances of me being placed on the Guild¡¯s blacklist and getting my face remembered. Maybe, I should avoid coming to Vale to do shopping altogether for a while, after purchasing my new slave today of course.


    Thankfully, today is going to be the first time I will ever sell the Magic Crystal that I own so there should not be too suspicious of me, but there is a possibility that they might catch the wind and connect the dots if I were to come and sell another Magic Crystal to them, so I should make sure to only do that again after a substantial amount of time has passed as well. After all, I could only accumulate so much magic energy in my Magic Crystal due to having the Bonus Skill Crystal Accelertion, which increases the speed at which Magic Energy is being gathered into the Magic Crystal. Without it, getting my Magic crystal from Black to Yellow would have probably took many, many years of tedious grinding.

 Volume 4 - CH 1.06

    With my Bonus Skills, the speed of accumulating Magic Energy in Magic Crystals is approximately sixty-four times faster. Even though it is pretty darn useful, I do not have all that many occasions to be actively using it since there is a multitude of other Bonus Skills that I have to distribute my Bonus Points towards if I want our trips through the Labyrinths to be as relatively easy as they have been up until now, but purposefully downgrading to using Crystal Acceleration x8, x16 or x32 would be counterproductive, since now that I had a taste of how useful Crystal Acceleration x64 can be, there is no wa for me to be using its inferior versions.


    Just before we headed out through the Warp portal back in our house in Quratar, I had a little talk with Roxanne to confirm how the selling of the Magic Crystals worked:


    ¡¸Will we be able to sell Magic Crystals at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, we should be able to sell them there without any problems in particular. In fact, I think most of the Guilds will accept them for purchase.¡¹


    Roxanne gave me an answer, confirming my initial suspicions. Now that I know that we can sell Magic Crystals in practically every major Guild, it means that we have six locations where I can sell my items to avoid attracting any unnecessary attention: Adventurer¡¯s Guild in Vale, Explorer¡¯s Guild in Vale, Adventurer¡¯s Guild in Quratar, Explorer¡¯s Guild in Quratar, Adventurer¡¯s Guild in Imperial City and Explorer¡¯s Guild in Imperial City. From now, if we alternate our shopping trips between all those places, none of them should be able to add two and two together, or at least I hope so.


    However, there is always a possibility that even while selling things in bulk, the people working at the reception stalls might get suspicious about the increase form ten gold coins to thirteen gold coins anyway, so perhaps it would be better to stop using my Thirty Percent Discount Bonus Skill whenever I am going to be selling Magic Crystals, which would allow to avoid all those trouble whatsoever?


    I placed the Yellow Magic Crystal in the tray before me along with the rest of the items we obtained from slaying the monsters in the Labyrinth, placing them is such a way so that they would cover the Magic Crystal as much as possible.


    ¡¸Those are all the items you wish to sell, or is there going to be anything else?¡¹


    ¡¸That is going to be it, thank you very much.¡¹


    The female clerk took the tray with her and then disappeared into a room in the back where she will proceed to count all of the coins she will be supposed to give me. If I said that I am not looking for the result of that counting of hers with nervous anticipation, then I would be straight up lying. I it going to take the same amount of time as usual? Or maybe it will take a bit longer because she will have to double check if she counted everything correctly?


    ¡¸Sorry for the wait, sir. Here is the money for the items you have sold.¡¹


    Now, lemme just count the gold ones real quick myself: one, two, three, four, five , six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen. . . all right, thirteen gold coins in total! And with that, I think it would be best for us to go and leave the Adventurer¡¯s Guild as quickly as possible.


    The receptionist lady did not look as if she noticed anything suspicious about the entire transaction, but you can never be too sure, and I am not going to be overstaying my welcome if I can help it, so I quickly grabbed all of the coins from the counter and placed them in the Item Box, and the silver and copper ones into my drawstring bag and promptly proceeded to walk out of the Guild building.


    ¡¸Okay then, now that that¡¯s done, shall we go to the Slave Merchant¡¯s place?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, master. Let us be on our way.¡¹


    This transaction that we just did also show me one thing: it would seem that the people working behind the reception counters do not pay that much of an attention to the processes other than accepting the items from the clients and counting of the money they need to pay them for them. If they were conducting a more thorough checks, then someone would definitely noticed that something with my transaction was out of the ordinary and checking everything out would have taken way longer that it actually did, which was not all that longer from the usual waiting time. Who knows, maybe it is the adopted policy of the Guild¡¯s to not dwell on the money from items brought in by Adventurer¡¯s and Explorers too much? You know, maybe that is actually for the better. If anyone started snooping around me and investigated how much money I am earning and what are my living conditions, that would be quite a problem (TL Note: You mean like the IRS?) so I am perfectly fine with them if they want to be lax about it. You will not see me encouraging them to be taking a more proactive approach to it, oh no, not in a million years.


    When we left the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, we found ourselves walking through the streets of Vale for the first time in a while, but I cannot say that much has changed about this place during our absence. Or maybe some things did change, but it is just that I did not notice them due to how we would always Warp straight to the Labyrinth without ever taking the time to make a detour around the city?


    Arriving at the Slave Merchant¡¯s shop, we knocked on the front door and were greeted by usual servant of. . . huh? Wait, what was the name of the owner of this shop? Because I seem to have forgotten it just now. Well anyways, the servant came to greet us, just like all the other times I have been here.


    ¡¸Yes, how may I help you?¡¹


    He asked.


    ¡¸We would like to see the owner. Go and tell him that Michio came.¡¹


    ¡¸Michio-sama, right? Understood. Please, follow me.¡¹


    He opened the door for us and took us to the usual guest room, where we were told to wait for the owner to arrive in a moment. Huh? This room again? Could it be that they think that I came to return Roxanne because I am dissatisfied with her? Well, in that case, I guess I have to do everything to show him that this is not the case.


    ¡¸Roxanne, you go ahead and sit down as well.¡¹


    ¡¸Is that really all right?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, it is totally fine.¡¹


    Having Roxanne sit right next to me is the least I can do to openly show that I am not treating her in a disrespectful manner that would make the owner think I came here to return her. *Scoff* Me, returning Roxanne? That is the richest joke I have heard recently.


    ¡¸Good heavens, if it is not Michio-sama? It is a pleasure meeting with you today.¡¹


    ¡¸Likewise.¡¹


    The store¡¯s owner came into the room after a few minutes of waiting, and as soon as he opened the door, I used Identify to check what his name was. Alan. Oh yeah, his name was Alan the Slave Merchant! Now I remember! Man, it is such a nice and simple name, how could I have ever forget it?


    ¡¸Sorry for showing up unannounced, Alan-san¡¹


    I stood up and greeted him politely, but Roxanne only did the same after a brief delay where she looked at me with a slight confusion written on her face, which I found somewhat strange. For all I know, she should have been taught proper etiquette in this establishment, but to omit something so important as standing up and bowing to the person that you are meeting with. . . no, wait, it might not be that at all. Perhaps. . .  perhaps she has been taught that as a slave all she would ever have to do would be to obediently stand behind her master without uttering as much as a single word. Yeah, that has to be it. It is not that this part of the etiquette teaching has been purposefully ignored, but rather that neither Alan-san or the personnel of this shop ever thought that she will find herself in a situation where that would be required of her. Looks like having her sit down might have resulted in the reverse of what I originally intended, and only ended up needlessly embarrassing her. God damn it!

 Volume 4 - CH 1.07

    ¡¸No no, it is quite all right. Feel free to visit my store anytime you want. Now then, please, have a seat.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you. Do not mind if I do.¡¹


    Alan-san¡¯s servant then brought herbal tea with him, but instead of bringing three cups: one for me, one for Roxanne and one for Alan-san, he only brought two cups, which he then placed in front of me and his employer, not giving Roxanne as much as a passing glance, which was a very rude thing to do. Even if he realizes that she is a slave, she is no longer the property of this shop, but my companion, and I am not going to allow anyone to disrespect her like that!


    ¡¸First of all, allow me to say that ever since I bought her, Roxanne has been a very good and reliable companion to me, both during the battles in the Labyrinths and in the matters related to daily life outside of it. Because of that, I have decided to come here again to buy myself someone who could join us as another member of our Party.¡¹


    I started the conversation with such a statement where I have purposefully placed emphasis on the words ¡¸very good¡¹ and ¡¸reliable¡¹and also made sure to say them before the servant who brought us tea could leave the room so that he could hear what I was trying to communicate loudly and clearly: I am not interested in selling her. Not now, not never. You hear that, you servant asshole?!


    ¡¸I see. That is a wonderful thing to hear indeed.¡¹


    Alan-san replied with a faint smile on his face as his servant left the room in a hurry. Okay, now that we got that out of the way. . .  it might not be a good idea to be so open about my intentions right from the get go, especially when talking to a merchant out of all people, but since my purchase this time can definitely be classified as a very specific one, then I think this one time being completely honest with him might actually be to my advantage.


    ¡¸Now, in regards to my next purchase, there is something that I would like to ask you about first?¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, and what that might be? Go ahead, I am listening.¡¹


    ¡¸Would it be possible for me to buy a slave who has a Master Smith Job here?¡¹


    ¡¸A Master Smith slave, huh? In other words, you are looking to buy a Dwarf. I assume it would be for the purposes of blacksmithing and Skill Crystal infusion?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, that is correct.¡¹


    I nodded my head at him. I do not know if he is naturally so observant and able to draw conclusions or is that something he aquired after the years of working as a Slave Merchant, but having him read me like an open book, while definitely uncomfortable, was a necessary evil that I have to put up with in this case.


    ¡¸I see. Yes, if it is smithing that you need then it definitely makes sense that you would like to obtain a blacksmith slave for yourself.  However, I am afraid that I will have to cool your enthusiasm down a bit.¡¹


    ¡¸Why is that? Is it impossible to get your hands on slaves with a Master Smith Job these days?¡¹


    So, making the purchase of a slave with such a specific Job is a no-go after all, huh?


    ¡¸Oh no, it is nothing as dire as that. But, well. . . while not impossible, I would say that it is quite difficult. Before we continue, I feel inclined to ask, and I hope you will understand that I am not trying to be disrespectful: are you aware that the process of fusing Skill Crystals with equipment and weapons tends to fail more often that succeed?¡¹


    Alan-san asked me that after he made a brief pause.


    ¡¸Yes, I am fully aware of the risk that this process involves.¡¹


    ¡¸Good. That fact will not change just because the Master Smith is a slave, but there is an entirely different problem related to it. Namely: when failures begin to pile up one after the other without even a single success to speak of, how do you think most masters react? That is right, the most common reaction is that they begin to doubt the abilities of the Master Smith slave. There are many nobles and wealthy city-dwellers who have their own slave-blacksmiths in hopes of having them smith them the highest quality weapons and then infuse them with Skill Crystals. . . but more often than not such business transactions tend to not end up all that well for either side. . .  or both of them.¡¹


    The fusion of Skill Crystals often fails. If I remember correctly, I talked about it with Roxanne, and it was then that I knew that some of the blacksmiths use that fact to their advantage so that they could commit frauds and prey on the people who are unaware of that fact., and that is probably the reason why most of the smiths are reluctant to take the Skill Crystal infusion commissions or are outright refusing to accept them altogether. And since the chance of failure remains the same no matter if the Master Smith is a slave or not, then it might as well be that the slave that I will end up buying will not be able to make even one fusion a successful one. But since I understand the risk involved with the process of fusion, then the least I can do is to not get unreasonably angry at the Master Smith, even when the failures do end up piling up.


    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. I am afraid that it is so indeed. Of course, Dwarves themselves are aware of that better than anyone else, so when Dwarven Master Smiths become slaves, they will usually change their Job to something else in order to prevent getting themselves abused over their smithing abilities.¡¹


    ¡¸And that is why there are no slaves who are simultaneously Master Smiths?¡¹


    ¡¸I would not say that there are ¡¸no¡¹ slaves like that, but they have definitely became more of a rarity in recent years. Also, I am afraid that I have to inform you that because of that the price of the individual Dwarven Master Smith slave tends to be quite high, definitely higher than that of your ordinary slave.¡¹


    So that is the exact reason why they are so hard to come by. Well, I cannot say that I do not understand where they are coming from, because when you stop to think about it for a moment, then it definitely looks like all that awaits Dwarven Master Smiths once they become slaves is nothing but a downward spiral of misfortune due to the people who paid a lot of money for having their Skill Crystals fused to their equipment and weapons getting increasingly angry when they were keep on spending money without getting any tangible results back.


    With Dwarven Master Smiths, it looks like everything seems to be boiling down to the bad reputation they get for their increasing failures. Due to this bad rep, more and more Master Smiths tend to hide the fact that they are Master Smiths, and it would not surprise me if it also discouraged ordinary Dwarves from becoming regular smiths, a Job that is pretty much synonymous with your usual image of a typical Dwarf. Because there is not much of them in supply and the demand for their services continues to exist, their prices and the prices of their services continue to skyrocket into unimaginable sums of money. You would think that this is going to be it, but no, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Even though the services of Master Smiths are expensive as hell, it does not mean that the probability of success increased. Actually, it is exactly the other way around: prices keep getting higher, while the amount of failures stays relatively the same, not even dwindling for a little bit. With every consecutive failure in the fusion process, the master¡¯s dissatisfaction only grows, because let us face the ugly truth here: no one wants to keep someone who is not going to be cost-efficient around. If something is going to cost them an astronomical amount of money, then it is a given that the masters of the Master Smiths would expect the investment they made with them to start paying back at some point, only to be repeatedly denied that expectation, and that leads us to the bad reputation, which grows bigger and bigger with every accumulated failure. And that is how the circle of their suffering continues to go round and round.

 Volume 4 - CH 1.08

    It is a vicious cycle, but it is not like I can do anything to break it, so let us just leave it at that and move on.


    ¡¸Now, knowing all this, do you still want to buy a Master Smith Dwarven slave, Michio-sama?¡¹


    Now I know how difficult it is to get your hands on a Dwarven slave with a Master Smith Job, but in my case, they do not need to be Master Smiths specifically. As long as I can get my hands on a Dwarven slave, I can always use my Party Job Settings to switch their Job back to Master Smith. So, with that in mind. . .


    ¡¸I am fine with the Dwarven slaves not being Master Smiths, but I definitely would like the ones that would be comfortable with going to the Labyrinths on a daily basis. Do you happen to have some of those? Because I heard that Dwarves can make for a first-class vanguard, is that correct?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, your assumption is indeed correct. Dwarves are a physically powerful race, so they can be of use not only in the vanguard, but in all the roles that require high amounts od strength and endurance, be it a knight with two-handed greatsword or a defender with a tower shield.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh really? Then that means they definitely are what I am looking for right now.¡¹


    I heard a little bit about it from Roxanne, although it was nothing more than a simple talk, since back then we did not discuss the possibility of me obtaining Dwarven slaves for myself because there was no need for us to do so, but thinking about it now, perhaps I should have been just a tad bit more inquisitive? Then again, that was till during the time where I preferred not to talk to Roxanne about the matters related to other slaves because I considered it to be a bit of a touchy subject, but at the very least I know that the races such as Dwarves, Beastkin like Roxanne and Dragonkin are the best suited raced for the vanguard, which is kinda confusing since in most RPG games humans are usually the best tanks or meat shields, especially the Knights or Paladins. Does that mean that these beastly races are secretly OP? Or maybe that simply means that in comparison to their non-human counterparts, we humans are the ones who are actually pretty weak? Because I can totally see that being the case.


    ¡¸However, as regrettable as it may sound, right now I happen to have only a single Dwarf here in my shop, and I do not think that her personality would make her a fitting choice for being put on the battlefield.¡¹


    ¡¸That is truly regrettable.¡¹


    He said that he does not think that ¡¸she¡¹ would be a fitting pick for the battlefield, so this must mean that the only Dwarf in the entire Slave Shop is a girl, exactly like I wanted. . .  is what I would have liked to say, but in the current situation, whoever that girl might be, I cannot simply jump the gun with her, because that would put me is a losing position in this negotiation. So be calm, Michio. Be calm and remember that this is business, and in business, it is often best to take a slow and steady approach to things to secure victory for yourself.


    ¡¸Perhaps, if you are still going to insist on getting yourself a Dwarven slave no matter what, I could write a letter of recommendation for you. With it, you could easily visit another store that just might have what you need, and they would do business with you without any trouble or difficulties. So how about it? Would you like me to do that?¡¹


    ¡¸I will not lie, that would be pretty great of you, but are you sure it is okay to be sending a customer away to one of your business rivals like that? Will it not be bad for your business?¡¹


    ¡¸Normally that would be the case, but I do not mind it.¡¹


    ¡¸Really? Is slave trading not the kind of business where you have to make each and every customer count if you want to stay afloat and br driven out by the rivalling shops?¡¹


    And more importantly, am I you precious customer, or is it that you do not have any need for me after all and you are just entertaining yourself by talking with me? Or maybe he has somehow figured out that the last time I bought Roxanne from his I have done so by cheating my way into paying thirty percent less for her with my Thirty Percent Discount Bonus Skill? Because if that is the case, then I might be pretty much screwed in here.


    ¡¸You might be surprised, but this line of work does not suffer from a lack of potential customers, even though some people might view the ownership of slaves as somewhat. . . unsavoury for the times, but we have our own shipping routes and enough of an established customer base to allow ourselves to ignores any such voices of complaints. Also, because every Slave Shop receives its slaves from a different area, there is no business rivalry to speak of to begin with, so at times we the shop owners are able to accommodate each other like that.¡¹


    ¡¸So every Slave Shop actually has its own sphere of influence and the area of operations?¡¹


    ¡¸That is right. For example: this fine establishment that I happen to own services the entirety of the town of Vale, and also stretches all the way towards the plains to the south of it.¡¹


    So there are special circumstances to trading in slaves, huh?


    ¡¸So that is how it is.¡¹


    ¡¸As I said, I will be more than happy to write you a letter of introduction to the Slave Trading Company based in the Imperial City that I am on particularly good terms with. They have an excellent reputation and a steady supply of slaves of all races throughout the entire year, so I am sure that if you decide to do business with them, you are going to be thoroughly satisfied.¡¹


    ¡¸You are pretty confident about that, huh?¡¹


    ¡¸What can I say, spring is a busy farming season where slaves are especially needed for their worth as physical labour in the fields, so you can say that they are in constant demand.¡¹


    I thought that they might be in demand when there is the most manual work to be done, but it is nice to receive a confirmation like that from someone who knows what he is talking about. But if spring is a busy season, then does that not mean that the slave companies will not be as eager to sell their slaves to individual customers if they can make more money selling them to farm owners or nobles who have their own patches of land? If I were them, I would have done it like that and then waited with the selling of the slaves to the individual customers until after the intense farming season would settle down. And looking at it from the buyers perspective, the hasty purchases also do not make any sense. If you know that you are going to need many slaves to tend to your piece of land, then the smart decision would always be to prepare as many slaves as you can in advance. If you do not possess the talent or the ability to be forward-thinking like that, then that probably means that the ownership of slaves is not something you should be dabbing into.


    ¡¸All right. Got it.¡¹


    I guess I will simply have to go pay them a visit and see for myself if it is going to be like that or not. Even if they end up doing business a little bit differently from what I am used to, it should nor be too much of an inconvenience for me, as long as I will be able to get what I want. The only thing that I will have to keep a careful eye on is going to be the price.


    ¡¸If you are saying that I am definitely going to be satisfied, then I guess I will take you up on your word.¡¹


    ¡¸Before we do that, would you like to have a look at the other people I have right now who might fit well for the position in the Party¡¯s vanguard? Most of them are men, but I think that you will find a few who might satisfy yours needs among them.¡¹


    ¡¸Hmm. . .  thank you for the kind offer, we might as well do that since I am already here.¡¹

 Volume 4 - CH 1.09

    Just like I said, since I am already here, then it will not hurt me in any way to just go and have a look at what Alan-san is offering in his Slave Shop right now. It is certainly a better option than going back so soon after taking the time to come all the way here, and he must be feeling the same way. I guess that is jus the businessman side of him speaking: he has a customer right in front of him, so he probably cannot help it but to want to try and sell some of his slaves to me.


    ¡¸If it is all right with you, Michio-sama, then I will allow myself to remove all of the slaves whom you have saw the last time you were here to make a purchase. How about it?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course, I don¡¯t mind it at. . . ¡¹


    But no, wait a second. When I was here last time as a customer it was when I bought Roxanne, and before that I was introduced to a bunch of other female slaves, but none of them managed to catch my attention, that is how utterly remarkable they all were. But if he does that, then. . .


    ¡¸. . . I mean, if you do that, it will leave only the men in the room.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, that is right. But this is an unavoidable scenario if you do not want to look at the slaves whom you have already seen during your last visit, would you not say?¡¹


    Hmm, he is definitely right. But on the other hand, I have already decided that I did not want any guys in my Party, so maybe. . .


    ¡¸You know what, it is fine. I do not think that I need to see anyone else besides that Dwaren girl. . . ¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, so you remembered that she is a girl after I mentioned her gender only once during the entire conversation? I have to admit, you have quite the attention to details, Michio-sama.¡¹


    ¡¸T-Thank you very much.¡¹


    I regretted allowing those words to leave my mouth as soon as I have said them, because that was a huge fuckup on my part. It might have been nothing more but a slip of the tongue, but it does not change the fact that I allowed it to slip that I do not care about the other slaves and am only interested in the dwarven woman!


    ¡¸Now, before we go see the slaves, including the Dwarven girl you seem to be interested in, do know that she has only arrived here recently.¡¹


    Hmm? Is it just me, or is Alan-san looking a bit more flustered than usual today? What a rare sight.


    ¡¸I-I see. Is that going to be a problem?¡¹


    ¡¸No, not particularly. While her education as a whole might still be a bit lacking, she has already shown that she has a good memory and aptitude towards learning new things as they are introduced to her. For instance, she has only been here for a few days, but she has already mastered the Brahim language to such a degree that she should not have any trouble speaking it fluently and communicating with you without any problems. Her overall training might still be incomplete, but other than that, she should not be inferior to any of the other slaves offered in my shop in any way.¡¹


    Yeah, I think I might be onto something here. Normally Alan-san looks and talks like he is all confident, and perhaps just a little bit smug, but right now, he seems to be unusually. . . meek, or defensive, even. Could it be because of that one tidbit that he mentioned? The one about this Dwarven girl not completing her training as a slave just yet? Yes. Yes, that has to be it! He said that she has not been properly educated yet, and no matter how you look at it, that is obviously her biggest weak point!


    When I came here to buy Roxanne, her price was so high because she was already through with her training and she learned Brahim and proper etiquette so that she could serve any master who would have bought her properly. It was all so that her value as a commodity could increase, but it is not like that with that Dwarven girl. According to Alan-san she has only learned Brahim so far and the rest of the necessary skills has yet to be taught to her, and if it is like that, then it means that is a weakness that I can definitely exploit, since they have not finished fully increasing that girl¡¯s value just yet.


    ¡¸I see. Thank you for giving me this warning. Still, if you do not mind, then I would definitely like you to show her to me anyway.¡¹


    ¡¸. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Certainly. Although I cannot say that she is someone whom I can present to my customers with my head held high just yet, you have shown incredible kindness to this shop and my business before, so I will gladly bring her to you, Michio-sama.¡¹


    Next, Alan-san left the room, saying tha he needed some time to prepare everything for me. Taking advantage of the fact that we have been left alone in the room, I took a glance at the cup with my herbal tea. Even though I clearly stated that my intentions in coming here today were not to sell Roxanne, that servant asshole did not bring the third cup for Roxanne, and while Alan-san was here I was too nervous to drink as much as a sip of it, but it would be a waste to let it go cold, so instead of me having it. . .


    ¡¸Would you like to drink my tea for me, Roxanne? I do not know why, but for some reason I am still not used to drinking this.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you very much, master.¡¹


    And so I gave my herbal tea to Roxanne. Haha, suck this, you slave-hating servant. You did not want Roxanne to drink this herbal tea? Well too bad, because now she was able to have a taste of it anyway! At least now I do not have to worry about this tea containing any kind of weird medicine or drugs in it like I was doing when I came to pick Roxanne up, because after that little Bandit raid incident, I think I have done more than enough to get on Alan-san¡¯s good side and succeeded in showing him that I do not have any ill intentions in regards to him or the business he is running. Thanks to that, we not only managed to secure ourselves a letter of recommendation for a slave trading company in the Imperial City, but we also (probably) cemented our business partnership as the merchant and his customer, so I think that our visit here today can be describe as an all-out win-win for all parties involved.


    ¡¸Roxanne, since that new Party member of ours would be fighting together with you in the vanguard position, are there any specific things or qualities you would like them to possess? Any suggestions or wishes at all?¡¹


    ¡¸Hmm. . .  no, not really. I think that whatever master chooses to go with is going to be the best choice possible.¡¹


    Whatever I choose will be the best choice possible huh? The thing is, ¡¸What I want¡¹ is exactly why I am so troubled right now. Well, that was more or less the answer that I was expecting. Well since Roxanne herself said that she is going to leave that to me, I guess there is nothing to worry about, aside from if she is going to end up getting along with the girl that I will end up choosing. I got Roxanne because Alan-san assured me that she is going to be amazing and it turned out that he was right, so if we look at it from that perspective, the Dwarf girl should be amazing as well, even though her training is still incomplete. I just have to keep my mind open and judge her as she is without being prejudiced towards her.


    I talked with Roxanne for a bit, and after a while, Alan-san came back to us.


    ¡¸She is going to be here soon, but before that, I would like you to take a look at the male slaves first. Pardon me for suggesting this, but would you mind having your companion wait in the other room while I bring all of them here? I think that this is going to be the best thing to do safety-wise.¡¹

 Volume 4 - CH 1.10

    ¡¸You are right. This seems like the most sensible thing to do since we do not know what these guys might have done if they saw a girl as beautiful as Roxanne.¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm, master. . . I really think that it will not be necessary to. . . ¡¹


    ¡¸No, Roxanne. I have to agree with Alan-san here. Leaving you in one room with a bunch of guys who did not have any contact with a woman, especially one as beautiful and attractive as you is definitely not a good idea, so please, do me this kindness and wait in the next room until the male slaves are all gone, all right?¡¹


    ¡¸Understood, master. I will trust in your judgement.¡¹


    Okay, that¡¯s good. If she was to stay in here while the male slaves were brought in, then it was pretty much a given that all hell would have broken loose, especially if these guys have been here for a long time without any contact with the members of the opposite sex whatsoever. If they saw someone like Roxanne after such a long period of (at least I assume) sexual abstinence and probably not being in contact with women for such a long time, it might even be possible that they would try to rebel against Alan-san if only it meant that they could have a shot at pushing Roxanne down and having their way with her.


    And just like that, after leaving Roxanne waiting in the guest room, I went after Alan-san upstairs to have a look at the male slaves he had available at the moment. After scaling the set of stairs onto the first floor, we entered one of the room that was the closest to the stairs. And there. . . . . .


    Uhm. . .  yeah, okay, I. . .  oh my fucking god where do I even begin with this one?


    When I entered the room, the sight before me could only be described as. . . overwhelming, to the point where even if I wanted to comment on what I just saw, the words did not want to leave my mouth no matter what. Just one glance at them was enough to fill my head with all sorts of questions that I wanted to ask Alan-san, but I do not know if he will not find some of them to be offensive. These guys are. . .  they certainly look like all of them could fit into the vanguard position exceptionally well. But, the thing is. . .


    They are all scary as fuck! I am literally, legitimately scared of all of them! Was Alan-san really expecting me to pick one of those? I mean, I probably would have chosen one of them, but only if I was desperate enough not to seek any potential alternatives, and let me tell you, I am not that desperate just yet! For the current me, picking someone from among them is utterly impossible. If I could, I would have respectfully declined and left the room right now, but I feel like I cannot do it out of fear that they are simply going to get killed by them if I so much as look at them the wrong way. . .  but surely none of them would have risked that now, would they? No, with the owner by my side all this time, I am sure that none of them would have tried to do anything stupid. . . unless I am wrong of course and they would have jumped at the opportunity to kill us both the first chance they got? No, that should not be possible. Since they are slaves who belong to Alan-san¡¯s Slave Shop, or, in other words, they are Alan-san¡¯s slaves right now, they should be bound by the limitations of the master-slave contract, meaning that if they off him, then they will kick the bucket as well.


    Man now I am really glad that I did not take Roxanne here with me. If she were to come inside this room together with us, this place would definitely turn into a bloodbath regardless of the master killing countermeasures protecting Alan-san. If that scenario came to pass, then I think I would have no choice but to defend myself with my sword. . .  which I did not have on me right now, because what kind of idiot would be walking into a store with a weapon from the visit to the Labyrinth still on him, huh? A suspicious idiot, that is who, and I am definitely not someone like that. And even if I had it with me, there is no guarantee that I would have been able to brandish it in time to actually defend myself.


    No, the longer I stay here, the more I want to leave. I want nothing to do with those guys, I just want to get the fuck out of here and forget I was ever in there.


    We were not the only people in the room. Other than Alan-san, myself and the male slaves, there were also guys who looked like bodyguards in the corners of the room, but to be honest, their presence did not do much to make me feel safer. They had the same look to them as the gangsters in all those detective movies, you know, the ones that would hand around dark alleys in the middle of the night just so that they could mug you from all your belongings and then just straight up shank you in the gut just for the hell of it? Yeah, that kind of gangsters. The way they looked at me was telling me one thing: they were ridiculing me for being here, wanting to buy slaves, but you know what? Perhaps they are right. I mean, if I really decided to take one of those guys as my slave, I am sure that I would have ended up dead or rebelled against after only a few days, because money is not the only thing you have to possess if you want to have your own slaves. You also need enough charisma to make them not want to murder you simply out of spite or because they do not like you.


    Back when I was still in Japan I heard of the interviews where the interviewers were putting an unimaginable amount of pressure on the interviewees, but I never heard of the opposite thing ever happening, which was pretty ridiculous, because I am the customer here. I have come to this place looking to buy some slaves for myself and these guys were the possible candidates, and yet, not one of them looked like they gave half of a shit about it. I literally felt as if they, the examinees, were exerting pressure upon me, the examiner, to just leave them the hell alone. And believe me, that is what I wanted to do right now. Just get the hell out of there and be done with this hellish place.


    A customer intimidated by the slaves into not wanting to buy them. I do not know how much strange shit has Alan-san saw throughout his career as the Slave Shop owner, but that has got to be a first for him.


    ¡¸So, how was it? Did any of those fine man stroke your fancy?¡¹


    Alan-san asked me once we finally walked out of the room. I really wanted to tell him how I truly felt and exactly where he can stick such dumb questions. . . but now is definitely not the time for that. Just know that I would never decided to buy any of the men who were out there, not even in the midst of the biggest desperation.


    Absolutely impossible. Not in a million years. But if he needs to hear an answer, then I might as well tell it to him in such a way:


    ¡¸They all look incredibly promising. . . but I just do not think that someone like me could utilize the [people with such talents properly. ¡¹


    That is not me being humble by any chance. That is my honest to God opinion on the subject.


    ¡¸If you would like to interview some of them individually, then that can certainly be arranged.¡¹


    Is what he says now. Thank you very much for your willingness to do something like that for me, but dude, that is not at all what I need right now. Since he is willing to go to such lengths just to help me make a purchase, then he definitely has to be a good person, or at the very least that is what I am willing to believe. Also, there might be some people who will definitely enjoy the company of such a. . .  colorful crowd, but regrettably I do not count myself among the ranks of such people.

 Volume 4 - CH 1.11

    Besides, it is not like consulting them all individually would have changed much. I just have a feeling that instead of feeling like an examiner who is being pressured by his examinees to leave the examination room so that they could all cheat away in peace, it would be a very different kind of pressure: the one similar to being invited to the office of a mob boss who then presents you with a group of his hitmen and asks you politely by which one of those you would like to be offed. Everything is nice and civil on paper, but in reality having to make such a choice is still scary as hell. And even if these guys did not look scary, there is another issue I would have to deal with: the issue of their compatibility with my own tactics and Roxanne in the vanguard. Ugh, this is turning into a real dilemma here! I know I said myself that I do not want any other guys in my Party besides me, but what if some of those beefcakes upstairs turned out to be a really great addition to have with us in the Labyrinths? Should I have just swallow my pride, close my eyes and choose someone from among them, taking one for the team? No, now that we have already went back downstairs it is already too late for that, so there is no point in thinking what could have been. I guess right now everything hinges on how the Dwarven girl is going to turn up, because if she also happens to be a no-go, then the future of my three-people Party that I have been dreaming of is going to look very bleak.


    ¡¸Welcome back, master? How was it? Did any of the candidates looked promising to you?¡¹


    Roxanne greeted me with a smile and asked once we have come back to the guest room after that terrifying ordeal in the male slave¡¯s room upstairs. Ahh, after seeing those awful manly faces up there, the sight of her reminded me of a Goddess. . . no, I guess you could say that Roxanne is my Goddess, and there would be no exaggeration in me saying that, since she has always been saving me, in more ways than one. She is beautiful, she is kind, she always listens to whatever I have to say without cutting in before I finish speaking, she is the most reliable help I could have ever asked for during our exploration of the Labyrinths, her boobs are big, she hugs onto me whenever we finish going at it before going to sleep, she wakes me up each day with deep kisses, her skin is soft and the list could go on and on and on without end, but for now, I think that me gratitude towards her can best be surmised with one, simple sentence.


    ¡¸Roxanne.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes? What is it, master?¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you for always being here for me.¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yes, of course, master.¡¹


    Roxanne did not seem to realize what I was thanking her for, but I do not care about that. What is really important here is the fact that I confirmed once and for all that I do not want male slaves in my Party at all. Ever.


    ¡¸And about your question: choosing someone form among those male slaves would have been very difficult. . . for a variety of reasons.¡¹


    I threw my body on the sofa and then stroked Roxanne¡¯s doggy ears in order to calm myself down. For some reason, I felt very tired, but instead of a physical kind f exhaustion, it was more of a mental one. I guess being around those male slaves, even if it was for but a brief moment, must have done a real number on my fragile psyche, huh? But it does not matter anymore. Roxanne is back at my side, and her presence is all that I need in order to heal my wounded heart. And the softness of this sofa is a nice addition to that as well. Feeling better already, I took a sip of the herbal tea.


    ¡¸Ah, master, that is. . . ¡¹


    ¡¸Hmm? What is it, Roxanne? Is something wrong? Oh, did someone else drank from my teacup while I was away?¡¹


    ¡¸N-No, but. . .¡¹


    ¡¸Then there is no problem. Everything is exactly as it should be.¡¹


    As long as I am the only one drinking from the same cup as Roxanne, everything is a-okay.


    Alan the Slave Merchant also returned back to the guest room a little while later.


    ¡¸Just like you saw just now, those male slaves are the ones who would definitely be capable of holding on their own in the Labyrinth, making them a pretty good addition to the vanguard position, if I can say so myself.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I could definitely see that. By the way, can I ask about their price? Because we have yet to discuss that, if memory serves me correctly.¡¹


    ¡¸But of course. The value of the slaves who can be taken to the Labyrinths as Party members is naturally higher than that of the regular slaves. The cheaper ones usually cost up to one hundred and fifty thousand Nars, and the ones who are at their peak physical condition can go up to two hundred and fifty thousand Nars per slave.¡¹


    ¡¸Uh-huh, I see, I see.¡¹


    One hundred and fifty thousand to two hundred and fifty thousand for a male slave?! Is this guy for real? I would never pay so much for such criminal-looking mountains of muscle! And also, is it just me, or are slaves who are capable of being utilized as Party members in the Labyrinths are generally more expensive than the good-looking female ones? Should it not be the other way around? Well, I guess Roxanne is an exception to that rule, since she is both beautiful and can handle herself against the monsters of the Labyrinth thanks to her divine dodging abilities.


    When it comes to the price of the slaves, I always thought that the price of the slaves meant purely for the physical labour should be determined by how hard they will work and how much they can earn, and in the case of female slaves, the price would be based on how good-looking they are, but I guess it is not all as simple as I thought it out to be.


    As I was thinking about those things, I heard what sounded like a gentle knock on the room¡¯s door.


    ¡¸Come in.¡¹


    Alan-san gave the order.


    ¡¸Her preparations have been finished. She is ready to be presented to the customer.¡¹


    The one who walked through the door was an older lady who looked like she was one of the shop¡¯s employees. After she bowed respectfully to Alan-san, she looked at Roxanne and gave her a small nod of her head, and Roxanne also nodded back at her. Could it be that this is this older lady who was taking care of Roxanne while she was still living here, the same old lady whom Roxanne wanted to save from the Bandit attack?


    ¡¸Go on then, bring her here.¡¹


    ¡¸As you wish, sir.¡¹


    When Alan-san gave the order, the older lady walked out through the door and brought another girl back with her. She was a short one, reaching only as high as the older lady¡¯s chest, so she must definitely still be a child. She is probably only around one hundred and fourty centimeters, perhaps even shorter.


    ¡¸As per your request, Michio-sama. Here is the only Dwarf this Slave Shop has to offer.¡¹


    Now then, let me Identify her real quick. . .


    Name: Sherry


    Sex: Female


    Age: 16 years old


    Job: Explorer Lv.10


    So her name is Sherry, huh? When I used Identify on her, it turned out that she is apparently sixteen years old, which would make her the same age as Roxanne. But she definitely does not look like a sixteen years old girl, which would basically make her a teenager. Maybe it is because of the specifics of the Dwarven race? But then again, even when it was written right there on the Identify screen that she is a Dwarf, I have to say that she looks totally unlike what I was expecting she could look like. To me, she looks just like a child, albeit a little bit more grown up (TL Note: Oh yeah, let us see how much time it will take for his inner lolicon to start showing up, shall we?) . If that is how young Dwarves look, then it might be entirely possible that I have seen more of them somewhere before, but I simply mistook them for regular children.

 Volume 4 - CH 1.12

    Taking a closer look at her body, it does not appear to be all that muscular and sturdy, like you would have expected from a typical fantasy Dwarf. Rather, her body is like the opposite of that particular expectation. It is small, thin, and pretty-looking. For a moment there I even thought that my Identify might have committed an oopsie by stating that she was a Dwarf, because with how thin her ears are looking, I was ready to actually call her an Elf. I do not know what the standards of health and beauty are when it comes to Dwarves, but as far as I am concerned, it looks like this girl has the proportions that are pretty much accurate for a typical person of her height. But I do not mean it in an insulting way, as in trying to pint out that she looks malnourished or underdeveloped for her age. She looks small and well-balanced in a positive sense of the word. She does not have all that much going on in the breasts department, but her overall style and figure are both good. Her hair is jet-black and fluffy, and her face gives off a pretty gentle impression, complimented by her lively, clear, big eyes and small, perky nose, finished by her mouth which is also small and somewhat tight-looking. I do not know why, but for some reason that specific type of beauty she is representing reminds me of Italian women. I do not know why I thought about them specifically, but that was literally the first thing that has popped into my head when I was trying to find something from my old world to compare her to. (TL Note: Yeah? Then apologize to any Italian girls who might be reading this, or Italians in general!) That is kinda strange, huh? Even though I am Japanese, which means that I should be primarily drawn towards a more Japanese-style of beauty, I still find an Italian style of beauty compelling and attractive. I wonder if it is like that for everyone or is it just my own peculiarity?


    Anyway, all things considered, this Sherry girl can definitely be called a beautiful girl. Yes, that is right, even though she might look like a kid, a beautiful lady should still be called a beautiful lady regardless of the circumstances. Now, if she manages to grow a bit more and takes a proper care of her hair, then I am sure that one day she will definitely be able to pass for a real celebrity lady. And while we are on the subject of her hair: they are thick and glossy all throughout her head, giving a slightly strange impression. They are also not long, reaching to about the length of her shoulders, and she has them tied to the sides at both left and right side of her head.


    ¡¸Now then, Sherry. Come here and introduce yourself properly.¡¹


    Alan-san beaconed the girl, who was standing at the door shyly, to come closer to us.


    ¡¸Yes.¡¹


    She came over to us, stood upright and bowed her head respectfully. When she did that, the entire head of her black hair shook unnaturally, or rather it wobbled like a big pile of black pudding, as if it was trying to catch up to the rest, which was admittedly kind of cute in its own right, if only a tad bit disturbing.


    ¡¸Good day to you, mister. My name is Sherry, a Dwarf and a Lv.10 Explorer. Thank you very much for considering me.¡¹


    When she finished her self-introduction, Sherry came closer to the Slave Merchant, who showed her with his hand to sit on the sofa in front of the one Roxanne and I were sitting on. Since she introduced herself as a Dwarf and an Explorer, there can be no doubt that these are her real race and Job, not that I needed that confirmation from her since I have my Identify Skill that essentially told me everything that I needed to know about her. I also confirmed that she is a very beautiful girl, but I cannot say that I feel as smitten with her like when I saw Roxanne for the first time when I came to this shop. I wonder why is that? Is it because I already have Roxanne with me? Or maybe because my mind sees this girl as a child and automatically switches itself into non-arousal mode whenever I look at her?


    Now this is a dilemma. I wanted to create myself a harem of beautiful slave girls, but when I have someone as perfect as Roxanne, then should I really force myself to establish romantic relationships with other girls? But since my relationship with Roxanne got to where it is now only after I have become her master, then maybe the same could happen with other girls as I added them to my Party/harem as the time goes on?


    Then suddenly, I got reminded of how reality of the male-female relationships worked in my old world. Back there, the popular guys were actually the douchebags who always did everything in their power to ignore the girls who were clearly showing signs of being interested in them, and that cold shoulder treatment was exactly what was making those douches even more popular, because apparently all the girls love bad ¡¸Bad Boys¡¹who do not care about them in the slightest, while the legitimately good guys who were trying to actively pursue the girls they liked and showed signs of being interested in them were almost always branded as creeps, pervs and degenerates, and due to those stigmas their already low popularity was getting even lower, plummeting straight into the negative zone. On the other hand, if two girls were into the same guy and they happened to get to know about each other. . .  well, let me just say that in such a scenario all sorts of nasty things could happen, because if there is something women hate more than liars and cheating boyfriend sin this world, that is definitely other women who try to put their hands on something that belongs to them.


    But. . . would something like that really happen if I started to see Sherry in a more romantic, less purely professional light? No, Roxanne is not someone who would cause harm to others over such a petty reason. . . or at least I think she is not. The again, you can never know for sure until things like that finally happen, so. . . urgh, damn it, all this thinging about this if¡¯s and maybe¡¯s is making my head hurt!


    Okay, she is sitting right in front of me right now, so this is a good chance to have a proper look at her and reevaluate my initial impression of her. I can definitely say that this girl ¨C Sherry ¨C does not possess a typical sex appeal of a woman, but she is definitely a beautiful girl. Even though she appears to be the quiet and timid type, I can still tell what a nice girl she really is, especially after having my eyes brutally defiled by all of those male slaves in the room upstairs. It would not be an understatement to also say that she seems to possess some kind of mysterious charm to her.


    I guess she is pretty enough in my book. Not the type of girl I am personally into, but also definitely the one that I would not be embarrassed to be seen walking around in town. . . no! No Michio, stop this wicked train of thought at once! Why are you thinking about her in the categories of a girlfriend when you already have Roxanne who fulfills that role?! That is right, Roxanne is for the purpose of having fun with her during the night, while this girl would be focused primarily on the task of supporting Roxanne on the front lines during our expeditions into the Labyrinths. Of course, if a beautiful girl like Sherry did not have anything against it then that would have been an entirely different story. . . but let us not think about it, for now at least.


    ¡¸Sherry, if you do not mind, would you answer a few of my questions?¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm. . .  I, uhhhh . . . .¡¹


    She looked at me, then at Alan-san, then once more at me and Alan-san, who nodded at her silently, communicating to her that it is fine for her to be talking with me.


    ¡¸O-Okay, I will try to answer them to the best of my ability!¡¹


    ¡¸Great. Now, you mentioned that you are a Lv.10 Explorer, right? If that is the case, then does that mean that you do not have any problems with entering the Labyrinths?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. And I will try to do my very best while inside!¡¹

 Volume 4 - CH 1.13

    ¡¸Oh really? Well, how nice of you to be so eager.¡¹


    I only asked her if she was comfortable with entering the Labyrinths as a kind of formality, but the level of eagerness she displayed with that one simple sentence has admittedly been quite admirable. There is no doubt that Roxanne and I will be able to hold our own against the monsters in there, but I wonder how Sherry herself is going to perform since she is only a Lv.10 Explorer, because when I look at her arms, which are currently placed on the table between us, they are pretty thin and unassuming. Also, even though she said that she id going to do her best, right now she had a pretty hesitant look on her face, as if she just remembered something unpleasant that she forgot to mention in the heat of the moment. So, are there some ¡¸buts¡¹ to her readiness to go to the Labyrinths, perhaps? Maybe she was only saying that she will eagerly go there to increase her own appeal in my eyes, but in reality she was scared after all?


    ¡¸Uhm. . . ¡¹


    ¡¸Yes? What is it?¡¹


    ¡¸I, uhm. . .  well. . . ¡¹


    Sherry was obviously gathering courage to tell me something, but just was not able to do it, so she looked back at Alan-san, as if she was waiting for him to encourage her. He simply closed his eyes and nodded quietly once again. She nodded back at him, took a few deep breathes, and. . .


    ¡¸Mr. Costumer, the thing is. . . ¡¹


    ¡¸Go on, I am listening.¡¹


    ¡¸As I already said when I introduced myself, I am a Lv.10 Explorer.¡¹


    ¡¸That is right. And when I asked if you would be fine with going into the Labyrinths, you eagerly expressed your readiness to do so.¡¹


    Besides, I already knew that she was a Lv.10 Explorer from the appraisal I did on her with Identify.


    ¡¸Right, I said that. But, you see. . . ¡¹


    Uh-huh, so there really is some kind of catch to it, huh? Well, might as well hear about it since she is willing to speak about it herself without any forceful prodding.


    ¡¸Do you have some sort of problem with it?¡¹


    Maybe it is some kind of traumatic event from her past?


    ¡¸It is just that. . .  I was unable to become a Master Smith.¡¹


    Huh? Now that is curious.


    ¡¸Before you continue, let me make sure that I understand what you said just now. You said that you were ¡¸unable to become a Master Smith¡¹? Why is that? Could you elaborate on that some more?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, of course. Since Master Smith is a Job that is mutually exclusive to the Dwarven race, every Dwarf has a chance of obtaining that Job when they reach Lv.10 in the Explorer Job. However, not every Dwarf can have the aptitude to actually become one. Generally, it is believed that it can only happen to those Dwarves who are exceptionally talented at exploring the Labyrinths.¡¹


    So she does have a problem, and I think that I can more or less guess what is it going to be about, but I am going to ask her about it directly anyway.


    ¡¸Hmm. . .  so what you are trying to say is that you did not obtain the Job of a Master Smith when you aquired Lv.10 as an Explorer, is that right?¡¹


    ¡¸. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . yes. That is right.¡¹


    Sherry¡¯s face darkened and she lowered it down when I guessed what was the reason of her being so troubled. A belief that if you are talented enough of a Dwarf, you can become a Master Smith when you reach Lv.10as an Explorer, huh? What a curiously peculiar way of putting one of this world¡¯s game mechanics into words.


    She is a Lv.10 Explorer, and yet she is not a Master Smith. In other words, something must have happened to prevent her from obtaining that Job when she reached the appropriate level for obtaining it, and that must have caused both her and everyone around her to deem her as not talented enough, resulting in her not having the Job of a Master Smith right now. But is that really a reason for thinking that you will not be able to do any good in the Labyrinths? Normally I would say that I do not mind it all that much, but since I came here explicitly because I wanted a Dwarven Master Smith to join my Party, this can prove to be quite a serious issue. . .


    But is that really the case? Not being able to become a Master Smith because you do not have enough innate talent, I mean?


    When I first came to this world, I was able to aquire the Job of a Thief almost instantly because I took some old, worn-out sandals from a barn where I have woken up, and shortly after I obtained the Job of a Hero by helping the villagers of Somara village deal with the Bandit attack which happened shortly after I left the barn. So, if someone like me could obtain Jobs in such random ways, then why would it be any different for anyone else? In the first place Master Smith already has a restriction placed upon it, the one that says that only Dwarves can become them, so adding another one to it, and the one saying that you also need to be talented at that, would be just plain stupid and unreasonable. Also, another issue that I see here, but it actually can be applied to my old world as well: how in the glaring hell do you measure talent?!


    Maybe it is just that Master Smith has some other requirements for unlocking it other than simply reaching Lv.10 as an Explorer? Like maybe, well I do not know, having the value of your INT stat at eighty points or higher? No, that is probably not what this is about. Since she was able to talk about the Dwarves and Master Smith Job in such a reasonably well-esteemed manner, I would hazard a guess that her INT stat must be pretty high. Then maybe it is about having your STR stat at eighty points or higher?


    Whenever I use the Character Reset Bonus Skill in order to change my stat distribution, one Bonus Point can be used to increase the value of any given stat by one point, so theoretically the requirement of having a STR stat at eighty points or higher to unlock access to certain Jobs would not be all that far-fetched. For example, it would make more than enough sense if the conditions for unlocking the Master Smith Job were as follows: Have the STR stat of at least eighty points or higher and become a Lv.10 Explorer. But that is only my speculation, and nothing that has been firmly set in stone. Even if I wanted to ask Roxanne about it, it would not do me any good, since the inhabitants of this world do not know that Bonus Points even exist in the first place, and explaining to her that you can convert them to increase your stats would be too much work. But if my hypothesis turned out to be true after all, then it would serve as a nice explanation of Sherry¡¯s predicament, because if Dwarves really needed at least eighty points in the STR stat and a Lv.10 in the Job of an Explorer, then that would explain why they treated someone with STR below eighty as someone inferior and without innate talent.


    I glanced at Sherry¡¯s face once more. It is definitely cute. It would be areal shame not to add someone as cute as her to my Party just because she does not have a Job that I am currently after. But if I were to nitpick a little bit, then I would have to say that her hair look like they are dirty, not to mention that the way she has them made is more than a little unappealing. She would definitely benefit from having them thoroughly washed and combed. Or maybe my impression of her is like that because Roxanne was practically perfect since the first moment the two of us met? From my first visit here, I always thought that she was too beautiful for her own good (even if back then I thought if was a trap that Alan-san set for me, but let us not talk about that anymore).


    But you know, now that I think about it, it is a given that I would see the difference in the level of hygene between Roxanne and Sherry.

 Volume 4 - CH 1.14

    After all, ever since Roxanne became my slave, we wiped each other¡¯s bodies with wet warm towels, and recently we even began o take regular baths, now with the addition of soap! So if Roxanne was able to become such a beauty simply by taking proper care of her hygiene, just imagine what kind of cutie Sherry would become if the same could be done for her! But that is the talk for the possible future. Let me get back to the matter at hand for the time being.


    ¡¸Would you mind if I asked you something in regards to that problem of yours?¡¹


    ¡¸N-No, not at all. Please, go ahead.¡¹


    ¡¸Then, why is it that you supposedly cannot become a Master Smith after you reach Lv.10 as Explorer? Is it absolutely impossible for you to acquire this Job now that you have already reached that level without obtaining it beforehand?¡¹


    If she knew that there are other ways of obtaining Jobs other then possessing the innate talent to do so, she would definitely not be so depressed about not being talented enough.


    ¡¸In order to join the Master Smith¡¯s Guild you have to obtain the Master Smith Job before reaching Lv.10 as Explorer, otherwise you will not get accepted, but it is not like there are no precedents of allowing Job Changes past that point.¡¹


    That is what she said.


    ¡¸I see.¡¹


    It is just as I have suspected. There must be another condition to unlock the Job of a Master Smith. It really would have been strange if something as vague as ¡¸talent¡¹ would be a legitimate requirement for unlocking a Job, so instead, the word talent is probably used in place of some obscure, unknown condition that has to be fulfilled, but if I could just figure out what that condition is, it should be possible to enable Sherry to become a Master Smith.


    Of course, after thinking about it some more, that other requirement has to be something different than simply having eighty points put into STR, because that would have been too obvious and pretty much every Dwarf would be able to become Master Smith and we would not be in need of having this discussion and all this thinking. If I were to hazard a wild guess, then I would say that the conditions for unlocking the Job of a Master Smith are a little bit stricter than that, but even despite that, even if Sherry does not have it at this point, she should be able to get her hands on the Master Smith Job as long as she would be able to meet the mysterious other requirement. Of course, there is always a possibility that she will not be able to get it even if we do discover what that requirement is and she manages to fulfill it, so the question that I need to ask myself now is: how probable that possibility is? Should I estimate that an attempt at getting it will end in failure, or will it be a striking success?


    Let me see: first thing¡¯s first, buying a Dwarven Master Smith slave is a very difficult endeavor, and the one in which Identify will not do me any good, since it is practically impossible to determine if a slave was a Master Smith or not, and there is also a risk of someone pretending to be a Master Smith while in reality they are not.


    However, if I end up buying Sherry and she does not end up obtaining the Master Smith Job, it is going to be fine as well, because we will still fulfill our initial objective: obtaining another Party member who will fight alongside us in the Labyrinths, so this is the amount of potential risk that I am more than willing to take. If that would come to pass, she would fight together with Roxanne in the vanguard while I would have focused on using magic from the safety of the back row, and outside of the Labyrinths I would have her help with household chores if she could not do smithing. Besides, I cannot quite put my finger on it, but Sherry seems to have that unique appeal to her that makes me think that it would be a huge waste to allow her to pass us by simply because she does not have a Job that I was searching for.


    Initially I thought that maybe the requirements for unlocking the Master Smith Job will be to attain Lv.10 as an Explorer and have your STR stat at eighty points or higher, but maybe it is actually that you have to get those eighty points of STR specifically before reaching Lv.10 as an Explorer. If that was to be the case, then no matter how strong you got afterwards, i.e no matter how many points you would invest in increasing the value of your STR stat, you would never be able to become a Master Smith no matter how hard you tried. Looking at it from such an angle, I guess it could be argued that talent does play a role here: talent to get your STR stat to a desired value before reaching the threshold of the natural barrier that is reaching Lv.10 as an Explorer. But if all of that proved to be a wrong assumption and STR stat does not have anything to do with becoming a Master Smith, then there was still hope left for Sherry, even though she already reached Lv.10 as an explorer.


    ¡¸Uhm, I know that it will probably not mean much, but back in my village, before I was made to be a slave, I was one of its strongest inhabitants! In terms of comparing myself to the other Dwarves, I also think that both my strength and height can be said to be well above average! I am also willing to enter the Labyrinths with you to earn money for my own upkeep, and I swear I will never do anything that would hinder your actions, Mr. Customer! So once again, thank you sincerely for considering me!¡¹


    Sherry bowed her head deeply before me. It was a touching gesture, but a part of me began to think that perhaps she was trying a little bit too hard to appeal to me. Is she doing that of her own accord, or perhaps she was commanded to do so by Alan-san? Either way, I began to feel suspicious, because no matter how you would look at it, it is quite unusual for a slave to be promoting herself like that to a potential customer.


    My suspicions must have been written all over my face, because when Alan-san looked at me, he cleared his throat with an *Ekhem!* sound and said:


    ¡¸Michio-sama, would you like to have a moment for yourself so that you could make your decision regarding Sherry¡¯s purchase?¡¹


    Yeah, he definitely read the subtle reactions from my face and tried to urge me to make a decision as fast as possible.


    ¡¸Sure, why not?¡¹


    ¡¸Well then. . . ¡¹


    When I expressed my willingness to consider whether to buy Sherry or not, Alan-san nodded at me, placed his hand on Sherry¡¯s shoulder and escorted her out of the room, leaving me alone with Roxanne so we could talk about what we would like to do next.


    ¡¸*Sigh* You know what, Roxanne? I just do not understand why this Sherry girl was so proactive. . . no, proactive does not even begin to describe it. It would be way better to say that she was really aggressive in her attempts to try and appeal to me. I really do not get it.¡¹


    Now that there was just the two of us here, I could finally allow myself to talk openly without being careful with literally each and every word that would be leaving my mouth. What I meant by what I said to Roxanne was that I cannot understand why would Sherry go to such lengths to get on my good side, when all the other slaves offered by this shop displayed attitudes towards me that were vastly different from hers. The other female slaves from the time of my first visit here had a straight up bad attitude towards me or appeared to be utterly disinterested in my person, and the male ones from my trip upstairs today. . . well, I would not say that their attitude was bad, more like they did not have any attitude at all, just standing there all menacingly without saying as much as a word, and those criminal mug of their certainly did not help them to advertise themselves in any positive way.


    If I was a kid in Sherry¡¯s position, I definitely would have done everything I could to improve my situation, so maybe she was doing it for exactly that reason?

 Volume 4 - CH 1.15

    But even with all that said, that still does not make it clear to me why she would be so aggressive in her attempts to convince me to buy her.


    ¡¸Master, if I may add something, then I would say that she probably did that because she thought that the conditions were favorable.¡¹


    ¡¸Conditions were. . .  favorable? I do not know about you, but if someone were to approach me and said that they are going to be diving head first into the danger-filled places like the Labyrinths and then asked me to join them in that endeavor, it would have had the opposite effect on me.¡¹


    That is definitely not something that I would have been thrilled or overjoyed about.


    ¡¸Obviously, that would normally be the case, but I think that it is precisely because she learned that we are going into the Labyrinths that she has been putting so much effort into promoting herself to us as a reliable companion.¡¹


    If that is indeed the case with her then I can say that I can definitely sympathize with her. When I first arrived in this world, the only way for me to make money as a total rookie was to either go to the Labyrinths, hunt monsters in there and sell the money obtained from their Drop Items. Ahh, those were the days that I do not remember all that fondly. Also. Depending on the person, they are going to perceive the degree of danger differently. Some may consider going to the Labyrinth by yourself to be the peak of danger, while some may consider going through it while taking orders from a leader they deem as incompetent to be infinitely more hazardous to their well-being.


    ¡¸So if this girl was going through such lengths just to make sure that you would buy her, master, then I think it is safe to say that she has been looking for someone like you from the start. Incidentally, that was my goal as well.¡¹


    Is that so? Because I think this is actually the first time when she talked about it so openly. So Roxanne back then and Sherry right now have at least one thing that they have in common: meeting me was like killing two birds with one stone to them, and frankly, knowing that I was the one whom they found the most suitable for their needs made me feel good about myself.


    ¡¸Ah, of course, if master ever decides that you no longer feel the need for us to be going into the Labyrinths, then please allow me to continue loyally serving you by your side.¡¹


    As expected of Roxanne. So reliable, regardless of circumstances.


    ¡¸Okay, so, time for the real talk now. Roxanne, from your perspective, does that Dwarven girl look like she is promising? Or is she only going to slow us down?¡¹


    I asked for her honest opinion. Since Alan-san was oh so nice to give Roxanne and I the time to consult each other on our opinion on Sherry without anyone else disturbing us, might as well milk that opportunity for all that it is worth. Now that he is not here we do not have to watch ourselves, so me can exchange our true, unbiased opinions, and there is nothing that he can do to influence that in any way, even if we ultimately decide not to buy Sherry.


    ¡¸Well, let me think for a moment. . . I do not know all that much about Dwarves, but even though she claimed to have no talent whatsoever, then as long as she will be willing to work hard and improve and put in some actual effort, then I think I would be able to train her into a truly formidable ally in no time!¡¹


    ¡¸I-I see. . . that. . . that is good to hear.¡¹


    Although the way Roxanne got fired up thinking about whipping Sherry into a proper fighting shape does look a little bit scary. If it does end up happening, I hope she will not be putting her through any kind of hellish training regiments. Also, her eagerness to help her learn the ropes of being a vanguard fighter sets my heart at ease for a wholly different reason: it looks like, for now at least, Roxanne does not have anything against our newest Party member being another girl (maybe because she does not see her as a rival due to how childish she looks because of her height?), so at the very least I can rest assured when I comes to that particular matter.


    ¡¸Also. . . and forgive me if it sounds wicked, master, but while I do not think that in her current state she will not be able to play any kind of active role in our Party for quite some time, her price should be sufficiently low because of that, and just that fact alone should make her purchase a pretty decent choice.¡¹


    Oh? Well well well, would you look at that. I was somewhat worried that I was the only one here who was having wicked, materialistic thoughts, but apparently it was not like that at all.


    ¡¸Eh? ¡¸She will not be able to play any kind of active role in our Party¡¹? What do you mean by that? I thought that since she is the same age as you, Roxanne, so I thought that this would be a good sign.¡¹


    ¡¸Normally that would be the case, but looking at her ears told me that she must be getting on in years, so before you make the final decision on whether to buy her or not, you would be wise to confirm her actual age, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Huh?¡¹


    Confirm her age? But at the moment when I used Identify on her earlier, it clearly showed that Sherry was sixteen years old, just like Roxanne, so by all accounts and purposes that should make her a very young person. So what was Roxanne trying to say by that? Does she mean that Dwarves have a generally short lifespan so I should take that under advisement?


    ¡¸The ears of Dwarves are pretty thick from the moment they are born and they gradually get thinner as they age. To that note, I noticed that her ears are already pretty thin.¡¹


    ¡¸I see.¡¹


    Roxanne explained to me as I was twisting my head to the side in wonder. Come to think of it, Dwarves tend to be described like that in some works of fiction, are they not? Not to mention that it was actually Alan-san who explained to me that different races have different aging processes and thresholds, so for Dwarves it must be shown through the thinness and thickness of their ears. If it is like that here as well, then maybe I could just ¡¸casually¡¹ remark that she looks older than she really is and see how the slave merchant is going to react to that.


    And speaking of the Slave Merchant, as soon as we finished talking, he returned to the room together with Sherry and the old lady who brought her here before. I do not know if it is just me, but his timing in doing so seemed too perfect to be coincidental. Was he somehow able to tell that the situation was turning bad for him? Or maybe he was actually eavesdropping on us the entire time?


    When Roxanne saw the old lady, her face immediately brightened up and she started to wag her tail happily. She then turned towards me and asked:


    ¡¸Master, would it be all right for me to leave my seat for a moment? That lady over there is the one that was taking care of me while I was here, so I would love to talk with her and thank her for everything she has done for me.¡¹


    ¡¸Sure, go right ahead and have a nice, long chat.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes! I definitely will!¡¹


    Roxanne bowed to me and then to Alan-san, and then she left the room together with the old lady. Alan-san sat on the sofa in front of me, waited until the door to the room closes with a silent click, and when he was sure the we were the only ones left in the room, he leaned forward and asked:


    ¡¸So, how was the Dwarven girl? What to you think of her?¡¹


    ¡¸Well. . .  she definitely was not bad, but I guess it will all depend on the price. Also, could you tell me how old Sherry is? Because even though she said so herself, I would still like to hear it from you.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. Very well, as you wish.¡¹


    Even if Alan-san was displeased with the current situation, he did not allow it to show on his face.

 Volume 4 - CH 1.16

    ¡¸Sherry is a sixteen years old Dwarf who failed to become a Master Smith, but she has agreed to become a sex slave. Moreover, she is still a virgin, so there will be no risk of you catching any disease from her in the event that you decide to buy her.¡¹


    Now that Roxanne has left her seat, he can finally speak freely about such things, huh? Or maybe it is actually the other way around, and he arranged for the old lady to come here with him precisely because he wanted to use her as bait in order to draw Roxanne out of the room so that we could talk about those definitely sensitive topics? Well I will be damned, I really was not the only one having wicked thoughts after all! Moreover, it would seem that everyone else around me thought about them much more than I actually did!


    ¡¸I see.¡¹


    ¡¸Michio-sama, with all due respect, I could not help but t notice that you seem to be unaware of the peculiarities of other races, so allow me to give you a helping hand by explaining one of them related to the Dwarves, since that seems to be one of your greatest concerns in regards to Sherry¡¯s purchase. Although it is true that in Dwarven culture the thinning of their ears is associated with the process of aging, I assure you that there is no need for you to be concerned about that in Sherry¡¯s case. For you see, she is something of a peculiarity even among her own kinsmen, because she was already born with her ears this thin.¡¹


    Yep, this guy definitely overheard my conversation with Roxanne and that is why he is doing his best to sweep all of my concerns aside. Now, the question is how much of it is actually true, and how much of it is just lip service aimed at getting the negotiation back to the course that is more favorable for him.


    ¡¸Michio-sama, since you are so concerned about Sherry¡¯s price, then if I were in your place I would have considered here a real bargain, since that curious feature of hers actually lowers her overall price for a bit.¡¹


    Then maybe it was actually good thing that he was listening in on our conversation? Because without that, I am sure that he would have definitely tried to set the price for her to be as high as possible. Man am I glad that I managed to buy Roxanne at a real bargain price, although it was the one that required the most legwork out of me when I was still not all that well versed in how this world and its Labyrinths worked.


    ¡¸Let me get this straight, just to make sure that I understand it correctly: you are willing to lower Sherry¡¯s price even though no member of the races other than Dwarves would ever be concerned about such a minor detail like the shape of her ears?¡¹


    ¡¸Actually, it is the other way around: I am doing that exactly because for the members of other races, the shape of a Dwarf¡¯s ears is the only way to determine how old they are.¡¹


    ¡¸Hmm. . .  I guess that makes sense.¡¹


    That argument was pretty understandable, since I could definitely agree that if I am to pay a large sum of money for a slave, then naturally I would prefer them to be a young, pretty gal and not someone who would just randomly keeled over and died from old age one day without any prior warnings. I mean seriously, if you are getting yourself slaves, what is even the point of them being old? They younger they are, the better. That way they could serve you for much longer, both with the household chores and in bed.


    ¡¸Another point that might be of importance to you is the fact that since Sherry is a first-year slave, then the taxes that you will have to pay for her will be that much lower.¡¹


    ¡¸A first year slave? What is that?¡¹


    That is the first time I have ever heard such a term being used, so I asked Alan-san for an explanation.


    ¡¸Usually masters, the people who own their own slaves, are required to pay ten thousand Nars per year for each slave that they own, while on the other hand, ordinary citizens living in regular households are taxed with thirty thousand Nars per year. If that difference could have been taken advantage of, then people surely would use it to commit tax evasion without a second thought. So, because of that those who are in their first year of serving as a slave after they lost their freedom are required to pay the same amount of tax money as the ordinary citizens, and Sherry¡¯s first-year tax has yet to be paid.¡¹


    So the amount of money you have to pay is thirty thousand Nars per year for the common citizens and ten thousand Nars per year for slaves, huh? Yeah, I can totally see that system being abused for the purposes of tax evasion, just like Alan-san said. When you become a slave the tax you have to pay is ten thousand Nars instead of thirty thousand Nars, so if you become a slave and then buy your freedom back soon after the taxation period ends, you will technically emerge from that situation twenty thousand Nars richer. So in order to prevent such system abuses from happening, it has been decreed that a slave who is in his or hers first year of servitude as a slave has to pay as much money as the ordinary citizen, thirty thousand Nars. I am technically classified as a Freeman who has to pay one hundred thousand Nars in tax per year for myself, so if I tried to use that trick, I could potentially save up to a whooping seventy thousand Nars in tax. However, as tempting as that method seems to be, there is one potential drawback that might hinder me from trying to go through with it: once I made myself into a slave, I might not be able to go back to being a Freeman, and that is something that I would rather not risk.


    Incidentally, what was Roxanne¡¯s tax? She mentioned that she was sold into slavery by her relatives who could not afford to pay her share of the taxes, so when I was buying Roxanne, it must have been not her first year as a slave. In that case, maybe her tax was already included in the price that I had to pay for buying her?


    ¡¸I understand.¡¹


    ¡¸I am glad to hear it. Now, because of Sherry¡¯s ears, unfortunately I am unable to sell her for the price that she is really worth. Normally, I would have charge about three hundred thousand Nars for someone like her, but there is also a matter of the fact that it has not been all that long since we have started her training, so in light of that, what would you say for a price of two hundred seventy thousand Nars for her?¡¹


    And there it is: the price that Alan-san offered me for buying Sherry. It is already much better than what I had to pay for acquiring Roxanne, but it was still a bit high because he was trying to sell not a man, but a beautiful girl who is also a virgin. In Roxanne¡¯s case I was pretty desperate due to my circumstances at the time, but right now I am not all that desperate, so I think that in this particular case I might allow myself to be just a little bit greedy.


    ¡¸Hmm. . . that price seems like it is still a little bit high. If possible, could you lower it just a bit more?¡¹


    ¡¸Then how about two hundred and sixty. . . no, two hundred and fifty Nars? That is already a very fair price, and as much as I can lower it to still call this transaction a profitable one.¡¹


    Two hundred and fifty thousand Nars, huh? That is a nice drop indeed, but let us see if we can get him to drop it down just a little bit lower.


    ¡¸So much, huh?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, that is my final offer.¡¹


    Okay, now that he has said that, pushing for any more of a discount will probably be pretty unreasonable. . . is what I would have said if it was not for the final ace up my sleeve!


    ¡¸If I may add something, I remember that when I was buying Roxanne, she came with a set of clothes included. If the same could be done with Sherry here, then what would the final price for her purchase be?¡¹

 Volume 4 - CH 1.17

    ¡¸ The clothes that that girl was wearing when you bought her? Ahh, you mean those clothes! That was an outfit that was supposed to be an imitation of the maid uniforms worn by the female servants working in the imperial palace in the Imperial City, and they are a very popular product, if I do say so myself. Most of the customers who decide to buy it always claim to be very pleased with it.¡¹


    It seems that the maid outfit that Roxanne was wearing has been designed after the ones worn by real maids, but it seems that it is mostly used for the purpose of cosplay rather than doing any kind of actual housework in it. I wonder if the nobles also have them or is it strictly reserved for the royal family at the Imperial Palace?


    ¡¸So it is something like that, huh?¡¹


    ¡¸If you want the same outfit for Sherry, then I can include it for another four thousand Nars.¡¹


    ¡¸All right, that is fine with me.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you for your purchase. As a special service for purchasing both Sherry and clothes for her, the total price is going to be 177,800 Nars.¡¹


    Since I bought more than one ¡°item¡± the thirty percent discount worked nicely. I am so glad that I decided to keep it on before coming here. With that, I can definitely say that the negotiations have been successfully completed.


    ¡¸Here you go.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you very much. Doing business with you is always a pleasure.¡¹


    I handed 14 gold coins and 378 silver coins, the payment for Sherry, away to Alan-san. It is good that I managed to lower Sherry¡¯s price so much, because if I had to pay any more for her it would be really bad for my wallet, especially since we will have to buy equipment for her as well. When Alan-san finished counting the money, he ordered his servant to take it away at about the same time when Roxanne came back to the room.


    ¡¸What did you decide about Sherry¡¯s purchase, master?¡¹


    ¡¸That she will be coming with us after all.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, is that so? That¡¯s good.¡¹


    Is it just my imagination, or did Roxanne¡¯s face look like it got very dark and cloudy for a moment there? Am I simply seeing things because of my inner guilt at buying another girl for myself even though I already have someone as perfect as Roxanne? Or maybe it is because of my selfish desire for he to be a little bit jealous of the new slave? Well, maybe her dim face was really nothing more than my imagination playing tricks on me, because she was still wearing the same welcoming smile on her face that she always has.


    Besides, it was Roxanne who said that we should buy her in the first place, so there is no point getting salty about it now, is there?


    At least that is what I thought, but maybe she was just being considerate of our needs while being opposed to the idea herself? But wouldn¡¯t showing a bad attitude now that everything was said and done counterproductive? As long as we want to continue to enter the Labyrinths, it is absolutely necessary for us to enhance the strength of our Party, and for that, we are going to need more members. Also, there is something I have to say right now, just to avoid turning that matter into a potential problem later.


    ¡¸I am terribly sorry to be pushing so much on your shoulders, Roxanne, but as her senior, would you mind looking after her and showing her the ropes on how we do things?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes! Please leave it to me, my master!¡¹


    Roxanne replied with a genuine smile on her face. Could it be a reaction to her being a senior who will have her very own junior? Whatever the case may be, I am glad that I convinced her to allow Sherry to become a part of my Party. Even after the discount, I still paid a lot of money for her, so it would be bad if she and Roxanne did not get along with each other.


    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry to have kept you waiting, Michio-sama. Sherry, go over to Michio-sama¡¯s side.¡¹


    The servant who went out with the money returned to the room, and he also brought Sherry with him. She timidly placed her hands in front of her and bowed her head to me.


    ¡¸Thank you for purchasing me. I will be in your care from now on, so please take care of me.¡¹


    ¡¸Right back at you. Please take care of me too.¡¹


    ¡¸I¡¯m Roxanne, Master Michio¡¯s Number One Slave. Let¡¯s get along with each other, shall we?¡¹


    It seems that Roxanne has climbed to the position of the Number One Slave before I even realized it. Or maybe she¡¯s calling herself that because she was the first slave that I ever bought? Yeah, that has to be it. In that case, she really is my Number One Slave.


    ¡¸So you were Mr. Michio¡¯s slave after all? Because my initial impression was that you were his pretty young wife.¡¹


    Sherry was surprised at Roxanne¡¯s remark.


    ¡¸His young wife?! N-No, not at all!¡¹


    Roxanne, you do not have to deny it so harshly like that. That hurts me pretty much, you know?


    ¡¸I heard that you were also a slave here until not too long ago, but because you have such nice clothes and the color and luster of your heir and skin are so beautiful. . . ¡¹


    ¡¸That is because master is a kind and wonderful person. Sherry, now that you are with us, you will never have to worry about food, clothing and shelter ever again.¡¹


    Then, Alan-san came to our side and said:


    ¡¸We will finalize the contract making procedure now. Your Intelligence Cards, If I may. Also, Michio-sama, confirm Sherry¡¯s age for yourself if you wish.¡¹


    Sherry and I both lifted our left hands and summoned our Intelligence Cards, and the Slave Merchant began chanting and moving his hands over them. HE wants me to confirm for myself that despite having thin ears she is still young, huh? How shrewd of him. Alright, let¡¯s see what we have here:


    Sherry


    First-year Slave


    Race: Dwarf


    Sex: Female


    Age: 16 years old


    Owner: Kaga Michio


    Job: Explorer Lv.10


    Identify has already revealed that she is 16 years old, so I am not worried about her age in the slightest. Also, her ears are thin, but I do not give a damn about that. Rather, I am thankful for them being like that, because they made her so affordable to buy.


    When I checked my own Intelligence Card I also saw that the amount of Slaves under the Owned Slaves tab now had Sherry added as well as Roxanne, meaning that it was now official that I have truly bought her.


    I wondered if there was an upper limit on the number of slaves that I could own, but it looks like that info will always be shown on my Intelligence Cards no matter how many of them there will be, so I probably do not have to worry about that. Not now, at least.


    ¡¸Okay, I am done confirming.¡¹


    ¡¸Good. Now, the clothes will take time to make. Please come to pick them up in ten days from now.¡¹


    After that, I was told the same things that I was told when I bought Roxanne.


    Now that all the formalities were completed, the three of us left the Slave Shop. When we got out, I had Sherry join our Party so that I could take a look at all of her Jobs.


    Explorer Lv.10, Villager Lv.3, Herbalist Lv.1


    As I thought, she really did not unlock the Master Smith Job. Maybe it¡¯s because she has to reach Villager Lv.5, just like it was with Warrior, Swordsman and Merchant? Also, it is pretty admirable that she does not have Thief among her available Jobs.


    Sherry has nothing but tunic and a pair of trousers. And since Roxanne also had only those clothes when I bought her, I wonder if this is a standard getup that Slave Shops give to the slaves who were bought by the clients?


    ¡¸Let¡¯s stop by the Explorers Guild for a bit.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood.¡¹


    ¡¸R-Roger!¡¹


    On the way home, we stopped by the Vale Explorers Guild so that I could buy a Black Magic Crystal. I also bought it in the morning at the Quratar Explorers Guild and used it in Vale¡¯s Labyrinth instead of the Yellow Magic Crystal. If I knew I would be buying it again today, I would have bought two in the morning to save time. After all, after fusing the Black Magic Crystal that I found, I have not been able to find any more Magic Crystals in the Labyrinth. I should have left it in my inventory, but my poor judgement got the better of me again.


    ¡¸When we¡¯re done there, we will go straight to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and return home.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood.¡¹


    ¡¸Huh? O-Okay. . . ¡¹


    It felt like Sherry was shocked a little but she still followed closely behind us.


    ¡¸What¡¯s wrong, Sherry?¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm, Miss Roxanne?. Is there a fourth member of your Party who is an Adventurer, by any chance?¡¹


    ¡¸No, there isn¡¯t why do you ask?¡¹


    ¡¸Because of how master said that we will be going home.¡¹


    Following behind me, Roxanne and Sherry were already having a conversation.


    It is the Adventurer¡¯s Skill, Field Walker, that allows Adventurers to teleport pretty much anywhere through the portal placed on the wall. Sherry also saw my Intelligence Card, so she knows I have Explorer set as my main Job. Did she think it was strange?


    ¡¸Do not worry. Just follow us and you will understand everything soon enough.¡¹


    Roxanne chose to skip the explanation, despite Sherry¡¯s need for one. Is it because I told her to keep it a secret?


    ¡¸Eh? Uhm. . . what?¡¹


    Sure enough, Sherry looked very confused when I put out the black portal of the Warp on the wall of Vale¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild. I hope she likes surprises, because there will be more of them coming her way soon enough.

 Volume 4 - CH 2.01

    Chapter 2: Intellectual Faction


    ¡ºRoxanne¡»


    ¡ºCurrent Character Levels & Equipment¡»:


    Jobs:


    Beast Warrior Lv. 21


    Equipment:


    Scimitar


    Leather Helmet


    Leather Armor


    Leather Gloves


    Sandals


    ¡¸All right, everyone ready? Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, master!¡¹


    ¡¸Sherry?¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yes!¡¹


    ¡¸Good, let is go back home then.¡¹


    I did not want to stay in the Adventurer¡¯s Guild¡¯s building for too long to avoid attracting unnecessary attention to my newly-formed three-man Party, so I decided that it would be best for us to go back home right away without any needless dilly-dallying. While acting as natural as possible, I murmured the ¡°incantation¡± for the ¡°Fieldwalker¡± spell and created Warp¡¯s black portal on the wall and walked through it, emerging in the living room of our house in Quratar on the other side. Then after a few seconds, the one who emerged first was Sherry, who was looking even more confused than before, and the last one was Roxanne, who must have gently pushed her forward from the back. Well, given her situation as the new slave who does not know what she should expect from us, I guess it is perfectly natural for her to react in such a way. I know that letting her experience the Warp sensation empirically instead of explaining it all in details to her first because that would take too much time, but even so, maybe we should give her at least some kind of warning beforehand?


    ¡¸Eh? Eeh? EEEEhhhh?!!!¡¹


    Yup, looking at her and seeing how she is just looking around while being all bewildered, letting her know that we were going to use a Skill to teleport would have been a good idea, but for now I will refrain from dumping the explanations on her all at once, and offer them to her one at a time whenever it will be necessary.


    ¡¸This is our home in the town of Quratar, which we are currently renting. For the time being, let us just sit down so that we can talk about what we should do next, okay?¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yes, of course!¡¹


    ¡¸I think the first order of business would be to go and buy any daily necessities that Sherry might need, and maybe do some minor shopping for other things if we will have any time left after that.¡¹


    Roxanne and I were sitting at the table in the dining room, while Sherry continued to stand while keeping herself behind and slightly off to Roxanne¡¯s side.


    ¡¸Yes, I do not think that shopping for things for Sherry is going to take all that long, so we can definitely do that once we are done.¡¹


    I cannot say that the presence of another person made things uncomfortable. . . but it will definitely require some getting used to. Up until now, there were only the two of us here, so the chair in front of me at the other side of the table always belonged to Roxanne so that we could sit face to face whenever we were having a meal. Both of us sit in the middle of the table, which is wide enough for six people to be sitting there at one time, three people on each side. I have made sure to choose such a table specifically because one Party can have up to six Party Members, and since I plan on having that many slaves one day, I thought that it was going to be a good long-term investment.


    ¡¸Well, it better not take long, because I still want to take a bath afterwards, so I will be depending on you to help me fill it again.¡¹


    This will also be a good occasion to see if our bath is going to be enough for more than two people, because if it turns out that it will not be enough, then we will have to order a new one to be made as soon as possible.


    ¡¸Yes, of course. I am looking forward to it as well.¡¹


    I am glad that she ended up liking baths as much as I do, because now, even if the entire day ends up being draining and tiresome, we are at least going to have something to look forward to in the evenings.


    Roxanne showed me a big smile and laughed. Dear God, her doggy ears are shaking in such a cute way whenever she is laughing. The only downside to it is that even if I wanted to pet her cute ears right now, I would not be able to do it because the table¡¯s surface effectively separates us from one another, making it impossible for me to reach to the other side without pancaking myself on the table itself.


    ¡¸Uhm. . . . . . . . . master?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes? What is it, Sherry?¡¹


    ¡¸I know it might be rude of me to ask about such a thing, but. . . . . . could it be that you are capable of using multiple Jobs? Because if so, then that would be all sorts of amazing (TL Note: Sherry, not you too!) since I only heard of such abilities in myths and legends.¡¹


    Sherry asked me with a troubled look on her face. Oh my, how perceptive of her. Who would have thought that she will be able to deduce that much with only a small hint that I have unintentionally given her? She might be even smarter than she looks like. If she was able to figure that much out, than it is no surprise that she inquired about me having multiple Jobs, since Field Walker, a Spell that allows the user to travel whenever they want to in the world as long as they have been there before and have enough mana to do so, is a Spell that can be used only when you unlocked Adventurer as a Job, and I am not at that point in my dungeon-crawling career in this world just yet. Not to mention that in my Intelligence Card it is stated that my Job is an Explorer, so she must have add two plus two and concluded that since I am supposed to be an Explorer but am also capable of using ¡°Field Walker¡±, then I have to be able to use multiple Jobs. Also, myths and legends, huh? This might be a topic worth investigating, but let us put that aside for now.


    ¡¸Regretably, I do not have the Job of an Adventurer yet. What I used just now was a Movement Magic called Warp.¡¹


    ¡¸Movement Magic. . . . . . . . . Warp?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, Movement Magic, Warp.¡¹


    Sherry parroted what I just said as if she could not believe it, so I repeated it for her.


    ¡¸Is it really just Movement Magic? Not Space-Time Magic?¡¹


    ¡¸Space-Time Magic? No, I am pretty sure that Warp is just Movement Magic.¡¹


    I do not know where Sherry got the idea with the Space-Time Magic from, but in my Bonus Skills Menu, Warp was definitely classified as Movement Magic. If it was truly a Space-Time Magic, then I think it would make it possible to operate and travel within all four dimensions of existence in accordance with the law of Lawrence¡¯s Transformation (TL Note: In physics, the Lorentz transformation or Lorentz-Fitzgerald transformation describes how, according to the theory of spacial relativity, different measurements of space and time by two observers can be converted into the measurements observed in either frame of reference. It is named after the Dutch physicist Hendrik Lorentz. It reflects the fact that observers moving at different velocities may measure different distances, elapsed times, and even different orderings of events.), but is Warp really capable of something like that? And if so, would it not mean that its classification as simply Movement Magic is wrong, and it really should be placed under Space-Time Magic category?


    ¡¸Uhm, I can see that master looks confused, so allow to explain what I wanted to say in more detail. That fact is not all that well-known, but when you use Field Walker, not only space, but also time changes while you are using it. That is why Field Walker is classified as Space-Time Magic.¡¹


    ¡¸Are you talking about the time difference?¡¹


    ¡¸I do not know what a time difference is, but sometimes it is that when the origin point of Field Walker has been established in the morning and the one using it arrived at their destination in the evening, or in the dead of the night, meaning that Field Walker is a type of magic that not only moves its user through space, but also advances the time when used. Hence, Space-Time Magic.¡¹


    So, she was talking about the time difference after all.

 Volume 4 - CH 2.02

    If you go to the same place every time, the time will shift by the same amount, so it seems to be understandable, but it does not seem like this restriction applies to Warp at all, same as how it can be used even in the houses that are made out of Shield Cement, which blocks the usage of Field Walker for some reason.


    ¡¸I see. Well, for the time being, do not just stand there, come and sit at the bale with us.¡¹


    ¡¸Sit down with you? You mean, like. . .  Uhm, Miss Roxanne? Should I sit on the floor?¡¹


    Initially Sherry wanted to direct that question at me, but halfway through she changed her mind and asked Roxanne about that in a whisper that I could still hear perfectly due to how close to each other we were sitting.


    ¡¸No, Sherry, you do not have to do that. It is okay for you to sit on a chair at the table with us, just like master said.¡¹


    ¡¸On a chair? But. . . . . . . but I am a slave, so I do not think that this would be appropriate. . . ¡¹


    ¡¸It is okay. Whenever we are having meals, master likes it best when we all sit at the table and eat together.¡¹


    ¡¸Ehhh?! So I am allowed to eat the same things that master eats?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, because that is master¡¯s wish.¡¹


    Again, even though you are whispering, you girls do realize that I can hear you, right?


    ¡¸Uhm. . .  well then. . .  pardon me.¡¹


    Sherry bowed her head down to us, and then she took a chair that was next to Roxanne, pulled it back and sat on it, albeit still somewhat reluctantly. Well, I cannot say that I blame her, but the important thing is that she is finally willing to properly sit with us instead of insisting on sitting on the floor as if she was some kind of a lesser being. Okay then, now that Sherry is sitting at the table with us, I think we can resume the talk that we were having. What was it again. . . ? Oh yeah, about the time difference!


    ¡¸So Sherry, are you familiar with the theory that the earth. . . . . . that this planet is round?¡¹


    I guess I will ask her about that for the time being. If I am going to explain to her how exactly does time difference works, that is as good of a place to start as any.


    The ¡¸Earth is Round Theory¡¹has been known in my old world for quite some time. It is the reason why the positions of the stars visible from the North and the South Poles do not overlap with each other, why there are changing lengths of the day, lunar eclipses and changing shapes of the moon throughout the month, and most importantly, it is the reason why we had local solar time and time zones on Earth. Since Sherry knew the difference between Movement Magic and Space-Time Magic, then she is obviously smart, or an intellectual type, to put it in other words. And if that is the case, then the best thing to do here would be to show her that I am also a smart person. Therefore, if I explain to her what the Spherical Earth Theory is all about, then I am sure that she would end up respecting me a little bit more. Having her as my second slave after buying her at a really good price already feels like quite a win, but earning some more points with her after boasting some of my own smarts is going to feel even better for my self-confidence. Then I will have the respect of not one, but two beautiful girls! And as an added bonus, it will also help to ease Sherry up into our lifestyle and the dynamic that is going on between me, the master and my slaves.


    Of course, as much as I would like to say otherwise, this theory has not been created by me, but rather through the effort of the past Earth¡¯s scientists. So if nothing else, I feel like I should thank my predecessors for coming up with it so that I can use it now to win myself the trust of an absolutely cute girl.


    ¡¸I know about the story of the great scholar of old who came up with it, but the person who told me that story must have taken me for a fool, because things he was telling me were so blatantly stupid that I have decided to dismiss everything he has told me as mere idiot¡¯s drivel.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh yeah? Well now you got me interested. What things did that person told you made you think that he was making a fool out of you?¡¹


    ¡¸Many things, but perhaps the most outrageous one was that since the world we live in is round, then all the people who live on the other side of it are falling out of it and into the sky because there is nothing that can make them continuously stick to the earth¡¯s surface.¡¹


    That. . .  that is. . . . that is honestly so stupid that I cannot say that I blame her for not believing a word that guy ¨C whoever he was ¨C said. Then again, that is about what you could expect from the people who do not know about the existence of the force of gravity. I guess humans in my old world were at that stage at one point as well, and some of them probably still are, what with all the flat earthers and the like going around spreading their wise words of wisdom on the internet.


    ¡¸Alright, if you say that you had such mind-numbing experiences, then I guess it would be best to just drop this subject entirely in order to not add to your confusion anymore. The bottom line is, I have a Movement Magic called Warp that allows me and my Party members to travel between far-away places without losing any time, and if possible, I would like you to keep that knowledge to yourself and refrain from talking about it or mentioning it people other than Roxanne and I, okay?¡¹


    ¡¸U-Understood, master!¡¹


    Yeah, leaving the talk about time differences and round earth is the best possible thing to do here. Since she already had someone try to fill her head with all sorts of dumb information and conspiracy theories and she remembers that and resents the guy who said it to her, then I do not even want to think how her opinion of me would have plummeted to the ground and below if I tried to talk to her about gravity and Higgs boson, she would have probablu just started asking questions like: ¡¸Higgs boson? What is that? Is it tasty?¡¹ (TL Note: The Higgs boson is a hypothetical elementary particle predicted by the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics. It belongs to a class of particles known as bosons, characterized by an integer value of their spin quantum number. The Higgs field is a quantum field with a non-zero value that fills all of space, and explains why fundamental particles such as quarks and electrons have mass. The Higgs boson is an excitation of the Higgs field above its ground state.) and that would do nothing but needlessly complicate the matters between us, making Sherry either look down on me for being the same kind of idiot how tried to fill her head with nonsense ore resent me for trying to sound like a smartass boasting about his knowledge. Even if what I would be telling her is true and I know it, I only know it because I come from a world where such knowledge is not a big deal, but for the inhabitants of this world, I imagine it would be pretty hard to accept something that defies all the logic and common sense that you knew throughout your entire life at face value. If you need any proof for that, just look how long it took us to recognize that it is actually the earth that is rotating around the sun instead of it being the other way around and stop persecuting everyone who advocated that theory as a heretic to be burned on the stake. So yeah, moving on to some other, safer subject, on the double!


    ¡¸You mentioned that you have heard about the people being able to use multiple Jobs in myths and legends. Can you tell me more about that?¡¹


    ¡¸I can, but there is not really all that much to talk about, since according to myths and legends the ones capable of using multiple Jobs at once are mainly gods.¡¹

 Volume 4 - CH 2.03

    ¡¸Well, in that case, it is fine for you to think of me as something like that. (TL Note: Did. . .  did he really just told Sherry that she can think of him as a f*cking God?! I am sorry, but. . .  I just cannot. . .  gimme a minute, I have to walk it off. . .  okay, I am fine now, back to the regularly scheduled program.).¡¹


    ¡¸Eh?!! Really? But are Gods and other legendary and mythological creatures only fictional?!¡¹


    Oh, so Sherry does not believe in myths and legends and dismisses them as mere fiction? Right, so maybe it would be best to change the subject again to avoid any heated worldview debates? Yeah, let us do that.


    ¡¸Roxanne, in regards to Sherry¡¯s equipment, is there anything else we should buy for her aside from clothing, basic equipment and a backpack?¡¹


    ¡¸Hmm, maybe an additional wooden washing tub so that each of could have their own?¡¹


    ¡¸Hm? Oh, right! Good idea. Then we will buy another wooden tub as well.¡¹


    Despite sounding surprised at first, Roxanne and I did all in our power to forcibly cut this problematic conversation then and there. As expected of her, she is always ready to follow me along with my ideas, no matter how out of left field they might be. And here I was thinking that it was too late for a saving throw and that I would have to engage Sherry in a general touchy discussion about whether or not Gods are real and are religions nothing more but scams run by the worst kind of con artists the earth has ever seen.


    ¡¸Would that be all Sherry might need right from the get go?¡¹


    ¡¸Let me think . . .  I think it would be a good choice to buy her her own Black Magic Crystal so that she could start collecting magical energy into it. As for the clothes she is wearing, they are the ones provided by the Slave Shop so they should be good to last her at least for tomorrow, but I think we should go and buy her a new set of underwear.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay, then we should make the clothing store one of our first destinations once we will finish catching our breaths here.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes!¡¹


    I think I know just the place where we might go to get Sherry some clothes: the Clothing Store that is selling all of those western-looking clothes where I bought clothing for Roxanne when we first came to Quratar, the one that is so close to the Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth.


    ¡¸Oh, uhm. . . I do appreciate the gesture, but that will not be necessary, since neither my clothes nor underwear are ragged or dirty yet, so there is no need to buy me new ones just yet.¡¹


    ¡¸Nah, that will not be trouble at all. We would have to do it at some point anyway, so we might as well get it over with as soon as possible.¡¹


    Or rather, it is more about me wanting to see what kind of underwear is she going to pick for herself and how is it going to look on her than anything else.


    ¡¸Oh, and by the way, do you have any weapon of choice, Sherry? Something you feel the most comfortable with using? Because we will have to take that into consideration when we will be picking equipment for you.¡¹


    ¡¸I do, actually. Since I am going to be fighting in the front lines in the Labyrinth then I would like to have a mallet or a hammer. I am also quite good with handling a spear, but due to its length it is not ideal for the avant-garde fighters since you cannot swing it properly without accidentally hitting your allies in the process. With a hammer or mallet, that drawback can be swiftly eliminated.¡¹


    ¡¸I guess, but would you really be able to wield such weapons properly? I mean, mallets, hammers, warhammers, greathammers and the like are all heavy as hell, right?¡¹


    ¡¸Do not worry, master. I might not look it, but I am actually pretty strong, so wielding such a heavy, two-handed weapon would not be a problem for me at all.¡¹


    Yeah, she is definitely right in that regard. Since the handle of the spear is pretty long, it might not be a best weapon to be swinging around in the narrow hallways of the Labyrinths. Unless¡­


    ¡¸Since you said that you are skilled with a spear, then allow me to ask: how did you usually fought with it? Were you poking the monsters from behind your allies with it?¡¹


    ¡¸That is right. When you are using a spear from behind the safe distance given to you by your avant-garde fighting comrades, you might not have as much momentum or the impact on the battlefield like they do, but the length of the spear helps you remain in control at all times and even save your allies if the ever find themselves in a pinch from a surprise attack to their flank. Some might say that this is not a greatest of the roles to fill, but I think such a supportive role can be pretty powerful in its own right.¡¹


    Certainly, when she puts it like that, attacking with a spear does not seem like a bad idea. However, just like Sherry said, such a strategy can only be pulled off when you have people who will be taking the damage and attacking the monsters in the avant-garde position, and currently we do not have enough people for that. I got Sherry precisely because I did not want to fight on the front lines all the time so that I could focus on using my magic more, so going back to the avant-garde just so that Sherry could utilize her spear-poking strategy would be more than a little pointless now. Also, just so that I could clearly know where we are standing with this:


    ¡¸When it comes to hammers, have you ever fought any monsters with it before?¡¹


    ¡¸No, I have yet to use hammers in actual combat against real monsters, so it would be my first time doing so.¡¹


    So, she is a novice when it comes to hammers, huh? I doubt it is going to be a real detriment, but in that case, it might be a good idea to have her fight some low-level monsters so that she could get into the swing (TL Note: Get it? Swing, because you swing the hammer. . .  all right, I am going to shut up now) of things before moving on to the higher floor where she could truly go to the poundtown with them?


    ¡¸In that case, would you like to try fighting the monsters in the Labyrinth with a hammer to get some practice?¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yes, I would very much like to try doing that!¡¹


    ¡¸And what do you think, Roxanne? Would that be alright with you as well?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I do not see any problems with it. In fact, I would like you to try fighting with the hammer in th avant-garde together with me as well. It took us some time to arrive at it, but master and I have developed our own trusty method of fighting monsters where I focus their attention on myself I the front lines with the combination of dodging and blocking their attacks while master supports me with his offensive spells from the back, and that is how our Party has been operating for a good while now. Once the three of us go to the Labyrinth together you shall see it with your own eyes, but just let me tell you that master¡¯s magic abilities are truly powerful and amazing, so if you could help make it possible for him to use them as much as possible, that would really be appreciated.¡¹


    Roxanne seems to have the same opinion as me, which made me happy. This means that we have double the persuasion power to convince Sherry to use a hammer for our first bout to the Labyrinth. But apparently, that was not what Sherry was the most interested in when Roxanne finished talking.


    ¡¸Eh? What? So master can also use Attack Magic?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, he most certainly can.¡¹


    ¡¸But. . .  but how? How can such a thing be possible?¡¹


    Sherry looked at me, then at Roxanne, then back at me and at Roxanne once more. I was expecting her to be surprised when she eventually learned that I am capable of using Attack Magic, but her surprise and confusion were actually much bigger than I anticipated.


    ¡¸You can  really use it?¡¹

 Volume 4 - CH 2.04

    ¡¸Yeah, I can use it. Oh, actually, I am capable of using several different types of magic.¡¹


    ¡¸Well, uh. . . ¡¹


    ¡¸This is something that would like other people not to know about, so once again, I want you to keep this information to yourself, okay?¡¹


    When I forbade her from teling about this to anyone, Sherry¡¯s face looked like she was extremely disappointed, but she did not oppose that rule, probably because she knew that this was the best possible way to not get too much unwanted attention to our names.


    ¡¸Yes master, I understand¡­.. s-so, it really has to be because of you being able to use multiple Jobs, right?¡¹


    ¡¸That is right. ¡¹


    ¡¸. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ¡¹


    ¡¸. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ¡¹


    ¡¸. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .¡¹


    The moment of awkward silence just kept going without any of us saying a word. Could it be that. . . that Sherry is waiting for me to give her an actual, logical explanation of why am I capable of using multiple Jobs?


    ¡¸Let just say that I am simply somehow able to do it and leave it at that, okay?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, let us just say that master is simply somehow able to do it and leave it at that.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, ah. . .  okay?¡¹


    Now that I bought Sherry, my second slave, we will finally be able to challenge the Labyrinth¡¯s eighth floors. But as for if there will ever come the day where I will talk to Sherry and Roxanne about my powers and why they need to stay a secret, I guess that remains to be seen.


    ¡¸Now then, going back to the topic of weapons for a bit, we will go through with the following plan: I will go shopping for weapons and equipment for you and buy you a hammer so that you could test it out on the weaker monsters in the Labyrinth and get you accustomed to fighting with it, okay?¡¹


    I am putting it like that to her, but there is actually another reason why I would like her to try using a hammer in combat. Defeating a monster with a sword was a condition for aquiring the Swordmaster Job, and defeating a monster with bare hands was a condition needed for the acquisition of the Monk Job, so maybe, just maybe defeating a monster with a hammer is one of the conditions required for the Dwarves to obtain the Master Smith Job? After all, blacksmiths work with hammers all the time, so maybe that really is the case here?


    ¡¸Okay, I see no problems with giving it a try.¡¹


    ¡¸Well,  it is settled then.Oh and by the way, Sherry.¡¹


    There is this other thing that I wanted to ask her about.


    ¡¸Yes?¡¹


    Sherry inquired with a slight cock of her head.


    I wonder why she said that she would be fine with using a mallet and a hammer when she said she has never defeated a monster with those weapons. Does that mean that she killed other things with them? Things like. . .  no, stop it, Michio. I am sure that it was just her using a figure of speech without any deeper or hidden meanings to it. It is cool, it is fine. Everything is fine.


    ¡¸You said that you are good with spears and that you would not mind fighting with a hammer, so that got me wondering: is there any specific reason for such a choice of your weaponry? Do all Dwarves fight mainly with spears and hammers, or is that purely the matter of your personal preference?¡¹


    ¡¸It is mainly my own preference, but actually, many of the Dwarves use them as their preferred weapons of choice as well. While we Dwaves are not as tall as other races, we are generally physically stronger than Humans or Elves, so many of us tend to gravitate towards heavier weaponry in order to make the best possible use of that racial perk of ours. For the record, I have also used other kinds of weapons besides spears and hammers, but those two I found to be the most compatible with me.¡¹


    The fact that she also knows how to handle other kinds of weapons is really reassuring, although if I want to have her reach Master Smith Job as soon as possible, we will not need her using other kinds of weapons. Mallets and hammers are literally all we need Sherry to use right now.


    ¡¸Have you ever used  a hammer before, Roxanne?¡¹


    I asked Roxanne out of curiosity as well, because throughout the time we have spent together, I have never seen her using anything other than the Wooden Shield and Scimitar I provided her with, and she never talked about using other kinds of weapons.


    ¡¸I did not, because it is too heavy and clunky to use and it would only diminish my speed and the ability to dodge.¡¹


    Ahh, that is right. Every kind of weapon has the pros and cons of using it, and in case of hammers, it is how big and slow to use they are. Roxanne is all about her godly evasive abilities, so if she were to use such a heavy weapon, then her evasion, which is one of her strongest points, would have been severely crippled. So I guess she really can perform her godly dodges only with a one-handed weapon like a short or longsword, but then again, the weapon that she is currently using, a Scimitar is not exactly a light weapon, and she can dodge with it just fine.


    ¡¸Can you tell me what is the difference between a hammer and a mallet? I mean, I know that hammers are big and especially heavy, but what about mallets specifically? Do you have to hold them with both hands?¡¹


    ¡¸You do not necessarily have to do it with both hands. Mallets are designed in such a way that you can hold them with either one or two hands and I have seen people holding it in one hand along with a shield for protection, but personally I prefer holding it with two hands since it allows for more powerful blows.¡¹


    So Sherry does not need a shield because she prefers the more offensive approach, huh? Good to know and duly noted.


    ¡¸Unfortunately, we do not have any extra equipment to spare at the moment and your purchase took a bite out of a big portion of our funds, so you will have to content yourself with cheaper ones for he time being, before we will be able to buy you something better. Is that okay with you?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, of course it is okay, master. If that is what you have decided, then I have no reasons to be questioning your decisions.¡¹


    ¡¸Great, thank you for trusting me with this one. By the way, do you now about Empty Skill Slots and the equipment that may or may not have it?¡¹


    ¡¸Empty Skill Slots. . . . . . . .? Ah, you mean Skill Slots in general? Well of course I know about them.¡¹


    ¡¸Really? That is so good to hear!¡¹


    Could it be? Have I finally found someone who can explain to me what the deal with them is, exactly?!


    ¡¸Right. . . . . . . .So, you also know about them, master?¡¹


    ¡¸Well, yeah. The main reason why I wanted to buy myself a Dwarven slave was so that we could have our very own Master Smith, because during our last trip to the Labyrinth we managed to obtain a Skill Crystal and we were looking for someone who could imbue our equipment with it.¡¹


    ¡¸I see, that makes sense. If you did not know about them, then you would not have asked for a Dwarf with Master Smith Job specifically. . . ¡¹


    ¡¸Precisely. So, how did you learn about them, if I may ask? Is it something that all Dwarves know, or is it the kind of knowledge that you had to obtain on your own?¡¹

 Volume 4 - CH 2.05

    ¡¸Not exactly, but long ago there used to be people who advocated the following theory: They claimed that every piece of equipment in the world may contain something they called¡¸Skill Slots¡¹and that every attempt at fusing the Skill Crystal into a piece of equipment that does not have Skill Slots that the Skill Crystal could be fitted into would always result in a failure with one hundred percent of probability, or at least that is what their theory claims.¡¹


    ¡¸Were the ones who came up with this theory Dwarven scholars, or was it someone else who came up with it and they expanded on it further?¡¹


    ¡¸Since Dwarves are the only race capable of becoming Master Smiths, it was a subject researched purely by the dwarven scholars of old. They were the ones who came up with the theory and tried to prove it, without the help from anyone from the outside of the circle of the Dwarven race.¡¹


    ¡¸Same as the one who tried to tell you all of those foolish things in regards to the¡¸Earth is round¡¹theory? ¡¹


    ¡¸Ah, no, thankfully it was a different type of scholars from that shady one with the ¡¸Earth is round and people on the other side of it will fall off it into the sky¡¹ drivel. They were the ones who devoted their whole lives to proving that what they were claiming was correct, but because the results of their research were less than conclusive, nowadays there are not that many common Dwarves who accept that theory, which makes the fact that you have heard about it that much more amazing.¡¹


    These Dwarven scholars of old must have been pretty brainy guys to have figured that much out without even being able to see if the Skill Slots are there or not. Sadly, without any hard boiled evidence, even though their idea that if there is an Empty Skill Slot in the piece of equipment then you could fuse the Skill Crystal in there was the correct one, then of course no one would ever believe them. After all, taking people¡¯s words at face value is not the best thing to do, no matter the world you are in.


    ¡¸Is that theory no good now?¡¹


    ¡¸Instead of saying tha it is no good, it would be more fitting to say that it is simply impossible to prove, since no one can see the actual Skill Slots.¡¹


    Well, I guess that much is a given if you do not possess the Indentify Skill like I do.


    ¡¸Impossible to prove? Is there really no way to check it at all?¡¹


    Roxanne asked.


    In theory, verification of that theory should be easy.If Skill Crystals can be fused to the same equipment many times, then all you would have to do would be to try fusing the Skill Crystal with a given piece of equipment over and over and over again. If the equipment does have an Empty Skill Slot in it, they should have seen some successful attempts after a number of fails, whereas if the equipment does not have an Empty Skill Slots in it, then the fusion would always fail, no matter how many times they would have tried. But because Skill Crystals are very rare items to begin with and the probability of failure is always high even if the Empty Skill Slots are really there, I can definitely see why they started claiming that the verification of that theory is impossible.


    ¡¸However, if I had to say so myself, then I would have to say that nowadays there are more people who do not believe in this theory at all than those who believe in it.¡¹


    ¡¸People who deny it are in the vast majority? Why is that? Is that theory that universally hated?¡¹


    ¡¸If the fusion fails, the Skill Crystal will be lost and the equipment that you tried to infuse with it will be disassembled into its base components, but whether it will be all of the materials or just some of them is up to a complete coin toss. If you are lucky enough to have all the materials left after the failed fusion, you can simply try to remake the equipment that you lost, there is still a matter that nags most of the people: is the remade equipment going to be as good or the same quality as the one they initially wanted to infuse, or is it going to be worse? We have no way of definitely confirming or denying that, since, as I already said, no one is capable of seeing if the Skill Slots are actually there or not, and that in turn makes it impossible to determine whether or not the re-made equipment is identical to how it was before, or is it perhaps somewhat different? And of course, while there is nothing stopping us from attempting to fuse another Skill Crystal with the re-made equipment, those who believe in the Skill Slot theory argue that it is not in fact the same kind of equipment as it was before.¡¹


    So the equipment is going to be destroyed if its fusion fails?If that is true, then that would really make the verification process even more impossible than I initially thought. Without Identify to check if the Skill Crystal got properly embedded in the piece of equipment, pretty much everyone would not be able to tell the difference between a weapon or armor that has the Empty Skill Slot and the ones that do not, because they would all look the same to them appearance-wise even if you managed to put the disassembled equipment back together. Also. . .


    ¡¸So does that mean that there is always a chance that not every material can remain after the disassembling process?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. It is not something that occurs every time, but there is always a chance of that happening, even when performed by a Master Smith with the best Skills and tools available.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. . . What do you think about the Skill Slot theory itself, Sherry?¡¹


    ¡¸For me personally, the Skill Slot Theory seems to be a little too far-fetched. Instead of putting the blame for the failure of the fusion of the Skill Crystal with the equipment on the one performing the fusion it pins the fault on a number of factors that are not defined or grounded in reality, which enables people to shirk the criticism and pass the blame for all the failures as they see fit, all for the sake of not claiming the responsibility for the failure themselves.¡¹


    So Sherry is disagreeing with the Skill Slot Theory then, I presume? Noy surprising, since she looks like someone who would not believe just about anything that people would try to tell her without seeing concrete proof first. So unless someone gives her the clear-cut evidence that the Skill Slot Theory is real and that they really do exist, she is still going to dismiss it as something unproven. To be thinking even about such small details. . .  As I thought, Sherry really is quite smart.


    ¡¸I see. I am very glad to hear that you are aware of it.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you master, and I am sorry if it sounds like I am mouthing off. It is just that I was always interested in all the things that surrounded me, so I always talked to the people around me asking for an explanation on how this and that works.¡¹


    Sherry bowed her head apologetically.


    ¡¸There is no need for you to feel sorry. I do not think that the thirst for knowledge is a bad thing at all.¡¹


    Yeah, I think the exact opposite, actually. Since I am not all that good when it comes to intellectual stuff and Roxanne can be pretty. . . airheaded at times, having someone who is genuinely smart in our ranks is truly a blessing. Since it looks like Sherry knows a lot about a great number of things, she will definitely be useful to me, even if only for the purpose of explaining the things that I do not understand about this world to me. Also, even though Sherry is skeptical about the Skill Slot Theory, it seems like it is actually true, as it is evident by me using the Identify Skill to check if the items I am buying or finding in the Labyrinths come up with the Empty Skill Slots.


    ¡¸I know, but. . .  it is just that before I became a slave, my mom would always get angry whenever I did not know something, but on the contrary the people around me were always saying that trying to learn too much for your own good will do nothing but bring doom upon yourself and those around you.¡¹

 Volume 4 - CH 2.06

    ¡¸Ah, yeah. I see how it is.¡¹


    Looks like in this world and its society it is actually dangerous to know too much or what goes beyond your social position, which admittedly kinda sucks, but it is not like there is anything that I can personally do about it, you know? And it probably holds even more true when it comes to slaves.


    ¡¸Master also likes to experiment with a lot of things, so I think it is all right.¡¹


    ¡¸Is that. . .  so?¡¹


    ¡¸It sure is!¡¹


    Uhm, Roxanne my dear, if you have any complaints about how I choose to do things, they why do you not tell me about it directly? Even though she was smiling and patting Sherry on the back the entire time, I could not help it but to think that there was something a little bit malicious behind that smile of hers.


    ¡¸W-Well, we all have our fair share of secrets that we want to keep others from finding out, but I think that uncovering them little by little is the best approach here. Everything in moderation, you know?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, of course!¡¹


    ¡¸You are absolutely right, master!¡¹


    ¡¸Also, it is important to be careful with what you want to talk about to other people, since we all have our things that we will tryt keep quiet about no matter what, and we react differently to people who are overly chatty about their own secrets and problems, so just be mindful when discussing what you have learned with others. Oftentimes it might mean nothing to you, but it might be a huge deal to the person you will be speaking to at the moment.


    ¡¸Okay, I understand. I will be sure to take that under advisement.¡¹


    It is not that I am against talking about myself or the many secrets that I have, but if the girls started digging too deep into them then things would definitely get problematic, especially since I possess some abilities that seem to be truly unique in this world, like the ability to use many kinds of Attack Magic, or the omission of the chants required for the casting of said spells, or the fact that I can change my own Jobs as well as the Jobs of them members of my Party. How am I going to explain all of those things to Roxanne, Sherry and any of the slaves that I might buy for myself in the future? I have not thought about it right now, so I am going to do the next best thing that could be done about this at this point: leave it for later and deal with that problem in the future when it will happen.


    ¡¸By the way Sherry. Is your Item Box completely empty?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, it is completely empty right now.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay.¡¹


    After confirming that Sherry had no items that she currently held in her in her own Item Box, I opened up the menus and chose Party Job Settings. If my guess is correct and one of the conditions needed for the acquisition of the Master Smith Job is having Explorer at Lv.10 or lower it would be bad if Sherry ended up leveling it up any higher by accident, so it would be best if I switched her current Job into something else, like. . .


    ¡¸Villager Lv.3 huh? That is a bit low.¡¹


    ¡¸Eh?¡¹


    ¡¸Huh?!¡¹


    ¡¸Hmm?¡¹


    Did. . . Did I just said something weird?


    ¡¸. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  .¡¹


    ¡¸. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .¡¹


    Both Sherry and Roxanne are looking at me with their faces so grim and worried that I must have definitely upset them in some way. Perhaps I said that last bit about Sherry¡¯s Villager Lv.2 Job being low out loud? That would have explained those troubled looks of theirs. Although I know their Jobs and their levels because they are the members of my Party where I am the leader, they do not know that. However, if Sherry was the only one to react in such a way, I would have understood that, since I made that rude comment about her specifically, but for Roxanne to act in such a troubled manner as well? That is something that I do not understand, but something must be going on with her, because ever since this morning when we were discussing the matter of the will she was acting a bit strange, unlike her usual, obedient self, and also that she was acting a bit cold towards me ever since I bought Sherry. Quick, I have to change the subject to something more neutral, and fast!


    ¡¸Uhm, so Sherry, have you heard anything of a Hero Job?¡¹


    ¡¸Ah, y-yes, I heard something about it, Supposedly it is the Job that belonged to the first emperor of the empire, or at least that is what the legends are saying.¡¹


    ¡¸So it is something that exists only in legends, huh?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, but because there is no such thing as a Hero¡¯s Guild, then that Job does not actually exist and it is only something that was made up to justify why the first emperor was as strong as he was.¡¹


    So the Job of a Hero is as rare as I thought.


    ¡¸So what would have happened if the people learned that this Job actually does exist? How they would have reacted to it?¡¹


    ¡¸Since it is a Job that was only held by one person before, the first emperor of this country, then if there ever was a person who claimed to have obtained it as well, they would have probably be charged with the accusations of plotting a rebellion against the current emperor and his government and swiftly executed to avoid raising any kind of unrest within the populace.¡¹


    Eh? Say what? A Hero, someone who is one of the most respected people in practically every RPG because of his power, achievements and his destiny of defeating the Demon Lord or whatever kind of evil is currently plaguing the world would be treated as the absolute worst kind of criminal and get killed simply for possessing a Job? What the fuck is wrong with that line of reasoning. . . no wait. Actually, now that I think about it, such a thing could really do happen. Yeah, given the information that Sherry provided me with just now, it is definitely something that could transpire. If the rumors say that the only person ever known to hold the Job of a Hero was this country¡¯s first emperor, then the authorities would probably think that anyone claiming to have that Job as well would be a fraud or someone looking to throw the empire into chaos by, let us say, claiming to be a long-lost descendant of the first emperor with the claims to the empire¡¯s throne. . . . . . ..  so if someone ever found out that I possess the Job of a Hero. . . .  ugh, I do not even want to think about what would happen to me then.


    ¡¸Okay, now that we got all those things sorted out, I think it is high time for me to finally go and do some shopping, would you not agree?¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yes! I almost forgot that this was what you were supposed to be doing! Forgive me for my forgetfulness, master!¡¹


    ¡¸Nah, it is fine. To tell you the truth, I almost forgot about it as well on only remembered it now. Now that we have all those things explained to one another, then I can go right now.¡¹


    ¡¸¡¸Understood!¡¹¡¹


    I do not know what else I could have said in order to get myself out of plunging head-first into another sticky subject, so I figured that a good old run-away strategy would be the most effective here. Roxanne probably understood what my intentions were, because she simply have me a thoughtful look and an affirmative nod.


    ¡¸Once I get back from the shopping, I will take care of preparing the bath, so I want Roxanne and Sherry to handle the preparations for dinner, okay?¡¹


    I said while preparing to cast Warp on the wall.


    ¡¸Can you cook, Sherry?¡¹

 Volume 4 - CH 2.07

    ¡¸Yes, I can. While I cannot do anything too spectacular, I do know my way around the kitchen to some extent.¡¹


    ¡¸I will be counting on you as well then. Can I ask you and Roxanne to make one dish each?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course!¡¹


    ¡¸All right.¡¹


    With the confirmation that Sherry can also be helpful around the kitchen, I nodded at Roxanne and she happily nodded back at me, and then she patted Sherry on the back. It¡¯s great that she is so approving of her so far, because if she already accepted her as a member of our Party and as her fellow kitchen aid, then maybe she will also be open about letting her in on. . . our various other activities.


    ¡¸Uhm, Miss Roxanne if I may ask. . .  what was that talk about a bath just now? Did master meant ¡°that¡± kind of bath when he said that he was going to prepare a ¡°bath¡±?¡¹


    Now what that might be about? What does she mean by ¡°that kind of bath¡±? I mean, I know that there were many different kinds of baths back in my old world, like saunas, hot springs, cold springs, milk baths and public baths, but are they here in this world as well?


    ¡¸I do not know what you mean by ¡°that kind of bath¡±, Sherry, but I can definitely tell you that I am going to prepare an ordinary bath.¡¹


    ¡¸I,I understand!¡¹


    ¡¸All right then. Roxanne, Sherry, I will be taking my leave and be on my way.¡¹


    I said, finishing my preparations of the Warp portal on the wall of the living room. Now that I will be running away to do some shopping, maybe my absence will help keep Sherry¡¯s mind off of asking all sorts of problematic questions that I would have trouble answering.


    ¡¸I heard that only the members of the royalty and aristocracy can afford to take baths. Is master secretly someone important like that?¡¹


    I heard Sherry asking Roxanne such a question when I was with one leg through the Warp portal already.


    ¡¸I do not know about royalty or aristocracy, but what I do know is that master is an amazing person.¡¹


    Oh, stop it Roxanne, you are going to make me blush! Besides, I am not all that great of a person. I am simply an enthusiast of taking baths with beautiful girls. That is all.


    ¡¸Have a safe trip, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, I will. I am heading off then.¡¹


    Roxanne and Sherry bowed their heads to me, and then returned to their talk about baths. I knew that Roxanne ended up liking them as much as I do after all the times we played with each other during our soaks, but who would have thought that Sherry would have such a burning passion for baths herself? Maybe convincing her to join our soap play is actually going to be easier than I have initially thought it would be?


    I warped to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and then made my way to my first stop: Armor Shop. The first thing that I wanted to take care of was a small upgrade of my own set of equipment. Up until now I was using a set of Leather Armor, Leather Boots, Leather Gloves and Leather helmet that was made form a simple, unprocessed leather. The things that I bought right now were a step above that, but only for my footwear and headwear, so now I had a set made out of Processed Leather Helmet, Leather, Armor, Leather Gloves and Processed Leather Boots. Of course, before picking any of them up I made absolutely sure that all of them came equipped with their own Empty Skill Slots. A while ago when I was discussing the matters of equipment with Roxanne she insisted that as a master and the leader of the Party I should have the best equipment possible on me, but I feel like only taking a better boots and helmet for now should be more than enough to take care of my defensive needs.


    Now as, for the armor that Sherry is going to be using. . .


    Just like when I bought Roxanne, Sherry did not have any shoes on her feet when she was passed on to me. She was barefoot. It would seem that this is one of the customs of how slaves are treated in this world. If Sherry¡¯s purchase was not such a last minute decision, then I would have prepared a pair of shoes or sandals beforehand so that I could give them to her as a kind of a welcoming gift. Now that I think about it, if I wanted to buy things for Sherry, then maybe I should have taken Roxanne with me as well so that we could turn it into a surprise gift for her? But then again, leaving her in our house all alone would have been a really dickish move, but if I took her with us to do shopping, then I am sure that it would have taken ages and then some to buy all of the things that we would want to buy because of Roxanne¡¯s habit to analyze and overthink every purchase that she is involved with. So yeah, I am here by myself, so I will simply have to do my very best to pick up something that is going to be both practical and affordable, so I guess I am going to be buying something made from leather or processed leather, just like I did for myself. For her hands, I think a pair of Leather Mittens should be more than enough, and as for the shoes. . . will Leather Sandals do the trick? Hmm, actually, maybe it would be more practical to give her my old Leather Boots instead of selling them or throwing them out? Yeah, let us do that. And while I am at it, I will also buy some new footwear for Roxanne as well.


    (Man, shopping really does go by in a flash when I do it by myself, huh?)


    That was the thought that was going through my head as I made my way to the counter in the shop to pay for all the items that I have bought just now. After that was done, I simply went back home without making any more additional detours.


    ¡¸Hey, I am back, sorry for the wait!¡¹


    ¡¸¡¸Welcome home, Master!¡¹¡¹


    ¡¸I finished shopping and brought some new equipment with me. Roxanne, these Processed Leather Boots are for you, and Sherry, you will be getting my old Leather Boots.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you very much, master.¡¹


    I then took off the Leather Boots I was currently wearing and handed them off to Sherry while changing into the Processed Leather Shoes that I bought.


    ¡¸You have my thanks as well, master. But. . .  is it really okay for me to be wearing this kind of armored footwear?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, because for as long as you will be coming to the Labyrinths with us, wearing such a protective gear is pretty much a necessity.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes! I will do my very best not to let you down, Miss Roxanne, master!¡¹


    Okay, that means that all of us are now properly equipped with new pieces of gear: I have a new Processed Leather Helmet and Processed Leather Boots, Roxanne has new Processed Leather Boots as well and Sherry is going to wear my old Leather Shoes and Leather Mittens. That way, everything we were wearing up until now is going to be of use without the need for us to throw it away or sell it for just a few measely coins that would not even come close to making the selling process worth it.


    ¡¸Now, are you fine with wearing a Leather Jacket of the same kind that Roxanne is wearing, or would you prefer a Leather Armor instead?¡¹


    I took out the Leather Jacket that was placed in my Item Box and presented it to Sherry. Leather Jackets are more expensive than Leather Armor, but on the flipside Leather Armor should provide better protection, so if I were the one to make the selection, I would definitely make Sherry wear Leather Armor, but ultimately it will be her decision to make.


    ¡¸C-Certainly, since my chest is so small, I could wear the Leather Armor without anything getting in the way of it.¡¹


    Sherry turned her head down, and her face became very cloudy. Oh crap, oh fuck! No, Sherry, I did not mean it in such a way! Not sexual harassment! What I was aiming for here was definitely not sexual harassment! In case of women such as Roxanne, Leather Armor tends to fit too tightly, emphasizing her big boobs as a result.

 Volume 4 - CH 2.08

    That is why saying that Leather Armor might be ideal for her was like saying that she has no boobs at all right to her face. But you know, it is not like Sherry¡¯s chest is nonexistent. I mean, when compared to Roxanne¡¯s huge knockers, of course they would be inferior, but they are not ¡°mosquito bites¡± small, you know what I mean?  The clothes she is currently wearing might be concealing them to some extent, but they are big enough for me to see that they are clearly there. To be honest, I am looking forward to seeing how they are going to look like once they will become ¡°unpacked¡± from all the clothing when we will be taking a bath and playing around in bed, because id my estimations are right, then she should still be pretty sizeable, probably enough for them to fit perfectly into the palm of my hand.


    ¡¸Please, do not be mad at me, Sherry. I did not want to belittle you or make fun of your body with what I said.¡¹


    ¡¸It is fine, really. I know they are not that small, but I just cannot help it to be a little self-conscious about them anyway.¡¹


    ¡¸It is perfectly okay, so do not worry about it, Sherry! Besides, when you boil it all down, breasts are nothing more but a decoration that does not do anything to help you fight against the monsters in the Labyrinths anyway!¡¹


    Roxanne said that to comfort Sherry, but with her boobs pretty much dangling in front of her and hitting her in the face, I think she might have achieved an effect opposite to what she was aiming for. Roxanne, no matter what you might say, it will not change the fact that your boobs are a very attractive decoration. My god, why is it always that erotic girls with bombshell bodies do not seem to realize hoe erotic they really are? Not knowing how to respond to what Roxanne just said, I just handed the Leather Jacket To Sherry, who was giving me and Roxanne an increasingly cringy look. And honestly, I cannot blame her for that. For better or worse, Roxanne seems to be more than a little airheaded when it comes to sensible subjects, so she might have ended up teasing (or even roasting, depending on how you choose to look at it) Sherry for being small-chested without even noticing that herself, which is going to make any encouragement she might have wanted to give Sherry counterproductive, because she is simply going to think that she is patronizing her.


    Now that Sherry has finished putting on  her new equipment, I decided to make a quick additional run to the Weapon¡¯s Shop so that she could buy a weapon for herself. As soon as we entered it she stopped sulking and dragged me into the corner where the hammers and mallets were being sold.


    ¡¸So this is where they are holding every blunt weapon they have available for purchase, huh?¡¹


    Hammers, morning stars, maces, clubs and the like were all gathered in this one place right next to one another. they all varied in sizes form small, medium and large to what I could only describe as extra and ultra large, and my guess is that each and every one of those weapons would weight at least a ton.


    ¡¸They have a pretty wide selection of these, I have to give them that.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, that they do indeed. And it looks like this right here is the cheapest club they have available right now.¡¹


    Sherry showed me the club that she was talking about


    [Two-Handed Blunt Weapon: Club]


    Wow, this thing is a club? To be honest, it looks more like a log of wood or a tree trunk with a handle attached to it rather than anything else. Something like that obviously could not be used for any kind of blacksmithing purposes, but I guess it would flatten just about anything that would have the misfortune of being hit by it without any issues. For the timebeing, let me look for the one that comes with an Empty Skill Slot. . .  ah, there it is!


    ¡¸Sherry, the ones over here look like they are especially sturdy, so choose one of these.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, you are right, they do look like they are slightly more durable than the others! Thank you for the suggestion.¡¹


    ¡¸Do not mention it.¡¹


    ¡¸As expected of master! Your eye when it comes to choosing equipment is as sharp as always!¡¹


    Roxanne praised me as well.


    ¡¸They all look pretty reliable, but I think I am going to go with. . .  this one right here!¡¹


    Sherry exclaimed, happily grabbing one of the clubs that as about as tall as she was with ease and raising it high into the air to inspect it.


    ¡¸Yup, this looks like a pretty solid pick, and it is great that you chose that you are familiar with.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you very much.¡¹


    Now then, if I want my Thirty Percent Discount to kick in, then I guess I should start looking for something that I could buy either for Roxanne or myself. We already have a Club, so maybe I could buy an upgrade to my Wand or Roxanne¡¯s Scimitar? Or maybe I should buy a spear for Sherry so that she could have a backup weapon in case that something happened to the club? And who knows, maybe I will be able to benefit off of it as well if there is a Job that requires slaying a number of monsters with a spear in order to become unlocked? Like A Lancer, or perhaps a Phalanx? Okay, for the time being, let me see what they have here in terms of spears. Identify!


    [Copper Spear, Empty Skill Slot]


    This here Copper Spear looks like it could be a pretty solid weapon for those who have just begun their adventure with spearmanship, but on the downside, it only has one Empty Skill Slot available. Even though it is called a Copper Spear, the weapon itself is not entirely made out of copper, because it has a firm wooden handle. The thing that is made out of copper is probably the very tip of the spear.


    While I was taking all the other spears in my hand to get a feel for them, Sherry approached me with the Club she has chosen in tow.


    ¡¸So you have decided to go with this Club after all?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, this one please.¡¹


    I received the Club form Sherry and handed it out to the shopkeeper along with the Copper Spear. The amount I had to pay for both those items was eight hundred and fourty Nars, and the more expensive one of the two turned out to be the Copper Spear. Who would have thought?


    ¡¸All right, that should take care of all the shopping I had planned for today. Now then, here you go, Sherry, your purchase.¡¹


    I said while handing Sherry the Club that she has chosen.


    ¡¸A-are you really sure it is all right for me to hold onto it?¡¹


    It surprised me how surprised she was.


    ¡¸Yeah, sure, I do not mind.¡¹


    ¡¸Yay!¡¹


    W-Why are her eyes shining like that? Is she that happy that I bought something for her, or perhaps because I bough exactly the thing that she wanted?


    ¡¸Roxanne? Was. . . was giving this Club to her a bad choice, perhaps?¡¹


    ¡¸No, I believe that was not a wrong thing to do. I mean, normally, slaves are not allowed to be carrying any kind of weaponry on them unless they are not in the Labyrinth.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, so that is an actual rule?¡¹


    ¡¸Maybe not a rule, but rather a custom that has been established since ancient times. It is because of it that I always return my Scimitar to you whenever we are leaving the Labyrinth, remember?¡¹


    ¡¸Hmm. . .  oh yeah, that really does happen each and every time, now that you mention it.¡¹


    I had a conversation like that with Roxanne in hushed whispers. I never really paid too much attention to it before because I got so used to seeing the Scimitar I have her on her hips at all times, but every morning before we set out and go into the Labyrinths I am giving Roxanne the Scimitar from my Item Box, and whenever we are done with exploring for the day, she always hands it back to me and I put it back to the Item Box. It just became such a routine to me after a while that I have literally stopped paying any kind of attention to it.

 Volume 4 - CH 2.09

    Is that so? I would have never guessed that from Sherry¡¯s reaction just now. I thought that this ban on slaves carrying weapons with them is probably a countermeasure against the slaves killing innocent people, but both Roxanne and Sherry do not look like someone who could commit such an atrocity, but if that is what the law dictates, then there is nothing that we can do about it.


    After that bit of shopping was done, we moved on to buy a pair of socks and pumpkin pants at the clothing shop and a backpack, a small wooden tub and a wooden toothpick at the general store. We also bought some ingredients for the meals in the following days, and then we were on the way back home, by which I mean that we went back to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild where I have created a Warp portal on the wall and went through it with absolute confidence, believing that we were not doing anything out of the ordinary. And when we were back home. . .


    ¡¸Okay, I am going to take care of preparing the bath, so I would like you girls to take care of dinner like we agreed beforehand, okay?¡¹


    ¡¸Understood, master!¡¹


    ¡¸Should I not help you with that task, master?¡¹


    Sherry asked me.


    ¡¸I appreciate the gesture, but I will be fine on my own. It might sound simple, but the process of filling the entire bathtub up is longer and more complicated than it might initially seem. Also, I do not want either of you to burn yourself with hot water by accident.¡¹


    Well, it would certainly be better if I could ask them to move the hot water into the bathtub for me, but as I just said, I really do not want to make them do it if there is any risk of them burning themselves by accident. Not to mention that as the tub gets filled, the overall temperature of the bathroom rises, making it more difficult to breathe and turning the simple act of filling the tub into quite an ordeal. As long as they can get in the bath with me when I will finish preparing it, it is going to be more than enough for me. And since I am the only member of my Party who can use magic, then I feel like this is my responsibility and mine alone.


    Leaving Sherry with Roxanne as they were making the preparations to make dinner, I headed for the bathroom to get the process of filling it going right away. I will not lie: preparing a bath by using magic has turned out to be more of a hassle than I have initially expected it to be, but when I think about the incredible experience that is going to be waiting for me when I finally be done with preparing it, every fiber of my body is telling me that this is all going to be so worth it! And that is why I do not mind suffering for a bit myself now if it means that I will get to enjoy myself like never before later. That is how every good guy like me should aspire to be.


    ¡¸Miss Roxanne, is that amount of food going to be correct? Is master really going to eat so much?¡¹


    Even though my Level has increased and I could fill more of the bathtub with a single MP bar, it was still running low at a very fast pace, so it was high time to go recover it before it drops to the critically low zone, and while I was making my way to the living room to prepare a Warp portal to the Labyrinth, my ears caught Sherry asking Roxanne such questions as they were in the kitchen in the middle of making dinner for us. Is there some sort of problem with the amount of food? Are Dwarves perhaps especially big eaters and no one informed me about it?


    ¡¸Let me check real quick. . . . . . . . .  . . . .   hmm, this amount of food should be just right, but there is no need to hold yourself back, Sherry. If you want to add more of it, then feel free to do so.¡¹


    ¡¸Really? Master eats so much for a single meal?¡¹


    ¡¸Ah, so that is what it was about? In that case, do not worry. The meal we are making now is not just for master. It is for all three of us.¡¹


    ¡¸Eh? All three of us? Are we really allowed to eat the same thing that master is going to eat?¡¹


    Again with such issues? I do not want to sound overly rude, but this is starting to sound really pitiful.


    ¡¸Yes, we are allowed to do it, because that is what master wishes.¡¹


    ¡¸But. . . . . . . . . .   but there is so much good meat in here! And also, when we were buying bread, I could not help but notice that we ended up taking only the loaves that were of the highest quality. I thought that since we are slaves that we are not going to get any, and that we would only eat the leftovers left after master¡¯s meal.


    What did Sherry say just now? She lowered her voice so much that I could not hear her words clearly, so with nothing better to do, I knocked on the wall a few times to interrupt them and get their attention.


    ¡¸Roxanne, can I ask for the usual thing, please?¡¹


    ¡¸Ah, is it that time already? Then of course, master.¡¹


    Roxanne sprinted over to my side, and I handed the Leather Mittens and her Leather Shield to her, and placed the Leather Helmet directly onto her head.Of course, before I placed the helmet on her head, I did not forget to gently stroke her doggy ears.


    ¡¸Master, thank you for giving us an opportunity to eat such a delicious meal.¡¹


    Sherry came and bowed to me as if it was something that I did. It should be the other way around, right? I should be the one thanking you for letting me eat delicious food, because how it turns out depends entirely on your cooking skills, you know? Also, since we are about to go recover my MP, then I might as well ask her this one thing that I wanted to bring up.


    ¡¸By the way, Sherry, Roxanne and I are going to go to the Labyrinth for a little bit, and I was wondering if you would maybe like to go with us?¡¹


    ¡¸To the Labyrinth? Right now?¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, because I have to replenish the reserves of my magic power so that I could finish filling the bathtub. If you decide to go with us, it is more than likely that you will not be fighting together with us this time, but you are more than welcome to watch us so that you could get yourself accustomed to our way of fighting. But if you do not want to go because you want to stay and keep an eye on the cooking, then that is perfectly fine with us as well. You do not have to come simply because I am telling you to. Just say the word, and we will respect your decision.¡¹


    For a moment Sherry looks as if she was deep in thought, and then she said:


    ¡¸We have only just started to prepare the ingredients and did not put anything on fire just yet, so I think it should be fine for me to go together with you. Or rather, that I something that I want to do, so please, master, let me accompany you on your trip to the Labyrinth!¡¹


    ¡¸All right then, as you wish.¡¹


    Since Sherry decided that she is going to be coming along with us as well, I took out a pair of Leather Mittens and a Leather Helmet and gave them both to her. But when I was putting the helmet on her head and making adjustments to it. . .


    ¡¸Hmm, how should I put it. . .  somehow, this is truly amazing.¡¹


    ¡¸What is, master?¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, nothing. Just talking to myself, that¡¯s all.¡¹


    Sherry¡¯s hair is very thick. I bet that even if she was not wearing a Leather Helmet, then just her hair alone would be enough to absorb the impact of some of the blows aimed at her head.


    ¡¸I was simply thinking that you hair is unusually thick for a girl.¡¹


    Yeah, hair like that is definitely strange, just like I thought when I first saw her back at the Slave Shop.

 Volume 4 - CH 2.10

    ¡¸Oh? You were wondering about that, master? This is not just my own feature, but a peculiarity that all of the Dwarven women share.¡¹


    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. Dwarven men have beards all over their faces, hence their characteristic looks that the entire race is famous for. On the other hand, Dwarven women do not have beards at all, but as a tradeoff the hair on our heads can grow quite long and it is somewhat rougher in comparison to the hair of the women of other races.¡¹


    ¡¸I see.¡¹


    Yeah, Sherry¡¯s hair were definitely rougher to the touch than Roxanne¡¯s hair, but not in a bad or unpleasant way. How should I say it. . .  comparing their hair would be like comparing the fur of a dog with that of a cat. Technically they are both the same, but when you get down on it, each of the two has subtle differences to it that makes them both their own thing. For example, Roxanne¡¯s hair did not react in any kind of way when I placed the Leather Helmet on her head, but when I did the same to Sherry, moving the helmet around caused her hair in their entirety to move around. If I stuck a brush in it, I wonder if it would get stuck or rather slowly sank into it like any other normal brush would do?


    ¡¸That being said, I always gather them to the side and try to cut it regularly, but they do not always want to listen to me, no matter how hard I try to stylize them the way I want to.¡¹


    That is most definitely a cute thing to say, but if I were in Sherry¡¯s boots I would have really tried to watch what I say. If her words just now were heard by someone bold or having trouble with hair loss, she would have become the number one enemy of all the hairless people around the world in an instant.


    ¡¸All right, everyone ready? Then let us be on our way.¡¹


    I finished putting on my new equipment and Durandal as well, and then we were off to our MP Recovery destination: the fifth floor of the Vale¡¯s Labyrinth.


    ¡¸Okay now. Roxanne, use your nose to guide us towards the groups of enemies that all consist of the enemies of the same type.¡¹


    ¡¸As you wish, master!¡¹


    We came here to the Vale Labyrinth¡¯s fifth floor because the monsters here are still weak enough for me to kill them with a single blow from Durandal, which makes it a perfect place to restore my MP and earn a somewhat good amount of EXP at the same time. While being here, we can slowly accustom Sherry to our way of fighting without throwing her into the deep waters of the seventh floors right off the bat. Also, there is one more benefit to us being here: no one can deny that being able to kill monsters with a single blow is pretty cool, right? And since it is cool, then I want to use that chance to show off as many of my good points to our newest Party member whenever I can. Being adored by a beautiful girl for your fighting prowess and incredible swordsmanship is the best thing ever after all, and now I have not only Roxanne, but also Sherry to impress and earn myself some brownie points with them.


    ¡¸Ah. . .  uhm, this place here is. . . ?¡¹


    ¡¸About that. We are currently on the fifth floor of the Labyrinth in Vale.¡¹


    ¡¸Master, a group of identical monsters should be right nearby in that direction.¡¹


    ¡¸Good. Lead the way then.¡¹


    ¡¸Roger.¡¹


    Roxanne points in the direction of where the monsters that I wanted her to track were supposed to be, all the while Sherry kept on looking confused, most likely because I have yet to tell her that unlike Field Walker, Warp also enables us to teleport ourselves directly into the Labyrinth¡¯s without having to go through their entrances each and every time.


    ¡¸By the way, I have heard that some of the Wolfkin are capable of detecting monsters just by their smell alone. Are you capable of this feat, Miss Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. While it is not as perfect and accurate as I would have liked, I can detect nearby monsters just fine to be of use to master¡¯s needs.¡¹


    ¡¸Wow, really? That is amazing!!! (TL Note: Finally someone uses that word to describe someone other than the MC)¡¹


    Crap, looks like Roxanne was able to show off her own coolness before I was able to do it, so if I try to act all cool now, it might be seen as me just ripping her off. Well, there is nothing that can be done about it now, so I should just stop worrying about it and focus on the task at hand. . . but I cannot deny that it stings, even if just for a little bit.


    ¡¸Here we are. The monsters you wanted me to find are straight ahead, master.¡¹


    Thanks to Roxanne¡¯s excellent sense of smell, locating the first group of monsters: Cheap Sheep only took us a short while. These will be perfect targets to fulfill both goals of our trip here.


    ¡¸Oh,  we really found them rather fast. So fast. You are so incredible, Miss Roxanne. . .¡¹


    ¡¸You ready to do this, Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸Ready whenever you are, master!¡¹


    ¡¸Then let us go!¡¹


    Now, Sherry, make sure to watch closely so that you could burn the image that you are about to see into your eyes and learn as much as you can from what you are about to see. Even though you are only a Lv.10 Explorer, now that you have the two of us, a duo of experienced Labyrinth dwellers, with you, there will be nothing for you to worry about. Sooner or later you would have probably decided to go to the Labyrinth on your own to make for a living, and it would have quickly showed you that going to the higher floors on your own would be impossible without reliable companions by your side, trust me on this one. I know what I am saying, because when I first started going to the Labyrinths myself, I was exactly like that. Before I met Roxanne, I thought that just because I have OP stats and weapon there will be nothing that I will be unable to handle by myself until I was proven wrong in the worst way possible. After that one Trap Room incident, I knew that going to the Labyrinths solo is going to be the death of me sooner or later, and that is what prompted me to start searching for Party members. That plus my fear of being I this new and strange world all alone. Before, I would have been afraid of fighting more than one enemy at a time, but now that I know that I have a reliable backup with me, I feel like groups of enemies will not be a problem no matter how many of them we are going to be facing. What I am trying to say is that I am grateful to Roxanne for going to the Labyrinths with me and risking her life in order to help me, and I want Sherry to see the power of the bond that has been forged between the two of us after hours upon hours upon hours of this dungeon crawling.


    ¡¸Roxanne, I am going to take care of the ones on the left, so you make sure to deal with the ones on the right, okay?¡¹


    ¡¸On it, master!¡¹


    The two of us went towards the enemies side by side, breaking apart only when the Cheap Sheep were already withing the melee range of our weapons. The first Cheap Sheep that I have chosen to deal with charged towards me with its horns facing me, but I dodged it and brought Durandal¡¯s blade down on its neck, causing the Cheap Sheep who sheepishly thought that it can take me on to fall down


    Sherry, behold my amazing way of controlling the sword with the absolute minimum of the movements required for the first Cheap Sheep to be cut in half like a log of rotten wood and disappear with a puff of green smoke.


    Cool. My appearance right now has to be so cool that it might actually be too cool for my own good! It is a good thing that we do not have mirrors in here, because I would have surely ended up falling for my own coolness if I saw it right now!

 Volume 4 - CH 2.11

    At the same time on my right side, Roxanne was dodging the attacks of the other Cheap Sheep that engaged her in combat and she was alternating between dodges and counterattacks of her Scimitar. She was doing great, but because of the difference in the strength of our weapons, she could not have possibly hoped to defeat her opponent with a single strike as I did.


    That is right. Are you watching me, Sherry? Are you registering my swift sword arts in all of their magnificence with your beautiful eyes? Behold my magnificence and be stunned speechless as the second Cheap Sheep that I was fighting got cleaved in half and disappeared into oblivion while leaving its Drop Item behind.


    ¡¸Wow. I cannot believe this! That was so amazing!!!¡¹


    I know, right? My magnificent performance just now was so cool that it cannot be described as anything other than amazing, right? So come on, Sherry. Praise me more! Shower me with more compliments!


    ¡¸How did you manage to avoid all of the monsters attacks like it was nothing like that?! Are you some kind of evasion genius, Miss Roxanne?!¡¹


    What the hell, Sherry?! You were supposed to be looking at me and the amazing display of my prowess with my sword, not at Roxanne and her godly dodging skills, goddamn it!!!


    I mean, okay, to be perfectly fair, Roxanne¡¯s ability to dodge literally everything that comes her way is more than just a little amazing, so I guess there is no point in holding it against Sherry that she was so enraptured with Roxanne¡¯s movements that her eyes were glued to her the entire time. Because come on, this is Roxanne we are talking about here.


    ¡¸I am happy to hear such wonderful words of praise, Sherry, but that was nothing all that special. Actually, with enough practice and training, I am sure that you could have done something like that as well. The exact process differs slightly from monster to monster, but as a general rule, once you observe the monsters for long enough to learn all of its patterns of movements and attacks, dodging all of them will be nothing more than just a matter of timing your dodges properly. In case of those Cheap Sheep we just fought, the right moment would be when they are moving their heads with a *fuuuu*, and that is a signal for you that you should be moving your body away with a *haaaaa* and then. . . ¡¹


    Even though she did not ask for it, Roxanne began giving Sherry a lecture in regards to how a perfect evasive manuevers should have been performed. I do not know why she keeps on being so enthusiastic about making everyone around her learn to do the same thing that she is doing, because I myself should have been a good indicator that not everyone has the aptitude to be as skillful of an artful dodger as she is, but apparently that did nothing to dissuade her from her goal of spreading the glory of the dodges even further. Personally, I stopped trying to mimic her way of evading enemies after a few tries because no matter how hard I tried, I could not replicate any of the movements and motions she was talking about, but who knows, maybe as a fellow girl, Sherry will be able to understand her instructions from beginning and use them to. . . .  uh-huh, okay, nevermind what I just said.


    After listening to Roxanne¡¯s ramblings for a few minutes without any pause, Sherry looked  at me with a look that was clearly saying: ¡¸I do not understand what in the hell is she going on about.¡¹. Sherry, look. I definitely understand how you are feeling, but please, do not look to me for help with deciphering what Roxanne is saying, because I have no clue aboit it either!


    ¡¸Okay, now that this group of monsters is done for, maybe we should get going and move on to the next one? The criteria are the same as before, by the way.¡¹


    ¡¸Ah, yes, right this way, master.¡¹


    Since it did not look like Roxanne was about to stop monologuing anytime soon, I decided that it would be better if I gave Sherry a helping hand that would drag her out from the barrage of explanations that she obviously did not want to interrupt thinking that it would be rude towards Roxanne. However, her reaction explained to me the one thing that I was not all that sure about up until now: Roxanne¡¯s ability to perform such skillful dodges each and every time definitely is something that can be considered as abnormal. Up until now I always considered that everyone can do what Roxanne does if they have high enough combat ad gymnastic prowess, but apparently that was not the case at all, which made me feel kind of glad, because that means that Roxanne is the odd one here, and not that something is clearly wrong with me. Good. That is very good to know indeed.


    The looks that I exchanged with Sherry after that could have been translated as a following conversation:


    ¡¸See? I have been partnered with someone like that all this time¡¹


    ¡¸That must have been pretty rough, huh?¡¹


    Ahh, it is so good to know that on top of being an intellectual type, Sherry is also a person who sticks to the good old common sense in her daily life. A typically normal girl. My companion in normalcy.


    ¡¸? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?¡¹


    Roxanne looked at the both of us with a lot of question marks popping up above her head. Understandable, since she could not possibly grasp the gravity of the non-verbal conversation that we were having with each other just now, but that is not really all that important right now. What really matters now is that Sherry and I have reached a universal understanding over this particular matter, meaning that our feelings have become one.


    After that, we hunted for a few more groups of monsters until my MP has been fully recovered.


    ¡¸Okay, that should be enough for now. Shall we go back home for the time being?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, whenever you are ready, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, let us!¡¹


    With the approval from both Sherry and Roxanne, there was little else for me to do but to summon a Warp portal on the wall in the entrance room of the Vale¡¯s Labyrinth¡¯s fifth floor so that we could all go straight back home.


    ¡¸I will let you guys know when we will have to do it again, so please be ready should the need for that arises, okay?¡¹


    After informing the two of them that we might have to do it again, I wanted to go straight to the bathroom to resume the process of filling the bathtub, but I was stopped by Sherry, who obviously looked as if she wanted to ask me about something else, but was too shy to actually go through with it.


    ¡¸Uhm. . . well. . . ¡¹


    ¡¸Yes? What is it, Sherry? If you want to ask me about something, then do not hesitate to do so.¡¹


    ¡¸T-Then. . . Is Warp the kind of Movement Magic that allows you to go straight inside of the Labyrinth from anywhere outside of it?!¡¹


    Oh my, how her attitude has changed in about a split second. She might be more level-leaded and reasonable than Roxanne is, but when it comes to the things that pick her curiosity, it looks like she can be just as hopeless as Roxanne is with the explanations of her dodging techniques. Right now, her eyes are both shining with the kind of light that only those belonging to the intellectual faction can produce. However, since she is rather short, the impact of it was somewhat lessened, and she looked cute rather than anything else just now. If anyone else saw her just now, they would have definitely taken her for a curious kid, and not someone who is going to be coming along to the Labyrinths to defeat monsters with us.


    ¡¸T-That¡¯s right. That is basically how it is.¡¹


    ¡¸Ehh? So you really can use magic without speaking the spells chants? But, how can such a thing even be possible?¡¹


    ¡¸How can such a thing be possible? W-Well, that is pretty mysterious, I will give you that.¡¹


    Speaking of which, now that I think about it, I have been only using magic without their chants (or while pretending to be doing so in order to fool everyone around me). I have been mainly doing that while in the Adventurer¡¯s Guild to make it look like I was using Field Walker while in reality I was casting Warp, but it was all thanks to my Chant Omission Bonus Skill.

 Volume 4 - CH 2.12

    If I did not have that Bonus Skill equipped, it is more than likely that I would have to use chants to cast spells, same like all of the people around me.


    ¡¸This is really bugging me after all. I just cannot think of any possible explanation for how such a thing as casting spells without using their chants first could be possible.¡¹


    ¡¸Master is simply capable of using magic without invoking their chants.¡¹


    ¡¸Is that so? Really?! That is it?¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yeah, that is more or less how it is.¡¹


    I think that with Roxanne¡¯s gentle help, we managed to satiate Sherry¡¯s rather wild curiosity.


    ¡¸It does not sound very convincing, if I were to be honest. . .  but since even the person who uses the spells without their chants does not understand how he is able to do such a thing, then I guess there is nothing that we can do to pursue this matter further, is there?¡¹


    ¡¸I truly do not know why that is. Sorry that I cannot be of any help in this matter.¡¹


    Man am I glad that she understands that there is no reason to be dwelling on this subject any further if the person who uses the spells without their chants does not understand how exactly does it work. Sherry might be a smart person, but a truly intelligent one is able to understand and accept that there are just some things in this world that are simply not worth the trouble of questioning and trying to uncover how they work. Even back on earth, the scientists were unable to determine how are humans able to breathe or move their limbs around without consciously controlling both of those processes, so asking me why I am able to use spells without having to use their chants would be pretty much the same as asking the fish how is it that they cannot drown even though they spend their entire lives submerged in the water without having to go to the surface to replenish their supply of air at regular intervals. Fish cannot drown in the sea because they cannot drown in the sea, and birds can fly in the sky because they can fly in the sky. These are the established truths of the world that no one dares to call into question because of how obvious these truths are.


    For a few more minutes, Sherry continued to mumble things such as ¡¸But why?¡¹ or ¡¸How is it possible?¡¹to herself. Looks like the scholarly types are all the same no matter the world you end up in. They all simply cannot help themselves to let go of a particular subject once their interest has been picked, but it does not matter all that much now. As long as she does not decide to pry her nose where it does not belong, I think it will be perfectly fine to allow her to have her own thoughts and dilemmas that she could ponder about in her free time as a kind of a mental exercise.


    ¡¸By the way, I saw that you were able to defeat the monsters we you were fighting with just a single blow, so you must be pretty strong, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Well, something like that is a given after you aquire enough levels and naturally get stronger.¡¹


    So even though she noticed how amazing it was of me to be able to defeat the monsters on the fifth floor of Vale¡¯s Labyrinth with a single blow, she did not look all that impressed by it, or at least not as impressed as she was with Roxanne¡¯s ability to dodge every attack that was coming her way. Maybe it was because she deduced that since I needed to buy myself a second slave, I am not as strong as I would have liked, meaning strong enough to kill monsters effortlessly and make money in the Labyrinths with just Roxanne and myself? Then again, you probably did not need to be overly smart to deduce something like that, because a simple logic was enough to arrive at such a conclusion, and it was that conclusion that even made me consider buying a second slave so fast after obtaining my first slave.


    ¡¸Uh-huh. May I ask what level you currently are?¡¹


    ¡¸Sure. Right now my Explorer level is thirty three.¡¹


    That being said, I think that the pace of my levelling-up has somewhat decreased, even if only for a little bit. It will probably get even more difficult to gain more levels as time goes on and my levels increase even further.


    ¡¸Huh?!!¡¹


    When I answered Sherry¡¯s question, Roxanne seemed to be so shocked to learn what level I was right now that she let out a small shout.


    ¡¸What is it, Roxanne? Did I say something to startle you?¡¹


    ¡¸N-No, it is not like that. I am simply surprised that master¡¯s level is so high! I thought that master was still at Explorer Lv.20!¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, yeah, I was, way back then.¡¹


    By the way, Roxanne should have also gone up more than ten levels since we last checked them together.


    ¡¸Way back then, you say?¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, because we are growing in strength regularly every day.¡¹


    ¡¸Growing in strength, you say?! Regularly, you say?!!¡¹


    That was the only possible way for me to explain it, because let us face it: if I were to openly tell her that we are gaining experience for our Jobs about hundred more times than the rest of the people around us, I think the pure shock of that information would be enough to knock her out cold on the spot, so for now, just the knowledge that she has also grown at the pace similar to mine should be more than enough for her.


    But then. . .


    ¡¸Gaining so much levels in your Job in such a relatively short time is already impressive in and out of itself, but to be able to kill monsters from the fifth floor of the Labyrinths with but a single strike. . .  no. Perhaps it is not a matter of levels, but perhaps the weapon that you are using? If that was the case then it would not be tha strange, since I did hear that there are amazing swords and other kinds of weapons in this world that would definitely enable their wielders to perform amazing feats like that.¡¹


    Drat, at this rate, Sherry is going to see through me completely. She really is too smart for her own good. Right now, she way eyeing my Durandal so intently as if it was a suspect in a murder case.


    ¡¸Keep the matters of our levels and my sword a secret, okay? Now, if you will excuse me, I am going to continue preparing the bath.¡¹


    ¡¸¡¸Y-Yes, of course!¡¹¡¹


    For the time being, I chose to evacuate myself to the bathroom before Sherry could start grilling me about even more things that I either did not know about or did not wish to talk about at the moment. When I glanced back at her, she was still holding her hand against her chin and was nodding her head with a deadly serious look on her face.


    For a good while I was able to continue filling the bathtub without being distracted by anything else. . .


    ¡¸Master, master! We are terribly sorry to disturb you, but could we ask you to light this on fire for us?¡¹


    . . . . .  until Roxanne and Sherry came to the bathroom to request something of me. Thankfully it looked like it was not about a further pursuit of the matters that we discussed before like I was afraid of. But even if the did come here with that in mind, I would not be able to tell them anything other than what I already disclosed to them, because I literally do not know anything more myself. Instead, it looked like they wanted me to become a Firestarter, because Roxanne came closer to me and handed me something that looked like a tree branch that was split into multiple strands near one of its ends. Is this what is used to start small fires in this world, like the ones needed to cook something?


    But. . . a fire, huh? Is fire not closely related to the process of smithing? Or rather, is a necessary component to get this process started in the first place?


    ¡¸Sherry, have you ever started a fire by yourself?¡¹


    Since the topic of fire came up so naturally, I might as well ask her that.


    Usually, blacksmithing requires fire in order to get the blacksmithing forge started, so I thought that fire might be one if the things needed in order to obtain the Master Smith Job, especially since in this world where there are no matches, gasoline or other modern substances used to lighting up a fire, setting it up by oneself might actually be considered to be quite an achievement without using magic like my Fireball. Would it not be nice if  Sherry got it started all by herself and the *snap* Master Smith Job unlocked?

 Volume 4 - CH 2.13

    ¡¸Yes, I have. Is there some sort of problem?¡¹


    ¡¸Nah, I was simply curious, that is all.¡¹


    However, she just affirmed that this lead was not the right one, but it was worth a shot anyway. I thought that maybe one of the conditions needed to obtain the Blacksmith Job would be to start a fire by yourself, but apparently I was mistaken.


    In that case, maybe she should try melting some metal by placing it in a really hot flame? Yeah, that would definitely be more Master Smithy. . .  Huh? Uhm, Roxanne, why are you looking at me with that incredibly disappointed expression on your face? Could. . .  could it be that you are angry and jealous that I asked Sherry if she could light up a fire, but did not do the same with you? No, Roxanne, it is not what you are thinking! I am not playing favorites! This is all just a big misunderstanding, you hear me?! A misunderstanding!!! Hurry, water! I have to pour a crapton of water on that fire before it gets out of control!


    ¡¸If Roxanne needs fire, I will always be happy to light one for you whenever you will need me to do it.¡¹


    Taking the split tree branch that Roxanne was holding in her hand, I lit it up and handed it over to her without a second of delay.


    ¡¸Yes, of course, my master.¡¹


    Roxanne nodded with a smile that clearly had something malicious behind its usual sweet appearance.


    I do not know if that follow-up was an okay one or not, but as long as she understands that I will always be there for her whenever she needs me, then I guess that is all fine and good.


    Also, I not know why, but somehow I am starting to feel really tired now, even though I have not been continuing my work of filling the bathtub for that long.


    ¡¸Wow, you can really use Attack Magic, and without a chant at that!¡¹


    Ah, that was a nice reaction. Keep it up, Sherry. Your cute surprised face is going to be a nice healing agent after that little bit of yandere shenanigans from Roxanne.


    After that, we went to the Labyrinth several times in order to fill the bathtub with enough water so that all three of us could take a bath. And by ¡¸we¡¹I mean ¡¸Roxanne and I¡¹because this time Sherry volunteered to stay behind so that she could watch the fire in the kitchen for us while the food was being cooked, which actually worked to our advantage, because with just the two of us, we could safely go to the seventh floor of the Labyrinth in Quratar without worrying about her getting hurt by accident.


    ¡¸Why are you going to the Labyrinth so many times when you are preparing a bath?¡¹


    Sherry asked us that question at some point.


    ¡¸Because the process of preparing a bath can be tiring and mentally draining, so this is a kind of a stress relief.¡¹


    But Roxanne gave a strange answer. Stress relief? Really? Just how hard does that girl think that preparing a bath is? Because I can definitely agree that it is tiring and takes a lot of time, but personally I would never have called it mentally draining to the point where I would feel that the only way for me to do something with the accumulated stress would be to go to the Labyrinth and kill the monsters in there. That would sim0ly be counterproductive and needlessly risky. But. . .  does that mean that Roxanne thought of it like that? Well, in that case, maybe I should have a talk with her about it sometime soon? But for the time being, let me correct what she just said to Sherry so as to avoid creating an even deeper misunderstanding.


    ¡¸Actually, I have to go to the Labyrinths at regular intervals to recover MP if I want to avoid completely running out of it while filling the bathtub with water. Without it, I would not be able to fill even half of the bathtub.¡¹


    ¡¸Recover MP, you say? Does your sword have a MP Recovery Skill?¡¹


    ¡¸Not exactly. It has MP Absorption.¡¹


    ¡¸MP Absorption. . . . . . . . . . . ¡¹


    Sherry muttered to herself as she continued to stare at Durandal as if she wanted to pierce through it with her eyes.


    ¡¸Do you know something about MP Absorption Skill? And if so, could you tell me more about it?¡¹


    ¡¸Certainly. MP Absorption Skill is created by infusing a weapon with the Skill Crystals from two different monsters: Kobold Skill Crystal and Scissoresque Carnivorous Plant Skill Crystal. It is a very rare and valuable Skill to have.¡¹


    As expected of a Dwarf. It would seem that Sherry knows a lot about how Master Smith¡¯s Skills and the things that are related to it work, even though she is not a Master Smith herself. Yet.


    ¡¸Do you know what kind of Skill  does the Slow Rabbit¡¯s Skill Crystal have?¡¹


    ¡¸If memory serves me correctly, then Rabbit Skill Crystals that come from Slow Rabbits should give you the Skill ¡¸Chant Delay¡¹.¡¹


    ¡¸Well now, what do you know? That might actually be a pretty handy Skill to have. Thank you for the information, Sherry.¡¹


    All the info Sherry is giving us about Skills is great, especially since neither I nor Roxanne knew about something so specific, but there is a small problem with it: all that knowledge will be useless if we will not get more Skill Crystals. We know that technically they are classified as a rare drop, but I wonder if there is some way of increasing the drop odds of Skill Crystals specifically, and not rare items in general, or if there is some of checking what can be dropped from the enemy you are about to face, because that would certainly save us a lot of trouble if we could determine if it would even be profitable for us to engage in a particular battle or not.


    ¡¸Please, do not think anything of it, master. It is my duty as your slave to serve you with advice to the best of my ability.¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, I know, but I would feel bad if I did not thank you for it properly. Incidentally, since we are still on the topic of Skill Crystals and what they do, could you tell me in what way does the Skill ¡¸Chant Delay¡¹ differs from the other similar Skill, ¡¸Chant Interruption¡¹? Because, to be honest, they do not sound all that different to me, not going just by their names, at least.¡¹TY


    ¡¸Chant Interruption¡¹is another Skill that is attached to Durandal, and I am pretty sure that it is not the same as ¡¸Chant Delay¡¹. So the question is: how are these two Skills differ from one another, and which one is the better one of the two?


    ¡¸¡¸Chant Interruption¡¹ is a Skill that causes the casting of any given Skill to be stopped midway, meaning that the caster has no choice but to start chanting from the beginning if they want to cast the Skill they wanted to use properly, while ¡¸Chant Delay¡¹simply causes the Skill¡¯s chant to take longer than usual to complete.¡¹


    ¡¸So the ¡¸Chant Delay¡¹means that the Skill is only delayed, and the ¡¸Chant Interruption¡¹ is basically a forced cancellation of it?¡¹


    I asked, still not really understanding the difference, even after Sherry explained it to me in so much detail.


    ¡¸Then in that case, is ¡¸Chant Interruption¡¹ not a better option between the two?¡¹


    Roxanne cuts in, voicing one of my most crucial concerns in this matter. Looks like she still does not understand what the deal with those two is as well.


    ¡¸Generally, that would have been the case, but that is not always the best solution. For instance, suppose that all six members of the Party would surround a monster that was about to use its Skill. In such a scenario, if all Party members were to continue hitting the monster with the weapons that have the effect of ¡¸Chant Delay¡¹ added onto them, it would have been possible for them to continue hitting the monster and delaying the activation of its Skill, delaying it so much that the monster would have been defeated before it could fully recite the chant for its Skill. Also, while they are in the middle of reciting the chants for their Skills, monsters are forced to stay completely still, causing them to be vulnerable to attacks without any way of defending themselves.¡¹

 Volume 4 - CH 2.14

    If the amount of chant delaying effects on attacks is going to be greater than the monster¡¯s casting speed, then the casting of its Skill is really never going to be completed. So it can be treated as a kind of a saturation attack.


    And even if the damage done by each chant delaying attack is small, this drawback could always be offset by the sheer number of attacks, even if quantity over quality might be seen by some people as a cheap tactic, I say that as long as it gets the job done, everything goes.


    ¡¸Come to think of it, the Skill-using monsters that we have fought thus far really could not move when they were using Skills.¡¹


    The Green Caterpillar and the Beep Sheep shared that characteristic. Also, both of these monster types were trying to unleash their Skills at us only when they were sure that there was enough distance between us as to not allow us to attack them during the chanting process.


    ¡¸Then that would really mean that ¡¸Chant Delay¡¹ is a much better option between these two Skills, right?¡¹


    Pondering everything she just heard, Roxanne arrived at such a conclusion. Thinking about it that way, that would really be the case. If the monsters really cannot perform any other action for as long as the chanting process is ongoing, and we know that they cannot because we have seen this more than our fair share of times already, then keeping it locked indefinitely in the chanting action would be the best possible choice for making the combat infinitely easier, which translates into making our fights that much safer. On the other hand, since ¡¸Chant Interruption¡¹breaks the process of the Skill¡¯s activation completely, then it does not mean that the monster that got interrupted is necessarily going to go back to chanting the Skill¡¯s incantation again. For all we know, when monsters will learn that we can interrupt their chants, they might as well opt for a normal attack instead of trying something that might as well end in failure for a second time.  When compared to this, ¡¸Chant Delay¡¹that is going to prevent the Skill-using monster from making any other attacks because it is going to be locked in a still-ongoing action of casting the Skill is truly a more practical, more desirable option. If we keep delaying  the monster¡¯s chanting, it might be possible to render it completely unavailable of doing anything other than continuing the chanting, like attacking, dodging or even walking. Yeah, the more I think about it, the stronger that Skill seems to be!


    ¡¸Of course, not everything is as perfect with it as it might seem at first glance. Usually, there is more than one monster that a Party has to fight, especially on the higher floors of the Labyrinths, and oftentimes, monsters can simply choose to stop their incantations on their own. Not to mention that the decision to have all of the members of your Party equip the weapons with ¡¸Chant Delay¡¹Skill embedded into them is a kind of a big one, as well as the one that might turn out to be more harmful rather than helpful in the long run, because having the entire Party specialize in one specific aspect of combat or Skill limits the Party¡¯s options and eliminates of the greatest strengths that a Party can possibly have: diversity and versatility, and makes it more succeptible to random or unforeseen circumstances that no one had the means of predicting. All in all, using ¡¸Chant Delay¡¹is a good strategy to be used against the Floor Bosses on the lower floors of the Labyrinths, while on the higher floors, ¡¸Chant Interruption¡¹, which can force even a Floor Boss to stop chanting the Skill incantation and force it do start doing it all over again from the very beginning is extremely more valuable.


    ¡¸I see. So while ¡¸Chant Delay¡¹can have its fair share of uses, ¡¸Chant Interruption¡¹is a lot more useful in the overall sense.¡¹


    Roxanne nodded her head, accepting that her initial assessment that put ¡¸Chant Delay¡¹above ¡¸Chant Interruption¡¹was too hastely made. Now that we have that difference sorted out for us, we can make some plans and adjustemnts to incorporate what we just learned into our overall set of strategies. Since Labyrinths can be quite big and expansive, I think it is safe to state that we are still in the lower floors area of it, meaning that it should be safe for us to experiment around with the ¡¸Chant Delay¡¹Skill Crystal if we ever mange to get our hands on one of them. It also helps that so far, Floor Boss encounters only have one Floor Boss in them, but I do not know if that trend is going to stay the same or change the higher into the Labyrinths we will go.


    ¡¸How can we create ¡¸Chant Interruption¡¹ Skill Crystal?¡¹


    ¡¸It can be done by fusing a monster Skill Crystal together with a Kobold Skill Crystal. In master¡¯s case, it would be a fusion of Slow Rabbit Skill Crystal and Kobold Skill Crystal that would result in the creation of ¡¸Chant Interruption¡¹Skill Crystal.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, that is another thing that I wanted to ask you about. You mentioned the Kobold Skill Crystal before as well. Why is that? Does using this specific monster¡¯s Skill Crystal helps improving the resulting Skill Crystal in some way? If so, then I had no idea that such a bland, weak monster can actually be so useful.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, you are actually right in stating that, master. Just as you have guessed, Kobold Skill Crystals are a little bit more special when compared to the other Skill Crystals, in a sense that when they are fused with them, they have the unique ability to strengthen the resulting Skill Crystal¡¯s effect, and in rarer cases they can even modify it to a certain extent.¡¹


    ¡¸So we cannot just fuse Slow Rabbit Skill Crystal with any other random Skill Crystal to get our hands on the ¡¸Chant Interruption¡¹chant interruption Skill Crystal?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, that is right. In order to create that Skill Crystal, you need the Kobold Skill Crystal specifically.¡¹


    ¡¸And there are no exceptions?¡¹


    ¡¸No, I am afraid that there are no exceptions.¡¹


    ¡¸Well, in that case I guess it really was a stroke of luck that we managed to get our hands on that Slow Rabbit Skill Crystal this morning, right, Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸Oh yes, most definitely.¡¹


    We glanced at each other and exachanged nods and a thumbs up. I never would have expected that the Kobolds, monsters that are commonly referred to as the weakest ones among the bestiary of this world would have a surprisingly handy usage like that. I guess that makes sense of why some Adventurers go out of their way to hunt them despite their inability to provide any kind of decent Drop Items or EXP after being killed. I also thought of them as little more than and the equivalent of annoying insects, but apparently there was much more to them than meets the eye, as was the case with many of the things that I have encountered during my stay here thus far.


    ¡¸The question now is: is it really worth it to keep killing Kobolds and grind them and hope that one of them is going to drop its Skill Crystal sooner or later?¡¹


    ¡¸About that, master. That is most certainly a valid concern, but also the one that you do not have to worry about all that much, because there is a simple remedy for that, because the auctions organized by the Quratar¡¯s Merchants Guild are always a valid option to try.¡¹


    ¡¸Auctions organized by the Merchants Guild here in Quratar? What is usually auctioned there?¡¹


    ¡¸Skill Crystals and the equipment that comes together with Skills already imbued into it, among other things. But since you are living here, then I am sure that you already knew about it, so my words were more like a refresher rather than anything meaningful, right?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, of course.¡¹


    Of course. . . . . .  that this is my first time hearing about something like that.


    ¡¸. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  Did you know about that, Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm. . .  not personally, but I am sure that I probably heard rumors about it somewhere before. . . . probably.¡¹


    In other words, Roxanne had no idea that something so convenient was being organized in this city.

 Volume 4 - CH 2.15

    And if Roxanne did not know about it, that any smart person would be able to put two and two together, realizing that if she did not know about it, then there would be no way for me to know about it as well.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  and that is exactly what Sherry did, because she was looking at Roxanne and myself with the eyes that were clearly saying something along the lines of ¡¸Really now? Seriously?¡¹.


    ¡¸Uhm. . . . . . .  I come from a country located far, far away to the east, so the customs we had there and the way things are working here in this country differ significantly in quite a few aspects, so I will gladly welcome any piece of knowledge that you would be willing to share with me.


    ¡¸*Sigh. . . * Okay, I understand.¡¹


    Damn, there is no way that the good impression that I managed to score with her throughout the day did not take a real plummet towards the ground just now. But I cannot help it in any shape, way or form, because if I do not know something then I do not know something, even though I just lied that I did because I thought it was going to make me sound more cool in Sherry¡¯s eyes, which ended up backfiring horribly.


    ¡¸So about those Kobold Skill Crystals. . . .  you think we would be able to buy them if we went to one of the auctions?¡¹


    ¡¸I guess so. . . . . . . but doing that now would be pointless, unless you have some connections with someone who has a Master Smith Job?¡¹


    You are my Master Smith connection, my dear Sherry. But for the time being, it would be best for me to keep quiet about it in order to not make her even more suspicious of us than she already might be.


    ¡¸I see. Thank you for your explanations, Sherry. They are really easy to understand even for someone like me. As you probably guessed, neither Roxanne nor I knew anything about it, so having someone like you around, someone who is smart and does not hesitate to share her knowledge with others is really quite useful to us.


    ¡¸No, you do not have to thank me, master. What I am telling you is not really anything that groundbreaking, just something that those who live in the empire consider to be common knowledge.¡¹


    ¡¸I know, but even so, we appreciate your help. It might sound a bit presumptuous coming from me, but do continue to support us in the future, all right?¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yes, of course! Thank you very much for putting so much of your trust in me!¡¹


    Now that I finished complimenting Sherry, I went to the Labyrinth for another time. While in there, I made sure to praise Roxanne for how useful she was as a preventive method against her getting jealous that I praised Sherry more than her today. *Phew. . . * now that I have bought sherry and the ranks of my Party have grown, there is a lot more things that I have to consider and look out for now, huh? I never would have expected that sharing my life with just two more people is going to be so tiring not only on my body, but on my psyche as well. In any case, Roxanne was the first slave that I bought for myself, and the one who has supported me with everything that she could ever since our paths have become intertwined, so I have to make sure not to neglect her or make her feel sad in any way. What kind of master would I be if I allowed something like that to happen, a horrible one, that is who I would be.


    After finishing another round of recovering MP in the Labyrinth, We came back home and I finished preparing the bath. As a finishing touch I have thrown some lemons into the water and that was it, so I left the bathroom.


    ¡¸Thank you for your hard work today, master. The dinner is ready now.¡¹


    Roxanne informed me after handing me a towel so that I could wipe the sweat off of my forehead.


    ¡¸Thank you. Let us go and eat now.¡¹


    When we arrived in the dining room, the dished were already lined up on the table. Judging from the position of the plates, Sherry seemed to have put her own right next to Roxanne¡¯s this time. And as for the dish before my eyes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


    ¡¸*Sniff* *Sniff* It smells incredible.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you for your kind words, master. Since this is the first dish that I am preparing for you as your slave, I wanted it to be something that would represent the culinary culture of my race, and so, I have prepared a traditional Dwarven soup, Borscht. (TL Note: So, Borscht is considered to be a typical Dwarven cuisine, huh? Does that mean that Dwarves in general are going t be modeled after Russians, or other inhabitants of Cental and Eastern Europe, since this is where Borscht originally comes from? I guess we shall see one day) I hope you will find it to your liking.¡¹


    Those were the words that Sherry greeted me with.


    The soup that was in the pot that was on the table definitely looked like the genuine Borscht, or at least something that was very similar to it, but I wonder if it was really called Borscht, or was this another case of the game mechanics with the Brahim language translating the untranslatable words to their equivalents from my world that my mind would be able to comprehend without much issues? Anyway, let¡¯s check this thing out real quick before I have myself a seat. Red color? Check. The typical aroma of the beet boiled in hot water with various spices? Check. Yup, for all intents and purposes, this soup really looks like Borscht (TL Note: God damn, the urge to just start writing it as Barszcz as we call it in Poland is really strong in me right now), but I wonder how is it going to be taste wise. Also, this is going to be my first time tasing a cuisine other than that what I was eating at the Vale Pavilion and later the things that Roxanne and I were making together, so I guess you could say that I was really curious to see for myself exactly what does the Dwarven cuisine have to offer in comparison to all those other dishes I have eaten. Will it taste better, or perhaps worse? Is it going to be more exotic, or perhaps something more along the lines of standards of your typical European cooking? That being said, I did not taste all that much cooking that was not purely Japanese when I was still there, so I really do not know what kind of sensations I should be expecting.


    As I was thinking about how this Borscht was going to taste like, Roxanne sat down at the seat that was across from me at the other side of the table.


    Hm?


    ¡¸Roxanne, are you really fine sitting there?¡¹


    Now that Sherry has joined our ranks and all three of us are going to eat at the same dinner table every day, I really think that it would not hurt us to spread out a bit to ensure that we will be using the table in its entirety, since it was too big for just wo people anyway.


    ¡¸Yes, master, I am fine with it. After all, this is the best seat possible.¡¹


    Is this about that whole ¡¸I am my master¡¯s first slave, therefore the place in front of him belongs to me¡¹schtick? I am not so sure, and I do not know if I want to be digging into it more than I should.


    ¡¸All right, if you say so. Sherry, you sit down as well.¡¹


    ¡¸Eh? Are you serious, master? Am I really allowed to sit down and eat together with you?¡¹


    Again with this disbelief that she is allowed to eat at the same table as Roxanne and I? I do not know if this is the mentality of all the slaves or something that is being taught to them when they become the property of the Slave Shops, but I am not going to treat them as some sub-category of human beings.


    ¡¸Sure you are. Unless you explicitly want to eat your meal while standing, in which case, go right ahead. If that is what you want, I am not going to stop you.¡¹

 Volume 4 - CH 2.16

    ¡¸Sherry, I believe we have talked about this during the previous meal already, but master is not the kind of person who would ever order his slaves not to eat the same kind of food as him. He is a person who enjoys the company of others during his meals, so please, have a seat next to me and join us so that we could eat this meal together.¡¹


    Roxanne said so, finally causing Sherry to sit down. Was she really expecting me to order her not to eat the same kind of food we were going to eat just now and only make do with the leftovers while eating them off the floor? Now that really makes me wonder if this is a matter of preference, or perhaps something else entirely?


    Well, whatever I guess. As long as Sherry will not complain and is going to obediently sit down to eat with us, there will be no causes for any kinds of interventions on my end.


    Taking my mind off of such things, I took a healthy serving of Sherry¡¯s Borscht from the pot in the center of the table and poured it into my own plate. And as for that comes next, uhm. . .


    According to what Roxanne has taught me about this world, distributing soup to all who are sitting at the dining table is one of the responsibilities of the head of the household, or in other words, the responsibility that falls onto my shoulders since I am both the leader of our Party and the master of both Sherry and Roxanne. While a bit atypical from the normal familial structure, I guess those are reasons enough for me to consider myself the head of the household, and I am sure that neither of the girls are going to raise any kinds of complaints against this. After all, Aside form that one argument we had about the matter of my will and setting Roxanne free in the case of my untimely death, she never questioned any of my other decisions so far, and whenever we were going out into the town, she was always either walking right by my side or just half a step behind me, as if she was following some kind of slave etiquette. Is there even such a thing to begin with? I have no idea, so maybe I should try asking her about that some other time when we are not going to be occupied by other, more important matters. But let us get down to the soup distribution business. If I remember the other things that Roxanne was telling me about correctly, then after the head of the household pours the soup for himself, the next person who should receive the serving should the one who was responsible for the making of the soup in the first place, which would mean that this next person should be Sherry. . . . .


    *SHIVER! ! !* *SHIVER! ! !*


    ¡¸. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . !!!¡¹


    What the hell was that just now? This intense pressure and malicious air, as if someone was glaring at me with the evil intentions that could not have been more clear even if they tried. . . . .  do not tell me. . . . . .


    Yes! Roxanne was the one who emanated this malicious air. She was still smiling of course, but the way she was keeping her eyes closed and the ever so slight way that the corners of her lips were trembling as if she was doing all withing her power to stop herself from grimacing in displeasure. . . . . . . . .  oh yeah, there is no mistaking it. She is definitely jealous! Jealous of me giving the serving of the soup to Sherry instead of her in the first place! Okay, all right, I get it, I get it! See, Roxanne, I am giving the first serving of the soup to you on the double, so please, stop glaring so much daggers at me already!


    ¡¸H-Here you go, Roxanne.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, You are giving me the first serving of the soup? That is so thoughtful of you. Thank you very much, master.¡¹


    Rather than me being thoughtful, it is more like I have been intimidated into doing so, but let us not dwell on that for too long, because that is simply not worth it. I just anted to uphold the proper etiquette by giving Sherry, the chef who made the Borscht, the first serving of her own dish, that is it, nothing more to it. Besides, since this is supposed to be a Dwarven dish, she is probably the one who is looking forward to eating it the most. So now that Roxanne has been served her own portion, maybe I can finally give it to her as well?


    ¡¸Here is your serving, Sherry.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you very much, master.¡¹


    Finally, I managed to give Sherry the soup as well.


    I wonder if this dish is going to be similar to the bread and stir-fried vegetables that Roxanne prepared for me when we first moved here, or is it going to be something altogether different, with its own unique taste to it?


    ¡¸Well then, let us dig right in.¡¹


    I placed the spoon filled with Borscht in my mouth and swallowed it.


    Mmm. . . . . . . .  .


    The first thing that comes into my mind is that it has a rustic flavor, but it is the good kind of rustic. The ingredients are all cut into large pieces, which really gives this soup a feel of a countryside dish to it. Although personally, I would not have mind it if she were to cut the veggies into smaller pieces to make them a little easier to swallow. But nevertheless. . . .


    ¡¸it is delicious.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹


    And just like that, we all proceeded to eat the Borscht while enjoying it greatly.


    ¡¸Ahh, that sure tasted great. By the way, there is something that I was wondering for a while now. Wolfkin have the unique Beast Warrior Job, and Dwarves have their Master Smith, which got me thinking: is there a specific Job that only Humans can have?¡¹


    Sherry knows a lot, so she is definitely going to know the answer to that question. The person who ran the Vale Pavillion also said that his Job, the Innkeeper was a Job specific to his race, so it would be pretty strange if Humans did not have a Job that would be available to them and them alone. If it were to be like that, then it would definitely be unnatural and, well. . .  kinda racist, if I were to be honest. Maybe Hero is a Job reserved only for humans. . . yeah, right, that would be too much of a preferential treatment now, would t not?


    ¡¸! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Oh, uhm. . .  that is. . . .  well. . . ¡¹


    ¡¸Eh?! S-So master really is interested in those kinds of things?!¡¹


    Both of them had a strange reaction. Did I say something weird without really meaning to?


    ¡¸I mean, do not get me wrong, master! Being loved by you is definitely a good thing, and I. . .  and I enjoy it immensely. . . . ¡¹


    ¡¸I. . . I think so as well. . . .  and I have been prepared that for something like that to come up sooner or later. . . . ]


    Okay, what are they saying now? I only asked them if Humans have a Human-specific Job, but as soon as I said that, they both started to freak out.


    ¡¸Ladies? What are you going on about?¡¹


    ¡¸Human seem to be a race with an abnormally high, nigh-insatiable sex drive, so. . . .¡¹


    Sherry began her explanations, but honestly, I do not know if I like where she is going with this.


    Even animals have homosexuality, rape, non-reproductive sex, family killing, and infanticide, but they do all of these things because they are being driven by their instincts. Humans, on the other hand, are the only known race that can do all of those things simply to feel the pleasure coming from them. Animals can live according to their instincts, but humans have evolved and adapted to use their brains to make decisions, rather than relying solely on their instincts. We became more flexible, but in the process of doing that, we lost the breaks on our desires.


    ¡¸So. . . ?¡¹


    ¡¸So since that seems to be a defining feature of the Human race, their race-specific Job. . .  is Sex Maniac.¡¹


    Human-specific Job. . . .  is a Sex Maniac? Because of their nigh-insatiable sex drive?


    Yeah, that. . . that is definitely very human like.

 Volume 4 - CH 3.01

    Chapter 3: Never Give Up!


    ¡ºSherry¡»


    ¡ºCurrent Character Levels & Equipment¡»:


    Jobs:


    Villager Lv.3


    Equipment:


    Mallet


    Leather Helmet


    Leather Armor


    Leather Gloves


    Sandals


    News flash: So apparently, Humans are considered to be a race that has an enormous, near insatiable sexual appetite. That is what Roxanne and Sherry told me while their faces were all flushed and they nervously avoided looking me in the eyes.


    As much as I think that such an opinion is unjust and even racist. . .  I cannot say that it is not completely true, since I already had a lot of pent up desires that exploded when I bought Roxanne, and now that I also have Sherry, who also agreed to become my sex slave, by my side, there is no doubt in my mind that those desires are only going to grow stronger as time goes on and more and more slaves joins the ranks of my Party.


    So yeah, even if I wanted to do something about it, I guess it simply cannot be helped. Certainly, there is absolutely nothing that can be done on my part to change the state of this matter at all. After all, that is what being human is all about.


    ¡¸Okay, now we are all going to take a bath together. Once you take all of your clothes off, come on in.¡¹


    I declared as I started to undress myself without any kind of hesitation.


    Yes, this is an essential part of who I am, or rather, what my race is, so trying to fight it would be like an attempt to be someone that I am not. So now that I have resolved myself, I have to do everything that I can to keep this momentum going without letting it die out, so I quickly got rid of my clothing and went to the bathroom a little bit earlier in order to give the girls some alone time.


    (. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .)


    It is happening. Oh my God, it is finally happening! We are finally going to have a threesome bath! Now, when we typically talk about a man and a woman having a bath, you would imagine that the two of them are a couple, but the ones that I am going to be bathing with are not my girlfriends, but my slaves! It is a big shame that I will not be able to witness the glorious scene of Roxanne and Sherry undressing in one room right next to each other, but in the situation where this is going to be Sherry¡¯s first time doing something like that with us, I felt like it was necessary for me to be a little bit forceful and make it look like an order that she could not refuse, because otherwise she might have tried to escape from the entire thing, rendering all of the preparations that I went through for this particular event useless.


    Right now, the role of convincing Sherry to take a bath with us falls onto Roxanne¡¯s shoulders, and all that I can do is to check if the temperature of the water is not too hot. Thankfully, once I dipped my hand it in, it felt like it was just hot enough to make for an enjoyable soak, and not hot enough to burn us. All in all, I have to say that I have become pretty skilled when it comes to preparing baths.


    ¡¸Is. . .  is it really okay for me to be taking a bath together with master? I thought that only the members of the royal family and nobility are allowed to do it?¡¹


    ¡¸It is perfectly okay for you to be doing it Sherry, I assure you. Now, let us go in together.¡¹


    I heard the voices of Sherry and Roxanne behind me back. Okay, looks like everything seems to be going fine for the time being, which is great. Sherry is going to be bathing with me in just a few short moments! Oh, I just cannot wait! The suspense is killing my fragile male heart!


    I set the lantern in the corner of the room and checked the temperature of the water again in order to keep myself occupied. Yeah, its pretty hot, but not hot enough to be in need of cooling it with cold water. Good, we are definitely in the clear here.


    But maybe. . .  just maybe, I should probably add just a tiny bit of it, just to be doubly, triply and quadruply sure that the temperature is going to be just right. We should still have some leftover water in the boiling tank, but it would be difficult to quickly increase the temperature after adding it in. On the other hand though, cooling it should be pretty easy, so the next time I will be preparing the bath, I think it should be fine to make the water even hotter than it is right now.


    ¡¸Miss Roxanne, your breasts are so big!¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s is not true, Sherry. I think they are the normal size.¡¹


    ¡¸Maybe so, but they are definitely bigger than mine. There is no competition here at all. *Sigh*. . . ¡¹


    As I kept the watch over the hot water, I heard the voices of the girls talking about such things behind my back. Oi mates, you do realize that I can hear you, right?! What do you think you are doing, talking about things like that when I am dying of anticipation here? Do you really want my heart to burst that much?! Ugh, I am so envious and I want to join them right this instant! It is not fair that they are the only ones who get to have fun like that while I am left out on a loop, so hurry up and jump into the bath already! And while I am still at it, I better make sure to prepare the soap before I forget. . .


    ¡¸Master, we are ready now. So if you will excuse us. . . ¡¹


    Roxanne was the one to approach me first. Hoo boi, are her jugs getting bigger every time I get to see them , or is it just my horniness-fueled imagination playing tricks on me? Big, oh lawd, so big. . .


    ¡¸Ahh, uhm, yes. . .  excuse us. . . ¡¹


    Sherry followed right after her, but much to my chagrin she was hiding her breasts beneath the bath towel and she kept her face down, but aside from that towel, she did not have anything on and was completely naked. Ahh, just like I thought. This beautiful scenery before my eyes is pure bliss, teal heaven, and true paradise!


    ¡¸Sherry, in this household, it is one of our established customs that master is going to be the one who is going to wash us.¡¹


    ¡¸Ah. . . ! O-Okay!¡¹


    That is right, Sherry. Washing my slaves is one of the parks. . .  or should I say, privilages of me being your master. Sherry¡¯s body is small and thin, but not child-like. Overall, I have to say that she looks pretty stylish, in a completely different sense from Roxanne, who is a man-killing bombshell all around. Even though she claimed that she has very small breasts, it was not true. They might not be the size of melons, but they are definitely there, and her soft skin looks positively dazzling in the light provided by the lantern.


    ¡¸Alright, let us get in, and I will wash you two.¡¹


    However, no matter how privileged I may be as their master, it would definitely be rude of me to just continue to stand there and gawk at the two of them, so I entered the bathtub while taking some of the soap with me. Just like before, Roxanne was the first one to follow after me.


    ¡¸Here you go, master.¡¹


    She said, standing in front of me with her two enormous boobs swaying left and right when she leaned forward towards me. Naturally, my eyes were glued to those marvelous mountains and the deep valley between them, and I could do nothing to get my sight away from them. They were simply too enrapturing for me to resist their temptation.


    ¡¸As I thought, there really is no way for me to even come close to them.¡¹


    Sherry commented with a mournful voice. No no no Sherry, it is not like that at all. . . I said in my mind while still staring at Roxanne¡¯s milkers.

 Volume 4 - CH 3.02

    When it comes to the sizes of their chests, Sherry obviously seems to be having an inferiority complex whenever she gazes at how stacked Roxanne is and it must hurt her to see how obsessed I seem to be with her boobs as well, and honestly, I cannot blame her for that, because I would have probably reacted in the same way if I saw a girl that I had a massive crush on hitting it off with other dudes who are not me. . .  but when Roxanne herself is tempting me with these wonderful breasts of hers, it is really hard for me to resist their allure and the urge to grab them and sink my fingers into them while forgetting about everything else that is happening around me at this very moment. I want to apply the soap all over Roxanne¡¯s body and make her all shiny and slippery with it. So that is what I did. I moved my hands forward and started washing Roxanne up from top to bottom.


    I washed her breasts, the places that I wanted to touch the most with the utmost care and attention to their every nook and cranny, first with one hand, and then with both of my hands to make sure that not even a speck of unwashed skin will remain on her. I am indulging in her body to my heart¡¯s content, slowly tracing the curves of her rich bulges.


    As I thought, Roxanne¡¯s boobs are truly the best out of all the boobs in the world. Their incredible feeling of springiness, elasticity and weight feel like they are almost too much for me to handle. No matter if I choose to take care of the left one or right one, they both feel equally incredible. This is the best feeling in the entire world, period. I am positively sure that there is nothing that can top it off.


    ¡¸They are the best. Absolutely amazing.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you very much. . .  master. . . ¡¹


    When I was finished, Roxanne was covered in foam practically everywhere on her body except for her head, back and tail.


    ¡¸Okay Sherry, you are next.¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yes, of course!¡¹


    Now that she was standing before me with nothing but a towel covering her, I could clearly see how petite her figure is. Just the difference in our height was so big that if she was not facing her head upwards, it was impossible for me to see exactly what kind of face she was making. But that did not change the fact that overall she was still thin, slim and incredibly pretty.


    ¡¸Before I start, do you want to keep your hairbands on?¡¹


    ¡¸Ah, no, there is no need for that. I will take them off. I was simply keeping them on because I did not want to wash my hair just yet. . . because I thought that because of how long they are, they might get in the way of you and Miss Roxanne. . . ¡¹


    I see. She really has thought this through, huh? How nice of her to be so considerate of others, even in circumstances such as these. Not to mention that her chest is not as small as she claimed it to be, because while not on Roxanne¡¯s level, I could definitely see them jiggling under the bath towel just now.


    ¡¸Thank you for you consideration, Sherry, but I do not really mind that, so the next time we will be taking a bath, do not feel inclined to wait until we are finished and go ahead with washing your hair. This bathtub should be large enough for all of us to be able to wash ourselves without getting in each other¡¯s way after all. Roxanne, can I ask you to make some more foam for us?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course, master. Here you go.¡¹


    With the additional foam that Roxanne quickly made for me, I got down on my knees in order to wash Sherry without having to bend over the entire time.


    ¡¸Are you ready for this, Sherry? Can I start?¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yes. P-Please. . . . do take care of me.¡¹


    ¡¸I will, I promise. Just try to relax a little, okay?¡¹


    Entrusting herself to me, Sherry let go of the bath towel she was clutching onto and allowed me to take care of washing her chest for her. Placing my hands on her chest, I started from foaming up her collarbone and then gradually made my way up all around its area. That is right. There is no way that she did not get even a little bit excited from watching me wash Roxanne¡¯s body up starting from her breasts, which is why I think it is only going to be fair to her if I start the process of washing her from the very same spot: from her chest. That way, she will not be able to say that I purposefully avoided touching her boobs because of how small and unattractive they are. You might call it a shameless tactic, but in the current circumstances it is going to be the most effective one that is going to ensure that both of my slaves are going to feel like I am treating them equally without favoring one of them over the other.


    ¡¸Umu. They are wonderful as well. What an amazing feeling.¡¹


    I cannot believe that Sherry was not confident in her breasts just because they are a little bit on the smaller side. In the terms of their feeling and elasticity, they can give Roxanne a run for her oney without any problems. The only difference between them is that while Roxanne is so big that my fingers are sinking into the skin of her tits every time I am touching her, Sherry¡¯s feel like I could grasp them both firmly and enclose them in my hands if I wanted to. It is a different kind of irresistibility, but the one that is just as enticing all the same, as If I was holding a hamster or a small bird in my grasp (TL Note: I have no idea how can boobs feel like a small bird or a hamster, but apparently the minds of our fellow Nipponjins are just build differently, so let us just put that under the yikes category and move on.)


    At the current moment, if someone were to walk up tome and ask me which do I prefer: the boobs that spill from between your fingers due to how big they are or boobs that are compact enough to fit in the palm of my hand, I would honestly have a  pretty hard time answering that question.


    ¡¸Ah. . . uhm. . . master? I. . .  I am sorry. . .  that my breasts are not as big as Miss Roxanne¡¯s. . . ¡¹


    ¡¸You say that, but I do not think that yours are particularly small though?¡¹


    ¡¸I thought the same way when I was still living in my village, but when I was sold to be a slave and began living in the Slave Shop I could not help but notice there were many more women and girls whose chests were bigger from mine, and that they were able to find the people who were willing to buy them more easily.¡¹


    Even though I want to say something to make her feel better, I cannot really comment upon this matter in any way since I am also one of these people, in a sense that I also allowed looks and the size of the boobs to be the deciding factor in my decision to buy Roxanne as my first slave.


    ¡¸That is okay, Sherry. You do not need to worry about that. To me, you are perfectly fine exactly the way you are now.¡¹


    ¡¸But Miss Roxanne is so big. . . . . ¡¹


    Ah-ha, so it is exactly as I thought. She has already been comparing herself to Roxanne in that regard, even though as a smart person she should already know that comparing herself to other girls and the sizes of their chests is pretty pointless from a biological point of view.


    ¡¸Sherry, I want you to hear me out on what I am about to say, alright? Listen, it is true that Roxanne has pretty big breasts, but that is only because of her bodily proportions. She is pretty tall, so it is natural for her to have a bigger chest that would match her height. On the other hand, you are naturally shorter due to your race, so it is a given that your chest is going to be smaller in order to match your height. So you see, you do not have to worry about a thing.¡¹

 Volume 4 - CH 3.03

    ¡¸In fact, I think that the proportions that you currently have suit you just fine.¡¹


    It is just my rough estimation, but if I am not mistaken, Roxanne seems to be at least twenty centimeters taller than Sherry, so the differences if their figures and proportions were going to be a given. After all, If Sherry was as short as she is but had breasts as big as Roxanne has, it would not only mean that she would have problems with back and shoulder pains, but in the worst-case scenario even her breast milk might have ended up getting affected in a negative way. She might feel disappointed or defective because of how small her breasts are in comparison to Roxanne¡¯s, but the truth is that from a medical standpoint, or a standpoint of sherry¡¯s health, to be more precise, her current size is more than enough for her, since she is not exactly flat to the level of calling her breasts something as derogative as, for example, mosquito bites.


    ¡¸Do you. . .  really mean it?¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, I really mean it, Sherry.¡¹


    ¡¸And my thoughts on this matter are exactly the same as master¡¯s, Sherry.¡¹


    ¡¸I . . . I. . .  master, Miss Roxanne. . . thank you. . .  thank you so very much. . . ]


    ¡¸¡¸You are welcome.¡¹¡¹


    With Sherry¡¯s worries in regards to the size of her chest firmly soothed (or at least I want to believe that we managed to soothe them), I used another serving of the foam handed to me by Roxanne in order to cover Sherry¡¯s entire body with it. I can always enjoy playing with her chest later, but for now, let me make sure that I am going to give her entire body a thorough wash-up.


    ¡¸All right, I think that about covers it up. Did you enjoy me washing you, Sherry?¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yes, thank you very much for it, master. It. . .  being washed by you felt very good.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay Sherry, now that the both of us have been washed by master, let us return the favor and wash master instead!¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, of course, gladly. . .  but how are we going to do that, exactly?¡¹


    ¡¸Just. . .  like that!¡¹


    Roxanne exclaimed, hugging the left side of my body without any prior warning. Thanks to her doing that, my left arm is now sandwiched between her breasts, which was a very bold move of her. Explosive, even! I would never have guessed that my arm is going to fit so perfectly into the valley of her chest, but there it was, nestling between her tits so comfortably as if it was made for it. I thought that feeling the sensation of Roxanne¡¯s big bare boobs on my back was stimulating enough already, but this feeling of her mountains forming squeezing around the skin of my arm like a soft, fleshy wall was an all new kind of heavenly pleasure that I was allowed to experience.


    And the best thing about it was that this pleasure was washing all over the left part of my body, while the right part has been taken by a different kind of pleasure, courtesy of Sherry, who tried to emulate what Roxanne was doing to me by embracing my other arm.  Since she is not as big as Roxanne, the feeling is not as explosive as I would have liked, but because Sherry is slimmer than her, her embrace feels that much more risqu¨¦. I cand definitely feel how her pointed, hardened nipples are moving up and down my arm, tickling me a little.


    This. . .  this sensation is incredible. This almost feels like it is too much to bear for my brain right now! Since they have already chosen to do this for me, then I will have them wash my every nook and cranny, and do so thoroughly all the while watching their movements so that they will not waste too much of the precious soap. When I was still only fantasizing about this happening, I was convinced that it would be the best thing ever if they were to was me from the front and from the back at the same time, but now that they are taking care of my left and right sides, I realize that this is also not that bad. In fact, it feels amazing! Having my body be washed by the two of them at once is the best feeling in the entire world, but I cannot allow my sense of reason to leave me. . .  at least not yet when there is still something that I have to do.


    ¡¸Roxanne, prepare a bit more soap, please? We already washed our hair yesterday so we do not have to do it again today, but we might as well wash Sherry¡¯s hair for her. I will take care of it, so in the meantime, I would like you to help her with her back, okay?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course, master.¡¹


    Due to Sherry¡¯s small size, her head perfectly positioned for us to take care of washing her hair without having her stand on the tip of her toes or without the need for us to me kneeling or leaning forward. All I have to do is to take the soap from Roxanne, make it a little more foamy and. . .  voila, it is all ready to be applied to her hair, but since she was not kidding about her having a lot of them, then I am definitely going to need as much soap as I can get in order to wash all of it properly without leaving any patch or strand of it unattended.


    While I was busy fighting with the mass of Sherry¡¯s hair, Roxanne turned around and approached her from behind so that she could fulfill my request of washing Sherry¡¯s back for her. . . . . .  or at least I thought that was what she was going to do, but she walked past Sherry and came up behind me instead! It happened quite unexpectedly, but I guess I am going to have my fantasy of being washed from the front and the back at the same time fulfilled after all.


    ¡¸Well then, master. . .  I am going to start washing your back.¡¹


    ¡¸Oooohh. . . y-yeah, go right ahead.¡¹


    I could feel her soft, springy bulges on my back! I wanted her to help Sherry, but this works fine for me as well! The only thing that would make it better now would be if I could see everything that she was doing for me, but since she was behind my back I would have to twist my neck quite hard to do it, and I could not do that since I had my hands full with washing Sherry¡¯s hair. And speaking of her, due to the amount of the foam that was forming on her head she had no choice but to close her eyes to not allow any of the soapy foam to get in them by accident, so she was also unable to see what Roxanne was currently doing for me, and honestly, I think it is for the better. If she was able to see what was going on at my backside at the current moment, I think it would be very possible for her to faint on the spot. With each of Roxanne¡¯s movements, my frustration was only growing, so in order to somehow deal with it, I decided to the only sensible thing: distract myself from what was happening behind me by focusing all of my attention on scrubbing sherry¡¯s hair with the foam. Even though there is an awful lot of them, they are soft to the touch and feel much like the threads of silk in my fingers, and they are not even resisting my touch all that much. On second thought, let me add something more to their description so that I could convey how they feel more properly: they are smooth like silk and soft like cotton. There, that should do it quite nicely, would you not agree?


    ¡¸This might sound a little weird, but you have nice hair, Sherry. They look like they are of an exceedingly good quality.¡¹


    ¡¸T-Thank you they much, master. I Always made sure to take proper care of them whenever that was possible.¡¹


    ¡¸I wonder if I could have the hair as thick and smooth as you, or is that impossible for humans?¡¹


    Maybe that is a characteristic that only the hair of the Dwarven women have? Whatever the case may be, my own dark and light hair are more than enough for the time being, but the thought of me having the same type of hair as Sherry was pretty entertaining in its own right.

 Volume 4 - CH 3.04

    Now that the washing of Sherry¡¯s hair has been successfully completed, I decided it was high time for me to wash my own hair, but since I used almost all of the foam that Roxanne made for me for that purpose, I had to lather some more of it first, and then washed it. Now that all three of us have been covered with soap from the top to our bottoms. . . . . .


    ¡¸All right, let us jump into the water while it is still warm, shall we?¡¹


    ¡¸Right!¡¹


    ¡¸O-Okay!¡¹


    . . . . . . . . .  it was high time to finally enter the bathtub so that we could wash it all of in one fell swoop. Now that Sherry¡¯s hair have become all wet, they got stuck onto her skin, which made for a pretty erotic display. Combined with her fair skin, she was really looking like the world¡¯s most beautiful porcelain doll. She looks so pretty that it is almost unreal.


    The three of us entered the bathtub at last. Since Sherry¡¯s hair are so long and thick then I am sure that they must feel amazing, however. . .  there is nothing in this world that can possibly beat the feeling of Roxanne¡¯s tail brushing against my nether regions while in the bathtub while she is hugging onto me.


    ¡¸Ahhh. . .  this is the best. . . ¡¹


    ¡¸Indeed it is, master.¡¹


    For a few long moments, we were just all sitting in the bathtub while snuggling together, enjoying the sensation of hot water wrapping itself all around us.  Or rather, Roxanne and I were the ones who snuggled together, while Sherry was sitting some distance away from us, and we cannot have that, since that is not the purpose of this group activity of ours.


    ¡¸Come on Sherry, do not be a stranger. Come sit here together with us.¡¹


    ¡¸Ah! Y-Yes, of course, I¡¯m coming! If, if you excuse me. . . ¡¹


    Sherry came closer to us very slowly and while covering herself with her hands. Even though we just touched each other all over literal moments ago, she must probably still feel a little bit embarrassed, hence her hesitation. Well, I guess it is fine for the time being, especially since she will definitely learn to be more relaxed around us after a few more baths just like the one we are having now.


    Since we are already so close together like this, I normally would have made my move to get us to be even closer than this, because since I have two beautiful girls at my left and right side, it would be a criminal offense not to try doing anything at all. However, I remember that Roxanne was also shy like that when we were having our first bath together, so having the experience from that time in mind. But I also feel that this is such a waste. I have Roxanne¡¯s big breasts on the right of me and Sherry¡¯s moderate ones on my left, and they are both naked, and we are touching each other with our bare skins. A beautiful, naked woman in each of my arms. . .  this is a situation that is the dream of all males around the world come true. This feeling of pure bliss that I am feeling right now. . .  is that how Toyotomi Hideyoshi must have felt whenever he was showcasing his most beloved tea ceremony tools in his famous Golden Tea Room, or how Napoleon Bonaparte felt when the crown was placed upon his head as he was crowned The Emperor of the French, or how Hitler felt during the marriage he ordered for himself right before he killed himself. . .  okay, that is enough of that! Bad example! Very, very bad example! What I wanted to say is that right now, I feel the happies that I have ever been in my entire life, and I would never traded this feeling of happiness for anything else.


    Later, when we finally got out of the bath and we all helped dry each other¡¯s bodies up, I left the bathroom ahead of the girls in order to prepare the other room that is going to be seeing some action tonight: the bedroom.


    In the bathroom, I hesitated from doing anything too bold to them, but now it is going to be different. However, I am still going to leave the room relatively dimly lit for Sherry¡¯s sake. It is going to be a pity that I will not be able to enjoy the sight of the girls in their full splendor with the proper lightning, but it is unavoidable if I do not want Sherry to be too scarred or embarrassed or to cause some kind of trauma in her. Other than that, everything seems to be perfectly ready, so it is up to me and the girls to see how this thing is going to go further.


    ¡¸Now then, you two. Come on over here.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, master.¡¹


    ¡¸As you command. . . . . . uhm. . . .  is it really okay for me to be wearing something so nice? Because I do not think a lowly slave like myself should be wearing pretty clothing such as this. . . ¡¹


    Sherry asked with a quiet voice as she hid herself behind Roxanne. Roxanne herself was wearing her light-pink negligee, so the other one that Sherry has on herself right now must be the other, white one that I bought for her back at that clothing store where we delivered Rabbit¡¯s Meat to the Male Clerk. . . . or maybe it is the other way around? I cannot really tell for sure, since the light is so dim that I can barely see anything a few meters ahead of me.


    ¡¸It is alright. You look beautiful in it, and that is all that matters.¡¹


    ¡¸T-Thank you very much.¡¹


    ¡¸Roxanne, you had to borrow your other camisole to Sherry because I did not think about buying her her own nightgown. Sorry about that.¡¹


    ¡¸It is no problem at all, master. Because I am still number one!¡¹


    How nice of her to be so helpful to her junior in slavery. I think my opinion on both her and Sherry alike has improved a little bit. Okay, I think right now is about time for us to be continuing on with the scheduled program.


    ¡¸Sherry, come closer to me, please.¡¹


    I gestured Sherry to come and sit at my side, and she did do, albeit after taking her sweet time to do so.


    ¡¸You know, looking at them now that you dried them all up, you sure have a lot of hair on your head, huh?¡¹


    I said nonchalantly while looking at her hair, which were still let down because she did not put her hairbands back on just yet.


    ¡¸Yes, but honestly. . . I that soap that we were using was so amazing! It made all the dirt that was in my hair wash away as easily as if it was made out of water as well, my hair feel a lot lighter for some reason that I cannot quite explain. . . oh, and of course my skin is so smooth and soft right now that I simply cannot believe it!¡¹


    ¡¸It was a soap prepared by master, after all, so that much was to be expected.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh stop it Roxanne, I did not do that much, really. Anyway, I am glad that you liked it, Sherry.¡¹


    As I thought, sherry really is someone who looks even better when her natural beauty is properly taken care of, just like Roxanne. Both of them were like diamonds in the rough, just waiting for me to come along and help them uncover the hidden potential that they always had within them, but they did not have the means to let it come to the surface by itself.


    ¡¸Sherry, listen to me now, okay? In this household, we have a certain rule when it comes to my relations with my slaves.¡¹


    ¡¸A certain. . .  rule? What is that rule, master?¡¹


    ¡¸It is a rule that every day, we are giving each other a kiss before we go to sleep, and another kiss when we are waking up. So now I ask you. . . are you okay with that rule? Will you be able to uphold it?¡¹


    ¡¸Ah! I. . . well. . . a-alright, I think I will be able to do it.¡¹


    ¡¸Great. That is a very good thing to hear indeed.¡¹


    Okay, I managed to successfully explain the most important rule of this household to Sherry.

 Volume 4 - CH 3.05

    Now that we covered everything that had to be covered and said everything that needed to be said, I do not think that I will be able to hold myself back anymore. My endurance, both mental and physical is at its utmost limits. So with all of that being said. . .  I think it is finally time for me to dig in.


    I slowly brough Sherry¡¯s face closer to mine. . . and kissed her. Her lips were soft and delicate, and I would have definitely savored their sweet flavor some more. . .


    ¡¸. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  Ahhh!!!¡¹


    If it was not for the sound that I heard just now.


    That was definitely a scream. Roxanne¡¯s scream. The one that sounded like a mixture of sadness and desperation. It is so dark here that I cannot see Roxanne¡¯s face clearly, but in this case, there was no need for me to see it at all, because the tone of her voice was telling me everything I needed to know, and to realize that I have fucked up, and I fucked up big time this time around.


    ¡¸. . . .  Order. . . . . . . the order. . . . . our order. . . . . ¡¹


    Those were the words that Roxanne was now muttering to herself in a quiet, pained voice. And I understood perfectly why that was.


    Up until now, when there were just the two of us, she has always been pretty particular about maintaining a certain order of things, by which I mean that she has always insisted that wherever we went, she always wanted me to go first and do things first, since as the head of the household and her master, I was higher than her on the ladder of social hierarchy. We kept that up without any issues, but now that Sherry has been added to our group, she started to show signs of being obsessed with being my number one slave, thinking that in whatever we were doing, she should be coming first before Sherry, because it was she, Roxanne, whom I have chosen as my first slave, not Sherry. And since she has convince herself that she is the number one slave that has to do everything first before Sherry, slave number two, as was shown to me today when she was insistent in a passive-aggressive way that she should be the first one to get the serving of the soup even though Sherry was the one who prepared and not giving her the first serving of her Borscht clearly went against the established customs that Roxanne herself was educating me about, and during the bath when I asked her to wash Sherry¡¯s back, but she instead went on to wash my own back, almost as if she was afraid that Sherry could snatch that task away from her. That is also why she thought that she was also going to be the first one when it comes to giving me the good night and good morning kisses, but I ignored that order and started kissing Sherry instead, violating Roxanne¡¯s expectations in the rudest way possible.


    Terrible, this is absolutely terrible. To say that I have stepped on a huge landmine would be an understatement.


    All that I cared about was to satisfy my own insatiable lust, and in doing so, I trampled all over Roxanne¡¯s pride and feelings while only caring about kissing Sherry while ignoring everything else that was happening around me. The only saving grace in this growing dumpster fire of a situation is that I have only tasted Sherry¡¯s lips so far and I did not straight up shoved my tongue inside of her mouth because it is her first time doing so and I wanted to be as delicate as possible here to avoid making her dislike the act of kissing and everything else that is associated with it. But. . .  what am I going to do now? Is. . .  is there even anything that I can do to salvage this situation, or is there nothing that could bail me out from facing the consequences of my own stupidity and horniness this time?


    Think Michio, think! Think of something, anything! Do not dig your own grave even deeper, and try to come up with a solution that will allow you to not hurt Roxanne even more than you already did and save your own face, even if only a little bit of it!


    Maybe. . . maybe this will help? I have no guarantee that what I am about to say is going to do me any good, but at the very least it is going to be better than staying silent and not saying anything at all, so I might just give it a shot and see where it takes me. If it works, then great, I am going to be saved. But if not. . .  well, let me try it and see how this goes, and deal with the possible consequences later.


    ¡¸This. . .  this is just the rehearsal of our routine before going to bed, so of course it mean that I have to leave Roxanne, my first slave, for last, when it is not going to be just the rehearsal, but a real deal, right?¡¹


    This is it. The only thing that I could think of to save myself right now was this cheap excuse. But is this going to be enough to convince Roxanne? It better be, because otherwise the whole bedroom might actually end up becoming painted in the red color of my blood!!!


    ¡¸. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ¡¹


    Come on, Roxanne! Say something, anything! Break this uncomfortable silence along with the stress and the feeling of suspense that are killing me right now!


    ¡¸YES! Thank you so very much for remembering how important order is, master!¡¹


    Roxanne said that with a bright smile and an extremely happy voice, so it looks like the shit storm has been avoided.


    (S A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A F E ! ! ! ! ! !)


    But my fucking God, that was too much of a close call this time around! I was literally this close to having a death penalty executed on me, but I somehow managed to slip right past it. I slumped down on the bed feeling extremely exhausted, even though we are going to be working up quite a sweat real soon. Was. . . was that feeling of dread I was feeling before Roxanne spoke up the same kind of feeling that the inmates in the death row feel? If so, then I can only thank Roxanne for declaring me innocent, and clearing me up of the false charges that could have been the death of me if the execution here to be carried out instantly without even giving me a chance to defend myself.


    ¡¸Master?¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yes? What is it, Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸Since you have already shown Sherry what she is going to be doing every day from now on, can we move from the demonstration to our routine?¡¹


    Roxanne said while lying on top of me, pressing her giant tits against my chest. Well then, I guess I have no choice, do I not? Just like the order dictates, I have to take proper care of Roxanne first. If it is with her, then I am more than willing to work up a good sweat, plus. . . this is going to be my revenge on her after she almost made me go through a heart attacks just now.


    I started my offensive on her by giving her a kiss myself instead of waiting for her to do it. She was surprised, but other than that, she was not resisting my advances in any way. Then, paying no mind to how shaken she initially was, I started to relentlessly suck on her lips. In order for this payback of mine to really count, I have to put in twice as much effort that I usually put into it, otherwise I will not feel satisfied at all!


    With the flame of revenge burning in my chest, hotter than the flames of hell and brighter than the sun that shines in the sky, I had my way with Roxanne. I did not care that Sherry was watching us with dumb amazement while covering her mouth with her tiny hands. I had my sight set on the goal in front of me, and I was dead set on fulfilling it!

 Volume 4 - CH 3.06

    After doing Roxanne as hard as I wanted, I let go of her, and she slumped onto the bed and rolled over to the side, completely exhausted out of all the energy that she still had moments ago before we started going at it. Even though it already left me feeling quite spent, I knew that it was no time to rest, because Sherry was already waiting for me with flushed cheeks and expectant eyes.


    ¡¸Sherry, it is your turn now.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. . .  please. . .  please treat me well. . .  master. . . . ¡¹


    Now that I have obtained permission from Sherry to do whatever I wanted, there was no need for me to hold back on her in any way, but since this was going to be her first time, I decided to be less rough on her than I was with Roxanne. There will be time for me to take her more roughly, but that time is not now.


    Okay, here I go.


    When I got my hands on Sherry, it was as if I had grasped a bottle of hot water, that is how elastic and pleasantly warm to the touch her body was. Could it be because Dwarves have a naturally high body temperature? As for the chest area, while Roxanne¡¯s boobs could be very well described as big and soft marshmallows, Sherry¡¯s were more like the elastic mounds of pudding. The slightest touch is enough to make the whole thing shake from the bottom of it to the very tips, which have become stiff and erect pretty quickly as a result. Well, if they are like that, then the only thing left to do is to dig in and have a taste of Sherry for myself. . . .


    When I finished doing it with Sherry, I felt just as exhausted as Roxanne looked when her turn with me was over. But even though I was feeling pretty tired, but it was the good kind of tired, the one that made me feel like I have fulfilled the duty that I was supposed to do to the absolute best of my ability, but. . . . but I really do not feel like doing anything at all right now. Threesomes are definitely amazing, but also tiring beyond belief.


    While I was laying in bed basking in the afterglow of my intercourses with Sherry and Roxanne, a certain hunch has compelled me to perform a Character Reset, so I opened up my personal menu, performed it. . .  and sure enough, I found a brand-new Job unlocked, waiting for me in the Jobs subsection to pick it up. While releasing a big sigh, I poked the window that displayed its information with my finger. Its description read as follows:


    ¡ºSex Maniac Lv.1¡»


    Effects: Increase SPI (Medium), Increase INT (Medium), Increase MP (Small)


    Skills: Enhanced VIT, Abstinence Attack


    Sex Maniac Job, huh? I do not know if I should be happy, sad, or disappointed because of getting my hands on it. Well, I guess that settles it then, I am definitely human, a member of the race that is known far and wide for having a nearly insatiable sexual desire. But since I acquired that new Job only now, I wonder what are the exact conditions that have to be met in order to unlock it. Is it perhaps to have sex with more than one partner of the opposite gender throughout the course of a single night? Perhaps. Or maybe to have sex with multiple partners at the same time? Nah, that is definitely not it, since I did it with Sherry only after I finished doing Roxanne, not as the same time. In that case, maybe it has something to do with being more than a little rough with your partner during sex. . . . . . but if that were the case then I should have gotten my hands on it a while back when I was so rough with her when we saw that this one guy on the seventh floor got done in by the Rapid Rabbit. . .  so the ¡¸Do it with more than one partner throughout the course of the night¡¹ theory is the most probable one. I tried thinking about if for a while longer, but since nothing better was coming to my mind, I decided to stop pursuing this matter, since ultimately it does not matter what the conditions for unlocking this Job were since I already got my hands on it, and the effects it grants are rather good: two medium increases to SPI and INT Stats and a small increase to MP, meaning that the spread is similar to what Roxanne has on her Beast Warrior Job, with the only difference being that Beast Warrior has one medium increase and two small increases, making it a bit inferior to Sex Maniac. Despite its awkward naming, I think it could definitely work if used as a Second Job aiming at increasing the effectiveness of my Attack Magic and the Wizard Job, since Sex Maniac grants bonuses to both INT and MP at once. . .  but really, of all the Jobs, why does it had to be Sex Maniac that had those improvements? And what does that imply? That Sex Maniacs have a higher SPI, INT and MP than those who do not have that Job? Because if so, then that means that humanity as a whole is actually pretty scary.


    And man, even though I kept saying that I should hold myself back for Sherry¡¯s sake because it was her first time, it looks like I might have overdid it just a little bit after all. Then again, even though I was more excited than usual, I guess doing it with two of them instead of just one probably helped to decrease the burden placed upon them by me being so forceful. Just thinking about what could have happened if Roxanne or Sherry were to receive all of by desire by themselves. . . this could have turned out badly for them, especially for Sherry. I already was quite rough with her, caressing her so relentlessly and meticulously, violently, rigorously and thoroughly from top to bottom, but since they were both here I could love them both equally, so I guess everything worked out pretty nicely in the end.


    Ahh, it feels like even my eyelids are so tired that I am having difficulties with keeping hem open. In that case, let me just rest them for a little bit. . .


    ¡¸It looks like master has fallen asleep.¡¹


    As I was quietly resting my eyes and thinking about stuff, I heard Roxanne¡¯s voice, whispering a comment like that to Sherry. She is convinced that I have fallen asleep, but the truth is that I am still awake, and can hear everything that she is saying.


    ¡¸It would seem so.¡¹


    Sherry answered her as she moved my sweat-covered bangs to the side so that they would not get stuck to my forehead.


    ¡¸I guess he must have exhausted himself completely. I cannot say that I blame him though. He was quite intense today, after all. With the both of us.¡¹


    Now that the girls are having such a nice heart-to heart, there is no way that I can possibly just open my eyes all of a sudden and be all like ¡¸surprise, I was not sleeping after all!¡¹No, the most sensible thing to do here is going to be pretending that I am truly asleep so that they could talk some more without any reservations, thinking that this is just between the two of them. They were both pressing against my sides now, but it did not feel uncomfortable. Roxanne¡¯s nice, pillowy breasts were serving as a rest spot for my head, and since Sherry¡¯s so small and petite, she was not heavy at all.


    ¡¸Is. . . . . . . is it always so rough?¡¹


    ¡¸No, it is not always like that. I think that the main cause of master being so fired up today was the fact that you have joined us as his slave. I have to say, for a good while today, I was pretty unsure as to how the things were going to turn out, but in the end, I think everything has worked out rather well. And since master was able to show his affections towards both of us equally, so all in all, I think is is a good thing that we have met you and that you are here with us now.¡¹


    So in the end, I ended up making Roxanne feel anxious and uneasy, huh? Well, today may not have been a perfect day, but I am glad that in the end I made her feel loved and appreciated.

 Volume 4 - CH 3.07

    I thanked Roxanne in my heart. I thanked her for loving me, and for her allowing me t love her like that.


    ¡¸I . . .   will I be all right, I wonder?¡¹


    ¡¸I think you are going to be fine. After all, even if he was kind of rough with you in the end, then master was doing his best to make sure that he would be going at a slower pace earlier specifically to make sure that you will not feel uncomfortable with us. Right? Because that is who he is: a kind and caring master, even if he himself claims otherwise.¡¹


    ¡¸Of course! P-Please, take care of me from now on! I might be inexperienced as a slave, but I hope to learn much under your and master¡¯s guidance. Miss Roxanne!¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, likewise. I hope you will take care of us as well, both in the Labyrinths and outside of them.¡¹


    Since the Sex Maniac Job has the Skill that increases my VIT by a medium amount then I wanted to test out if it also works as a sexual stamina enhancer, but now that the mood has gotten like that, I do not think it would be a good time to actually go and break to them that I am in fact not asleep at all. That would get the nice atmosphere all ruined, and the credit for that would be all on me.


    ¡¸Let us get along from now on, okay? Both as master¡¯s slaves, and as friends.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, let us do exactly that.¡¹


    With the friendly words of these two acting as my lullaby, I simply let go of my consciousness and allowed myself to drift off towards the land of dreams.


    When I woke up in the morning, I found myself hugging onto Roxanne like a dakimakura. Our legs were angled together, and my arms were wrapped tightly around her back. Seeing something like that first thing in the morning after waking up was great, but I am not gonna lie, I was expecting to wake up not next to one, but two beautiful girls, each one at one of my sides. Unfortunately, it looks like it was not meant to be, at least not this time. Also. . . . this must have felt great while I was sleeping, but now that I am fully awake, it would be good if I could move my hands and legs freely. . .  but unfortunately I am not able to do that. The movements of all of my limbs is completely blocked off by Roxanne, almost as if she was subconsciously refusing to let go of me. But if I were to chose a plus of my current situation. . .  it would be that my head is firmly pressed in between Roxanne¡¯s boobies, which is the best thing ever. Her back were all warm and pleasant, probably thanks to all of the hair that was growing there. When it comes to Sherry, I wonder if she would make for a good dakimakura to hug onto? I mean, she would not be able to compete with Roxanne since she was smaller and shorter than her, but maybe the elasticity and warmth of her breasts would make for a pleasurable experience? Well, no matter. Since I have already woken up and am conscious of what is happening around me, I might as well use as much time as I can to savor this great sensation by burrowing my face even deeper into Roxanne¡¯s cleavage. . .  ahh, this is truly so hard to resist on an instinctual level. Even if I tried to resist their temptation, they would still pull me towards them, welcoming me to nestle myself comfortably in the warmth that they are radiating. . . ahhhhhh, this is truly great! I want to stay like this forever!


    ¡¸Nhhhh. . . . . . . .¡¹


    Uh-huh, looks like Roxanne is waking up. So much for my fun with her Funbags I guess, but it was good while it lasted. Okay now, time to back up from between her titties so that she would not get startled and confused by seeing me burying myself into her first thing in the morning.


    ¡¸Good morning, master. . . . *kiss*¡¹


    ¡¸Good morning, Roxanne. . . . . . *kiss*¡¹


    She whispered me a soft and gentle greeting, and I responded in kind.


    ¡¸Master. . .  if you feel like my clothes are in the way. . .  then should I take them off?¡¹


    ¡¸No, I do not think that is going to be necessary right now.¡¹


    I mean, it would be great if I could get some action this early in the morning, but that would definitely make me a pervert in Roxanne¡¯s and Sherry¡¯s eyes (TL Note: Says the guy who unlocked a Sex Maniac Job by having a hardcore threesome). And speaking of Sherry. . .


    ¡¸*Yaaaawn* Ah, good morning, Miss Roxanne, master.¡¹


    I heard her voice coming from behind me. Looks like she is awake as well, so I freed myself from the embrace of Roxanne¡¯s arms and hugged her as well.


    ¡¸Good morning to you as well, Sherry.¡¹


    After that simple greeting, I placed my lips on top of hers, initiating my very first good morning kiss with Sherry. As expected, her kissing technique is still more than a little awkward, and the way she moves her lips is still modest and relatively stiff, although I cannot say that she is not putting enough effort into this. It is quite the opposite, actually.


    . But since this is only her second day of being my slave, then I firmly believe that she has a lot of room for growth in that regard and that with enough training, I should be able to turn her into a real kissing pro. On the flipside, Roxanne was a really quick learner and she was much more responsive and adaptive, but since I learned yesterday that comparing the two of them is something of a taboo subject, there is absolutely no way for me to bring it up openly while talking to the two of them. Besides, Sherry¡¯s inexperience has some unique charm to it, and you know what they say: variety is a spice of life. . .  but too much spice can spoil the dish, and I was reminded of that when we were changing out of our night clothing into the regular ones when we were preparing for another foray into the Labyrinth. I was helping Roxanne put on her clothes, and during the process of doing that, my lips ended up seeking hers almost subconsciously. I mean, I am a Human, a member of the race with nigh-insatiable sex drive, so things like that cannot be helped, right? When I have such a beautiful girl in front of me, I would be criminal not to give her another kiss, so I did give it to her, and she responded by sticking out her tongue, encouraging me to do the same. We entwined them together in a passionate dance coupled with the wet sounds of us sucking on our lips. This is what I call a proper way to wake up. And Since Roxanne herself told me that she enjoys it when I am showing her my affection in such a way, then I am confident that beginning from today, we can probably start doing such extended good morning kisses more often. And who knows, maybe one of these days I will try equipping the Sex Maniac Job to see if its Increase VIT Skills is going to have any kind of influence on my performance after all?


    Of course, Sherry saw all of that and she visibly freaked out a little, but other than that, it did not look as if she was offended or seriously bothered by it, so it was probably her reaction to us going at it so intensely since the early morning.


    It took us a bit longer than usual, but we were finally all dressed up and ready to hit the Labyrinth. It was then that I finally realized something that, in hindsight, I should have noticed quite a while ago already. As I continue to collect more Jobs to my name, a natural reaction is to want to test them all out in different kinds of builds in order to see which ones are going to be the most helpful to me, and how big their impact on my current fighting style is going to be. For the time being, I think I will go with my current build with the Alchemist Job so that I could grant Sherry some additional bit of protection from the Plating Skill. Sheesh, thinking about it now, this is quite an extravagant problem to have.

 Volume 4 - CH 3.08

    As for the restrictions on my Jobs and their possible combination, there are a few of them. I cannot get rid of the Explorer Job because I absolutely need it because of its Party Formation Skill, and pretty much the same goes for the Hero and Mage Jobs: their Skills and bonuses are simply too good for me to pass up. Monk Job is. . .  yeah, I better leave it on as well, just in case that either me, Roxanne or Sherry ever suffered some unexpected damage and needed express healing to get ourselves back on our feet. So in case that I would pick the Fifth Jo0b Bonus Skill that allows me to have up to five Jobs equipped at once, I can choose between Alchemist, Cook and Sex Maniac depending on what my Party would need at the current moment. See, that is what I meant when I was saying that this is an extravagant problem to have: I have so many Jobs available and so many potential builds to try, but I simply do not have the time to test them all out, even if I keep telling to myself that I will test them all out later (TL Note: Much like zoomers and their first world problems like: not having 24/7 internet access or that there is no kebab-serving joint in their neighborhood, huh?) while other people who live in this world have no choice and have to make do in their daily lives while having only a single Job as the one that they have to use. . . .  *sigh* I guess my desire as a human being really is nigh-insatiable, and not only the sexual one.


    Just like I was planning, I am going to go with Alchemist as my Fifth Job for now in order to protect Sherry with Plating, but later I am definitely going to check out how the boosts from Sex Maniac are going to improve my performance. And by the way, if I were to remove Explorer as my First Job now, then the Party that I formed with Roxanne and Sherry would naturally end up getting disbanded and I would lose the access to my Item Box, but since Cook also has access to it, then maybe there actually would be a way for me to circumvent that demerit and experiment with the possible Job combinations some more.


    ¡¸Okay, is everyone ready?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I am ready.¡¹


    ¡¸Ready whenever you are, master!¡¹


    ¡¸Okay, let us be off then.¡¹


    After receiving confirmation from both Sherry and Roxanne, we were ready to go to the Labyrinth. Since this is the early morning, then we are going to start with our usual routine of going to the Vale Labyrinth first.


    ¡¸Master, this place is. . . ¡¹


    Roxanne asked me when we got out of the Warp portal.


    ¡¸The first floor of the Veil Labyrinth, where we are going to be doing our warp-up exercise.¡¹


    ¡¸Warp-up. . .  exercise?¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah. I want to see Sherry¡¯s fighting style with my own eyes and determine the exact extent of your fighting abilities, so while on this floor, I am going to be fighting with magic which I will use to weaken the opponents so that she could have an easier time finishing them off.¡¹


    As expected of Roxanne, she was able to tell that this was not the seventh floor by its smell alone, so I explained my motives to her as she was looking around suspiciously.


    ¡¸That being said, can I ask you to keep the monsters in check so that it would be easier for Sherry to simply focus on attacking them?¡¹


    ¡¸I see. I understand, I will do my best to support her!¡¹


    ¡¸You heard that, Sherry? While we are on this floor of the Labyrinth, you will be in charge of dispatching the monsters while Roxanne and I will only weaken them for you. Think you are up to the task?¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yes, I am going to do everything in my power to meet your expectations, master!¡¹


    ¡¸Great. Roxanne, can you locate the first group of enemies for us?¡¹


    ¡¸Already done that. The monsters are this way, master, Sherry!¡¹


    We went Ahead, and while we were making our way towards the first group of Needlewoods, I mad sufficient adjustments to my Stats and Skills so that I could use my magic to weaken the enemies instead of one-shotting them on the spot. That way, even though my Fireballs and Fire Storms were reaching their targets, I was certain that they would leave them at about half of their total HP, which was more than enough for Sherry to show us what she was really made of. All that is left for me to do now is to match my pace with that of Roxanne and Sherry, and cover their backs while they were dealing with the enemies on the front lines. The surviving monsters divided themselves so that one was heading towards Roxanne, and the other jumped at Sherry, but before its attack was able to hit her, she swung her club and hit the Needlewood right in its midsection, sending it flying backwards as if she just scored a homerun during the baseball game. Wow Sherry, what a tremendous blow that was! If I was to be hit by something like that, then I am pretty sure that most of the bones in my body would have ended up broken into tiny pieces.


    Not to far away from Sherry, Roxanne was fighting with the other Needlewood while avoiding its wrathful strikes, which was like a piece of cake for her. When it comes to the enemies from the first floors of the Labyrinths, I would dare to hazard a guess that she was probably able to fight with them and avoid their attacks with her eyes closed. She was doing that until Sherry came to her from the side and delivered another powerful strike to the second Needlewood, taking advantage of how it wobbled forward when it missed its attack at Roxanne and the momentum sent it stumbling forward. I have to say, so far, these two make a pretty good team. If that is how Sherry handles the monsters from the first floor of the Labyrinth, then she probably will not have any difficulties with the enemies residing on the higher floors. Roxanne and Sherry. . . . .  with them acting as the vanguard of our Party, no monster will stand a chance against them.


    ¡¸Still no luck, huh?¡¹


    I muttered to myself when I opened the Party Settings menu in order to check if killing these two monsters was enough for Sherry. Unfortunately, it was still not enough, and the Job of Master Smith continued to elude her. But if defeating a monster with a club or a hammer was still not enough, then what the condition we are missing here might be? Maybe one of the requirements is to have your Villager Job at Lv.5 as well?


    ¡¸What is it, master? Did I do something wrong? Was my performance not to your liking?¡¹


    ¡¸N-No, not at all! You did great Sherry! What I said just now was not directed at you or anyone else in particular. It was just me thinking out loud, that is all. But I have to say, both of your attacks in that battle were pretty incredible. For the next few battles though, I would like to see how you fight with using different weapons, like spears, for example.¡¹


    Damn, once again I was talking to myself, and my careless comment got misinterpreted.


    For the next few encounters, I had Sherry fight the monsters of the first floor while using weapons such as Copper Spear, Copper Sword and even her bare hands, but no matter how many enemies she managed to defeat with those different weapons, she still did not unlock any other Jobs. However, Swordsman and Monk are the Jobs that require Villager to be at Lv.5 before they could be aquired, so it is still going to be a bit more time before we are going to see Sherry getting her hands on them.


    ¡¸Ow! Ugh. . . !¡¹


    Right now, Sherry was fighting the Needlewood with her bare hands, so it was taking her more time than when she was equipped with proper weaponry. And since the battle was starting to take a bit long, Sherry began to be hit by the Needlewood¡¯s attacks, even though most of those hits were due to mistimed dodges and near misses, but she ultimately managed to emerge victorious from that battle without Roxanne having to swoop in to save the day.


    ¡¸Are you all right, Sherry?¡¹


    I asked her when the battle was over.

 Volume 4 - CH 3.09

    ¡¸So, how do you feel about fighting the enemies on this floor? Think you will be able to handle them? Because if you think that they might be too difficult for you, be sure to tell me right away, okay?¡¹


    I asked all those questions to Sherry while I was healing the wounds she has sustained with the Monk¡¯s Skill: Medical Treatment and applying another plating to her in the place of the one that got removed from her when she was hit by the Needlewood¡¯s attacks.


    ¡¸Y-Yes, I do not think fighting with the monsters in here is going to be a problem . . . .  . . .  by the way master, is what you are using right now Recovery Magic?¡¹


    ¡¸That is right.¡¹


    ¡¸So you are using multiple Jobs after all. . . . . . .  *mumble mumble* *mumble mumble* . . . . . . . . .ah, no. please, do not pay any attention to what I said just now! A-Anyway, at this level, I think that I will not be hit like I was just now more than once or twice!¡¹


    Sherry replied hurriedly when I finished healing her wounds. Just now, her curiosity at me being capable of using Healing Magic in addition to to Attack Magic simply outweighed her sense of pain, right? That seems like a dangerous thing to do, but as long as she is not getting seriously hurt and claims that she will be capable of avoiding such attacks, then I guess everything is still all right to the point where I think that we can go to the higher floors with her, but it would also do me well to remain cautious and have just about enough MP saved up in case I would ever need to cast some more Medical Treatment on her.


    ¡¸Sherry, mind if I borrow your club for a bit?¡¹


    ¡¸Ah, n-no, please, go right ahead, master!¡¹


    Sherry handed her Club over to me. Okay, now that I got my hands on it, let me try and narrow down the possibilities here. For the next few monster encounters, I am going to try defeating the enemies while using the Club myself. If I end up getting some new Jobs that way, then it will mean that it probably is not one of the conditions required for unlocking the Job of a Master Smith, but now it got me wondering what possible other Jobs could this method of dispatching the enemies unlock? Well, I guess we shall see in about a few more minutes. However. . . . . . .


    ¡¸Damn. . .  swinging this thing around is a lot harder than I thought it would be.¡¹


    Maybe it was because I was not used to fighting with such a large and heavy weapon, but swinging the Club around was a lot harder than using Durandal, or any other regular sword for that matter. ¡¸Everybody says so when they first start using two-handed weapons, but the trick to using them more effectively is to utilize the centrifugal force instead of the strength of your own arms whenever you swing them. Since they have their center of gravity at their tips, you are going to feel the noticeable difference, because it is going to feel like the tip of the weapon, or in other words, the part of it that is going to come into contact with the enemy, is going to be hitting with a much greater weight behind it, thus amplifying the strength of the attack.


    Once you learn how to do it, the rest is just gong to be a matter of chaining such attacks effectively without expending too much of your stamina.¡¹


    Sherry gave me an extensive lesson on how to use two-handed weapons effectively. I guess what she said is definitely true. Each type of weapon has its own unique characteristics to take into consideration when attempting to use them, and it was wrong of me to think that I could just take the Club and swing it around like a normal one-handed sword and the rest would just naturally sort itself out. So taking her words to heart, I applied the information I learned onto my style of fighting with the Club, and a dozen more encounters later where I was killing the Needlewoods by smashing their heads and ramming them into the walls, I opened up my Party Job Settings menu while being filled with tension to see if I got any new Jobs or if something changed in me, but. . . . . .


    (So it was a bust this time as well, huh?)


    Exactly. All those monsters killed by using nothing but a Club, and no new Jobs to show for it.


    (This. . . . .  this is not going to be as easy as I had hope it would be, huh?)


    Not allowing this minor setback to discourage me, I continued to defeat more enemies, this time by using a Copper Spear, but the ultimate result was much the same.


    ¡¸Uhm, master? Why are you handing me these weapons? You should know that I prefer using a sword instead.¡¹


    Next, I wanted Roxanne to try killing the monsters with the club and a spear, but just from that reaction alone it was obvious that she did not like the idea of using them all that much.


    ¡¸No, I do know that, but it is for the sake of experimenting and trying out something new, okay?¡¹


    But naturally, Roxanne did not obtain any new Jobs as well, just as you would have expected. I guess it just means that not every weapon has a Job that can be unlocked by using it in battle, or if they do have them, they might also have other conditions required for obtaining them that I have yet to discover.


    In any event, even after we advanced to the higher floors and defeated the monsters there with different weapons, neither of us have obtained any new Jobs, Master Smith included.


    ¡¸Any thoughts on using the Club, Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸It is definitely hard to use if you are not used fighting with a weapon like that. Not to mention that in order for it to be utilized effectively you need to have enough strength in your arms to actually be able to swing it around continuously without tiring yourself out after a strike or two. From that angle, I prefer my Scimitar much more due to how fast, light and efficient it is.¡¹


    Roxanne commented as such after defeating another monster with Sherry¡¯s Club. So it would seem that Club is going to remain a Sherry-exclusive weapon, because I can say that I do not like fighting with it as well, but that is probably because I got too used to fighting with Durandal. It looked like a spear was much more up Roxanne¡¯s alley in comparison to the club, but since it is a poking weapon that is more suited for those in the back row to be supporting the rest of the team by stabbing the monsters in front of them from behind the safety of the distance or a shield, it was not compatible with her, since Roxanne stated herself that she would always wish to be place in the vanguard on the frontlines, where she could be the most useful, slashing our enemies to ribbons, and I shared that opinion of hers as well. I had more than enough chances to see how amazing Roxanne is, so I have no doubts that when she says that her place is in the vanguard, then that is truly where she belongs.


    Currently we were on the third floor of Vale¡¯s Labyrinth, where I told Roxanne to look for the groups of monsters that consisted of something other than Kobolds. They are the weakest monsters in this world, so I have no doubts that Sherry would have no trouble at all with swiftly dispatching them. What I want to see right now, is to see how well is she going to do against the monsters with higher level than the ones on the first and second floors, but even here on the third one, Sherry seemed to be doing just fine, holding on her own even against the larger groups of enemies. Normally she looks all small and cute, but if I had to sup up her appearance whenever she was fighting, then I would have to say that she looked very dignified, or at least as dignified as you can look when you are swinging around a club that is almost twice your size. I have no idea if she is going to keep her pace up on the higher floors as well, but based on what I am seeing right now, it looks like she can fight as good as Roxanne and I, meaning that her biggest concern has just been alleviated: as long as she keeps fighting exactly the way she is fighting right now, there is no way for her to become a nuisance that would only slow the two of us down.

 Volume 4 - CH 3.10

    Back where I came from, in the world of the Japanese rakugo plays, there was this one particular play where the play¡¯s hero who thought that he was better than those around him was actually inferior to them, and the other one, who thought himself to be inferior to others, was actually superior to those who constantly belittled him. This might be a strange metaphor that seemed to come out of nowhere, so allow me to provide a little bit more context here. All this time I am saying things like ¡¸Sherry might actually be as  good of a fighter as Roxanne and I¡¹and I constantly comment on how people other than me cannot dispatch monsters with one or two blows, but all this time, I am forgetting about one very important thing: that the inhabitants of this world are doing all of that with just their strength alone while having basic equipment without any Skills and only one Job that they have to rely on, while I was able to achieve everything that I was able to achieve thanks to my insane luck/perseverance that allowed me to reroll my initial Stats when starting this game enough times to roll literally the best outcome possible and to the OP Bonus Skills and Bonus Equipment that I managed to obtain from them. If not for all of those things, I would probably be unable to fight with a normal sword effectively, and most of the enemies that I look down on for being too weak to do anything against me would have probably obliterated me twenty times over if I tried to take them on with an ordinary Copper Sword and without the abilities to use Attack Magic and replenish my HP and MP with every one of Durandal¡¯s swings, so thinking about it that way, sherry might actually be a better fighter than me already, and with time she is only going to improve herself even further, because she is not relying on the godly equipment or Skills, but purely or the strength of her own two arms and nothing more beside it.


    ¡¸Okay, we are going to be moving to the fourth floor now. Once again, guide us towards all the monsters that are not Kobolds, Roxanne.¡¹


    ¡¸Roger that, master!¡¹


    Roxanne nodded and guided us towards our first encounter on the fourth floor: a group of Minos. A part of me was worried if Sherry was going to be okay against them, since Minos are essentially a hulking mass of horned muscles, but she handled them just as well as the enemies on the previous three floors. Whereas Roxanne would dive right between them and dodge every last one of their attacks, Sherry was taking a slightly different approach: she was waiting for the enemies to come within the range of her Club, and then she would bash their heads in or swing towards their sides which would disrupt their movement, allowing her to go in for the finishing blow. The Minos collapsed to the ground and disappeared in a cloud of green smoke, leaving behind their Drop Item, which was simply described as Leather.


    ¡¸Oh look, they dropped something. I wonder if this is the Minos rare drop?¡¹


    ¡¸This is one of the raw materials that can drop from certain monsters. It can be sold, but it can also be used in the process of creating equipment.¡¹


    ¡¸Is it the same kind of equipment as the one that our equipment is made of?¡¹


    I asked that because it got me genuinely interested in the possibility of using such raw materials to create our own equipment instead of having to buy new pieces of it all the time.


    ¡¸Uhm. . . it is. . . perhaps?¡¹


    Unsure of how to answer, Roxanne gave a quick glance towards Sherry so that she could bail her out.


    ¡¸Yes, it is! In fact, this kind of leather is exactly the same kind that is being used to make the Leather equipment that we are wearing right now.¡¹


    Hmm, is that so? Then perhaps. . .


    ¡¸Have you ever picked up this kind of Leather before, Sherry?¡¹


    ¡¸No, I cannot say that I did. There were Minos in the Labyrinth that I used to go to, but they appeared only on the higher floors of it.¡¹


    Ah-hah! Could this be a hint that I can use? Maybe that is what we have been missing this entire time? After all, Roxanne and I have obtained the Job of  a Herbalist, centered around the creation of various medicines, when we picked up the Drop Item that got left behind by the Udowood, the Floor Boss of the first floor of Vale¡¯s Labyrinth, so maybe Sherry will obtain the Job of a Master Smith when she picks up one of the materials used to create equipment?


    ¡¸All right. . .  Sherry, then please pick it up.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay.¡¹


    Sherry got down on one knee and picked up the Leather from the ground. Now, I wonder if this is going to be enough? I glanced at Roxanne, who was looking at Sherry with gentle curiosity. It is a good thing that at this point she probably got so used to me making all sorts of ¡¸experiments¡¹so she did not ask any questions at this point, taking whatever I was coming up with in stride. When Sherry¡¯s hand touched the Leather, I waited for a few seconds before opening the Party Job settings. . . . . . . .  but just as I have expected, there seemed to be no particular change and no new Jobs in Sherry¡¯s possession, meaning that it was another failure, because both Roxanne and I did not have to do anything else to obtain Herbalist Jobs other than picking up the item.


    And by the way, all of the items that we have obtained from the marathon of slaying the monsters from the lower floors have been placed into my own Item Box. Even if both master and the slave were capable of using it, it would stand to reason that the slave should hand over all of the items that he or she gathered so that the master could place it in his Item Box, because no master would have allowed slaves to keep items in their own Item Boxes out of fear of getting deceived by them, or at least that is how Roxanne explained it to me when I asked her about it some time ago, and I have to say that this sounds like a fair precaution, because even without the Item Boxes, there would always be a risk that some of the slaves might have tried to cheat their masters by tucking some of the items they have obtained in the depths of their backpacks, but the need to hand over everything they have found to their master¡¯s Item Box eliminates such a possibility. And in my case, me collecting all of the items into my own Item Box has one additional merit. Since Sherry also has the Job of an Explorer, she can also use her own Item Box, but if she tried to use it now, she would immediately notice that she would be unable to do so, because currently the Job that she has equipped is not an Explorer, but a Villager, but as long as she will not try to access the Item Box herself then everything should be fine. After Sherry picked up the Leather and handed it off to me I checked her Job Settings one more time to be doubly sure if there was a change in her Jobs or not, but the only thing that I have received was double the disappointment when it was confirmed that picking the Leather up did jack shit in getting new Jobs for her. Then again, it getting the Master Smith Job was as easy as picking up a random item off the ground, then people would not be saying that you need to be a talented Dwarf for that to happen.


    ¡¸I wonder if we should keep this Leather for ourselves and save it for later so that we could try making some equipment out of it?¡¹


    I mumbled to myself hoping that nobody would hear me, but apparently I said it loud enough for Sherry to hear, because her expression immediately got darker, and she hanged her head down dejectedly.


    ¡¸I am sorry, master. If only I was capable of becoming a Master Smith, then surely I could have. . . . . . .¡¹


    She apologized as if she just committed a crime against me or something. Sherry, it is not like that. That is not what I means, but apparently that is how she interpreted my words again.

 Volume 4 - CH 3.11

    Of course, she would think like that. After all, she heard something that clearly pointed to me being dissatisfied with her lack of the Master Smith Job, even though I was only mumbling it to myself under my breath without any intention to be heard by others at all, and it hurts even more since Sherry seems to be thinking that I am going to be searching for other Master Smiths who would craft items and equipment for me, while in truth my plan is to have Sherry become a Master Smith so that she could be the one providing those services for us. I never wanted to taunt her with my words or anything. . . . . . . . . Once again, this just goes to show that as the leader of the Party and someone who has been put in charge of others, I should make sure to pick literally every word I say with the utmost care and carefulness.


    ¡¸Do not worry about that, Sherry! Trust me, giving it your all while helping master explore the Labyrinths is more than enough, and no one is never going to demand more than that from you!¡¹


    ¡¸R-Right, I will make sure to always do my best.¡¹


    Ohhh, what a nice follow-up, Roxanne! Those words are bound to cheer Sherry back up! Man how glad I am that you are here!


    ¡¸By the way, Sherry.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, master?¡¹


    In order to make the atmosphere between the three of us lighter again, I decided to change the subject to something more pleasant to talk about.


    ¡¸Earlier you mentioned that there are actually people who managed to become Master Smiths even after they have reached Explorer Lv.10.¡¹


    ¡¸Hmm. . . . . .  yes, I have indeed said that.¡¹


    ¡¸So I was just curious. . . .  how exactly do they do that, because I thought the level requirement is something of an absolute that cannot be circumvented in any way?¡¹


    ¡¸Normally it is, but there is one alternative. The ones who want to become Master Smiths even after already achieving Lv.10 as Master Smiths have to use the services provided by the temple of Elen.¡¹


    ¡¸Temple of. . . . . . . . .   Elen? What is that?¡¹


    ¡¸The Temple of Elen is not like any other Guild Temple that offers only a specific Job, but the place where you go to leave which Job you are going to end up with up in the hands of Fate. Rumors have it that it is not strictly randomized though, but rather that the blessing of the Temple of Elen is going to bestow upon you the Job that you are the most suited for.¡¹


    Roxanne explained that to me.


    According to one of the general rules of this world, once you become a member of one Guild in order to obtain a Job that is associated with that Guild, you cannot change your Guild membership to another one, or at least doing so is not that simple, because while you can change your Job if you pray at the temple of the other Guild you wish to join, Roxanne told me that the process itself can be a rather pricey one. To put it all simply, if you become a Merchant associated with Merchant¡¯s Guild, you either stay a Merchant, or you can possibly pay a hefty sum of money in order to become, let us say. . . . . . . . . . . .   an Explorer associated with the Explorer¡¯s Guild as long as you pray for a Job Change in the Explorer¡¯s Guild¡¯s Temple. That is what I already knew after talking about it with Roxanne a while back, but hearing that there are actually temples that offer you a random Job Change was definitely a first for me. Then again, I guess that is one of the staples of the RPG and MMORPG genre of games: some temples have a lot of restrictions, some of them have less of them, or in the rare cases, there are even the ones that do not have any kind of restrictions placed upon the at all, but these are among the rarest of the rare ones.


    ¡¸I see. Thank you for the explanation, Roxanne.¡¹


    ¡¸You are welcome, master.¡¹


    However, the most important question here, and the one that has yet to be answered, is what kind of ¡¸random¡¹ the Job Change at the Temple Of Elen is? Can it offer to randomly give you a new Job by selecting one from the pool of the ones that you have already unlocked, or is it actually that it can offer to give you an entirely random new Job, even if you do not meet the requirements for obtaining it in a normal way? Because If I had to guess, if getting a Job that you do not meet the requirements for is impossible in the normal temples, then why would this Temple of Elen be any different? Then again, maybe it is an exception to the rule, so it might be worth my time to imply about it a little bit more.


    ¡¸Are there any legends or rumors about famous people from the empire who were using the services of the Temple of Elen?¡¹


    In this case, my fake backstory of being from a country far, far away to the east and thus not knowing much about the empire¡¯s history and customs can actually prove to be quite useful.


    ¡¸There actually is. As luck would have it, the empire¡¯s first Emperor was the one who received his Hero Job from the Temple of Elen.¡¹


    Huh? Well now, would you look at that! Talk about a lucky coincidence! Since I already know that much, then maybe I should try inquiring about the persona of the first Emperor a bit more to see if I can learn something more about the Hero Job?


    ¡¸Hmm. . . . . . . . . . .   then, do the mythos that surround the first Emperor, are there any that mention him singlehandedly exterminating a band of Bandits?¡¹


    That was the situation in which I have obtained that Job when I was first spirited away into this world, so maybe it is going to have something to do with one of the legends describing the first Emperor¡¯s heroics, assuming that there will even be any that are going to match the criteria that I have just specified.


    ¡¸There are. Supposedly, one of the first heroic deeds attributed to the first Emperor of this empire was that he has repelled a group of Bandits that have ambushed his Party after nightfall all by himself.¡¹


    Sherry continued to deliver the good news to me. The exact circumstances differ slightly from what I have been through, bit otherwise. . .  bingo, I guess? Looks like the condition that has to be fulfilled in order to obtain the Job of a Hero is to singlehandedly exterminate a group of Bandits, or at least everything seems to be pointing towards it. But is that all there is to it? No, it cannot be. If the condition for obtaining a Job that is supposed to be so rare that there was only one person in the recorded history of the empire who managed to get it would be to simply dispatch a group of brigands, then the world would be literally breaming with Heroes, because that feature could be easily achieved by powerful Adventurers who would target a group of weak, low-level enough Bandits. Then maybe the condition is that you have to defeat a group of Bandits during your first ever battle? Nah, I am only thinking like that because that is how it was in my case, which might have been nothing more but a sheer coincidence. Besides, even if we assume that the First Emperor had encountered this Bandit night ambush situation at a relatively young age, the chances of that particular encounter being his first ever battle in the world that is filled with Labyrinths and monsters are pretty slim, and if he was not trained enough in combat at that time, he would have probably not survived that ambush, much less defeated all of the enemies by himself. No matter what the exact conditions are, it remains a fact that that battle with the Bandits was the trigger that gave the first Emperor his Hero Job, and since he got it at that time, then it means that he did not get it, an entirely new Job, when he went to pray at the Temple of Elen, but instead, that means that his visit to the temple simply assigned him a Job that he had already unlocked, much in the same way as my Party Job Settings work.

 Volume 4 - CH 3.12

    So, even if we were to take Sherry, who does not have the Master Smith Job unlocked, to the Temple of Elen and she were to offer a prayer there, she would not get the Master Smith Job anyway, making such a trip one giant waste of our time, money and resources. I have to say, when I first heard her mention that temple I thought that this might be a good alternative route to killing monsters with random weapons while having various weapons equipped on her, but now I see that relying on the Temple of Elen to give Sherry what she wanted would not be a good idea either.


    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wait, what she wanted?


    ¡¸Sherry, if you do not mind me asking, would you be happy if you managed to become a Master Smith after all?¡¹


    Come to think of it, that is one of the things that I have never confirmed with her: does she want to get that Master Smith Job or not?


    ¡¸N-No, I. . .  I do not think so.¡¹


    Huh? Say what?


    ¡¸You do not think so? Why is that? Is becoming a Master Smith not an aspiration of every Dwarf?¡¹


    I was wondering why she would say something like that, but Sherry simply hanged her head down and continued to stare at the tips of her boots in silence. And then, after a while of not saying anything. . .


    ¡¸I guess. . .  I guess I have simply given up on it.¡¹


    She said those words quietly, as if she was afraid of speaking them out loud.


    Hey, what do you mean, you gave up? You cannot give up! You just cannot! You hear me, Sherry?! Never give up!  Just look at me! Back on earth I was a worthless nobody who was so fed up with his own life that I wanted to kill myself without even trying to change anything for the better, and look at me now, I am here, living and giving it my all here in this new, strange and unfamiliar world, so if even a coward like could turn his shitty luck around, then a hard-working and smart person like Sherry should be able to achieve pretty much anything she is going to set her mind onto, so I am choosing to believe in you and that you are definitely going to become a Master Smith! So please, Sherry, whatever you do, do not let goof your dreams and aspiration and keep trying to make them come true!


    ¡¸Now that I have become a slave, becoming a Master Smith would only end up causing a whole lot of unwanted problems, and I do not want to be a cause for concern for master and Miss Roxanne.¡¹


    Well, I guess that is technically true, but even so, I do not think that this should mean that she should put pursuing her own ambitions on the backburner simply because it would be more convenient for Roxanne and I. That being said, I can definitely see why she would think that a Master Smith who has become someone¡¯s slave might be perceived as troublesome. Master Smith¡¯s services are probably among one of the most valuable for Adventurers, since they are the only ones capable of fusing Skill Crystals with the equipment, but as a result, these services probably cost a ton of money, and they have no guarantee if that investment is going to be worth it, since the failure rate on the fusion process is also relatively high. But if you have a Master Smith as your slave, then the biggest concern you might have, the financial one, is swiftly eliminated. That is why if Sherry ever manages to finally obtain the Master Smith Job, it might be more beneficial for us to keep that fact a secret from everyone else around us in order to avoid any unnecessary attention, or perhaps even becoming a target of grudges of those jealous of how big of a jackpot I managed to land with Sherry¡¯s purchase.


    Anyway, back to the matter at hand. When I mentioned becoming a Master Smith, Sherry looked quite dejected and dispirited. . . . . . . .  but I think that deep down in her heart she still wishes to become a full-fledged Master Smith, even if she is trying not to show it and says that she has given up on it. In which case, I have to offer her some words of encouragement and as much positive reinforcement as I possibly can in order not to drive her any deeper into depression due to her situation than she already is.


    ¡¸Do not worry, Sherry. No matter what happens, I am sure that everything is going to be all right and that things are going to work themselves out pretty soon.¡¹


    I realize that these words might sound pretty irresponsible, but this is the best that I can do for her at the current moment.


    ¡¸Y-Yes, I guess you are right, master.¡¹


    Sherry did sound like my words managed to convince her, but probably only a little bit. Well, it does not matter. All that we have to do to improve her self-esteem is to find out the condition required for becoming a Master Smith and then make her into one, which should cause all of her problems to go away as if they were never there. And of course, I am not even considering the eventuality that we will not find a way to make her a Master Smith, because we would have a big problem if that was how the events would have turned out in the end, because her being a Dwarven Master Smith was the main reason why I have chosen her as my second slave to begin with.


    ¡¸If master says that everything is going to be all right, then it definitely will, Sherry. So you do not have to worry about anything, and just continue to live they way you are doing it now.¡¹


    ¡¸O-Of course, Miss Roxanne! I will be sure to try and do exactly that!¡¹


    Roxanne offered Sherry some words of encouragement as well. But really now, Roxanne, just where is that unwavering faith in me of yours coming from? I honestly do not know. But she is absolutely right. Sherry is not alone anymore. She has me and Roxanne by her side, and she can be damn sure that we are going to do all in our power to help her out of her Master Smith pinch.


    ¡¸All right then you two, since we are done with our warp-up, then I am going to be using magic to fight any enemies we might be encountering from now on. I will make sure to annihilate any monsters that might be coming our way, so Sherry, I want you to focus on evasion and defense. Other than that, just make sure that you will listen to any instructions Roxanne might be giving you and be sure to cooperate with her well at all times.¡¹


    I declared my intention to switch onto using magic and gave instructions on how to act for both Sherry and Roxanne. Thankfully, it looks like even with just the Villager Lv.3 equipped as her main Job Sherry is not going to be brought down to critically low HP with just one or two blows so I will probably do not have to worry about her as much as I thought I would have to, but just to be on the safe side we should get more used to fighting as a team here on the lower floors of the Labyrinths before advancing onto the higher ones.


    ¡¸I never entered a Labyrinth while having a Mage in a Party before, but from what I can see you seem to be even more powerful than what I have imagined and what the stories about magic users were telling, master. Your usage and expertise of the Attack Magic might be on par with that of an expert mage, or perhaps even better than that still.¡¹


    So that is Sherry¡¯s impression of my magic, huh? Well, I do not know if this is what can be called magic on a professional level, but it is certainly something that a Lv.32 Mage is capable of. If I were to remove Mage from the list of my active Jobs, then I would not be able to cast but a single Fireball, much less the more impressive and effective spells.


    ¡¸Really? That is what you think, Sherry? Well well well, I have to say that your flattery makes me really happy.¡¹


    ¡¸This is not flattery, master. I am merely stating the fact. The stronger you are as a leader, the easier it will be for us in the vanguard, after all.¡¹

 Volume 4 - CH 3.13

    And Sherry bowed her head to me lightly, thanking me for being such a competent Party leader with a simple ¡¸Thank you very much¡¹, which made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.


    Based on all the encounters we had on the fourth floor, I can tell that Sherry is going to have no problems with fighting here, and I can only assume that the fifth, sixth and seventh floors will be no problem to her as well. However, the real problem, as well as the test of not only Sherry¡¯s, but also mine and Roxanne¡¯s skills is going to be waiting for us when we finally decide to leave the seventh floor and move on to the eighth floor, which is going to be a totally uncharted territory for us, and that is why today we have started all the way down from the first floor and slowly made our way up: so that I could how Sherry was going to perform on the battlefield and how well she would be cooperating with Roxanne. Thankfully, there seemed to be no problems in that regard, because the girls not only became friends with each other extremely quickly, but that have also adapted to each other¡¯s fighting styles so well that now they could support each other with their eyes closed and instead focus on their friendly chatter, like the one they were having right now:


    ¡¸Sherry, I know you might have some reservations, but trust me, it is really okay for you to be fighting a little bit closer to the wall.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay, I will try to do it during the next battle. By the way, Miss Roxanne, would it be better for me to swing my Club vertically instead of horizontally so that it would not get in your way as much.¡¹


    ¡¸You can keep fighting however you see fit, because it makes no difference to me. If I ever see that your Club is getting closer to me, I will simply evade it, that is all there is to it.¡¹


    See? If this is not a sign of a good cooperation, then I do not know what it can be. With that, I think that there is no need for us to be staying here at the fourth floor, so we can probably move up to the next floor.


    ¡¸All right girls, if you have nothing against it, then we will be making our way to the fifth floor now. And remember: the higher the floor, the stronger the monsters, so do be careful at all times, okay?¡¹


    ¡¸¡¸All right, master!¡¹¡¹


    The fifth floor is the one where the number of enemies per encounter started to increase from two to three, so we agreed that the division will be such that Roxanne is going to be taking on two of the monsters, and Sherry is going to focus on the remaining one. Before I have obtained Sherry, this was the spot where the monsters began to get stronger to the point of me being forced to start using Durandal in order to swiftly dispatch them, but now that my Party consists of not just two members but three, I think I should be able to continue to rely on only using magic, which is already a huge improvement over our previous forays into the fifth floor and above. The strategy for handling multiple enemies is as I described above, but for the times when there was only one enemy present, Roxanne was focusing its attention on herself in the front so that Sherry could go for a surprise attack to its sides. Watching them go at it, I felt like it would be better if she was using the Copper Spear in such a situation, but for the time being a Club will have to make due, since there is no methods that would allow us to quickly switch between two or more weapons on the fly or in the middle of the battle. But all things considered, for most of the time I could relax a bit more than usual and just hang out a few meters away from the battles Roxanne and Sherry were waging, far enough not to draw any of the monster¡¯s aggro upon myself, but still close enough to either rush in with my sword or use magic to save the girls from a tight spot if they ever wound up getting themselves into one.


    ¡¸Starting to get more into the flow of things on this floor as well?¡¹


    I asked when our current encounter has been swiftly finished.


    ¡¸Yes, I think that our cooperation could still use some improvements, but at the pace that we are currently going with, we should be all right as long as we continue to polish and improve our skills. Sherry, thank you for being such a quick learner, and I look forward to working with you from here on out as well.¡¹


    ¡¸And I look forward to working with and learning more things from you, Miss Roxanne!¡¹


    In terms of how practical it is, staying in the rear guard is a lot more comfortable than staying in the vanguard all the time, if only because that chance of being targeted by a monster is much, much smaller there. Those who stay in the vanguard have no choice but to get up close and personal with the enemies if they want to dispatch them quickly and protect the other members of the Party, and in the case of making a mistake or just an unfortunate slip-up, the members of the vanguard are the ones who are going to get hurt, or if they will be really unlucky, perhaps they could even die. But when you are in the rearguard, you do not really have to concern yourself with such things, because your Job is not to be all up in the monster¡¯s faces, but to support the rest of your team from the safety of the distance, making it much less stressful, but just as important of a position, because your actions might have a deciding impact on the well-being of your comrades. But overall, vanguard is a much harder position than the rearguard, even if both of these positions have their different sets of benefits and drawbacks. If I can just stay in the safety of the rearguard where I will not have to worry about getting myself killed during every battle, then I feel that even someone like me could easily make it all the way to the top floor of the Labyrinth and then clear it.


    Buuut. . . . .  I feel like thinking about what is going to happen when we arrive at the last floors of the Labyrinths is still something that I should not be bothering myself with all that much for quite some time. For now, I should just allow the girls to do their thing in the vanguard, and once the monsters start getting stronger, I will also lend them my aid in the form of bombarding the enemies with a barrage of Attack Magic. . . . . . . . .  Ahh, I see. Now I get it. That is exactly why Alan the Slave Merchant offered to show me the male slaves he had in his inventory for sale when I mentioned that I was looking specifically for someone to be serving in the vanguard.


    Right now, Roxanne is standing in front of me, acting as both a sword that is going to strike down my enemies, and a shield that will protect me from harm should the need for that ever arise. . . . . . . . . .  and I will never be able to thank her enough for it, will I?


    ¡¸Roxanne. . . . . . . . .  thank you.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes? You are. . . .  welcome, master?¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, and by the way, Sherry, since I am going to be using a lot of magic from here on out, I just want to make sure. . .  do you know what the types of magic are?¡¹


    Since Roxanne seemed to not know what I was grateful to her for, I left that matter alone and asked Sherry my next question.


    ¡¸Hmm. . . . . . . I am not all that familiar with magic, but I do know that generally speaking there are three basic types of it: Area of Effect Magic, Single Target Magic and Defensive Magic.¡¹


    That seems about right. Storm-type spells are Area of Effect Magic, Ball is a Single Target Magic, and Wall-type spells are Defensive Magic. I wonder if those are all the types of magic that exist in this world, or is there also a fourth, unknown or lost type of magic that has yet to be discovered?

 Volume 4 - CH 3.14

    ¡¸Ow. . . . . khhhhh! ! ! !¡¹


    When we arrived on the fifth floor and had to fight against three Cheap Sheep at once, Sherry was once again attacked a few times across the duration of a single battle. It is a good thing that I expected something like that to happen, because otherwise I might have been pretty shocked at the difference in her performance with just one floor of a difference. Cheap Sheep are definitely trickier to fight than the Minos of the fourth floor and I myself had more than my fair share of trouble while dealing with them, so I could definitely emphasize with her struggle.


    ¡¸Are you all right, Sherry?¡¹


    ¡¸Hnnh. . .  Y-Yes, I am fine, master. I used to fight against the monsters on the eight floors of the Labyrinths before. . .  so the enemies from the fifth floor. . . are going to be no problem for me at all. . . . . .¡¹


    I immediately went up to Sherry and cured her wounds and used Plating on her when the battle was over, and then told her with a patient, but also decisive tone:


    ¡¸That might be true, but you have to remember that your situation in the past and right now are drastically different from one another, because back then you had a different Party and probably a different equipment as well, so it would be better for you to not think about dungeon crawling in the Labyrinths of today with your past mindset. If you feel like the things are getting too difficult for you to handle, do not hesitate to inform me about it immediately, got it?¡¹


    ¡¸Master, I am grateful for your concern about my well-being, but I am all right, trust me.¡¹


    No Sherry, it is not all right. You might think that you are doing fine, but that is only because you think that you still have your Explorer Lv.10 Job equipped, while in reality the one you have equipped right now is not Explorer Lv.10, but Villager. She managed to level it up from Villager Lv.3 to Villager Lv.4 just now and should be able to hit Lv.5 after a few more battles since when the levels are low they tend to go up a bit faster, but it does not change the fact that her Stats are still lower than those of a Lv.10 Explorer. I am partially to blame for this situation here, because I did not inform her that I changed her Job, but even if I did tell her that, it would not change a thing, because the main problem, her not shifting her attitude in battle to take on a safer approach to every encounter, would still persist. I want to tell her about the fact that as a Party leader I can change her Job without asking her for her permission to do so, but I think that doing so now would do more harm than good, so I have no choice but to wait until I see that she is trusting me a bit more.


    ¡¸Roxanne, is it safe to continue onward?¡¹


    ¡¸I do not sense any monsters nearby for now, but if the need arises I can draw the attention of three of them to myself, so I think it should be fine for us to proceed fro the time being.¡¹


    I asked for Roxanne¡¯s opinion on whether we could continue our trek through the fifth floor, and once she informed me that we could safely go forward, I nodded back at her strongly. I still had my reservations about whether or not Sherry is going to be able to handle the monsters from the sixth and seventh floors with Villager as her main Job, but if Sherry herself is going to be hell-bent on continuing onwards, then I guess I have no choice but to respect her wishes and simply pay extra attention to her ever time we are going to be engaging groups of enemies from now on.


    Like that, we moved on to the sixth floor of Vale¡¯s Labyrinth, where I decided that now might be a good time to test out the Skill of the Sex Maniac Job in practice, but since I was still afraid of letting Sherry fight without the protection of the Alchemist¡¯s Plating, I had to add myself a Sixth Job during the Character Reset in order t fit those two Jobs together along with the rest of the ones that I absolutely needed. There, all set.


    ¡¸Roxanne, Sherry. Continuing our talk from yesterday. . . . . . . . . . . . do either of you know what exactly do the Skills of the Sex Maniac Job do?¡¹


    ¡¸I am sorry to disappoint you, master, but I have no idea. How about you, Sherry?¡¹


    I felt a little bad for Sherry, because ever since she became a member of my group we were just asking her about a lot of stuff that neither Roxanne or I had any knowledge of, but in times like these she was our only remaining option, since unlike the two of us, she was an intellectual, so maybe I should just make it a habit to ask her about any lore or Jobs related stuff from now on?


    ¡¸I am afraid that I do not know anything about it either. The only things that I do hear about it is that due to its nature it is not a Job that can be discussed about openly in public, and humans tend to pass down the knowledge about it between themselves in a strictly verbal manner.¡¹


    But it looks like not even Sherry knows a whole lot about Sex Maniac Job, and honestly, I am not that surprised about it, considering the very nature of this Job and its method of acquisition. After all, only the biggest, most egotistic of braggards(TL Note: or someone who thinks themselves a Gigachad) would go around telling other people that they have slept with two or more girls at once, and while I believe that there are people like that out there, the majority belongs to the category that is going to be keeping such sensitive information to themselves so that others would not brand them as hopeless perverts.


    Okay, let me see what does the Sex Maniac Job do once more, just for reference.


    {Sex Maniac}


    Effects: Increase SPI (Medium),  Increase INT (Medium) Increase MP (Small)


    Skills: Enhanced Vigor,  Abstinence Attack


    So yeah, these are all the Skills and effects that the Sex Maniac Job offers me. I presume that the Enhanced Vigor is a Passive Skill that should increase my overall vigor, sexual or otherwise, and Abstinence Attack must be an Active Skill. I was more than a little afraid that equipping that Job might have some unwanted side-effects like being overwhelmed by the desire to violate every female in your nearest proximity, but now that I have it as one of my set Jobs, I do not feel any such urges, which sets my heart at ease. Looks like I can use that Job without having to worry about doing something that I would not be able to undo later. I mean, let me be honest here, whenever I look at Roxanne and those enormous boobs of her, I always feel the urge to jump at her and to various naughty things to her even when I do not have Sex Maniac equipped, but since that is always the case I learned to control those urges to the point where I can stop myself from groping her up throughout the day and only let myself run wild when we are taking baths and go to bed afterwards. If I were unable to do at least that much, then surely, even without the Sex Maniac Job I would have ended up in prison for good if all I did was to act like constantly horny bastard. So with the level of self-restraint that I am currently exercising, I should still be okay and not end up on the wrong side of the law charged with sexual assault. And if I could not, then what other alternative would there be for me? My guesses are either castration, which is absolutely out of the question, or retreating myself to live an ascetic life of a hermit deep in the mountains, where no earthly temptation would be able to lead me astray from the path of righteousness. Well, that being said, people like that are probably quite rare in this world, because throughout the entire time I have spent in this world so far, I have never Identified another human being who would be labeled with that Job. But then again, if it is something that cannot be talked about openly, then maybe humans found a way to keep it hidden from others?

 Volume 4 - CH 3.15

    Well, whatever the case might be, the most important thing right now is that neither Roxanne nor Sherry know anything that could be of use to me, so there is no point mulling over this subject anymore. I will simply have to test the Skills that Sex Maniac Job has to offer throughout the practical usage of them! And I think that I am going to start with abstinence attack.


    Now, how is it going to work, I wondered as I instructed Sherry and Roxanne to fall back for a bit and then I ran forward to challenge a single Cheap Sheep Lv.6 that was about ready to challenge us.


    (Here it goes. . . . . . .  Abstinence Attack!)


    I shouted that in my mind as I swung Durandal down onto the monster when it was withing my melee range. Durandal¡¯s edge made its way through the Cheap Sheep¡¯s body. . . . . . . and that was it, nothing else happened. I mean, something had to have happened, because I definitely felt the hit connect as well as the slight resistance of the monster¡¯s flesh when the attack continued to go through it thanks to the momentum and the power of gravity from my overhead slash. . . .  but it did not look like that attack did any kind of noticeable damage to it. Like, at all.


    Oi, what the hell, dude?! Why is this attack not working? Did I mess something up? I do not know. Maybe somehow this first attack turned out to be a fluke? Maybe it is going to work properly if I attack the Cheap Sheep again? At the very least, it should be worth a try.


    (Abstinence. . . . . . . . . Attack!)


    I tried repeating the attack with the Skill, this time by slashing the Cheap Sheep normally with it. . . .  but once more, it did not work out.


    (Damn it! Fuck! Abstinence Attack! Abstinence Attack, Abstinence Attack, Abstinence Attack!)


    I tried the same thing over, and over, and over again, but the result was exactly the same each time. Could it be. . . . . . . . . . . could it be that Abstinence Attack is not an Active Skill? Because there is absolutely no way for an Active Skill to be literally weaker than a regular physical attack! No, wait, I definitely felt the sensation of the Skill activating itself, so it definitely is an Active Skill, but then why is it so weak? Hmm. . . . . . . hmmmmm. . . . . . maybe. . . ..  maybe. . . . . no, no no no no no no no, please, let it be not what I think it is! Abstinence Attack. Abstinence. A Skill granted by the Sex Maniac Job, so in this context, Abstinence attack can only mean one thing. . . . . . . that you can use that Skill to its full potential only if you maintain sexual abstinence!


    WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD EVER WANT TO TORTURE THEMSELVES LIKE THAT JUST SO THEY COULD USE SUCH A WEAK-ASS ATTACK?!!!!


    I mean, let us be real right now! You want to tell me that if I want to be using that Skill, I would have to purposefully decline having sex with Roxanne and Sherry? Because if anyone thought that I would accept such a trade offer, then they can think again! There is no chance in hell I will ever willingly let go of something so awesome just so that I could use one Skill attack that is not guaranteed to be any stronger than the regular attack! What kind of sadist even designed it in such a way? Is this some kind of sick joke the developers of this game designed to make fun of the people who would use this game as the means to go on a sexual adventures spree?!


    Now, instead of trying to use Abstinence Attack again, I slashed the Cheap Sheep with a regular attack, and it still did not fall. Seriously, in its current state, this skill really is much, much weaker than a normal attack, because if it was on par with it or just slightly weaker, this second attack should have finished the enemy off, but since it survived, it got the perfect opportunity to ram itself into me, which it did. The physical damage that I sustained from that attack was pretty negligible at my current level, but the mental shock from realizing how useless Abstinence Attack is to someone like me was far greater. I cannot believe that for a moment I was hoping that this Skill might actually be something helpful, something that maybe could have allowed me to finish the enemies on the sixth floor off with one strike instead of two, but no, of course my hopes had to be brutally crushed before they were even allowed to blossom! Or maybe there is something that I am not seeing here? Some kind of hidden condition that has to be met in order for this Skill to work the way it should be working? Maybe I have to sacrifice something in addition to expending MP and chanting the Skill¡¯s name? Or perhaps it is a Skill meant for capturing the monsters while they are still alive?


    Anyway, since here on the sixth floor the enemies start to be so tough that I need two strikes from Durandal instead of one in order to finish them off, then I think it is safe to assume that Abstinence Attack is a useless dud of a Skill that is not worth using in the slightest, so let me just forget that I have ever tried to use it and let us proceed forward. We have already wasted enough of our precious time with this stupid experiment. . . . . . . . .  . after I try testing it out on the other monsters on this floor, just to be absolutely sure.


    The next opponent was a lone Needlewood, so I tried to use four consecutive Abstinence Attacks to see if it was going to make an difference, but the result was exactly the same as before, ore perhaps even worse, because I do not know if it was just my imagination playing tricks on me or what, but I could have sworn that these four attacks that I have performed just now were even more pathetic than the ones I tried to use against the Cheap Sheep? Welp, I guess that settles it then. If neither Abstinence Attack nor the Enhanced END Skills are going to make the slaying of the monsters easier for me, then I really have no choice but to go and seal that joke of a Job away due to how wasteful and useless it is. Even if it has some hidden effects, like maybe. . . . . . .  well, I do not know, maybe increase in the amount of EXP obtained at the cost of the reduced attack power, it is far too late for me to be thinking about such ¡°what ifs¡± and possibilities. That Job had its chance with me, and it ended up wasting that chance spectacularly.


    ¡¸We are going to be staying here on the sixth floor for a while longer. When Sherry gets used to fighting the enemies here to such a degree that she will not be hit by them anymore, only then we are going to move on to the seventh floor, okay?¡¹


    ¡¸Okay.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood!¡¹


    Getting sherry accustomed to fighting the enemies of the sixth floor without getting hit by each and every one of their attacks too about an hour or so of our time, during which she slowly but surely improved both her dodges and the ability to predict what the enemy was going to do next. I guess that in the end, this is what really matters: the knowledge of the attacks patterns of the enemies and the readiness that it gives you, which makes all the difference between being attacked because you were not expecting the attack what suddenly came your way and being able to dodge it in time because you read all the telegraphed signs properly. Now, if only sherry could learn to do that a little quicker or after a fewer number of encounters, that would be pretty great, but I should probably not get my hopes up in regards to her being the same kind of dodging expert as Roxanne is. I have to accept that eventually some of the enemy¡¯s attacks are going to reach Sherry no matter how ready she is going to be for them, and simply have the Medical Treatment Skill ready to mend her wounds when the battle is over. For the time being, however, she is as ready as she can be, so there is no point in dilly-dallying here any longer.

 Volume 4 - CH 3.16

    We are pressing onward to the seventh floor! And there:


    ¡¸Here we are, the seventh floor. Sherry, this floor is our current hunting grounds, or to put it in other words, this is the last floor we cleared before I decided to add you to our Party. The monsters here are even stronger than the ones you encountered on the sixth floor, so I advise you to keep your guard up and remain cautious at all times.¡¹


    I gave Sherry a warning when we emerged from the Portal that brought us to the seventh floor of the Vale¡¯s Labyrinth.


    ¡¸All right, I will be sure to do just that. . . . . . but, since I was doing okay even if I got hit by the monsters we were fighting on the lower floors earlier, so I think that it should be okay for us to proceed even further and at a faster pace than the one we are currently going with. I. . .  I know that it might sound like I am being selfish, but I do not want to drag Miss Roxanne and Master down just because I am the newest member of master¡¯s Party.¡¹


    Yes, Sherry, I am perfectly aware of that. However, you say that you were doing ¡°okay¡±, but that ¡°okay¡± of yours was partially due to my Plating Skill that was reducing the damage that you were sustaining from the monster¡¯s attacks, so I would hazard a guess that your own damage resistance is lower than what you might think it is.


    ¡¸I see what you are getting at, Sherry, but I need you to remember that this is the Labyrinth, a truly dangerous place where we can be attacked at any time and we are putting our lives on the line with every encounter here, so because of that, I think it definitely will not hurt us to be that much more cautious, would you not agree? That is exactly the reason for why we have been taking things slowly by moving from the first floor upwards: to be safe and avoid getting ourselves hurt. Also. . . .  I have told this to Roxanne before, and now I am going to say exactly the same thing to you. No matter what happens, I do not want to lose you either, Sherry.¡¹


    ¡¸Is that so? I. . .  thank you very much, master. I promise that I am going to be more careful with how I act from now on.¡¹


    ¡¸Great. As long as you understand that I am not saying all of this to impede you and stall our progress, that is all that matters to me.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, of course!¡¹


    Nice, somehow I managed to sweet-talk her out of doing anything irresponsible that would only end up causing us the unnecessary amount of trouble. . . . . . . no, on second thought, scratch that. It is not that I sweet talked Sherry into being more careful. I really meant what I said to her. Now that she has become my slave, she is another one of my precious companions in this strange and unfamiliar world, and I really do not want to lose her, both as a potential asset to my Party and as a friend.


    ¡¸I am glad that you are being so rationally cautious despite being so powerful, master. Sixth and seventh floors of the Labyrinths are said to be the ones where the mortality rate among Adventurers begins to go up in comparison to the lower floors due to how tricky and strong the Floor Bosses of these floors are. . . . . ah, and there is also the talk about ¡¸The Demon of the Seventh Floor¡¹, so that makes me all the more at ease knowing that you think about the safety of the entire Party so much.¡¹


    ¡¸The Demon of the Seventh Floor¡¹, huh? That is the first time I am hearing about such a thing, but just its name alone sounds so dangerous that I think steering clear of that thing, whatever it might be, will be the best possible course of action. That being said, I am a little bit curious about it though.


    ¡¸Do you know something more about this¡¸Demon of the Seventh Floor¡¹? I mean, whatever it is, there has to be a reason as to why it is called like that, right?¡¹


    ¡¸I am not sure about the specifics, but the most common talks among the people state that this is probably because the seventh floors of the Labyrinths are the ones around which all of the beginner-level Adventurers and Explorers start getting more comfortable with the exploration and fighting monsters, which in turn makes them significantly less cautious and wary because they are convinced that nothing on this floor will be able to threaten them since all the previous ones were manageable for them, and they think that the seventh floor is going to be the same, only to have a pretty rude awakening. It seems that it has become quite a common pitfall that more and more people are falling into these days.¡¹


    (Ah. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .!!!!)


    ¡¸Supposedly, the majority of the people who are falling into this pitfall are the ones who were fighting their way up to the seventh floor without any issues only to become increasingly more frustrated at how big of a difficulty spike the seventh floor really is and how long it is taking them to get stronger while being here, so the common occurrence is them becoming obsessed with getting to the eight floor as soon as possible, which causes them to become quite reckless in their pursuit of single-minded strength.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. . . . . .¡¹


    So ¡¸The Demon of the Seventh Floor¡¹is not a creature, but more of a concept, huh? Shit, this reminds me of that guy whom we met outside of the Rapid Rabbit Boss Room the other day. His story was exactly like the one Sherry talked about just now. He told us that he has already been on the seventh floor for two whole years now, so I guess it was to be expected that he would get impatient at some point and try to make a break for it because, as the guy himself said it ¡¸he felt that fortune was on his side that day¡¹. Fortune on his side? Yeah, right, on his side it was. So much in fact that he got killed in the battle with the Rapid Rabbit moments later. Maybe things would have turned out differently for him if only he had Party members or slaves with him, but unfortunately, he said that he was too poor to afford them, his daily earnings barely being enough for him to pay for the renting of the room and the food for himself. So in the end, it was exactly what Sherry said: the thing that doomed him was his own impatience and the obsessive desire to leave the seventh floor. I guess I should be happy that neither I nor Roxanne got seriously injured or worse when it was finally our turn to fight the Rapid Rabbit, but we should keep it in mind that we absolutely cannot allow ourselves to become overconfident, because whatever happens to other people today might very well happen to us tomorrow. Sherry¡¯s words were a good cautionary tale, as well as a reminder that sometimes being hasty is not necessarily the right thing to do. At times, what really ends up being the right choice is a slow and steady approach where the rewards might not be as good, but at least we are going to be sure that we will not be losing our lives over some easily avoidable mistakes.


    After that talk of ours, we ended up fighting the monsters on the seventh floor for a good while, moving forward at our usual pace without trying to force ourselves too much. It is also here that I made some additional observations in regards to Sherry¡¯s behavior on the battlefield. While it might not be a fair comparison due to how different the two of them are, I have no choice but to compare her to Roxanne, and the result of that comparison is that Sherry is much less confident in her movements, but even so, these movements of hers are still much better than my own, unrefined ones. I feel like it still might be a little risky, but I think that it is high time to stop babysitting her with Alchemist¡¯s Plating and switch from the ¡¸Playing It Safe Mode¡¹to ¡¸Active Leveling Mode¡¹.

 Volume 4 - CH 3.17

    However. . . . . . it might be worth my while to keep Alchemist and its Plating for a while longer, but I definitely do not need Sex Maniac anymore, so I might as well get rid of it now. With the Sex Maniac removed in the process of Character Reset, I did not need to have Sixth Job for now, which means that I have some more Bonus Points that I can reallocate. Okay, now let me see what can I do to tweak my current build a little? Since we gained a new Party member, then maybe I should prioritize getting EXP faster for the time being? Yeah, that sounds like a reasonable thing to do, given my current goal and Sherry¡¯s eagerness to fight on the front lines.


    Since Explorer Lv.33 is set as my First Job, them means thirty two Bonus Points, and then my original ninety nine Bonus Points are added to it. And now for the Skills that I am going to choose: One Tenth of Required EXP Value worth thirty one Bonus Points, EXP Gain Times Twenty worth sixty three Bonus Points, Crystal Growth Times Sixteen worth fifteen Bonus Points, Fifth Job worth fifteen Bonus Points, Chant Omission worth three Bonus Points and the rest of the Bonus Points that I had left have been allocated between MP Recovery Speed Increase, Identify, Job Settings along with Party Job Settings and Character Reset. Yeah, this setting should work particularly good for the purpose of raising Sherry¡¯s Villager level as fast as possible. Also, I feel like it is going to be a good decision on my part to put fewer points into Crystal Growth¡¯s speed of filling the Magic Stone with magic energy, because now that the purchase of Sherry and all of the daily necessities that she is going to need has been completed, we have no urgent need for having a large sum of money on us. As long as we are going to have enough money on us to be able to buy ingredients for making breakfasts and dinners, we are going to get by just fine.


    ¡¸Master, the sun is about to set.¡¹


    Roxanne told me that sometime later while we finished another bout of combat with the monsters of the seventh floor.


    ¡¸Really? Already? How did you know?¡¹


    I knew that we have already spent a lot of time in the Vale¡¯s Labyrinth today, but I never would have guessed that we actually took so long that the sun was about to set.  And how was Roxanne able to tell that while being here anyway? Is it due to some kind of Skill of hers typical to the Wolfkin people, or perhaps it is something else entire. . . . . . .


    *Rumble Rumble!* *Rumble Rumble!*


    . . . . . ly? Ahh, now I see. It is not that Roxanne could tell that the sun was setting even though we have been inside of the Labyrinth the entire day, but she knew that because my stomach started rumbling pretty audibly without me even noticing it. I guess there is the truth in the old saying that you cannot deceive the internal clock that is your stomach, huh? Not to mention that it was pretty amazing how Roxanne¡¯s own internal clock managed to synchronize with my own, but I guess that should not be all that surprising, since the two of us eat our meals at exactly the same times, which is early in the morning and in the evening, so it would stand to reason that our stomach would start demanding their sustenance at about the same time as well. As far as I am aware, it does not look like watches have been invented in the world of this game just yet, so I wonder how exactly are other people able to tell the exact passage of time? Is there some kind of special training that can teach you how to do it, like maybe reading the trajectory of the sun or something of the similar sort? I wonder if Sherry can do that as well, but I do not think I would be able to master such an ability, even if I were to receive the most extensive of trainings with it, most likely because I have already grown too accustomed to living my life with a watch, be it analog or digital one, at my side, and I will be damned if a watch was


    not useful when going through the maze-like structures of the Labyrinths for hours without stopping.


    ¡¸I guess that is true. So. . . .  wanna stop for today and head back home to grab a bite to eat?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, let us do that.¡¹


    And that brings our exploration of the Vale¡¯s Labyrinth, which started early in the morning and lasted well until just now, to a close. Before we go back home though, let me just have a quick look at Sherry¡¯s Jobs one more time to see what Jobs she managed to unlock after all this time and levels she acquired:


    Villager Lv.5, Explorer Lv.10, Herbalist Lv.1, Warrior Lv.1, Merchant Lv.1, Shrine Maiden Lv.1, Swordsman Lv.1, Monk Lv.1


    I can see that the Villager Job managed to reach Lv.5 exactly as intended, but even though Monk and Swordsman Jobs were unlocked, Master Smith was still missing, which means that reaching Lv.5 as a Villager was not one of the conditions needed for its acquisition, which is a damn shame, if I am to be honest. But there was a silver lining to this situation as well, in the form of the Job that I did not recognize: Shrine Maiden Lv.1.


    ¡¸Shrine Maiden, huh? I wonder what kind of Job is that, exactly?¡¹


    ¡¸. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . !!!!!!¡¹


    Oh crap, did I let that one slip out loud again?! I had to, because all of a sudden, Sherry¡¯s expression turned incredibly sad, and she looked as if a shadow had fallen over her pretty face. I must have said something that really got to her now. I quickly glanced at Roxanne to see if she was upset by what I said just now as well, but thankfully her expression remained as warm and bright as always, meaning that whatever offense I just committed, it was strictly limited to Sherry this time. Ugh, god damn it, why is this keep happening to me? Why do I have to keep mumbling things that no one else but me seems to understand like a dumb idiot? Saying them out loud is not going to help me in any way, and it will only make those around me think that I am a weirdo.


    ¡¸Ah, uhm. . . .  we are going to be getting back home now, but before we head home, we are going to make a quick stop to buy some bread for dinner, okay?¡¹


    ¡¸Okay.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay. . . .  I guess. . . . . ¡¹


    With both of the girls expressing their agreement (although Sherry did that in an incredibly half-hearted manner) we left the Labyrinth of Vale and emerged back in the Quratar¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s guild. From there, we went to buy bread for breakfast, but the air between the three of us has been noticeably heavier than usual throughout the entire trip, and when we got back home and I was receiving the girl¡¯s equipment back from them . . . . . . .


    ¡¸Oh? Sherry, is it just me, or does something about your hair seems to be different than usual?¡¹


    When I took sherry¡¯s Leather Helmet off, I noticed that something was definitely different about them in comparison to yesterday. It is like they were somehow. . .  softer? Or lighter, perhaps? Or like there is not as much of them as there was yesterday?¡¯


    ¡¸Let me see . . . . . . . . hmm, I think that they might have been a bit more voluminous yesterday?¡¹


    Roxanne reached out with her hand and touched Sherry¡¯s hair directly.


    ¡¸You. . . . . . . you really think so, Miss Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. . . . . . . .  ah, I was right! They are so soft and fluffy to the touch!¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you very much.¡¹


    ¡¸Come and see for yourself, master. They are so soft that this is unbelievable!¡¹


    ¡¸Oh really? Then, is it all right for me to touch them as well?¡¹


    Not like this is anything new to me, since I already noticed that yesterday when I was washing Sherry¡¯s hair for her.


    ¡¸Sure, go right ahead!¡¹


    ¡¸Well, do not mind if I do then.¡¹

 Volume 4 - CH 3.18

    Now that I had Sherry¡¯s consent to touch her hair, I reached out with my own hand and. . .  Ah, no, wait, I almost made the same kind of blunder like I did yesterday, but no more! Before touching Sherry¡¯s hair, I gently stroked Roxanne¡¯s hair first. That is right, order in which I am doing these things is extremely important here, and if I want to avoid any unnecessary conflicts between the three of us I have to make sure not to repeat any careless mistakes like the one I made yesterday when I kissed Sherry before Roxanne.


    ¡¸Ahh. . . . . . . . . . .¡¹


    See, Roxanne seems to be pretty delighted that I managed t do this properly this time, because she smiled happily when I put my hand on her head and started petting it. Such a cute reaction! And that smile of hers. . . .! Ahh, if only I knew that being careful would give me such magnificent rewards, I would have done that way sooner!


    While stroking Roxanne¡¯s doggy ears with my right hand, I used my left to caress Sherry¡¯s head. Since she is so small, then stroking it is pretty easy because I do not even need to be stretching myself out to do it. And I have to say, Roxanne was right in what she said. In comparison to yesterday¡¯s Sherry¡¯s hair really did seem to be fluffier and softer to the touch than usual. Could it be that this is a difference that just a single bath and washing of the hair can bring?


    ¡¸Wow, your hair really soft and fluffy, Sherry. This is such a nice sensation.¡¹


    ¡¸T-Thank you very much.¡¹


    But really now, if that is how soft her hair really are, then how much dust did she have in them? Or maybe. . . . .  maybe Sherry was actually one of those people who have never washed their hair since they were born until yesterday? If that would be tha case, then that would be. . . . . a pretty terrifying concept, I am not going to lie. And thinking about that made me all the more appreciative of how fluffy-wuffy and puffy Roxanne¡¯s doggy ears are. They are really good, and feel nice to the touch no matter when I am trying to pet them. Hooray for doggy ears, may they continue to reign supreme until the end of time! And just like that, I got to enjoy both Roxanne¡¯s fluffy ears and Sherry¡¯s fluffy hair before we get to eat breakfast, and since I am the girl¡¯s owner, then I get to enjoy this wondrous sensation whenever I want.


    ¡¸By the way. . . . . . ¡¹


    I started the conversation during breakfast.


    ¡¸. . . . .  there is such a Job as Shrine Maiden, right? What does it do?¡¹


    I had no idea that such a Job even existed, so I was genuinely curious if it was even remotely similar to the kind of shrine maidens that existed on earth, and now that we are back home and we do not need to hurry anywhere else or be on the lookout for being attacked by monsters, we might have some time to actually talk about this. . . . . .  or at least that was what I thought, but for some reason, Sherry looked like she got incredibly depressed as soon as the words ¡¸Shrine Maiden¡¹ left my mouth. I thought that if I give this subject some time then it would be safe to talk about it, but apparently that is such a sore subject for Sherry that simply hearing those words triggered such a negative reaction in her.


    ¡¸Uhm, well if. . .  if you do not want to talk about it, Sherry, then that is perfectly fine, I simply wanted to. . . . . . ¡¹


    ¡¸Did. . . . . . . . . did you hear about my past from somewhere?¡¹


    Huh? Her past? What is she talking about?


    ¡¸Eh? No no no no, it is nothing like that.¡¹


    ¡¸. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .¡¹


    (Oh no. . . . . . . no, no, no no, no, no, no, no! No, God, please, no!)


    Please, do not tell me that the deal with the Shrine Maiden Job is serious to such an extent! Have I done it again? Have I stepped on yet another landmine without meaning to?! Sherry, please, I beg you! Start talking! It does not matter what you are going to say, just go and say it! Right now, everything is going to be better than that dreadful silence!


    ¡¸. . . . . . . I. . . . . . . when I failed to become a Master Smith. . . . . . . . . . I tried to become a Shrine Maiden instead.¡¹


    Sherry explained that with a voice so quiet and trembling that I could barely make out what she was saying. She then raised her face up, but whenever Roxanne or I tried to establish eye contact with her, she tried to avoid us, as If she was embarrassed about the words that she barely managed to squeeze out of her throat.


    I see. So that is how it is. I cannot say that with one hundred percent certainty, but I think I know what she was trying to say by that, or at least what her words were implying.


    Based on her words, I can deduce that she did not have the Shrine Maiden Job before now, so that must mean that not only did she fail to become a Master Smith, but the same story must have happened when she wanted to become a Shrine Maiden as well. I cannot even imagine how big of a shock it must have been to her, but the closest equivalent that I am capable of thinking of would be like getting rejected by both your first and second-choice university once you have graduated high school. If that is really how it was for her, then I can definitely see it doing a real number on her confidence.


    ¡¸W-Well, that might not mean much right now, but. . . . . try not to beat yourself up over it too much, okay? I know how easy it is to remain pessimistic when life kicks you bellow the belt, but you cannot allow this pessimism to rule over you.¡¹


    Fuck, this is just like that previous time where I have inadvertently commented that her level as a Villager was not high enough. I t seems like no matter what I say around Sherry or what I am trying to talk about with her, literally everything is turning into a conversational landmine. . . . . . no, not landmine, a conversational atomic bomb sooner or later.


    ¡¸Yes, you are right master! I am going to work hard as an Explorer to make up for my many shortcomings, so please do not worry! I should be okay from now on!¡¹


    Sherry says so while raising her face even higher while the sad look in her eyes got blown away as if it was never there in the first place, replaced by the one filled with strong determination. Well, she is not an Explorer right now, but nevertheless, I appreciate her enthusiasm and readiness to continue giving it her best all the same. If she is really going to maintain such a positive attitude at all times, that would be great, because that would be one less thing for me to worry about.


    ¡¸That is right! That is the spirit, Sherry! Never give up!¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, Miss Roxanne!¡¹


    Now that she decided that she will not allow her past failures to drag her down in the present, should I change her active Job to Shrine Maiden? Yeah, I think I can do that for a bit, even if only to see what Skills and Bonuses it has to offer. Party Job Settings = = > Sherry = = > Jobs = = > Shrine Maiden = = > Set. Okay, let me see what we are working with here.


    ¡ºShrine Maiden Lv.1¡»


    Effects: Increase MP (Small), Increase INT (Tiny)


    Skills: Group Medical Treatment


    ¡¸Huh? The Skill of the Shrine Maiden Job. . . . . . . .¡¹


    ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

 Volume 4 - CH 3.19

    (Fuck! I blurted that out loud again! Quickly! I have to find some way to cover my ass or else the situation is going to turn into an even more depressing shitfest than it already was!)


    ¡¸. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . . . . . . . .  do you girls know what that is?¡¹


    Fuck my life, that was too close for comfort once more! Seriously, what the hell is wrong with me and my constant habit of saying things out loud?! Is it an unwanted remnant of my previous life where I had no social life whatsoever which resulted in me often talking to myself out loud when there was no one around? Because of that, I was this close to stepping on another landmine again! And how many of them would that make just today? Three?!


    Anyway, the Skill of the Shrine Maiden seems awfully familiar to me, and rightfully so, because it looks like it is similar to the Monk¡¯s Medical Treatment Skill, the only difference being that Monk¡¯s Medical Treatment works on one person only, and Shrine Maiden has ¡¸Group¡¹ in its name, which means that it is most probably an AoE Healing Magic, so instead of healing only one person, it is going to apply healing effects to all the people within a given radius. Or at least that is how I think it would work.


    ¡¸To put it simply, Shrine Maiden Job¡¯s Skill is Recovery Magic.¡¹


    Yeah, that sounds about right. So my own guess was right on the money here.


    ¡¸Since it is called a Shrine Maiden, then would it be all right to think about this Job as the Female equivalent of a Monk?¡¹


    If Shrine Maidens of this world follow the same kind of rules that the ones from old world did, then that would mean that a Shrine Maiden would be a female-exclusive Job. And if they have the same attire in both worlds, then that would reinforce that assumption even further, since I have never seen a man who would go around in shrine maiden¡¯s outfit while claiming to be one (aside from perverts, but that is a whole other can of worms that I do not wish to open).


    But wait a minute, speaking of the Monk Job. . .  I have it, but Roxanne has that Job as well, even though she is a girl. And in Sherry¡¯s case, she has both Monk and Shrine Maiden Jobs, but that is probably because a monk is not a gender exclusive profession and it has nothing to do with the fact that one of the conditions for its acquisition is to defeat a monster while fighting bare-handed, which is its own special kind of madness that any ordinary Adventurer who has their wits about them would never dared to do.


    ¡¸No, master. Actually, Shrine Maiden¡¯s male counterpart would be a Priest.¡¹


    Okay, a Priest then. So to sum up: Monks have Skills that grant HP Recovery to a single target, while Priests and Shrine Maidens have Skills that grant HP Recovery to multiple targets. Got it. Now, the question is: are there any differences or disadvantages to being a Priest or a Shrine Maiden? I mean, logically speaking, there have to be some, like high MP consumption or perhaps low values of the healing received per individual since they have to be distributed between everyone within range, because if these Jobs were all sunshine and rainbows without any noticeable downsides, then everyone would end up choosing these two and no one would even want to become a Monk. Well, even if these Jobs are better than Monk, for the time being none of us ended up in a situation where we would need a lot of healing in rapid succession, so the healing provided by Monk¡¯s Medical Treatment is more than enough to cover our healing needs.


    ¡¸So, how can people become Priests and Shrine Maidens?¡¹


    ¡¸I¡­ . . . . . . I really do not know. After all, I failed to become one.¡¹


    Well, duh. I felt awful for opening up Sherry¡¯s old wounds like that, but since I am curious to learn as much as I possibly can about this Job there is nothing I can do about it but to keep asking questions while hoping that she will be willing to answer them and will not end up hating me for being so inquisitive.


    ¡¸Okay, then let us try it this way: was there anything in particular that you had to do when you were trying to become a Shrine Maiden?¡¹


    ¡¸Well, when I went to the Sacred Professions Guild, they had all of the candidates who wanted to become priests and Shrine Maidens sit beneath the waterfall located in the Guild¡¯s sanctuary.¡¹


    ¡¸A waterfall, you say?¡¹


    So, my initial guess about gaining a Job by means of the training under a waterfall was right after all, but instead of a Monk, it applied to Priests and Shrine Maidens.


    ¡¸They told us that once we stay under the waterfall long enough, we are going to feel a flash of inspiration when our minds connect with the spirits within us. But even though I felt like I experienced something exactly like that, it was still not enough. . . ¡¹


    Sherry looked away from me when she stopped talking for a moment there. No Sherry, since you have obtained that Job, you were not mistaken and your method was certainly the correct one.


    ¡¸It is all right, Sherry. I heard that over half of the applicants cannot become Shrine Maidens, so do not let that discourage you. Even if you did not manage to become one, that will not matter at all in the Labyrinth.¡¹


    ¡¸R-Right. . . ¡¹


    Roxanne comforted Sherry once more. It is good that she can have someone like her to cheer her up.


    So from her words it seems that becoming a Priest or a Shrine Maiden requires you to unite with the spirit inside of you, which sounds like it would be quite difficult. I wonder if I would be able to pull that off? And if now, I then I would like Roxanne and Sherry to comfort me. In bed.


    ¡¸However, that. . . Sacred Professions Guild or whatever should really work on informing their candidates better, because in order to become a Shrine Maiden or Priest you have to be a Villager Lv.5 or above as well.¡¹


    ¡¸. . . . . . . .¡¹


    ¡¸. . . . . . . . . Huh? What did you say, master?¡¹


    ¡¸W-Well, I mean. . . . ¡¹


    Sherry was unable to become a Shrine Maiden even though she did the waterfall training because her Villager Level was insufficient, but once she gained enough levels she got that Job right away, because all of the conditions necessary for obtaining it, a flash of spiritual inspiration and high enough level, have been satisfied. If only she knew about that one additional restriction, then perhaps she could have avoided much of the tragedies that have befallen her in her life.


    ¡¸Master. You may have not known this because you are an Explorer yourself, but only Explorers have Levels. Other Jobs do not have them.¡¹


    Sherry was keeping quiet without saying a word, so Roxanne looked at me seriously and then dropped the bomb on me.


    ¡¸Eh? Wait, what? Really?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes.¡¹


    ¡¸As the explorer gains experience, the Item Box available to them will grow larger and larger. That is what we call their level. But other Jobs do not have that indicator. In truth, master, I cannot even imagine that you would even have a Level before becoming an Explorer. . .. . . ¡¹


    In my case, even when I was just a Villager, I was a Villager Lv.1. . . . . .  no, wait!


    Come to think of it, I can only see the Levels of my Jobs when Using Identify or during Job settings and Character Reset, and those Bonus Skills cannot be used by others. The name of the First Job is also displayed on the Intelligence Card, but not the Job¡¯s level. Does. . .  does that mean that the people of this world do not know that everything has a level?!


    ¡¸I see. So that is how it was this entire time?¡¹


    ¡¸It is okay, master. Even if you don¡¯t know about a lot of things, that lack of common knowledge will not be a problem in the Labyrinths!¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s right! No problem at all!¡¹


    All this time, I have been going around like ¡¸Level this¡¹ and ¡¸Level that¡¹, so Roxanne was probably just playing along with my crazy antics.


    I must have looked like such a fool up until now.


    ¡¸Even if you don¡¯t know  some things, you are still yourself, master!¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, when you are too smart, it is a given that you may not be understood by others. In fact, the smartest minds are always guaranteed to be surrounded by the people who are not going to understand them!¡¹


    Is that supposed to be comforting?


    ¡¸W-We should head out again. Let us go back to the seventh floor of the Labyrinth and explore it some more until evening.¡¹


    Looks like I really was a damn fool this entire time.

 Volume 4 - CH 4.01

    Chapter 4: Master Smith


    ¡ºPlayer Name: Kaga Michio¡»


    ¡ºCurrent Character Levels & Equipment¡»:


    Jobs:


    Explorer Lv.34


    Hero Lv.32


    Mage Lv.33


    Monk Lv.33


    Alchemist Lv.6


    Equipment:


    Wand


    Leather Helmet


    Leather Armor


    Leather Gloves


    Leather shoes


    As you all should already know by now, the enemy native to the seventh floor of the Vale¡¯s Labyrinth are Escape Goats, the bastards who tend to run away if not enough damage is being dealt to them fast enough, so naturally the time when they can be fought is extremely short. That is why the best course of action when stumbling upon them is to surround them in such a way that would prevent them from escaping, and even if they do manage to break through your attempts at stopping them from doing that, everything is going to be fine as long as you kill them with magic before they manage to get too far away from the location of your Party, where chasing after them further is ineffective, because there is always a possibility that they might be leading you into a trap or a larger group of monsters that is just waiting for you beyond the corner. At first it was difficult to establish the proper strategy that would work most of the time, but a after a few dozen tries we managed to come up with something that worked out pretty nicely for us, and most importantly, something that was not putting Sherry in any kind of unnecessary danger while she was fighting in the vanguard. Because of that, I began to wonder: should I keep Sherry¡¯s Job as a Villager, or should I switch it with something else, I mean, she already reached Villager Lv.5 and unlocked Monk and Swordsman Jobs, but Master Smith continued to elude her, so if there is no guarantee that she is going to get new Jobs by obtaining higher levels of the Villager one, then there really is no reason for her to be keeping it any longer. Then again, what if the condition that has to be satisfied is actually to have the Villager Job at Lv.10 instead of Lv.5?


    Normally I would have switched her Job back to Explorer Lv.10 because that his the Job with he highest level for her, but I do not want to do it, since if she ends up gaining even one more level in it, turning it from Explorer Lv.10 to Explorer Lv.11, that might mean that her chances of gaining Master Smith Job will be gone forever. However, since Explorer Job has access to the Item Box, then she might find out that I changed her Jobs without asking her for permission first if she tried using it one day and she found out that she was unable to use it. One option that I could try is equipping her with the Shrine Maiden Job, the second one that she tried to obtain and failed in the same way she did with Master Smith. But if I wanted to do that, it would probably mean that we would have to go back to the first floor so that she would not get obliterated by the enemies here on the seventh floor, and that would be such a pain in the backside after we have already made it this far. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


    The biggest disadvantage of fighting on the seventh floor of the Vale¡¯s Labyrinth is that when you happen to encounter a group of enemies that has Escape Goats mixed in with other monsters, there is always a possibility that when Escape Goats make a run for it after being dealt enough damage, they might attracts other Escape Goats or other monsters towards the group that you are already fighting, making the resulting battle even longer and that much more difficult. Thankfully we did not have too many of such incidents, because now that Sherry is with us, she and Roxanne are taking care of all the opponents within their melee range while I am raining down magical punishment on any of them that try to attack them when their backs are turned towards them or if they try to flee for their lives. As long as Roxanne is in the vanguard to guide Sherry with her instructions and fight all of the monsters swiftly with the combination of her sword prowess and godly dodging skills, it feels as if nothing will be able to threaten us, and that feeling enabled me to approach every incoming battle with that much more confidence. On that account, I can proudly say that Sherry has finished her first day as the official battle member of our Party with a relative success.


    Naturally, in order to celebrate that successful first day of hers we decided to have another bath, which of course led right into another night of fun bedroom activities. And since it was such a special occasion, I decided to equip my Sex Maniac Job in order to see if its Skill, Enhanced Vigor is going to work when applied to the sexual activities instead of purely battle-related ones. I know, I know, it was just today that I decided that this Job and its Skills were essentially useless and that I am going to be sealing that Job away, but that was in the Labyrinth, where the Sex Maniac¡¯s Active Skill: Abstinence Attack does indeed royally suck major ass. But the bedroom though. . . . . . . . . that might turn out to be an altogether different story. I mean come on, the Job is literally called Sex Maniac, so it would be pretty strange if it did not have some sex-related abilities that would serve as performance enhancers, right? Exactly. Therefore, I think that giving it a chance in different circumstances is the least thing that I can do. If I did not run at least one test with it too see if it actually works or not and later learned that it did indeed worked and I missed out on all the additional fun that I could have thanks to it, I would have never forgiven myself as a man.


    My expectations were originally pretty low. . . . . . . . but when I actually tried it, I have to say that, as crazy as that might sound, I was really able to spot the difference in my performance. Normally I would not be able to muster any strength to continue on and just lie down on the bed completely spent and breathing out ragged, exhausted breaths, but with Sex Maniac set as my First Job, its Enhanced Vigor Skill worked like a charm, and it turned out to be a hell of a lot effective, enabling me not only to do it with Roxanne and Sherry immediately one after the other, but I noticed that I did not felt as tired like I would usually feel after doing them both in quick succession, but I was also fired up and raring to have a go at it for another round, which I totally did, much to the girl¡¯s surprise.


    As a result, Sherry was now lying on the bed, breathless and out cold. Yeah, looks like she is not going to be able to go another round even if she tried. It might still be a while for her to get used to this kind of thing, but since she is always doing her best no matter what, then with enough training I think it will be possible to make her last for three, or even four consecutive rounds. But for now, she has learned her rest, so I will just leave her be. And by the way, I think that the same logic can be applied to me. It is entirely possible that the Enhanced Vigor Skill might get stronger when the Sex Maniac Job is going to earn more levels. But in that case, I think that I should definitely start thinking about aquiring more female slaves in the future in order to not be too rough on both Roxanne and Sherry, who do not have this amazing Skill.


    ¡¸Master, today you loved us so violently as well.¡¹


    As we were resting after our finished second round, Roxanne said that to me quietly while she still tried to catch her breath.


    ¡¸Yeah. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  I guess I did, huh?¡¹


    ¡¸It. . . . . . .  it was really amazing. . . . . . . master.¡¹


    Sherry slowly lifted herself up from the sheets and also commented on what we just did, which honestly surprised me. I though that she is going to be out cold, sleeping, but apparently she managed to recover herself enough to at least remain conscious.

 Volume 4 - CH 4.02

    I guess it was her deep and slow breathing that got me thinking that she passed out, but apparently this girl is much more resilient than she looks. Nevertheless, I think it is going to be more tactful to not raise my voice too much, so I asked her a question with a quiet voice:


    ¡¸So, what do you think, Sherry? About today as a whole, I mean?¡¹


    ¡¸Thanks to both master and Miss Roxanne¡¯s advice and guidance I was able to do a lot in just this one day, and I was also not dragging you two down. So. . .  so I want to thank you for including me in your amazing Party.¡¹


    ¡¸I also think that you were as amazing as always, if not even more, master.¡¹


    Roxanne showered me with another praise. Oh stop it, you two, you are going to make me blush!


    ¡¸Miss Roxanne is also amazing! Your movements are always so swift, and they way you are dodging each and every one of the monster¡¯s attacks is truly divine! And master as well, your magic is one of the reasons why I think we were able to achieve so much in such a short time! Before today, I only heard the stories of how powerful magic is, but now, after witnessing it for myself, I can definitely confirm with utmost certainty that magic is a truly useful tool that makes all of the battles way less difficult than they could have been! Forgive me for being so bold, but I honestly think that this Party is going to achieve a great deal of wondrous accomplishments in the future, and I promise that I am going to do my absolute best to be a part of those great achievements together with master and Miss Roxanne!¡¹


    In other words, Sherry seems to be positively thrilled about our performance today. And I have to say, that optimism of hers is pretty darn contagious.


    ¡¸Yeah, likewise. I am looking forward to working with you and Roxanne, so let us do our very best from now on, shall we?¡¹


    ¡¸To be honest, before I decided to come to the Labyrinth with you, I did not know what I should be expecting, but I was preparing myself mentally for even the worst of eventualities, because I heard that it is not an uncommon practice for masters who own combat-oriented slaves to use them as meat shields and free laborers in the Labyrinths while they themselves reman in the safety of their houses, doing nothing to help them, so when I learned that this Party is nothing like these awful ones from the stories, my heart has been set at ease.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, you will never have to worry about something like that happening, Sherry. Master is not a cowardly person like that. And even if he was, we still would not have to worry about a thing, because no matter how tough the enemy is, as long as we crush them before they manage to crush us, then everything is going to turn out all right in the end!¡¹


    She thought that since she was a slave, she might be treated as little more than atool that is going to be used up for all it¡¯s worth and then tossed aside when it would no longer be useful. As much as I want to say that there was nothing for her to worry about at all, Sherry was right to be worried about that. And also, I cannot agree with what Roxanne said just now about defeating the enemy before it defeats you. I know that she is biased when it comes to fighting because she has her godly dodging skills and she airheadedly thinks that this is something that just about anyone can learn as long as they continue to practice long and hard enough, but right now, she should have realized that this is not the case when she tried to teach that dodging of hers to me and sherry and failed both times. She herself would have simply continued to avoid the enemy¡¯s attacks and drawing its attention so that I could defeat it with either my magic or my sword, but I am afraid that such a tactic might now be possible all the time. Somewhere down the line, we are bound to happen upon the enemy who is going to be so powerful that even Roxanne¡¯s dodging any my uber OP gear alone might now be enough to handle it, and I cannot help it but wonder how are we going to deal with such a threat when it finally shows itself before us?


    There are things that only Roxanne can do. There are things that only I can do. There are things that only Sherry can do. So if we work together, there will be no adversary that we will not be able to overcome. Heh, look at me, thinking about such heavy and serious things while in a state of post-sex clarity. But with very minute now my consciousness is getting more and more hazy, so I think that it will not be long before I will drift off to sleep *Yaaaaawn!* Aaaanyway, from now on, all that I have to worry about is leaving the vanguard position to Roxanne and Sherry, and support them from the back with my magic to the best of my ability. Today was Sherry¡¯s first day of fighting with us for real and there were experiments with the Jobs to perform so I had no choice but to step up and defeat a number of enemies myself, but ideally I want to have the two of them capable of defeating all of the three monsters that can be in a group at once on the seventh floor without my help at all. And once we advance onto the seventh floor, where the number of maximum enemies per encounter is going to increase from three to four, I would want each of them to be able to handle two enemies at once. . . . . . . . . . .  but now that I think about it, is such an approach not reminiscent of the concerns that Sherry told us about just now? Because it might not be as cruel as ordering them to fight in the Labyrinths while I myself would be sitting on my ass in the safety of our home, but it is still a pretty selfish thing to do. So maybe I should still be helping them out in the vanguard on occasion so that they would not feel like they have been left alone? That might be a good thing to do, because it might lead into the deepening of the trust between us, and the more Sherry and Roxanne trust in me, the better. That is a no brainer, or at least I think so.


    The next morning, we took Sherry to the seventh floor of the Labyrinth of Quratar with us. I only just bought Sherry and I do not have the need for getting the large amounts of money urgently, but it does not mean that we should be breaking our routine of fighting the enemies who drop items that we could sell for a good amount of Nars. As they say, money cannot buy you happiness, but they can certainly help in obtaining it and keeping it by your side. Besides, since Sherry was doing okay on the Seventh floor of the Labyrinth of Vale and was holding her own against the Escape Goats, then she should have no problems dealing with the Slow Rabbits here. And she really was fine, because she was slamming them to the sides left and right before they could even get close to her with the slow hopping.


    Until recently, Roxanne and I have been coming to the seventh floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth so that we could hunt down Slow Rabbits and sell their skins for profit, but now there is no need for us to do so, and we used that additional time to proceed further wit our exploration of Vale¡¯s Labyrinth.


    After hunting the Slow Rabbits and collecting their skins for a bit, we moved to the Labyrinth of Vale, where we proceeded straight toward the Boss Room of the seventh floor. Looks like we made much more progress and at a much faster rate than I thought. . . . . .  or it is much more likely that I have consciously avoided coming back here, because I was refraining from moving to the eighth floor due to my lack of confidence and fear of having to fight up to four enemies at once.


    The room where we have emerged was the small one next to the Boss Room¡¯s waiting room. As usual, there are only two doors: the ones leading forward, and the ones leading back.

 Volume 4 - CH 4.03

    Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist  Editor: Weasalopes


    Originally I was planning on stopping buy in Quratar¡¯s shops for a little bit first to buy some more things for Sherry in the early afternoon, but I ultimately decided against it and continued through the Labyrinths as it was. We can always do the shopping later when we will finish our exploration for the day, but for now, let us put all of our attention into taking care of the Floor Boss, Rapid Rabbit. If we successfully clear the Floor Boss fight now, then we are going to be able to proceed to the eighth floor on today¡¯s evening or in the early morning tomorrow, so no matter how we choose to tackle it, it should all be good.


    There were people waiting in front of the Boss Room, so that means that the previous Party that tried challenging it has to still be inside. So it is the same like everywhere else even here in the Labyrinth of Vale, where there were supposed to be only a scarce number of people. But I guess that makes sense. For the people of this world who have to challenge the Floor Bosses in bigger Parties, Floor Boss battles, which are supposed to be a grade above in terms of difficulty in comparison to the normal enemies on crawling around any given floor, will always take a long time. And that time is only going to grow even longer, because it is daytime now, and daytime automatically means more people than in the evening or night hours.


    The Party that was now standing in front of the Boss Room¡¯s door consisted of six members. Initially, all that I wanted to do was to Identify them to see what Jobs each of them had, but then I noticed that all of them were looking at us with suspicious gazes that clearly telegraphed that they were up to no good. No, I should be more precise with my words. They were not looking at us, at my Party as a whole. Following their lines of sight, I saw that they were all focused on one, singular point. . . . . . . . . . .  all of their ugly mugs are blatantly faced towards Roxanne! And they are not even trying to hide that all of their vulgar gazes are focus on Roxanne¡¯s rich chest! I know that her boobs are out of this world, but just because they are so big does not give them any kind of right to be looking at her lie she was just a piece of meat to be consumed! Only I am allowed to do that as her master! They are simply oogling her right now, but those glints in their eyes and smirks on their faces were a clear enough indication that their thoughts were already much, much more ahead in their fantasies of what they would have done with her. These barsatrds. . . . . .! Since there is no one else but us right now, then maybe I should turn them all into nothing more but specks of rust in Durandal¡¯s blade? That would definitely teach them a lesson not to direct their swine-like eyes towards the girls that belongs to me and me alone! I mean, no one would hold it against me if I put them in their places, right? Because they are the ones who started by staring at my girl, and with my weapon and Stats, disposing of them should not present that much of a challenge. . . . . . .


    Unfortunately, before I could have done anything with these scum, the battle in the Boss Room has ended, and the door opened themselves automatically, letting this garbage of a Party inside, but they entered only after stealing one last glance at Roxanne¡¯s breasts and smirking widely. They were also talking about something amongst themselves, but I was not able to hear what that was exactly, but maybe that was for the better.  If I were able to hear them, I am pretty sure that I would have torn them to shreds right then and there.


    ¡¸These trash. . . . . . . . . *Tch!*¡¹


    ¡¸Every last one of them. . . .  they were all. . . . . staring at Miss Roxanne. . . . . . . Every. Last. One of them. . . . . . .¡¹


    I clicked my tongue in disgust, while Sherry hanged her head down, looking pretty depressed. Well, makes sense since neither one of the guys who entered the Boss Room just now even bothered to look towards Sherry, because. . .  let us face it, Sherry¡¯s boobs were infinitely smaller than Roxanne¡¯s. I guess I will have to comfort her about it later.


    ¡¸The expressions on their faces. . . . . .  . . . .  . . they were pretty nasty and unpleasant.¡¹


    Roxanne commented on the scum¡¯s behavior as well. Well, they were so blatantly obvious about what they were doing that it was virtually impossible to miss where they were staring and what their intentions in doing so were. But the fact that she was aware that they were eyeing her down as if she was just an object with boobs attached to it made this whole situation that much more infuriating.


    ¡¸W-Well. . . . . I know it might be pretty hard to do, but try not to mind what just happened, okay? Scummy guys like that do exist after all, and as unfortunate as it is, there is pretty much nothing that we can do about it except ignoring them.¡¹


    Believe me, I am even more frustrated than you are, but as I just said. There is pretty much nothing we can do about behavior like that, or at least nothing that we can do that would not end up with us getting on the wrong side of the law.


    ¡¸¡¸Yes, master.¡¹¡¹


    Since we have some time before it is going to be our turn to fight against the Floor Boss, I used that time to equip myself with Durandal and handed some Medicine Pills to Roxanne an Sherry respectively, just in case that they would end up needing emergency healing. Then, I have Sherry a Copper Spear.


    ¡¸Sherry, I know you feel much better with a Club, but trust me, I think that a spear is going to be of much better use in this particular Floor Boss fight.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay. Uhm. . . . . . . . . are we. . . . . . . . .  are we really going to challenge the Floor Boss like this?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, that is the plan. Do any of you know what the Floor Boss of this floor is like, exactly?¡¹


    ¡¸The enemies on this floor were Escape Goats, so the Floor Boss should be Pan: a half-human, half-goat monster that primarily uses magic. Supposedly it is the strongest Floor Boss of all the lower floors of the Labyrinths, and its Area of Effect magic attacks are so powerful that I think even miss Roxanne is going to have difficulties dodging them. The Party that entered the Boss Room before us, as disgusting as they were, is probably testing their skills against it. Also, when challenging Pan, it is a common practice to prepare equipment that has ¡¸Chant Delay¡¹added onto it.¡¹


    I kept on nodding my head while Sherry was continuing her lecture. I see now. I have to say, it is pretty nice to be learning the information about the enemy we are about to face before we are actually going to fight it, and it is even nicer to have someone who actually has such information and is willing to share them with us. I cannot stress enough how useful that is.


    Even though the levels where they show up might be different depending on the Labyrinth, the monsters that appear inside of them are always the same ones, so now that we have information about the Floor Boss here in Vale¡¯s Labyrinth, we will know how to deal with this Floor Boss when he shows up in a different Labyrinth on a different floor. It makes me feel awfully stupid about my attitude thus far, where the only approach that I thought to be right was to continue storming through the Labyrinths without even stopping to think about analyzing the enemies we have encountered thus far. . . . . . . . . . . . . .   but it is not like I can really help it, now can I? I could use my Bonus Skills to make gathering information about the monsters we have encountered a breeze, but doing so would inevitably come with a risk of the information about me getting revealed to the public.

 Volume 4 - CH 4.04

    It is the same as with detecting enemies via radar. Just because you used a radar to detect the position of the enemy, nowhere it is said that the enemy cannot use the very same trick to detect you as well. I came here to this world from my own world which is vastly different from this one, and because of that, my understanding of it is barely above the level of being able to differentiate right from left, much less understand the more nuanced details, so for someone like me, charging on ahead as if I was swimming in a sea of dark clouds was the only option available. But no more.


    ¡¸Magnificent, Sherry. You sure know a lot about monsters. Whatever we would have done without you and your knowledge?¡¹


    ¡¸T-Thank you very much, master. Truly, I do not deserve such praises.¡¹


    Sherry said, visibly embarrassed.


    ¡¸Oh, but I think you do deserve them more than you are giving yourself credit for, actually. If it is all right with you, then please, continue doing the good job that you are doing now.¡¹


    I think that from now on, whenever there will be something that I do not know about, I will be asking Sherry about it. And since she is the smartest one of our group, then I also think that entrusting her with the role of information gathering might not be such a bad idea either. After all, if there is someone who can do so efficiently and effectively, it is definitely her, since neither Roxanne nor I do not have the predispositions for that kind of a brainiac task. And as an added bonus, I might some more trust points with Sherry by entrusting her with such an important Job and claiming that she is the only one whom I can count on to do it.


    ¡¸Yes, of course. Leave that to me!¡¹


    ¡¸Nice. However, you do not have to worry about anything for now. If the Floor Boss we are about to face, this ¡¸Pan¡¹ is exactly like you said he is, then my swords should be more than enough to defeat him with ease.¡¹


    ¡¸Because it has the ¡¸MP Absorption¡¹ Skill, so you will be able to drain him from all of his MP by continuously attacking him?¡¹


    ¡¸That as well, but the main reason for why I am so confident is that this weapon also has the ¡¸Chant Interruption¡¹ Skill.¡¹


    I said while showing Durandal off to Sherry.


    ¡¸Huh? That sword also has ¡¸Chant Interruption¡¹ Skill embedded into it? I thought it only had ¡¸MP Absorption¡¹, since you said that this is how you are replenishing your lost MP when you are filling the bathtub. . . . . . . . . . . ¡¹


    ¡¸Because it does have ¡¸MP Absorption¡¹, but it also has ¡¸Chant Interruption.¡¹


    ¡¸. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . . . . . . . .  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ¡¹


    When I told her that, Sherry gave me a look that could best be described as something between ¡¸Seriously?!¡¹ and ¡¸I can¡¯t even with this guy anymore¡¹, mixed with a little bit of fright and maybe even possibly disgust? I cannot say for sure, but that was the vibe that I was getting from her current gaze. Uh, Miss Sherry? Could you, maybe, just maybe stop looking at me like that? What are you going to do if you end up getting addicted to it or your face ends up getting permanately distorted with such an unappealing grimace?


    ¡¸Is. . . . . . . . is that bad?¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm. . . . . . . .  it is not that it is bad, but. . . . .  how do I put it?  As someone who was aspiring to become a Master Smith, I do know that it is not impossible for a single weapon or a piece of equipment to have more than one Skill embedded into it, but it is just. . . . . . . . . ¡¹


    ¡¸So it is that unusual, huh?¡¹


    ¡¸Not unusual, but extremely risky. You remember what happens when the process of infusing a weapon or a piece of equipment with a Skill fails, right?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I remember. The weapon or equipment gets disassembled into its base components, and the Skill Crystal used during the fusion process is lost.¡¹


    ¡¸Exactly. Now, with multiple Skills, it is even worse, because not only the risk of failure of the fusion remains the same, but when the fusion does fail and the thing that you wanted to infuse gets disassembled, then even if the fusion of the first Skill Crystal was a success, you are going to lose both Skill Crystals without any way of getting them back.¡¹


    So, what Sherry basically tries to say here is that if you get greedy with the number of Skills that you want to attach to your weapon or equipment, you are more than likely to regret it in the worst way possible. But since the probability of failure is already quite huge when infusing  your gear with only one Skill Crystal, then you would either have to be incredibly brave or a very special kind of stupid to go and take an even bigger risk just so that you could maybe attach a second one to it.


    Yeah, fusion of the Skill Crystals fails more often than not, and since I cannot allow myself to lose even a single piece of equipment, I would never took such an unnecessary risk unless I had some way of cheating out the odds in such a way that the fusion would end up a guaranteed success. But since I do not know of any such methods, my only option is to not engage in such gambles. The way I see it now, the only people who would be willing to gamble with their gear and resources like that have to be great eccentrics or complete and utter fools. That was probably the true meaning behind Sherry¡¯s gaze. Since she is someone who wanted to become a Master Smith, then I wonder if she is able to tell exactly how many Skills are embedded in a weapon simply by looking at it, or is she going to be able to do that only after aquiring some special Skill? Whichever one of the two it may be, it would be best if she obtained it later rather than sooner, when her trust in me is going to increase.


    ¡¸Well. . . . . . . . oh, would you look at that, the door opened. Then, shall we go?¡¹


    Now that the door to the Boss Room has oh-so conveniently opened themselves, I decided that it was no time like the present to make my escape to avoid Sherry¡¯s further questioning. Geez, I think this might actually be the first time when someone tried to escape from something into the Boss Room. Heh, talk about being a pioneer in unexpected things. Maybe I should patent that so that all the other people doing the same would have to pay me a percentage of their money to utilize such a strategy? Yeah, right, as if that was possible in this world where there is no such thing as a Patent Office.


    ¡¸Understood. Lead the way, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Right.¡¹


    And we went through the now opened door right into the Boss Room. At the beginning it was difficult for me to see anything through the dense clouds od smoke, but when they finally dissipated, I could have a closer look at our surroundings.


    ¡¸Uwah. . . . . . .¡¹


    What I saw there has indeed surprised me, but not in a positive way.


    The entire Boss Room has been littered with equipment. Counting all of the swords, helmets, breastplates, gauntlet and legwear, there was probably more than twenty of them just lying around. And among all of those pieces of equipment left by the Adventurers and Explorers killed by the Floor Boss, there stood a tall, muscular man with a muscular upper body and the lower body covered by a beat-like fur.


    A man? No, when I saw the pair of long horns protruding out of its head, I understood that this was not a man, but the Floor Boss itself.

 Volume 4 - CH 4.05

    Since it did not appear by emerging from the gathered clouds of green smoke, then my guess is that he must have annihilated the Party that entered the Boss Room before us. And as cruel as that may sound, I do not feel sorry for them. Serves them right for casting their leecherous gazes upon my Roxanne. Besides, they are not important at all right now. What is important is that the beast has noticed our presence and was staring at us with its creepy eyes, which were combining pretty nicely with its face, which was just as disturbing, looking like a mask made of human skin that has been put on a beastly head in a grotesque attempt to hide its real identity from the rest of the world.


    I already know what it is, but just to be sure. . . . . .  Identify!


    ¡ºPan Lv.7¡»


    Yup, the name matches its appearance perfectly. Pan, a monster that is half-human, half-goat, with goat¡¯s legs and horns.


    ¡¸Be careful, master. It is going to be coming at us any moment now.¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, no need to tell me that twice.¡¹


    The Floor Boss is standing right before us, amidst the piles of equipment littering the floor. Its presence is truly imposing, and it does not look like he has sustained any serious injuries during the battle with the Party that entered this Boss Room before us, and that can only mean one thing: he annihilated those scummy guys without much difficulty, and now that we are here, we are definitely its next target.


    This is just like what we have seen back on the seventh floor of the Labyrinth of Quratar, when Roxanne and I entered the Boss Room and its Floor Boss, Rapid Rabbit was already there, waiting for us, with the equipment of the guy who just casually talked to us moments before tucked away in the corner of the chamber. Ugh, what a bunch of unpleasant memories. And for them to be flooding back to my mind now of all times. . .  no, do not think about it now. The enemy is right in front of you, so focus on defeating it first and foremost, and worry about anything else later!


    The previous Party has been wiped out, and that is a fact. That they were looking at Roxanne with perverted eyes is also irrelevant. They were probably thinking that they are going to defeat Pan with ease, and paid the ultimate price for their overconfidence as a result. This reminds me about what Sherry told us about ¡¸The Demon of the Seventh Floor¡¹: a phenomenon in which the people who traverse the Labyrinths get overly confident and lenient because of how easy the first few floors are to break through, which makes them loosen their guard up on the seventh floor as well, because they thinking that it will not be any different than what they were encountering on the lower floors, and now that attitude proved their undoing. A very fitting end for the ones who must have thought of themselves as all-powerful and invincible. Granted, I have no way of knowing how exactly did their battle went, but I imagine that they were unable to inflict any kind of wound onto Pan¡¯s body. My only hope now is that we are not going to end up in the same way as they did.


    ¡¸Master, it is going to be attacking soon.¡¹


    ¡¸I see it. Roxanne, go to the front and prepare to intercept its attacks. Sherry, all of that equipment on the ground is going to get in our way, so I want you to push it as far to the sides as possible. Can you do that?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course!¡¹


    ¡¸All right then. . . . . . . . . . . . .  attack!¡¹


    I issued the order for Roxanne and Sherry as fast as I could, and then we rushed forward to meet Pan in the middle of the Boss Room. This is where our battle with it starts. All distractions need to be cast aside, and eyes kept only on the goal in front of us: defeating the Floor Boss, and the prize: advancing to the next floor.


    Even though it presumably wiped the floor with the people from the previous Party, it would be strange if it was not even a little exhausted after fighting six people at once. Then again, what kind of damage could a band of leechers possibly hope to do to such a behemoth of an enemy, if all that could think about as soon as they saw them were Roxanne¡¯s boobs? Probably none, or miniscule at best. Oh do not get me wrong, I totally understand why would they find Roxanne¡¯s chest to be so captivating. After all, it is enormous, and the tight fit of her Leather Armor only serves to accentuate the curvature of her body even further. But even if she is like that, allowing your mind to be overwhelmed by perverted fantasies in the dungeon where even a moment¡¯s distraction can cause you your life, so if someone like me can hold himself from looking at Roxanne¡¯s boobs at Roxanne¡¯s boobs all the time while in the Labyrinth, then the other people should be able to make the bloody effort as well!


    But even if that was indeed the case, Sherry called this beast ¡¸the strongest monster of all the Floor Bosses on the lower floors of the Labyrinths¡¹, so going against something like that while their minds were in horny mode was entirely their mistake. I have to learn from that mistake of theirs and proceed and fight it very carefully while keeping her words in mind.


    The first order of business is to do something with all of the pieces of equipment that litter the floor of the entire Boss Room, since they will only impede our movements here if we will constantly be forced to jump around between them just to avoid tripping and falling on our butts, which is why I ordered Sherry to shove them all to the sides, where they are going to hinder us no longer.


    While Roxanne was in front of Pan occupying its attention and sherry was moving around the room shoving the pieces of weapons and armor as far to the sides as possible with the tip and the handle of her Copper Spear. Good. Just imagine if any of those swords and other weapons ended up being sent flying into the air at high speed. While she was doing that,  I carefully made my way to the side of the monster in order to ambush it. . . . . . . . .  . but then I saw that a red magic circle began glowing right under Pan¡¯s feet.


    (Damn it! Taking out the big guns already?!)


    According to Sherry¡¯s analysis, Pan¡¯s main way of attacking is ¡¸a powerful Area of Effect magic that might be too strong even for Miss Roxanne to evade without sustaining any damage¡¹. I was hoping that we will be able to keep it occupied with close range combat for so long that it would not even be able to whip out its trump card, but now that it has come to this, I absolutely cannot allow it to finish chanting up that spell. If you think that I am going to do the same kind of mistake that I did during the battle with the Beep Sheep, then think again! I immediately jumped towards Pan, ready to strike at its side with Durandal at any moment to interrupt his chanting, and I slashed it diagonally down from the upper right shoulder down to the left corner of its body while shouting ¡¸Interrupt!¡¹in my mind. I do not know if an action like that is necessary for the Skill to take effect, but I am not taking any chances with it.


    As a result of my attack, Pan stumbled forward and fell onto the floor. I expected it would maybe try to use a kick or something along those lines since it was a half-human, half beast after all, but it looked like that was not going to be the case. It. . . it looks like that is it. I think the battle is finished.


    ¡¸One blow was all it took to defeat it, huh?¡¹


    As if to confirm my words, Pan¡¯s body exploded ito clouds of green smoke and then dissipated shortly after.


    ¡¸It would seem so.¡¹


    Roxanne commented while she got back to my side. I have to say, after Sherry hyped it up as the strongest Floor Boss of all the lower floors, I was certainly expecting something  a bit more. . . . . . . .  . challenging, I guess?

 Volume 4 - CH 4.06

    With the way how the things played out, the only thing that I am capable of saying is. . . . . . . . . . .  .


    ¡¸Eh? Already down? Weak.¡¹


    Yeah, that is it. I was honestly expecting it to put up a little bit more fight than that. I mean seriously, one attack that interrupted its chanting process and it is done? This is probably the most disappointed that I have felt in quite a long while, if I am to be honest. Pan was supposed to be the strongest Floor Boss among all of the Floor Bosses of the lower floors, but the Rapid Rabbit from the seventh floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth presented us with much more of a challenge than this guy here. Because I will be damned, but her really turned out to be quite a weakling.


    Normally, even the Escape Goats, the regular enemies from the seventh floor, do not go down in just one blow, and need two of them in order to be dealt with. I do not really want to believe it, but as it stands, the Floor Boss that is feared all those who possess the information about him. . . . .  is weaker than the regular enemy from his floor! I did not even think that something like that could be possible!


    When the smoke from Pan¡¯s death finally cleared, the only thing that was left behind was his Drop Item, Goat¡¯s Meat. So even if it was a hybrid of a human and a goat, the game still treated him as a goat when it came to generating a Drop Item, huh? Well, I do not know if it is really a half-human, half-goat hybrid, but that is how it looks to me, and that is why I am calling it like that. In reality, it might be its own entirely separate thing, but I do not care about that. Right now, the most important thing to me is that the piece of Goat Meat that it dropped is rather big, so it is more than likely that it is going to be enough for all three of us as an ingredient for today¡¯s dinner.


    ¡¸For something that was supposed to be the strongest of the lower floors Floor Bosses, it was really easy to beat. I thought it was going to last a little longer than it did, but I guess not. Its movements were also really simple and predictable, making it easy to block and dodge its attacks.¡¹


    ¡¸W-Well, I guess it might be thanks to that previous Party that went in here before us. They must have weakened the boss to some extent.¡¹


    ¡¸I think that it might be exactly as master said, because normally Pan definitely is not the kind of a Floor Boss that would go down with just a single blow.¡¹


    Sherry said while picking up the Goat Meat from the floor.


    I also think that I might have been to harsh on the people from that previous Party, simply because their actions left me with the absolute worst kind of first impression possible. When we came into the Boss Room, Pan did not materialize in a cloud of smoke, but he was already waiting in there for us, just like Slow Rabbit did when he defeated that lone Explorer guy whose gear we took. This only happens when the Floor Boss defeats the Party that tried to challenge him, and upon killing all of the current challengers, the door to the Boss Room opens to let the next group of eager Adventurers and Explorers in, and that also has to mean that whatever damage he has sustained from the previous battle is not healed in between the groups of challengers who enter the Boss Room, but rather, all of the wounds that the Floor Boss has sustained and all of its lost HP carry over to the next encounter, meaning that whoever comes in next is going to have a much easier time in comparison to those who entered before them.


    ¡¸I see. So that is why master was able to defeat is so easily? Well, if it means that this nasty Party has been obliterated, then so much the better. That is an outcome that I am willing to accept.¡¹


    Roxanne murmured with open hostility, and Sherry joined her while saying ¡¸Divine Punishment on those who judge a woman by the size of her chest alone!¡¹Wow there girls, these guys are gone now, so I do not think there is any need to be so hostile towards them now. It is not like they are going to hear you and repent for their leecherousness in the afterlife, right?


    (. . . . . . . . . . . . . .)


    Normally I would have told them to calm down, but for some weird reason they seemed to be more fired up than usual, which made them look kinda scary, so I decided to drop the subject entirely.


    ¡¸What about the equipment of these guys, Sherry? You did place it near the walls like I instructed you to, right?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course, master. It is all over there.¡¹


    Sherry said, pointing towards the wall of the Boss Room. I walked up to the pile of gear and started examining the things that these guys left behind one by one, starting with what looked like a bunch of two-handed Copper Swords.


    (Okay, let me see what do we have here. . . . Identify.)


    {Two-Handed Copper Sword of Obstruction}


    Skills: Chant Delay


    A total of four Two-Handed Copper Swords of Obstruction, each one of them equipped with a ¡¸Chant Delay¡¹ Skill.


    ¡¸So it is not that they just stormed in here unprepared, huh? They were prepared for the enemy they wanted to face, but in the end they all ended up dying anyway, huh?¡¹


    ¡¸You can tell if a weapon has a Skill embedded into it just by looking at them?!¡¹


    Sherry looked up at me with her eyes shining with that knowledge-hungry light of hers. Uh-huh, was that perhaps something that I should not have said? Is it something that people cannot normally do? Because I definitely did not want what I just said to sound as if I was bragging about it or anything. . . . . .  but on second thought, you know what? Screw it. Identify is one of my Bonus Skill, so allow me to take pride in at least that much!


    ¡¸Yeah, that is right! I. . . . . . . . ¡¹


    ¡¸Ohhh, so you must have used Identify Weapon without chanting, right?!¡¹


    I confirmed Sherry¡¯s words, but before I could boast about it some more she arrived at her own conclusion, completely overshadowing me. I mean, she basically arrived at pretty much the same thing that I wanted to say, but still, how quickly she lost interest in it has cut me to the core. I wanted her to be amazed and tell me how amazing I am, but she denied me that simple pleasure. Damn it!


    ¡¸As expected of master! You never stop to amaze me!¡¹


    Ahh, at least Roxanne remains my one and only surefire oasis of praise whenever I need it the most. . . . . . but back to the subject at hand.


    Usually, weapon appraisal is performed exclusively by the owners of the Weapon Shops, people who possess the Weapon Merchant Job, so I think it is best to assume that Identify Weapon is a Skill that they possess, so it would be perfectly reasonable that I should be capable of doing the exact same thing if I had the Weapon Merchant Job, so maybe that is what Sherry assumed. However, that assumption of hers is wrong, because I have not unlocked the Weapons Merchant Job yet, even though I have already bought and sold a fair share of weapons and armor. Maybe one of the requirements for obtaining it is to increase the level of my Merchant Job? And also, just for the record, what I did was Identify. Just your plain Identify. Not Identify Weapon, just Identify. But that got me thinking: if Weapon Merchants can have Identify Weapon Skill used for the purpose of appraising weapons, then I wonder if armor can only be appraised by Armor Merchants with the Identify Armor Skill? Not that it matters to me anyway, because my Identify allows me to appraise weapons, armor, and even people.


    ¡¸Sherry, give me a little refresher here. ¡¸Chant Delay¡¹does exactly what the name suggests: it delays the process of casting a Skill or a Spell, correct?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, exactly. And weapons infused with that Skill are going to have exactly the same effect.¡¹

 Volume 4 - CH 4.07

    ¡¸In that case, do you have any ideas why did the previous Party that tried challenging Pan ended up dying anyway, even though most of their Party members came equipped with the weaponry that had ¡¸Chant Delay¡¹on it?¡¹


    ¡¸Usually ¡¸Chant Delay¡¹should work without any issues, but maybe they simply were unable to delay Pan¡¯s magic attacks with just the four of them?¡¹


    ¡¸Five of them, it would seem.¡¹


    Sherry said while presenting me with another Two-Handed Copper Sword of Obstruction that she was holding in her hands. So, their Party had five people with weapons that had ¡¸Chant Delay¡¹added onto them, but it was still not enough to stop Pan from casting his magic, huh? Oh, and by the way, the last member of that Party must have been a Mage, Monk or Perhaps a Priest focused on Healing Magic, because the other weapon I found just lying around here was a Wand.


    ¡¸Five people with ¡¸Chant Delay¡¹ were not enough to contain the Floor Boss¡¯s magic? I have to say, that it pretty terrifying.¡¹


    ¡¸Indeed it is, but it is not our problem right now. However well prepared these guys might have been, they were bad people, and bad people are always going to get what is coming to them.¡¹


    ¡¸You can say that again, Sherry. That is the price hot-headed morons pay for getting in over their heads.¡¹


    Aaaand the girls are still holding a grudge against the members of that Party. Come on now, you two. These guys are dead now, so there is no use in continuing to berate them like that since they already got what was coming to them, but. . . . . . . .


    Pan was wounded to the point where all that it took to defeat him was a single blow from Durandal, which means that these guys had to be doing pretty well for the most of their battle. But in that case, what was the thing that sealed the deal for them? Was it some kind of accident during battle, or perhaps Pan was able to activate his AoE magic attacks continuously because the five of them were unable to delay it enough to stop him from finishing the chant?


    ¡¸That just goes to show that even though information and strategy are very useful things to have in the Labyrinths, relying on them too much might be as bad as not relying on them enough, because one accident or misstep can still lead to failure all the same. That is why it is important to always steadily increase your own abilities so that you would not fail when the situation would call for you to act.¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, I suppose.¡¹


    ¡¸I promise that I will always do my best, master!¡¹


    Sherry nodded with an ambiguous answer, while Roxanne gave me a passionate one.


    ¡¸Now, I am simply wondering, but. . . . . what happened to the bodies of those six guys? Because it was not that much time between them getting killed and us entering the Boss Room, but when we went inside there was already no one there.¡¹


    ¡¸That is because the corpses of those who are killed by monsters or die in the Labyrinth for any other reason are quickly getting digested by it.¡¹


    Sherry explained as she kept on bringing the other pieces of equipment to me so that I could appraise them. This time it was the gauntlets. If what she said about the digestion of the corpses was true, then that is truly terrifying, because not only there are no bodies left here in the room, but there are not even any traces of these guys being here, not even a singular bloodstain left on the floor or the walls. If it was not for their equipment that was littering the floor of the Boss Room, I would have probably not even notice that someone was in the Boss Room before us.


    ¡¸What about the equipment then? Why is it not getting digested along with those who were holding it?¡¹


    ¡¸Because unlike the bodies of Adventurers and Explorers, equipment and weapons are treated by the Labyrinths as the undigestable foreign bodies.¡¹


    ¡¸Really?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. Moreover, just because it is undigestable, it does not mean that the Labyrinths are not going to try and consume those items anyway, only to spit them back up after a while.¡¹


    Speaking of which, the equipment of those who died in the Labyrinth gets turned into a treasure chest, so maybe that is how the Labyrinths are dealing with those foreign bodies that they are unable to digest? By spitting them back out towards the surface in the shape of mound-like earthen sacks that got dubbed as the treasure chests over time? Anyway, that is how it is: human bodies get eaten without leaving anything back while equipment gets vomited back up and then left for others to find while they are on their way through the Labyrinth¡¯s halls.


    ¡¸That is right. It is precisely because they are foreign bodies to the Labyrinth that it takes so much time for it to process them into treasure chests, and that is also why they are so rare no matter which Labyrinth you go to.¡¹


    I see. So that is why we can claim any piece of equipment that has been left by the previous Party that failed to defeat the Floor Boss. It is because the Labyrinth needs way more time to process the equipment into treasure chests than it needs to process the bodies of Adventurers in order to continue to grow up that we can simply walk in, defeat the Floor Boss and claim all of the spoils present in the room before they get absorbed into the ground.


    ¡¸That being said, it does not really feel right to be using the equipment of someone who died wearing it literal moments ago, so maybe we should just go and sell all of it?¡¹


    That previous Party did not have any useful pieces of armor aside from Leather Gloves and Leather Boots, but I think that since all of those Two-Handed Copper Swords of Obstruction have ¡¸Chant Delay¡¹ placed onto them, then we should be able to get ourselves some pretty nice money for them.


    ¡¸Anything that belonged to a defeated Party belongs to the Party that kills the Floor Boss, so now that we defeated Pan, it is okay to not think about this equipment as the one who belonged to that awful previous Party and start think about it as our own. Once we get back home I will make sure to give all of them a thorough maintenance, so it should be okay for us to be using the pieces that seem useful and sell the ones that we will not need.¡¹


    As usual, Roxanne is such an equipment maintenance freak. Well, since she says that it should be all right for us to take all of it, then I guess that is how it really must be. Ne of the other pieces of equipment that remained after the annihilated Party was a single piece of Leather Armor, but right now we have no need for it, because all three of us already have their own pieces of armor that we are currently using. Sherry was the one who found and presented it to me, but no matter how hard I try to justify her using it my head, I just. . . . .  I cannot find any reasons in favor of it, not when I have Roxanne right next to me, who is also wearing exactly the same Leather armor to a much more. . . .  bombastic effect.


    ¡¸. . . . . . . . . . ??? What is it, master? Is something troubling you?¡¹


    ¡¸N-No, not exactly. . .  it is. . . . it is just that I thought that we will have to sell this Leather Armor here, since we do not need another copy of the same one we already have, since no one of us is going to be using it. . .  that is all.¡¹


    Yeah, that is all I am going to say about it. I do not want to say anything else, and I do not want to even think about it.


    ¡¸Certainly, mine are small, but. . . . . . . . . . . ¡¹


    However, Sherry, being a smart girl that she is, was able to catch onto what I was thinking by saying it like that, and was now staring at her own chest with a look of disappointment painted all over her face.

 Volume 4 - CH 4.08

    Girl, do you have to be so hung up on that particular thing?! Because right now you are just making it look like you are simply paranoid when it comes to the size of your tits!


    Aside from all the equipment, upon closer inspection of our surroundings we have also found six Magic Crystals lying around: One Blue Magic Crystal, one Red Magic Crystal, one Purple Magic Crystal, and the last three of them Black. Looks like the three of the members of that Party did not even defeat enough monsters for their Magic Crystals to turn Red, or perhaps they sold the other Magic Crystals they had on them and just got themselves the new ones. I placed all of the items into my Item Box, and like that, we were finally ready to leave the Boss Room behind and advance to the eighth floor. However. . . .


    ¡¸You know what? It is not like there is any need for us to do it, but since this was essentially not even half of the Floor Boss battle. . . . . would either of you have something against us attempting this battle one more time, but properly this time? The three of us, fighting Pan from start to finish?¡¹


    ¡¸Personally, I do not think there are going to be any downsides to experiencing this Floor Boss battle fully. Moreover, that way we will be able to see how strong Pan really is, and getting more experienced with fighting against strong opponents is always a good thing.¡¹


    ¡¸Since I did not have the chance to properly participate in the battle against Pan this time, I would like to have another go at it as well so that I could get a hang of its attack patterns. That is, if that is okay with master as well.¡¹


    I guess it would have been better if I did not say anything, but now that I have opened my mouth, I guess I have to go through with what I said from start to finish. Ah well, we already know what the Boss¡¯ weaknesses are, so we should be okay.


    Unfortunately, the Boss Rooms are designed in such a way that once you clear them, the only way you can go is forward, not back, so after we got to the eighth floor, I used Dungeon Walker to move us back to the small room before the seventh floor¡¯s Boss Room¡¯s waiting room, because as much as I wanted to get us to the waiting room directly, it looks like that is impossible as well, at least with Dungeon Walker. I have a lingering suspicion that it could have been possible if I decided to use Warp to get us there, but since there is a possibility that other people might already be gathered there, it would be bad if they saw us doing something that technically should not be possible, so for our own safety, it would be better to do everything the ¡¸normal¡¹ way.


    ¡¸Master, if I may, there is something that I would like to discuss with you.¡¹


    Roxanne pulled on my sleeve when we got out of the Dungeon Walker¡¯s portal.


    ¡¸Sure thing, Roxanne. What is it?¡¹


    It must have been something serious, because Roxanne was looking me right in the eyes with a look of stern determination on her face.


    ¡¸Since Pan is a type of monster whose magic attacks can be stopped by master¡¯s sword and its physical attacks are simplistic and easy to avoid, then. . . . would it be all right if I tried using my racial Skill during the next battle?¡¹


    By her racial Skill she must mean. . .  Beast Warrior¡¯s ¡¸Beast Attack¡¹? Since you have no choice but to remain completely stationary throughout the chanting process, I guess she really did not have any chance to actually use it, since I always asked her to take position at the front of the battle so that she could focus the monsters aggro on herself with her superb dodging skills.


    ¡¸Hmm, let me see. . . . Sherry, can I entrust Pan¡¯s front to you? You should be okay since you wanted to get a hang of his attack patterns, right? Then for that next battle with it, you are going to be occupying its attention while Roxanne will be using her Skill. Once Pan starts chanting spells of its own, simply leave it to me to take care of that, okay?¡¹


    ¡¸Roger that, master. I will do my best to meet your expectations!¡¹


    Sherry exclaimed while giving me an affirmative nod. But I have to wonder. . . . . . . .  is she really going to be all right, or was she only saying that so that I would not get disappointed with her?


    ¡¸Okay, that is settled then. Roxanne, as soon as you get the chance to do so, feel free to go ahead and try using your Skill.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, thank you very much!¡¹


    Now that I have given Roxanne my permission to try her Skill, she was in such a good mood that she actually started wagging her tail left and right. Wow, she must have really been dying to try it out. And in this particular situation, there was no reason whatsoever for me to forbid her from using ¡¸Beast Attack¡¹. If she has that Skill available and she is sure that she will be able to use it, then allowing her to use it was hands down the only option here. Who knows, once I see how that Skill of hers actually looks, maybe it will turn out that it is going to be a good one to be used in case of emergencies or the most dire of situations? We have nothing to lose here, and if it is to be Roxanne¡¯s trump card, then it will be better to have it tested in an actual battle that we know we can win instead of using it in desperation after being driven into a corner with no other alternatives. And since Pan is primarily using AoE magic attacks that take a good moment to fully chant, then we will not have any better chances to conduct a fully controlled test like that.


    ¡¸Well then, let us be on our way.¡¹


    When we moved into the waiting room, it was conveniently empty, so with no one there to interrupt us, we went ahead and approached the door to the Boss Room, which opened on their own, inviting us to go inside.


    This time, Sherry and I stood in front and Roxanne was in the back, and our plan was to surround Pan from three sides so that Sherry and I would keep on distracting it with our attacks, giving Roxanne a chance to chant her Skill and use¡¸ Beast Attack¡¹. Sherry was the first one to attack him with her Club from the front, while I slashed him diagonally across the back with Durandal. And since it did not look like those two attacks of ours have inflicted any kind of major damage upon it, it would seem that our assumption about Pan here on the seventh floor must have been correct: it is not so weak as to be defeated with a single blow, so that previous Party truly must have been this close to defeating it before it killed all of them. While we were busy keeping Pan off of Roxanne, she began reciting the chant for her Skill.


    ¡¸As a. . . . . warrior? As a warrior of X X beasts. . . . . . . ¡¹


    (Hmm?)


    ¡¸. . . . . . . . . .  unleash my X X power.¡¹


    (Huh?)


    ¡¸Mortal Blow. . . . .  Beast Attack! ! ! ! ! !¡¹


    Roxanne chanted. . . . . . . . if we can even call that a chant, the incantation for her Skill and then swung her Scimitar down on Pan. Did it work? No, no, no, of course it did not work, since the chant was so poorly done that parts of it were not even properly translated, meaning that Roxanne must have botched them horribly. Her attack still connected with the enemy, but it did not look any different from her usual attacks, so it obviously did not work, no two ways about it.


    ¡¸Hmm. . . . . . . . it failed, huh? Brahim sure is a difficult language to use in the heat of battle.¡¹


    ¡¸Even if you failed now, it is still okay. What is important is for the words to be appearing in your mind on their own so that you could recite them naturally. So try one more time, but slowly, and try to speak each word loudly and clearly without worrying about the speed of your chanting. Sherry and I have you covered, so take as much time as you


    need!¡¹

 Volume 4 - CH 4.09

    Taking advantage of Pan¡¯s attention being occupied by Sherry, I got to Roxanne¡¯s side and gave her as precise instructions about chanting as I possibly could. Just like I told her, then words for the chant itself should be appearing in her mind naturally and on their own, and she should be speaking them loudly and clearly. Now let us see if she understood what I was trying to tell her.


    ¡¸As a warrior? of amaraha beasts, unleash. . . .  X X. . . .  X X X. . . . . . ah, wait, I think I know this one! It should be ¡¸unleash my full power¡¹ . . . . . . . . . probably. I think so.¡¹


    Since most of what she said got properly translated to me, then I guess this time we have to be on the right track.


    ¡¸Okay, that sounds great and all, but what does ¡¸Amaraha¡¹mean, exactly?¡¹


    I think that one word is still something that she got wrong, because that does not sound like any word that I know of, which probably means that it still did not get translated properly. If it was a legitimate Brahmin language word, than the game¡¯s system would have swapped it for the Japanese equivalent of it so that I could fully understand what it meant, so if I want Roxanne¡¯s Skill to work, I think I have to help her correct her wording mistake. In the meantime, another red magic circle appeared under Pan¡¯s feet, so I slashed him again in order to interrupt his chant and allow Roxanne to continue figuring her own chant in peace.


    ¡¸¡¸Amaraha¡¹. . . . . . . no, I feel like that is not it. ¡¸Amarama¡¹? ¡¸Araraha¡¹? Ugly. . . . hideous. . . . unsightly. . . . . . ¡¹


    ¡¸Ugly? Hideous? Unsightly? Uhm, Roxanne? Why are you throwing out insults I the middle of the chant brainstorm?¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, I am sorry if you took it that way, master. It is just that the word that I am looking for sounds kind of like that, but at the same time, not quite.¡¹


    Same, but not quite? I am afraid that I completely lost track of what she was talking about, but it is true than when she began translating those words from Brahim, I was able to properly catch their meanings.


    ¡¸The thing is, master, that in the context of the chant the words that I am looking for would have to mean something along the lines of ¡¸unsightly Beast Warrior¡¹, however, as far as I know there is no such thing as an unsightly Beast Warrior?¡¹


    Maybe it was translated that by chance? Or that was the closest thing to the original meaning in Brahim language? I though about it while jumping around Pan¡¯s lower body which I was slashing with my sword whenever he was summoning the magic circle and resuming the chanting process all over again, and then at one point, a certain thought occurred to me.


    ¡¸Then. . . . . . then maybe instead of ¡¸unsightly¡¹the word that you are looking for is actually ¡¸formidable¡¹?¡¹


    ¡¸So like. . . . . . . ¡¸Amuraha¡¹?¡¹


    Roxanne repeated the word that I just spoke, but in Brahim language.


    ¡¸Yes, formidable.¡¹


    ¡¸For. . . . . . .  mi. . . . . dable. . . . . ?¡¹


    And then slowly, syllable by syllable, she repeated the word I said in the common language.


    ¡¸What does that mean?¡¹


    ¡¸It is an archaic way of describing someone who is powerful in the country where I am coming from.¡¹


    And also an obvious issue with translation, if you were to ask me. But since the magic circle under Pan¡¯s feet got activated again, I had no choice but to explain that to Roxanne in the middle of dealing with it. That is as far as the semantics go. But when it comes to translating the Brahim language into the one used here in the game¡¯s world and translating it into Japanese for me and the other way around, it was clear as day that the dame¡¯s language interface cannot handle words with multiple or possible archaic meanings very well.


    ¡¸How do you even know such archaic words, master?! Pretty much no one uses them anymore these days!¡¹


    Sherry shouted without taking her eyes off of Pan, focused entirely on blocking the physical attacks which he was raining down on her when he was not trying to recast its magic attacks. But Roxanne was definitely right about him: even though his magic attacks are said to be formidable, his physical attacks were rather easy to predict and learn, not to mention that that they were pretty much all telegraphed by some sort od additional movement that allowed you to properly differentiate between what kind of attack was coming, giving you more than enough time to either dodge in the right direction or prepare an adequate counter. For an observant fighter, or the one skilled at dodging, these kinds of attacks were really not as severe as his initial impression would suggest. Now that he was simply trying to slam his fists into Sherry¡¯s Club, which she was now holding horizontally while in a defensive stance, this provided a great opportunity for Roxanne to fix up her chant and (hopefully) finish casting the Skill.


    ¡¸W-Well. . . . . . . . . . . ¡¹


    But when it comes to the question that Sherry shouted at me, I could not find any words that would make for an answer that would be convincing enough for someone as inquisitive as she was. My only saving grace here was that this time the words managed to be properly translated, because otherwise I probably would have to prepare a much more convincing excuse than that dismissive ¡¸W-Well. . . . . . . . . . ¡¹of mine.


    ¡¸As a. . . . . . warrior? of formidable beasts, unleash my full power. Mortal Blow. . . . . . .  Beast Attack!¡¹


    Taking my advices into account, Roxanne recited her modified chant, and then tried to unleash Beast Attack once more. However, since there was still some hesitation in her words, it looked like the resulting attack was a failure as well. Looks like the Skill will not be properly activated if even a small part of it is phrased like a question. She needs to have absolute conviction in the words that she is saying, or else she is just going to be failing over and over again. A red magic circle has appeared under Pan¡¯s feet once more, so I hurriedly slashed him with Durandal to stop him dead in his tracks.


    ¡¸What is wrong, Miss Roxanne?!¡¹


    ¡¸The Skill does not want to work, probably because I am still making a mistake somewhere. And it does not help that Brahim is such a difficult language.¡¹


    ¡¸Well, you said it. It is Brahim, so it cannot really be helped.¡¹


    To me the mistake she makes is clear as day. She needs to stop saying the word warrior with a question mark at the end. In that case. . .  yeah, maybe that is going to work. I do not know for sure, but it is definitely worth a try.


    ¡¸Roxanne, try doing something like this: instead of saying warrior (senshi), try prounouncing it as warrior(mononofu) and try to make the chant rhyme.¡¹


    I suggested that to Roxanne while shaking Durandal at Pan, who was trying to prepare another magical attack. As for the exact meaning of what warrior (mononofu, or mononofu no yose to be exact) means, it is a makurakotoba (TL Note:  figures of speech used in Japanese waka poetry in which epithets are used in association with certain words) describing a samurai similar to Chiyahaburu or Tarachine no Haha or other similar nonsense phrases present especially in Ogura Hyakunin Isshu (TL Note: a classical Japanese anthology of one hundred Japanese waka by one hundred poets. Hyakunin isshu can be translated to ¡°one hundred people, one poem [each]¡±; it can also refer to the card game of uta-garuta, which uses a deck composed of cards based on the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.)


    ¡¸Warrior (mononofu)?¡¹


    ¡¸I think that the word master used means warrior (senshi), but the meaning he has in mind is  probably really outdated.¡¹


    Sherry gave Roxanne another pointer.

 Volume 4 - CH 4.10

    Feel free to think whatever you want about the actuality of the words that I am using, but as long as you make Roxanne understand and say the chant for ¡¸Beast Attack¡¹ in a proper way, then I really will not give a damn about it.


    ¡¸As a warrior (mononofu). . . . . . . . . yes, that might be it!¡¹


    Roxanne closed her eyes, took a couple of deep breaths and the began to redo the chant.


    ¡¸As a warrior born of formidable beasts, unleash my full power and grant it to me! Mortal Blow. . . .  BEAST ATTACK! ! ! ! ! !!¡¹


    Roxanne shouted, and slammed the Scimitar into Pan¡¯s body with visibly more force than before, and twice as much speed. I do not think if describing it like that is going to be accurate, but. . . . . but I think that for a moment there she was moving so fast that I have lost her from my sight for a split second. Could it really be that this Skill of hers made it possible for her to move so fast and hit so hard with just the momentum alone? And speaking of hitting hard. . . . .


    Instead of slashing through Pan in an instant, Roxanne¡¯s Scimitar dug itself into his guts, and moved forward after a few solid seconds of being embedded inside of him, after which the sheer impact of the blow the tore his side wide open send him tumbling into the nearby wall that he then bounced off of it, landing on the ground pretty hard.


    ¡¸Ohhh!!! Just now, that was. . . . . . . . . .!!!!!¡¹


    ¡¸YES! I did it, master! It was a success!!!!!!¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah. . . .  yeah, you can say that again, Roxanne. That attack just now was really something.¡¹


    ¡¸Amazing! You were so cool just now, Miss Roxanne!!!¡¹


    Sherry was absolutely right to be amazed. If nothing else, the attack that Roxanne executed just now certainly deserved to be called life threatening. If an ordinary human were to be hit by something like that, they would probably either dropped dead on the spot or be cleaved cleanly in half. Even looking at if from the outsider¡¯s perspective, the difference between ¡¸Beast Attack¡¯s¡¹ and regular attack¡¯s power and speed was plain to see even with the eye of someone who has nothing to do with Labyrinths and adventuring on a daily basis.


    So yeah. Roxanne called the successful execution of her ¡¸Beast Attack¡¹a success, but I would go even further than that. It was a great success, no, a tremendous success.


    In a last-ditch effort, Pan tried initiating his magic attack one last time, but as soon as I saw that the red magic circle formed under its body, I ran up to him, looked him in the eyes with a look that was saying ¡¸Thanks for your hard work¡¹and I swung Durandal down on him, finally killing him. He immediately turned into a burst of green smoke and disappeared.


    ¡¸Once again, Roxanne: that was a magnificent attack.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you very much, master, but I would not have been able to do it without your and Sherry¡¯s help. You have my sincerest gratitude for helping me figure out the right chant for ¡¸Beast Attack¡¹ to work, and keeping Pan occupied long enough for me to be able to finish casting it.¡¹


    ¡¸Of course! Just say the word and I will gladly help you again, Miss Roxanne!¡¹


    ¡¸What she said, basically.¡¹


    Based on my observations, a single hit from ¡¸Beast Attack¡¹does the damage that should be roughly equivalent to two regular strikes from Durandal, meaning that this Skill was something that could allow even a regular weapon such as the Scimitar to deal damage similar to the one done by the weapon known as the Holy Sword. Roxanne is going to be fighting in the vanguard for the most time so she will probably not have all that many occasions to be actually using that Skill, but nevertheless, it is a good thing to know that she has something that powerful in her arsenal of available Skills.


    ¡¸Miss Roxanne, I knew you were an amazing fighter, but that was an entirely different kind of amazing!¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you for you kind words, Sherry. You were also amazing, holding out against the strongest of the Floor Bosses of the lower floors all on your own.¡¹


    Roxanne shared her joy with Sherry, who then walked to the place where Pan disappeared and picked up his Drop Item: another huge piece of Goat Meat, and promptly handed it back to me. Coupled with that previous Goat Meat we obtained from our first battle with Pan, I think we now have more than enough meat to last us for a few days, so I think tomorrow will be a good occasion to prepare some Genghis Khan (TL Note: also known as Jingisukan or Mongolian Barbecue. It is a Japanese-style grilled lamb meat dish popular mainly on Hokkaido and in China)


    ¡¸On another note, master. Your knowledge of the Brahim language is truly incredible. If it was not for your hints, I would have never thought of using archaic forms of modern words while preparing the Skill chant. I should have expected nothing less from you!¡¹


    ¡¸Nah, you are giving me way too much credit than I actually deserve. I just knew a few old words and I thought that they might just work, so I threw them your way to try them out.¡¹


    ¡¸You might say that, but trust me master, knowledge of the old words and expressions in Brahim language is a kind of a huge deal.¡¹


    ¡¸Well, if you say so.¡¹


    I wonder if Sherry¡¯s opinion of me increased a little bit more thanks to that? Then again, I only know Brahim because I basically cannot see the distinction between Brahim and Japanese, my native language, so I feel like I should not be just going around claiming to have mastered it to God knows how big of a degree if I want to stay out of trouble in regards to it, like I have been doing up until now.


    ¡¸However, there is one thing that I do regret. Even though we have fought properly against Pan, who was supposed to be the strongest of the lower floors Floor Bosses, the battle still ended too quickly for my liking. I tried to do my best, but even so, I was still unable to fully grasp all of its attack patterns.¡¹


    So it is hopeless after all, huh? Instead of praising me some more for my knowledge of Brahim, Sherry was focused only on the fact that she was not able to study Pan¡¯s attack patterns and movements as thoroughly as she wanted. And with her complaining like that, we have finally proceeded to the eighth floor. From here on out, monsters are going to start showing up in groups of up to four of them, so we should make sure that we are going to be as careful as we possibly can be. For the time being, I think that the best course of action will be to continue having Roxanne and Sherry in the vanguard so that I could support them with my magic from the relative safety of the backlines. If such a setup worked nicely so far, then I do not see any need to change it anytime soon.


    ¡¸Since we are on an entirely new floor, then let us do the usual thing where we kick things off by picking a fight with a smaller group of enemies first, okay?¡¹


    ¡¸Okay! *Sniff Sniff* *Sniff Sniff* Looks like there is a small group of Collagen Corals nearby. ¡¹


    ¡¸Collagen Corrals, huh?¡¹


    After I instructed Roxanne about what we are going to be doing, she used her sense of smell and immediately located the nearest group of enemies. The monsters native to the eighth floor of the Labyrinth in Vale seem to be Collagen Corals.


    ¡¸Is there any way for us to gain knowledge about the monsters from specific floors of the Labyrinths?¡¹


    ¡¸There is a number of ways, actually. We can do that by asking the Explorer standing at the entrance to the Labyrinth, from the Explorer¡¯s Guild in Vale, and from the Explorer¡¯s Guild in Quratar.¡¹


    ¡¸Well, I know that much, but to be honest, I am not interested in getting to know about them in detail, or at least not yet. For the time being, I am going to be fully satisfied with knowing which monsters appear on which floors.¡¹

 Volume 4 - CH 4.11

    Under a different set of circumstances, Sherry¡¯s advice would have been pretty useful, if not for its one, blatant weakness: if we really tried asking the Explorer at the entrance to the Labyrinth or in any of the Explorer¡¯s Guilds about the monsters inhabiting specific floors, the only thing they would have been able to tell us would be what types of monsters are there, and that kind of information gives us jack shit, to say it lightly.


    What good would the information about the types of monsters be if they do not tell you what are their weaknesses, the attack patterns they are going to use and how to deal with them in the best way possible? For example, we have fought against Collagen Coral before so we already know that even if their levels are higher we can deal with them without any kind of trouble, but the same cannot be said about the monsters that we have never fought before. If we happened upon such monsters, we would have no choice but to go back to the good old strategy of hitting it until it dies to figure out where it is best to hit it and what its attack patterns actually are, so if possible, I would like to learn about such monsters first, and for that, Sherry would be an ideal source of information. . . . . . . . assuming that she possesses the knowledge about most of the monsters that can be encountered in the Labyrinths of course.


    ¡¸Haaaaa. . . . . . . . .  . . . . . ¡¹


    ¡¸Sherry, in the future, can I ask you to gather all the information about the monsters from the Labyrinths that you possibly can for us?¡¹


    Instead of worrying about that myself I decided that it is going to be best if I pushed that problem onto Sherry, who sighed heavily and gave me a really tired look. But really Sherry, stop looking at me in such a disappointed way, or it will really become a habit and your face is going to stay permanently distorted  like that! This is fine with you, right? You are not suddenly going to say that you do not want to do this because this is too much work for just one person, right?


    ¡¸. . . . . . . . . . . . . .  All right. I will take care of it.¡¹


    She nodded and agreed to my request, but her look when she was doing that was somewhat cold. At this point, it was hard for me to tell if she was doing that because she truly meant it, or just because she was trying to screw with me a little. Either way, when she was looking at me with such eyes, Sherry was well and truly scary.


    ¡¸O-Okay, now our biggest issue to resolve should be: what are we going to do once four monsters start showing up?¡¹


    ¡¸Hmm, let me see. . . . we could split it in the following ways: three monsters for me and one for Sherry or two monsters for me, two for Sherry, or I could handle two of them at once while Sherry and master would take one each. Or if you want. . . . . .¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm. . .  master? Miss Roxanne?¡¹


    All of a sudden, Sherry raised her hand, interrupting Roxanne mid-sentence.


    ¡¸There is something that I would have liked to try. Is. . .  is that all right with you?¡¹


    Ohh? Could it be that Sherry has come up with some kind of new way to deal with our current situation? Roxanne clearly had something ore to say, but if Sherry has an idea as well, then I am more than eager to hear her out.


    ¡¸Of course, Sherry. What is it?¡¹


    ¡¸Normally, hammers and clubs are the kind of weapons that you are supposed to be swinging with all your strength at all times, and their biggest standout trait is that they can be used to attack multiple monsters at once due to how big they are. If I could learn how to utilize that tactic properly, then I am sure that I could take two monsters on at the same time, just like Miss Roxanne.¡¹


    That was something that I have legitimately had no idea about. I mean, I knew that hammers and clubs have a pretty long reach, but to think that they had such an awesome advantage? If what Sherry says is true and she could learn to utilize such a handy technique, then that would really solve all of my problems with how to divide the responsibility of fighting four monsters at once, because that way the only division we would ever need would be Roxanne against two monsters, Sherry against the other two and myself acting as a support at the rearguard, where I would be relatively safe from harm. It would literally be like killing two birds with one stone!


    ¡¸I see. So, do you want to try practicing that right now?¡¹


    ¡¸I do, but the ideal situation to test this out would be when the monsters will be all crowded together, so I am going to try this when we will find a group of four monsters. If it is not a problem for master of course.¡¹


    ¡¸Of course it will not be a problem. If this is what you want, then that is going to be the setting we are going to go with for the time being. Roxanne? First guide us to the place with a few monsters as a warm-up on this floor, and after that, let us search for a group of four of them so that Sherry could test her idea.¡¹


    ¡¸On it, master!¡¹


    As expected of Roxanne, she is always so cooperative. Going along with my ideas is one thing, but I am so happy to see that she is ready and willing to help sherry as well. Thank you, Roxanne. You truly are the best slave a guy could ask for. If Sherry manages to get a hang of the technique she was talking about fast enough, it is going to tremendously increase the flexibility of our Party.


    When the first group of Collagen Corals appeared, I got rid of all of them pretty much effortlessly thanks to my magic. Even though the monsters here on the eighth floor take as much as five shots of it to be taken down, at my current level I do not feel like that is much at all. To be honest, the Lv.7 enemies on the seventh floor in Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth felt like they were tougher to beat than Lv.8 enemies here in Vale¡¯s Labyrinth, and just to remind you, they were the friggin Slow Rabbits! So even though we just defeated what was universally referred to as the strongest monster of the lower floors, it does not mean that the regular monsters on the eighth floor got drastically stronger in comparison to their counterparts from the lower floors, which bodes really well for the future.


    The next group of three enemies was also easily defeated by Roxanne and Sherry¡¯s combined efforts, and then finally a group that we happened upon after that was the one we were looking for: the one consisting of four monsters at the same time, three Collagen Corrals and one Escape Goat. The presence of the Escape Goat is going to make this encounter that much more awkward, but at this point there is nothing that we can really do about it besides rolling with it.


    ¡¸Roxanne, go and handle the right side, the one with the Collagen Coral and the Escape Goat! Sherry, you go and take out the other two!¡¹


    I gave the girls my instructions as I launched two Fire Storms towards the monsters. Even if I wanted to fire more of them, this is as much as I can do, because the third Fire Storm would likely drop the Escape Goats HP to such a level that it would have started to run away, and that is not what I want at all. I want all four of the enemies to stay together, exactly like they are now, so that Sherry could get some practice with her Club swinging.


    Roxanne and Sherry engaged the monsters. Sherry swung her Club and hit the first Collagen Corral from the left, but when she wanted to continue the swinging motion so that the strike could be carried onto the second Collagen Corral, she was unable to do so, because the edge of her Club stopped soon after it came into contact with the second


    Collagen Corral¡¯s round body, and it used that chance to jump up to Sherry and ram itself into her.

 Volume 4 - CH 4.12

    ¡¸It looks like it is just how I was afraid it would be. I cannot swing the Club like I usually do.¡¹


    ¡¸Is it too difficult for you to do after all?¡¹


    In theory, Sherry said that it is possible to execute the swing of a hammer or a club in such a way that you could strike two monsters at once with one swing, but that was just that: a theory. The practice, however, was a whole other can of worms altogether. Just because she should be able to hit the two monsters with her Club because she has high enough STR to pull something like that off, it does not necessarily mean that she will be able to pull through with that. I think Sherry really should be able to do that, but she cannot focus her entire attention on the beginning of the swing alone.


    ¡¸In order to execute the technique properly I have to continue the swing past the first monster and onto the second one, but by doing so I am losing the momentum, which means that the swing¡¯s full power cannot reach tha second monster!¡¹


    Yes, that is exactly the problem here. Which is why she should take a different approach to it, mainly:


    ¡¸With the next strike, try to do the following thing: instead of putting all of your strength into hitting the first monster, try just to graze it with the tip of your club instead! A direct impact will do nothing but absorb all of the energy put into executing it, leaving you with no momentum to hit the second strike properly!¡¹


    I shouted to Sherry as I hurriedly used ¡¸Medical Treatment¡¹on her and then re-applied ¡¸Plating¡¹, after which I used the third Fire Storm, catching all four enemies with it once more, Escape Goat included. As expected, now that it has been hit with another shot of Fire Storm and its HP dropped below a certain level, it was preparing to make an escape. Normally it would have been a bad thing, because without firing another shot of magic right after the previous one there would be almost no chance for us to get it due to the sheer distance it could cover in a matter of seconds, but in the current circumstances, this might actually be a big chance for us.


    Since the group we are currently fighting is made out of four monsters, the Escape Goat does not have as much place to manuever. Roxanne and Sherry manipulated the positioning of the enemies in such a way that the three Collagen Corrals blocked one of its paths of Escape, and Roxanne was standing near the other, meaning that if it wanted to try that route, it would have to go through her first, and I know that now that she had it right where she wanted, there was no way she would allow it to slip past her.


    The goat tried to back up to the point where there were no monsters next to it and looked around, searching for other possible corridors where it could try to run. But it found no such thing. And even if it did, escaping through one of them would still take it some time, and time was the one thing that it needed, but did not have. Because Roxanne and Sherry are not the only people in here. I was here as well, and I was just about ready to fire another Fire Storm right at it.


    (Fire Storm!)


    This is going to be the fourth shot in total.


    Things are going quite well so far, but a part of me cannot stop thinking how different the flow of battle would be if the monster group we are fighting right now consisted not of three Collagen Corrals and one Escape Goat, but of four Escape Goats instead. If we had to deal with the four enemies that can run away after you whittle their HP down enough and they all started running at exactly the same time, then things would definitely get more than a little hectic. With our current line up being two members in the vanguard and one me in the rearguard, it is more than probable that at least one or two of the Escape Goats would be able to make a run for it, because I can only do so much with my magic that needs to be on cooldown for a couple of seconds between each shot, and Roxanne and Sherry would not be able to reach the enemies that would be placed too far away from them to prevent them from escaping in time. In fact, I think that the battle with four Escape Goats could have ended in such a way even if there were four of us, unless the three members of the vanguard were able to either kill all of them fast enough or move fast enough to intercept them and cut off their escape routes like Roxanne and Sherry did just now.


    Sherry shook the club again, attempting to hit the two monsters in front of her at once one more time. Even though she managed to hit the first Collagen Coral with a strike that was not as powerful as her previous one and the momentum did carry her towards hitting the second opponent, she ultimately missed the second Collagen Coral by only a few centimeters. That gap, however, along with the few seconds Sherry needed to recover herself from the strike and assume the battle stance again, was enough for that second Collagen Coral to attack her again.


    ¡¸Kuh. . . . . . . . . !¡¹


    Since it has come to this, then I had no choice but to step in and take care of both the Collagen Corals and the Escape Goat that began to make its escape by using the gap in our defenses that appeared when Sherry was knocked back by Collagen Coral¡¯s attack. I have no time to re-apply ¡¸Plating¡¹ and heal her wounds, because right now, the more important thing it to put a swift end to this battle, which should be brought by my fifth Fire Storm.


    (Fire Storm!)


    There, that should be enough to kill all of the monsters at once.


    Sparks fly in the air and erupt in a fiery explosion, causing all of the monsters present in battle to fall to the ground. I slaughtered all the monsters before Sherry was hit again by another one of Collagen Coral¡¯s attack.


    ¡¸Haaaaa. . . . . . . .  I have to say, only grazing the enemies with my strikes is way tougher than I thought it was going to be.¡¹


    ¡¸It certainly is, is it not? But if doing it in such a way seems to be impossible for you, then we can always try using a different method, or a different formation. So, what do you want to do, Sherry? I am going to leave that call up to you.¡¹


    I told her while I re-applied ¡¸Plating¡¹and  ¡¸Medical Treatment¡¹onto her now that the battle was finally over.


    ¡¸As tempting as that would be. . . . . I would like to continue trying the way we are now for a little bit more. I feel like I am beginning to be getting the hang of it, so I should be able to nail it after a few more battles.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. Is that okay with you as well, Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, it should be fine for us to continue like we were up until now, and I see no trouble with it.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay, so continuing the way we were going so far it is then.¡¹


    When I looked at Roxanne for confirmation, she nodded in agreement. Or maybe not in agreement. Since this is Roxanne we are talking about, she is basically going to accept every plan that I will come up with, regardless of what it is and how dangerous or reckless it might be, and is not going to question it in any way whatsoever. That is how much she trusts me in the Labyrinths. I could sing her praises for much longer, but then that would take us an entire day or even more to take care of it, so I will better stop before that happens.


    ¡¸By the way Roxanne, good job on blocking that Escape Goat¡¯s escape path. If not for your quick thinking and Sherry¡¯s immediate follow-up, it would have probably gotten away.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you. I am just glad that I was able to be of use to you, master. However, I would also like to point out that if it was not for your magic, the Escape Goat would have probably escaped, so this battle¡¯s success if your success as well.¡¹

 Volume 4 - CH 4.13

    Roxanne continued to shower me with some much-deserved praise, while Sherry stood a little bit more o the side where she continued to swing her Clun around while mumbling things like ¡¸Like this. . . . . .?¡¹¡¸Or this. . . . . ?¡¹¡¸Or maybe that. . . . . . . .?¡¹¡¸No, probably more like this. . . .. . ¡¹¡¸Or like that after all. . . . . . .¡¹to herself. When I glanced towards her, it definitely looked like she was practicing the correct way of swinging her Club around, which kind of made her look like a baseball player practicing his swings before a game. She looks like she is beginning to figure something out, so maybe we should allow her to practice in peace for a while longer without getting in her way?


    At first I though that her training method is a little unusual for that kind of weapon, but thinking about it now, if she wants to be hitting two opponents with one swing, then of course she would have to practice swinging the Club from side to side. But this really reminded me of what I used to be seeing on tv, where baseball players, batters, to be specific, practiced their movements by swinging their bats from left to right and then right to left many times over. Also, while watching over Sherry¡¯s practice, I noticed one particular thing about her, mainly. . . . . . . . . . . . .


    Is Sherry a left-handed batter? Huh? Was she always left-handed? Or is it simply that I have not paid enough attention to notice that particular detail about her? Because if she really is left-handed, then this changes everything about her self-imposed training regimen.


    ¡¸Uhm, Sherry? Sorry for noticing that just now, but if you are a left-handed batter, then should the placement of your hands on the Club¡¯s handle not be reversed?¡¹


    If she is a left-handed person, then her left hand should be the one on the top, instead of her right one in the way she is holding the Club now. That kind of grip, called a traditional grip, might work if all she would be swinging around was a sword, but clubs and other bat-like weapons are a little bit more specific if you want to utilize them effectively.


    ¡¸Left-handed batter? Reversed?¡¹


    And she looked at me with puzzlement in her eyes, probably thinking that here I was, spouting some ridiculous nonsense again.


    ¡¸With your current grip, the swing would be much smoother if you started it from the right and then moved to the left.¡¹


    While I was still back on earth practicing swordsmanship during my short kendo career, the instructor was always telling me that my right hand should be the one on top while I was gripping the sword in my hands, even though I myself am left-handed. I do not know why that was, and back then I did not need to understand, so I never really pursued that matter. In turn, in baseball it was the other way around: those whose domineering hand was the left one were always told that their left hands should be the ones they should be placing on top of the other one when gripping the baseball bat. Yeah, I do not understand why that is either.


    ¡¸. . . . . . . . . . Something like this then?¡¹


    Sherry asked, swinging the bat from right to the left.


    ¡¸Yeah, you got that right? And, what do you say? You can easily feel the difference, right?¡¹


    ¡¸. . . . . . . . . . . . .  Ah! It is true! It does feel easier to be swinging it that way!¡¹


    Sherry tried swinging the Club several more times while changing the grip on the handle. For a moment I also thought id maybe I should teach her about the one-legged form and the importance of the positioning of her feet and the right stance whenever she swings, but I ultimately decided against it, because that thing would be useful only in baseball, and not in martial arts where the gap between you and the opponent is often too big for it to be effective, and pendulum method is completely out of the question, because it would be too difficult for a novice to perform and teaching her that would simply take too much time.


    ¡¸But then, does that not mean that when Sherry is swinging her Club in such a way it would be easy for the opponent to tell from which direction the attack would be coming from based on the way she is holding the Clubs handle?¡¹


    ¡¸I do not think we have to worry about that considering the fact that most of the monsters are not intelligent enough to properly recognize Adventurer¡¯s attack patterns.¡¹


    I had such a conversation with Roxanne while watching Sherry improved training regimen. She is waving her Club from the right with her right hand up and then waving from the left with her left hand up.


    ¡¸I see. Sometimes it is harder to detect if you shake it the other way around, right?¡¹


    ¡¸Exactly. And if we ever happen to encounter human enemies or monsters that will be able to tell where are my attacks coming from, I can always try to mix it up in the middle of an attack in order to confuse them and throw them off balance.¡¹


    Yeah, just like Sherry says, that should be more than enough to do the trick. Besides, that would only be relevant only if we did happen upon monsters that would be intelligent enough to properly understand the difference between the attack coming at them from the different sides.


    ¡¸Also, while what Roxanne says is definitely a downside, I think that this downside can be more than made up for by the sheer amount of damage that she is going to be dishing out.¡¹


    In any case, what is truly important here is trying it first. Sherry states that now that I have shown her that different method of swinging she is definitely going to nail it, but I should not get too excited before I see it with my own eyes.


    The next group of monsters we happened across consisted of only three enemies so we dealt with them quickly with my magic and the girls¡¯ physical attacks and moved on forward, where we then encountered another group of four monsters consisting of four Collagen Corals. Great, no Escape Goats this time, which means that the battle is going to be that much easier on us. As the opening act, I used tow Fire Storms to weaken the monsters sufficiently, clearing the way for Sherry to have another try at hitting two of them at once.


    ¡¸I am going in, master!¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, go for it!¡¹


    Sherry psyched herself up and I encouraged her further while also launching a third Fire Storm at the enemies, just to be sure that their HP is going to be low enough for Sherry to actually defeat them. All that is left for her to now is to go wild without worrying about any of the four enemies making a run for it.


    Standing in front of the two monsters, Sherry assumed her stance and then swung her Club with enough force for the hit to still be a powerful one, but at the same time weak enough to only graze the first monster and allow the momentum to carry her strike onwards towards the second enemy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . and this time the strike did manage to connect!


    ¡¸. . . . . . . . ! ! ! ! ! ! !¡¹


    ¡¸Ohhh. . . . . . . . . ¡¹


    Now, while Sherry did say that since she is a Dwarf then her STR stat is quite high and that even among other dwarves she was considered to be a bit stronger than the rest of her peers, but here is a hot take after what I saw just now: I do not know if I should call that strike of hers just now overbearing or incredibly powerful. . . . . . . . . . . but Sherry¡¯s attack really did end sending those two Collagen Corals flying a fair distance away. So that is an attack that only Dwarves, who are inherently much stronger than the members of other races, can do, huh?

 Volume 4 - CH 4.14

    Something that only they are capable of doing, that cannot be replicated by the members of any other race. Could this be the reason why Dwarves primarily use hammers, clubs, mallets and other types of two-handed weaponry? I feel that now that I have witnessed her in action, I understand that a little bit better.


    Unfortunately, while that attack did ended up knocking the Collagen Corrals back, it failed to kill them, so I had to use another Fire Storm in order to keep damaging them, but I was not feeling bad about it, because Sherry managed to fulfill the goal that she set up for herself.


    ¡¸Did you see that, master?! I did it! Thank to what you have shown me, I was able to properly maintain the optimal strength of the first hit and carry it over all the way to the second one! I did it!¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, you did. Great job, Sherry.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you very much!¡¹


    ¡¸That was a magnificent strike, Sherry. I was amazed at how far you send these Collagen Corals flying.¡¹


    ¡¸To be honest, I was amazed by that as well. Thank you very much for your assistance and going along with my selfish wishes as well, Miss Roxanne.¡¹


    ¡¸Do not mention it.¡¹


    While Roxanne and I were complimenting Sherry, I used the fourth and then fifth Fire Storm to make the sure that all four of the Collagen Corals will fall down without fail. And after defeating the monsters, I had some thought occur to me while I was looking at how happy Sherry was about executing her move properly. Dwarves. . . . . . .  their great strength. . . . . . .  talent. . . .  . . . . . . . something that only they can do. . . . . . .  something that can only be done in Labyrinths. . .  . . . . . . . . hammers and two-handed weapons as their traditional weaponry . . . .  . . .


    Could it be? Is it possible that I might be onto something with this line of reasoning? In order to confirm my suspicions, I opened the Party Job Settings while my heart began to beat noticeably louder, and scrolled all the way to Sherry and the list of her available Jobs:


    Villager Lv.9, Explorer Lv.10, Herbalist Lv.1, Warrior Lv.1, Merchant Lv. 1, Shrine Maiden Lv.1, Swordsman Lv.1, Monk Lv.1, Farmer Lv.1, Master Smith Lv.1


    Finally, there it is! Sherry has obtained the Master Smith Job! She said that she was one of the strongest people in her entire village, so in terms of pure brute strength, she should definitely have more than enough of it to be ¡°talented¡± enough to explore the Labyrinths ( I also noticed that she unlocked the Farmer¡¯s Job, most likely due to her picking up herbs from the garden when she was preparing dinner yesterday), so the last thing that was needed for her to become a Master Smith and the thing that she was missing, the very last condition that she failed to fulfill for so long must have been this: to hit multiple targets with a single attack.


    . But now that she has successfully executed that attack after I gave her baseball-based pointers, she finally managed to get her hands on what she always wanted. And now that she has that Job unlocked, this means that she can become a Master Smith like she always wanted. And I cannot wait to see her reaction when she finds out about that. This is going to be such a huge step forward, both for her as a person, and for us as a Party. Now that Sherry has become a Master Smith, we are finally going to be able to fuse any Skill Crystals we find or buy together with our weapons and armor. But now that things are going so well, it almost makes me afraid that something bad is going to happen to us, so let us hope that this is just a ¡°what if¡± and nothing more.


    ¡¸All right girl. How about we call it a day when it comes to exploration and go back home?¡¹


    ¡¸Already? Is it not a little bit too early for that?¡¹


    ¡¸Well, it might be, but there are a few more errands that I want to do, like visiting the Merchants Guild.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood.¡¹


    To tell you the truth, these ¡°errands¡± that I wanted to do were little more than an excuse to stop exploring the Labyrinth earlier than usual today, because now that I feel so happy and uplifted for Sherry that she managed to obtain the Job she has always dreamed of, it would be exceptionally hard for me to do anything productive. That, and there is also a matter of my feeling that things were going a bit too smoothly for us lately. Or to put it in other words, the last few days felt as if we were under the influence of some super potent good luck magic, so it would be a huge waste to squander the effects of that magic simply because we do not know when to give up and call it a day. Now that we have achieved all of our (or mine) goals set up for today, leaving the Labyrinth and spending the rest of they day regenerating our strength seem like the most logical thing to do. Also, even though the three of us learned to cooperate each other better to the point where we should now be able to breeze through the monsters and Floor Bosses from the first seven floors of the Labyrinths, we must never forget that no matter how confident we might be feeling, we will never be truly safe as long as we continue to explore the Labyrinths halls. That lecherous Party that went to challenge Pan before was an all too good of an example of that. Their Party consisted of six people, the maximum allowed number of Party members and they all had weapons with ¡¸Chant Delay¡¹ imbued into them and they even managed to inflict so much damage onto the Floor Boss of the seventh floor that I was able to one-shot it with Durandal the first time we were fighting against it. . . . . . . . . . . . . .  and yet, they were the ones who ultimately wound up dead in that encounter, as it was evident by their equipment that was now placed safely in my Item Box. So if we do not want to end up exactly like them, then I say it would be best to quit for the time being while we are still ahead than to push our luck and end up getting ourselves into a real shit-show of a situation.


    ¡¸So, you really are going to go visit  the Merchant Guild, master?¡¹


    Sherry asked me. That is right, Sherry, it is my current objective, since it was you who told me that Skill Crystals and equipment that already comes with Skills embedded into it can be bought at an auction in the Merchant¡¯s Guilds. We have all of the weapons with ¡¸Chant Delay¡¹ left behind by that previous Party after all, and if we are not going to be using their weapons, then we might as well go and sell all of them for some nice money, and maybe buy some Skill Crystals while we are at it. That being said. . . .  . . . . . . . well, how should I put it. . . . . .


    Sherry has managed to finally become a Master Smith, but she has no way of knowing that just yet, which is why she behaves just like she normally does, not feeling the tension and the thrill at all. Well that was to be expected, since as a Party leader I am the only one who can check the Party Job Settings, but still. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . being the only person in my group who knows that we actually have a joyous cause for celebration is a kind of a bummer, I am not going to lie.


    ¡¸That is right. Have you ever been to an auction before, Sherry?¡¹


    ¡¸No, I have not been to one or used one personally just yet. I also heard that even though the auctions are opened to anyone from the general public to participate, the people often do so by hiring a broker or other kinds of middlemen to attend the auctions for them.¡¹


    ¡¸A middleman or a broker, huh? I wonder why is that? Well, I guess we shall find out once we get there ourselves.¡¹

 Volume 4 - CH 4.15

    Since that was it for today¡¯s exploration of the Labyrinths, the day was not even halfway through when we arrived back in the building of the Quratar Adventurer¡¯s Guild through the Warp portal. While we were there we asked for the directions that would point us to the exact location of the Quratar¡¯s branch of the Merchant¡¯s Guild, which, as it turned out, was located on the other side of the Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth and the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and the ward where our house was located. We are lucky that the center of Quratar is so big and houses pretty much all of the facilities necessary for proper adventuring and everything else related to it, because that way we have access to pretty much all that we need within just a short walk from the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.


    ¡¸So this is the place, huh?¡¹


    I remarked when we have arrived in front of the Merchant¡¯s Guild¡¯s building.


    ¡¸Yes, this is the headquaters of the Merchant¡¯s Guild¡¯s Quratar branch.¡¹


    Sherry confirmed that for me in a matter-of-factly fashion. I have to say, I expected the Merchant¡¯s Guild¡¯s building to be a big one and it certainly was, but in an altogether different sense than the one that belonged to Quratar¡¯s Explorer¡¯s Guild.


    ¡¸I is quite big. . . .  horizontally, I mean.¡¹


    ¡¸That is because building it in such a way was more efficient while keeping the place representative at the same time, as is expected of one of the two biggest guilds in Quratar.¡¹


    ¡¸Two biggest guilds?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes: the Explorer¡¯s Guild and the Merchant¡¯s Guild. While the Explorer¡¯s Guild can be said to be the source of Quratar¡¯s strength, the Merchant¡¯s Guild can definitely be called the source of Quratar¡¯s wealth.¡¹


    The source of Quratar¡¯s wealth, huh? Certainly, if the Merchant¡¯s Guild had enough money to own such an impressive building, then the amount of money they must have at their disposal has to be even more amazing.


    ¡¸Master, since you decide to go in there, then may I give you a word of advice?¡¹


    ¡¸Sure, go right ahead.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay then. Please, do be careful while doing business in that place. I heard that it is practically impossible to haggle or outwit the brokers and the middleman of the Guild because they are all cooperating with one another. One of the Dwarves I knew tried it and failed spectacularly, and after that he complained about it to pretty much everyone at every opportunity he could find.¡¹


    Something like that actually happened to one of Sherry¡¯s aquaintances? That is sad to hear, but that is just how it is while dealing with merchants and other people who know their way around working with money. They will always look for a chance at maximizing their own profits while cutting their potential losses as much as possible.


    ¡¸Really now, do you not just hate it when brokers try to take so much money out of you, even though we are the ones coming to their Guild with the intention of buying their items and selling them the ones that we possess? Because to me, it almost feels like a robbery or extortion in broad daylight!¡¹


    ¡¸There, there Sherry, there is no need to be getting all emotional about it here. . . . . . . ¡¹


    I told Sherry to keep her cool, but essentially I agree with what she said, for the reasons stated above, and from her words, it would seem that participating in an auction is not as simple as I thought it would be. In that regard, this world has much more in common with my old one than one might have expected. After all, earth has auction houses as well, and from the rumors that I heard about them, the competition for even the smallest or cheapest of the items they offer can be incredibly cutthroat, and in order to outwit and outmanuever all the people who might want to get their hands on the same item that you want, you need to not only have absurdly large amounts of money, but you also have to know how to play them in the right way. There is only one constant, unchangeable thing that you can be pretty sure of, regardless of the world that you live in: as long as money moves around, people are going to be moving along with it as well, and since broker is also a type of occupation, then there is nothing strange about them doing everything in their power to maximize their gains from every transaction, because every businessman in the world is going to care first and foremost about their own self-interests, everyone else¡¯s be damned. You have to be a special kind of shrewd to be a broker, but it is the kind of shrewd that I can most definitely respect, to a certain degree at least, or until they will try to use their cunning tricks and honeyed words on me.


    ¡¸All right, shall we get inside then?¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yes, let us do that.¡¹


    ¡¸Of course, master.¡¹


    When we entered the main building after our arrival, there were several men and women in the lobby. Now, is it just my imagination, or did they really started eyeing us all over as soon as they saw us? Even for someone like me, who got used to being looked down upon throughout my life, this feeling of being sized up and labeled based on my appearance alone was pretty unpleasant. When we stopped to have a proper look around, a man soon walked up to us.


    ¡¸Oho, now there is a face that I have never seen around here before. Is it your first time visiting Quratar¡¯s Merchant¡¯s Guild by any chance, sir?¡¹


    ¡¸It is, actually.¡¹


    I replied to his inquiry. Since this was really my first time here there is no point in lying, but nothing is stopping me from using ¡¸Identify¡¹on him at the same time. Let us see who this guy is and what are his Stats.


    ¡ºLaurel¡»


    Male, fourty seven years old


    Job: Sex Maniac Lv.35


    Equipment:


    Iron Sword of Landslide, Sacrificial Misanga


    Oh, would you look at that, a human who has Sex Maniac set as his main Job and is not even trying to hide it. I think this is actually the first time I saw someone like that. Now that I think about it, if this man is a one of the brokers working for the Merchant¡¯s Guild, then should he really have Sex Maniac as his main Job? What if somebody were to see it on his Intelligence Card and thought that this is awfully unprofessional of him? Then again, I guess there are not that many occasions when you have to present your Intelligence Cards to others in the first place, so he either found a way to hide it from others or he really just does not care about it at all. Anyway, if those information were all that I had to go by to make myself an opinion about this man, it would have to such that someone who has Sex Maniac set as his main Job does not fit to be an employee of the Merchant¡¯s Guild at all. But I cannot make hasty judgements just yet. First, let me wait and see what thus man actually has to say to me, because there is no way someone like him would just chat someone like me up without some kind of reason behind it.


    ¡¸My name is Laurel, and I work here as a broker. If it is all right with you, sir, then could I ask for a moment of your time so we could talk?¡¹


    ¡¸I am not going to have anything against it as long as it is just going to be talking.¡¹


    ¡¸Of course. I will not hold it against you if you decline anything that I might offer you, sir. Now, if it is not too much trouble, then I would like you to accompany me to the upper floor.¡¹


    The broker pointed to the stairs leading to the Guild¡¯s first floor and I started following after him, but then. . . . . . . . . . .


    ¡¸Wait a minute, please.¡¹


    I looked back at Roxanne and Sherry, who stayed behind on the ground floor without a single word of complain. As much as I do not like the idea of leaving them alone here, I think that taking them with me to the room where this Laurel guy is heading might be just as bad, because if he sees Roxanne¡¯s big boobs and Sherry¡¯s cute, small figure, then who knows what he might try to do to them.

 Volume 4 - CH 4.16

    So, in that case, the best possible option here would be. . . . . . . .  .


    ¡¸Roxanne, Sherry. I will take care of things here, so I want the two of you to go to the western clothing store we have been to earlier and do some shopping there, since it is about time for the three of us to get new sets of clothes.¡¹


    ¡¸Are you sure, master?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I do not mind. We have some money to spare, so we might as well spend them on clothes and some other daily necessities.¡¹


    ¡¸All right, as you wish.¡¹


    Yes, that is what I wish right now. We would have to buy more clothes sooner rather than later, so this is as good of a chance as any to do so while keeping the girls safe from all those prying eyes at the same time.


    After I saw the girls off with my eyes, I turned back and followed the Sex Maniac broker Laurel upstairs as he walked deeper and deeper into the Merchant¡¯s Guild building. As I was walking a step behind him at all times, I began to wonder if maybe I should have Durandal with me when I entered here. I know that the chances of me getting jumped in the middle of the Guild building, and in broad daylight at that are pretty unlikely, but you know what they say, right? Being too cautious of the danger that might be lurking behind every corner has never actually killed nobody.


    A short while later, we have arrived at a thoroughly bleak-looking room with only a table and chairs in it. What is this, some kind of medieval conference room?


    ¡¸I can see that you are wondering about this rooms scarce d¨¦cor, so allow me to explain. This room and all the other room here on the first floor are used as private spaces for the purpose of discussion and negotiation.¡¹


    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹


    The broker turned his back to me and walked to one of the chairs and sat on it.


    ¡¸Yes, very much so. Please, sir, go an and have a seat.¡¹


    Since I was invited to do so, I sat on a chair in front of Laurel, at the other side of the table. My current position s also good for one other reason: Laurel is sitting at the side of the table that is next to the windows -¨C which are all made out of glass by the way, which shows just how much money the Merchants Guild has -¨C while I am sitting in such a place that the entrance to the room is almost directly behind my back, so if he tries anything funny with me, I will be able to get out of the room and start running immediately, but that is all under the assumption that he wants to harm me in the first place. I am probably overthinking this way too much and he is just going to present me with some legitimate, honest business  offers, but as I said, I am not going to take any kind of unnecessary risks.


    ¡¸Now, before we start talking about anything related to your business here at the Merchant¡¯s Guild, would it be all right with you if we could talk about a few things unrelated to it?¡¹


    ¡¸I guess that depends on what kind of thing we would be talking about, but sure.¡¹


    ¡¸Then allow me to get straight to the point. Those two ladies that were with you. . . .  have you been their owner for long?¡¹


    ¡¸And what makes you think that I am their owner? They might simply be the members of my Party.¡¹


    ¡¸Let me put it this way: when you are in the broker¡¯s line of business as long as I am, you learn to recognize things like that after nothing more than just a glance at the customers who come here.¡¹


    If that is how he puts it, then I guess there is no use in trying to lie to him or convince him that he has judged me wrongly, because that would only serve to worsen my position in the business talks with him that are still ahead of us. So as much as I do not want to admit it like it is a no big deal, I have no choice but to be honest with him about it.


    ¡¸Sounds reasonable enough. To answer your question then: I am their master for some time now, but it has not been too long since they became mine.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. You look like a fine young man who is at the height of his life right now, so I would assume that you and your slaves have gotten to know each other. . . .  really close? There is no need to hide it; if I had a pair of female companions such as them I would have done so as well without a second thought. And that is why I would like to ask you. . . . . . . . . . .  would you like to join the Guild made specifically for the like-minded people like yourself?¡¹


    ¡¸Like-minded people. . . . . . .  like myself?¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, I am sorry, was that too cryptic of a wording that I chose? Very well then, allow me to rephrase that in a more direct way: would you like to join a Guild made only for Humans who appreciate the pleasures of the flesh and do not shy away from reveling in them at every opportunity they can find while using the Job obtained by indulging themselves in said pleasures in order to traverse the treacherous halls of the Labyrinths in a much smoother way than others?¡¹


    Is. . . . . . .  is this guy trying to recruit me to join the Sex Maniacs Guild? And more importantly, such a Guild legitimately exists here in this world?!


    To be honest, that proposition of his made me feel nervous and a little bit lost. Then in that again, I guess that if it is a common knowledge that Humans in this world have something like Sex Maniac as their race-specific Job, then it would be not that hard to guess that someone who has come to the Guild together with two exceptionally beautiful girls, then he must be someone who already managed to unlock that Job for themselves, so I guess that takes care of the question of how did he figured out that I might be a Sex Maniac as well. . . . . . .  . . . . . . but to invite me to join his Guild simply because of that? Something smells fishy here, and I have to get to know what and why.


    ¡¸Your Guild? You mean, like. . . . . . . .  Sex Maniacs Guild?¡¹


    Let me start with a simple, seemingly innocent question.


    ¡¸Oh, so you know the name of the Job already. Could it be that I am actually talking to a comrade with the same Job that I have?¡¹


    The broker leaned back against his chair and smiled with delight while gazing up to the heavens. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  which looked quite strange because here in this room, it made him look as if he was looking at the ceiling.


    This whole situation is strange as fuck, but it might also be a good opportunity. If I steer the conversation in the right direction, I might just be able to learn something new about the Sex Maniac Job and how its Skills work.


    ¡¸No. I am afraid that have not obtained that Job yet, but I did hear some stories about it that managed to pique my interest.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh? Stories, you say?  Like what, for example? Maybe I will be able to shed the light on some of the matters that you are interested in, so if you do have any questions, feel free to ask them, and I shall try to answer them to the best of my ability.¡¹


    So as long as I have questions about the Sex Maniac Job, he is willing to feed me the information himself? Not gonna lie, that is actually a pretty sweet deal.


    ¡¸Since you offered yourself, then I am graciously going to take you up on that offer. So I heard that Sex Maniac Job has a Skill called¡¸Abstinence Attack¡¹. Can you tell me something more about it? How exactly does it work and is it even a useful Skill?¡¹


    ¡¸You know that much already?¡¹

 Volume 4 - CH 4.17

    He asked me with a slight tinge od astonishment mixed into his voice just now. Could it be that I have stepped head-first into another slimy subject?


    ¡¸Is that something that I should not have known about?¡¹


    ¡¸Not exactly. It is just that the only people who know about that skill are the members of the Guild, so I was simply wondering how did you know about it since you said that you do not have the Sex Maniac Job yet and you do not belong to the Guild. Do you perhaps have an aqaintance who belongs to it and told you about it?¡¹


    ¡¸Well, you see, the thing is. . . . . . . . .. . ¡¹


    So the existence of that Skill seems to be a secret, huh? Well, I cannot say that I blame the members of this so-called Sex Maniacs Guild for being so secretive about it. After all, since Humans are universally regarded as a race that possesses immense, near-insatiable sexual desire, I guess that has to mean that our standing in the hierarchy of all the races of this world is not all that great, probably to the point where others might be trying to look down on us as little more than deviants who can think of nothing but sex all the time. On the flipside though, I think that this prejudice against Humans might be exactly the thing that increases the bonds of camaraderie and the feeling of solidarity and internal unity among the members of that Guild.


    ¡¸No, if you do not want to compromise the identity of the person who told you about it, that is perfectly fine. After all, there are people who have unlocked the Sex Maniac Job but did not join our Guild, and we respect their decision and choice to stay anonymous. Now, as for the ¡¸Abstinence Attack¡¹ Skill, allow me to share with you what I know and how I use it. As I already told you, Sex Maniac Skill is a Job that is to be used mainly in the bedroom due to the bonus to the vigor and sexual stamina it provides, but it can also be pretty useful while exploring the Labyrinths, and it is all thanks to ¡¸Abstinence Attack.¡¹. It is an Attack Skill that will enable you to deal serious amounts of damage even to the Floor Bosses, and I always end up using it a lot whenever I am going to the Labyrinths every ten days.¡¹


    ¡¸That seems like a pretty long time. Does it always have to be so long in order for it to be effective?¡¹


    ¡¸There is no specific time limit placed on that Skill, I was simply saying what turned out to be working the best for me after I ended up experimenting with various periods of sexual abstinence, but in the end, the major factor is always going to be how long you yourself are going to hold out, because every person has a different threshold of how long they can go on without sexual intercourse before they finally succumb to their urges. I said that in my case it is ten days, because even though I am married, my work as a broker and the trips to the Labyrinths tend to occupy most of my time and attention, so even though I would definitely like to do it with my wife more often, that is the compromise that I have reached with her in terms of connecting the satisfaction of our marital needs with my effectiveness in battle.¡¹


    The Sex Maniac broker explained to me.Assembling the pieces of the information he gave me, the following explanation can be put together: it would seem that ¡¸Abstinence Attack¡¹is an attack that enhances your physical strength through the act of sexual abstinence, hence the name of the Skill, and it looks like abstinence from having sex is strictly necessary so that the Skill could work properly, but I wonder if there are any loopholes that could be exploited with that condition, because let us face it: I might not be married to Roxanne and Sherry, but there is no way that I would be able to go on without having sex with them for more than two, maybe three days.


    .


    ¡¸Ten days of abstinence in order to get a power boost substantial enough to inflict majoe damage even against the Floor Bosses? I am not going to lie, that does sound incredibly useful, but I do not know if I would be able to hold out for that long.¡¹


    ¡¸Hahahahahahaha, seeing how attractive your female companions were, I cannot say that I would blame you for it, sir, and you should not feel bad about it. The best part about this Skill is that you can control how powerful its boost is going to be by increasing the number of days spent in sexual abstinence, but if you only want to refrain from having sex for two or three days, nothing is stopping you from doing so aside from the fact that the increase in strength of ¡¸Abstinence Attack¡¹ is not going to be as big as it would be after ten or more days of abstinence.¡¹


    Since I expressed my interest in the ¡¸Abstinence Attack¡¹ Skill, the broker was giving me quite a lot of additional information about it. A few days of abstinence from having sex in exchange for a decent boost to your power,and after ten days the accumulated amount of it would be enough to do a lot of damage even to the Floor Boss in the Labyrinth. In other words, ¡¸Abstinence Attack¡¹ is an attack whose power changes depending on the period of your sexual abstinence.


    The longer that abstinence is, the more attack power you are going to have, which would explain why ¡¸Abstinence Attack¡¹has been so weak when I was trying to use it during our previous trip to the Labyrinth: it was because I attempted to use it the day after I received the Sex Maniac Job by having a threesome with Roxanne and Sherry, of the period of my sexual abstinence lasted for about a few hours. . . . . . . . . actually, no, it would be more fitting to say that there was no period of abstinence in my case, and as a result, the attack made with ¡¸Abstinence Attack¡¹was weaker than the regular sword slash without any Skills.


    In other words, if I wanted to make an effective usage of ¡¸Abstinence Attack¡¹to fight regular monsters and floor bosses with it, I would not only have to refrain from having sex with Roxanne and Sherry, but I would also probably have to keep Sex Maniac as my main Job so that the effect of the accumulation of sexual energy that would later be turned into raw energy that would strengthen my attacks whenever that Skill would be involved could continue to be in effect, and that is a no-go for me, for obvious reasons. Even though the Enhanced Vigor Passive Skill is a nice thing to have for the purpose of boosting my stamina in the bedroom, that single effect alone is not worth locking myself from the ability to use the Item Box that Explorer gives me when it is set as my First Job.


    That being said, I wonder how exactly does the ¡¸Abstinence Attack¡¹work, exactly? Does it really accumulate the sexual energy stored throughout the periods of abstinence and then releases it all at once in a burst of strength, or is it something more along the lines of augumenting the senses of the user that have been dulled by abstinence to cause him to go on an adrenaline and primal instincts fueled rampage? Ohhh, I like the sound of that second possibility, but the first one, the one that I deemed to be the default one is not half-bad either. Initially I have dismissed that Skill as useless and guilty of wasting my precious Bonus Points, but now that someone took the time to actually explain to me what does it do and how does it work, I have to say that it sounds pretty awesome, as long as you manage to fulfill all of the conditions required for using it. Should that happen, you would have an amazing Skill at your disposal. An incredibly effective Skill. A Skill that might just end up saving you in a pinch if you used it during a difficult Floor Boss encounter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


    However. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 Volume 4 - CH 4.18

    ¡¸Sorry to disappoint you. . . . . . . . . . . .  but I really do not think I am going to be able to join your guild.¡¹


    The ability to use one Attack Skill in exchange for not laying a single finger on Roxanne and Sherry for as long as ten days in order for it to be effective? That is too steep of a price for me, and the one that I am simply not ready to pay just yet. Just like this guy had said, I am at the prime time of my youth, and I want to use it for all it is worth, and what is the point of being young and having your sexual vigor enhanced if you cannot use it whenever you want?! Yeah, exactly. And that is why it is impossible for me. That is what I have decided, and I will not be changing my mind at this moment.


    ¡¸It is exactly because I have such beautiful girls as my companions that I do not want to fail their expectations of me and continue to show them my affections whenever I can, which would be impossible if I decided to use both the Sex Maniac Job and the ¡¸Abstinence Attack¡¹. And besides, I think it is still a little bit too early for me to be making a decision about which Guild I would like to belong to. I am definitely going to give that matter some thought. . . . . . . .  but not right now, and most likely not in the near future. If this is supposed to be a decision that is going to be sticking with me for the rest of my life, then I want to make sure that I made the absolute best choice possible, and for that, I think I am going to need at least a few more years of gathering experiences.¡¹


    That, and there is also one particular matter that I was wondering about when it comes to ¡¸Abstinence Attack¡¹. If the power of that Skill increases the longer you are abstaining from engaging in sexual intercourse, then the immediate conjecture that you would have drawn is that it uses your stored up sexual energy to provide you with the boost to your attack whenever you use it, and if you have sex too often or you try to use that Skill the day after you just had sex, its power is going to be greatly diminished. . . . . . . . . . . . . .  but what if that is not all that there is to it? What if that Skill also has some hidden rules or factors, like. . .. . . . .  like also using your natural vitality, also known as your lifespan, as its fuel as well? I mean, just think about it. ¡¸Abstinence Attack¡¹ gets weaker when it does not have any energy coming from abstinence stored in it, and it gets stronger the longer your period of sexual abstinence is. If the only thing powering it up was the energy coming from your sexual desire, then the older guys, the ones who have naturally smaller libido than the young guys who are at the peak of their youth would not be able to use that Skill, and this Laurel guy did not mention anything like that, which has to mean that as long as you have Sex Maniac and ¡¸Abstinence Attack¡¹unlocked, you have to be able to use it even if you are about to transition from being a mature man into the realm of the elderly. And that can only mean that it also uses your life force to some degree. . . . . . . . . . . . .  or it can be the other way around, by which I mean that the older you get, the more convenient it gets to be using ¡¸Abstinence Attack¡¹because the elderly people naturally do not have a high libido, which makes it easier for them to continue living their lives in sexual abstinence because they no longer feel any attachment to anything sexual. Looking at the broker guy now, ¡¸Identify¡¹told me that he is fourty seven years old, which means that he is thirty years older than me, so I wonder what kind of difference there is between his libido and mine, but seeing how he said that he has no problems with having sex with his wife once every ten days and I would not be able to keep going without getting freaky with Roxanne and Sherry once every two or three days, then it has to be considerably smaller than mine youthful one. But then again, if Sex Maniac has the ¡¸Enhanced Vigor¡¹ Skill which allows you for a significantly better performance in the bedroom, then I wonder if that Skill also affects your overall libido, or dies it make it so that it decreases in smaller quantities over the years if you continue to have it as your First Job without ever changing it? Or is it that the Job¡¯s efficiency and the effectiveness of its Skills declines slowly the older the user gets? But whatever the case may be, this is not something that I have to worry myself with, because. . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


    ¡¸So. . . . . there you have it. I thank you for extending an invitation to join your Guild to me, but this is not a decision I will be able to make right now. Sorry.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, please, do not fret about it. As I said to you downstairs, I will not mind if you decline to buy anything I might be offering to sell you today, and the offer to join the Sex Maniacs Guild falls under those words as well. So, since you have come here, then I assume that it is to participate in the auction? If I may ask, is sir going to be buying, or is sir perhaps interested in selling?¡¹


    When I gently refused his offer the Sex Maniac broker became more withdrawn, or perhaps he switched gears into his more professional demeanor. It seems that the invitation to the Sex Maniacs Guild he was trying to extend to me was purely coincidental then, which is good, because that is one less thing for me to freak out about.


    ¡¸Since this is my first visit here, then let us say that I am interested in both of those things. But for the time being, I would like to first and foremost hear what you have to offer.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. If sir is interested in buying, then it would be better for you to do so while going through a broker like myself, since I can imagine that you are not the kind of person who has enough time to simply be sitting here in the Guild¡¯s building, waiting for the items you desire to be available for auction, correct?¡¹


    ¡¸That assessment of yours is correct, but as I said, today I have come here mainly to see how exactly do things work here, but eventually I would be interested in both buying and selling items, if at all possible of course.¡¹


    There does not seem to be a system that would tell you when things are going to exhibited and what kind of thing they are going to be, which seems like a major flaw to me. And since I have no way of knowing what will be available for auction and when, then I really cannot afford to be staying here in the Merchant¡¯s Guild all day in hopes of happening upon the right auction. But in that case, how to solve that particular problem? Do I just place an order through a middleman and leave everything up to him?


    ¡¸In that case, let me tell you how things work her in regards to selling items. The final bidding price can vary greatly depending on the exact time of the year, but you can always work together with one of the brokers to find the best time to sell your desired items.¡¹


    So what he is saying is that as long as I do not know what items are going to be auctioned and when, I also have no way of knowing what the best time for selling is going to be, and that means that it is going to be that much more likely that I am going to get beaten by other customers in an auction.But no matter the case, there is one thing that is always going to remain unchanged.

 Volume 4 - CH 4.19

    The thing that the brokers will always want in on the sale to make as much money out of it as possible.


    ¡¸I see.¡¹


    ¡¸If it is okay for me to ask, what would sir be interested in buying?¡¹


    ¡¸Kobold Skill Crystals, among other things, but as to what exactly, I guess it depends on what would actually be available and how much is it going to cost.¡¹


    ¡¸Kobold Skill Crystals, is it? Just give me a moment and I will check their current prices.¡¹


    Laurel the Sex Maniac broker took out what looked like a notepad from his pocket and started looking through its pages, which looked like they were made from a brownish, delicate material, which meant that they were most probably made out of papyrus instead of ordinary paper.


    For the next minute or so, the only sound that could be heard in the room was the sound of the broker flipping through the notebook¡¯s pages.


    ¡¸So? How is it?¡¹


    I asked while trying not to sound as impatient as I truly was. I mean seriously, how long does it take to check one simple thing written in a notebook?!


    ¡¸One Kobold Skill Crystal has been sold yesterday for five thousand two hundred Nars, and before that, the other has been sold for five thousand four hundred Nars. On the twenty eighth day of the spring, one was sold for five thousand two hundred Nars as well. . . . . . . . . and two days before that, there was also one that got sold for five thousand two hundred Nars.¡¹


    I have no way of knowing if this price, five thousand two hundred Nars, is a fair price for a single Skill Crystal, but if that is the established market price for them, then there is nothing I can do about it besides accepting it. Or rather, if his words and notes in that notebook of his are anything to go y, then it would seem that people have been buying Skill Crystals at that exact price for quite some time now, and it would actually make a lot od sense, since it is a common knowledge that the fusion of the Skill Crystals usually fails, and it had to be one of the factors in elevating the price of the successfully fused Skill Crystals.


    ¡¸Is that so? So that is how much they cost. . . . . . . . . . .¡¹


    ¡¸Now, if you were to request me as your personal broker, I would charge a fee of five hundred Nars. And although the usual custom is that broker ask for their payment to be made in advance, I would be okay with the payment being delayed, seeing as I am going into the Labyrinths myself.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. So that is how it is.¡¹


    Those who enter the Labyrinths are always at risk of  losing their lives, soIf the broker were to die while in the Labyrinth I would not be able to get my broker¡¯s fee back, so that is why he would be fine with me paying him later.


    ¡¸When placing an order, all of the bidders are requested to decide on a maximum bidding price in advance, and the end result is going to be revealed here in the Merchant¡¯s Guild at a later date. You should also know that since you would be competing with other bidders, not many items will be able to be sold for less then the specified price.¡¹


    Laurel the Sex Maniac finished his explanations with a slight smirk on his face. Sherry did warn me that the brokers are cooperating with one another before we entered the Guild building, but now that he has told me that to my face, I see how brilliantly simple of a system that actually is.


    What they do is basically something like that: they tell their buddies what the highest bid is going to be, and then they are going to compete with each other until that highest bid is reached. That knowledge can certainly be helpful when selling items through a broker, but on the other hand, if I decided to go through with the idea of selling items on my own, that would only be a chance for them to drive a harder bargain. And the best thing about it is that no one can really do anything to stop them from doing so, because it seems highly unlikely that the Merchant¡¯s Guild would be doing anything to cut these proceedings down when they are gaining so much money from it. Also, if all of the sellers are brokers working for the same Merchant¡¯s Guild, they can just split the profits from the sold items equally between all of them. But even if they do not do that, they are still going to be helping each other when the time for an auction comes, just as long as there is a promise of money to be made from the transactions planned during that auction. It also works the other way around. When the customer who is not a broker or a middleman is the one trying to sell their items, they are probably going to do everything in their power to drop the price of such items and then buy them at a price that is way below the maximum price set by the seller.


    I think that now I more or less understand how exactly does their system work. And I also realize that as long as that system is effective, beating the brokers at an auction is going to be practically impossible.


    ¡¸All right, I understand what you are saying, but it looks like now is a really bad time for it.¡¹


    ¡¸Then how about selling? What do you want to sell here today, sir?¡¹


    ¡¸Five Copper Swords of Obstruction that I obtained from the Labyrinth today.¡¹


    ¡¸Five? In that case I regret to inform you that this number is pretty unfortunate.¡¹


    The brokers face became a little distorted.What, what is wrong with the amount that I just specified? Some kinda bad number? Or is it perhaps that now is not a good time to be selling weapons in batches of five in general?


    ¡¸Unfortunate? In what sense is it unfortunate?¡¹


    ¡¸The Copper Swords of Obstruction are usually sold in sets of six almost exclusively to the Parties wanting to challenge the Floor Bosses on the lower floors of the Labyrinths, and when they are sold in such a way, they tend to be sold for a much higher price. I mean, I could buy them off sir¡¯s hands if you would really insist on it, but in the off chance that sir would be willing to postpone the selling of the swords until you could obtain a sixth one to complete the entire set, then I would have no qualms about paying the highest possible price for them.¡¹


    Then the broker made a face as if he was pondering something pretty intensely. Maybe he is performing various calculations in his head right now? And on a sidenote, I wonder if brokers and middleman of the Merchant¡¯s Guild have access to the¡¸Calculate¡¹Skill?


    ¡¸Is the set of full six of them really selling at a way higher price than for five or less of them? How big of a difference are we talking here, exactly?¡¹


    ¡¸The full set of Six Copper Swords of Obstruction usually goes for one hundred thousand Nars. As for the set of five, my guess it that they could probably be sold for about fifteen thousand Nars each, thirty thousand at best if the winning bid at the auction ends up being especially high. Also, if you decide to sell these five swords individually and not all at once, then the resulting price of each consecutive sword that you sell would very likely be lower than the last one¡¯s.¡¹


    ¡¸Is that so? So that is how it is, huh?¡¹


    If I remember correctly, the broker¡¯s share for winning at the auction is half the price, right? Even though I perfectly understand why does it have to be like that, it is still a pretty big amount. Damn, it is exactly like what Sherry said. That is too little chance for making a reasonable profit and too much formalities and trouble to be dealing with.


    ¡¸So, what would you like to do, sir? Are you going to hire me as your personal broker?¡¹


    Yeah, this guy is absolutely no good for me.


    ¡¸No, I do not think I am going to do that. Instead, I am going to look for another one first. Sorry for taking so much of your time.¡¹

 Volume 4 - CH 4.20

    I shook my head and stood up from the chair on the edge of which I was sitting. If I want to participate in the auctions, then getting myself acqainted with a broker is going to be a necessity, but if I have to pick someone in the ends, then I do not want it to be this guy right here. For a broker, he was too willing to show me all of the cards in his hand way too readily even though this was the first time we met each other. If I have to settle in for someone, then at the very least I would like it to be someone who is not going to share all of his deepest secrets with me five minutes after saying hello to me.


    Also, not that I think about it clearly, there is no way for this guy to have a ¡¸Calculate¡¹Skill, because that is something that only those with the Job of a Merchant possess, and it was not on the list of Sex Maniac¡¯s Skills when I unlocked it. So if possible, I would like to find myself a middleman who has a Merchant Job, but there is also a matter of the auctions themselves: whether or not my Thirty Percent Discount would work on the items bought at the auctions or not, because if it worked, then even if the max amount of Nars I could get for a single Two-Handed Copper Sword of Obstruction would be just fifteen thousand Nars per sword, then with the additional thirty percent I would still get a total of one hundred and seventeen thousand Nars total.


    ¡¸Of course, that is your right to do so, but will you be able to find another broker?¡¹


    ¡¸I do not know, but I am sure that I am eventually going to find another one for myself as long as I work hard enough for it.¡¹


    It might take me significantly more time than if I were to accept Laurel¡¯s offer right here and now, but if liking for a bit longer will be able to guarantee me that I am going to receive the best prices possible for my items and my broker will not be someone who runs his mouth all too happily at every possible occasion, that that is going to be well worth it.


    I left the Merchant¡¯s Guild and went to a nearby clothing store, where Roxanne and Sherry were waiting for me. When I walked through the store¡¯s door, I immediately noticed them as they were picking clothes and looking like they had a good time talking to one another. It was beautiful to see that they are such good friends.


    ¡¸Sorry it took so long. Did I keep you waiting?¡¹


    ¡¸No, not at all. Do not worry about that, master.¡¹


    (Ahh, of course. How could I ever forget?)


    Of course the two of them did not wait for long. After all, since Sherry went Shopping together with Roxanne, who has a penchant for looking at every item she wanted to buy until she examined it thoroughly, there was no way fo their shopping trip to end as quickly as I have hoped it would end. Even now it looked like they were still in the middle of choosing the clothes that they wanted to buy, so I could only sigh in such a way that they would not hear me. As much as I do not like it, I guess it is something that simply cannot be helped.


    ¡¸I see. That is good. Did you manage to find some decent clothes that you would want to buy?¡¹


    ¡¸We did, but we are having trouble deciding which ones to choose as the final ones. Master, between these clothes here, which do you think are better?¡¹


    Roxanne came to me with two pieces of clothing, one on each of her arms. So at the very least she managed to narrow down the possible choices to just two options? Wow, I see she is making actual progress! Okay, so let me see what we are working with here. . . . . . . . . . . . . .


    ¡¸. . . . . . . . . . . .  Hmm, both of these clothes look nice, but it is hard for me to make a definitive choice, since you would look beautiful no matter what you would be wearing, Roxanne.¡¹


    ¡¸Ah, thank you, master. In that case. . . . . . .  in that case I will chose something that is going to be pleasant for master to touch. Is. . . . . . .  is that all right with you?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, of course.¡¹


    Looks like I am going to have no choice but to stay with them until they will finish picking up the clothes again, but since it cannot be helped, all I can do is to put up with it again and hope that it will not take much longer.


    ¡¸How about you, Sherry? Have you finished choosing what you want to buy for yourself as well?¡¹


    ¡¸Ah, yes, I have already made my choice. Is. . . . is something like that going to be okay with master?¡¹


    ¡¸Let me see. . . . . . are you sure you this is what you want to go with? Because you could pick something a little more extravagant and I would have nothing against it, you know?¡¹


    I asked Sherry when she presented me with the clothes that she has chosen for herself. In the end, she chose something that looked similar to the clothes that se was wearing right now, probably because she wanted something she could feel the most comfortable in. When I touched the tunic she was holding myself, it was very smooth to the touch, and it reminded me of an extremely thin, tanned pelt. Not to mention that the size-wise it looked like something that might have been taken from a children¡¯s section, and looking around the shop to check on that specifically, I noticed that there was as much ¡°children¡¯s¡± clothing on the shelves as there was adult clothing, which makes me think that the existence of Dwarves in this world must have been a blessing for the children¡¯s clothing industry, because without it, the number of children¡¯s clothing for sale would have probably been significantly smaller in comparison to what I see here now.


    ¡¸Yes, I am absolutely certain that this is what I want to go with.¡¹


    ¡¸All right. If you are certain that this is what you want to go with, then that is what we are going to buy.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you. Well, the clothes that the slaves are wearing are also master¡¯s belongings, so your word is the final one in this matter. If you think that these clothes would suit me the best, than I am going to place my full trust in your judgement.¡¹


    Sherry muttered the last part of her sentence really quietly, so I could not clearly hear what she was saying, but. . . . . I mean of course I realize that the clothes that I am buying for them are technically my belongings as well because I am the one paying for them with my money. . . .  but what was that supposed to entail? That I could wear their clothes whenever a fancy would strike me and then would not be able to object? I waited for a moment to see if maybe Sherry was going to elaborate on that a bit more, but she did not say anything else, so I also decided not to pursue the subject any further.


    After buying the clothes and then the ingredients for dinner, the three of us went back home. Once the preparations were all complete, I made Sherry sit right in front of me across the table. I know that Roxanne might get angry about it, but right now it is a necessity, because there is something that I have to talk about with Sherry in regards to her finally becoming a Master Smith. Now that she has finally unlocked that Job, it means that she is going to have new Skills that we will have to try out and new responsibilities associated with them.


    ¡¸Is something wrong, master? Because you are staring at me quite intensely. . . . . ¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, well, it is nothing. Do not pay it any mind.¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yes, as you wish. . . . . . . .¡¹


    (. . . . . . . . .  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . . . . . . . )

 Volume 4 - CH 4.21

    It is great that Sherry can now be a Master Smith. . . .  but how am I going to explain that to her? Right now, that is my biggest point of concern. I have to inform her that she managed to obtain the Job that she was unable to get on her own before, but how can I do that if I did not even tell her or Roxanne that I have the ability to see all of the Jobs that they have unlocked and also have the ability to change their Jobs without them even realizing it? No, now is not the time for me to be worrying about such things. If I want to utilize Sherry¡¯s services as a Master Smith, I have no other choice but to inform her about it right now. Because if I do not do it right now, then when? If I keep dialing it back because of all of my worries, I will never inform her. I have to give it to her straight without trying to be deceitful or roundabout about it, because the last thing I want right now is for her to think that I was trying to deceive her.


    Steeling myself, I inhaled deeply and then exhaled, and declared after a brief pause while looking her straight in the eyes:


    ¡¸Sherry. Starting from today, you are a Master Smith.¡¹


    ¡¸. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Huh?¡¹


    When she heard those sudden words coming from me, Sherry literally froze in place with her mouth wide open.


    ¡¸It is understandable for you to be surprised, I get it. After all, you tried so hard to obtain that Job before, but no matter how hard you were trying, things were never going as you were expecting them to go, causing you to fail over and over again.¡¹


    ¡¸Ah. . . . . . . . ¡¹


    ¡¸Were you not the one who told me that you have already given up on trying to obtain the Master Smith Job? That you thought that you just could not become one, so you simply stopped trying? But now, you do not have to hold yourself back with those excuses anymore, right? You can finally be who you always wanted to be.¡¹


    ¡¸W-Well, I, uhh. . . . . . . . ¡¹


    Sherry was so confused by my words that she did not know how she should respond to me, and I cannot say that I blame her for it. After all, my words just now probably took her entire world and flipped it on its head in a single second.


    ¡¸Remember what I told you before: that you can definitely become a Master Smith if you try hard to achieve that dream of yours. And remember. Remember the passion and drive towards becoming the Master Smith that you felt in the past! Because those feelings of yours are still there, right? They did not disappear, right?!¡¹


    ¡¸T-That might be true. .  . . . . . .  but even so. . . . . ¡¹


    ¡¸I know it might be hard for you after all this time, but try a little bit harder. Just for a little more.¡¹


    Then, I opened my Item Box and took out a Copper Sword and a Skill Crystal out of it.


    ¡¸These are. . . . . . . . . ?¡¹


    ¡¸Like I said, Sherry. You are already a Master Smith, so do what a Master Smith does and fuse those two together for me.¡¹


    ¡¸B-But. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .¡¹


    I really wish there was another way of going about it here, but at present I have no choice but to be a bit forceful and capitalize on the momentum here to snap her out of her shock.


    ¡¸Do your best, do your best, do your best, do your very best, and if you do not succeed, then just keep doing your best some more until you finally succeed!¡¹


    ¡¸N-No. . . . . .  . . . . .¡¹


    ¡¸You can do it. It is just a matter of  your feelings.¡¹


    ¡¸But. . . . . . . . . . ¡¹


    ¡¸No butts. Everything is going to be all right. You are among the people who understand you, and will not ridicule or condemn you if you fail. Now come on, and let us do it.¡¹


    I feel like I did a sufficiently good job with cheering Sherry on, so even if she is still confused about the whole thing, then I should at least be able to convince her to do as I say right now.


    ¡¸Now come on and repeat after me: ¡¸Skill Crystal Fusion¡¹. Do not be shy and repeat after Michio: ¡¸Skill Crystal Fusion¡¹.¡¹


    I continuously repeated that sentence until she began repeating it after me, exactly like I told her to do.


    ¡¸¡¸Skill Crystal Fusion¡¹?¡¹


    Roxanne also tried repeating it after me, probably thinking that this was going to help. No, no, no, Roxanne my dear, even if you keep repeating it countless times, it will not do anything because you are neither a Dwarf nor a Master Smith. However, I do have to admit that her appearance when she was trying so hard and was tilting her head in puzzlement looked helluva lot cute.


    However, even though I thought that Roxanne will not be able to do anything to help here, then apparently I was mistaken, because it was not my forceful momentum that pushed her to try; when she saw Roxanne trying her best, Sherry became slightly more motivated to try saying the words I was trying to make her repeat as well


    ¡¸¡¸S-Skill Crystal Fusion¡¹.¡¹


    It was done with a quiet and fearful voice, but Sherry finally managed to mutter the Skill¡¯s name.


    And as soon as she finished saying it, her eyes became wide open with disbelief and surprise.


    Just now, I quickly opened the Party Job Settings menu and switched Sherry¡¯s Job to Master Smith Lv.1, so what was going to happen if she were to recite the Skill¡¯s name in such a state? If my assumption was correct, then a chant for the ¡¸Skill Crystal Fusion¡¹Skill should have revealed itself to her in her head, and apparently that is exactly what happened, because Sherry looked at her own hands, then at me, and then back at her hands like she was unable to comprehend what just happened now.


    ¡¸See? So how about getting a bit more fired up now?¡¹


    I clenched my fist and stroke a gutsy victory pose.


    ¡¸But why. . . . . . .   how? I do not understand. . . . ¡¹


    ¡¸I told you, right? That as long as you get serious and work towards it, then you will definitely be able to change. As long as you get serious, everything around you will be able to change. Now, fuse these two for me, please.¡¹


    I presented Sherry with a Copper Sword and Rabbit Skill Crystal once more. If would have probably been better to wait for a bit before making her attempt her very first fusion, but in this case, I feel like the better approach is to strike the iron while it is still hot.


    ¡¸Would. . . . . . . . . . . . would that really be okay?¡¹


    ¡¸As long as you are okay with it.¡¹


    This is one of the Copper Swords in my possession that has an empty Skill Slot. If my hypothesis about it is correct, then the fusion of this sword with the Rabbit Skill Crystal should be a one hundred percent success. And if it ends up failing anyway, it will only mean that my hypothesis was wrong, and Sherry will not be the one to blame for it. But there is one possibility that I did not prepare for, unfortunately: the possibility that when the fusion will fail, the weapon and the Skill Crystal will be gone, broken down into their base materials. I have prepared no countermeasure against that (not that I myself know of any) but there is no time to be thinking about it now. I have to believe in Sherry¡¯s success.


    ¡¸W-Well, before I do that, would it be okay for me to check the chant for the Skill first?¡¹


    As expected of a really smart person. Can she remain calm no matter what kind of situation she is being thrown into?


    ¡¸Sure, go right ahead.¡¹

 Volume 4 - CH 4.22

    ¡¸Yes! X X the God¡¯s will, born of the shadow of heaven and earth.¡¹


    Sherry slowly uttered the chant for the Skill.


    ¡¸Think you will be able to pull that off?.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, or at least I think so.¡¹


    ¡¸By the way, what was that word at the beginning? Because I could not hear it all that well.¡¹


    I asked to know what was the word that was not translated in my head.


    ¡¸Did I mess something up? I thought that I articulated the word ¡¸Celebrate¡¹pretty clearly.¡¹


    ¡¸¡¸Celebrate¡¹, huh?¡¹


    ¡¸Celebrate the God¡¯s will, born of the shadow of heaven and earth. Yes, that is it.¡¹


    Sherry confirmed the chant again.


    Now that she knows the right words to say, everything is going to be left in her hands. Whatever comes next, it is an unknown territory for me, so I will not be able to help her or give her instructions other from the ones that I have already given her.


    Gazing at me once more, Sherry seemed to have made her decision.


    Nodding silently, she held the Copper Sword and the Skill Crystal in her hands, Copper Sword in the right, and Rabbit Skill Crystal in the left. Next, she placed the hand with the Skill Crystal over the sword, and continued to hold it centimeters above it.


    ¡¸Celebrate the God¡¯s will, born of the shadow of heaven and earth. ¡¸Skill Crystal Fusion¡¹!¡¹


    Sherry chanted the¡¸Skill Crystal Fusion¡¹ chant for real this time . For a brief moment, her hand that held the Copper Sword shined with a bright, white light, and then it faded away. The thing that remained was a sword, so I looked at it and used ¡¸Identify¡¹on it.


    ¡ºTwo-handed Copper Sword of Obstruction¡»


    Two-handed Weapon


    Skill: ¡¸Chant Delay¡¹


    There it is. Two-handed Copper Sword of Obstruction with¡¸Chant Delay¡¹Skill. So the fusion process was a success!


    Instead of getting dismantled, the ordinary Copper Sword became Two-Handed Copper Sword of Obstruction, and ¡¸Chant Delay¡¹replaced the empty Skill Slot. In that case, I guess it means that the hypothesis that the fusion of the Skill Crystals with equipment is a surefire way to a guaranteed successful fusion is probably a correct one.


    ¡¸Well done, Sherry. I knew you could do it.¡¹


    Taking the finished product from her, I examined it in my hands. It looked exactly the same as the other Two-handed Copper Sword of Obstruction that we took from that Party that Pan slayed before us on the seventh floor of Vale¡¯s Labyrinth.


    ¡¸Have I. . . . . . . .  have I succeeded, master?¡¹


    ¡¸Oh yeah, you have succeeded, there is no doubt about it.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, you definitely did it, Sherry!¡¹


    Following after my example, Roxanne also congratulated Sherry.


    ¡¸¡¸Congratulations on your first successful fusion, Sherry.¡¹¡¹


    ¡¸. . . . . . . . . .  rry.¡¹


    However, there was something strange going on with Sherry, because she did not look happy at all. Instead, she was crying while lying down on the table.


    ¡¸W-What?¡¹


    ¡¸. . . . . . . . . sorry.¡¹


    ¡¸W-What¡¯s wrong, Sherry?!¡¹


    ¡¸I am sorry! I am sorry for succeeding! I am sorry for not giving up on becoming a Master Smith! I am sorry for being born such a failure!¡¹


    Instead of being happy, she just continued to apologize. And refused to look me or Roxanne in the eyes when we were trying to reach out to her.


    Ah. I see what is going on here.


    Is she also suffering from MP deficit? Because her behavior is very much the same as mine whenever I was running low on MP.


    When you run low on MP or ended up using it all completely, you enter a state where your head is filled with nothing more but negative thoughts. So apparently, even though she became a Master Smith capable of performing fusion, since that Job starts at Lv.1 it probably means that it does not have all that much MP, and because of that the MP cost of fusion ended up draining Sherry out of her MP completely.


    I handed the sword to Roxanne and moved to the other side of the table, and procured the MP Recovery Medicine from my Item Box. I ended up buying a few of those just in case, but I never would have thought that I would be forced to use it in such a way.


    ¡¸It is okay, Sherry. You are great. You are amazing. Now here, take this medicine, and you will feel better right away.¡¹


    ¡¸No, it is fine, there is no need to be using your precious items on someone like me, really, just leave me like I am now! I am sorry for being the cause of item wasting! I am sorry! I am so, so very sorry!¡¹


    Sherry shook her head while trying to convince me not to waste the MP Recovery Medicine on her. Is she in a state where her condition was so bad that she will not even accept medicine?! Good God, I hope she is not going to try to kill herself if this goes on, but in order to not find out about that, I have to make her take the medicine, even if I have to feed it to her by force!


    ¡¸Sherry, believe me! Your successful fusion was amazing! I would have never been able to do something amazing like that, not even in a million years!¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s not the case, because a living failure like myself could never be successful at anything!¡¹


    Was she now stuck in a mental loop where she literally perceives everything related to her in a negative light?


    ¡¸Uhm. . . . . . . . . Sherry, I also think that your successful fusion of the Skill Crystal and that sword was quite amazing.¡¹


    While having Roxanne act as a distraction, I poured the contents of the MP Recovery Medicine¡¯s bottle into my mouth.


    The condition that Sherry has causes an unbelievable amount of mental damage, so it should be dealt with as quickly as possible.


    I hold Sherry down and turn her towards me. Her small, pale reddish lips are so pretty.


    I stuck my mouth to hers and then pried it open with my tongue as I inserted it inside of her while her own tongue entwined around mine and clung onto me as if it was clinging for dear life.


    This is the first time where I have seen her being so passionate. Initially she was resisting for a bit, but gradually she loosened up and entrusted herself to me. I also moved my tongue and entwined it around hers and allowed them to dance around each other until she has sufficiently calmed down.


    After securing the safe passage, I poured the liquid medicine directly into Sherry¡¯s mouth.After that, I pulled out my tongue and held her lips sealed until I made sure that she swallowed it all. Only when I was sure that she did that did I decide let go of her.


    ¡¸Well, how about now? Feeling better?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, much better. Uhm, I . . . . . . .  I am sorry for how I acted just now.¡¹


    ¡¸You don¡¯t have to apologize. It is okay, really. Trust me, if there is anyone who knows what you just been through, it is definitely me.¡¹


    I placed my hand on her fluffy hair and stroked her head.


    Now that she managed to calm down, Sherry took a deep breath.


    ¡¸That reminds me. There was an old superstition about how those who have just became Master Smiths should not attempt to fuse items right from the get-go, because for most of them the weight of failure is so great that it pushes them into committing suicide.¡¹


    Should have told us about such a crucial detail earlier damn it! But now I know. That no matter if the fusion was a success or failure, the loss of MP might push the young Dwarves into committing suicide. So, if Sherry was all alone with no one to stop her, it would be more than likely that she would have died today.


    ¡¸For the time being I am just glad that we managed to calm you down without you hurting yourself, so do not worry about it for now.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, of course.¡¹


    Serry took a slow and deep breath to calm herself for good. What matters the most now is the fact that she knows that she became a Master Smith, or in other words, that she was just as talented as everyone else to do so.

 Volume 4 - CH 4.23

    ¡¸Uhm. . . . . . . . . . . .  So, master says that Sherry became a Master Smith?¡¹


    I thought that the ordeal was over, but then another bullet came flying straight towards me from an unexpected place. And the one who fired it was Roxanne.


    ¡¸Yeah, that is right.¡¹


    ¡¸But why. . . . . . ?¡¹


    I do know why. But I cannot tell you that just yet.


    ¡¸The method of how she did that is a secret, but as you could see for yourself she definitely is one now, there is no doubt about it.¡¹


    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, that is so.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. Well, since master is so amazing, then it must have something to do with that.¡¹


    Roxanne bowed down to me with respect. Ahh, Roxanne, always ready to believe whatever I tell her, no matter how big of a pile of bullshit it is going to be.


    ¡¸You as well, Sherry. Since you could do that now even though you could not earlier, then it must mean that you are even more amazing than you think!¡¹


    Maybe it was because she was still a bit overwhelmed, but Sherry did not pursue that matter herself all that much. Instead, she looked at me with rather glossy eyes.


    Did she just accepted me a little bit more? If so, then that would be great. After all, the journey of a thousand miles starts with but a single step, and doing all that is in my power to build up trust between me and my slaves is one of my responsibilities as a master.


    ¡¸When Sherry became a Master Smith, it felt as if my attack power went up.¡¹


    Suddenly, Roxanne said something strange.


    ¡¸Huh?¡¹


    ¡¸Because I became a Master Smith, I can now give the benefits to the other members. Of the Party that I belong to. Finally.¡¹


    I checked Roxanne¡¯s stats, and she was right. And the same was true for Sherry.


    ¡¸The Beast Warrior doe not increase the attack power of the entire Party, so if Sherry can do that, it just show how amazing Job Master Smith is.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay, but what that does even mean, exactly?¡¹


    I asked Sherry.


    ¡¸When the Master Smith is in the Party, the attack power of  the other Party members. This is a fact that has been known for a long time.¡¹


    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes.¡¹


    ¡¸Really?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes.¡¹


    When I checked with Roxanne, she nodded her head vigorously.


    ¡¸Did you not know that, master?¡¹


    And when I turned back around to face Sherry, I saw that she was looking at me with incredibly cold eyes that were saying¡¸I cannot even with this guy anymore¡¹.


    Sherry, please, stop looking at me with such eyes! Even though she was still respecting me, it felt as though I have lost quite a number of points with her for some reason. Or maybe this is just my imagination. . . . . . . . . . . . .  no, her gaze is still a cold one, even though I closed my eyes and opened them again, hoping that her facial expression was going to change to a warmer one.


    ¡¸So if a Master Smith is in the Party, he or she is going to grant the effect of increased strength to the entire Party?¡¹


    Did that Job really have such a Skill? Well, I never really checked what it was going and what Skills does it have, so now might actually be as good of a time to check that as any, so I opened the Party Job Settings, scrolled over to Sherry and inspected the effects of the Master Smith Job:


    ¡ºMaster Smith Lv.1¡»


    Effects: Increased STR (Medium), Increased STA (Small), Increased DEX (Small)


    Skills: Weapon Creation, Armor Creation, Skill Crystal Fusion, Item Box Operation


    The only effect that a Master Smith has is Increased STR (Medium). The higher your strength, the higher your attack power. In other words, increase in attack power may mean an increase in the STR Stat, but other than that, there was no mention of anything that would even remotely sound like a Party wide increase to STR.


    Now, let me compare that to Roxanne¡¯s Beast Warrior


    ¡ºBeast Warrior Lv.23¡»


    Effects: Increased AGI (Medium), Increased STA (Small), Increased DEX (Small)


    Skills: Beast Attack


    Beast Warrior has no effects or Skill that would increase the STR of the user whatsoever. But just to be on the safe side, let us confirm that with the actual owner of that Job.


    ¡¸Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes? What is it, master?¡¹


    I highly doubt it that Beast Warriors possess some kind of hidden Skills, but since I can never be too sure about that, it is always worth it to check out all of the possibilities before jumping to conclusions too soon.


    ¡¸Do correct me if I am wrong about that, but Beast Warriors do not have any Skills that increase their strength, right?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. As unfortunate as it is, we do not possess any such abilities.¡¹


    ¡¸But in exchange for that, you are supposedly able to move around the battlefield more swiftly, am I understanding it right?¡¹


    It should be like that, since Beast Warriors do not have any Skills that increase their STR, but they do have a one that increases their AGI by a medium amount.


    ¡¸I. . . . . . . .. . I am not sure if I follow, master. Could you say it in a clearer, more understandable manner?¡¹


    ¡¸What master probably wanted to say was that if there are Beast Warriors in the Party, then does that mean that all of the Party members will be able to move faster as well, but this is just a hypothesis and there is no reliable way of proving or disproving it.¡¹


    Sherry explained what I meant to Roxanne. Well, that was not exactly what I wanted to ask, but if such an explanation helps her understand it better, then I have no reasons to clear that up.


    ¡¸Oh, I see.¡¹


    ¡¸So Sherry, how exactly do you confirm that your strength has increased after obtaining the Master Smith Job?¡¹


    ¡¸The process itself is relatively simple, because all you need to do is to see how many Skills are you going to need in order to defeat certain monsters on certain floors of the Labyrinth.¡¹


    ¡¸I see, so that is how it is.¡¹


    So it would seem that even though this world is not all that technologically advanced, they still have something that can be called scientific verification, even if it is done for only a little bit, and as a result of it, the people of this world seem to be absolutely certain that having a Master Smith in your Party is going to increase the overall attack power of all the Party members.


    ¡¸Yes. That is the reliable method that the great scholars of old came up with, and the one that they have been using since ancient times.¡¹


    The great scholars of old, you say? I do not know who exactly these ¡°great scholars of old¡± guys were, but they sure seemed to be a bunch of pretty smart guys.


    ¡¸Are there any other Jobs that increase the strength of the entire Party besides Master Smith? Like. . .  . . . . let me see. . . . . . . like Swordsman, for example?¡¹


    ¡¸You understand well things well, master. It is said that Swordsman is one of the Jobs that increase the strength of the user and his Party as well.¡¹


    Yeah, that is because the effect of the Swordsman Job is Increased STR (Small). So technically, if you would have both a Master Smith and a Swordsman in your Party, that would mean that you would receive not one, but two increases to your STR, one medium and one small.


    In other words, the effects of some of the Jobs can also be given to all of the Party members, not just one, and they can stack multiplicatively with one another.


    I have confirmed that my magical attack power dropped when I removed the Hero Job from the list of my active Jobs, so there is no doubt that Jibs with similar effects are going to have a similar impact on me depending on whether I have them equipped or not.


    In addition to that, there are also Jobs that affect the whole Party, and those might be the ones that we should be focusing on obtaining.


    ¡¸Did you know that the Jobs could affect the Stats of the Party members, master? Where exactly did you learn about that, I wonder?¡¹


    Sherry, please stop looking at me with such cold eyes. What if they stay that way and you will be stuck with that condescending glare for the rest of your life?!

 Volume 4 - CH 5.01

    ¡ºSherry¡»


    ¡ºCurrent Character Levels & Equipment¡»:


    Jobs:


    Blacksmith Lv.3


    Equipment:


    Club


    Backpack


    Leather Helmet


    Leather Jacket


    Leather Gloves


    Leather Boots


    I do not believe that I have mentioned this before, but in the off chance that I did, allow me to reiterate: Sex Maniac is a truly terrifying Job.


    I have to admit that I might have vastly underestimated the power that ¡¸Enhanced Vigor¡¹ Skill is giving me, because whenever I have it equipped I feel like I could go for having my fun with Roxanne and Sherry in the bed practically every day, so the energizing effect of ¡¸Enhanced Vigor¡¹is really making me more energetic than I have ever been before. Not only that, but the more I use it, the stronger its effects seem to be getting. Back when I did not have the Sex Maniac Job unlocked, the maximum I could do was one round of sex with Roxanne after which both of us felt so spent that we did not really have the energy left for anything else than falling asleep in each other¡¯s arms, but now that I have Sex Maniac Job and ¡¸Enhanced Vigor¡¹Skill, it is not a problem for me to be going for two or three rounds without ever feeling tired or needing a prolonged period of time to ¡°reload¡± myself. Today was the first time ever when I noticed that I could go three times in a row, which got me so pumped that that last third time I made sure to down on the two of them especially hard, and now that it was all over, I kissed the exhausted Sherry and Roxanne, exactly in that order. Normally that would have made


    Roxanne sad since I ignored the order and went for a kiss with the second slave first instead of giving it to Roxanne, the self-proclaimed Number One Slave first, but today there were good reasons for her not being angry about it. For once, she was too tired to really notice and/or care about such detail, and secondly, because the kisses I was giving her when it was finally her turn were especially long, hot and passionate so that we could both taste each other for everything we were worth. It was only after I finished reveling in the taste of her sweet mouth that I was finally able to lay down on the bed to catch a breath myself. I laid on my back and wrapped my arms around Roxanne¡¯s warm body again, hugging her tightly. Ahhh, the feeling of Roxanne¡¯s warm and soft skin pressing against mine is the absolute best sensation that I can never get tired off no matter how many times I get to experience it.


    As I was breathing slowly and calming myself down after all of that strenuous physical activity I just went through, Sherry came back to the bed on trembling legs after changing into her nightgown. She talked to Roxanne in whispers for a bit and then came to lie down at my other side.


    ¡¸You were amazing as always, both of you. After something like that, there is no way that I am not going to have a good night¡¯s sleep.¡¹


    ¡¸I am glad to hear that. Knowing that master is going to have a good night¡¯s sleep thanks to us is the best news to fall asleep to., since it is going to be the same for me.¡¹


    I really hope that Roxanne truly meant what she said just now, and she was not simply trying to make me feel better.


    While I was still living on earth, I remember that I read in one magazine that when having sex with a woman, foreplay and afterplay are just as important as the main dish and only the one who has mastered the art of both of those things can ever hope to be able to properly please his woman toa degree that will guarantee that she will never want to leave you for other guys. That is why I am always placing such an emphasis on kissing in the morning and after sex before going to sleep as well as making sure that I hug Roxanne throughout the entire night until the moment when I will wake up the next morning. As long as I keep doing those things to Roxanne and Sherry, I hope they will stay by my side and allow me to continue doing even more pleasurable things to them.


    ¡¸Is that so? That is good to know. Also, congratulations on pulling through today with flying colors, Sherry. All of your hard work paid off magnificently today, but how are you feeling? I hope that you are not too exhausted after all that fighting in the Labyrinth?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, today was definitely a lot of hard work. . . . . . . . .  but to be honest, I do not really hate it.¡¹


    She does not really hate the hard work that she went through today, huh? Well, if that is what Sherry herself is saying, then I see no other problems with it. After all, not disliking something is basically the same as liking something, am I right? Yeah, it¡¯s equal to that. Most definitely equal, without a shadow of a doubt.


    ¡¸Is that so? Fufufu, that is definitely good to hear, Sherry.¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yes, that is right, Miss Roxanne. Now that I learned how to hit more than one opponent at a time properly, that ability is surely going to become very useful in our fights against the monsters of the Labyrinths together. A-Also, master really surprised me today. I. . . . . . I never would have expected that he is going to be able to do it that many times with both of us without resting even once.¡¹


    Due to Sherry¡¯s sudden compliment, I felt a little embarrassed, but also pleasantly satisfied. It is sooo good to hear that she is appreciating what I am doing to the two of them. It makes me want to try even harder than before in order to meet their expectations of me.


    ¡¸Oh, that is definitely right. I was not aware that master could be that amazing as well. But I am even more amazed by the fact that you finally managed to become the Master Smith like you always wanted, Sherry.¡¹


    ¡¸Took the words right out of my mouth. To be honest, I still cannot believe it as well.¡¹


    ¡¸Ehh. Really? Well, even though you might feel like that, it remains a fact that you were able to fuse that Rabbit Skill Crystal with that Copper sword, so that should be enough of a proof for you.¡¹


    ¡¸You are right, master. It is just that. . . . .  it still feels like a dream, to be honest, but I should not doubt myself like that.¡¹


    So she still cannot fully believe it, despite all of the evidence that she saw today? Well, I cannot say that I blame her, since she has spend the bigger part of her current life believing that she should just give up on becoming a Master Smith despite the small hope that she might be able to succeed hidden somewhere deep down in her heart.


    ¡¸And. . . . . . . .  and I know I should not worry about it too much if there is no good reason to, but I just cannot rid my mind of the thought that the Skill Crystal Fusion fails so often, and that this successful one might have been nothing but a fluke caused by beginners luck, and I cannot stop worrying about what is going to happen when the next fusion I perform, or the next one after that, or any other future fusions that I am going to attempt are going to end up in failure.¡¹


    ¡¸So it is still eating away at you so much?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, and I am ashamed for that, and I can only express my deepest apologies. But. . . it is just that I have heard so much horrible stories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ¡­ . . . ¡¹


    So Sherry is still lacking in the confidence department? I just hope that this lack of confidence of hers is not going to evolve to become a much bigger problem somewhere down the line.


    ¡¸I see. You do not have to speak about it if you do not want to, but do you know what exactly happens to Master Smiths who amass too many failures to their names?¡¹


    If I learn some more about the punishments that Master Smith Slaves are subjected to, then maybe I will be able to come up with countermeasures against them.

 Volume 4 - CH 5.02

    ¡¸I do not mind, master. If. . . . . .  if the Master Smiths who became slaves continue to fail their attempted fusions and waste the materials and equipment provided to them by their masters, they can be kicked out of the Party they belong to, face severe corporal punishment, or they can even be resold if the master thinks that their attempts at fusing items cost him too much of his money and resources. These punishments are not all of the ones that failed Master Smiths can be subjected to, but they are definitely the most popular ones.¡¹


    So they are even subjected to corporal punishment? Well, I cannot say that I am surprised, since that would be pretty fitting for the times and the overall setting of this world, but still. . . . . . . . . . . even if it would be fitting, I would never have resulted to using something as barbaric as that against Sherry.


    ¡¸It is all right, Sherry, you can rest assured that as your master, master will never do any of those awful things to you, even if one of your fusions would end up in a failure.¡¹


    ¡¸R-Really?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, really.¡¹


    ¡¸See, Sherry, this just goes to show how great of a person master really is.¡¹


    Who, me?


    ¡¸Y-Yes, that is definitely amazing off him. . . . if not a bit concerning as well. But that. . . that is something that I am most definitely thankful for.¡¹


    As I was lying on the bed without the slightest intention (or strength left) to move, Roxanne must have assumed that I have already fallen asleep, because she lifted her head from the pillow and talked with Sherry over my body. As for that bit about me being amazing because of my refusal to use corporal punishment, or any form of punishment for that matter, on Sherry if she ended up failing the fusion of equipment with Skill Crystals, I really do not think that this should be something that I should be praised for, since such a mindset is not anything all that peculiar, but rather commonplace for anyone born in the twenty first century. But if both Sherry and Roxanne say that such a mindset is something praiseworthy, then who am I to deny them their praises. Moreover, it was wonderful to see the two of them interact with each other in such a wholesome way. Normally they are spending the entire day with me around and since they are always focusing on fulfilling my orders before anything else, they do not really get all that many chances for them to be talking with each other without any reservations. I mean, today they had a nice chance to have a pretty long girl-on-girl talk while I was in the Merchant¡¯s Guild and they were sent to the clothing store to do some shopping, but I wonder if such an amount of interaction and conversation was nearly enough for them, since as far as I know, girls in their teenage years are all pretty chatty. That, and as far as I am concerned, it is always better to have nice, long chats and get along with one another rather than be leaving everything in the air without speaking your mind clearly, leaving the other party with no other option but to start assuming what were your motives and intentions behind every word or sentence you have spoken, and unlike men, women will never run out of topics to talk about because they will always have various stories and gossip to share among themselves.


    Since it would be pretty rude to intrude upon Sherry¡¯s and Roxanne¡¯s girl time with my male presence, I decided that now might be as good of a moment as any to drift off into sleep, since everything indicated that the girls would be talking for a good while longer.


    When I woke up in the morning, I was hugging onto Roxanne, exactly as I intended. I never talked about this before, but she makes for an excellent hugging pillow, not only because her boobs are so pillowy soft and elastic, just like the rest of her body, that your face might start sinking into them if you bury your head between them, but also because the hair growing on her back are extremely smooth and pleasant to the touch. Oh, and her hugs are so blissfully calming that I feel like I could stay the way that I currently am forever without moving an inch, and both my body and soul would have been completely fine with that. And the best thing about my current situation is that Roxanne¡¯s soft goodness was enveloping only one half of my body, because the other one has been occupied by Sherry. Her limbs are thinner than Roxanne¡¯s and she does not have hair on her back, but when it comes to the body heat then she can easily rival Roxanne hands down. However, one point of concern that I have in regards to her current position is how unnaturally bent her body looked, by which I mean that she looked as if someone took half of her body and twisted it, but since she did not look as if she was hurt or uncomfortable, then that probably means that she did not hurt any of her muscles, even if she ended up sleeping like that throughout the entire night.


    As I began moving around, Roxanne opened her eyes and lifted herself up in the sheets so that she could give me my desired good morning kiss after she checked up on me and noticed that I am no longer asleep. Even though it should still be pretty early outside and I Was sure that I was the one who has woken up first today, it looks like I was wrong, and Roxanne was the one who actually woken up first. I do not know how exactly is she doing that, but she seems to always wake up before me. Is it because of my order for her to always give me a good morning kiss? Because if so, then that is truly some serious dedication on her part. Or maybe she is simply someone was is very easy to wake up? Either way, I am pretty sure that it is one of the two.


    ¡¸Good morning, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Good morning, Roxanne¡¹


    We greeted each other after our night of a very pleasurable sleep, and then we kissed each other and I got to enjoy the softness of her lips and the rich elasticity of her chest at the same time once more. We tangled our tongues together and allowed them to dance in our mouths. Roxanne was moving her own in an especially aggressive manner today, so I had to put an effort to keep up with her right from the get-go while making absolutely sure that not even a single drop of her saliva is going to be wasted a and that I will experience everything her mouth and togue have to offer to their absolute fullest.


    ¡¸ . . . . . . . . . . .  . hnnnngh. . . . . good morning, master, Miss Roxanne.¡¹


    It would seem that Sherry has awakened from her sleep as well. Freeing myself from Roxanne¡¯s embrace for a bit, I made sure to hug her so that she would not feel left out of the fun. Now that she has barely woken up, her small and delicate figure were giving off a truly ephemeral impression. I had a feeling that id I tried to hug her even tighter than how I was already doing it then she would break in half like a dried-up branch of a tree, though of course I was sincerely hoping that no such thing would ever happen to her. Still, in her case, rather than acting as my hugging pillow, I would have very much like it if she could lie next to my side again, because if I could feel her warmth on my skin again, then there would be nothing else that I would need to be a truly happy man.


    Then, Sherry also gave me a good morning kiss, honoring the agreement that she was to be doing that to me just like Roxanne was doing. Her tongue awkwardly crawled into my mouth and needed a minute or two to properly get her going, but once that happened, then she was also seeking the pleasure of kissing in a more aggressive fashion than yesterday. Could this be the aftereffect of what I have done to her yesterday? Is she acting bolder than usual because of the mouth-to-mouth medicine I was forced to give her? Because if so, then I should have done that sooner.

 Volume 4 - CH 5.03

    As I continued to move it around in her mouth, she also continued to entwine it around my tongue. Even when I was repeatedly inserting and removing it from her mouth in order to maximize the pleasure that we both felt, she was eagerly welcoming me back every time without a single word of complaint, so I continued to move around in Sherry¡¯s mouth, squeezing it in every way possible.


    ¡¸Good morning, Sherry.¡¹


    After tasting Sherry¡¯s mouth to the fullest, I let go of her.


    When it comes to the plans for today, I think it is finally time for us to explore the eighth floors of the Labyrinths for real, starting with the Labyrinth of Quratar, so once we got out of the bed and finished getting dressed and preparing our equipment, we made our way to Quratar Labyrinth¡¯s seventh floor so that Sherry could practice fighting against that Floor Boss first.


    ¡¸The Floor Boss we are about to fight is called Slow Rabbit. You might think that since the regular monsters on this floor are slow Rabbits then this guy is going to be as easy to defeat as they were, but you would make a great mistake by thinking that. Rapid Rabbit is actually a really fast and, as a result of that, incredibly annoying Floor Boss to be dealing with. In fact, its speed is enough for it to avoid most of the magic attacks and Skill attacks, so you should not rely on those methods of attack to much, master. The battle with it is going to be a long and rather slow one, so be sure to prepare yourself for that, okay?¡¹


    Sherry gave us the information about Rapid Rabbit and how we should fight, which would be pretty useful. . . . . . . . . . .  if it was not for the fact that we have already fought against it a few times, so both Roxanne and I were well aware of how we should proceed with it. But as I already said, since this is the Floor Boss of the seventh floor and it is a little special, I thought that it might be a good idea to have Sherry experience the battle with it at least once. That is one thing. The other is that since I set her Job to be Master Smith Lv.1, it is going to be better to start from the seventh than to jump right into the eight floor right from the get-go.


    ¡¸Thank you for the information, Sherry. Now that you have shared it with us, we should be fine no matter what kind of dirty tricks this Rapid Rabbit tries to use against us.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, definitely. However, I think I am going to go with a spear for this battle, since the attacks with a Club might be too slow, and therefore easy for the Boss to avoid.¡¹


    Once we confirmed the plan for how we were going to proceed for now, we left the room we have Warped into and proceeded to go towards the Boss Room¡¯s waiting room. We looked inside to see if there was anyone there, but luckily there was no one inside. As expected since it was still so early. Honestly, it would have been way stranger if someone was already here this early in the morning.


    ¡¸Since there is nobody in the waiting room just yet, then let us hunt some more Slow Rabbits around here first.¡¹


    ¡¸How many Rabbit Furs are we aiming for?¡¹


    ¡¸Let us aim for. . . . .  about one hundred pieces or so. Once we obtain them, we are going to take them and sell them in the clothing store in the Imperial City.¡¹


    ¡¸Roger that, master! I promise to crush as many Slow Rabbits as possible!¡¹


    Roxanne answered while getting herself fired up. Now that it has been decided that we will hunt some Slow Rabbits, Sherry is definitely going to obtain a few levels for her Master Smith Job and it is going to be easy to watch over her so that she is not going to get hurt too much. It would be too much of a hassle to go back to the first floor and start over from there once more and going onto the eighth floor would be too scary, but the seventh floor, the one we have spent the most time on thus far, should be just right for the purposes of levelling up. Also, since Roxanne handed the white negligee over to Sherry, it would be good to go and have her buy herself another one so that she could have some variety to it, and while we are at it, we might as well get Sherry a second one as well, and collecting one hundred Rabbit Furs should be enough to cover the cost of such a purchase, and it is also going to be worth it to see Sherry¡¯s reaction when she sees the Imperial City for the first time.


    ¡¸Sherry, since you have just became a Master Smith, make sure not overdo it and take things easy for a bit, you hear me?¡¹


    ¡¸Okay, master. I will be sure to be careful.¡¹


    ¡¸I do not think that that Slow Rabbits here on the seventh floor are going to pose any kind of danger to you, but just to be on the safe side, be sure to tell me right away if you would like to make a stop an rest for a bit or go down to the lower floors if it proves too difficult for you after all.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you for your consideration, master, but I think that I am going to be okay here on this floor, just as long as I remain careful and cautious.¡¹


    If what Sherry told me yesterday when we were discussing Job¡¯s effects is real, then those effects should work for all of the Party members, and not just the person who owns the Job. Therefore her ¡¸Increase STR (Medium)¡¹and ¡¸Increase DEX (Small)¡¹should also work on Roxanne and myself, but that should also mean that the effects of my Hero Job, a moderate increase to all of the Stats: HP, MP, STR, STA, INT, SPI, DEX and AGI should also work on Roxanne and Sherry, making them that much stronger, or in Sherry¡¯s case, making her defense to be not as paper-thin as it would have been without them. However, since I could defeat a Slow Rabbit even when I only had Villager Lv.1 for a Job and only the Copper Sword for a weapon, then Sherry should be able to pull her own weight against them as well, even though the ones here on the seventh floor are Lv.7 and not Lv.1. With that pseudo-strategy meeting in the Floor Boss¡¯s waiting room over, we went back and hunted Slow Rabbits for a while with the intention of obtaining one hundred Rabbit Furs for ourselves. During that short time and across a span of just a few encounters, Sherry¡¯s level as a Master Smith got increased from Lv.1 to Lv.2, so it might be entirely possible for her to reach Master Smith Lv.2 during the morning hours of our exploration alone. Although I think that she was gaining levels somewhat slower in comparison to when she was still just a Villager, which is admittedly pretty strange since we do not go back to the first floor to slowly made our way up, instead choosing the option that should be giving her a pretty generous amount of EXP right from the start. Maybe this is one of the traits that is specific only to the race-specific Jobs, the trait that they take more time to gain EXP needed to Level Up than regular Jobs?


    Out of all the Jobs that I currently have available for myself, I noticed that the one that accumulated EXP at the slowest rate out of all of them was the Hero Job, most likely because that was the Job that is granting me the most beneficial effects, so if we assume that this is indeed the rule that applies to all of the Jobs, then it would stand to reason that a race-specific Job like Master Smith, which has the second highest number of effects that it grants to the user after the Hero¡¯s Job, would take longer to gain levels in comparison to the Jobs that only had one or two beneficial effects on them. Well, in that case, maybe expecting that Sherry would increase the level of her Master Smith Job to Lv.3 today would be asking a bit too much off her?


    ¡¸How are you holding up, Sherry? Think you can handle the attacks of the monsters here?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, master. I can deal with them without any problems.¡¹

 Volume 4 - CH 5.04

    ¡¸Compared to yesterday, are the battles today harder for you?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, they are definitely harder than the ones yesterday when I was an Explorer.¡¹


    Well, yeah, there is no reason for the battles today to be easier than the ones you were engaging in yesterday, because yesterday you were not Explorer Lv.10 as you think you were, but rather Villager Lv.3 who increased her level to Villager Lv.5.


    ¡¸Do you think you will be able to take on the Floor Boss like that?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I will do my best.¡¹


    As much as I want to say something along the lines of ¡¸That is the spirit, Sherry!¡¹ or ¡¸You are so brave, Sherry!¡¹but when faced with Rapid Rabbit, ¡¸the best¡¹ of a character who has their Job only on Lv.2 might not be good enough. Maybe this is too dangerous to allow Sherry to fight the Floor Boss of the seventh floor while being a Master Smith? Maybe I should switch her Job back to Explorer just for the course of the Boss battle? If this was a test or an exam, then I could have allowed Sherry to try tackling the challenge that was to come at us exactly as she was right now, but this is not a test, and what we are doing now is not a drill. This is the Labyrinth, the real deal. If she goes to challenge the Rapid Rabbit unprepared or too weak to pull her own weight, then the only thing that is going to await her is going to be certain death. Especially since Rapid Rabbit is deceptively fast, and that speed of his makes it possible for him to attack its targets numerous times in a row without them being able to react to its assault fast enough.


    ¡¸Okay then, here is how we are going to proceed: we will go challenge the Floor Boss now, but just to be on the safe side I am going to set Sherry¡¯s Job back to Explorer Lv.10 so as to eliminate the risk of you fighting under too big of a handicap, all right?¡¹


    ¡¸Turn my Job back to Explorer? You can do something like that, master?!¡¹


    ¡¸Of course.¡¹


    I opened the Party Job Settings, scrolled down to the list of Sherry¡¯s Jobs and switched Master Smith Lv.2 for Explorer Lv.10. Up until now I have kept her Job as a Villager so that she would not gain too much EXP as an Explorer, because judging by the amount of battles we went through and the EXP we obtained, she would have definitely achieved Lv.11 or Lv.12 as an Explorer, and until I was not sure what the conditions for obtaining Master Smith Job were such a development was something that I absolutely could not allow to happen. But now that Sherry got access to Master Smith, that is a concern that I no longer have to worry about. Another issue I had to take into account was her being aware of how much levels as an Explorer he had, which she could have checked by looking at the size of her own Item Box. If at any point in time she caught wind of the fact that she was unable to operate her own Item Box despite being believing that she has been an Explorer all this time, I would have to deal with a whole lot of complicated explanations and a possible loss of trust in my as her master and the leader of our Party, but since I do not have to worry about her getting too many levels in Explorer¡¯s Job anymore, I guess it means that I can allow her to level it up normally as she would any other Job now.


    After coming back to the waiting room in front of the Boss Room, I switched my weapon from Wand to Durandal and walked right into the Boss Room after Roxanne and Sherry finished their own preparations as well.


    As soon as we walked through the door, Rapid Rabbit showed itself after emerging from the gathered clouds of green smoke that filled the room. I have no idea how Sherry is going to react to it, but since Roxanne and I have fought against this guy before, we know that as long as you keep up with its speed and not let it go on the offensive, then the victory is going to be easily achievable, and in my case, the key to breezing through this encounter is the Skill of my Hero¡¯s Job, ¡¸Overwhelming¡¹. Sherry was saying that we should not rely on magic and Skills too much to defeat this guy, but at the current moment I have no other, reliable way of defeating this guy. Well, maybe it could be done if I tried using nothing but AoE magic against it so that it would have nowhere left to run even with its supreme movement speed, but since I have not tried that method before I do not know if it is going to be successful or not.


    Either way, now that the battle has begun, Rapid Rabbit started by darting towards Sherry at top speed, and in response, she simply picked up her spear and waited until it came closer to her. . .. . . . .  . and the she thrusted the blade of the spear forward in an attempt to pierce it through, but the Rapid Rabbit dodged her attack by jumping to the side at the last possible second. When Sherry tried making a thrust towards it for the second time it dodged it again by bouncing diagonally once, and after it finished evading Sherry¡¯s spear it turned around and charged towards her again, taking advantage of her stumbling forward after the thrusting attack she just made. I knew it. Since this battle is a big difficulty spike in comparison to the ordinary Slow Rabbits of this floor, replacing her Master Smith Lv.2 with Explorer Lv.10 was the correct thing to do after all.


    When the red monster noticed that its attempts at attacking Sherry did not result in her immediate death, it decided to change its strategy, and instead of targeting Sherry, it went towards me this time, so I made sure to greet it with a barrage of slashes with ¡¸Overwhelming¡¹, which ended up blowing it away, but not killing it with a single blow as I had hope. Looks like I will still need to grow a stronger in order to defeat this guy with just one strike. I just hope that it will not take too much time, or that the enemies we will be fighting in the future will not so tanky that even my Durandal will not be able to swiftly deal with all of them.


    The next time the Rapid Rabbit closed in on us to attack, it chose Roxanne as its primary target, but as usual, she was able to avoid all of its attempts at biting into her throat by swiftly dodging out of the harm¡¯s way. For me, it was amazing how she was able to pull something like that off and be faster than Rapid Rabbit with just her own agility alone, while I needed Slow the Rapid Rabbit with ¡¸Overwhelming¡¹ if I even wanted to think about dodging its attacks.


    Roxanne blocked another of its attempts at attacking her with her shield, and then slashed it with her Scimitar, sending it flying backwards just like I did before, and Sherry was right there to follow that attack up with a thrust of her spear, causing the rabbit to fly even farther back diagonally before it could even touch the ground.


    ¡¸I did it!¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, you sure did, Sherry. That was amazing!¡¹


    ¡¸I was not sure if that attack was going to pay off, but now that it did I am really glad that I decided to try it out.¡¹


    Certainly, no matter how powerful you might be, under normal circumstances no one is going to be able to change the direction they are heading towards after being sent flying, so Sherry¡¯s decision to attack the Rapid Rabbit while it was still in the air was a pretty smart one. If we keep attacking it while it is in the air where it is at its most vulnerable, we should be able to take it down effortlessly. That is the strength of the attacks made with the long weapon like the spear, and combined with Sherry¡¯s quick thinking it is going to bring our Party the victory.


    When it finally recovered from the shock of being sent flying, the Rapid Rabbit started running again, coming towards me once more. Oh yeah, that is right, come at me, monster. And once you do. . . . .

 Volume 4 - CH 5.05

    ¡¸CHEST. . . . . . . . . .! ! ! ! !¡¹


    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  I am going to slam my Durandal right into you when you try jumping at me again. The Rapid Rabbit got sent flying backwards, but this time it did not get up. Instead, it remained on the ground, where it disappeared in a puff of green smoke. If two of my attacks while using ¡¸Overwhelming¡¹ were enough to bring it down, then maybe all I need to be able to defeat it with just one ¡¸Overwhelming¡¹-infused attacks just a few more levels for my Jobs so that my STR stat would increase even further? I just hope that the day when I will be able to do that will come sooner rather than later. In my case, it would not hurt me to become even stronger than I already am as fast as possible.


    ¡¸Master, if I may ask. . . . . . . . that thing that you shouted before dealing the decisive blow to the Rapid Rabbit. . . . . . .  this ¡¸CHEST. . . . . . . .! ! ! ! !¡¹. . . .  was that the name of a Skill that you possess? Because I do not remember ever hearing about such a Skill.¡¹


    Sherry asked me that questing while she went to the place where the Rapid Rabbit fell, picked up the Rabbit Meat that it left behind and brought it back to me.


    ¡¸Oh, that? No, no,no, it was nothing like that. It was simply something that I have screamed during the heat of the moment to psych myself up. It is not the name of a Skill.¡¹


    ¡¸But. . . . . .  but it must have been a Skill, because after you shouted it you moved so fast that I was unable to follow your movements with my eyes!¡¹


    ¡¸It is a Skill called¡¸Overwhelming¡¹. Have you ever heard of it?¡¹


    ¡¸Hmm. . . . .  no, I cannot say that I do. But it just goes to show that you truly have amazing Skills at your disposal, master.¡¹


    Now it felt like Sherry has given me an honest compliment that came straight from her soul. My time as her master might have been short thus far, but I can say one thing with absolute confidence: I have never been happier than I am right now, and seeing Sherry looking at me with such genuine respect instead of those ice-cold intellectual eyes of hers is bringing me an unspeakable amount of pleasure, and it is a feeling that is probably not going to be beaten by anything else in the world.


    Oh boy, this is bad. I think I might actually get addicted to it if I see any more of it!


    ¡¸This is not something that I would like to share with other people, so please, whatever you do, make sure you keep that information confidential, okay?¡¹


    I am saying that practically every time when I reveal some of my secrets to the girls, so I am sure that they are used to it by now and that they would not go around talking about those things with anyone else even if I did not tell them to do so. However, there is one thing that got me incredibly curious: Sherry said that she knew about the Hero Job and she also knew various legends about this country¡¯s first Emperor, who was the only known individual to wield the Hero¡¯s Job. But if she knew about all of those things, then why did she say that she did not know what kind of Skill ¡¸Overwhelming¡¹is? Could it be that it is something that the first Emperor was not using? Or maybe that Skill is something that he did not even know he had because he never had to use its incantation? Because it would not be all that strange if he had a weapon or a piece of equipment that granted him ¡¸Chant Omission¡¹.


    ¡¸Of course, master. And while we are at it, I have to say that Miss Roxanne, who was able to sent the rapid Rabbit flying without using any Skills to do so, was even more amazing!¡¹


    Sherry¡¯s respectful eyes turned towards Roxanne while she showered her in praises as well. Is it just me, or is she respecting her more than me for being able to go toe to toe against Rapid Rabbit without any tricks or gimmicks? Well, since I really cannot do anything without my OP weapon and Skills, then this should not be surprising that Sherry would be more captivated by someone who could move like a dodging demigod with just her physical abilities alone. Yeah, it cannot be helped, and I am not salty about it at all, not in the slightest.


    I want her to look up to me more!


    After defeating the Floor Boss of the seventh floor we could finally proceed to the eighth floor of the Labyrinth of Quratar and begin its exploration in earnest.


    ¡¸Sherry, do you know what monsters are inhabiting the eighth floor here?¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm. . . . . I do not know. And to be honest, I do not even know where we are right now.¡¹


    ¡¸What do you mean you do not know where we are? We are obviously still in the Labyrinth of Quratar.¡¹


    ¡¸Ahhh, so this is still the Labyrinth of Quratar?¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, that is what I have said just now.¡¹


    Did Sherry though we have suddenly changed places or what?


    ¡¸I see. I thought that we might have been someplace else, in a place that has a similar floor and monster layout as the Labyrinth in Quratar, but it is good to know that we are still in Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth.¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, that is for certain, but why would you even think that we are actually someplace else?¡¹


    ¡¸Because we never paid even a single entrance fee at the Quratar Labyrinth¡¯s entrance. Oh, could it be because of master¡¯s Space-Time Magic? Because that would have been a nice explanation for why we did not have to pay even a single coin for entering the Labyrinth here despite being here a few times already.¡¹


    Sherry mumbled that to herself. Well, certainly. There is a rule that states that you have to pay a certain amount of Nars every time you want to enter the Labyrinth of Quratar, but we did not need to pay any money for entering at all, and it is all because of my Warp and the ability to teleport ourselves straight inside of the Labyrinth proper that it gives us. But it was precisely because of that why Sherry thought that we were no longer in Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth, but in some different place altogether. If she noticed that  by herself without me or Roxanne dropping her any hints, then that has to mean that she really is a genious.


    ¡¸Do you think that it is bad that we are not paying for entering the Labyrinth like the rest of the people who are using it?¡¹


    ¡¸No, I do not think like that at all. The only time when we would be legally obliged to pay the entrance fee to the Labyrinth of Quratar is when we would be walking into it through its main gate, but there are no rule that state that we have to pay for being allowed to explore the Labyrinth once already inside of it. As long as we are not using the main entrance to come here, not paying the money for it is the smart thing to do. Or at least that is how I see it.¡¹


    So Sherry does not have any objections against us not paying the money for entering the Labyrinth here in Quratar, and moreover, she seems to be encouraging us to keep doing so just as long as we would not need to be entering through its main gate. Good, this is very good indeed.


    ¡¸As expected of master. You are always so forward-thinking.¡¹


    Roxanne also praises me for my ingenuity, but to tell you the truth, I only thought about using Warp to get inside of the Labyrinth without paying because she was the one who initially suggested it.


    ¡¸So, now that we have that out of the way, what can you tell us about the monsters here on the eighth floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth, Sherry?¡¹


    ¡¸Ah, yes, of course. If I remember correctly, then the monsters in here should mainly be Needlewoods.¡¹

 Volume 4 - CH 5.06

    ¡¸Ah, yes, of course. The monsters native to the eight floor here are Needlewoods, so we should have no problems in dealing with them since we have already fought them in the Vale Labyrinth. As for their special characteristics, they can occasionally use Water Magic, and are extremely resistant to it as a result, so nom matter what you do, make sure that you are not using water magic against them, master.¡¹


    Sherry gave me some more information about the Needlewoods. Do not use Water Magic because they are highly resistant to it, huh? Dully noted. That being said. . . . . . . . . . .


    ¡¸Needlewoods can use magic as well? I have never seen any of them using it, not even once.¡¹


    ¡¸It is because the Labyrinth of Vale is a low-level one. As a general rule of thumb, only monsters with mid to high levels are capable of using magic, while the low-leveled ones cannot do it. It is also unlikely for the monsters that have Lv.1 or Lv.2  to be using it, since they are supposed to be the ones on which most of the beginning Adventurers and Explorers tend accumulate battle experience.¡¹


    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. As I said, monsters basically tend to be using magic and Skills mostly when they begin appearing in the upper floors of the Labyrinths, but when it comes to Needlewoods specifically, they are widely know to be a type of monster that is not that smart, using simple physical attacks as their primary method of attack, but since we are on the eighth floor, then I think there is a chance that we are going to occasionally see some of them casting magic, so make sure to be on the lookout for the signs of them preparing to cast it, okay?¡¹


    Yeah, since this is the eighth floor in the Labyrinth of Quratar, then it should be obvious that the Needlewoods in here are going to be different from the Needlewoods I have encountered on the first floor of Vale¡¯s Labyrinth. The ones over there were all Lv.1 and they were really using only physical attacks like tackling and smacking their branches around, but the ones here in Quratar are going to be Lv.8. Sherry said that the higher the floor, the more Skills and magic monsters are going to be using. I just hope that neither I nor Roxanne or Sherry are ever going to find ourselves at the receiving end of their magic and Skills. Well, as long as we kill all of them fast enough, there should be nothing for us to worry about.


    ¡¸All right. Thank you for another bit of useful information, Sherry.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Please, do continue to support us with the precious information now, and in the future as well. In the meantime. . . . . . . .  Roxanne, as usual, please guide us to a place where there are going to be as few of the enemies as possible.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood, master. It shall be done as you wish.¡¹


    Since there is a possibility that the enemies here are going to be using magic, then should I switch back to Durandal so that I could prevent them from using it? Then again, right now I do not know how often they are going to be using it and how powerful is it going to be, so maybe now that we begin the exploration of the eight floor it would be better to wait for a few encounters and then decide based on the outcome of these battles? Yeah, that sounds like a reasonable thing to do. As for Sherry, I think I am going to leave her at Explorer Lv.10, because with Master Smith Lv.2 there is too big of a possibility that she might end up getting herself one-shotted is some of the enemies turn up to be using AoE magic attacks.


    We then proceeded to hunt monsters on the eight floor, but, much to my relief, so far none of the Lv.8 Needlewoods we have encountered have used magic. The only one who sometimes had to resort to it was I, and only when the situation was absolutely calling for it.


    After a while when Sherry¡¯s Explorer Job has reached Lv.11, I decided that this might be a good moment to switch it back to Master Smith. I had a feeling that if I allowed her to keep fighting as an Explorer she should have eventually reached Lv.12, but I decided against allowing her to do that, because raising your level with one Job too much is not good, because it can be quite troublesome if you get too caught up in it and neglect increasing the levels of your other Jobs.


    The first time ever where I saw a Needlewood use magic was when we have encountered our very first group of enemies that consisted of nothing but Needlewoods Lv.8. It happened right after I hit them up with the Fire Storm and was waiting for it to go off cooldown. Three of the four Needlewoods came up to the front while the last one of them went to the back, hiding behind the living wall that the others have made for it. Initially I thought that they have chosen such a formation because since they were plant-based monsters that attacked mainly with their branches in wide swings, a group of four simply did not have enough space for all of them to be performing their attacks effectively because the Labyrinth¡¯s corridors were simply too small, but my gut feeling was telling me that something was about to go down and that we should prepare ourselves for it.


    ¡¸Roxanne, take care of the two of them, and Sherry, you go for the other one!¡¹


    By now, I have already launched three Fire Storms at the Needlewoods. And now that Roxanne and Sherry rushed in to confront the three Needlewoods in the front, I also launched a fourth one.


    ¡¸Master, here it comes!¡¹


    As soon as I activated the fourth Fire Storm, Roxanne¡¯s warning reached my ears. And in the very next moment, a blue magic circle has appeared under the feet of the Needlewood that was taking cover behind its buddies. Eventually, it managed to finish the chant, and a ball of water was formed above its head. Is this something similar to my Water Ball?


    Unfortunately, I had very little time to ponder about that some more, because that Needlewood fired that spell at us almost immediately after it was done forming it, and I have to admit that the damn thing was pretty fast.


    It has been shot quickly and went forward in a straight line. My impression was that it is somewhat slower in comparison to the magic that I am firing whenever I am, using it, but at the same time it felt completely different to be on the receiving end of the magic that someone was shooting at you, as opposed to actually being the one raining down magic spells at your opponents one after the other. It has that feeling of. . . . . . . . . . .  intimidation, like. . . . . . .  like you know tha you have to dodge it or else something really bad is going to happen to you. Even now, I can feel that my legs are slightly trembling, or that it is somewhat harder for me to move due to the uncertainty of who this Water Ball is going to target.


    As it turns out, that someone was Roxanne. And just as I expected it of her, she avoided that fast Water Ball by doing something so simple as twisting her body ever so slightly to the side, causing the spell to fly right past her without even a single droplet of water landing on her. Instead, the only thing that this magic attack managed to hit with a loud splash was the wall behind her. Heh, I knew that Roxanne was a real goddess of dodging, but I thought that she would only be able to do that with regular physical attacks. Who would have thought that magic is going to not pose any kind of threat to her whatsoever as well? If I was the one who was targeted by that Water Ball, I probably would not have been able to dodge it at all due to how fast it was in my eyes. But anyway, after regaining my composure after seeing yet another instance of Roxanne¡¯s magnificent dodging abilities, I readied my wand and launched the fifth Fire Storm at the Needlewoods. The sparks that it generated flew right to where all four of them were and then engulfed them in a magnificent fiery explosion that caused all of them to fall over and die.

 Volume 4 - CH 5.07

    ¡¸That is our Roxanne for you, dodging magic like it is nothing.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you for your kind words, master, but that really was nothing all that praiseworthy. Since that attack has been shot at me from behind the other three Needlewoods, it had to travel through such distance that my eyes had more than enough time to adjust to the speed at which it has been flying, so avoiding that was really not that big of a problem.¡¹


    No, no, no Roxanne, you are giving yourself way too much credit! I mean, dodging magic? There is no way in hell that any regular person would have been capable of pulling something like that off! I would have never been able to do it even if you gave me an extensive tutorial. And besides, the distance that this Water Ball travelled was not all that great either, certainly not big enough to warrant Roxanne saying that it travelled long enough from her eyes to get accustomed to its speed when it was actually in the blink of an eye, so in my case, the only options for me would be to either tank it head on or try slashing through it with Durandal, the biggest question being which of these two options would be less harmful for me.


    ¡¸Oh, I-I see. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .¡¹


    Therefore, that is the only think that I can reply with to her.


    ¡¸Also, that monster was not really trying to hit me for the purpose of damaging me.¡¹


    ¡¸It. . . .  it did not?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, judging by the way it fired that spell, it was more for the purpose of forcing me to change my position so that they could gain more control of the battlefield.¡¹


    Really? That is what it was? Because it sure as hell did not look like that to me.


    In the meantime, Sherry picked up the Drop Items and handed it over to me. I tried to silently aske her with my eyes if what Roxanne was saying was true or not, and she just nodded her head, confirming that.


    ¡¸So she is right after all?¡¹


    ¡¸Right about what after all?¡¹


    Roxanne asked, looking puzzled


    ¡¸N-Nothing. . . . . ¡¹


    ¡¸I was right about thinking that Needlewood¡¯s branches are one of the items needed for blacksmithing purposes, so it might be a good idea to hold onto some of them instead of selling them all right off the bat.¡¹


    Sherry saved my ass with her explanation on branches. Nice follow-up, Sherry!


    I have defeated the four Needlewoods, so there are now four branches left in the places where they fell down and became the puffs of green smoke.Is that so?  I have never heard of any blacksmithing item needing a branch in order to be created.


    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹


    I asked, because I genuinely had no idea about it at all.


    ¡¸Yes. They are too thing to be used reliably as a fire-starting material because they burn up too quickly, but they still have their fair share of uses in the smithing industry.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh yeah? What are they used for then?¡¹


    ¡¸Branches are  mainly used together with other materials when making metal equipment such as swords and armor.¡¹


    ¡¸So they are necessary if you want to make items and equipment that are made out of metal, huh? Well, I guess it is perfectly natural. But if that is the case, then I wonder if. . . . . . . . . . . . .


    Do you also need a furnace if you want to make equipment made out of metal?¡¹¡¸No, that would be too costly of a purchase, so thankfully it is not required. Actually, when it comes to smithing, there is no need for any kind of specialized equipment or tools at all. Everything is carried out just by using Skills, and that is it.¡¹


    ¡¸Hmm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .¡¹


    So all you have to do is worry about preparing the right items, and the Skills are going to take care of the rest. As expected of a game with Skills in it. Such a user-friendly system. If only we had something so convenient in my old world, then maybe life would have been even easier than it already was.


    ¡¸Okay, so if we are finished here, then how about we go and move to the eighth floor of the Labyrinth of Vale?¡¹


    My Item Box is already stuffed with quite an astonishing amount of branches, and I have seen Needlewoods using magic, so for the time being, I guess there is no reason for us to be staying here in Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth for much longer.


    ¡¸We could do that, but it is going to be morning soon, master.¡¹


    Roxanne gave me an advice.


    It is already so late, huh? Well, I guess it should have been expected, since we have spend quite a long while watching over Sherry until She became Master Smith Lv.2, and apparently that took us even more time than I have initially expected.


    ¡¸Okay, in that case we are going to stay here for just a while longer.¡¹


    After that, we continued to fight against the monsters on the eighth floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth. For a number of next encounters, we did not come across many more Needlewoods that would be using magic, but when we did, I managed to notice something about them, mainly the fact that they could be using their magic attacks not only when they were hiding behind the wall that their buddies were making out of themselves for them. We faced two groups made out of two Needlewoods and two Slow Rabbits in a row, and every time the Needlewoods were attempting to cast their magic at us even though they were standing in the middle of the corridor, not hiding behind other monsters or natural terrain obstacles.


    ¡¸Here it comes again, master!¡¹


    Roxanne issued me another warning when she saw that a blue magic circle has begun to form under the feet of one of the two Needlewoods.


    And, exactly as expected, that was exactly what happened. A blue magic circle appeared under the Needlewood¡¯s feet, a Water Ball formed itself above its head, and in the next moment it has been launched forward.


    But this time, the target of that spell. . . . . . . . . .  is me!


    ¡¸Guh. . . . . . . . . . . ! ! ! ! ! !¡¹


    Oh shit, oh fuck, oh shit, oh fuck this is bad! I am going to die soon! I cannot avoid that spell! It is impossible for me to avoid something so fast! Very impossible! Absolutely impossible!


    I knew that I had to avoid that Water Ball if I did not want to be definitively done for, but my legs have been firmly stuck in the ground because of my indecisiveness whether to try and duck to the left, or whether to try and duck to the right.


    Avoiding it was the obvious thing to do, but since I lack the reflexes needed to dodge, I could not even afford to perform such a simple action like that.


    I just cannot do it, even if my life depends on it.


    That is why I decided to do the next best thing that came to my mind: tank the hit head-on after casting ¡¸Plating¡¹on myself in a hurry. Thanks to me using it, the damage done to me when the Needlewood¡¯s Water Ball hit me is not going to be enough to outright kill me with one shot, but the damage I took was still quite intense, to the point where it felt as if my legs were going to snap themselves in half the moment the spell blasted me right in the middle of my chest. Another saving grace here was the fact that since the thing that hit me was Water Ball, then it was quite literally a ordinary water shaped into a ball and propelled forward, so it did not do much else aside from making me wet from top to bottom. If instead of that I would have been hit with a Fire Ball, then I think I would not be able to remain as calm and composed as I was now, because let us be honest, who in their right mind would remain perfectly calm after being set on fire? No one, that is who.


    After the initial shock has passed, I smacked the Needlewoods with the fifth serving of Fire Storm.

 Volume 4 - CH 5.08

    However, even though I managed to kill every last one of the Needlewoods, including the one who casted the spell that hit me, the water from its Water Ball did not disappear. Back on the second floor of the Vale Labyrinth, when I got hit wit the ¡¸Thread Spit¡¹ Skill of the Green Caterpillar, the thread itself disappeared when the monster that used it got defeated, but this time the water from the Needlewood¡¯s Water Ball attack did not disappear, so that goes to show that my hypothesis that I came up with when testing Water Wall spell for the first time: since water from the Water Magic is just that, an ordinary water, it does not disappear when the caster of the spell is slain, hence why the water from Water Ball remained on me right now. Also, I mentioned that I was soaked from top to bottom, right? Right. So, because of that it kinda looked as if I had just pissed my pants, so I really hope that we are not going to run into any other Explorers or Adventurers in the near future. Thankfully the natural light in the Labyrinths is pretty dim, so that is my only salvation here: even if we did happen upon someone, I should be fine just as long as I do not come too close to them and they are not going to notice my soaked clothing.


    Luckily for me, we did not run into any other people, most likely due to how early it still was outside, and all of my clothes managed to dry up before we started to backtrack towards the safe room to leave the Labyrinth (with just a little help from my Fire Magic). Before using Warp to crate a portal for us, I had Roxanne and Sherry pass all of the equipment and Magic Crystals to me.


    The Magic Crystals are going to be worth a lot of money, so I would never risk doing something as irresponsible as leaving them in my backpack where they could easily get stolen, so I placed them in the Item Box along with the rest of the equipment that the girls handed off to me.


    ¡¸It looks like my clothes have finally managed to dry for real. Good. Walking around in wet pants for much longer would have been straight up unbearable.¡¹


    ¡¸The phenomena caused by magical power seem to disappear whenever the source of the magic power that created them in the first place disappear as well. That is the common belief, but it is not entirely true, because even if the magical power disappears, the things created by it will not disappear completely. For example, the bodies of monsters in the Labyrinth come to life due to its magical power, but when they die they leave their Drop Items behind because a part of them is not made entirely of magical power alone, but with the materials gained from the material world as well.¡¹


    Sherry explained to me, but to be honest, I do not really understand it.


    ¡¸Hmm. . . . . . . . . . . . . ¡¹


    ¡¸Ah. . . . . . . . . . !¡¹


    Sherry let out a silent scream as she saw me as I was about to place one of the Magic Crystals into the Item Box.


    ¡¸What is it, Sherry? Is something wrong?¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, i-it is nothing serious, it is just that I was surprised at master¡¯s Magic Crystal. Did it already change its color from Purple Magic Crystal to Blue Magic Crystal?!¡¹


    So that is what that was about? Sherry was surprised at how fast my Magic Crystals changed their colors, but to me it was nothing to be excited about, since I have already gotten used to the speed of their magic power accumulation increased by my ¡¸Crystal Acceleration¡¹Bonus Skill. And since my Purple Magic Crystal has turned into Blue Magic Crystal, then it must mean that it has accumulated more than one thousand units of magical power.


    ¡¸Here, master, I have the purple one.¡¹


    Roxanne hands over the Purple Magic Crystal to me. This is the one that I used for the purpose of testing quite a while ago and gave it to Roxanne afterwards. So she has been using it ever since then, and now it has turned purple, huh? As for the Magic Crystal that I have given to Sherry, it has already tuned into Red Magic Crystal.


    ¡¸Huh? Did we not have one Purple Magic Crystal and two Black Magic Crystals before? Then, how could this be that they have changed colors so fast?¡¹


    ¡¸R-Right? Sometimes I wonder about that myself, actually. . . . .¡¹


    ¡¸When it comes to master, things like that tend to happen around him all the time, so it would be best if you just accept it.¡¹


    Ooooh, what a nice follow-up, Roxanne!


    Sherry still looked as if she was a little suspicious of that answer, but thankfully she did not look at me with those cold eyes of hers that I dislike so much.


    After going back home from the Labyrinth and eating breakfast, our next stop was the Imperial City.


    ¡¸Haaaa. . . . . . . . . . . . . ! So this is the Imperial City?! It is even bigger than what I have imagined!¡¹


    When we left the walls of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild¡¯s building and got out onto the streets of the Imperial City, Sherry was looking around at all of the buildings that surrounded us, clearly unable to hide her ever rising excitement. Yeah, when I came here for the first time I was amazed at how big the city and all of its buildings were as well, especially since no one warned me what I should be expecting, so I made sure not to tell anything to Sherry either, because I wanted her to have a similar surprise, and now I can see that my decision has definitely paid off.


    ¡¸Is this your first time visiting the Imperial City, Sherry?¡¹


    I asked her while we were walking down the street.


    ¡¸Yes, it is!¡¹


    I thought as much. Since she said that she originally hailed from a Dwarven village I had her figured for a country bumpkin, and now she has only confirmed it with her words.


    ¡¸Well, when Roxanne and I came here for the first time our reactions were more or less the same, so we definitely can understand how you are feeling.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, seeing the capital in all its grandeur was definitely quite a shock.¡¹


    Roxanne nodded vigorously when she turned her face back towards me and Sherry.


    ¡¸But if we do not have any particular business to attend to here, there is not really any reason for us to be coming here, so we usually tend to stay in the vicinity of Quratar with the occasional trips to the town of Vale.¡¹


    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹


    I never actually thought about it before, but it would seem that this world does not have a developed tourism industry just yet, and people look like they are not at all interested in visiting new places or travelling to the lands that they have never seen before. Most of the common people would have probably never came to visit the Imperial City just to have a ganger at the sights it has to offer, only coming here if they had some business to attend to here, just like Roxanne said. It is an entirely different story when you are an Adventurer who has access to the ¡¸Field Walker¡¹Skill. They can go pretty much everywhere in the world they want, provided that they have been to that place before at least once and they have enough MP to last them throughout the entire journey from one teleportation portal to the next.


    However. . . , . . . . . . .


    Ordinary people do not have access to ¡¸Field Walker¡¹so if they want to go anywhere, they have to do so through the conventional means of transportation. But if that is the case, then does that mean that the commoners to not have the adventurous spirits at all?


    ¡¸. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  I used to want to come here in the past, but I never got the chance to do so.¡¹


    Sherry muttered that in a small, barely audible voice.


    ¡¸Hm? I am sorry, what was that? I did not hear you all that well.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, n-no, it is nothing. Do not worry about it, master.¡¹

 Volume 4 - CH 5.09

    ¡¸No, no, no, let me hear about that. Was there something that you wanted to do here in the Imperial City, but were unable to do so because of your becoming a slave?¡¹


    I was curious about Sherry¡¯s aspirations and plans form before we met each other, so I asked her about it. I wonder if the thing that she wanted to do here was something she could only have done in the past and lost the opportunity to do so now, or is it something that we will be able to help her with?


    ¡¸Uhm, so. . . . .  the thing is, that. . . . .  here in the Imperial City. . . . . .  it has the largest library in the entire empire, so. . . . .  so when I was still not a slave, I. . . . . I used to dream about visiting it one day.¡¹


    ¡¸A library, huh?¡¹


    So all this time, she wanted to go to the library housed here in the Imperial City? As expected of a member of an intellectual faction, her thirst for knowledge is a truly admirable thing.


    ¡¸Before you became a slave, did you have any books at your old home?¡¹


    ¡¸It was quite a while ago. . . . but I do remember that we have at least ten of them. However, because it was a Dwarven household they were only the books about blacksmithing and other things related to the smithing industry and the process of item creation.¡¹


    Unfortunately, I am not able to determine if ten books in the house is a lot of them or not. All that I know is that apparently genuine paper is a rare and precious resource in this world, so normal people probably could not afford to have as many books as they wanted to have. But if Sherry says that they had ten books in her old home, then does that mean that she was actually a rich lady from a rich household, or someone similar to that? But. . .  but if that would be the case. . .  . . . . . then I really do not understand why did she became a slave in the first place. She said that visiting the library was a dream of hers from the past, but that is the only hint she has given me. I wonder if she has fallen from grace, or did her family perhaps went bankrupt and that s why they had to sell their own daughter? For the time being those are only my own speculations that have no ground in reality whatsoever, so the smart thing to do here might actually be to not to delve too deep into that subject, at least not until she is going to be willing to talk about that herself.


    ¡¸You had a house with books in it? That is amazing!¡¹


    Since Roxanne has no idea about Sherry¡¯s past either, her reaction was obvious and natural. But who would have though that this would be the detail that she would be the most amazed by?


    ¡¸Thank you, Miss Roxanne, but that is a story of a past long gone. When he was still alive, my grandfather was a pretty influential person in our Dwarven community so he sometimes used his connections to get things such as books for his house.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. Did you become as smart as you are now by reading all of the books he had at his disposal?¡¹


    Even though I want to know more about Sherry¡¯s past and how she was back them it would be wiser to start steering the conversation away from such heavy topics, because continuing to talk about them too much is only going to do us more harm than good. Things like that should only be  talked about when the person themselves feels ready to do so, not simply because I wanted to satiate my own curiosity.


    ¡¸I did, because back then I used to stay home most of the time after. . . . . .  . .  the obvious thing happened.¡¹


    ¡¸And your idea that you wanted to become a Master Smith came form those books?¡¹


    ¡¸They certainly were part of my reasons for wanting to become one, yes. And when I became an Explorer, I thought that I might try entering the Labyrinth and giving my all to exploring its depths.¡¹


    So right now we have two possible scenarios regarding Sherry that do not rule each other out: one is tat she was actually a wealthy rich lady, and the other one pertaining to the fact that there was a period in her life where she has become this world¡¯s version of a hikkikomori. That would also explain why her level as a Villager was so low: because she never got a chance to properly gain enough EXP to level it up.


    ¡¸In other words, you liked books ever since you were little, and that caused you to want to visit the Library of the Imperial City?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes.¡¹


    ¡¸And what about now? Do you still want to do it?¡¹


    I am afraid that our house in Quratar is missing heavily in the books department, because we do not have a single one of those in there. . . . . . . . .  unless you would count a poorly-made booklet that contains the written maps of all the known floors of the Labyrinth of Quratar as a proper book. In that case, we would have one whole book, and at the end of the day, one book is certainly better than no books at all.


    ¡¸Uhm. . . . . . . . . . . . . now that I have become a slave, I do not know if I am allowed to have such selfish wishes. . . . . . . . .  . . . . . . . . .¡¹


    ¡¸So you do not want to go to the library simply because you became my slave?¡¹


    ¡¸It is not that I do not want to do it, but because I have become a slave, there are some things that I simply cannot do now, no matter how bad I would want to do them.¡¹


    Is it really like that? Because it it is truly so, then if she cannot go there at all, what was the point of her dreaming about going there in the first place? Is it one of those ¡¸unobtainable dreams are the best kind¡¹or ¡¸even if you cannot have something, no one can forbid you from dreaming about them¡¹kind of scenarios? Is that wjat we are dealing with here?


    ¡¸Okay, but. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . what exactly is the problem here, because I am not seeing it so far. Is the library the kind of institution that slaves are prohibited from entering?¡¹


    ¡¸No, it is nothing of the sort. The library is equally accessable to anyone who pays the money for entering it, but cost wise it is pretty expensive.¡¹


    ¡¸Pretty expensive, you say? How expensive are we talking about, exactly?¡¹


    ¡¸There is a normal admission fee that needs to be paid by every person who wishes to go inside, and there is also a deposit fee. You can get the deposit back when you leave on the condition that you will not damage any books that you have come into contact with, but the cost of admission fee and the deposit is one gold coin per person.¡¹


    Ahh, so that might actually be the library¡¯s way of countering the possibility of the valuable books getting damaged or stolen. In that case, I guess the admission fee and a deposit are both justified. If you implement something like that, you automatically decrease the possibility of thieves or any weird people going to the library, because the costs of deposit and admission fees are going to be too great for the regular masses to afford without sacrificing the finances that could be spent on something else and much more essential, like food or clothing. And even if something like theft happened or the books somehow got damaged or even destroyed, then the cost of the deposit can be used to more than make up for the loss that happened.


    ¡¸I see now. So that is how it is. Well, in that case, maybe we could go to the library sometime if that is what you truly want, Sherry.¡¹


    ¡¸. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . huh?¡¹

 Volume 4 - CH 5.10

    ¡¸No, I mean, look at it this way. You are in charge of supplying us the information about the monsters that we can encounter in the Labyrinths, but even you cannot know every little piece of information in the world. And what do you so if you do not know something? You go and search so that you can fill the blanks and holes in your knowledge. That is exactly what the libraries were made for.¡¹


    The agreement that Sherry and I have both agreed on is that whenever I am going to have some questions about monsters, Labyrinths, or anything related to the life here in the empire, she is going to be my go-to in search of answers, so knowing as many things as possible is going to greatly benefit her, and it is going to be an even better development for me, since I will not have to learn how to use the letters and ten writing of this world myself. At the beginning of my life together with Roxanne I tried to learn how to write the letters of this world¡¯s written language, but that attempt did not end up too well, mostly because Roxanne is. . . . . . . . .  not exactly a good teacher, to say it mildly.


    At the very least I will not have to worry about being the only one in this world who cannot read and write, because as I already learned and confirmed it with Sherry and Roxanne, very few people can actually read and write, most likely because the literacy percentage in this medieval setting has been set to be quite low, most likely because people probably think that knowing how to write and read will not be of that big of a benefit to them. Either way, in my case, whenever there will be something that I will have to read or write, I can always ask Roxanne to do it for me.


    Back when I was still going to school in my old world, the only language I was good at was Japanese, my mother tongue. As for English, I was not all that good at it and I could never bother myself to learn it better in middle school and throughout what little of high school that I attended, which left my understanding of it at a pretty basic level, maybe even less than that. And now, the story pretty much repeats itself, but this time with Brahim. Oh man, how I envy Schliemann (TL Note: Heinrich Schliemann, a German archeologist who came up with the Schliemann Language Learning Method) and how fast and easy it was for him to learn any language he wanted.


    ¡¸Th-Thank you very much.¡¹


    ¡¸You are welcome. By the way, can you read Brahim, Sherry?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I can. I learned how to speak Brahim during my stay at the Slave Shop, and the letters used in Brahim writing are the same as the words of the Brahim language, so I know both how to speak and write in it.¡¹


    ¡¸I see.¡¹


    I guess the old saying that you can use French, English and German languages, both spoken and written as long as you know the letters of the Latin alphabet can also be applied to the Brahim language here as well. The only problem that leaves now is the pronounciation. I wonder how is it with Brahim? Is it also similar, or maybe slightly different after all?


    ¡¸You learned Brahim at the Slave Shop? That is surprising. I thought that since you said that you had books at home, you learned Brahim by reading those and speaking the words you found in them.¡¹


    ¡¸I probably would have done that if these books were written in Brahim, but that was not the case. Sine I was living in a Dwarven household and the books were all about smithing and smithing-related subjects, they were all written in Dwarven language as well.¡¹


    ¡¸You are amazing, Sherry! When I was learning how to read and write, I had to do it letter by letter.¡¹


    ¡¸While we are still relatively on the subject, is there anywhere you would like to go, Roxanne?¡¹


    I asked her while we were walking side by side.


    ¡¸No, not especially.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. Okay then.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, uhm¡­.. if I said that I wanted to go somewhere in particular, would master take me there?¡¹


    Roxanne looked into my eyes.


    ¡¸That is right. Wherever you want to go, I will take you there.¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm. . . . .  . . . . The place where I want to go is wherever master wants to go. So please, wherever we end up going, just take me there with you, and I will need nothing else to be happy.¡¹


    What is this? How can she be so cute all the time?! Unable to resist the urge, I stroked Roxanne¡¯s doggy ears. She is absolutely the best after all. No one else can even begin to compare to her when it comes to her sheer cuteness factor!


    ¡¸I understand. Thank you.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, of course.¡¹


    ¡¸I-I also want to go with master wherever he goes!¡¹


    Sherry also called out to me like that, which made me feel somewhat bad for her, because that way it probably looks like I forced her to say it thanks to my interaction with Roxanne just now, which caused her to not want to be inferior to her in that regard.


    After that, we made our way to the clothing store where we did that Rabbit Meat commission for the Male Clerk, and also where I bought the negligees that are now being used by Roxanne and Sherry.


    ¡¸Okay, now I want you to go and pick two pieces of clothing each for yourselves.¡¹


    ¡¸Of course, master. Thank you.¡¹


    Once I gave Roxanne my instructions and left her together with Sherry so that they could pick their clothes in peace, I went towards the counter in order to sell the Rabbit Fur first. I was hoping that by the time I will finish selling them and return to the girl¡¯s side with the payment for the furs in hand, but once again I have been thoroughly disappointed. When I walked back to Roxanne, not only was she not done with making her choice, but it looked like she has not even started for good, taking a long and thorough look at each and every one of the camisoles and negligees that were placed on the tables before her. She then picked them all up, spread the on the tables and gave them another long and intense look when they were all spread out like that, until her eyes stopped on a light-red negligee, the very same one that she already has back home.


    ¡¸Master, is that one going to be all right with you?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, as long as it is the one that you have chosen, I do not see why would I have anything against it.¡¹


    When Roxanne asked me if it was fine if she took the red negligee and I have her a go-ahead, she smiled at me happily. And by the way, if memory serves me correctly it was Roxanne herself who stated that the negligee of this color was the one that she liked out of all of the ones available here when we were shopping for them the last time. In that sense, it was Roxanne herself, not I, who picked that negligee for her, but if she wants to believe that I was the one who did that for her, then who am I to correct her? I will just keep quiet and allow her to believe whatever she wants to believe.


    ¡¸Yes, thank you. Sherry, you are going to be fine with the white one as well, right?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. As long as we keep them separated by their colors, we will not mistake them with the others, so it is fine by me.¡¹


    Oh, that. . . . . . . . honestly, they dealt with it faster than I was expecting them to this time. Which does not change the fact that they still ended up taking their sweet time in the end. In the end, Roxanne decided to take the light-red negligee and Sherry went along with the white one. Unfortunately, it does not look like there were any negligees that were children-sized, so sherry had to compromise by taking the smallest adult-sized negligee possible that the store had to sell. But even when we took that into consideration, it still looked a little loose when she tried it on, and the lower half of it made it look like she was wearing a normal skirt.

 Volume 4 - CH 5.11

    Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist  Editor: Weasalopes


    However, since this is supposed to be a nightgown worn only during the night hours, this should not be too much of a problem.


    When we finished our visit to the clothing store, we made our way towards our next destination: Quratar Merchant¡¯s Guild. As I stopped by the entrance, a man different form the one I saw yesterday walked up to me and began chatting me up.


    ¡¸Good day to you, sir. What is your business with the Merchant¡¯s Guild today?¡¹


    ¡¸I would like to inquire about the auctions for a little bit, if it is not a problem of course.¡¹


    ¡¸The name is Luke, and I am one of the brokers who acts as a middleman for those eager to participate in the auctions. If t is all right with you, sir, I will gladly hear and answer any questions that you might have.¡¹


    [Luke Acid],


    Male,  28 years old


    Job: Armor Merchant Lv.2


    Equipment & Accessories: Sacrificial Misanga


    Oh, quite conveniently for us, this guy is an Armor Merchant. Could it be that he is still so young because his level is low?


    As for the Armor Merchant Job itself, I do not have it personally, and judging by its name it is rather obvious that it is aquired through the means of buying and selling armor for yourself. Who knows, as long as I keep doing that and increase the level of my Merchant Job, maybe one day I will get may hands on it as well?


    ¡¸I see. . . . . . .  . All right then, I am going to hear what you have to say to me.¡¹


    ¡¸Wonderful. Then please, follow me.¡¹


    I followed after the man, and he took me to the room similar to the one where I was talking to the other broker yesterday. He sat at one side of the table in the back of the room, so I took a seat at the other side, with Roxanne and Sherry sitting at the either side of me.


    ¡¸If I may ask this of you, sir, then what is your name?¡¹


    ¡¸Michio. Kaga Michio.¡¹


    ¡¸Michio-sama then. Forgive me if it sound too direct, but it would seem that you have been here yesterday inquiring about the auctions, but were unable to secure a suitable deal for yourself. Is that right?¡¹


    For someone who was meeting me for the first time, this guy has a surprising amount of information about my visit here yesterday. Could it be that I was spied on? Or maybe Laurent the Sex Maniac, the broker whose offer I have refused yesterday told all of his collegues and cohorts how our meeting went? Yeah, that sounds like a more probable option.


    ¡¸Yes, you are right about that.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. Very well then. You wanted to know about the auctions, correct? Then allow me to give you a brief rundown of how they function here. On the left side of the guild building, there is a waiting room that was made specifically for those how are participating in the auctions. If you have made the appointment earlier, then you are allowed to use it at your own leisure, and it is also the place where the results of each auction are going to be posted for all those who are interested in seeing them to see. Alternatively, if you have your personal contracted broker and do not wish to mingle with the rest of the auctioneers, you can always schedule a meeting with your broker so that he or she could relay the news of the auction¡¯s results to you personally. That is how the auctions generally work here.¡¹


    These are some pretty tight rules. But now I fully see what Sherry meant by saying that all of the brokers cooperate and have a strong bond of solidarity with one another. Talking to the people who come visit the Merchants Guild is always an occasion for the acquisition of new customers, so I guess it can be called a kind of a concession between them, since the chances of aquiring new clients are shared equally between all of them, since if one broker fails to win a customer over, like it was with me and Laurel yesterday, there is always a chance that another broker might achieve what the other failed to do. On the other hand, if the customers were allowed to freely talk to whoever they wanted, it would have lead to the conflict over getting the customers, which could have directly lead to the reduction of overall fees, and that in turn would mean that the Merchant¡¯s Guild would not make as much of a profit as they could have made otherwise.


    ¡¸Before we begin, let me ask you this: is the reason because I was approached by brokers yesterday, and today as well, because I was standing around looking all absent-minded, which prompted you to think that I am going to make an easy target for manipulation of myself?¡¹


    ¡¸No, no, no, that is not the case at all.¡¹


    ¡¸Good. Also, yesterday I talked with a man named Laurel, but I found the offer he presented me with to be lacking, so we did not strike a deal. Is that okay, or is it going to be a factor in my talks with you today as well?¡¹


    ¡¸No, of course not. If you did not make a deal with him, then that means that it was he who failed to appeal to a potential customer, so you have nothing to worry about.¡¹


    I thought that my refusal to accept Laurel¡¯s proposal yesterday might end up in considerably racking up the difficulty of finding out a potential replacement for him, but thankfully it does not look like it is going to be as difficult as I have initially thought. Well then, let me see what this guy will have to offer, and if I do not like it, I will simply refuse him just like I did with the other guy yesterday.


    ¡¸Okay, in that case, I see no problems in talking with you.¡¹


    ¡¸Wonderful. Now, if I am to begin my explanation about auctions in more detail, can you please tell me which kind of auctions interests you the most, sir?¡¹


    ¡¸Both buying and selling auctions, since I know nothing about either of them.¡¹


    ¡¸When it comes to buying, it is possible for you to take care of everything by yourself, but in the most cases, potential clients tend to go about it be cooperating with broker and middleman like myself, or Laurel, whom you have met yesterday. And that brings us to another important question: what kind of goods do you want to buy, sir?¡¹


    Since I displayed interest in buying things through auctions, Luke the Broker jumped at the opportunity that would allow his to earn some money off of me, as expected.


    Even a complete beginner should know that if you know next to nothing about things like that, then managing and keeping an eye on the auctions is going to be impossible for a complete layman, and that is why brokers and middleman existed in the first place. With their assistance, the process of taking part in an auction is not going to be as puzzlingly perilous as it would have normally been.


    ¡¸Kobold Skill Crystal.¡¹


    Just like with Laurel yesterday, I decided to be open about what I needed. Lying about it now would not help me in the slightest.


    ¡¸Kobold Skill Crystals? I see. The day before yesterday, one of them was sold for five thousand two hundred Nars, and two days ago another one was sold for five thousand four hundred Nars. As for the bidding of the current auctions, it would seem that its current price once again averages at around five thousand two hundred Nars. I am not going to lie, the price is already expensive, but if you want to obtain it during the current auction and be willing to invest a sum bigger than that, I could arrange to enter you as another bidder with the same price as the one from the day before yesterday: five thousand four hundred Nars.¡¹


    Luke the Broker replied without even looking at any kind of memos. Just from that action alone, I could say that he is an excellent middleman, or at the very least a better one than Laurel the Sex Maniac. If he would really arrange it for me to become a bidder in the current auction and I managed to win it, that would snatch me the Kobold Skill Crystal that Sherry could infuse into a weapon in the same manner as


    she did with the Rabbit Skill Crystal and the Copper Sword.

 Volume 4 - CH 5.12

    What is also important here is that the information that Luke told me just now were cross-checking themselves with the prices stated by Laurel, and since I remember the amounts of Nars that he stated, I also know that Luke was not lying about them in an attempt to set me up. Five thousand two hundred Nars, that is the current price of the Kobold Skill Crystal.


    ¡¸Okay, enough about buying for now. Let us assume that ow is not the best time for buying and move on to the selling.¡¹


    ¡¸As you wish, sir. What would you be interested in selling?¡¹


    ¡¸A set of six Copper Swords of Obstruction.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, was the young lady here responsible for making them?¡¹


    The broker looked at Sherry with a glint of curiosity in his eyes. So he is able to tell that she is a Dwarf, and not just a young or young-looking human. I thought that it will not be all that obvious, since she does not look all that different from humans except for her short stature and thick hair, but apparently these characteristics were enough of a giveaway.


    ¡¸That is right. Her name is Sherry.¡¹


    Since he was already able to tell who sherry was there was no reason for me to hide her, so I simply introduced Sherry to him. I thought that Sherry was going to do that herself, but throughout this entire exchange she remained silent, so I had to do it for her. Dis she not know how to greet people properly? No, since she received her education at the Slave Shop that cannot be the case. Maybe she thought that she should not be speaking herself when I was in the room since she is my slave then?


    ¡¸I see. Moving on, in case of the process of selling items via an auction, there are two option you have available for you: sell the item that you want to get rid off immediately, or leave it to me to inform you when will be the best time to sell a particular item, a service that I will charge a small fee for.¡¹


    ¡¸Can you really do that for me?¡¹


    That is one of the things that I did not talk about with Laurel yesterday. Is it going to be advantageous for me to leave the decision for the time of the selling to a broker, or should I stick to deciding that for myself? If I do leave it to him, then I will not be able to do anything with the items until the time is going to be right. Also, what would bring me more money, a weapon with ¡¸Chant Delay¡¹or perhaps the one with ¡¸Chant Interruption¡¹? However, if I end up being beaten in an auction, none of these things are going to matter and I will lose the advantage that I could have gotten otherwise. Also, I should not be expecting the items to be bought at the same rate and price as the one present when the middleman puts the items on sale.


    ¡¸I most definitely can, but do bear in mind that it will not always be possible to determine the most opportune moment to sell every item, so if you want to sell something in a hurry, you should not wait and go for the immediate sell option.¡¹


    ¡¸Go for the immediate sell if I am in a hurry, huh?¡¹


    I guess that makes sense, since keeping an item on me and waiting for the moment where I will be able to sell it for a really good price might not always be possible. If I want to strengthen the equipment of all the members of my Party as soon as possible, then I am going to need as much money as I can get, as fast as I can get, so an early selling of the set of six ¡¸Copper Swords of Obstruction¡¹would definitely be a good investment. Even if it would mean selling for not as much money as I have originally intended, selling them early would still be better than not selling them at all because I waited for a good business opportunity that never came my way or holding onto them and letting them collect dust in my Item Box.


    ¡¸As you probably know, ¡¸Copper Swords of Obstruction¡¹are weapons that are often used in the lower levels of the Labyrinths as a countermeasure against the Skills used by the Floor Bosses on the lower floors. If you want to sell a set of full six pieces of them, then you can be sure that the demand for them is going to be high, because there are always going to be the people who will be in need of them, like freshly made Explorers and Adventurers or the Knight trainees.¡¹


    ¡¸The Knights? I thought that the Merchants Guild did not have such connections?¡¹


    ¡¸But now you know that us brokers have our ways of establishing our connections, which makes me wonder if it would not be a better idea to sell the swords that you are offering right away? Because I would be more than willing to buy them off of your hands.¡¹


    If what this broker is saying is true and he would really have connections to the Knights who would be willing to buy ¡¸Copper Swords of Obstruction¡¹right away, then there would really be no need to go through the process of handing them off for an auction if he had someone who would be willing to pay for them right away. But there was also one additional development that this offer of his was proving: that he is aware that normally the Merchants Guild has no connections to the Knights, and that the one he mentioned was most likely his personal one, since he used the words ¡¸us brokers have our ways of establishing such connections¡¹instead of ¡¸The Guild has ways of establishing such connections¡¹. And by presenting me with such a relatively risk-free offer, it was his way of appealing to me and showing his honesty. After all, if he is someone who can establish a trade connection with the Knights without the Merchants Guild officially having one, then that only serves to prove how much of an excellent broker he is.


    I glanced at Roxanne and Sherry, but neither of them looked like they had any particular objections towards the idea of going along with the offer that this guy was extending.


    ¡¸So, if I was willing to sell the¡¸Copper Swords of Obstruction¡¹ to you, then for how much would you be willing to buy them?¡¹


    ¡¸Let me think. . . . . . . . . .  hmm, if you were selling them alone, then I would offer fifteen thousand Nars per sword, but since you are offering to sell a full set of six swords, then the price has to be increased accordingly. How does. . . . . . . one hundred thousand Nars for all six of them sound?¡¹


    So he is offering the same price as the broker from yesterday. That would mean that he wold be paying around sixteen thousand six hundred Nars per sword. Could it be that this is their usual market price when you sell ¡¸Copper Swords of Obstruction¡¹ as a set? That is definitely not a bad deal, but I wonder if I could elevate it just a little bit higher?


    ¡¸How about giving me eighteen thousand Nars per sword, one hundred and eight thousand Nars for a full set?¡¹


    ¡¸I am afraid that I cannot pay that much for them.¡¹


    Figures. But it is okay, not all hope for a bigger profit is lost just yet. Let me try lowering the price for a bit more. . . . . . . . . . . . .


    ¡¸If eighteen thousand per sword is too much, then how about seventeen thousand five hundred?¡¹


    ¡¸Better than your initial offer, sir, but if I am to buy those swords odd of you in bulk, then the best I can do is seventeen thousand Nars per sword.¡¹


    So that is going to be his final offer, huh? Not too much of an improvement over the initial one, but I guess one hundred and two thousand Nars is always better than one hundred thousand Nars. I really wanted to try haggling some more, but I guess it cannot be helped. I take what I managed to get for myself and be happy that I managed to get it in the first place. The last thing that I want to do is to get


    needlessly greedy with a broker whom I just met.

 Volume 4 - CH 5.13

    ¡¸Okay, seventeen thousand Nars per sword is fine with me.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you for your understanding, sir. Do you have the swords with you right now, or do you need time in order to go and bring them here?¡¹


    ¡¸I have them here with me. They are in my Item Box.¡¹


    ¡¸Then, if it is all right with you, I would like to call for a Weapons Merchant so that he could appraise them and confirm their legitimacy. I would have dome that myself, but unfortunately, I am an Armor Merchant, not a Weapons Merchant, so I can only appraise armor instead of weapons. Oh, and please, do not worry about the appraisal fee. Since your decision to sell the swords in your possession right away was a spontaneous one, then allow me to take care of the costs.¡¹


    With that said, Luke the Broker stood up and left the room, leaving me alone in it with Sherry and Roxanne.


    ¡¸The decision to sell these swords was a truly spontaneous one, but I trust that neither of you have any issues with that, right?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, of course.¡¹


    ¡¸Worry not, master. Since I am your slave, everything I make belongs to you, and you are free to do whatever you see fit with those items.¡¹


    ¡¸Well, thank you very much Sherry, but without you and your Master Smith Job it would have been impossible to make those six ¡¸Copper Swords of Obstruction¡¹and sell them at such a high price now, so I am going to give the credit where the credit is due.¡¹


    While Luke the Broker was still not back with the Weapons Merchant, I materialized my Item Box and took out all six ¡¸Copper Swords of Obstruction¡¹out of it. It would have been more than a little annoying if I had to do it all in front of him while pretending that I was using the proper chant, you know?


    After a while more of absence, the broker finally returned to the room, and he brought the Weapons Merchant with him, exactly like he promised he would do, and something was telling me that there is a strong possibility that this Weapons Merchant might be a middleman as well. I placed all of the swords on the table and he fiddled with them for a moment before he declared:


    ¡¸Those are six copies of the¡¸Copper Swords of Obstruction¡¹, without a shadow of a doubt.¡¹


    Well duh, of course they are. Who do you take me for, a counterfeiter who was looking forward to making an attempt at getting some quick cash?


    As soon as he was done confirming the authenticity of the weapons on the table, the Weapons Merchant left the room, leaving us alone with the broker again.


    ¡¸Now that there is no doubt as to the authenticity of the swords that sir is offering, I can proudly say that the deal has been made. Here is your payment: one hundred and two thousand Nars for the six ¡¸Copper Swords of Obstruction¡¹, and a special bonus of thirty thousand six hundred Nars to commemorate the beginning of, hopefully, a very fruitful partnership for the both of us. As for my personal payment for this transaction, it is going to be two thousand six hundred Nars, leaving you with one hundred and thirty thousand Nars total.¡¹


    One hundred and thirty thousand Nars for the six ¡¸Copper Swords of Obstruction¡¹? Hell yeah! Let¡¯s! ! ! Fucking! ! ! GOOOO! ! !


    Luke the Broker then opened his own Item Box and placed all of the swords that he got from me there. Next, he procured a number of gold and silver coins, my payment for this transaction, and placed them on the table in front of me. It was a total amount of thirteen gold coins and twenty six silver coins. Man, ¡¸Thirty Percent Discount¡¹ is a wonderful Skill to have. With it around, things that would normally be classified as a fraud, stealing or robbery pass on as something completely normal, and no one even bats an eye or dares to question it! The only regret that I have in regards to that Skill is that it works only on the final, summed-up price of all six products, and not for all of the six swords separately. If I could do it like that, then I am sure that I would have been able to milk Luke the Broker out of an even bigger sum of money, and he would simply accept as the most obvious thing under the sun.


    ¡¸Thank you very much, it is a pleasure to be doing business with you. Also, in the near future, if you happened to have any information about Skill Crystals available for purchase at affordable prices, I would be very interested in buying them from you. Would that be possible?¡¹


    I took the money from him and placed them in the safety of my Item Box. While doing so, I tried to inquire bout the possibility of striking any more possible deals with him in the future. This man, Luke Acid, seems like a truly excellent middleman, and if I could strike such a good deal with him even though he technically is just an Armor Merchant, then I think there will be no harm in continuing to buy and sell items from him, especially if my ¡¸Thirty Percent Discount¡¹continues to yield me such wonderful results.


    My ability to appraise items and equipment with ¡¸Identify¡¹is going to give me an overwhelming advantage, because it will make it all too easy to find equipment with Empty Skill Slots, and that in turn will allow Sherry to create items and equipment with Skills embedded into them without the risk of failing the fusion, which is going to give birth to the best possible loop of creating and selling things to Luke the Broker at thirty percent increased prices! And I will be able to use that system any time when it will look like the possibility of winning an auction is going to be too low, which does not change the fact that I should still use both selling and buying auctions, just so that I could see for myself how both of them work.


    One other merit to my current situation will also be that if I decide to buy things from auctions through the use of the middleman, I will not be having peoples attention fixed directly on myself, and since Luke is the mind of merchant who seems to be having his own share of secret business endeavors, then I can probably rest assured that he is not going to go around announcing to everyone that he and I have become business partners. On the flipside, I also cannot allow the fact that a skilled merchant like him found his way to me get into my head. I have to keep it cool and hold my hand as close to my chest as possible, only revealing the cards in it when it will be absolutely necessary. And while we are on the subject of buying and selling, I should also make sure not to sale too many items with Skills in them at once and in a short amount of time. I should be selling them little by little once in a while to ensure that the market prices of the items that I will be selling do not plummet and collapse, because that would only make things more difficult for the both of us.


    ¡¸Did you. . . . . . . . . .  use a Skill Crystal you obtained on your own to make these swords?¡¹


    ¡¸That is right.¡¹


    Luke the Broker was looking at mine and Sherry¡¯s faces with a mixture of curiosity and slight alertness. I wonder why is that? Did Sherry said something wrong just now, or said something that she should not have said?


    ¡¸If you managed to do that, then I am sure that you must be pretty experienced and have good skills as a Master Smith.¡¹


    He shook his head with a smile. Wait a minute. . . . . . . did he said¡¸Swords¡¹? Not ¡¸Sword¡¹, but ¡¸Swords¡¹, as in, plural? Is. . . . . . . .  is it just me, or does this guy think that Sherry was the one who made all six of these ¡¸Copper Swords of Obstruction¡¹by herself? I mean, if she did fuse all six of them on her own, then I guess it would really be a testament to how Skilled as a Master Smith she was.

 Volume 4 - CH 5.14

    And if that is the case, then I see no need in correcting his thinking by saying that she only made one of them. If he wants to think that Sherry is so amazing that she created six ¡¸Copper Swords of Obstruction¡¹, then so be it. Is that what he meant when he was saying that Sherry must be pretty skilled and experienced? Or maybe he was deceived by how thin her ears are, because of the general understanding that the thinner the Dwarf¡¯s ears, the older they actually are? That is another misunderstanding of his, and a pretty big one at that, but it is also the one that I cannot hold against him, because if I was not Sherry¡¯s owner and looked it up at her Intelligence Card or had my ¡¸Identify¡¹ Skill, I would have also thought the same and it would have never even crossed my mind that she is actually one year younger than me.


    ¡¸Of course Sherry is skilled. She and I are both good with our hands.¡¹


    That is another thing that I will not bother to correct him about, because that little lie might actually be pretty advantageous for us in its own right.


    ¡¸I see. Well, let me give you a bit of advice when it comes to smithing and item fusion: There are people who buy cheap Skill Crystals and fuse them together with equipment to make weapons and armors with Skills in them in order to sell them at an elevated price and in large quantities, so if you are planning to do the same, I would not recommend it all that much. It would be bad for the business as a whole, not to mention incredibly reckless, and even if it would give you a lot of profit in the short term, then the long-term consequences of such an act would be pretty catastrophic for the market.¡¹


    I already know that, but there is no harm in asking for a little more detailed clarification, so. . . .


    ¡¸Why would that be so bad?¡¹


    ¡¸Because normally people tend to buy certain things only when they need them, and when they do not need them, they do not buy them. Usually, the number of people that need certain items is always going to be bigger than the amount of the item that they need, which makes it possible for those in possession of said items, or those who deal in buying in selling them to increase or decrease the price of that item accordingly when they are being put on an auction. But when many people try to sell large quantities of items simply because they used cheap materials to make a lot of them in hopes of quickly gaining a fortune for themselves, what they end up achieving is the effect opposite to the one that they have intended. Over the years of my work as  broker I have seen many who have attempted to do that, but very few who have actually succeeded.¡¹


    So that is it. What he meant to say is that when there are many competitors who try to manipulate the prices by bringing too much of a certain item onto the market, it ends up screwing up demand and supply, causing those who thought they are going to make huge money on it go through nothing more but huge disappointment. After all, for everyone else but me, the process of fusing equipment and Skill Crystals together is a huge gamble where the odds are stacked against you at all times. Just one successful fusion is normally a cause for celebration, and two successful fusions in a row would probably mean that whoever achieved that could make a lot of money with just those two fused items alone.


    However, that is the purely idealistic version of how things would go, because as we are all well aware, the reality is not as kind to the people as they would wish it to be, because when you use auctions and go through them with the help of a middleman, you have to be aware that a part of the fortune you would make by selling the items the Master Smiths have created would have to go to the broker himself because they do not run charities, and this is their way of making money. I think that many Master Smiths fail to realize that because if they manage to succeed with the fusion of the items, they become blinded by the prospect of how much money they could earn, and then they have their sweet dreams shattered when they do not earn as much money as they have initially thought they would earn.


    ¡¸Sherry, if you do not mind me asking, does being a skilled Master Smith has any effect on the success rate of fusing Skill Crystals with equipment, or is it just a superstition?¡¹


    ¡¸I cannot say with absolute certainty, but the belief that the success rate of Skill Crystal fusion is going to be greater is the Master Smith performing the fusion is a skilled one is certainly quite popular these days.¡¹


    When I asked her about it, that was Sherry¡¯s opinion on the matter, but I have to remember that hers might be a somewhat biased one, because she only learned that she became a Master Smith recently, and moreover, I kind of forced her into making her first fusion, and she was pretty desperate to become a Master Smith even though she herself claimed that it was not the case at all.


    However, that information actually works in my favor, because I know with absolute certainty that it a load of horse crap.


    The success rate of the fusion does not depend on the level of the Master Smith, or how skilled he or she is.The success rate of Skill Crystal fusion depends only on one factor, and one factor alone: whether the piece of equipment that you want to infuse has Empty Skill Slots or not. If it has, the fusion will be successful, and if it does not have them, the fusion is going to end up in failure.


    ¡¸Do not worry, Sherry. I am not going to force you to do anything that you do not want to do.¡¹


    For the time being, I decided to reassure Sherry that I am not going to behave like a slave driver that would force her to fuse items against her will.


    ¡¸I see. Thank you for being s kind to me, master.¡¹


    ¡¸If that was what you were worrying about, then you can rest assured. My goal is not to try to make a quick fortune or to destabilize the market. I am simply trying to equip my Party members and myself with the best gear possible so that we could make the exploration of the Labyrinths that much easier for ourselves.¡¹


    I explained to Luke the broker what my objective here was.


    ¡¸In that case it would be my pleasure to continue doing business with you as a broker. Let me just tell you that: since there will be a lot of competitors during the auctions, it might not always be possible for you to buy things at extremely low prices. Is that all right with you?¡¹


    So it seems that will not have any issues with being my personal broker from now on. He also knows that I have one hundred and thirty thousand Nars on me right now, so there is n way he would pull out from doing business with someone who has that much money on them.


    ¡¸Basically, if the prices end up being a little cheaper than the regular market price, I would have no problems with it, and I will leave all the decisions related to the process of buying and selling to your judgement. Also, can you tell me if you have Scissor-esque Carnivorous Plant Skill Crystal available for sale?¡¹


    ¡¸For the ¡¸MP Absorption¡¹ Skill?¡¹


    Sherry checked in with me, and I nodded affirmatively, confirming my intentions. Having more than one weapon that would allow us to regenerate MP is definitely going to be useful, and for that, we would need Scissor-esque Carnivorous Plant Skill Crystal.


    ¡¸If possible, I would also like to get some more Rabbit Skill Crystals to create more weapons with ¡¸Chant Interruption¡¹for us. Once I get my hands on those, I would then like to aim for the Kobold Skill Crystals.¡¹


    If I reduce the number of situations where I use Durandal to fight, it would enable me to get more Bonus Points into increasing the value of EXP obtained from monsters, allowing us for large gains of it, we should be aiming for that in the first place.

 Volume 4 - CH 5.15

    And since we can use the eighth floor and its Needlewoods as our new farming spot, ¡¸Chant Interruption¡¹Skill will be immensely useful to us.


    ¡¸I see. Is there anything else we would need?¡¹


    I asked Sherry to be sure that we got everything we would need on the list.


    ¡¸I think it would be a good idea to make a ¡¸Sacrificial Misanga¡¹by fusing a Green Caterpillar¡¯s Skill Crystal with a regular Misanga.¡¹


    ¡¸Sacrificial Misanga¡¹, huh? Luke the Broker was wearing something that was named exactly like that. If its name is anything to go by, then I am guessing that it is going to be something related blocking, or perhaps even negating an attack that is going to be targeted towards the one who is wearing it?


    ¡¸In that case, please add Green Caterpillar Skill Crystal to the list of the items I would like to get from auctions. As long as my Party members feel like it is going to be something necessary for us to obtain, I do not mind getting it, even if it is going to be a little bit on the expensive side.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood. The fee for purchasing Skill Crystals is five hundred Nars. If there will ever be a time where you are going to have some more questions and I will not be in the anywhere in the Guild¡¯s main hall, then just go to the waiting room and ask one of the staff members there to call Luke the Armor Merchant for you.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood. I will make sure to do just that if the need ever arises.¡¹


    I assured hm as I handed the five silver coins off to him.


    ¡¸Well then, I guess that concludes our business today. Thank you for your patronage, Michio-sama, and I hope for our partnership to be a fruitful one.¡¹


    When our business was over, Luke the Armor Merchant bowed down to me and left the room, leaving only the echo of his final words behind him.


    ¡¸That man is weird.¡¹


    That was what Sherry said to me as soon as we left the Merchant¡¯s Guild and got far away from it to be absolutely sure that nobody could eavesdrop on our conversation.


    ¡¸Strange? What do you mean, strange?¡¹


    ¡¸I mean, it was awfully nice of him to give you a bonus to commemorate the beginning of your partnership, but still . . . . .  why did he give you such an odd number as one hundred and thirty- two thousand Nars? No matter how hard I try to find any semblance of reason behind it, I fail to see it. I just do not know what that man was thinking by offering you such an amount of money.¡¹


    ¡¸Ahhh, I see. So that is what you have been worried about.¡¹


    For someone without the knowledge of the Skills that I have at my disposal, such an uneven number is undoubtedly doing to sound strange, and it is only natural that Sherry would get suspicious of someone who offered me such a strange price seemingly out of nowhere.


    ¡¸I knew it. Broker and middlemen are all a shady bunch that should not be trusted at all.¡¹


    I realized that Sherry was somewhat distrustful of the brokers and middleman from the Merchants Guild, but that comment of hers just now only solidified that belief for me.


    ¡¸Yes, you did tell me that yesterday before we got here, and thanks to that, I was able to avoid the pitfall that Laurel was trying to lure me in. Thank you for that, Sherry.¡¹


    ¡¸Please think nothing of it, master. It is a slave¡¯s duty to ensure that no harm comes to their master, no matter if it is a physical or financial one.¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, but still, I feel like thanks were in order, and that is why I have extended them to you. Let us keep being careful in our dealings with the Merchants Guild from now on.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, of course!¡¹


    ¡¸I agree with both master and Sherry of course, but I also think that this man must have given master such a good price because he was able to see how amazing of a person master truly is.¡¹


    Roxanne, it is nice to know that this is how you feel, but it definitely would not hurt you to be just a little bit more distrustful of others, especially if they are brokers and middlemen whose Job is to make money out of other people trying to make money for themselves, you know?


    ¡¸Sherry, you mentioned that item in our conversation with Luke before, but what kind of item is ¡¸Sacrificial Misanga¡¹, exactly?¡¹


    I asked Sherry because I felt genuinely interested in the subject of that item.


    ¡¸It is an accessory whose purpose is to sometimes absorb the attack that the enemy directs towards its wearer.¡¹


    ¡¸Sometimes? Not always?¡¹


    Does that mean that the effect of absorbing the attack targeted at the wearer has only a certain percentage chance of activating, or are there some other restrictions added to it as well?


    ¡¸Well, basically, there are rumors that state that ¡¸Sacrificial Misanga¡¯s¡¹effect has a higher probability of being activated if the attack that is supposed to be absorbed is a really strong one, but the strength of the person wearing it also seems to be one of the factors for it. From what I have heard, more often than not it seems to be working for the people who are fighting against strong monsters at the upper floors of the Labyrinths, whereas it almost never activates on the lower floors of the Labyrinths where the enemies are all relatively weak, or at least that is how the story goes.¡¹


    ¡¸I see, so that is how it works.¡¹


    Then, are there really no other conditions to it after all? Like, for example, that the effect of absorbing the attack only activates if the attack that hits you shaves off more than half of your HP, or that it only works for the attacks that would leave you with 1 HP or the one that would have outright killed you? And does the effect works for just a single attack, or perhaps for an entire series of attacks that would have normally reduced your HP to zero?


    Well, whatever the case with that might be, as long as you figure out exactly how to proc its effect, then it is going to be a really handy piece of equipment.


    ¡¸So, what happens when the effect of ¡¸Sacrificial Misanga¡¹gets successfully activated?¡¹


    ¡¸The item itself is going to be destroyed, but in exchange, it completely nullifies the attack, eliminating even the things such as the feelings of shock or pain that would normally be there when you suffer a direct hit. The downside is that it only works once, so people who have to go into close quarters combat tend to not rely on it very often, but it is the most useful for those who into the Labyrinths only occasionally or those who use magic from the backline as a last resort for when they might get hit by the monster that broke through the vanguard¡¯s defenses.¡¹


    Well, since it gets destroyed after absorbing only one attack, then I can definitely see why would regular physical fighters be reluctant to be using it, since when you fight with monsters it is common for them to be using more than just one attack, not to mention that knowing that your final line of defense against being killed is only going to last for one hit before disappearing without a trace is pretty damn scary in its own right. I guess I technically could have Sherry make that item and then we could run some experiments to see what are the exact condition for the activation of that item¡¯s Skill, but since its effect only works once and then the misanga gets destroyed.


    ¡¸Sherry, if you were to make this item, then would you say that it would be good for Roxanne, since she is fighting on the front lines, but is so good at dodging that she rarely gets hit by any attacks?¡¹


    ¡¸No, I think that you would be the one who would benefit the most from wearing it, master.¡¹


    ¡¸I can totally see why you would think like that, but cannot help it but feel that such a good effect that it has would be wasted on me if I am to be staying in the backline. In my opinion, you or Roxanne, the Party members who are always on the frontlines, would be much better off with it.¡¹

 Volume 4 - CH 5.16

    And since we can use the eighth floor and its Needlewoods as our new farming spot, ¡¸Chant Interruption¡¹Skill will be immensely useful to us.


    ¡¸I see. Is there anything else we would need?¡¹


    I asked Sherry to be sure that we got everything we would need on the list.


    ¡¸I think it would be a good idea to make a ¡¸Sacrificial Misanga¡¹by fusing a Green Caterpillar¡¯s Skill Crystal with a regular Misanga.¡¹


    ¡¸Sacrificial Misanga¡¹, huh? Luke the Broker was wearing something that was named exactly like that. If its name is anything to go by, then I am guessing that it is going to be something related blocking, or perhaps even negating an attack that is going to be targeted towards the one who is wearing it?


    ¡¸In that case, please add Green Caterpillar Skill Crystal to the list of the items I would like to get from auctions. As long as my Party members feel like it is going to be something necessary for us to obtain, I do not mind getting it, even if it is going to be a little bit on the expensive side.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood. The fee for purchasing Skill Crystals is five hundred Nars. If there will ever be a time where you are going to have some more questions and I will not be in the anywhere in the Guild¡¯s main hall, then just go to the waiting room and ask one of the staff members there to call Luke the Armor Merchant for you.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood. I will make sure to do just that if the need ever arises.¡¹


    I assured hm as I handed the five silver coins off to him.


    ¡¸Well then, I guess that concludes our business today. Thank you for your patronage, Michio-sama, and I hope for our partnership to be a fruitful one.¡¹


    When our business was over, Luke the Armor Merchant bowed down to me and left the room, leaving only the echo of his final words behind him.


    ¡¸That man is weird.¡¹


    That was what Sherry said to me as soon as we left the Merchant¡¯s Guild and got far away from it to be absolutely sure that nobody could eavesdrop on our conversation.


    ¡¸Strange? What do you mean, strange?¡¹


    ¡¸I mean, it was awfully nice of him to give you a bonus to commemorate the beginning of your partnership, but still . . . . .  why did he give you such an odd number as one hundred and thirty- two thousand Nars? No matter how hard I try to find any semblance of reason behind it, I fail to see it. I just do not know what that man was thinking by offering you such an amount of money.¡¹


    ¡¸Ahhh, I see. So that is what you have been worried about.¡¹


    For someone without the knowledge of the Skills that I have at my disposal, such an uneven number is undoubtedly doing to sound strange, and it is only natural that Sherry would get suspicious of someone who offered me such a strange price seemingly out of nowhere.


    ¡¸I knew it. Broker and middlemen are all a shady bunch that should not be trusted at all.¡¹


    I realized that Sherry was somewhat distrustful of the brokers and middleman from the Merchants Guild, but that comment of hers just now only solidified that belief for me.


    ¡¸Yes, you did tell me that yesterday before we got here, and thanks to that, I was able to avoid the pitfall that Laurel was trying to lure me in. Thank you for that, Sherry.¡¹


    ¡¸Please think nothing of it, master. It is a slave¡¯s duty to ensure that no harm comes to their master, no matter if it is a physical or financial one.¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, but still, I feel like thanks were in order, and that is why I have extended them to you. Let us keep being careful in our dealings with the Merchants Guild from now on.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, of course!¡¹


    ¡¸I agree with both master and Sherry of course, but I also think that this man must have given master such a good price because he was able to see how amazing of a person master truly is.¡¹


    Roxanne, it is nice to know that this is how you feel, but it definitely would not hurt you to be just a little bit more distrustful of others, especially if they are brokers and middlemen whose Job is to make money out of other people trying to make money for themselves, you know?


    ¡¸Sherry, you mentioned that item in our conversation with Luke before, but what kind of item is ¡¸Sacrificial Misanga¡¹, exactly?¡¹


    I asked Sherry because I felt genuinely interested in the subject of that item.


    ¡¸It is an accessory whose purpose is to sometimes absorb the attack that the enemy directs towards its wearer.¡¹


    ¡¸Sometimes? Not always?¡¹


    Does that mean that the effect of absorbing the attack targeted at the wearer has only a certain percentage chance of activating, or are there some other restrictions added to it as well?


    ¡¸Well, basically, there are rumors that state that ¡¸Sacrificial Misanga¡¯s¡¹effect has a higher probability of being activated if the attack that is supposed to be absorbed is a really strong one, but the strength of the person wearing it also seems to be one of the factors for it. From what I have heard, more often than not it seems to be working for the people who are fighting against strong monsters at the upper floors of the Labyrinths, whereas it almost never activates on the lower floors of the Labyrinths where the enemies are all relatively weak, or at least that is how the story goes.¡¹


    ¡¸I see, so that is how it works.¡¹


    Then, are there really no other conditions to it after all? Like, for example, that the effect of absorbing the attack only activates if the attack that hits you shaves off more than half of your HP, or that it only works for the attacks that would leave you with 1 HP or the one that would have outright killed you? And does the effect works for just a single attack, or perhaps for an entire series of attacks that would have normally reduced your HP to zero?


    Well, whatever the case with that might be, as long as you figure out exactly how to proc its effect, then it is going to be a really handy piece of equipment.


    ¡¸So, what happens when the effect of ¡¸Sacrificial Misanga¡¹gets successfully activated?¡¹


    ¡¸The item itself is going to be destroyed, but in exchange, it completely nullifies the attack, eliminating even the things such as the feelings of shock or pain that would normally be there when you suffer a direct hit. The downside is that it only works once, so people who have to go into close quarters combat tend to not rely on it very often, but it is the most useful for those who into the Labyrinths only occasionally or those who use magic from the backline as a last resort for when they might get hit by the monster that broke through the vanguard¡¯s defenses.¡¹


    Well, since it gets destroyed after absorbing only one attack, then I can definitely see why would regular physical fighters be reluctant to be using it, since when you fight with monsters it is common for them to be using more than just one attack, not to mention that knowing that your final line of defense against being killed is only going to last for one hit before disappearing without a trace is pretty damn scary in its own right. I guess I technically could have Sherry make that item and then we could run some experiments to see what are the exact condition for the activation of that item¡¯s Skill, but since its effect only works once and then the misanga gets destroyed.


    ¡¸Sherry, if you were to make this item, then would you say that it would be good for Roxanne, since she is fighting on the front lines, but is so good at dodging that she rarely gets hit by any attacks?¡¹


    ¡¸No, I think that you would be the one who would benefit the most from wearing it, master.¡¹


    ¡¸I can totally see why you would think like that, but cannot help it but feel that such a good effect that it has would be wasted on me if I am to be staying in the backline. In my opinion, you or Roxanne, the Party members who are always on the frontlines, would be much better off with it.¡¹

 Volume 4 - CH 5.17

    But at the same time, I need something that would be more than just a weapon for show, because a Wand cannot be used as a physical weapon during the times of emergency. That is why I also need to have a sword for myself, just in case I ever needed to protect myself when a monster would run into my melee range, where using magic would no longer be an option. Now, the question is: what kind of sword should I take? Should I go with an ordinary Copper Sword on the assumption that I will rarely use it? Or maybe something better than that, something that I would be using more often? Anyway, it is a good thing that I have ¡¸Identify¡¹and that it works on weapons and items as well as humans, because without it I would have probably choose something that does not have any Empty Skill Slots, rendering the potential fusions of these weapons with Skill Crystals completely useless.


    Looking at all the swords in the store¡¯s offer, the thing right above the Copper Sword in terms of Quality was the Iron Sword. Getting something like that for myself should be reasonable enough, right? The Iron Sword also has variants that have either one or two Empty Skill Slots whereas the Copper Swords only have a single Empty Skill Slot, however, none of the weapons that are being put on display here seem to have actual Skills embedded into them. I briefly looked at the Scimitars as well, but they also had only a single Empty Skill Slot. This is a little letdown, but still well within what I was expecting. After all, it would be a dream come true if I could find a good weapon with Skills already in it in an ordinary Weapon Shop, and as we are all well aware, dreams do not often come true when we want them to. I just have to move on and keep searching for something that might end up being a good enough substitute for Durandal.


    The type of Sword that is a tier above the Iron Sword is a Steel Sword. When it comes to them, they had up to three Empty Skill Slots, which was a pleasant surprise. There was also a thing called Damascus Steel Sword, but since it is being displayed on the wall behind the counter where the Shop owner is, so it is probably not for sale and is intended to only serve a purely decorative purpose. Maybe it is the finest piece of weaponry that the owner has available, and that is why he wanted to gloat to everyone about it?


    Looking at it from a distance, I did not see any Empty Skill Slots in it at all, so I stopped carrying about it immediately, because I do not need anything that is both more expensive than anything else that the store has to offer and does not have Empty Skill Slots which would enable it to become even more stronger with the Skill Crystal Fusion.


    Maybe I should just stick to buying myself an Iron Sword, which seemed like a good balance of price and the Skill Slots it offered? It is the type of weapon that is neither low or high tier, so if I end up infusing it with Skills, I should still be able to sell it for a good price without having too many regrets about it. I would also need to buy a spare sword to fuse and sell in case I ever end up finding another Skill Crystal as a Drop Item from the monsters roaming about in the Labyrinths


    In the end, I ended up buying one Copper Sword and one Iron Sword for myself. Both of them have Empty Skill Slots, of course. The Iron Sword has two Empty Skill Slots in it while the Copper Sword has a regular one Skill Slot. Also, it occurred to me only after I finalized the purchase of these swords, but. . . . . . . . . . . but maybe I should have gone and buy two pieces of the same type of sword instead of two different ones, because buying two of the same swords would have allowed me to save up that much space in my Item Box. The way Item Box works, as long as you have multiple copies of the same item, you can place more than one copy of it into one item slot, but Copper Sword and Iron Sword are going to occupy two separate spaces since they are not the same. This is an oopsie on my part, but in hindsight it is not all that bad of an oopsie because a solution to the problem of taken space in the Item Box is quite simple here: if I am not going to be using the Copper Sword in favor of the Iron Sword, I can always leave the Copper Sword physically at home instead of keeping it in the Item Box.


    ¡¸Sherry, am I right in thinking that in terms of the material hierarchy, a sword made out of steel is a cut above a sword made out of iron?¡¹


    It was hard for me to ask that of Sherry while we were still inside of the Weapons Shop because I did not want the owner to overhear us and think that I am a total amateur who does not know even the basic things like that, so I waited for it only after we left.


    ¡¸Yes, when we talk about the order of the weapons, or rather the strength of the materials that have been used to make them it would be copper = = = > iron = = = > steel.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay, I understand that. However, why is steel considered stronger than iron since steel is technically made from iron?¡¹


    ¡¸Eh?¡¹


    Sherry stopped and looked at me as if I was some kind of braindead idiot.


    ¡¸Ehhh?¡¹


    Oh my fuck, do not tell me that I have done it again! If that is indeed the case, then I sure as hell am glad that I did not mention any of that back in the Weapon Shop.


    ¡¸Uhm. . . . .  let me confirm if I understand this correctly, master. You are asking if steel can be made from iron?¡¹


    ¡¸Well. . . . . yeah, that is basically what I wanted to ask. Is it not the case here?¡¹


    ¡¸. . . . . . . . . Generally speaking, not only steel and iron, but all metals and materials similar to them are made through the process of processing the items obtained from the monsters from the Labyrinths.¡¹


    ¡¸Is. . . . . . . .  is that so?¡¹


    I thought that Sherry was going to look at me with those cold eyes of hers again, but this time it did not happen, thank god for that. Right now, due to how short she was she was looking up at me with gentle eyes.


    ¡¸If I remember correctly, one of the great scholars of old wrote in some of his notes that he would attempt to create steel by the means of using iron instead of monster materials. However, just because he wrote that he was going to attempt it does not mean that he has actually succeeded, and even if he did, the equipment and methods he might have used to do so are now considered to be a lost technology.¡¹


    ¡¸In other words, you do not know how to do it?¡¹


    ¡¸No, master. I really do not know how to do it, and even if I knew, I am sure that a feat like that would be something way beyond my current abilities as a newbie Master Smith.¡¹


    Even if it is lost now, if the technology allowing for the creation of steel by using iron exists out there somewhere, then it probably means that steel can be created by using iron. And that is good news. Very good indeed.


    ¡¸It is okay, Sherry, you do not have to beat yourself up over it. The most important thing for me right now is knowing that steel can possibly be made from iron, and at the current moment I do not need anything else. But since we are already on the subject, then I would also like to know a few more things: is Damascus Steel similar to normal steel, or is it better from it?


    ¡¸Supposedly, since it is harder and more flexible than ordinary steel while maintaining the sharpness to its edge.¡¹


    ¡¸Now, since it is better, then can Damascus Steel also be made by using iron as the base component for it?¡¹

 Volume 4 - CH 5.18

    ¡¸Maybe it could, but currently this is nothing but a speculation.¡¹


    So Sherry does not know for sure, and at the current moment I do not have any means to confirm or deny that possibility. On to the next question then.


    ¡¸Can Damascus Steel be dropped by a monster as its Drop Item?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, it can. Damascus Steel is an item dropped by a monster called Rem Gollem.¡¹


    ¡¸Good. Damascus Steel is better than ordinary steel, but is there something that tops Damascus Steel in terms of value and durability?¡¹


    ¡¸That is right. Tha material that is a grade above Damascus Steel in a same way that Damascus Steel tops steel is called Orichalcum.¡¹


    Orichalcum? I feel like I have heard that name somewhere before, but I absolutely cannot remember where. Maybe is some RPG game, perhaps?


    ¡¸Do you know about Orichalcum, master?¡¹


    Sherry asked, most likely because of the facial expression that I had when she mentioned Orichalcum.


    ¡¸No, that is the first time I am hearing about it, but the name itself got me interested. Do you know how to make it?¡¹


    ¡¸No, and as of yet, I cannot even begin to imagine myself creating a high-grade material such as that.¡¹


    I guess I should have expected that, since back on earth Orichalcum was depicted mostly as a legendary metal that was supposed to be tougher than all ordinary metals known to mankind. I just feel glad that it did not turn out that the thing that is a grade above Damascus Steel is actually Depleted Uranium, because then we would have a problem. . . . . . . . . . .   oh, wait a minute. . . . . . . .  what if, what if Depleted Uranium was actually Orichalcum all along?!


    ¡¸I see.¡¹


    Okay, let us not go to such places with my thought trains. Orichalcum is Orichalcum, and definitely not Depleted Uranium, and that is final, end of story.


    ¡¸However, I did not see anything that would look like Orichalcum Sword back there in the Weapon Shop. It was filled only with Copper Swords, Iron Swords and Steel Swords. Are weapons made out of Orichalcum something that you cannot obtain from Weapon Shops, or through ordinary means?¡¹


    ¡¸When it comes to the Orichalcum-class weapons, I think it is quite possible the shopkeepers might be selling them only to the people whom they have close relationships with, or perhaps they sell them only through the auctions, and not in their shops directly. If the word got around that they are keeping such rare and valuable weapons in their stores, then the amount of break-ins and robberies in those establishments would simply skyrocket.¡¹


    Yeah, Sherry was absolutely right. If these weapons really are much more valuable than the regular ones, then of course it would make much more sense to sell them all at auctions where the prices can often get pretty ridiculous if you were to happen upon a bidder who would decide that he needs to have that particular item at all costs.


    So that is how valuable Orichalcum and the weapons made out of it are for the people of this world? I am not going to lie, this makes me want to have one of these for myself, just so that I could see for myself how amazing they really are.


    Afterwards, we went to the Labyrinth of Vale, but not to make any progress in our exploration, but simply so that we could go to its second floor to hunt ourselves some Green Caterpillars and collect their Drop Items: Silk Threads. With a sizeable amount of them on us, we went back home, where I intended to have Sherry create us a Misanga before dinner.


    ¡¸All right Sherry, here are all of the Silk Threads we have collected today. Think you will be able to make a Misanga out of them without any problems?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, master, that should be more than enough. Well then, allow me to get to work on it!¡¹


    I handed all of the Silk Threads off to Sherry, and she accepted them eagerly. Next, she placed one bundle of Silk Threads in her left hand, and another one in her right hand and proceeded to chant the incantation for the ¡¸Armor Creation¡¹spell. When she was done, the threads in her hands began to shine with a brilliant, yet somewhat violent light which was reminiscent of the one that shined when she created a ¡¸Copper Sword of Obstruction¡¹. That was her cue to clasp her hands together, which caused the two base items in her hands to merge into a singular new item.


    ¡¸I see now. So this is how accessories are made? I guess the process really is the same for all types of items, just like you said.¡¹


    ¡¸Ohhh, this is the first time where I have seen people actually make equipment. It looks every bit as amazing as I have imagined.¡¹


    So Roxanne also felt amazed when she saw Sherry make equipment, huh? Well, I can definitely say that I understand how she feels.


    Eventually, the light in Sherry¡¯s hands finally subsided, revealing the final product of Sherry¡¯s latest fusion:


    {Misanga}


    Accessory


    Skills: None


    Effects: None


    Yes, what remained in Sherry¡¯s hands now was a freshly created Misanga. As expected, even though it has been fused with a Skill, it had no Skills or effects because there was no Skill Crystals involved in the fusion process. Also, looking at Sherry now, it does not look like is experiencing any of the effects of the MP deficit, so that probably means that the fusion of ordinary items without any Skills added into them does not consume as much MP as the fusion of items with Skills in them does. But maybe I should ask her, just to be absolutely sure:


    ¡¸How are you feeling, Sherry? No negative thought plaguing your head all of a sudden?¡¹


    ¡¸No, master, I feel fine. The fusion of equipment without any Skills added onto them does not cost as much MP as the fusion of items with Skills in them, so as long as you will want me to fuse ordinary items, I should be able to make a few of them instead of just one.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay, that is great to know, but tell me now: can the item and equipment fusion fail even when making simple equipment like the Misanga that you just created?¡¹


    ¡¸I should be fine as long as I will keep making simple things in order to gain more experience as a Master Smith, but if I suddenly tried to make something much more difficult, then the probability of failure would be much higher than usual. You also need to remember that even if you have the necessary tools and resources for making a successful fusion, there is always a chance that the fusion might randomly fail, and there is nothing you can do about it.¡¹


    Sherry answered. So as long as she keeps making normal items that are not too difficult to make she should be okay. Also, after our bit of exploration for Silk Threads her level as a Master Smith has increased to Lv.5, so even if she had to make something with a Skill in it, her MP should not get totally depleted with only a single fusion.


    ¡¸Oh really?¡¹


    I muttered to myself while receiving the Misanga from Sherry¡¯s hands. Although it was created through a Skill, it looked like a perfectly ordinary braided bracelet with nothing strange or abnormal about it. It is just a simple accessory that can be wrapped around your wrist or ankle.


    ¡¸There is also a saying, or I guess a superstition would be the more appropriate word here, among the Master Smiths community. A superstition that states that if a Master Smith manages to create a ¡¸Sacrificial Misanga¡¹as their first item ever fused, then that means that they are definitely going to have successful business as Master Smiths.¡¹


    ¡¸Is that so? Well, would it not be nice if that turned out to be true?¡¹


    ¡¸It most certainly would, but I would not hold my breath counting on it. That story is nothing more but a myth that is supposed to encourage the young Master Smiths to commit to their craft without the fear of failure.¡¹


    ¡¸A myth, huh? Well, you can never know for sure. Personally, I like to believe that every myth has a bit of truth mixed in with it.¡¹


    Of course it is a myth. Creating items with Skill in them has nothing to do with skill, luck, fate or any other similar thing.

 Volume 4 - CH 5.19

    All that matters with it is whether or not you have Skill Crystals and a weapon, armor or accessory with an Empty Skill Slot where that Skill Crystal can then be placed. Unfortunately, since the Misanga created by Sherry just now was made with plain ordinary Silk Thread, it meant that it did not come together with any Empty Skill Slots, not even one. In other words, no matter how hard I would have wanted it, it cannot be made into a ¡¸Sacrificial Misanga¡¹.


    Also, is it just me, or is that myth one hell of an unfair one? I mean, what the hell man? A Master Smith who manages to create a ¡¸Sacrificial Misanga¡¹is going to be a successful one and the one that does not manage to create it as their first fusion is not going to be a successful one? If that is not hellishly biased and RNG based, then I do not know what is, because it all depends on whether or not a Master Smith manages to obtain a piece of equipment with an empty Skill Slot in it or not. If he or she got lucky and got their hands on such an item, then hooray for them, they are going to be locked on a surefire express towards success according to the people and their myth. But if they did not have so much luck as to get their hands on something with Empty Skill Slots, they are going to end up the same way that Sherry did: being called a failure, a loser and being made an outcast.


    However, Sherry proved that she is not a loser. Since she managed to become a Master Smith in the end, it should be enough of a proof to anyone who has ever doubted her that she is not a failure. There is absolutely no way that someone as cute as her could ever be a failure. She is and will be an amazing Master Smith, there are no doubts in my mind about that.


    ¡¸It does not matter whether you are a skilled Master Smith or not. In practice that has nothing to do with the success rate of the Skill Crystal Fusion, and the same rule applies to the odds of creating a¡¸Sacrificial Misanga¡¹. Your own skills have nothing to do with it, all that it boils down to is blind luck, nothing more.¡¹


    That is right. Now that I have cracked the code with how does the fusion process work, Sherry will no longer have to worry herself with the odds of her fusions succeeding or failing, because as long as she follows my guidance, all of her fusions are going to have a one hundred percent success rate. The only unknown factor we have to be concerned about is the probability of creating the equipment that is going to have Empty Skill Slots in it. If I could just figure out how to make it so that each and every one of the items created by Sherry came up with Empty Skill Slots, then that combined with her hundred percent fusion success rate would have to make her one of the best Master Smiths in the empire, id not the best, most reliable Master Smiths in the entire world.


    The best Master Smith, huh? Would that not be a thing to behold: being able to stick it to the ones who mocked and ridiculed you through nothing more but your honest work and its results, unlike all those other Master Smiths out there.Maybe thinking that if they can get an item with Empty Skill Slots through fusion is a way for the Master Smiths to psyche themselves up, because thinking like that makes them think that they are among the very few ones who are better than all the others? It might also be possible that different Master Smiths might have different odds of obtaining Empty Skill Slots on the equipment that they are making, but for the time being I should not worry myself with that.


    ¡¸I see. Well, this is the first piece of equipment that you have made since you officially became a Master Smith, so I am going to be wearing this Misanga with pride, Sherry.¡¹


    ¡¸Are. . . . . . .  are you sure about this, master? I mean, this is just an ordinary Misanga, without any Skills or additional effects, so it is literally not going to do anything to improve your defenses.¡¹


    ¡¸Maybe, but what of it? Does that make it useless, or something that you do not want me to wear?¡¹


    ¡¸No, I. . . . . . . . . uhm, n-no, of course not. If you want to wear it even though it does nothing special, then. . . . . . ..  then that makes me very happy, master. Thank you so very much.¡¹


    Sherry bowed her head down to me as if I had done something monumental or worthy of praise, while in truth I felt like I did no such thing.


    Even though Sherry told me that the thing with being a skilled Master Smith having effect on your probability of successful fusion was nothing but a myth and I know it to be true. . . . . .  it still makes me just a little bit curious, because the way I see it, it is kinda like with ghost stories. Even though you know that there are no ghosts and that they are not real, a part of you is still getting worried and frightened whenever you hear about them, and tells you that it would be good for you to avoid being alone near pitch-black spaces. . . . . .  but instead of worrying about that, we should be focusing on two other things right now: getting more Skill Crystals for Sherry¡¯s future fusion, and before that, pray that she is going to create a Misanga that is actually going to have an Empty Skill Slot on it. Only when that happens will the things be able to truly kick off, enabling Sherry to start turning her dream of being a legitimate Master Smith into a reality. I just hope that from now it is going to be a smooth sailing for her, and that reality is not going to make her go through any more brutal reality checks like it did with me. I would absolutely hate it to see her dreams get shattered when they are so pure and genuine.


    I took the Misanga created by Sherry and wrapped it neatly around my right ankle. Just hard enough for it not to fall off when I would move around a lot, but also just light enough for it not to feel uncomfortable and then tied it with a simple butterfly knot for the ease of taking it off in the evenings or during baths. That way, replacing it if it gets damaged is going to be easy as pie, and maybe I could even add some more decorations to it whenever I felt like it.


    With that matter out of our way, we could finally proceed to making dinner, which is going to be a Genghis Khan hot pot. That is right, you heard it correctly. Not just your any other ordinary hot pot, but a Genghis Khan hot pot.


    A Genghis Khan hot pot without any special tare sauce to pour on it, but a Genghis Khan hot pot nonetheless.


    A Genghis Khan hot pot without regular barbequed lamb meat, but with a Goat Meat obtained from our battles with Pan on the seventh floor of the Vale¡¯s Labyrinth.


    Overall, this is going to be a truly unorthodox Genghis Khan hot pot, but since this world does not have all the necessary ingredients needed in order to cook its modern-day iteration, but I have no choice other than to somehow deal with this conundrum by substituting the ingredients from earth with what we have available here.


    Beginning the preparation process, I prepared a simple, disposable wooden stand and a pair of two iron plates. I placed one of the iron plates on top of the wood, put four moderately sized stones into the corners of that plate and then placed another iron plate on top of those stones, and filled the rest of the empty space between the two iron plates with charcoal. With that, my makeshift grill has been assembled. All that is left to do now is to light up the charcoal with a little bit of fire (I would not dare to use Fireball for it in fear of burning down the entire kitchen) and I slowly grilled all of the Goat Meat and selected vegetables on the upper plate until the meat was dripping juices and the vegetables were getting soft on the inside and crispy on the outside.

 Volume 4 - CH 5.20

    Yeah. . . . . . . no matter how I look at it, this looks an awful lot like teppanyaki! ! ! How could I have messed up even something that is so simple to prepare. . . . . .  no. No, this is not teppanyaki. Since I am the only one in here who knows the actual difference between teppanyaki and Genghis Khan, that means that I am the one who has the right to decide what this dish is and how is it going to be called. And so, I hereby declare that this dish is a Genghis Khan hot pot! And to those who might be complaining that it is not a genuine Genghis Khan hot pot, at the very least I used the fish sauce to make the Goat Meat look similar to twice-cooked pork, one of the staple dishes that tend to be utilized in hot pots, so there you have it, Genghis Khan with my own twist added onto it!


    Now that I have explained why this is a Genghis Khan hot pot even if some parts of it are clearly unorthodox, it was time to start making the finishing touches so that it could finally be served, so I used the leftover gravy in order to season the vegetables with it for a bit until they reaches just the right amount of softness and crispiness.


    ¡¸Just a little bit more time and the meal should be ready.¡¹


    ¡¸Of course. Thank you for going out of your way to cook for us, master. I am sure it is going to be delicious.¡¹


    ¡¸Thanks, and you bet it is going to be delicious. I personally guarantee it, or my name is not Kaga Michio!¡¹


    All that is left to do now is to see if the meat and the vegetables are not burnt anywhere, and we are good to go. Since I was the cook responsible for the preparation of the entire meal this time, it was my responsibility both as the chef and the head of the household to divide the meat between all of the residents.


    Daddy Cool.


    It would have been nice if we had some chopsticks that we could eat the meat with, but since we do not have them, forks will have to do instead.  Also, even though Genghis Khan that I have prepared is the main dish and the star of the show here, we also had some side dishes to go with it, mainly: Roxanne¡¯s cream stew and Sherry¡¯s soup, both of which have been brought in and served together with bread right after I finished distributing the meat to all of us equally.


    Taste wise, I have to say that it was nothing that would obliterate your taste buds with tasty goodness the moment you put it into your mouth, but it does not mean it was bad. Quite the opposite, actually. It was much better in comparison to the previous meat-based dish that I prepared last time, so I guess I could say that I was able to improve a bit as a cook thanks to that previous experience, and that is what cooking is all about: learning from your previous failures and using them as stepping stones for improvement.


    ¡¸Master, it is delicious!¡¹


    Roxanne also said that the meal I have prepared was delicious, so I guess it paid to experiment with this Genghis Khan hot pot, even if I was not entirely sure how the end result was going to turn out, so all that is left for me to do now it to enjoy the taste of my deliciously-made meat and vegetables as I continued grill more of them while enjoying the mundane conversation about everything and nothing with my two beautiful slaves, which makes me feel the same level of luxury like Lieutenant General Mutaguchi when he surrounded himself with beautiful geishas during the battles in Meimyou. But even though I certainly enjoy such a cozy atmosphere, it does not change the fact that there is something that I wanted to ask Sherry about, and I think that right now might be as good of a time as any to finally get this matter out of the way.


    ¡¸Sherry, I know that now might not be the best time to be asking something like that of you, but. . . . . . . .  if you do not mind, then would you tell us how exactly you have become a slave?¡¹


    I am certain that just like in Roxanne¡¯s case, there has to be some kind of story behind it, so if possible, I would like to learn what that story was.


    ¡¸Uhm. . . . . . . . . . . . . I, w-well. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ¡¹


    ¡¸No, no, no, it is something that you would rather not talk about, then that is perfectly fine with me.¡¹


    It is true that I want to know about Sherry¡¯s past and how she became a slave, but if this subject is something that makes her remember particularly bad memories, then I am not going to force her to share them with us just so that I could satisfy my own curiosity. So far, all that we know about her is that she must have come from a family that was doing pretty good for themselves because they were wealthy enough to have a number of books at home, but that is pretty much it.


    ¡¸. . . . . . . . . . No, it is all right, master. I knew that sooner or later you would want to know about it, and I do not intend to hide anything from you. The main reason, or rather, a cause behind me becoming a slave was because my brother got seriously injured while he was exploring the Labyrinth that was near our village.¡¹


    ¡¸Your brother. . . . . . . . got injured?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. Ours was mainly a family of Master Smiths, but my father was not as talented of a Master Smith as my grandfather was, so he was unable to create items could be sold for a lot of money, therefore he relied on my brother for being the main source of income after grandfather passed away.¡¹


    So it would seem that the generation to which Sherry¡¯s grandfather belonged was the one that was filled with pretty skilled Master Smiths and Sherry¡¯s grandfather was an especially good Master Smith even among all of them, but his son, Sherry¡¯s father, did not seem to inherit his father¡¯s abilities when it came to smithing, and that must have caused him to fall from grace, similar to what happened with Sherry when she failed to obtain the Job that everyone around her seemed to be obtaining pretty much effortlessly. The question now is: how big od a social stigma it was to be a bad Master Smith in the eyes of the Dwarven communities? Was it something that was seen as inconvenience, a kind of impotence, or something that would result in the ostracization of the entire family?


    ¡¸So your brother got injured while in the Labyrinth, which made him incapable of providing further income for the family. What happened then?¡¹


    ¡¸We had to borrow money in order to buy the medicine that could help with his injury.¡¹


    ¡¸Borrowing money just so you could help heal your injured brother. . . . . .  oh, Sherry, I am so sorry for you.¡¹


    ¡¸Well, if your brother¡¯s injury was a serious one, then I guess no ordinary medicine could help him, but rather a high-end one, right? In that case you would really have to pay a hefty amount to get that kind of medicine, which. . . . . .  damn, I cannot even imagine how tough it must have been for you.¡¹


    Even if I did not want to patronize Sherry, I had no choice but to agree with Roxanne¡¯s words here.


    ¡¸That is right. Normally we would not have been able to pay for the medicine that my brother needed, but with the money we borrowed, we were able to get our hands on it pretty easily. The thing is. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .¡¹


    ¡¸Let me guess: the real problems started only after you already bought the medicine, but you lacked the means of returning the money to those whom you borrowed them from?¡¹


    ¡¸That is just how it is with debts: once you end up taking one, getting out of it is going to grow harder and harder with each passing day.

 Volume 4 - CH 5.21

    ¡¸I have seen what debts, even the smallest, seemingly insignificant ones, can do with those who have taken them and their families. It might not be immediately obvious to those looking from the outside, but the families stricken with debt are all the same: slowly rotting away from the inside, little by little, until it tears them apart completely. I. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  I absolutely did not want that to happen to my family.¡¹


    So it was actually such a thing? Well, I can certainly agree with what Sherry said just now. Once you get yourself stuck in the clutches of debt, there is no way to easily get out of them, because interest rates are unfairly high and they keep on growing on a day to day basis, not to mention that if you fail to deliver the payment in time, moneylenders will not hesitate from employing hired muscle to finish the collection in a. . . . . . . . not so subtle manner.


    ¡¸I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I guess houses like that really do exist, huh?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, unfortunately. And, well. . . . . . .  you know how it is. Once you start borrow money, no matter how hard you would work the amount that needs to be returned never seems to be dwindling down but keeps on increasing instead, and before you even realize it, you end up relying on borrowing more money and taking other debts just so you could pay off the previous ones, and soon you are going to run yourself so ragged trying to pay them all off until at one point you are going to be too sick and tired to lift a finger, much less work to get money for your lenders. And. . . . . . . . . . . . . .  and once that happens, it will inevitably lead to a family break-up. That is why I offered myself to be sold as a child-slave before the same miserable fate could have befallen my family.¡¹


    She did what?! Did I just misheard it, or perhaps heard it right after all?!


    ¡¸Wait a second. Are you telling me that you. . . . . . . . .sold yourself into slavery of your own free will?!¡¹


    ¡¸. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Yes, that is what I have decided would be best under the circumstances my family was under in that moment.¡¹


    Was that the rational thing to do? Could Sherry not have look for some other solutions first before turning herself towards this drastic one. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . no, if my assessment of her is correct, then Sherry must have been a smart individual ever since she was young, so she probably determined that given her family¡¯s situation, it really might have been the best thing for her to do. . . . . . . . . but I still feel like I have to ask her about it. I need to hear her say that it was the only option remaining for her, or else I feel like I am not going to be able to fully accept it.


    ¡¸Was. . . . . . . . was there no other way besides that? Because becoming a slave just so that your family could get out of debt seems a bit. . . . . . . . excessive.¡¹


    ¡¸I realized that as well, but back then, it seemed like a perfectly reasonable thing to do for me. . . . . . . . . . no, it was the only. . . . . . . .  the best thing that I could have done. Think about it, master. I was a failure who failed to become not only a Master Smith, but a Shrine Maiden as well, so the reputation of my family as a whole has already been damaged enough, so I decided to remove myself from it before my presence could cause any more harm than it already did to them. Of course, I was uncertain. . . . . . . and scared of what would happen to me, but if I became a slave, then the least I could do was to learn how to speak and write in Brahim, which would allow a whole new set of possibilities to open themselves before me one day when I would eventually regain my freedom. All I had to do was to do my best to learn it, because I heard over and over again that highly educated slaves tend to be bought by the richer kinds of clients.¡¹


    ¡¸Brahim, huh?¡¹


    Was the ability to learn how to speak and write in Brahim really worth selling yourself into slavery? I mean sure, in this world, if you can speak and write in Brahim, you will be able to do much more than those who cannot speak and write in it. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . so did Sherry analyze all of the pros and cons of that situation and ultimately decided that the potential profits far outweighed the demerits?


    ¡¸Was. . . . . . . . . .  was your family really okay with such a solution?¡¹


    ¡¸It was more like they accepted that solution, because to be honest. . . . . .  my offer was a Godsend to them. My younger brother and sister were still to small to work, and selling my older brother, the one responsible for supporting the family with his income from his goings into the Labyrinths was absolutely out of the question. Whether they liked it or not, they had no choice. Selling me was the best option from the standpoint of my family¡¯s well-being.¡¹


    The best possible choice? Could they not sell their father? Or maybe they did consider it at one point, but ultimately decided that it would not be worth it because no one would be willing to give half a decent price for a Dwarf who has a reputation of having no talent as a Master Smith? Yeah, that would make frighteningly much sense, because Sherry could always be sold to someone as a sex slave, and since she was a virgin, and an educated one at that, then her overall price could have been elevated that much higher.


    ¡¸Well, that is in the past, so do not worry about it anymore, okay? Right now, Roxanne and I are your new family, and we will never abandon you, so just focus on doing your best and making sure that you are going to be living your life to the fullest everyday from morning until dawn, all right?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course. Thank you for your understanding. . . . . . . . . . . and your compassion. It really means a lot for me, Miss Roxanne, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Now that you have met master, you will never have to worry about things like that Sherry. Because master is the best possible, most amazing master we could have ever hoped for!¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, that is certainly true.¡¹


    Although it made me immensely happy to hear Roxanne singing such high praises of me, I was beginning to think that it is more than a little scary how she was able to come up with such increasingly complex things almost at the spur of the moment and without batting an eye at that. Okay, do not think too hard about it. Just. . . . . . . . . .  just go and offer her more meat. Yeah, that is a good thing to do. Stuff Roxanne¡¯s mouth with more of that delicious meat of your so that she would focus more on eating rather than on anything else.


    That being said. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  god damn, this Genghis Khan hot pot turned out to more popular than I thought, which could be clearly seen by the rate of how fast all of the ingredients were disappearing from my makeshift grill. Even though there were three of us at the table right now and we were all eating as if tomorrow was supposed to never come around, we still practically burned through all of the side dishes in an instant, and the meat and vegetables that my Genghis Khan hot pot consisted of were running low at an astonishing rate.

 Volume 4 - CH 5.22

    At this rate, I do not know if we are going to have enough of it to last us for another serving for all of us.


    At times like these, I really do pity that this world does not have yakisoba like the one you could by and make in Japan, because some sizzling hot yakisoba with teriyaki sauce would have gone amazingly well with that grilled Goat Meat. Unless. . . . . . . . . . . if I remember correctly, then I think I saw something that looked like pasta noodles in one of the shops that sold food and cooking ingredients, so if I were to buy such pasta noodles and experiment a little with grilling them and with the ways of replicating the taste of the sauce, then I think I might have been able to pull such a makeshift yakisoba off. . . . . .  . .  although thinking about making plans for it and actually preparing it are two entirely different things, and no one can guarantee me that a dish like that could really be prepared with the ingredients this world has to offer. At best, I could have made something that could only be classified as poor imitation of yakisoba, and at worst, I would have wasted the ingredients only to receive a tasteless mess of a dish for all my troubles and expenses.


    However, I do not know if the fish sauce they sell in this world, like the one I bought in the Imperial City from that old lady at he stand could make a good yakisoba at all, and the prospect of failure and having to eat something that might not even be edible in the first place is too scary for me at the current moment, so instead of trying to make something like yakisoba, maybe I should start with something much simpler and safer to make, like a garnish, for example.


    Okay. . . . . . .  that is it. . . . . . I am not going to eat another bite. I am completely and utterly filled to the brim.


    ¡¸Phew. . . . . . thank you for the meal, it was great, if I do say so myself. By the way, I wanted to ask this before, but I could never find a good moment to do so: how do you find your lives with me? Do you have any complaints with the lifestyle of the Explorers of the Labyrinths we have been living?¡¹


    I asked them about the thing that I was interested in ever since I have bought Roxanne way back when.She has already said a few times that she enjoys her life with me, but a small part of me could not help but to wonder if that was actually true, or was she simply saying that because she knew that this was what I wanted to hear her say? After all, one of my responsibilities as the master of my slaves was to make sure that they are going to be provided with food, clothing and the appropriate living conditions, so I wanted them to tell me if their lives have been lacking in any of those areas so far, because what I might think of as good living conditions might actually not be like that at all in their eyes.


    ¡¸Uhm. . . . . . . .Can I really say that? Because I do not know if I should be saying that.¡¹


    ¡¸It is okay. I am your master, after all, so you can tell me anything.¡¹


    Roxanne, who is usually supportive of me to a fault, was now hesitating. Is it something difficult to say? Or maybe something that she would feel bad for saying because of how good I have been treating her and Sherry so far?


    ¡¸Living with you so far has been a pleasure filled with positive surprises, completely unlike the usual three ways in which slaves are treated by their masters.¡¹


    ¡¸Three ways of how slaves are treated? What are those? Care to elaborate on that?¡¹


    ¡¸The first one is when you, the slave, have been bought by a rich man who took a liking to you for some reason or other. Generally speaking, for us slaves, everything depends on how wealthy of a client decides to take us in. The wealthier the client, the better our treatment and environment are going to be, at least theoretically. Also, in case of ending up in a place that has a lot of slaves, the thing that decides who is going to be in the higher and who in the lower social position is almost always the principle of seniority, and the slaves with the most seniority in the group is considered to be the leader who gets to call the shots among the entire group.¡¹


    Ahh, so I guess that in places and households that accommodate a lot of slaves, it could be said that the first slave to be bought, the one with the highest position and authority among all the other slaves could be said to be someone akin to a slave manager. And once a slave achieves the position of the manager of all the other slaves, then of course his or her treatment is going to change for the better, because they will no longer be at the bottom of the hierarchy, but a step above all the others. To draw a parallel to the modern world, it would be like a difference between working as a bottom-dwelling pencil pusher for a company and working as the chief of the entire section of it, who does not have to do the mundane work that all the others do and has the power to do literally whatever the hell he wants with everyone who works under their command. And to continue along that train of thought, if you had the option to choose between working for a small upstart company and the big megacorporation with a firm position on the market, which of these two would you choose? Heh, the answer to that question should be pretty obvious, am I right? Bigger ones are always better, if only for their prestige and the potential benefits of working in such corporations, hands-down. However, all of the above only applies to the houses and environments where there is a greater number of slaves, so I have no idea at all if any of what I just stated would apply to the households where there are only two slaves.


    ¡¸Ohhh, I have heard that too!¡¹


    ¡¸You also knew about that, Miss Roxanne?¡¹


    Since both Roxanne and Sherry were being kept in the same Slave Shop, it is no wonder that they have heard the same kind of story.


    ¡¸I have also heard that even if the female slaves do not have a good position in the regular hierarchy of their new master¡¯s household, they can still have a good life if they become his concubines. Based on what I have been told, if you become a concubine of a rich or powerful man, you could enjoy a comfortable life in luxury that you have never even known existed! Back at the Slave Shop, before master bought me, Alan-san told me that I could have become one if I worked hard enough for it!¡¹


    Yeah, that is. . . . . . . . . . . .  certainly one way to look at it, and at the same time that is a way of life that could also be possible for the women back in my old world. Go find yourself a rich, older guy and live comfortably as his concubine while simoultaneaosly sucking him off of all of his money. It is a sad thing to say, but in modern day Japan and in the rest of the well-developed countries, being a concubine of the rich guys was one of the more valid ways for the women of the twenty first century to live a comfortable, easy-going life. All they had to do was to make sure that the guy they have set their sights on would be wrapped around their little finger and does not get bored with them and voila, here is your recipe for a life void of worries and responsibilities. Also, Roxanne, about that last bit. . . . . I am honestly not sure if I should be happy or concerned for you. But at least that puts into perspective why Roxanne is as well mannered as she is at all times: it is all because being well-mannered is one of the most important prerequisites to being a good concubine, and I am sure that at some point or another Alan the Slave Merchant must have considered selling Roxanne as not just any ordinary slave, but as a concubine to some wealthy client.

 Volume 4 - CH 5.23

    Heh, good thing that I managed to make her my own before that happened, but at the same time, I feel like I should be a little more grateful to the guy, because if it was not for him educating Roxanne in such a way, then who knows if she would still be the same lovely, well-mannered and obedient Roxanne she is today?


    ¡¸Well. . . . . . . . . . .  all things considered, to me it seems like you would still need quite a fair amount of luck to be noticed and then taken in by someone rich, since the client¡¯s mind and preferences are something that no slave has a way of knowing, so in the end, if a slave manages to catch the rich client¡¯s eye, then it all boils down to the price that the Slave Shop¡¯s owner dictates, and whether or not the client is going to be willing to pay the specified price or reaches the conclusion that this is still too much and that he is going to try his luck looking elsewhere, right?¡¹


    Anyway, while this aspect of how the slaves are being kept up and cared for by the Slave Shops they have been sold to is undoubtedly very interesting, we should not let ourselves get sidetracked by it too much. I have to make sure that we stay on the main subject without going off topic at every possible chance, otherwise we will be talking about it way into the late night hours.


    ¡¸Of course, you are right, master, but in practice such cases tend to be more on a rare side of things. It is true however, that most of the slaves  who dream of winning themselves the favor of a rich patron are those who have lost their previous lives and were turned into slaves due to unfortunate circumstances.¡¹


    ¡¸In other words, being spotted by a wealthy client is a form of  potential escapism for some of the slaves?¡¹


    If you think about it, that makes a lot of sense. If someone was made a slave against their will, then of course they would try to do anything in their power to stop being slaves as soon as possible, but if they wound up in a multi-slave residence or establishment, then getting back their freedom for themselves would take not only an exceedingly large amount of luck, but also strength of will and tenacity to make yourself more appealing than the rest of the slaves they have been stuck with. I have never been a slave myself so I cannot say for sure how such people must be feeling, but if I were to hazard a guess, then I would say that it would be pretty similar to how I wanted to escape from my shitty life back in Japan, the only difference being that I thought that suicide would be the miraculous panaceum that would make all of my pain and suffering go away.


    ¡¸Okay, so that takes care of one way of how slaves are being treated. What about the other ones?¡¹


    ¡¸Right. The second way of slave treatment involves Adventurers, Explorers and anyone who is venturing into the Labyrinths on a daily basis and they have lost their adventuring companion. Instead of hiring a new Party member for themselves, such people might choose to buy themselves a slave who is going to accompany them instead.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh? So things like that actually do happen, huh?¡¹


    I guess it would be similar to my case, only that I did not buy Roxanne because I lost my previous companion. I bought her because I did not want to be all by myself in this strange, unfamiliar world.


    ¡¸Yes, and in that case, the rights of ownership can even be transferred from a parent to a child once they grew up, and the same rule can be applied if the owner remarries. However, if you buy a slave that is of a different race then you then there will be no issues with inheritance. That is also why slaves are recommended as caretakers for children, since they can look after them at all times and even go to the Labyrinths to fight for them on their behalf.¡¹


    ¡¸So in that particular case it is okay to just think of slaves as long-term caretakers?¡¹


    It looks like this world seems to be filled with various things and opportunities across all aspects and walks of life, just like in my old world. In accordance to that, those who have the money to afford it will not think twice about buying themselves slaves, because a slave is always a pair of extra hands, be it for tasks such as taking care of the children, doing household chores like cleaning or cooking or even going to the Labyrinths to make money for their masters. I can certainly see the benefits of having them, and I also understand why in general it is better to have your slaves be inherited by the other members of your family in case of your sudden, unexpected death. They are just too good of an improvement to your daily lifestyle to not have them.


    ¡¸When the master of the slave dies and they had no family to pass the slave to, it is common practice to include a passage in your last will and testament that states that the slave is to be free of his slave status and get his freedom back, and many such slaves tend to turn that into an opportunity for themselves, since if they were heading into the Labyrinths and managed to get a hefty amount of experience while battling there, it makes them a perfect choice for a potential Party member and companion, and people who buy slaves for the purpose of making them the members of their Party have been around for years, being almost as old as the system of slavery itself.¡¹


    ¡¸And the slaves have nothing against it? I mean, statistically speaking, not all of them have to be thrilled about the perspective of heading into as dangerous of a place as Labyrinths on a daily or almost daily basis.¡¹


    ¡¸Even if some of them feel like that, they usually keep it to themselves and endure it. After all, being somebody¡¯s Party member is certainly better than lifetime of serving someone who would only exploit and abuse them.¡¹


    That is an argument that I cannot argue with. Also. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


    ¡¸Exploitation and abuse? That is pretty crazy!¡¹


    I mean, I know that no anyone is capable of treating slaves as fellow human beings and instead treat them like things, or their personal possessions that they can do anything the hell they want with them, the examples from the history of my own world are more than plenty. . . . . . . . . .  but even knowing those examples, I still find it hard to believe that someone could be mistreating their slaves in the world of this game, but that is probably because I did not see any such mistreating with my own eyes just yet, and to be honest, I hope that I will not have to be a witness to them for a good while longer.


    ¡¸It definitely is more than crazy, but thankfully, the  majority of the wealthy clients buying slaves are people who managed to achieve some degree of success in their lives, which usually means that they are calm, well behaved and treat their slaves in a good way, and they are doing that because they do not want to antagonize their slaves, because they know that they are going to be the ones who are going to be taking care of them when they grow old.¡¹


    If that is so, then I wonder if the good way of treating their slaves by the nobles and wealthy people is a genuine act stemming from kindness and understanding, or is it nothing more but a cold pragmatism fueled by the knowledge that if they are going to try to abuse them, it will have a negative impact on the master-servant relationship with their slaves in the future, where the masters are going to be needing them the most?


    On the flipside, even if they are treated badly, slaves have probably learned to put up with any abuses that bad masters have been throwing their way because they probably realized that any attempts at getting revenge for getting mistreated would be utterly pointless. After all, in the relationship that slaves have with their masters, slaves are the ones with the weaker positions of the two. If they tried to do anything to their masters, the abuse would just get even more severe than it already might have been.

 Volume 4 - CH 5.24

    In the most extreme cases, slaves would probably start getting accused of crimes they did not even commit and had their supply of food taken away from them so that they would suffer from hunger and malnutrition for their insolence. There might also be cases where a whole group of slaves might be unilaterally punished for the sins of just one of them, simply to prevent them from even thinking of ever doing what the offender had done if they know what is good for them.


    However, I wonder how are the things in this world from a purely medical standpoint. My previous world, the twenty first century one is the kind of world that is so technologically advanced that there are very little cases of diseases that cannot be cured at all, and the people who are afflicted with them are not doomed live a miserable existence, but can instead still enjoy a relatively long life, even in the face of something as serious as cancer. But as for this world I am living in right now. . . . . . . well, let me just put it this way: if your head is being filled with suicidal or nihilistic thoughts when your MP gets completely depleted, then something is telling me that this world might have a serious problem when it is going to be hit with diseases such as dementia or depression.


    As for the housing situation. . . . . . . . . . . . . in Japan, up until recently there was this trend where it was not uncommon for the three whole generations of the families: grandparents, parents and children to live in the same house, but from what I have heard that trend seems to be on the decline now because an increasing percentage of young people wants to live and work in the big cities were they can be independent from their parents. . . . . . . . . but can such  a situation really be likened to having a master living in one home with a bunch of his slaves? No, definitely not. These two situations might appear to be similar when we look at them purely from the perspective of numbers and logistics, but are completely different when you start delving deeper into them. In modern-day Japan, and probably across the rest of the world as well, even if large families live together under one roof, usually there is no need for everyone to constantly keep tabs on one another and have all of the members of the household under constant surveillance. In most cases, usually the members of the three generations living in the house tend to not interfere with one another and simply live out their lives as they normally would, but there is still that particular feeling of familial bond between all of them, which prevents the situation from devolving into the one where it is basically that one house is inhabited by six or more complete strangers. But since in this world it is customary that a long-term care of the children is often relegated to slaves (and probably servants and maids in case of wealthier members of the nobility as well) so I think that if it ever came to the situation that a family that has slaves would be forced to live with the members of their extended family, or in come cases maybe even their in-laws, then I highly doubt that they would try to make an effort to talk and keep in touch with them. The most likely scenario in such case would probably be that the head of the household would simply order the slaves to take care of the needs of the extended family members, and that would probably be it. No complaints, no protests, just acceptance from both sides that this is simply how the things are supposed to be. And that, to be honest. . . . . . . .  is kind of sad, actually.


    ¡¸All right, let us say that I can more or less wrap my head around how that second way works. There are points that could definitely use some ironing out in my opinion, but we will worry about that some other time. Anyway, that leaves only one way of treating slaves to discuss, right?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, and the third way of treating slaves is buying them exclusively so that they would explore the Labyrinths for their master, and nothing else beside that.¡¹


    ¡¸That sounds really similar to the second one that you mentioned.¡¹


    ¡¸It cannot be helped since the second and third way really do sound similar to one another, but in truth, the cases of the third way being used are way fewer in comparison to the first and second way.¡¹


    ¡¸So that is how it is, huh?¡¹


    I said that, but even so, I really cannot see what is the difference between buying slaves just for the purpose of exploring the Labyrinths and hiring them as the members of your Party.


    ¡¸At first glance, there really appears to be no difference between normal slaves bough for the purpose of taking care of the house and the children, but there is one major difference between them, and a pretty big one at that: the ones meant only for exploring the Labyrinths will improve their fighting skills and will become stronger and  stronger with each battle they are going to be engaging in. Also, since strong and reliable combatants whom you can trust are a necessity if you want to tackle the higher floors of the Labyrinths, they are pretty much irreplaceable and will almost never be treated badly, since poor treatment would most definitely reflect poorly on their willingness to fight for their master as well as their overall performance.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. So that is it.¡¹


    It is a well-known fact that the work at the farms, in the mines or with household chores can be a physically demanding one that is also unlikely to give you a decent amount of money, so the slaves who work with those thing are unlikely to be earning more than their masters do.


    On the other hand, the slaves who enter the Labyrinths have one advantage over their master: they can actively increase the Level of their Job and become progressively stronger, so with enough time spent on dungeon crawling and Levelling Up, it might not be impossible for them to one day become strong enough to proclaim themselves stronger than their master, but that is only under the assumption that the master is someone who only sends their slaves to gather the items in the Labyrinths while they themselves simply stay in the safety and warmth of their house, because the story is  going to be different if the master chooses to go to the Labyrinth together with his slaves. And since the EXP points are always divided equally between all the Party members, the slaves would not be able to earn more EXP than their master, who would simultaneously be the Party Leader as well.


    But just as Sherry and Roxanne said: as the levels go up and the slaves going to the Labyrinths become stronger, their treatment is going to drastically improve. The stronger they become, the harder it will be for them to die while fighting the monsters in the Labyrinths, and they are going to secure their position further, since it would be inefficient and unwise to get rid of your strongest Party Members just so that you could replace them with weaker ones.


    After all, if you do not have access to Bonus Skills that increase the amount of the EXP that you obtained from defeated monsters, the process of gaining levels is going to take a long time, and it is extremely unlikely that the slaves going to the Labyrinths would be able to increase their levels to something around Lv.40 or Lv.50, even if they were going there every day and stayed inside for the majority of the day, so it is not like they would be swaggering around trying to look all important if they did not have the stats and strength to back that up.


    ¡¸Master, I want you to know that I am only telling you what I am about to tell you because I know how good of a person you are, okay? So, it seems  that there is also a possibility of striking an agreement with the strong Labyrinth-going slaves that would allow you to buy them from their master¡¯s if they conclude that they are being treated especially badly, and sometimes even the slaves themselves can come up with such a initiative.¡¹


    So such a thing can happen, huh? Well then, I guess I will have to make sure that I treat Roxanne and Sherry especially well to make sure that does not. . . . . . . .  happen. . . . .


    Right then, a certain thought has downed upon me.

 Volume 4 - CH 5.25

    ¡¸Uhm. . . . . . . . . . .  so let me see if I understand what you are getting at here. Basically, you are saying that I need to be treasuring the two of you even more than I already am because otherwise you might do something like that to me and look for some other master for yourselves?¡¹


    ¡¸No, no, no! That was not our intention at all! We only told this to master because we know that master is a good and caring person who would have never treat us badly or made us feel neglected, and we have absolutely no intention of looking for another master for ourselves! Is that not right, Sherry?!¡¹


    ¡¸I-I never intended to do something like that either!¡¹


    Both Roxanne and Sherry have made amazing progress when it comes to their levels, and if they continue to grow even more at their current pace, it will not be long before It would be pretty difficult for me to even think about replacing them with other slaves if they ever decided to leave me for some reason.


    I feel like even now, saying goodbye to them and letting go of them would be something that I would simply be unable to do.


    ¡¸I do not want anyone else than master to be my master, and if I had to choose between getting a new master or dying, I would have gladly chosen death!¡¹


    ¡¸M-Mee too! My thoughts are exactly the same as Miss Roxanne¡¯s!¡¹


    But even if they did not decide to leave me, the power balance between us would have still changed nonetheless. And with that change to the power balance between us, our positions would have inevitably become reversed. And who knows what is going to happen when the both reach Lv.40 or Lv.50? Will they still want to be with me, or are they going to conclude that they no longer need me and leave me behind? That would be absolutely terrible. I do not want that! I want the three of us to stay together forever!


    ¡¸I am very happy with how master has been treating us so far, and I never would have changed that for anything else in the world!¡¹


    ¡¸Me too! Master is so kind to me, not treating me any differently even though I have considered myself to be nothing but a failure throughout my life so far! That is why I want to pay master back for that kindness in any way I can!¡¹


    Such foolishness. It was foolish of me to even consider them leaving me as a possibility. I have never given them any reason to doubt me thus far. But if what we currently have keeps going, then. . . . . . . . does that mean that I will never be able to look at Roxanne with my head held high and my chest puffed out proudly, not being able to pay her back for all the things she has done, and will be doing for me? Even now I feel like no matter what I would try to do, it would still not be nearly enough to thank Roxanne for her loyal service and help for me, and I am sure that in the future, both near and far, that debt of gratitude is only going to keep on growing.


    ¡¸Or maybe it is that you are not pleased with us? Is there something that we might be lacking, according to you?¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s right! If we are doing something wrong, or if you find our performance to be dissatisfying, just say the word and we will do everything in our power to improve ourselves so that you could say that you are proud of us being your slaves!¡¹


    No, that is not the case at all! I think that there are no better slaves than the two of you, truly! But if there is even a shade of a chance that they think of me as a bad master, or the one that is lacking in some regard. . . . . I will not allow it, I will not allow it, I will not allow it, I am absolutely not going to allow them to think like that! And that is precisely why I am going to play a literal Uno reverse card on them right now!


    ¡¸I do not think that there is anything wrong with you, but since we are already at the subject, then why do we not turn things around?¡¹


    ¡¸Turn things. . . . . . . around? What do you mean, master?¡¹


    ¡¸Umu. I want you to review my performance as a master, and I want you to be as honest about it as possible without holding anything back.¡¹


    ¡¸. . . . . . . . .  ! ! ! Of course, master! ¡¹


    ¡¸Understood! We will do it gladly!¡¹


    ¡¸Our assessment will be strict and honest to a fault, just like you wish!¡¹


    This treatment review is going to be a great pretext for me to know what I am doing right and what I am doing wrong. That way, I will be able to adapt and work on improving my position as their master.


    ¡¸Uhm, so first thing¡¯s first, the meals. I am thankful that we are allowed to eat the same things that master is eating, but at the same time I think that it is a kind of a waste to do something like that for us. To put it in other words, I think we are actually getting too good of a treatment when it comes to food, and I think that we should do something to make them display the difference in our status a bit more.¡¹


    ¡¸I am afraid that I cannot change that. All three of us fight in the Labyrinths, so I need the two of you to always have your bellies full. After all, you cannot fight at your best on an empty stomach.¡¹


    That is the rational thing to do here, and I will not have it any other way.


    ¡¸Then, at least have us eat somewhere else than you!¡¹


    ¡¸We cannot collect information between meals, and eating them at different times would be straight up inefficient.¡¹


    ¡¸Then how about having us eat our meals on the floor?!¡¹


    On the floor, huh? What do I think about that? Well, I think that the answer is obvious.


    ¡¸You do not have to go that far.¡¹


    ¡¸Then let us talk about clothes. I think it would be okay for us to wear something more worn out.¡¹


    ¡¸That is right. Such nice clothes are too much of a waste on us slaves!¡¹


    ¡¸Clothes? Both Sherry and Roxanne are beautiful, so I do not think there is anything wrong in buying nice clothing for you.¡¹


    I said after letting out a small sigh.


    ¡¸Oh, t-thank you, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yeah, thank you.¡¹


    ¡¸You can¡¯t wear worn out clothes. Basically, I would be happy if you kept on wearing the nice ones as you were up until now.And I also want to show you off to other guys to make them jealous, so I want you to always be at your absolute best when it comes to your looks.¡¹


    I shook my head.


    ¡¸Thank you for your input, but food and clothing are going to stay exactly the same as they were.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood. The last thing we would like to talk about is the living environment.¡¹


    Yes, the living environment. Since I have rejected the girl¡¯s proposals regarding food and clothing, the only thing that is left is the living environment, the thing from which my dignity as a master oozes out the most, because it is the thing that is the most prominent in showing how good of a master I am and making sure that my presence as one is being shown with proper strength and intensity. It is through that exact thing that I am going to make them feel the difference between our positions.


    ¡¸Yeah, so. . . . . . about that. . . ¡¹


    ¡¸I am afraid that us sleeping in the same bed as master is a sign of great disrespect towards you, master.¡¹


    What. . . . . what are you saying?!


    ¡¸That cannot continue.¡¹


    ¡¸Same goes for bathing together with master.¡¹


    Why. . . . . . ?


    ¡¸We have to stop doing that as well.¡¹


    ¡¸And also, it is disrespectful towards master to have him was the bodies of us, slaves with the precious soap.¡¹


    No way. My daily fun. . . . . .  Do you want to take it all away from me?


    ¡¸Guh. . . . no, I do not allow it.¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm. . . let me see, what else. . . .?¡¹


    Roxanne, please, just stop it already. My HP has already dropped down to zero and no matter what you¡¯re going to do it cannot fall any lower than that.


    ¡¸Ehm. . . . . . after reviewing your statements, I would like to inform you that I have found no grounds to make any changes to our current lifestyle.¡¹


    ¡¸Uhh, so things are going to proceed exactly as they did before?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, exactly. Thank you for your continued support.¡¹


    ¡¸As long as you will be able to take what we said and improve yourself based on it, I say that this review was a very good thing indeed.¡¹


    Sherry¡¯s follow-up has pierced directly through my heart.


    I am truly grateful to have such devoted slaves who are going to do anything to make me an even better master for them.


    ¡´To be continued in¡ºA Harem in the Fantasy World Dungeon Volume 5¡».¡µ

 Volume 5 - CH 1.01

    ¡ºPlayer Name: Kaga Michio¡»


    ¡ºCurrent Character Levels & Equipment¡»:


    ¡ºJobs¡»:


    Explorer Lv.35


    Hero Lv.33


    Mage Lv.35


    Monk Lv.34


    Alchemist Lv.19


    ¡ºEquipment¡»:


    Wand


    Leather Helmet


    Leather Armor


    Leather Gloves


    Leather shoes


    ¡¸Okay, here I go!¡¹


    Sherry declared that readily while swinging her Club around. She is the newest Party Member who joined the ranks of my Party after I bought her as a slave recently. She is short, petite and very pretty, but not because she is a child. That is because she is a member of the Dwarf race, and while they may not be a race with the most imposing stature, Dwarves are one of the races that is considered to be the strongest as far as pure physical strength is concerned.


    Now that a considerable amount of time has passed since I first arrived in this strange world that seems to be based off on a game that I wanted to start playing as an alternative method to killing myself when I did not want to live anymore, but somehow, for God only knows what reason, when I finished the registration and created my character, I somehow ended up being physically transported here instead.


    Now that I got more or less used to living in this world and adventuring in its Labyrinths, which can be said to be this world¡¯s equivalent of dungeons in your typical RPG game, I decided that aside form my first slave, Roxanne, who is a member of a Wolfkin race, I would definitely need to bolster our ranks with yet another member of our Party, the one who would be specialized at fighting so that she and Roxanne could handle fighting on the frontlines while I would support them from the back with my magic, since now that we were about to begin exploring the eighth floors of the Labyrinths, the number of monsters that we would have to fight at once should jump up to four, and I was dreading that fact, which is why before we got Sherry I tried to delay the moment of advancement to the eighth floor as much as possible. But of course, fighting is not the only thing that Sherry is helping me out with. Aside from being useful as a frontline fighter in the Labyrinths, she is also useful to me in many ways other than combat. Yeah¡­. Many, many things.


    Right now, we are in one of the Labyrinths where Sherry kept on practicing one of her newly-learned skills: striking two or more monsters at once with her Club, which most of the Dwarves tend to be using as a form of crowd control, and I have to say¡­ she is getting better and better at it. She swung her Club towards the two monsters that were charging towards her from the front, and with just a little twist of her body she ended up sending both of them flying into the Labyrinth¡¯s walls to her left with ease, after which she proceeded into attacking the third monster that Roxanne was fighting with, and they promptly dispatched it after Sherry staggered it and Roxanne dealt the finishing blow with her Scimitar, and when that enemy was done with, she moved to face the last Collagen Coral of the bunch. It tried to jump at her and smack her with it long, hardened limbs, but she easily evaded that attack by twisting her body to the side and then delivering a quick slashing counterattack with her weapon, leaving it wide open, and that was my cue to jump in with my magic, and so I did, I unleashed my ¡¸Fire Storm¡¹spell, and the sparks of fire that it created appeared all around it and then exploded, burning that Collagen Coral to death, and exactly the same fate befallen the two Na?ve Olives, the two enemies that were blown away by Sherry¡¯s earlier strike and who now tried to jump back into the battle after recovering from being made a part of the wall. And just like that, all of the enemies that engaged us in battle have been swiftly dispatched.


    ¡¸All right girls, the battle is over.¡¹


    We then collected the Drop Items left by all of the monsters, placed them all inside of my Item Box and then opted for taking a short break, just to catch our breathes after the recent skirmish.


    I can fight. We can fight.


    I was worried about how our excursions to the eighth floors were going to go now that the number of enemies that we would have to fight simultaneously would increase to four at once, but now that Sherry joined us and we took the time earlier on the lower floors to see how she would fare in battle so that we could adjust our own fighting styles to her, it actually turns out that we can fight the groups of up to four monsters without any major difficulties.


    Now, mind you, fighting four enemies at once is not as easy as fighting just two or three of them at once, but now that there are three of us instead of just me and Roxanne it is definitely more doable than it could have been before, and it is a much better setup for myself, because ever since Sherry started fighting alongside Roxanne in the vanguard, I could just stay in the safety of the backlines from which I could focus on attacking our enemies with magic without the risk of suffering any major injuries myself. Compared to the early days of my adventuring in the Labyrinths, such a setup is a much more preferable on my part, and now that I have experienced how much easier it is to go trekking through the Labyrinths with three people, it makes me wonder why did I not thought about adding more members to my Party sooner¡­¡­¡­¡­


    No, you know what, I know why I did not do that sooner. It was probably because up until recently I was still somewhat anxious about this new and strange world that I have found myself in and whether or not I will be able to fit in here and get my bearings enough to actually be able to live a decent enough life while earning enough money in the Labyrinths to provide food, clothing and a place to stay not only for myself, but also for my slaves, but now¡­ now I think that I probably managed to get just a little bit used to my new life and responsibilities that come with it, or at least to an extent where I could say that I have calmed down enough not to be scared shitless by everything and everyone around me, especially when it comes to the battles in the Labyrinth. Heh, it is truly surprising what just a little bit of confidence coming from having reliable Party Members at your side at all times can do to improve your overall mood and well-being.


    Now that we were done with our usual bit of exploration and killing monsters in order to obtain Drop Items from them, it was high time to leave the Labyrinth so that we could sell all of the spoils that we have obtained in the Quratar Adventurers Guild building. For the time being, this is the primary method in which we are obtaining the money with which we are paying for pretty much all of our basic expenses, such as food and clothing. Well, I realize that this is not the best thing to be considered as my ¡¸day job¡¹in this world since it is, all things considered, a pretty dangerous one in which all that it takes to be unable to do it for an extended period of time is just one serious injury, but if an injury like that were to happen to me and prevent me from going to the Labyrinths together with Sherry and Roxanne, that would be pretty bad, disastrous even, since my magic and my Holy Sword Durandal are the two things that make the exploration of the Labyrinths and fighting against the monsters inside of them a relatively easy endeavor and without them Sherry and Roxanne would have probably had a much harder time with defeating enough enemies to be earning nice sums of money in a consistent manner, so as you can see , be being here with them at all times is absolutely essential for the sake of our financial stability. I mean, it would be pretty swell if there was a job that could allow me to earn large sums of money without the risk of getting myself injured and/or dead all the time, but if a job like that really existed, then having it would be a great deal of luxury to me. However, for now, it all remained in the area of nothing but my own wishful thinking.

 Volume 5 - CH 1.02

    ¡¸Excuse me, sir? Forgive me for asking about it so directly, but might you be an Adventurer?¡¹


    While I was thinking about all those things while waiting for the transaction of selling all of the items we got from our trip to the Labyrinth would be finalized so that we could be on our way home, one of the ladies who worked at one of the many Quratar¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild¡¯s reception desks called out to me.


    Hmm? I wonder what that might be about just now. Eh, whatever it might be, it is probably going to be too much of a hassle for me to actually care about or something utterly insignificant, so it is going to be much better for me to simply deny being an Adventurer (not that it would not be the truth, because technically speaking, I do not have an Adventurer Job just yet) and be done with it¡­¡­ is what I thought at first and what I initially wanted to do, but after thinking about it carefully I have ultimately decided against it, and for a very good reason.


    Ever since I have moved here to Quratar and started renting a house at the outskirts of the city, I have been using my ¡¸Warp¡¹ Spell to travel back and forth between the wall of Quratar¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild building and any other place I wanted to visit quite often, so it is more than likely that this lady working at the reception desks might have already seen me using the portals on the wall for a number of times, and that might be what prompted her into thinking that I was actually an Adventurer. After all, under normal circumstances, only Adventurers are capable of using ¡¸Field Walker¡¹, a type of Movement Magic that allows them to travel back and forth between every place that they have previously visited, while Explorers have exclusive access to ¡¸Dungeon Walker¡¹, a type of Movement Magic that allows them to teleport themselves to the safe rooms of every Labyrinth they have previously visited. Usually, it is impossible to combine these two, but I am able to do it by using ¡¸Warp¡¹, one of my Bonus Spells that basically works as ¡¸Field Walker¡¹and ¡¸Dungeon Walker¡¹crammed into a single Spell. But since no one else besides me (and Roxanne and Sherry of course) has any idea that such a Spell even exist, then I guess to others it really must look as if I was an Adventurer, which means that I cannot deny that I am not one if I do not want to have any unnecessary suspicions or attention to be drawn to me, so I guess that with that said the only option available to me is to not deny that I am an Adventurer, and offer a polite but firm refusal to whatever she was trying to rope me into.


    ¡¸You are right. I do am an Adventurer, however, I have not formally joined the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, so I am afraid that whatever it is that you wanted to ask me about, I have no choice but to¡­¡­.¡¹


    ¡¸Whether you are an actual member of the Guild or not will not be a problem here.¡¹


    However, with that one sentence, the receptionist lady managed to find a perfect way to get around the perfect excuse that I was going to prepare in order to have her lay off my back.


    ¡¸It does not matter whether I am a member of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild or not? What is this about then?¡¹


    ¡¸Because of the continued intense rainfall on the territory of Hartz to the north, the entire region has been plagued by floods and the damage that they are causing to both fields and the infrastructure, and so the Adventurer¡¯s Guild has received an official commission with a quest to transport relief supplies and other necessities for the citizens of the flooded regions of Hartz. This is an urgent request about which we have only learned today and so we are having trouble with finding enough people to take on the commission, and that is why I would like to ask you, sir: would you be willing to join other Adventurers and help deliver the supplies? We are pressed for time here, and so, every pair of hands that could help us with it is going to be immensely appreciated.¡¹


    So basically, what this lady is saying is that this is going to be a disaster relief kind of mission, huh? As I already mentioned, I am not an official Adventurer, so I would like to decline that quest if at all possible, but¡­¡­. But would that really be the wisest thing to do here? I mean, I am probably going to be using Quratar¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild as my main warping point on a daily basis for quite some time, and because of that coming up as a selfish person who only thinks about their own selfish interests might not be the best thing to do here, so should I accept that quest and participate in this disaster relief operation so that I could earn myself some affinity points with the Quratar branch of Adventurer¡¯s Guild? That seems like the best way to go about it, but I do have one concern, mainly, the fact that since this is going to be an official commission from the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, then they might be checking my Intelligence Card, and let me be clear about one thing: I absolutely do not want anyone, and I mean anyone, to be looking at my Intelligence Card.


    Just to give you all a short reminder, in the world of this game there is such a thing as Intelligence Cards, which can basically be considered to be this world¡¯s equivalent of earth¡¯s ID Cards. They are a cards that are about the size of a notepad, and upon their surface there are inscribed things such as the picture of the person to whom the Intelligence Card belongs, as well as all the most relevant information about them, including things such as their name, age, Job, their current status and information on any slaves that they might own, and because of that, if anyone asks to see my Intelligence Card at any point, they will instantly know that I am not an Adventurer at all.

 Volume 5 - CH 1.03

    And like I was saying, since this is an official quest commissioned from the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, then it would not be strange if at one point or another there were Guild officials, or perhaps the representatives of the lord of that Hartz region, checking the Intelligence Cards of those who would come with the relief supplies to verify if they have the right to take part in this quest in the first place, so should I do anything that I possibly can to avoid running into this kind of danger? Because that is what my survival instinct is advising me to do right now. Just decline it and be done with it and then just be on your way as if nothing happened at all. Yes, that sounds like a magnificent plan.


    ¡¸We are going to be fine.¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm¡­..¡¹


    When I glanced backwards, I noticed that Roxanne was pushing her hand against my back.


    Damn Roxanne, if you perform such a cute gesture and say something so considerate to me, then I will want to find an excuse to decline the request of this lady even more, but apparently that part of my intentions did not transmit properly, because if I did that in a manner that Roxanne would be able to clearly understand, then there would be no need for her to be saying that that she and Sherry were going to be fine at all! So in the end, it is my loss for not being able to convey my intentions properly!


    And as for Sherry¡­¡­ I saw that one corner of her lips was raised in something that kinda looked like a bitter smile, but when I tried to make eye contact with her, she simply escaped with her eyes to the side. Just like Roxanne, she is perfectly aware that I am not an Adventurer and that it would be pretty dangerous if anyone found out about this, because that would mean a whole lot of unpleasantness and needless trouble not only for me, but for Roxanne and Sherry as well since they are my slaves, or in other words, a property that belongs to me.


    ¡¸It is perfectly understandable that sir would be unsure whether to accept this quest or not, so allow me to add that every Adventurer who is not affiliated with the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, a daily allowance of one thousand Nars to cover all of the possible daily expenses is going to be prepared the day after tomorrow.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you for the information, but I cannot say that this interests me in any particular way, but anyway, since we are already talking about it, then could you tell me what exactly would that commission entail? As in, what do you want me to do, exactly?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course, allow me to offer you an explanation, sir. Your primary task would be to travel around the lands of the Hartz region, where you would be distributing emergency supplies to towns and villages that have been cut off from the rest of the realm by the water that has flooded the roads, essentially isolating part of the settlements and forcing the people who live in them to fend for themselves, so as long as you have experience as an Adventurer, this task should not prove to be too difficult or particularly demanding. Also, as part of the contract you would be signing with Adventurer¡¯s Guild, you would not have to worry about anything else than carrying out the task that has been assigned to you, because the people responsible for providing you with protection from the eventual monster attacks are going to be the Knights of the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy, who serve under the direct service of the Duke of Hartz himself. So as you can see, the commission shall be conducted with the absolute safety of the ones delivering the supplies in mind, you do not have to worry about keeping your own person and the members of your Party safe.¡¹


    Since this world seems to be largely based on the concepts and technology from the times of medieval Europe, then I guess that would have to entails that villages and smaller towns that are located far from the larger cities that act as hubs of commerce, culture and anything in between must have the means of staying relatively self-sufficient for the prolonged periods of time, but then again, when faced with a natural disaster like a flood, fire or earthquake or a landslide I guess there is only so much that self-sufficiency can do, not to mention that any methods of self-sufficiency that these villages might be employing are bound to run out sooner or later, and once that happens, there will be literally nothing that their inhabitants are going to be able to do on their own, and that is why the reliance on those relief supplies has to be absolutely critical for them. To give you an example of such a dependency, the first place that I have walked up in after being transported to this world, Somara Village, had its own merchant, but in order to stay consistently in business and not run out of any of his stock too much, it was essentially a necessity for him to be making trips by wagon to the city of Vale every few days. Now imagine a situation in which a village or a town would be in dire need of something what could not be harvested from their own fields or obtained from anywhere near their location. Yeah, that would make them completely dependent on obtaining that something from the outside, and with roads blocked and flooded to the point of being completely untraversable, you have yourself a simple recipe for a true disaster, but that is just how it is when the transportation networks and roads are vastly inferior to what we have in our modern world. Then again, drawing such a comparison also seems to be kind of pointless because of the technological gap between modern day Japan where I am coming from and this medieval-looking world. In my times, the response to the occurrence of the disaster would have been as fast as possible and any damages the infrastructure has sustained would have been swiftly dealt with, but here in this world, I guess it should not come to me as a surprise that whenever there is a disaster occurring, roads are going to be the very first thing that is going to end up in a complete and utter mess.


    I guess this is exactly where the Adventurers come into play. It might not be as effective as our planes or helicopters that can deliver the supplies anywhere where there is need to, but since they have access to the ¡¸Field Walker¡¹Skill, then at least they can deliver the supplies to the villages and towns that would be in need of them even if the roads are blocked and untraversable, just as long as they have been to that particular town or village before, so I guess you can say that this particular ¡°fast travel¡± system might be the best thing in terms of speedy deliveries that this world can currently have.


    ¡¸Uh-huh, I understand. Is there anything else that you can tell me about this quest, or would that be all?¡¹


    ¡¸Certainly, sir. While normally Elves tend to look down on humans, but when it comes to the help in times of disaster, the race and identity of those who deliver the supplies does not matter just as long as the good are going to be safely delivered to their destination.¡¹


    Ooooh¡­¡­ Elves, huh? I guess that means that the territory of the Duchy of Hartz is the one where the members of  the elven race live, then? And also, hearing that my race and identity will not matter just as long as I get the job done is an unexpectedly good thing to hear. Well, I guess that is just how it is during the times when disaster strikes. If you and your subjects are in dire need of help, then in situations like that there is definitely no place for such things as pride or racial prejudice. When you are in need of help, the right thing to do is always to swallow up your pride and your own views of the world and simply accept any help that others would be willing to send your way without as much as a word of complaint. As for the matter of why do Elves tend to look down on humans, I do not think it would be wise to delve too deep into these kinds of issues, since this is more or less one of the staple example of tropes used in every fantasy book or a game that has different races such as Elves, Humans and the like in it.

 Volume 5 - CH 1.04

    Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist  Editor: Weasalopes


    And to be completely honest with you, as long as I know that my identity is not going to be questioned or that I am not going to be subjected to any form of extensive screening on their part, then I do not have any reasons to care about such racial conflicts. And besides, I am sure that there is actually not that many Elves living in the Duchy of Hartz, and that is why going there should be fine for me, even though I am a Human, even more so since the identity of the person that is going to be delivering the supplies is not going to be relevant just as long as they get the job done. It might have been altogether different if there was actually a lot of Elves living in the Duchy of Hartz, Elves that would ne definitely antagonistic towards Humans. If that was the case and accepting the quest under such conditions meant that I would be willing placing myself in danger, I would have turned the offer down instantly because I am not that crazy, but as long as they are not going to be checking my identity and there is not going to be a lot of them¡­¡­ then I think it should actually be okay for me to participate in that quest after all, even more so since my ¡¸Warp¡¹is basically like an upgraded version of ¡¸Field Walker¡¹which should make the delivery of the supplies even easier. Now, even though this lady is saying that no one should care about my identity as long as I will deliver the goods to them, there is always a tiny sliver of a chance that someone might actually want to see my Intelligence Card, but if I play my cards right, then it might be possible for me to just use ¡¸Warp¡¹to jump in with the goods, leave them with the villagers and citizens in need and then get the hell out of there before anyone even managed to ask me to identify myself. Now that is an example of some great thinking on my part: you cannot have problems related to showing your Intelligence Card to others if you do not show your Intelligence Card to others in the first place! Besides, since this relief supplies delivery is such an urgent, last minute commissioned quest, I might end up being noticed for all the wrong reasons if I will straight-up decline it, so I think that I will be taking it after all, just to make sure that Quratar¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild is not going to add me to some kind of blacklist.


    ¡¸I understand. I will be taking on this quest then. Show should I proceed with it, exactly?¡¹


    ¡¸That is wonderful to hear, sir. As for the instructions on how to proceed with this quest, I would like you to come here to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild building tomorrow morning. Oh, you do not have to come together with the sunrise. As long as you report yourself here sometimes after the usual breakfast hour, it should all be fine, and I would also recommend you to get plenty of rest today, because we would need all of the participating Adventurers to be at their best condition for this quest. The personnel required to carry all of the supplies is going to be provided by the Duchy of Hartz, and it is not required for all of your Party Members to come along with you, since according to the Guild¡¯s recommendation, a single Adventurer should be more then enough to fulfill this task. Also, make sure that there is more then enough space available in your Item Box just in case.¡¹


    ¡¸Now, when you say ¡¸more than enough space available in your Item Box¡¹, just how much space are we talking about?¡¹


    I asked in order to have a clean picture of what I was getting myself into.


    ¡¸Ideally, it would be best if you had enough space available in it to carry around a thousand items. If you set out in the early morning, then it is estimated that you should be able to finish the delivery process around the evening of the same day.¡¹


    Enough space to carry over a thousand items, huh? If that is the case, then it is more than likely that the Item Box capacity from just my Explorer Job alone might not be enough, meaning that I would also have to use the Cook Job, since it also has the ¡¸Item Box Operation¡¹Skill available to it. At times like these, I really am glad that I have the ability to set multiple Jobs at once for myself, because if I just had to contend with a single Job, then I would definitely not have nearly enough space available to me in my Explorer Item Box.


    Ahh well, as inconvenient as it will be to change the order of my set Jobs that has been working so well for me all this time, it is something that I will just have to do while sucking it up, because if it means a difference between being able to take on this quest and not being able to take on this quest, the I am definitely going to chose the option that is going to allow me to do it. Not to mention that when it comes to the mental aspect of helping people, doing it is not going to be weighting on my psyche at all in comparison to the situation in which I would refuse to help them and it would not allow me to sleep at night due to guilt and constant worrying about the repercussions of my dastardly deed.


    Now that I finished talking to the receptionist lady and knew what I had to do to proceed with the quest tomorrow, all that was left for us to do was to go back some do we could have dinner while making plans at the same time.


    ¡¸Ideally, it would be best if you had enough space available in it to carry around a thousand items. If you set out in the early morning, then it is estimated that you should be able to finish the delivery process around the evening of the same day.¡¹


    ¡¸Just like I told the lady at the reception desk, I am going to go along with her request and deliver those supplies tomorrow. Since it looks like it is going to be a pretty big deal, then I suggest that we should take a break from going to Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth early in the morning so that I could prepare everything that I am going to need. As for the two of you, feel free to spend that day however you like. Is there anything that you would like to do tomorrow since it is going to be your day off, Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸A day off, you say? Are we really allowed to have something like that, master?¡¹


    ¡¸That is exactly what I said, and since I said so, then that is what I want you to do.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you very much for your kindness in giving us this opportunity. You were asking if there was anything that I wanted to do, right? Well¡­¡­.. uhm¡­¡­..¡¹


    Roxanne looked like she was thinking about the answer that she wanted to give me really, really hard. I just hope that coming up with one is not going to take her forever and a half. And since it might take her that long, I might just ask the same question to Sherry in the meantime.


    ¡¸How about you, Sherry? Were you not saying that you would like to go to the Library in the Imperial City someday if you had the chance?¡¹


    ¡¸Eh? I, well. . . .  I most certainly did, but¡­¡­.. but what about the money?¡¹


    ¡¸You do not have to worry about them. I am going to pay both your admission fee and the deposit fee.¡¹


    ¡¸Really? You are going to do this much. . . . . . . . for me?¡¹


    She asked with a voice filled with anxiety. If I remember our earlier talk about the library in the Imperial City correctly, then the entrance fee and the deposit fee cost one gold coin each, right? Yeah, that sounds just about right. A gold coin just for the ability to enter the library and browse the books inside is actually quite a lot for something that would be pretty cheap back in my old world, but I guess that this is just how they are rolling here. The percentage of people who can read properly is pretty low and the books themselves are a pretty valuable resource, so making people pay two gold coins in total must be the library¡¯s way of making sure that not a single book from their precious is going to get damaged by accident, which is actually quite a clever strategy now that I think about it.


    ¡¸As long as the deposit fee is going to be returned properly, I see no problems with allowing you to go there.¡¹

 Volume 5 - CH 1.05

    ¡¸Ah¡­¡­ y-yes, of course! Thank you very much, master!¡¹


    Sherry bowed her head and thanked me with an elated voice, even though personally I do not think that I have done anything that I should be thanked for, since I only spoke my honest mind about approving of her desire to go to the library, and I did that because she said herself that she wanted to go there and because I knew that providing her with such an opportunity would definitely make her happy. Now, I only regret that I will not be able to go there together with her like I promised, but as long as she gets to go and fulfill another one from a series of lifelong dreams of hers, then I will be well and truly glad.


    ¡¸Roxanne, have you made up your mind yet? If not, then do not worry about it, since it is nothing urgent or something that requires you giving me an immediate answer. Just think about I carefully and decide about it even tomorrow after I will depart to do the quest. And really, whatever it is that you would want to do, I am going to be fine with it.¡¹


    ¡¸Ah, yes, master. Just like Sherry, I also want to be as useful to you as I can and as fast as possible, so I think that tomorrow I will go to the Labyrinth and do some training on my own¡­¡­. If that is okay with you of course.¡¹


    ¡¸No, no, no, there is no need for you to be going that far, Roxanne. Really, I mean it. You are already plenty useful to me when it comes to battling monsters in the Labyrinths, so if at all possible then I would like you to have a little break from our usual routine, okay?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. Thank you for your kind words, master.¡¹


    ¡¸No problem. Now, I realize that this might be a pretty tall order, especially while coming from me, but I would like you to just take tomorrow as an opportunity to relax and not do anything dangerous, okay?¡¹


    I know that Roxanne is always serios and that she always wants to be as useful to me as possible, but really, going into the Labyrinth on her own just so that she could do a little bit more of training that would not be nearly as effective without me and my Bonus Skills around as it possibly could have been is just her taking things way too seriously than she needs to. Whenever I am with her and Sherry as our Party¡¯s leader, all of the members of my Party receive up to twenty times more EXP than they would normally be getting not to mention that it would be a height of stupidity if she tried to advance into the higher floors by herself. She has her godly dodging abilities and is definitely capable of holding her own in a battle with multiple enemies at once, but something like that would have been too tall of an order, even for someone like her, and I would have never forgiven myself if she did ended up going to the Labyrinth alone only to jump head-first into some kinda sticky situation that would result in her getting seriously hurt.


    ¡¸Is that so? Well, if that is what master wishes for me, then I will comply with your wish and refrain from going to the Labyrinth to train myself. Instead, I am probably going to be staying here at home to do some cleaning that I would normally not have any chances of doing.¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, that sounds like a much better idea, so do be sure to do just that¡­¡­ oh yeah! While you are at it, then how about I leave you some money so that you could go do some shopping?¡¹


    If there is one thing that I have now learned to perceive as a unchangeable constant, then it would have to be the fact that Roxanne loves shopping and she would never miss any opportunity to do some more of it, so she is definitely going to enjoy herself tomorrow if she does that, even more so when I will give them some of mine to be spent however the see fit.


    ¡¸You are going to leave us money, master? So it is going to be our allowance, or something like a pocket change?¡¹


    ¡¸Sherry, do correct me if I am wrong, but how much was the library admission fee costing? Is five silver coins going to be enough for it?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, definitely! Last time when I checked, the admission fee was around one hundred Nars.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay, good. In that case, each one of you is going to receive five hundred Nars from me tomorrow, and you are free to spend all of them on whatever you might possibly want.¡¹


    In total, Sherry and Roxanne¡¯s allowance tomorrow is going to be ten silver coins. Ten coins. At first glance it does not seem to be much, however, it is, in fact, quite a lot, and if the luck will be on the girl¡¯s side, then perhaps this situation with the flooding of the Duchy of Hartz is going to have an impact on the prices on the market being a little bit better than usual? That would certainly be nice for my wallet, especially since it was not that long ago since I purchased a specialist slave like Sherry, and while I did manage to negotiate quite a drop in price for her, t would still be nice to get back the entirety of the sum that I spent on her as soon as possible and the start making more money in the Labyrinths from the Drop Items, because it never hurts to have more money on you, especially when some unforeseen expenses with come our way.


    ¡¸A-Are you really sure about that, master? We are your slaves, after all, so there really is no need for you to be going to such lengths just to cater to our selfish desires¡­¡­¡¹


    ¡¸I know that. I am perfectly aware of that fact¡­. But I still want to do it anyway. Besides, your desires are definitely not selfish, Roxanne. You have been doing such a good job ever since we met each other, so you definitely deserve a chance to just wind down and spread your wings for a little bit, do you not think?¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you, master.¡¹


    I think that five silver coins for Sherry and five silver coins for Roxanne is a reasonable amount of money to give them. If I gave them any more than that they would probably not know what to do with it, and if I gave them any less than that, then it is entirely possible that they would not have enough money to buy the things she wanted, but with the amount that I am going to give them, it will be possible for them to buy themselves either something more pricey, or a smaller amount of cheaper things, depending on what would strike their fancy at any given moment, so I believe that this is going to be the best decision possible that is not going to be too big of a blow to my financial situation.


    That night, Sherry and Roxanne were talking to one another way into the late-night hours until they have fallen asleep before they could realize it. All that time, their eyes have been sparkling like diamonds, which means that they must have been pretty excited for tomorrow. Heh, good for them. Seeing them all happy like that makes me happy for them as well.


    In the morning, as per the usual, I have been awakened by Roxanne¡¯s sweet kiss, and I made sure to enjoy every last centimeter of her soft lips and worm, slimy tongue.


    ¡¸Good morning, Roxanne. I see you are as much of an early bird as always, huh?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, good morning to you as well, master. I always have to make sure to wake up earlier than you, because waking you up with a kiss is the most important part of my duties as your slave.¡¹


    The most important part of her duties as my slave she says? I would argue that having sex with me and helping me out in the Labyrinths are more important than a wake-up kiss, but as long as that is what Roxanne herself seems to be firmly believing, then who am I to try and correct her world view, especially since it is not an entirely wrong one? Yeah, exactly, so there is nothing for me to feel bad about, not at all, especially since Sherry soon followed Roxanne¡¯s example and also gave me a good morning kiss when she woke up.

 Volume 5 - CH 1.06

    ¡¸Good morning¡­.. *Yaaawn* mashter¡­..¡¹


    ¡¸Good morning, Sherry. And thank you for the good morning kisses, you two. You seem to be talking to one another for quite a long while yesterday night. Are you sure you managed to get enough sleep? Are you going to be okay today?¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm¡­.. have we really talked for that long? I¡­.. I hope we did not end up bothering you, master?¡¹


    ¡¸No, not at all. Actually, it sounded like a pretty nice lullaby to me, so I did not mind it in the slightest.¡¹


    ¡¸That is good to hear. I do not no what I would have done if we end up being the cause of you not being able to get the good night¡¯s rest before your quest for the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.¡¹


    I think that it would not have made that much of an impact on me because there is no way that I would not be able to fall asleep with two beautiful girls like that sleeping in the same bed with me, but that is beside the point.


    Since we were not going to the Labyrinth in the morning just like we agreed yesterday but we were all pretty much awake now, we had ourselves an early breakfast during which I disbanded our current Party from my Party settings menu, and then


    I decided that this might be a good opportunity for Sherry to have a little training as a Master Smith, so I had her create another Misanga with her ¡¸Item Fusion¡¹Skill. Since she obtained the Master Smith Job only recently, then raising the Level of that Job so that she could create more and more items while not running out of MP like she did after her very first fusion of the Copper Sword of Obstruction was of the utmost importance not only for her, but for me and Roxanne as well if we wanted her to start making items, weapons and armors with Skills and Skill Slots in them for us. Today, she managed to create two Misangas in a row, but regrettably, neither of these two came with an Empty Skill Slot in it. It is an unfortunate result, but not the one that would be worth ripping the hair off my head for it, since it was to be expected that a complete Master Smith novice is not going to be able to create equipment with Empty Skill Slots in it right from the get-go. And when Sherry¡¯s training of fusing items was done, it was about time to give the girls their allowance for the day.


    ¡¸All right girls, here is your money. Here you go, Roxanne, five silver coins.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you very much, master. So, after adding the costs of Sherry¡¯s library admission, it is going to be three silver coins for her and two silver coins for me¡­¡­.¡¹


    When I gave Roxanne her share of the money, for some reason she tried to divide her share of it between herself and Sherry with a two to three ratio.


    ¡¸Uhm, Roxanne? May I ask what are you doing?¡¹


    ¡¸Hmm? Why, distributing our allowance between me and Sherry of course! What else would I be doing?¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm, no, no, no,  it looks like you are misunderstanding something here. You are not supposed to be splitting these five silver coins between the two of you. Each one of you is going to get your own five coins. You get five silver coins and Sherry gets five silver coins. That is how I said yesterday that we are going to handle your allowance for today, remember?¡¹


    We talked about how much each of them was going to get only a couple of hours ago and they have already forgotten? Maybe that was the effect of them staying up and talking for so long? *Sigh* Well, I guess it cannot be helped, right? I will just have to explain it to them all over again.


    ¡¸Listen up girls: just like we talked about it yesterday, each one of you gets five silver coins from me so that you could buy yourself pretty much whatever you might want. Sherry gets five silver coins plus one gold coin for the library deposit, and you get five silver coins as well.¡¹


    ¡¸Eh? So much? Are you sure that it is truly okay to be giving us so much of your hard-earned money?¡¹


    So apparently they did forget what we were talking about and thought that they would have to distribute five silver coins between themselves.


    ¡¸Yeah, yeah. I am absolutely sure about giving you that much money, and you do not have to worry, since that is not going to impact my wallet in any significant way, so you can just accept it without feeling any guilt. This is my present for you, and I want you to hold onto it. And just so that we are clear about it, I absolutely do not expect you to be giving any of it back to me if you are not going to spend it all today. This is your allowance now, and I want you to hold onto it.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. How generous of you, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, thank you very much, master. However¡­..¡¹


    Sherry looked at me with a troubled expression.


    ¡¸I would have been fine with just the money needed for the library admission and deposit.¡¹


    ¡¸Then it would be perfectly fine for you to use only that much money and just keep the rest of it for yourself. Like I said, these are your money now, and you can do whatever you want with it. But if you want my personal opinion, then not spending it on something nice today would be a huge waste, so I strongly advise you to treat yourself today.¡¹


    I also told that to Sherry to ease her worries.


    But seriously now, they really thought that I would have the split just five silver coins between the two of them? In the first place, is five silver coins a lot, or not a lot of money? I am not entirely sure because I do not know exactly what the standard value of money is here in comparison to the Japanese yen. But if the price that I had to pay for our stay in the Vale Pavilion inn back in Vale is any indicator, then I guess it must not be as bad as I initially thought.


    ¡¸Putting that aside for now, master, are you not going to wear a cloak?¡¹


    As I was slowly making my preparations to depart for the Quratar Adventurer¡¯s Guild Sherry asked me that question. Why would I be wearing a cloak? That was my initial thought, but when I looked out the window, it dawned on me. She was not saying that to me because it was raining here in Quratar, but because there is a high possibility that it might still be raining in the Duchy of Hartz, which has been plagued with the floods caused by the heavy downpours of rain in the first place. That simple fact has completely slipped my mind, and if Sherry did not point that out to me, it would be entirely possible that I would have just gone to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and started the quest with delivering the relief supplies without even taking any clothing that would protect me from the rain along with me.


    Thinking about it now, of course it is going to be raining in there. The lady at the counter of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild did not say anything about whether it stopped raining or not, so it would be natural to assume the rain is still going to be falling there, so going on this quest without a cloak or even a hood to protect myself from the rain would be a height of foolishness, and I would definitely embarrass myself beyond belief in the eyes of the people to whom I would be delivering the supplies if I went there while being soaked to the bone myself. Now that would be a sorry sight to behold, and a perfectly good reason for me to just want to find myself a hole in the ground or crawl under a rock and never leave it for the rest of my life.


    ¡¸I see. Yeah, taking one with me definitely sound like a great idea. Thank you for suggesting it to me, Sherry. Now, where I have I put it? I was sure that it was around here somewhere¡­.¡¹


    ¡¸Here you go, master.¡¹


    Roxanne handed me the cloak that I was looking for after skillfully taking it out from the depths of the closet. She is so good at taking care of our house that she must have memorized where everything is, and so finding clothes was a simple formality for her.

 Volume 5 - CH 1.07

    I received the cloak from Roxanne and handed her the key to our house instead.


    ¡¸All right then. I guess I will be heading out now.¡¹


    ¡¸Have a safe trip, master. /and make sure that you will come back to us safe and sound.¡¹


    ¡¸Sure, I promise.¡¹


    After donning the cloak, I opened up a portal on the wall with ¡¸Warp¡¹and moved to the Imperial City¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild together with Sherry. While there, we asked for the directions to the Imperial City Library and then we were on our way.


    ¡¸Ohhhhh¡­¡­ talk about impressive.¡¹


    ¡¸I know, right?! It is amazing!¡¹


    The Imperial City Library was a chalk-white building made out of marble, or at least something that very closely resembled it. It was quite large, and also elegant, a very fine architectural achievement. Just from looking at it I could tell that it definitely deserves the reputation that it has among the people, and I am sure that the inside of it has to be every bit as majestic as the outside is.


    ¡¸Oh yes Sherry, I can definitely agree with you. This is one hell of an amazing building.¡¹


    I agreed with Sherry, who was looking at the library building with pure admiration sparkling in her eyes which became so round that I was beginning to be afraid that they might just pop out of her head if she keeps that up. If I were to draw any comparisons between this building right here and what we had back in Japan, then I guess the closest thing to it that comes to mind would be those neat-looking public facility buildings that were being built by the local governments during the era of bubble economy. But I guess that is the least that we could expect from a public building like that. After all, we are in the Imperial City, that is to say, the capital of the entire empire, so I guess it stands to reason that the ruler of the empire would want each and every building that is meant to be used by the general public to properly convey the grandeur and capabilities of the city¡¯s rulers. That being said, I could not help but to feel a little bit overwhelmed when looking at it, most likely because I have always found such grand buildings and structures to be difficult to be around, because they always made me feel even smaller than I already thought myself to be.


    While not letting any of these emotions show on my face so that I would not worry Sherry to much, we went forward and entered the library building proper, and so we found ourselves in what looked to be a large lobby, and one of the first things that we saw were the portals on the walls out of which the people who looked like Adventurers were coming and going back and forth, so apparently this library is also one of the places where you could travel to by using¡¸Field Walker¡¹, and that might be a fact well worth remembering. In the back of this lobby, there was what looked like a reception desk, and beyond it was something that might have looked like a reading room, but from this distance it was too hard to say for sure so I cannot be absolutely certain. But if there was ever a place where admission fees would be collected, then this would definitely be that place. And that means that this will also be the place where we will most likely part ways for the rest of the day, so I took out one gold coin and five silver coins and handed them off to Sherry.


    ¡¸Here you go, Sherry, the money for the deposit and your allowance for today.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you very much, master.¡¹


    ¡¸I will be coming to pick you up sometime around the evening, so feel free to spent your time until then however you want. When the sun is going to be setting, just make sure to be around here somewhere and I will be sure to find you, or if you do not feel like it, just wait for me over there.¡¹


    I said, pointing towards the reading room. The Imperial City is located to the east just like Quratar, so when it will be sunset in Quratar, then I would know that it is also sunset in the Imperial City as well.


    ¡¸Yes, that is going to be the best possible thing to do. I understand, master.¡¹


    Sherry confirmed that she is going to be waiting for me in the reading room by the time it is going to be sunset, and then she saw me off all the way to the proper entrance to the library, where she paid the money for both the entrance and the deposit, and after observing as she went inside, I then left the Library by means of the warp portal which I used to go straight to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild in Quratar.


    When it comes to the procedure of delivering the relief supplies, I cannot really say that there was too much trouble with it. Like really, nothing particular happened.


    First thing¡¯s first, all of the Adventurers who have been hired to take part in this commissioned quest have been told to gather in the town of Bode, which was the center of the Duchy of Hartz. After being taken to the castle where we have been filled in on the situation about the flood and the damage that it has caused by the Duke of Hartz¡¯s officials themselves, it was our job to travel to the surrounding villages and deliver the supplies that we have brought in with us after being guided by the Knights and other Adventurers prepared by the Duke specifically for this occasion. And so, while forming small teams consisting of us, the Adventurers from Quratar, Adventurers from the Hartz region and the Knights from the Knight Order of the Hartz Duchy, we were travelling back and forth between Bode and the villages. Honestly, this commission turned out to be much more boring than I have initially anticipated, because truth to be told, us Adventurers from Quratar really did not have all that much to do, because all of the supplies and personnel have been properly prepared by the Duke of Hartz, and there was not a single monster attacks that would happen while we were on the way to the villages, so there was no need at all for any of us to play bodyguards to the Duke¡¯s men, because as it turned out, most of the way between villages and Bode was traversed by using ¡¸Field Walker¡¹, or in my case ¡¸Warp¡¹. So as you can see, this job turned out to be an overall easy one. In the end, I did not even need to make use of the cloak that I took with me in case of the rain continuing to fall like mad, because all of the deliveries have been conducted in accordance to one and the same scenario: grab the supplies, use ¡¸Field Walker¡¹ inside of Bode¡¯s castle to open up a portal leading up to the houses of the village chief¡¯s or the residences of the town mayors, leave the supplies there, go back through the portal, rinse and repeat. As for the amount of supplies that we had to carry, the emergency rations, which turned out to be Rabbit Meat, could be taken in our Item Boxes so that we could transport large amounts of it at once, but as for the rest, due to the restrictions on ¡¸Field Walker¡¹regarding the amount and size of what can be brought through the portals, each person could only take as much as a small baggage bag would have, and that is why we had to move in groups, so that we could still take a large number of supplies with us even, thus circumventing the restrictions in at least some way. Because of that, it also went against my expectations in such a sense that before we came to Bode, I thought that the Duke and his people are going to want to be done with the supplies deliveries as soon as possible, and because of that they would force us to carry as much as we possibly could carry all at once, but instead of that, they have opted for the other option: carrying less items at once and making more frequent trips, but considering that our working conditions were as safe as they could possibly be, none of us really had anything against that, because it was certainly better than the alternative of being like that proverbial workhorse, carrying so much that our backs would soon break and our legs would give out under our own weight.

 Volume 5 - CH 1.08

    With every delivery that we were running, the thing that remained a constant was the number of Rabbit Meats that we were supposed to be carrying in our Item Boxes, and the exact amount of all the other things that we would be carrying, which was probably supposed to be a method implemented to prevent us Adventurers from Quratar form pilfering any of the supplies, which I would not be doing either way, because I definitely know better than to risk my whole life and reputation getting absolutely ruined over a piece of Rabbit meat or a blanket or whatever the hell else the packages with supplies were containing. To that note, the Knights from the Knight Order always tended to stay grouped together, which was probably their way of keeping tabs on everyone else, which might have offended me if the circumstances were any different, but since they were not doing any kind of identity checks at all because of the emergency that this situation was, this was the next best thing that they could be doing in order to ensure that none of the hired Adventurers would be trying to do anything funny while they would think that no one is currently looking at them.


    And just like that, after doing what seemed to be like around ten runs of going back and forth between the castle and the villages, there was finally a moment where I could catch my breath and rest, and you can be damn sure that I was going to use that chance to the fullest, because while this job was not at all as tiring as I thought it was going to be in a purely physical sense, there was another issue which I was anticipating, and sure enough, as I was sitting on a chair resting, I could feel the effects of having my MP drop to the dangerously low levels slowly kick in, but honestly, that kind of thing was to be expected. After all, it has now been around twenty times where I had to cast ¡¸Warp¡¹while we were leaving for another village and on our way back from those villages because that is how everyone else was doing it so I had no choice but to follow their example and do exactly what they were doing to keep myself under everyone¡¯s radar. The last thing I want right now is to be continuously asked the question of how is it that I can create a portal that can last long enough for a trip back and forth between the destination and the castle while having suspicions and quite possibly accusations thrown my way. That is the price of trying to act as everyone else even though you are different than them.


    While I was leaning back on the chair, waiting for my lost and expended MP to gradually go back to the level that would guarantee that depressing thoughts are not going to live in my head rent free, I was looking at the members of the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy who were all walking past me without paying any kind of actual attention to me. I thought that there was not going to be that many of them among the ranks of the Knights, but apparently I was mistaken in thinking that, as there was surprisingly quite a lot of them, and I was able to determine that because of the signature features of the Elven race: long pointy ears and noble-looking facial features that were making me want to describe even the Elven men not as handsome, but beautiful instead.


    I mean really, you would think that the trope of both sexes of the elves being beautiful is just that, nothing but another one of the tropes brought about by the authors of the modern fantasy novels to emphasize just how different they are from us regular humans, but the more I was looking at the Elven Knights who participated in this operation together with us, the more I was realizing that this trope is actually as real as it could be, and I even caught myself thinking that it is not fair for guys to be so beautiful just because they were lucky enough to be born as Elves and that all good-looking guys should just blow themselves up and die so that we the average and not-so average looking guys could also get a chance at scoring ourselves some game, but I guess that this is never going to happen and I feel bummed just thinking about it, so I think it is high time to focus my mind on something infinitely more pleasing for the eyes, mainly: the Elven girls. And oh my God was there a ton of eye candy to be looking at here. It is a good thing that Explorer is currently set as my First Job, because let me tell you, if I was still having Sex Maniac set as the First Job after doing it with Roxanne and Sherry, then I definitely might have done something that would get me thrown behind bars and have my Intelligence Card be thoroughly checked.


    There was this one Elven chick that really, and I mean really caught my eye, because she was not even a ten out of ten beauty, she was like fifteen or twenty out of ten. Her face looked beautifully vigorous and filled with youthful energy and her figure was slender, but at the same time she had an appropriate amount of curves in all the places where they were needed. Out of curiosity I used ¡¸Identify¡¹on her, and it revealed that this girl was apparently fifty eight years old, while physically she looked like she was barely even in her twenties! Man, having the ability to check how old people around you really are is quite a powerful ability, if I do say so myself. Now it also made me fantasize about what Roxanne is going to look like when she is going to be fifty eight years old herself. Is she going to look more like Human women of similar age, or is she going to be closer to the Elven women, looking as young and beautiful as she is now when she is sixteen years old?


    While I was sitting in my chair with my head firmly in the realm of fantasies about this Elven cutie, the door of the entrance to the hall where I was currently resting have opened, and somebody walked right in. Could it be a patrol? I used ¡¸Identify¡¹to see who exactly was is¡­.. and I almost fell of my chair upon discovering that the person who just walked in was not a member of some ordinary patrol, but someone much, much more important


    Brocken North Braun Anhalt


    Sex: Male, Age: thirty five years old


    Job: Paladin Lv.14


    Equipment: Orichalcum Sword, Sacrificial Misanga


    Oh my goodness, it is the Duke of Hartz himself. His Job is a Paladin. And he has Orichalcum Sword as a weapon. He was wearing a hooded cloak, so it was pretty hard to see his face, and instead of doing anything in particular, he was just roaming around seemingly without a purpose. Now, I know that since the entire castle belongs to him then he can pretty much do whatever he wants and go wherever he wants without the need to ask anyone for permission, but since he is the biggest of big cheeses here in Bode, then should he not technically have some of the guards or Knights accompany him as his escort? So how come that I am not seeing anyone like that with him right now? Is it exactly because he is the lord of this castle, so he is that confident that no harm is going to come to him in here and that is why he is roaming the halls alone? Well, he probably came here to perform an inspection, but if that is the case, then is it really okay for me to be leaning on my chair this sloppily in front of him? Yeah, since hie is the big shot here and I am just a lowly ¡°Adventurer¡±, then it might be pretty bad. I do not know the exact etiquette of this world and its ins and outs, but if it is indeed the case that I am doing something extremely disrespectful right now, the I have to fix it immediately, so I hurried the hell up and bowed down to him as he was passing me by. Phew, talk about a close call. That was scary just now, almost too scary if I am to be honest. What would I have done if I was thrown into the dungeon for how rude I acted towards him just now? Yeah, I do not even want to think about it.


    ¡¸Oh, so you managed to recognize me even though I was trying to be incognito? I commend your sharp senses, Sir Adventurer.¡¹

 Volume 5 - CH 1.09

    When the Duke saw me bowing down to him, he quickly approached me and said that to me in a whisper. Ooooh, so he was actually going incognito, meaning that he specifically did not want anyone to notice that he was here?


    ¡­¡­ Does that mean that I have royally fucked up just now? That I have ruined the duke¡¯s plans of inspecting how the operations were proceeding in a secretive manner because that way he could see how everyone would be behaving naturally without trying to keep up appearances if they knew that the lord of the entire Duchy, the person who organized this entire quest was right next to them?


    Oh God, oh fuck, this is even worse than what I was being afraid of!


    I quickly glanced around us to see if my gesture did not bring unnecessary attention to the both of us, but apparently no one noticed that the Lord of the entire Duchy was here, or they noticed but just did not care about it. Or maybe¡­..


    Yes, that might be it. The Lord praised my sharp senses for noticing him even though he was going incognito, but in truth I noticed that it was him not thanks to my sense, but because I have used ¡¸Identify¡¹on him when I heard that someone entered the hall through the back door, so I guess you could say that in this particular case, the combo of my own curiosity and my ¡¸Identify¡¹ Skill worked against me instead of to my benefit. God damn it, why does this always happen to me?! Why is it that every time when I want to do something that I think is right, it ends up backfiring against me so horribly?! Okay, uhm¡­. What can I do now in order not to make this situation any more of a trainwreck than it already is? Oh, I know, for the time being, maybe it would be best if I apologized for almost blowing his cover? However, when I was about to open my mouth to offer my heartfelt apology to him, he stopped me with the gesture of his hand and indicated me to sit back down, so I did exactly like I was told.


    ¡¸If it is okay to ask, then have you seen me somewhere before?¡¹


    The Duke sat on a chair next to me, and it looks like he became quite interested in me noticing him despite his best attempts to remain unnoticed. And since he went so far as to cover his face with a hood and trying to sneak around in his own castle, then being bowed to and recognized by a total stranger must have been the last thing that he was expecting to happen to him today, so if only I had pretended that I did not see him at all, nothing would have happened and he would have carried on with his business, but no, I just had to go and ruin that for him. Great. Standing ovation for me, please.


    ¡¸Uhm, yes, I have seen you before¡­. But only briefly and by pure chance.¡¹


    I had no choice but to lie to his face about this matter, but can you really blame me here? It was either that or saying that I have never seen him before, which would then cause him to grill me about how did I know that he was the Lord of the entire Duchy if I have never seen him before, so it was either that or lying to him, and I would rather take my chances with lying than having to come up with some other explanation and hope that it would sound believable enough for him to buy it.


    ¡¸Is that so? I see¡­.¡¹


    What? What so you see? Have I stepped onto a landmine of mine own making? I hope that this is not going to be the case, but now that I think about it, there is a possibility that this lie of mine can backfire against me as well, because I just assumed that since he is the Duke of the Hartz Duchy, then he has to make at least some public appearances, and there fore it would not be all that strange for random people to see him if they just happened to pass by whenever he was out on the town, but the possibility that I have not taken into account is that even though he is the Duke, he might actually dislike showing himself to the public and just rules the Duchy from the safety of his castle while his officials handle all the other matters, just like it was with our briefing for the supply delivery mission. So depending on which breed of a government official he is going to be, I might be safe, or I might have just dug up my own grave.


    ¡¸Your Excellency.¡¹


    Suddenly, somebody came running to us and called out to the Duke.


    ¡¸This is not an appropriate place to talk. Follow me.¡¹


    The Duke checked his surroundings by turning his hooded head left and right for a few times, and then stood up from his chair and left. Because I bowed to him and got his attention, it is very likely that I probably interrupted him while he was on his official business, so if at all possible I would not want to take up any more of his precious time, so I secretly hoped that our interaction would end then and there, but apparently that was not how it was going to go, because apparently he expected me to go with him.


    ¡¸My name is Gozer, and I am the leader of the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy. If you could please come with us, that would be greatly appreciated.¡¹


    The person who ran up to us introduced himself to me. He then bowed his head lightly and made a gesture as if he wanted to escort me by hand.


    He is an elf. I realized that immediately because his ears were also sharp, just like the ones of that Elven hottie who I was ogling before The Duke came in here. Aaand of course he was not only handsome, but he also had this aura of coolness around him. However, it is not that he just looks cool, but rather that everything about him, from his posture and presence all the way to his gestures and the way he was speaking such fine lines that a host in a host club could be using to woo women around his little finger was exuding such a chad alfa energy that it instantly began to irritate an introvert like myself. Pretty guys like that should take a page out of the book of every normie and just go blow themselves up.


    Okay pretty man, let me use ¡¸Identify¡¹on you to see just who you are and what are you bringing to the table.


    Gozer North Braun Anhalt


    Sex: Male  Age: Fourty Six


    Job: Grand Wizard


    Equipment: Staff of Offerings, Sacrificial Misanga


    As expected of someone who holds the position of the leader of an entire Knight Order. The Level of his Grand Wizard Job is really high. Not only that, but he is also not just a simple Mage or a Wizard, he is a Grand Wizard, which probably means that he should be capable of using some really amazing magic. I wonder what he must have done to even unlock that Job in the first place?


    ¡¸Understood. I will come with you.¡¹


    Since he asked me to come with them with such cool words and gestures, then I just could not find it within myself to say no to this man, or rather, something was telling me that he is that kind of man who would not have taken no for an answer even if I wanted to.


    ¡¸I will be borrowing this Adventurer for a while.¡¹


    ¡¸As you wish, Sir!¡¹


    Gozer the Knight Captain told that to the Knights who were together with me in the team that was delivering supplies, so after giving them a light nod I proceeded to follow after him and the Duke. When both of them left the hall where I was resting, they proceeded to go down the long hallway. Even though the torches were placed in regular intervals on the walls, the corridors themselves were still pretty dark, to the point where it is basically even darker than in the caves of the Labyrinth that are basically only lit up by the natural light emitted by the fluorescent fungi. Also, while we were walking, none of these two ever looked back at me or seemed to be wary of me in any way, even though such darkened corridors would have been an ideal place for an assassination attempt.

 Volume 5 - CH 1.10

    Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist  Editor: Weasalopes


    Are they not in the least bit afraid that I might be an assassin who was sent to kill the Duke? I mean, they really do not have anything to worry about because I am not an Assassin, but at the same time, even though they referred to me as ¡¸Sir Adventurer¡¹, that designation was not an entirely correct one as well, because I am not an Adventurer.


    After a good while of going around the labyrinth of corridors and stairs, the Duke finally opened the door in the back of one of them and went inside. It was a not so large room with a luxurious-looking carpet placed on the floor. As for the other types of furniture, there was a desk with one chair placed behind it and two of them placed in the front, and under one of the walls there was leather sofa and a small table. I do not know if anyone else would have agreed with me if they saw this place, but it definitely has those ¡¸Company President¡¯s Room¡¹vibes to it.


    ¡¸This room is my personal office. Please, do make yourself at home while you are here.¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yes Sir! W-Well then, pardon the intrusion.¡¹


    What the hell was that just now?! When we walked into the room, which actually turned out to be the Duke¡¯s office, and he removed the hood from his head, I saw that he had such a beautiful face that it made me feel like I could not defy any of the words he was saying to me and that I felt like worshiping how sophisticatedly-handsome he was, and it made me feel extremely terrified for some reason! I guess this is actually the true power of the pretty boys, huh? They can force you into obedience just because they have a handsome face that you cannot look away from. All I could do was to agree with what he was saying, after which I just timidly sat in the corner of the sofa for the time being. After taking of his cloak entirely and hanging it on the coat rack in the corner behind his desk, the Duke sat on the chair behind his desk. Since he was an Elf then I knew that he would be good looking, but never in my wildest dreams would I have ever expected him to be such a hunk that even I would be enchanted by this hopelessly cool, handsome face of his that looked as if it has been chiseled from marble by the most talented sculptor in the entire world! I¡­¡­ I am legitimately terrified to tell you that the longer I looked at him, the more I did not know where exactly I should be looking in order not to come off as some uncultured commoner who gets awed whenever he sees the figures in power who are much higher in the social hierarchy than they are, so I just chose a random point on the wall slightly above one of his shoulders and focused my eyes on that point and that point alone, hoping that my eyes will not end up being unnaturally drawn towards him. This just goes to show that all of the pretty boys in the world should really just go and die so that they could stop spreading their aura of handsomness all around them, captivating the vulnerable hearts of both damsels and gallants alike! Seriously, why having such a handsome face was not made to be a criminal offense punishable by law is completely and utterly beyond my comprehensive ability.


    ¡¸Now then¡­. As I was saying, this office is my private room, and while in here, I do not care much about formality, protocols and etiquette, so I will not hold it against you if you continue speaking to me in a casual tone. Actually, I would prefer it to be that way, because it makes the conversation less suffocatingly boring.¡¹


    ¡¸U-Underst¡­¡­¡­.¡¹


    ¡¸What did I said just now? I do not like formality, and that includes polite speech, so you do not have to force yourself to be using it because of the difference in our social standing.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay. I will try to remember that.¡¹


    I certainly did not expect him to be an advocate of informality and equality between himself and those with whom he was engaging in a conversation. I only hope that my attempts at speaking in a casual manner are going to be properly translated by the game¡¯s systems and that it will not result in some fatal miscommunication errors.


    ¡¸Before anything else, let me offer you the words of my gratitude. I cannot thank you enough for lending your hand in the efforts to combat the damages that the floods have inflicted upon my territories.¡¹


    ¡¸No, no, no, there is no need for you to be thanking me, really. I was just doing what anyone else would have done.¡¹


    ¡¸This whole situation would not have happened if it was not for the leftover winter snow that ended up melting later than usual this year. Unfortunately for us, it ended up overlapping with the heavy rain season typical for the early period of spring around these parts, which led to the amount of water, and the damage it has caused, being far greater than we could have ever anticipated.¡¹


    I see. So that is why there was a flood in the first place. The Duke said that it is because the late melting of the snow overlapped with the rainy season, but I cannot help but to wonder if that was only a one-time occurrence, or is it something that happens more frequently every year? But that is probably why the relief supplies have been prepared properly and were ready for distribution. They must have anticipated that something like that might happen, and so they already had supplies prepared, but because they have been caught off guard by the amount of water that came in along with the downpours of rain, it ended up throwing quite the wrench in their operations, and that is why they had to result to asking the Adventurers from Quratar for help with the distribution of the supplies.


    *Knock Knock*


    ¡¸Pardon the intrusion, my Lord.¡¹


    As I was talking with the Duke, someone has knocked on the door and asked for the permission to enter. It turned out that this person was the leader of the Knight Order, Gozer. Oh yeah, that is right! I did not even noticed that he did not enter the room together with me and Duke, because I stopped paying attention to him once I went inside and saw how handsome the Duke actually was.


    ¡¸Is that you, Gozer? Please, come on in and have a seat.¡¹


    ¡¸As you wish.¡¹


    The leader of the Knights, Gozer, entered the room and bowed before me once more.


    ¡¸Thank you for your help with the distribution of the relief supplies. It is a favor that neither I nor the Knight Order of the Hartz Duchy will soon forget, you have my word for it.¡¹


    After raising his head back up, he then sat at the opposite sofa to the one on which I was sitting. So not only is he cool, but he can also be uber polite? Talk about a killer combination. Ladies must be fawning all over him for that, I am sure!


    ¡¸I understand that you are both grateful for the help in dealing with this sudden crisis, but is it really okay for you to be inviting an Adventurer and an outsider like me to your office without any precautions? How can you know that I have not been sent here to try and kill you?¡¹


    Since he said that he does not like formalities, I decided that this would be as good of a moment as any to address that particular concern of mine that I had.


    ¡¸A valid concern indeed, but not the one that you have to worry yourself with, young man. Now that we are in the castle, the guards and the Knights would immediately storm in if either of us called out for them or raised any kind of suspicious noise. Not to mention that both Duke and I are wearing Sacrificial Misangas, so even if you did managed to strike a blow that would normally kill us, then you would be in for quite an unpleasant surprise. We are well aware of the risk that is involved with our positions, and so we have done all that we possibly could to employ every safety measure possible to guard ourselves from any and all attempts at our lives that our would-be enemies might be plotting behind our backs.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. When you put it like that, it certainly makes a lot of sense.¡¹

 Volume 5 - CH 1.11

    With so many diverse security measures in place, it definitely would not make any difference if the Duke or Gozer were holed up in the castle all the time or actively going out of it, because no matter the situation, they would always be protected from assassins in some way: inside of the castle it would be the guards and Knights who, according to Gozer¡¯s words, are trained in such a way that they would immediately react if they were called upon or if they would sense that anything was amiss with either of them, and if anyone tried to do something to them while they were outside of the castle, their Sacrificial Misangas would prevent the first mortal blow from claiming their lives, and I guess that the perpetrators would not even be getting any kind of second chances at finishing their job because they would have been swiftly dispatched either by the Duke or Gozer with their weapons and magic or by the escort that would be coming with them. In that sense, I guess it really does not matter if their location changes or remains the same all the time.


    ¡¸And what about the Labyrinths that are located here in the duchy? Are the members of the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy the only ones responsible for clearing them, or do you also have Adventurers who are regularly going inside and explore them?¡¹


    ¡¸The Knights are the main force responsible for the exploration of Labyrinths and the extermination of the monsters that are dwelling inside of them, but the aristocracy of the entire region is also helping in that endeavor, and we are keeping enough of an eye on them to know if they would ever plan to make a move against us. So as you can see, an assassination attempts are not going to be all that effective against us, and if anyone were to try and take us out in open combat, then I am sure that our abilities would be more than enough to stand our ground and emerge from such a battle more or less unscratched. If we were not able to do at least that much, then we would not be worthy of keeping our titles for as long as we are holding onto them right now. Or maybe you would like to try your luck in a duel with one of us to see for yourself that we are telling the truth and my words are not just empty lip service without any ground in reality?¡¹


    ¡¸Oh no, no, no, there absolutely is not going to be any need for that, because I believe in every word that you just said.¡¹


    I know that the Duke and Gozer were probably joking, but in the off chance that they were not, I absolutely needed to clarify that there is not going to be any need for me to be challenging them to a fight, and even if I did, then my instincts were telling me that would have a distinctly bad time fighting them and that emerging victorious from such a bout would be borderline impossible for the current me, especially if these guys were fighting seriously right from the get-go. In that case, I have a feeling that I might have even died if I was too careless.


    ¡¸Oh really? Well, that is certainly a shame. You look like you are a pretty capable and excellent Adventurer, so I think that you might have had a pretty decent chance of giving His Excellency a run for his money.¡¹


    ¡¸N-No, I still have ways to go as an Adventurer, so I do not think that calling myself capable, or excellent would be appropriate here¡­.¡¹


    ¡¸Now, now, there is no need to be too modest, hahaha¡­..¡¹


    When I tried to deny Duke¡¯s words, he simply laughed them off. I know that he meant them only as a harmless compliment, but still, I did not know what to think about people like him complimenting someone like me, but since we are being all informal here, then I should probably not think about anything that he says and simply accept his words with a healthy pinch of salt.


    ¡¸According to the report that I have received from my people, it would seem that the transportation of your portion of the relief supplies to the village of Tare has already been completed.¡¹


    ¡¸Hmm¡­.. Tare, you say?¡¹


    ¡¸Tare is a village that is located the farthest out of all the towns and villages that are counted among the ones belonging to my Duchy, and as you are probably aware, travels to distant place with the usage of ¡¸Field Walker¡¹ are especially difficult since they consume much of the caster¡¯s magic power In fact, you were the third Adventurer whom we have asked to deliver the supplies there, but the other two did not even deliver half of the amount of supplies that has been prepared for them as their portion of the job.¡¹


    The leader of the Knights explained that to me. Is that why I have not seen anyone else around here? Because I was the only one who has actually finished everything that has been assigned to him and so I could take a break while everyone else was still going at it? But if that is the case, then should I not be going back there to help others so that we could wrap up the process of delivering supplies to every village that needed them a fast as possible?


    From what the Knight leader Gozer told me just now, I think that it is safe to assume that ¡¸Field Walker¡¹works in the same was as ¡¸Warp¡¹does, meaning that the amount of MP that this spell consumes is actually dependent on the distance that the user intends to travel. If that distance is relatively small, then the MP consumption is not going to be all that big at all, but if the distance is going to be considerable, then the amount of MP used is going to be quite substantial as well. And for this commission the MP consumption is going to be that much greater, because the trips that have to be made with ¡¸Field Walker¡¹are not one way, but actually back and forth ones, which essentially doubles the amount of MP that has to be used for the purpose of constantly opening and closing ¡¸Field Walker¡¯s¡¹portals, and I definitely know that to be true since I was only resting in that hall on that chair because I was running dangerously low on MP and needed a while to allow it to recharge. But still, I do not know if it means that I have more MP than the other Adventurers or does it mean that ¡¸Warp¡¹uses less MP over short distances than ¡¸Field Walker¡¹, which allowed me to make more trips back and forth between our delivery destinations and do them faster than the others did, or if maybe a fact that I currently have more then just one Job and their Passive Skills equipped: Explorer Lv.35, Hero Lv.33, Mage Lv.35, Monk Lv.34 and a Cook Job that I have swapped for my Alchemist Lv.19 so that I could have more space available in my Item Box to be able to fulfill the requirements of the commission, has anything to do with it?


    Oh, and while we are still on the subject of Jobs, presently, I often catch myself wondering if I would ever need to get my hands on the Adventurer Job now that I have so many diverse Jobs at relatively high levels like Explorer, Hero or a Mage? Not to mention that they all give me rather good passive Skills, and I have grown quite accustomed to exploring the Labyrinths and fighting monsters with them, but if I were to obtain the Job of an Adventurer now, I would have to specifically go out of my way to start levelling that Job up all the way from Lv.1 which would make me that much weaker, and the Skills that the Adventurer Job gives you might not actually be all that good in comparison to what I have now, however. . . . . am I using most of my Jobs in vain? Or rather, am I even using the effects that they are giving me to their fullest extent and potential?


    Two of the Jobs that I decided it would be better not to remove under any circumstances were Hero and a Mage because a) Hero¡¯s Job allows me to use Overwhelming Skill which comes in pretty handy whenever I am finding myself fighting against a fast opponent or the ones that utilize surprise attacks, and b) because Mage allows me to use magic Spells, duh.

 Volume 5 - CH 1.12

    The ability to use ranged spells instead of having to go up close and personal with the enemy is invaluable to my current playstyle of hanging around in the backline while supporting Roxanne and Sherry who are now fighting together in the vanguard, and their teamwork is getting better and better by the day. As for the bonuses to our Stats such as increased STR or increased DEX, neither of usually pays them any mind and we fight without relying on them too much, so these are never a problem whenever I switch my Jobs around, although if I have a choice, then I always prefer to leave the Jobs that increase my overall INT stat, because the higher the INT stat, the more damage my offensive spells are going to be doing.


    When I was in the middle of thinking about such things related to my Stats, Jobs and their Bonus Skills, Gozer, the leader of the Knight Order and the Duke spoke the words that I did not expect to hear, and that I initially took for some kind of verbal trap.


    ¡¸Forgive me if what I am about to say is going to sound disrespectful, but¡­.. you are of Human race, correct?¡¹


    ¡¸Huh? Oh, y-yes, I am most definitely a Human, I have no doubts about it.¡¹


    ¡¸Then it would seem that there really are some truly excellent Humans in the world after all.¡¹


    Eh? N-No, Mr. Duke, I think there has been a misunderstanding here, or rather, that you are misunderstanding something here!


    ¡¸Yes, excellent indeed.¡¹


    ¡¸How about this then? Would you be interested in joining the ranks of the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy?¡¹


    ¡¸Ehhh?! Uhm, while that would be a great honor for me, I am afraid that I have to respectfully decline the offer. After all, I am still an Adventurer in the process of learning and discovering my own limits, so I would not have any of my many shortcomings to be slowing anyone in the Order down or result in having a negative influence on either of your reputations.¡¹


    I refused their offer without even thinking about it. All of that praise they are directing my way is under the assumption that I am an Adventurer, so if I agreed and the information that I am actually not an adventurer would have ended up reaching them or any higher-ups in the Knight Order, it would mean no end of trouble for me, and who knows that my freedom or even my life would not have been placed in danger as well? But more importantly¡­. I thought that the Elves were supposed to be looking down on Humans, so why are these guys praising me out of the blue like that?!


    Well, since they have already said all those things then I guess there is no need to be thinking about it all that much, because it is entirely possible that the ¡¸Elves look down on humans¡¹might be the stereotype about Elves in general, and as we all know, there are times where the stereotypes do not apply to every member of a given race, but rather to the majority of it, and there will always be that small percentage of the minority to are anything but the stereotype that describes the entire race, and apparently the Duke and Gozer must have been exactly those people: Elves who do not look down on Humans, or at the very least Elves who are not afraid of recognizing the accomplishments of an individual, even if that individual was a Human.


    ¡¸I see. Well, that is quite a shame, but if you do not want to join the Knight Order, then there is nothing I can do to force you to do so. Anyway, if you ever encounter any problems while you are in my Duchy, do not hesitate to go with it to Gozer. Since he is the leader of the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy, there is nothing that he or his subordinates would not be able to do, and if it is for someone like you, who helped us in our hour of need and proved himself to be a capable Adventurer, then they would be more than glad to lend you a hand with whatever you might be needing. We are well aware that most of the other races think that we Elves look down not only on Humans, but on other races as well, which is exactly why we should be doing everything in our power to change that harmful mentality, so I hope you would not mind it if I asked you for your help with other endeavors some other time?¡¹


    At the beginning I though that he might be joking around with me, but those words of his just now seemed to be genuine, and he does not look like someone who uses his words lightly only to withdraw from them moments later, but rather he looks like someone who takes his words and the promises that he makes extremely seriously.


    But I sure am glad that he turned out to be this kind of person. That takes a load of potential worries off of my shoulders. Since he, Gozer and apparently even the members of the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy are people who want to fight against harmful stereotypes of the Elven race, then establishing a connection with them and helping them to achieve that goal is definitely going to be something that I am not going to regret. But damn, now a part of me wishes that it could have met this Duke and his Knight Order leader earlier than I did, because if only I knew that someone like him existed, I would have kept the Copper Sword of Obstruction on me and I would have sold it to him or one of his people in order to increase my reputation with them as a Human who is willing to sell the weapons and items with Skills in them to the Elves as a sign of good will and prosperous partnership.


    ¡¸Well, I would not mind that, especially since I might have some business to do around here in the future, but for the time being, I think it would be high time for me to be o my way. I need to get back to work, after all.¡¹


    With that said, I stood up from my seat. Talking to this man was actually more fun than I have expected, but if I stay here for too long doing nothing but chatting with him, then I am afraid that I might just lose any sense of time which would cause me to miss my appointed meeting with Sherry back at the library in Imperial City.


    ¡¸Ah, yes, of course. It was not my intention to be holding you back here for so long, so do forgive me for that. However, about you going back to work, I do not think that it is going to be necessary.¡¹


    ¡¸Huh? Why is that?¡¹


    ¡¸Before I came here I went to collect the report from the Knights who have been partnered with you during the distribution of supplies and they have informed me that you have done everything that was expected of you, so that means that your work for today is over and you are free to return home if you wish, Kaga Michio.¡¹


    So they actually checked in with the Knights who were together with me because we finished everything so fast that they must have found it suspicious that I was resting back there even without anyone telling me that my work was officially over? I guess that is understandable, but¡­¡­ wait, did he just addressed me with my full name? But how does he even¡­.. oh. Ooohhh, I see. Before I was dispatched to Bode from Quratar¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild, I had to fill in the form with my personal information, and I also had to state my name when we arrived here and the Duke¡¯s officials were explaining the specifics of the commission to us and it did not even cross my mind to come up with some sort of pseudonym because I thought that it is going to be too much of a bother, and as a result of that, they now know my full name. As for whether or not that I is going to prove to be a bad thing or not¡­. I guess only time will tell.


    Now that my talk with the Duke was over, Gozer escorted me out of his office and brought me to a large room that looked like a foyer or a lobby, where I could presumably use my ¡¸Warp¡¹to leave the castle and go back home to Quartar. He then bowed to me and promptly left the room, leaving me alone in it.

 Volume 5 - CH 1.13

    Well, I guess that means that my work with the distribution of the relief supplies is really over now, so without any more reasons to stay here for more than it was necessary, I went and left the Duchy of Hartz through the ¡¸Warp¡¹portal that I have created on the wall.


    ¡¸Welcome back, master.¡¹


    Since it was still early afternoon when I got back, I decided to go back to our home in Quratar instead of going straight to the Imperial City, and when I walked through the door, Roxanne welcomed me with her usual greeting and her cheerful smile. But today, there was something different about her, and it I was something that I noticed straight away.


    She was dressed in her maid uniform! She is a doggy-eared maid! She is pretty! So incredible pretty! And even more erotic than usual!


    ¡¸Y-Yeah, I am back, Roxanne.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. You are back even earlier that you anticipated.¡¹


    ¡¸W-Well, I managed to wrap my share of the work a little earlier so the Duke of Hartz gave me a go-ahead to go back home earlier since there was no need to keep me there when there was no more work for me to be done.¡¹


    This¡­. This is the same outfit that she was wearing on that fateful day when I first met her in the Slave Shop in Vale¡­.. no, wait, actually, it is not one hundred percent the same. Back then, I am pretty sure that Roxanne was wearing a maid¡¯s hat as well, so technically speaking, this is the first time when I am seeing her in her maid uniform and with her doggy ears unobstructed by anything else! This combination of her seductive maid clothes, her cute ears and her big boobies is truly a match made in heaven, no doubts about it!


    These droopy ears covered with soft fur!  The smile that makes me all warm inside as I instantly forget about the trouble of day-to-day life and everything that was usually bothering me! That bombshell body hidden beneath the layers of clothing, just waiting to be uncovered by me! Oh yeah, that is right! Even though Roxanne is wearing her maid uniform properly, like any good maid should, there was no way in hell that it could ever hope to cover or conceal the presence of her lustrous limbs and well-rounded curves! Ahh, that softness, that elasticity! Just thinking about them is making my blood boil with excitement! And the frills on the sides of the apron that she was wearing only worked to accentuate them even further, stimulating my imagination with their intricate design. My dear frills, you can try to cover Roxanne¡¯s chest from me, but the truth is that I have already seen it enough times for their sight to be engraved in my memory that I can summon back at will at any given moment in time, so to me it makes no difference whether you are here or not, but nevertheless, you are a welcome addition to the collection of fetishes that is Roxanne in her maid uniform!


    ¡¸So you are saying that you managed to finish your work way before all the other Adventurers did? I should have expected as much of you, master. You are so amazing that no one can possibly compare to you when it comes to how amazing you are.¡¹


    Okay Roxanne, I get it. Me finishing my work way before others did is just one more reason for you to be calling me amazing, huh? I mean, I will not deny it if you are willingly offering me a compliment, but¡­ how can I say this? The words like ¡¸amazing¡¹or ¡¸excellent¡¹have a whole new meaning to them right now that I know that the Duke of Hartz also considers me to be an excellent Adventurer, even though I am not an Adventurer at all, so technically that is a praise that I do not deserve, but as long as I am the only one who knows the truth, then ahhh, who cares?


    I turned my back to Roxanne and spread my arms, and she immediately took the coat that I still had on me off my back and hanged it back in the closet from which she took it out in the morning. When she was taking the coat off of me, it felt a little ticklish when the material of her uniform was rubbing against my own skin, but it was not the uncomfortable kind of ticklish, but actually the good kind of ticklish, the kind of which I would not mind feeling all the time.


    ¡¸Thank you Roxanne, you are a great help as always. But if I may ask¡­ then why are you wearing these clothes of all things today?¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, should I have not wore them? But I thought that this was the traditional clothing  that a servant should be wearing when she is cleaning the house or performing various other household chores, and that is also what I have been taught by the personnel back at the Slave Shop. Were the teachings wrong then?¡¹


    Well yes but actually no. While it is true that this clothing is usually worn by the maids who are essentially house servants who take care of all the basic chores such as cleaning and cooking in place of their masters, it is nowhere written that they actually have to be wearing these uniforms at all times, so I think that it all boils down either to the master¡¯s preferences, or to the fact that a maid¡¯s uniform is in and out of itself a symbol of a maid¡¯s status and an indicator of her position in the household, and essentially, I think that it would be right to say that a maid without her maid uniform would be in the same vain as a salaryman without his suit and tightly knotted necktie, or like a sportsmen without a proper attire to wear during the times of official competitions, so while her wearing her maid uniform during cleaning is not exactly a violation of any sort, I could still say that there was something very wrong about it, something that made my heart feel not at ease and it hurt my chest in a way that I honestly was not expecting.


    ¡¸W-Well, as long as it looks as cute as it does on you, then I guess I have no problems with you wearing it during cleaning. I just hope that it is not going to get too dirty, because it would be a shame if it got some stains that would be pretty difficult to remove, right?¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you very much for your invaluable opinion, master. I assure you that I will do everything in my power to not let that happen.¡¹


    ¡¸Great. Yeah, great indeed¡­¡¹


    My fucking God, she is so cute! Too cute!! Cute to such a degree that it should be criminal to be this adorable without even realizing it, because if she is going to keep that up, then I am afraid that very soon I will be vomiting rainbows left and right whenever I will be looking at her! That, and it also makes me want to jump on her and have my way with her right here, right now! I want to devour her in all possible meanings of that word and fulfill all of my maid-related desires that I could never have even dream of fulfilling before!


    ¡¸Ahhh, I knew it! You are the best after all, Roxanne!¡¹


    I hugged Roxanne from behind, channeling all of my affection towards her in it. Ahh, the softness! Ahhh, the flexibility! Ahhhhhhh, the elasticity that seems to be giving up under the pressure of my fingers only to go right back to its original shape!


    ¡¸I do not know if I did anything to deserve your affection just now, master¡­. But I am glad all the same. Ah, I almost forgot. A messenger from Mr. Luke came while  you were way doing the commission for the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, master.¡¹


    ¡¸A messenger, huh? Well, what did he had to say?¡¹


    ¡¸Apparently, Mr. Luke managed to win the bid for the Mermaid Skill Crystal, and he was asking if you would be interested in it yourself.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. Well, I thought that it would be something a little bit more urgent than that, so we might as well go see him tomorrow. Right now I do not really feel like doing anything else.¡¹


    ¡¸So I take it you are going to have a rest before you go pick Sherry from the library? What do you want me to do in the meantime?¡¹


    ¡¸Hmm, I do not know¡­. Just keep being as cute as you are now. Also¡­¡¹

 Volume 5 - CH 1.14

    I whispered softly into Roxanne¡¯s ear. And then, without giving her any word of warning, I picked her off the ground and lifted her in my arms, holding her shoulders with my left hand around them and her legs just below her knees with my right hand. She was definitely surprised by such a sudden action on my part, but other than that¡­ she was not resisting it at all. Needless to say, there was only one possible destination where we could be heading now that everything has been prepared so perfectly: we were going straight towards the bed in our bedroom. And I hope that it is even more needless to say, but yes¡­¡­.. I was late to pick Sherry up because of it.


    After I left the house in a hurry and made a stop at Quratar¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild to pick up the daily funding tat has been promised to everyone who would be participating in the operation to deliver the relief supplies to the Duchy of Hartz, I then opened the ¡¸Warp¡¹ portal to Imperial City and ran towards the library as fast as I could. When I got out of the portal at the other side, which I set to be the lobby room of the library, I saw that the number op people who were there was far greater than in the morning when I brought Sherry here. And speaking of Sherry, as soon as she saw me, she literally darted out of the reading room and rushed to my side.


    ¡¸I am sorry for making you wait, Sherry. Were you waiting for long?¡¹


    ¡¸No, I just got out myself.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, well now, talk about a stroke of luck, huh?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, definitely. It is a good thing that the library is opened from early morning until sunset, but I cannot help but to wish for it to be opened for longer. Even if I did end up spending an entire day here today, I still feel like it was not enough.¡¹


    So judging from Sherry¡¯s words, it would seem like pretty much every visitor of the library was waiting for the very last moment to leave it, and that is what caused such a flood of people to be here right now. But I guess that this time it actually worked to my advantage, because even though I was late to pick Sherry up, she did not actually have to wait for me for God knows how long, so you could say that this was a disaster successfully avoided.


    ¡¸Hmm, so the library is actually opened until the evening, huh?¡¹


    Then I guess it makes it pretty much the same as the libraries in my old world, which is a useful bit of information.


    ¡¸Heck yeah it is!¡¹


    Huh? Excuse me, what was that just now? And this peculiar smell¡­ do not tell me¡­


    ¡¸Uhm, Sherry? Have¡­ have you been drinking?¡¹


    After we got the money from the deposit back, I could feel that Sherry¡¯s breath smelled like alcohol, and not just a little bit. It was a pretty intense smell.


    ¡¸Huh? What do you mean, master? Of course I was drinking! Five glasses of water that is!¡¹


    Water, huh? Yeah, right, sure. Now forgive me if I doubt that, because there is no way for water to ever have an alcoholic smell like that.


    ¡¸Yes master, water. To be precise though, it is a weak liquor-type beverage that you drink instead of water, but due to its low percentage of alcohol, Dwarves, who are known to be a race that is particularly good at holding their liquor and resisting the intoxicating effects of alcohol, so Dwarves just call it Water because they see not too much difference between that Water and the ordinary water. And besides, the one that I had is not all that strong anyway, because it has only been distilled three times, or so I heard.¡¹


    It has been distilled ¡¸only¡¹three times? But is it not that the amount of alcohol in a beverage goes up every time it is distilled? I cannot say for sure because I have never had much of an interest in alcohol and the process in which it is created, but I can definitely say that despite Sherry claims that what she drank was a ¡¸weak¡¹ liquor, it is probably quite strong because the alcoholic stench that I can feel from her is quite strong, almost to the point where inhaling the fumes of it that are breathed out along with Sherry¡¯s every breath is enough to cause a pinching sensation in the depths of my nostrils.


    ¡¸Do you like alcohol, Sherry?¡¹


    I have no idea that Sherry liked alcohol, or if she has a strong tolerance to it o not, because the only thing close to the legitimate alcohol we have back at home is the wine that we mostly use for the cooking purposes, and I have never seen either Roxanne or Sherry drink it. Could it be that they have been holding back on it because I never drank a drop of it myself? If that really is the case, then I hope they are not going to be holding that against me or feel dissatisfied because of it, because they never even spoke a word about it, and I also never thought about asking them about this particular subject.


    ¡¸Huh? No, master, I cannot say that I like it, but I guess I do not dislike it either. To me, it is just a substitute for drinking water. Nothing more, nothing less.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, I see. So it is not going to be a problem that we do not have any of it back at home?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I can make do without it just fine. As I was saying, I did not drink it because I like it, but because to me it is substitute for water, so as long as we have it back at home, I will have no problems drinking it.¡¹

 Volume 5 - CH 1.15

    Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist  Editor: Weasalopes


    Say what you want, Sherry, but I still think that drinking alcohol as a substitute for water is not okay, especially if it makes you smell like alcohol from quite a distance away, which some people might find off-putting, and if you say that you do not really like alcohol in the first place then maybe you should not be drinking it at all, even if you do have quite a big tolerance to it because you are a Dwarf. At the very least she does not appear to be piss drunk, but maybe just slightly intoxicated if her cheeks, which are flushed with a little bit of red on them are any kind of indicator. And more importantly, she seems to be walking in a perfectly straight line, and it does not appear like she had any difficulty forming coherent sentences as well, and when I added her back into my Party through the Party settings menu, and checked her status, it showed that she was not under the influence of any negative statuses whatsoever, so what she was saying has to be true indeed and she must have a pretty strong head and a good tolerance to alcohol.


    ¡¸Well, whatever. As long as you are not suffering from alcohol¡¯s negative effects, then I guess there is nothing to worry about.¡¹


    When the time comes that I will finally be able to drink alcohol myself, then perhaps we could go drinking together. Yeah, that definitely would be nice. We made our way towards the ¡¸Warp¡¹ portal on the library¡¯s wall and went home.


    ¡¸Welcome home, master.¡¹


    When we got back home, Roxanne welcomed me again. I thought that she was going to change from her maid uniform into her regular clothes already, but apparently that was not the case.


    ¡¸Yeah, we are back, Roxanne.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh? Have you been drinking before you got back here, by any chance?¡¹


    Roxanne immediately notice the smell of alcohol that was coming from Sherry. Well, I should not be surprised that she noticed it immediately. After all, as a Wolfkin she has a pretty keen sense of smell that allows her to even smell where the monsters in the Labyrinths are from pretty far away, and that unique ability of hers saved us a lot of trouble and running into potential deathtraps before, so I knew that it could definitely be trusted.


    ¡¸Master did not drink a drop, but I had some instead of water while I was in the library.¡¹


    ¡¸You had¡­¡­ alcohol instead of water?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, a water-like alcohol instead of water, or at least that is what she told me when I asked her the very same question, and she said that she only had like five glasses of it.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, only five glasses, so as you can see, I am totally fine! Welcome, Miss Roxanne! I hope that your day was as successfully spent as my was!¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yes, of course, welcome back, Sherry. And yes, you can say that I managed to do everything that I have planned for myself today. So, uhm¡­ will you be able to help me with the cooking?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course I will help you! I knew that we would have to make dinner when we get back, so that is why I made sure to do not drink enough to get myself drunk.¡¹


    That is what Sherry said, but to be honest, I still find it kind of strange. Even though she is of a race that is supposedly really resistant to alcohol and she also has a strong alcohol tolerance herself in addition to that, if what she drank was distilled at least three times, then I would expect these five cups that she drank to get her at least a little bit drunk.


    ¡¸Sherry, let me just ask you this: how much alcohol would it actually take for you to ger seriously drunk?¡¹


    ¡¸Hmm, let me think¡­. Let¡¯s see¡­ ah, yes, I remember now. Back when I decided to sell myself into slavery, on the last day that I got to spend with my family they decided to have a sort of a goodbye feast for me, and at the end of that feat I think I got a little too drunk then I probably should have, but only a little, nothing so serious that would make me pass out on the spot or anything like that. My family brought out the strongest liquor that we had in the house at that time and there was an entire barrel of it but we actually ended up drinking that barrel dry very quickly so then we proceeded to drink all the other alcohol that we had at home until there was pretty much nothing left of it¡­. So while I cannot exactly estimate how much it was in the end, I do think that it had to be quite a considerable amount.¡¹


    So a¡­. considerable amount of alcohol was only enough to get her ¡¸a little¡¹drunk? Also, she said that it was a feast for their whole family, but since she mentioned that she has a younger brother and a younger sister, and since I am pretty sure that they would not allow kids to drink booze, so it must mean that the only people who drank so much alcohol were Sherry, her father and her brother, so if the three of them were the ones who drank the entire supply of alcohol that was in their house and she only got ¡¸a little¡¹ drunk off of it¡­.. then I guess that what she said must be true and she does have a pretty strong resistance to alcohol, even for a Dwarf, so I think that unless Sherry herself expresses a desire to drink then there is no need to be forcing her to, and in the event that we might go out drinking with her, it might be a good idea to keep a close eye on her so that our tab would not grow into an inhuman sum that would be a major blow to my wallet.


    Since Sherry was not drunk, she assisted Roxanne in preparing dinner as always, and throughout the whole process, I cannot say that I noticed and slip-ups or mishaps with any of the tools on her part, so it really seems like she is not drunk in the slightest. With that confirmation, I decided to stop observing her to determine if all that alcohol that she drank had any influence on her, because it obviously did not, so instead I focused on eating before me, exactly as I should have.


    ¡¸So Roxanne, how was your day? Did you go shopping, or did you spend it all cleaning around the house?¡¹


    I asked that of Roxanne while we were eating dinner.


    ¡¸Yes, I did. A little bit earlier before you came back home, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, so you actually did? Good.¡¹


    I am glad to hear her say that. It would have been awful if she did not go shopping by the time I have returned home earlier than anticipated, and ended up thwarting her plans of spending her day off in a way that she desired because of it.


    ¡¸And while I was shopping, I bought some new clothes for master.¡¹


    ¡¸New clothes? For me?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, and it would make me very glad if you wore them, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Well of course I will wear them, but you did not have to go so far for me, you know?¡¹


    Now it just makes me feel bad. Since it was supposed to be Roxanne¡¯s day off I wanted her to do or buy something that would be just for her, and instead she ended up buying clothes for me even though I never asked her to do that.


    ¡¸I also bought a hairbrush, so we can use it together, Sherry.¡¹


    A hairbrush, huh? Well, it makes sense that she would buy something like that. After all, they are both girls and they definitely need to take care of their hair, but since my hair are not that long then I would have no use of it.


    ¡¸We can share it with each other? Really? Thank you so much, Miss Roxanne, you are the best!¡¹


    ¡¸Do not mention it. Also, I am sorry for not noticing the need to buy one earlier, so if there is anything else that you would like me to buy then just say the word and I will go and obtain it.¡¹


    ¡¸No, no, no, there is no need for you to apologize at all. How much did you pay for it? I will give you the money from the rest of what I have left from master¡¯s allowance!¡¹

 Volume 5 - CH 1.16

    Sherry declared her intentions of paying Roxanne back for the brush, because she felt bad about her buying something that both of them would be using with just her own money, but then she had a look as if a lightbulb just flashed above her head and she went like¡­¡­.


    ¡¸¡­¡­. Oh, that is right. I ended up spending all of my allowance. S-So, uhm¡­. I am sorry for wasting it all on myself! Master! Miss Roxanne!¡¹


    So Sherry did end up using all of the five silver coins that I gave her? That is a little unexpected, but I cannot say that it does not make me happy to know that she did what I asked of her. Good for you, Sherry.


    ¡¸Those five silver coins that I gave you were essentially your pocket money, so you were free to spend it however you saw fit. Whether you spend it all or keep it is up to you and I will not judge you for it. So if you have any of the money from your shopping left, Roxanne, then be sure to keep it for yourself instead of giving it back to me. Who knows, there might come a time where those coins might just come in pretty handy to you.¡¹


    ¡¸Are you really sure about that, master?¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, I do not mind. You are my slaves as well as my precious Party Members, so I trust you to use those money in the best way possible.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you very much for putting your trust in me, master.¡¹


    I said that because I trust both Roxanne and Sherry, but my decision to allow them to keep the money has a hidden meaning as well. I know that it might be nothing more but a possibility that may or may not come true, but in the unlikely event that we somehow end up getting separated from one another, be it through the effects of some sort of magical trap or through other means, the money they are going to have on them in case of such happening should be enough for them to go back to our home in Quratar on their own.


    As I said, I hope that a scenario like that is going to remain nothing more than a possibility, but since this is the world in which you might never know what is going to happen one you enter the Labyrinth, it is better to be safe now than sorry later.


    ¡¸And what about you, Sherry? How did you spend your day off? Did id you read some interesting books?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. Since I am going to be working as Master¡¯s Master Smith from now on, I thought it might be a good idea to refresh my memory and read about the effects of every monster Skill Crystal so that I would always remember what are their effects are without messing them up, and so I used the pocket money that I received from master in order to buy a notebook and a writing instrument for myself, so whenever I will hear or read about something interesting from now on, I will make sure to take notes about it.¡¹


    So it looks like both Sherry and Roxanne had managed to spend their day off in a meaningful way.


    Without anything else to do for the day we went to bed straight ahead after finishing dinner, and by the time it was the morning of the next day, the odor of alcohol that was persistently hanging around Sherry has completely disappeared.


    I was initially worried about what might happen when she will give me a good morning kiss with the tongue and she ends up breathing the alcoholic fumes directly into my mouth, but much to my relief it looks like the scenario where I end up barfing all over the bed and myself because of it can be completely avoided. While Sherry and I were kissing, all that I could feel was the sate of her mouth without a drop of alcohol smell in it, so I could safely bring my own tongue around every corner of her mouth without feeling uncomfortable at all.


    The walls of her mouth and her tongue were moist and slimy like usual, stimulating my senses all throughout our kiss to the moment when our mouths separated from one another. Until then, I made sure to savor every movement, sensation and feeling, and then when I stopped kissing her, Sherry was the one who kissed me back and placed her own tongue back in my mouth, imitating every movement and technique that I have used on her. She was still somewhat awkward when it came to the refinement of her kissing technique, but she was definitely making progress with each passing day. She was entwining herself around me and responding meticulously to each and every one of my own movements, and then she finally let go of me.


    ¡¸Good morning, Sherry. How does your head feel? Does it hurt?¡¹


    ¡¸Good morning master. No, my head feels fine, and there seems to be nothing wrong with it.¡¹


    I thought that she might be dealing with a hungover, but apparently nothing of the sort has befallen her, most likely because she was only slightly drunk, exactly like she said yesterday.


    I think that aside form the Dwarves¡¯ high resistance to alcohol, they might also have their livers work at an excellent capacity, and that might be why even though she injested alcohol, she is feeling no harmful side effects of it¡­. But that begs the question: if Dwarven livers really work so well, then is ist possible for them not to get drunk at all? Does it depend on the person and their individual characteristics, or is it something that all of the Dwarves can develop if only they will train their lovers and entire digestive systems hard enough¡­.


    No, that seems highly unlikely, because even if Sherry claimed that she was not drunk and that she did not have a hangover, she still ended up going to bed pretty early along with Roxanne and myself, and as soon as she hit the sheets, she ended up falling asleep almost instantly and I think that she has slept like a log all the way into the morning, and throughout that time, I do not think that there was anything that could have woken her up from her recovery sleep even if it tried.


    But now that I know that Sherry is pretty much highly resistant to the harmful effects of alcohol, there was one more question that began to nestle itself in my mind: how resistant to alcohol is Roxanne, and if she ever got drunk, then what kind of drunk would she be? A happy drunk who gets all clingy with everyone in her surroundings? A gloomy drunk who ends up going through involuntary trips down the memory lane of all the worst memories possible? Or perhaps a sexy drunk, the one who would have her sex drive amplified to eleven as she would push me down and try to have her way with me? Whatever the case might be, I cannot wait to see the day when I will be able to confirm that with my own eyes.


    Since it was early in the morning, we went to Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth as usual to do some grinding and farm the materials from the monsters which we then sold at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, the we got back home, I had Sherry engage in another round of her training as a Master Smith and create two more Misangas (once more without an Empty Skill Slot on either of them, regrettably) and when she was done with that we proceeded to have breakfast.


    ¡¸By the way, Roxanne told me yesterday that Luke the Broker managed to win a bid for a Mermaid Skill Crystal and he sent a messenger here asking if I would be interested in it. While I cannot say that I am downright disinterested, I would like to know what kind of Skill you can obtain if you fuse a weapon or armor with Mermaid Skill Crystal, and based on that knowledge I will then make a decision. So Sherry, care to tell us what kind of Skill we would get if we got our hands on that particular Monster Skill Crystal?¡¹


    I asked Sherry to enlighten us in that matter as we were all eating the food on our plates. ¡¸Mermaid Skill Crystal is one of the Monster Skill Crystals that add an element to the weapon that they are infused with, and in case of a Mermaid Skill Crystal, the added element would be water, giving you the ¡¸Water Sword¡¹ Skill. Alternatively, if you were to infuse Mermaid Skill Crystal with a piece of armor, you would then get a Skill that would increase that piece of armor¡¯s resistance to water-based attacks and magic.¡¹

 Volume 5 - CH 1.17

    ¡¸It would?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. But if you managed to fuse the Monster Skill Crystals with a piece of armor that would then have ¡¸Resist Water¡¹effect added onto it, then such a piece of armor would definitely make for a nice protective measure against Needlewoods and their Water Magic attacks on higher floors of the Labyrinths. As for which pieces of armor to fuse such a Skill Crystal with¡­.. I think that the best possible choice would be Leather Mittens or Leather Armor. Yes, such pieces of armor would definitely be useful, but we still need to take into account the fact that the fusion might fail, and then we would not only lose the Skill Crystals used in the fusion, but the Leather Armor that we would use as a base would be broken down into their base components, meaning leather, and if that happened, I do not know how long it would take me to process the leather in such a way that it could be used to make armor out of it again. With Leather Mittens it would not have been so bad, because even if they were to be broken into their base components, remaking the mittens is significantly easier and less time-consuming than making Leather Armor out of unprocessed leather.¡¹


    Sherry gave me quite a lengthy explanation about the fusion process, the risks involved with it and how we could have recovered ourselves from a potential fusion failure. All of that might have seem like something a little bit excessive, but you have to take into consideration the fact that unlike me, Sherry does not know that the fusion of a Skill Crystal with a weapon or a piece of armor can only fail if said weapon or piece of armor does not have an Empty Skill Slot assigned to it. As long as these conditions are met and you will be fusing the Skill Crystal with something that has at least one Empty Skill Slot, there will be no way for your fusions to ever fail. But since Sherry has yet to figure it out because she does not know that Empty Skill Slots are real and they are not just an urban legend or a hollow theory conceived by a bunch of scholars, then she is still pretty desperate to make sure that each fusion was going to be successful so that she would not be subjected to any form of punishment for failing the task that she was entrusted with, even though I have already told her time and time again that there is no way that I would ever do something so cruel to her, and I fully intended to stick to that decision.


    ¡¸All right, so if we do end up buying the Mermaid Skill Crystal, then I am counting on you to fuse it together with the Leather Mittens.¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yes, of course! I-I will make sure to do everything in my power to make that fusion a successful one!¡¹


    From all of the equipment that my Party has, no armor would qualify for the fusion, not even the one that I am wearing, because it was not something that I bought in the Armor Shop after carefully picking it up from among a ton of others. This Leather Armor is one of the remnants of a Party annihilated by Pan on the seventh floor of Vale¡¯s Labyrinth.


    Because of that, the Leather Armor that I am currently wearing does not have any Empty Skill Slots in it, which essentially renders this Leather Armor useless to me for the purpose of fusing it with the Monster Skill Crystals. On the other hand, the Leather Mittens have been bought in the Armor Shop after carefully selecting them from among a myriad of other similar items after confirming that they had at least one Empty Skill Slot in them, so I know that as long as they are going to be the ones infused With Mermaid Skill Crystal, then everything is going to be okay and the fusion will definitely be a successful one. Boy I sure am glad that I did not decide to sell them somewhere along the way thinking that they are not going to be of any use to me anymore. Now they can be integrated with the Mermaid Skill Crystal once I will obtain it, and their usefulness to me will be increased even more!


    As for the effect that the Mermaid Skill Crystal is going to have on my armor, it is exactly like Sherry said. Since the Needlewoods start using water-based magic once they are of a sufficiently high enough level, then having something that would allow me to either partially reduce or completely resist the damage from such magic attacks is certainly going to be useful, even more so since somewhere along the way there is bound to be a Floor Boss, but the nearest location where we could put this equipment to the test would probably be the eighth floor of the Quratar labyrinth. That being said, is it going to be that I would have to prepare different equipment for every floor of the Labyrinth to have it being effective for different types of enemies and their elemental strengths? Because if so, then that is going to be quite difficult to pull off, not only financially, but purely from the perspective of obtaining the Skill Crystals from the enemies, which is going to be heavily chance-based.


    ¡¸By the way, Sherry, I was wondering about one thing: if we would attach Mermaid Skill Crystal to both my Leather Armor and Leather Mittens, then would that mean that the effectiveness of the water damage reduction would be doubled?¡¹


    ¡¸That is a perfectly valid point that you are raising, master, but unfortunately, the exact answer to that question has not been determined yet, even though many scholars and enlightened minds have been debating over that matter for a long time now. Some of them believe that the effects of the Skill Crystals do stack with each other if you equip the same Skill crystal on more than one piece of equipment, but at the same time others advocate that something like that is not happening at all and that wishing for the doubled effects of Skill Crystals is nothing but wishful thinking. One of the most prominent examples in that debate was an old scholar who tried to put Skill Crystals that would increase the power of his physical attacks into multiple elements of his equipment, and according to his testimony he did not notice any visible difference even when he was covered with attack-increasing equipment from top to bottom, which led many more people to lean in favor of the theory that multiple copies of the same Skill Crystal do not in fact double the effects or the effectiveness of that Skill Crystal, but almost immediately after the validity of that claim started to be questioned, because those who advocated that the effects of Skill Crystals do stack were saying that Skill Crystals that increase the attack power of their user cannot be used as a model in experiments like that because their effect is a special case.¡¹


    A special case, huh? But yeah, I can kind of understand why it is impossible to do something like that no matter if it was something that the creator of the game intended to do or not.


    If you could infuse all of your equipment and weapons with Skill Crystals that would increase your attack power, that would be the most broken of broken builds that I have seen in any video game, and it would make a person with that equipment a huge threat not only to the monsters in the Labyrinths, but also to the normal people living in this world.


    After all, I sometimes forget that the equipment that I am using to fight against the monsters in the Labyrinths does not lose its effectiveness outside of them, meaning that it can also be used against regular people. Just try to imagine that: an Adventurer with uber op weapon like my Durandal with equipment that does nothing else but boosting his attack power to make it five, ten, twenty or perhaps even twenty five times of its regular value to kill not only monsters, but also people in one hit.


    Yeah, just thinking about it from a purely theoretical perspective makes me terrified like all hell, as well as glad that shenanigans like that are impossible to pull off after all.


    After we finished eating breakfast, I made my way to the Merchants Guild, and once there, I made my way to the waiting room located to the left of the Guild building¡¯s main entrance and approached one of the people who looked like he was working here and told him to call Luke the Armor Merchant for me, which he proceeded to do right away.

 Volume 5 - CH 1.18

    He told  the three of us to wait for a moment before he arrives. We all sat on the chairs that have been prepared for the guests, and while Roxanne and I were simply looking around, observing everything that was happening around us, Sherry decided to took out the notebook that she bought for herself with the allowance that I have given her yesterday and started to scribble down in it pretty eagerly. While we were waiting, the color of the wall to our side suddenly changed to black, indicating that a portal has been opened on it, and soon after people started coming out of it which prompted the clerk behind the counter to aske every last one of them what was their business here, and once they have stated it they have been shown to their seats in the waiting room, just like it was with us. So apparently they have to be other customers who came here to do business with their respective brokers, right? Also, it would seem that the wall of the waiting room in the Merchants Guild is yet another place where ¡¸Field Walker¡¹can be used, so maybe I should start employing that method of transportation to come here from now on as well?


    ¡¸I am sorry for making you wait. Now, if you would please follow me.¡¹


    Luke the Broker has finally arrived, and after apologizing for making as wait for him for so long he guided all three of us to one of the conference rooms.


    ¡¸I have received your message, Mr. Luke, but just to be sure, let me confirm this with you. You really managed to get your hands on a Mermaid Skill Crystal?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. Luckily for me, there were no other competitors for this particular purchase, so I also managed to obtain it at a relatively low price that is actually even cheaper than the usual market price. Is that all right with you?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I see no problems with that. I hope that our beneficial partnership can continue.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you very much.  So, can I assume that you are interested in buying the Mermaid Skill Crystal from me?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, definitely. That is the reason why I came here today, after all.¡¹


    ¡¸Of course. Well then, here you go.¡¹


    Luke the Broker than cast the spell that summoned his Item Box and he proceeded to take out Mermaid Skill Crystal out of it and placed it on the table. I then used my own ¡¸Identify¡¹spell to see it that was really the item in question, and sure enough, it was a Mermaid Skill Crystal.


    ¡¸Now then, if it is all right then I will be taking¡­¡¹


    ¡¸Before you do that, Michio-sama, there is one more thing that I would like to tell you, or rather, propose to you.¡¹


    Propose something? What is he talking about?


    ¡¸Propose something? What do you mean by that? Is something actually wrong with this Skill Crystal?¡¹


    ¡¸No, everything is fine with it, so allow me to explain. The thing is, since I was the winning bidder for the purchase of the Mermaid Skill Crystal, as a Broker affiliated with this Merchants Guild I can use the special service offered by the Merchant Guild¡¯s Temple.¡¹


    A special service offered by this Guild¡¯s Temple?


    ¡¸A special service? What kind of service is that, exactly? I assume that it is something related to the item that you won in an auction?¡¹


    ¡¸Precisely. It is a special appraisal service offered to the winners of the auction that costs ten Nars. And since I was a Broker acting on your behalf, it means that you have access to that special appraisal service as well. How about it? Would you like to go and use the service provided by our temple right now? You do not have to pay for it now, it is perfectly fine to do so after the confirmation process will be completed.¡¹


    Luke told me all that as I was practically holding the Mermaid Skill Crystal in my hand.


    ¡¸A confirmation process?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. It is a measure employed to make sure that the winners of the auctions could check for themselves if the items that they have won are genuine or not.¡¹


    Aaaaahhh, I see what he is talking about now. Essentially, he is telling me that the Merchant Guild¡¯s Temple can use ¡¸Identify¡¹ on this Skill Crystal for me so that I could have a one hundred percent guarantee that the thing I bought is really what I paid for and not just something extremely similar to it disguised as something else.


    Now, I know that this thing in my hand is a Mermaid Skill Crystal because I have access to ¡¸Identify¡¹and I could check that for myself, but ordinary people cannot do it at all, right? For normal people, the Skill Crystals must look like nothing more than ordinary pebbles, and they would not even be able to tell what type it is or to what monster did they belong in the first place.


    So with that in mind, it might actually be a good idea to go along with Luke the Broker¡¯s proposition and have this Mermaid Skill Crystal be appraised in the Guild¡¯s Temple. One of the reasons for me going along with it is of course because I do not want to look suspicious in his eyes, and I kinda do want to take a look at the Guild¡¯s temple to see how it actually looks like inside.


    Then again, since I can use ¡¸Identify¡¹to check the authenticity of every item myself, it would be incredibly annoying to go through with it every time when I would be buying something, not to mention that after a while it would also get really costly. Not after two or three times of course, but you know what they say, right?


    Ten Nars here, ten Nars there, and then, before you would even be able to realize it, you would end up with a hefty sum of money spent on the appraisal of items bought from the auctions alone. And if I am to be perfectly honest with you, if I have to pay someone to appraise my items for me, then I definitely prefer doing that myself because then that costs me literally nothing. And right now, when I have already appraised this Mermaid Skill Crystal and I know it is a real deal, I at least am sure that he acquired a genuine article for me and did not try to trick me by getting me some kind of forgery. So¡­.


    ¡¸I kindly thank you for the offer, but I think that I am going to pass on it this time. I trust you with this one, Mr. Luke, because you do not strike me as someone who would try to swindle your clients with their very first transaction.¡¹


    By showing him that I trust him, I might be able to increase his opinion of me as a client. Of course, I have no idea if such a manuever on my side is going to work or not, but at this point it was a bet that I was willing to make, and everything seems to be showing that it was the right call on my part, because Mr. Luke did not look as disappointed as I thought he would be, but it might be possible that he was only feigning that while harboring different feelings inside of him, but at the current moment I do not have any way of knowing or checking whether that is true or not.


    It might be possible that Mr. Like is not the person that I initially thought he is. It is entirely  possible that he might be planning to use me and do me wrong, and if that is the case, then that is all the more reason to show him that I am not someone who is going to be agreeing to each and every one of his suggestions, because that would have been a clear signal to him that I am a person that is prone to being manipulated and led by the nose by others, and I am anything but that.


    If there will ever come a time when he tries to deceive me by trying to sell me a forged Skill Crystal, I will know about it immediately and I would be ready to act accordingly, but for the time being nothing seems to be pointing to that. If the need for that arises, I can always ask him to show me around the temple some other time, assuming that he is still going to be willing to cooperate with me to such a degree that is.


    ¡¸As you wish. I understand.¡¹

 Volume 5 - CH 1.19

    Mr. Luke said while maintaining a perfectly expressionless face. It was that kind of face that made it really difficult to discern whether he was telling the truth or was he simply putting up a front. Was he impressed that I have decided to put my trust in him, or was he laughing in his heart thinking that I am someone gullible who might be an easy target to cheat?


    ¡¸You said that the price of this Mermaid Skill Crystal was twenty five hundred Nars, correct?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, that is indeed the price that I have listed in the message that my messenger delivered to you.¡¹


    ¡¸Good. If you ever happen upon yet another Monster Skill Crystal that would be so cheap, then I would be very much interested in such Skill Crystal again.¡¹


    ¡¸Of course. In that case I would like you to pay five hundred Nars as an advance fee for such a transaction.¡¹


    ¡¸¡­¡­¡­..¡¹


    I waited for a moment to see if anything was going to happen, but nothing seemed to be pointing to that. Looks like my thirty percent discount is not going to work this time, as unfortunate as that that may sound, because a part of me was hoping that I would only have to pay around two thousand Nars for it with my discounts. I could always try asking him directly how much that would be in total, but that might have been a little too blatant, right? Actually, that twenty five hundred Nars might be the exact amount of money that Luke would be handling over to the seller from whom he obtained the Mermaid Skill Crystal, so if I was to give him only two thousand Nars instead of twenty five hundred, that would mean that I would still be in the red and I would not have enough to finalize the purchase. There is nothing that I can do about it now, but this is exactly one of those times where I would have liked it for the discount to actually work. As inconvenient as that might be for me right now, I have no other choice but to cough up the full amount and pay exactly how much I was told to pay.


    With the purchase of the Mermaid Skill Crystal done and completed, we said our goodbyes to Mr. Luke and went downstairs to the Merchants Guild¡¯s ground floor where I opened up ¡¸Warp¡¯s¡¹portal on the wall of the waiting room, creating a passage that we then used to travel straight to the Labyrinth of Vale.


    ¡¸Master, may I say something blunt?¡¹


    ¡¸Sure, go right ahead. I will listen to it, no matter what that might be.¡¹


    As soon as we entered the Labyrinth, Sherry asked me if she could say something without sugarcoating, and I gave her the go-ahead because I was thinking that I might know what this was going to be about.


    ¡¸I do not wish to question your actions and decisions, but with all due respect¡­. I think you trust that middleman way too much than you should have.¡¹


    And sure enough, it was exactly about the thing that I was anticipating. Sherry normally would not awe said something direct like that to me, but perhaps knowing that there was no people around gave her all the encouragement that she needed.


    And of course, she used that precious opportunity to once again remind me that she does not trust the middlemen all that much. But is it just me, or does she seem to have some kind of unusual obsession about them?


    ¡¸Well, I knew that there was probably nothing for us to worry about since this was our very first time using his services, so he probably would not risk selling us a counterfeit Skill Crystal because of what might have happened if he were to be found out, and if that man really is as smart as he think he is, then he is not going to try to outright scam us, but just to be on the safe side, we should remain as cautious as possible when doing business with him. At some point he might try to sell us counterfeited items, but any middleman worth his salt would not dare do something like that repeatedly for a few times in a row because that would be straight up pushing his luck too far. And of course, if we end up catching him in the act, then we might just have to ¡°persuade¡± him into giving us a little consolation fee as compensation for the damages that his fake would-be items would have eventually caused us.¡¹


    I am kidding about that last part of course¡­. Or am I?


    ¡¸That sounds like a good strategy in theory, but is there actually a way for us regular people to be able to discern if the item we are getting sold is a counterfeit or not? Because if we were to discover that after the purchase has been completed, then it would most likely be too late for us to do anything, ¡¹


    ¡¸Well, one way to go about it would be to inspect the item as closely and accurately as possible and observe the way in which he reacts as you continue to poke around the items. If the middleman starts getting unusually nervous or shows any signs of acting suspiciously, then you would definitely know that we are on the right track.¡¹


    ¡¸And you would be able to notice signs like that immediately when they would appear?!¡¹


    ¡¸Of course! Who do you take me for?¡¹


    No, no, no, you have to be joking, right?


    ¡¸What a wonderful idea! That way we would be willing to expose anyone who would be trying to deceive us by thinking that we are doing just a regular inspection of the item while having an entirely different goal in mind, but because inspecting your items is an obvious thing to do, the one who would try to deceive us would have no choice or reason to deny us from doing that, because then he or she would have immediately outed themselves as scammers!¡¹


    Sherry nodded her head vigorously at Roxanne¡¯s words, glad that she was able to understand her line of thinking, while I was grabbing my own head in disbelief in my mind. Yo, guys, chill out a little, okay? I was only joking with that, so there is no need for you to be taking all of that so seriously.


    ¡¸All right, master. We understand that what you did was meant to be a lesson for us and a warning for that middleman, so allow me to apologize for trying to lecture you. Now that I know what was your intention with that, I have no problems with it whatsoever.¡¹


    ¡¸I can say the same. Thank you for this valuable opportunity to learn, master.¡¹


    ¡¸As expected of master, always so forward-thinking and considering every possibility with the long-term consequences in mind.¡¹


    No, guys, I really mean it, I only said it as a joke, it is not like I would ever consider seriously doing something like that, because that would definitely end up branding us as criminals for sure, causing our peaceful lives to be over once and for all without any possibility of getting them back. So then, why are you taking this so seriously and treat it as if it was a good thing, huh, Roxanne?


    ¡¸When we were still back at the Merchants Guild I saw the listings of the winning bid from every auction that has been conducted yesterday, and it was definitely sold for twenty five hundred Nars, and since the price of the starting bid was set at thirty three hundred Nars, which we can assume to be its typical market price, and it would mean that the price at which the middleman sold it to master was definitely cheaper than the market price, so at the very least he was not lying about the price, it seems, so if that middleman thinks that he might deceive us in the future or lead us by the noses when it comes to the prices of the items, then he is going to be in for quite a rude awakening if he keeps underestimating my investigative and research-conducting skills! Oh, just thinking of all the possible strategies that we could employ here is making me wonderfully nervous with anticipation!¡¹


    Guys, let me repeat myself. It. Was. Only. A. Joke. Nothing more than that. I never intended things to escalate this far when I made that comment, but seeing as how Sherry was coming up with a lot of strategies and scenarios as if she was supposed to go to war with Luke the Broker or something has made me literally speechless and dumbfounded.

 Volume 5 - CH 1.20

    ¡¸Sherry, Roxanne¡­. Girls, there is no need for us to go to such length just now, really. I mean, we do not even know if he will really try swindling us in any way. It was nothing but a speculation on my part, and the one said as a joke, so¡­¡­¡¹


    After a moment where it seemed as if my brain was fried and needed a while to restart itself, I finally managed to speak up. And say what I should have said much, much earlier.


    ¡¸Oh, is¡­. Is that so? W-Well then¡­. I, I am so sorry, master! I said all of those things without really thinking them through and went way ahead of myself than I should have! I am truly, truly sorry!¡¹


    It is a good thing that Sherry recognizes that she made a mistake, but on the other hand, she just went from one extreme right to the other, blowing this situation way out of proportion in my mind. But well, as long as she knows that she screwed up and regrets it, that is more than enough for me.


    ¡¸Relax, Sherry. Everyone makes mistakes every once in a while, so I will not berate you for making one yourself, so just calm down and take it easy, okay?¡¹


    ¡¸Really? You are not mad at me for getting ahead of myself and saying all those things in front of you?¡¹


    ¡¸Sherry, if master says that he is not angry with you, then he well and truly means that, so it is okay, you can stop worrying now.¡¹


    Yeah, essentially what Roxanne said just now. And besides, if I will feel like I am angry at her at all, then I am just going to punish her in my own way: by being extra rough on her in bed in the evening. In other words, I have no problems with what Sherry just did, because honestly, If I wa alone and my paranoia grabbed a hold of me again, then that is probably what I would have said and done myself.


    ¡¸Okay Sherry, so now that we have the Mermaid Skill Crystal on our hands, would you mind fusing it together with the Leather Mittens for me?¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yes, of course! I promise that I will do my best to definitely succeed!¡¹


    While resolving herself, Sherry held both the Mermaid Skill Crystal and Leather Mittens with Empty Skill Slot in each of her hands and began the process of the fusion by reciting the Skill¡¯s name, and right after that her hands shined with a bright light. And once that light has subsided¡­


    ¡¸Oohhh, as expected of Sherry! You really have a natural knack for this thing!¡¹


    I said, praising the end result of Sherry¡¯s second fusion of an item with Empty Skill Slots and a Skill Crystal.


    ¡¸I¡­ I did it!¡¹


    Yes, you most certainly did, Sherry. The fusion was a resounding success, and right now, a finished product was safely resting in Sherry¡¯s hands. Not that I would have expected any other outcome since I have already cracked the code on how this entire thing works. But still, Sherry looks like she is overjoyed at another successful fusion of hers, so who am I to deny her the pleasure of basking in that success for however long she desires?


    The name of that newly-created equipment was Waterproof Leather Mittens.


    So, it would seem that my theory with the Empty Skill Slots was correct after all. This is the second time when Sherry fused an item with a Skill Crystal, and so far she has two successes and zero failures on her account, so in my opinion that is a surefire sign that that fusion is always going to be successful just as long as the weapon of a piece of equipment comes in with at least one Empty Skill Slot. And more importantly, when I looked at Sherry, everything seemed to be fine with her, and she did not seem to be showing any symptoms of MP deficit.


    When she performed ¡¸Item Fusion¡¹for the first time it drained her MP instantly and caused her to have suicidal and extremely self-deprecating thoughts, but now nothing like that was happening. She just stood there, staring at the product of her own creation with eyes that were beaming with pride, and it is most probably that her level as a Master Smith has risen since the very first time when I made her fuse the Copper Sword of Obstruction for me. Yeah, that has to be it. Her level as a Master Smith has risen, and as a result of that her overall pool of MP has risen as well, thanks to which fusions of items with Skill Crystals in it no longer sapped all of her MP from her. Now this is what I call visible progress!


    But even so, after we finished eating dinner I still asked her to create more basic Misangas. Even though she might have succeeded in fusing a more difficult thing successfully, the continued honing and improvement of your basic Skills and increasing her level as a Master Smith is still just as important of a job to do as the creation of equipment with Skills in it.


    ¡¸Master, is it really necessary for me continue creating Misangas every morning and every evening?¡¹


    I listened to Sherry question while receiving the two Misangas that she has created from her. With these two Misangas that she made just now, the number of times when she fused an ordinary item without any Empty Skill Slots in it is now seven in a row. Looking at the number of items in my possession that do have Empty Skill Slots in them, I knew that obtaining such items is not going to be an easy process, but still, I thought that after seven fusions at least one or two of those Misangas would have at least one Empty Skill Slot in it, and so I began to think why is it that I have not seen Sherry create even a single one like that, and whether or not there might be some sort of trick to it, same as with fusing items and weapons with Skill Crystals.


    ¡¸I know that right now such a training might seem bothersome to you, but just try to think about it as a way of slowly getting better at being a Master Smith, one step and one fused item at a time. It might not be the best kind of analogy since your Item Fusion and mine swordsmanship are not the same kind of arts that should essentially never be compared to one another, but my strength with the blade was not with me ever since I was born, you know? I also had to spend countless hours training and polishing my own skills with the sword to arrive where I currently am with it. It was not always easy, and there were many times where I wanted to quit, but eventually I managed to push through those difficult times, continuing to improve myself along the way.¡¹


    That was only partially a lie, because back when I was still practicing kendo as a kid I was genuinely giving it my all before I eventually quit, but the things that I learned during those lessons have stayed with me all the way until today, so it was not a total waste of time like everything else in my life back on earth.


    Going back to the issue at hand though, I do not think that the issue here is something with Sherry per se, because up until now she managed to fuse every last item that I requested of her successfully, so she has a one hundred percent success rate, but I think that it is high time for us to try digging into this matter and try to discover why it is like that, because I cannot allow myself to wait forever while hoping that one day Empty Skill Slots are just going to appear in the items that Sherry is fusing on her own. By the time we manage to obtain a Green Caterpillar Skill Crystal, I need to have at least one item with an Empty Skill Slot in it. So think, Michio, think. What might be the cause of this?


    I know for a fact that the fusion of items with Skill Crystals has been successful twice in a row now, and that my hypothesis that as long as a weapon or an item has Empty Skill Slots in it, the fusion is going to be a successful one is probably a correct one as well. In other words, just like I said before, before I get my hands on A Green Caterpillar Skill Crystal which Sherry is then going to fuse together with a Misanga to create a Sacrificial Misanga, she needs to create a Misanga with an Empty Skill Slot in it. Learning how to do it is going the be the hardest part of the process, but after I will crack the code on how to do it, I think making more of them is actually going to be quite easy. However, before that can happen, we have to make that first, most important step.

 Volume 5 - CH 1.21

    Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist  Editor: Weasalopes


    ¡¸Oh no, I do not doubt the effectiveness of a regular, meticulous training regimen at all. In fact, that is exactly the thing that novice Master Smiths are expected to do right after they first obtain their Jobs, and they are supposed to keep on going at it until they improve their skills at creating and fusing items not only until they will become apprentice Master Smiths, but actually until the moment that they are going to be recognized as Veteran Master Smiths. Veteran Master Smiths are able to create as many Misangas as they want, so I know that this training will definitely help me become more proficient as a Master Smith myself, but I heard that such a morning-evening routine needs to be repeated for at least half a year to a full year after obtaining the Master Smith Job in order to become really effective, and if you force yourself with it then it will have an opposite effect to what you want to achieve.¡¹


    ¡¸Do you think that you will be able to grasp a better understanding of the Job and create better and more refined items before then? And also if you will be able to instinctively tell what the result of the fusion is going to be?¡¹


    ¡¸As long as I continue to make items and gain experience in smithing, then I am sure that I will be able to figure it out sooner or later. But like I said, it is one of those things that absolutely cannot be done in a hasty or halfhearted manner if you want the best possible result.¡¹


    It would have been great if it was only a matter of Sherry not having enough MP, because that particular problem can always be remedied in a very simple, straightforward fashion: by increasing her level as a Master Smith. Currently, Sherry is a Master Smith Lv.14, so the maximum amount of MP that she possess when her Job is being switched into a Master Smith should definitely be greater than the amount of MP that she had when she was still a Master Smith Lv.1.


    However, there is one thing that I cannot say that I fully understand. If we assume that all Master Smiths need to create simple items like Misangas or the like every morning and every evening for at least half a year or even an entire year after they obtain the Master Smith Job for the first time in order to increase their levels as Master Smiths, and the amount of the MP that they possess along with it so that they could fuse items with Skill Crystals together without the risk of running out of their MP reserves, then does that mean that once they increase their levels high enough, there would be no longer any need for them to be doing that kind of training in the morning and in the evening for an extended period of time?


    I mean, that would be the most logical conclusion to be drawn here, but in that case, that would just end up creating another question, or perhaps a dilemma for Sherry and me as her master: since she can already fuse items, weapons and Skill Crystals together, then is there any need for her to be conducting those morning and evening Master Smithing exercises anymore? Well, the answer is most obviously yes, since the continued creation of even the simplest items like these Misangas is going to greatly contribute to the process of her growth as a Master Smith, which is going to have a direct impact on her level and the amount of MP she is going to have at her disposal, but I am currently the only one who is aware of that because I know how exactly the fusion mechanic works in this game and also that every Job in this game has a level, not just the Explorer that can be measured by the amount of space in your Item Box like everyone else seems to be believing, but like I said, I am the only one who is aware of all those facts, so for Sherry, who does not know any of it, it might be entirely possible to be questioning the legitimacy and the purpose of it all, so maybe I should ask her what she is thinking about all this?


    ¡¸How do you feel about this method of training, Sherry? Do you feel like it gradually helps you become better as a Master Smith, or is there something that you still have doubts about?¡¹


    ¡¸Now that you are asking about it, master, then I would have to say that¡­¡­. I am not really sure.¡¹


    ¡¸You are not really sure, Sherry?¡¹


    ¡¸That is right. I know that the more I will train and the more items and equipment I will create and fuse together, the better Master Smith I will become, because that is how I heard it worked for all the countless Dwarves before me who got enough talent in them to become Master Smiths at the earliest age possible, but as for all the other things¡­. I am not so sure about them anymore. A part of me feels exactly like you said, master: that I will definitely become better and I will be able to serve you better as a Master Smith if I continue to train and improve myself even with the smallest of steps¡­¡­ but at the same time some part of me thinks that if the that limit: one Misanga in the morning and one Misanga in the evening for half a year up to an entire year is the time that it takes all the other Dwarves to become acknowledged as Veteran Master Smiths, then is it going to be the same for me? Or perhaps it is going to be exactly the same story as with me obtaining the Job of Master Smith: getting my hands on it much later than the rest of my peers, and needing much more time to learn and grow as a Master Smith because I lack something that all the other Dwarves apparently already had?¡¹


    ¡¸Sherry¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡¹


    ¡¸I know, master. I know what you are trying to say. You wanted to say that now that I have finally managed to become a Master Smith like I always wanted, there is no need for me to worry about it and just go at it at my own pace, right? Do not worry then, because that is exactly what I am going to do. Even if we do not manage to hunt down or buy ourselves a Green Caterpillar Crystal, I will continue to improve my skills as a Master Smith, and eventually I will become talented enough to create a Sacrificial Misanga for you! Or, at least that is what I would like to believe¡­¡­¡¹


    Sherry began to worry again. She knows that she needs at least half a year to up to a full year of training in order to become a proper Master Smith just like the rest of her peers, but she also started doubting her own capabilities and senses. This is one of the bad habits that she has, and a one that we definitely need to work on fixing as fast as possible or else it might become quite problematic in the future if nothing is done about it.


    ¡¸If you do not feel like you can do it just yet, then there is no need to force yourself into trying to do it as soon as possible. In the meantime, try creating another ordinary Misanga without worrying about anything else.¡¹


    Taking the Misanga that Sherry just finished from her, I placed it in my Item Box and passed her another two pieces of thread, and she accepted them without complaining.


    ¡¸Uhm¡­. Y-Yes, definitely. I understand.¡¹


    Sherry hesitated a little, but eventually she nodded at me and proceeded with yet another Item Fusion attempt. She placed the two pieces of the thread in each of her hands, just like she did before, clasped them together and the recited the Item Fusion chant once more, and just like before, both of her hands have been enveloped by a bright light that subsided after a short while. And once that light was completely gone and another Misanga has been successfully prepared by her, I cast ¡¸Identify¡¹, fully expecting this attempt at fusing a Misanga with an Empty Skill Slot to go just like all the other attempts, however¡­¡­.


    ¡­¡­.. what I saw in Sherry¡¯s hands when ¡¸Identify¡¹ displayed the information of the newly formed item exceeded my expectations, shocked and surprised me, all at the same time. Because the Misanga that Sherry managed to create just now was not just like all the others that she made. It was different from them in one aspect, and that one aspect was:


    Misanga, Accessory


    Skill: Empty


    ¡¸Oh, you did it.¡¹


    My voice was calm, but the one inside of my head was anything but. It was continuously screaming things like: ¡¸Holy hell she finally did it! It is done! We got¡¯em, guys and gals! About Goddamn time!¡¹and it had every right in the world to do so, because Sherry has finally did it! She managed to create a Misanga with an Empty Skill Slot!


    ¡¸There, I finished. Thank you for the materials, master.¡¹


    Her words had a very different meaning than the ones that I just spoke. She thought that she made just another Misanga, but I knew that the one that she made just now was much, much better then all of the previous ones that she made combined. We finally have the item we needed, so now we are definitely going to win for sure!


    ¡¸Thank you, Sherry. This is definitely going to be enough.¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm, actually, I feel like I could still make some more.¡¹


    ¡¸Ooooh, is that not amazing?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, but¡­ but I thought that I will start feeling like that no sooner than after at least half a year of regular fusion trainings.¡¹


    Oh fuck.


    ¡¸Well¡­. Maybe it is because you actually managed to fuse three items instead of two, and one of them with a Skill Crystal at that?¡¹


    ¡¸But that earlier fusion was not all that different from what I did just now except for utilizing a Skill Crystal in it. And yet, I rarely heard of people who could succeed with their Skill Crystal Fusion twice in a row shortly after they begun training, and yet I managed to do just that. Is my training method somehow different from the others?¡¹


    Sherry tilted her neck. She is getting closer and closer to the heart of the matter.


    ¡¸Well, the important thing is that you are done, so do not worry about it.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, but does that mean that the person who told me about that method of training for Master Smiths actually lied to me?¡¹


    ¡¸Well, how about it looking at it this way? Just think about it as a testament to how amazing you are, Sherry.¡¹


    I am sorry, person who told that to Sherry, whoever you are. Normally, you would never become a Master Smith Lv.14 in less than half a year.


    ¡¸Am¡­ am I really that amazing?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes Sherry, yes you are. And this Misanga is going to be a proof of that.¡¹


    I said while pointing at Misanga that has now been wrapped around my leg.


    ¡¸Eh? What do you¡­.?¡¹


    ¡¸Can I let you in on a secret, Sherry? In fact, I know to some extent whether the fusion of equipment with Skill Crystals is going to be a successful one or not.¡¹


    ¡¸Eh, is that so?¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, I have no doubts about that.¡¹


    If she continued to fuse the Skill Crystals she would have found out about it eventually, so I see nothing wrong with revealing that information to her now.


    ¡¸But how is that¡­?¡¹


    ¡¸I do not know why. But I know for sure that this is the ability that I have when I somehow knew that your fusion of those Waterproof Leather Mittens was going t be successful.¡¹


    ¡¸Is¡­ Is that so?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, definitely so now, knowing how capable you are as a Master Smith, I cannot wait to see your future fusions, starting with the one to turn this Misanga into a Sacrificial Misanga.¡¹


    I happily told that to Sherry, who looked slightly embarrassed.

 Volume 5 - CH 2.02

    Or what about refraining from all things sexual for an entire day? If I could refrain from touching Sherry and Roxanne in any sexual way from morning until late night, it will mean that I was abstinent for around twenty hours or so, which should result in a bigger boost to my stats than the one guaranteed after only half a day of sexual abstinence.


    So yeah¡­. Even though it might be hard, I guess I should really try to abstain myself from all kind of sexual behaviors for at least twenty hours, and then try using ¡¸Abstinence Attack¡¹on a monster to how powerful the attack will actually become. If possible, then maybe I should try to extend the abstinence period not to twenty hours, but to the morning of the next day? But most importantly, if I really want to do it and be as serious about it as possible, then I cannot allow myself to be losing my cool and going out of control like some kinda beast of lust now. And, as unfortunate as that will sound, doing so means letting go of Roxanne¡¯s smooth body so that I would not be tempted by it. So¡­. Here it goes.


    While deeply regretting my decision, I let go of Roxanne¡¯s sexy and lustrous body, but as soon as I let go of her and mustered all of my willpower in order not to touch her again, she turned to the side in her sleep, causing her bountiful hills and the sweet cherries at the top of them to touch and rub against my skin without me doing anything to provoke her to take such an action. How? How can this be?! I specifically stated that I should not be doing anything sexual today for the purpose of my experiment, and yet, sexual things keep on happening to me?! Talk about having the best of luck at the worst possible moment! If I have something as marvelous as Roxanne¡¯s body right in front of me and she is making advances on me without even realizing it, then how can I possibly defend myself from something so innocently cute?!


    As we were laying in bed side by side, Roxanne finally woke up and gave me a good morning kiss. She went and stuck her tongue into my mouth and began to seductively move it around  all across its walls and the innermost crevases. She sucks on my tongue as hard as she can. She munches on it with all the power that she can muster, and she is doing it with suck passion and dedication as if it was our very first kiss. So while being left with no other choice, I inserted my tongue back into her mouth and began reciprocating her affections, devouring the moist warmth that she has bestowed upon me.


    ¡¸Nhh¡­. Nhhh¡­ mmmghhh¡­..¡¹


    Ahhh, Roxanne¡¯s moaning voice is the best reward for my efforts that I could have ever asked for. I embraced her body with a powerful, yet gentle hug. I enjoyed the smoothness and elasticity of her skin with everything else that they could have offered me, along with the sight of her large fruits being right in front of my face. They are like the best melons in the world: juicy, sweet, big and rich.


    I am so glad that these sweet melons are mine. I am glad that I had the chance to meet them and make them mine. And now, a certain part of my body is getting hotter and hotter, to the point where it feels so bad that I cannot take it anymore.


    Hot. So unbearably hot.


    N-No, that is not how it was supposed to be! That is not what was supposed to happen! I was supposed to demonstrate that my mind and will are made of steel by becoming a sexual abstinent for the next day! I was going to be an abstinent, and then conduct ¡¸Abstinence Attack¡¯s¡¹power in the Labyrinths, but now everything is going to be ruined because I was not strong enough to resist Roxanne¡¯s seductive advances! I was greatly disappointed with myself an how weak-willed I have turned out to be, but nevertheless, I still continued to kiss Roxanne either way. The smoothness and niceness of her tongue was simply too much for me to resist, and its gentle, flexible and melty taste worked on me like a worst possible drug. Jesus Christ, if she keeps doing that to me, then both my reason and resolve to test ¡¸Abstinence Attack¡¹are going to crumble to dust and I will probably never want to test it out again! I have to do something to distract both her and myself, and I need to do so now or else¡­.!


    ¡¸G-Good morning¡­ Roxanne¡­..¡¹


    I wanted my voice to sound as natural as possible, but I do not know if I managed to achieve my desired result. But at the very least that brief sentence forced Roxanne to stop kissing me, which gave me the thing that I needed of so very much right now: a room to breathe and renew my resolve, but now I know that a mind of steel is not going to be enough to resist Roxanne¡¯s charms. My mind is going to have to be made out of goddamn Orichalcum in order to properly withstand her.


    ¡¸¡­Good morning¡­¡­ master.¡¹


    Roxanne was also breathing pretty heavily. I guess she also must have gone at it way harder than what she originally intended today, because that was the first time when she was so fierce while kissing me, but now when she got off me and moved a little backwards, my torso has finally been released from the pressure of her chest pressing against me, which make me breathe a sigh of relief as I rubbed the back of my neck with my hand while being glad that no more temptations were lying in wait for the poor old me when my guard was down¡­. And then I remembered that I was not sleeping with just Roxanne by my side. That is right, Sherry is also at my other side, and without a shade of a doubt she is going to want to give me a good morning kiss as well when she wakes up¡­.. and speaking of Sherry, she must be awake already, because I feel a very intent gaze staring daggers into my back¡­.. aaand of course that Sherry is awake, and she is obviously not happy about not being able to give me a good morning kiss because Roxanne was hogging all of my attention to herself. Damn, looks like my paper-thin reason and resolve got torn to shreds even more than I thought. Now, let me see if the same If me and both of my heads will start going through similar phenomenon as we were going through when Roxanne was kissing me.


    ¡¸Good morning, Sherry.¡¹


    ¡¸G-Good morning, master.¡¹


    When I look at Sherry, I do not feel in the same way that I felt with Roxanne just now. It is as if my will and resolve to not touch her and abstain from doing anything sexual have turned back from wet paper to the strongest Orichalcum. And the same state held out even while I was kissing her and she was kissing me. Unlike what I went through with Roxanne, Sherry¡¯s kiss was just your regular good morning kiss, same as all the other ones she was bestowing upon me every single morning, but that did not change the fact that when I released her from my embrace, she was still quite out of breath. Have I gone too far because of what happened just now? Have I gotten overly enthusiastic, and it made me go all out even with simple kissing?


    ¡¸I am sorry to the both of you. It looks like I am a little bit more out of control here than I have initially thought.¡¹


    ¡¸No, you do not have to apologize, master. Actually, you being so enthusiastic about our good morning kissing¡­. Made me happy.¡¹


    ¡¸I am also happy with how master treated me just now.¡¹


    Even though I was rougher on them than usual, they were still saying that they felt happy about it. I feel so moved by their words that I might just pounce on them right here, right now, even though I was saying that I wanted to stop myself from committing such acts today for the sake of my experiment. However, even though my carnal urges are telling me that it would be all right and that neither of them would have minded that, I have to listen to the voice of reason in my head that was telling me not to succumb to the worldly desires and proceed with my plan for today exactly like I was initially planning to.

 Volume 5 - CH 2.03

    Now, using the force of my will and reason, I got up from the bed whole resisting the urge to do anything more than I already did to these wonderful girls. Next, I managed to get myself fully dressed without succumbing to the temptations, and I was even able to properly wear my leather shoes and leather armor without being distracted. Be still, my heart. As long as you are going to be still an unmovable, everything is going to be all right, and I will not allow myself to be swayed from my convictions by the seductiveness of my female slaves.


    After we got ourselves full dressed and ready for our morning round of Labyrinth exploration, we Warped to the Labyrinth of Quratar where I distributed the armor for both Roxanne and Sherry from my Item Box.


    ¡¸Sherry, for today¡¯s round of exploration, I would like you to wear the Waterproof Leather Mittens that you made yesterday.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay, but are you really sure about that, master? I thought that items with Skills in them were supposed to be reserved for you since you are our Party¡¯s leader?¡¹


    ¡¸Normally that would have been the case, but currently I do not think that I have to worry about it all that much. As far as we know, the Needlewoods do not fire their Water Magic Spells in rapid succession, so I should be able to tank one or two shots of it without any problems, and Roxanne id definitely going to be able to avoid such attacks if they are going to be targeted her way, therefore these Waterproof Leather Mittens should be worn by someone who has the lowest probability of being able to defend against such spells or avoiding them, meaning you, Sherry. It is not a matter of me believing in your abilities or not, but simply a matter of utilizing the equipment that we have on hand in the best way possible.


    ¡¸I understand. Thank you very much, master.¡¹


    However, that is not the only reason for why I want Sherry to wear the Waterproof Leather Mittens. It is because right now I had to unequip the Job of an Alchemist, which I have been using so far to bestow Sherry with ¡¸Plating¡¹a Skill that would put a kind of a protective barrier around anyone it has been targeted to because I needed to relace it with Sex Maniac for the purpose of testing its Skills in practice, so the Waterproof Leather Mittens are going to be used as the means of mitigating the damage that she would have sustained from the Needlewood¡¯s Water Magic attack by at least some amount. Of course, I have to keep all of these information strictly for myself, which is why I had to dress my intentions in pretty words like that, but as long as these Waterproof Leather Mittens are going to work exactly as it was intended for them, then depending on their effectiveness I might as well leave them for Sherry to continue wearing.


    We then proceeded to move through the corridors of the Labyrinth under Roxanne¡¯s careful guidance. This place is a perpetual battlefield where pretty much anything can happen, so we must be sure that we will never let our guard down for even a single moment unless we want to find ourselves in a pretty sticky situation from which we might not be able to recover¡­. But then I was distracted by a thing that was in front of me, and of which I have become even more conscious than usual: Roxanne¡¯s butt. Yes, her butt, which is currently in front of me because we had her walk in front of us so that she could sense the monsters ahead with her superior sense of smell. I do not remember if I have ever mentioned this before, but this butt of hers is a really cute butt. From my current position behind her I had this beautiful, shapely thing that was soft yet firm like a bread dough that has yet to be kneaded by the baker, and her tail, which is located right above her butt swayed wagged from one side of her ass to another¡­..


    No, that is not what I want to be focusing on right now! That is most definitely not what I am interested in at the current moment! I am one hundred percent focused on our surroundings and surveying them for all possible signs of danger or ambushed, and Roxanne¡¯s shapely posterior just so happened to enter my field of vision by a complete accident, which caused me to me momentarily caught off guard by it, and that is why I stared at it so much!


    As I said, this place is a Labyrinth! An absolute deathtrap of a place where one moment of distraction can result in your death before you could even notice what is going on. So I have to stay alert and pay attention to my surroundings¡­. But how can I do that when there is so many distractions in here! Roxanne and her wonderful butt in front on me, and at the back is Sherry with that cute, petite face of hers? God, I want to lick it so badly! (TL Note: Okay, I know that I am the one responsible for translating this¡­. But WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK DUDE?!!!!)


    I do not know what is going to happen here in the Labyrinths, and that is why it is important for me to be vigilant at all times¡­.. but even though Roxanne was wearing her Leather Jacket, exactly like I have instructed her to do, I could still see her chest bounce and jiggle whenever she was looking back towards me and Sherry to see if everything was all right with us. This is nothing short of amazing, a absolute marvel to behold!


    This is a Labyrinth. A perpetual, treacherous battlefield where anything can happen, and where there is no time at all to relax¡­ so I want to finish the exploration early and go back home. And once we get back home, I want to take Roxanne and Sherry straight back to the bed so that I could continue to have my fun with them¡­¡­


    No, that is not it¡­.


    This is a Labyrinth. This is a Battlefield.


    ¡¸Master, Sherry, brace yourselves. The enemies are coming.¡¹


    Roxanne turned back towards us and informed us about the enemies that were fast approaching our location. Her voice is so cute, but the one that she uses when she is moaning in bed whenever I do it with her is better still. I want to go back and here it again soon. I want to hear her moan right now. I want to hear it over and over again until my ears fall of from listening to it.


    As for the monsters that came and the battle that ensued¡­.. both of these things were so utterly unimportant that I do not even feel the need to be talking about them in any greater details. All you have to know is that these pesky interlopers came at us and that I killed them. Burned them all with my magic until there was nothing left but their Drop Items after they disappeared in clouds of green smoke.


    ¡¸Here you go, master.¡¹


    Sherry handed me the branches of the dead Needlewoods that she collected. Her every motion when she was picking all of those items up was very cute and charming. If we were not in the Labyrinth, then I probably would have pushed her down and had my way with her right now without even considering what everyone else who would have seen us might be thinking.


    Yes, this place here is most definitely a Labyrinth. A very dangerous place filled with hostile enemies who would stop at nothing to see my life come to an untimely end. And that is why there cannot be anything distracting me. I have to be on the lookout at all times and literally have eyes all around my head¡­¡­ ah, look, Roxanne¡¯s boobies are jiggling again!


    Since this is a Labyrinth, it is perfectly understandable to be nervous at all times. After all, nervousness and anxiety are pretty much the only thing of which those who are exploring these treacherous halls can be sure. That is just how it is in this place, which can be described as nothing else than a battlefield where the combatants may never know rest. But now that I think about it, pretty much the same can be said about having fun in bed. Bed is also a type of battlefield, the one in which I always have to be ready for my male parts to challenge Roxanne¡¯s and Sherry¡¯s female bits to a battle of attrition, and it will not be a lie to say that having Sex Maniac as my main Job helps with that war of attrition immensely.

 Volume 5 - CH 2.1

    CHAPTER 22: Abstinence Attack


    ¡ºPlayer Name: Kaga Michio¡»


    ¡ºCurrent Character Levels & Equipment¡»:


    ¡ºJobs¡»:


    Explorer Lv.35


    Hero Lv.33


    Mage Lv.35


    Monk Lv.35


    Cook Lv.6


    ¡ºEquipment¡»:


    Wand


    Leather Helmet


    Leather Armor


    Leather Gloves


    Leather shoes


    When Sherry was added to my Party as the second slave and the third Party Member, it resulted in not only the bolstering of our ranks and our effective battle power, but also in me obtaining a new Job after the first night where I had a threesome sex with Roxanne and Sherry one right after the other.


    Yes, I am talking about a Sex Maniac Job of course, the Job that is seemingly exclusive to Humans, who are said to be the race with the highest sex drive out of all the races that inhabit the world of this game. And I think that now would be a good time for me to verify that Job and how it and its Skills fares in general combat in the Labyrinths. But how exactly would I go about verifying it, you ask? The method of verification is going to be very simple, and essentially the same as with all the other things that I have been trying out during my many experiments with other Jobs and their Skills so far.


    The first Skill granted to me by the Sex Maniac Job is ¡¸Enhanced Vigor¡¹, which is essentially a very fancy and roundabout name for a Skill tat increases your sexual stamina, so in order to see how exactly does this work and what are its exact, measured benefits, I would have to get freaky with Roxanne and Sherry of course, to the point where I could actually feel myself getting legitimately tired.


    First off, I tried doing it with Roxanne and Sherry at the same time without equipping Sex Maniac Job and going as hard as I could on them. Then after finishing them off once in such a manner, I would take a quick break to equip Sex Maniac as my First Job, and I would go and repeat the process of doing it with them again, but this time in there changed conditions. You might think that I am doing that simply to have an excuse to have as much sex with them as I want, but I assure you, it is not about that. Yup, not in the slightest. Definitely, positively that is not my main aim here. Verification, just verification. In total, I enjoyed up to a four times of intense Skill verifications while taking my work extremely seriously, ensuring that there will be no cutting corners and taking shortcuts on my part.


    And what was the result of my extensive testing?


    That both Sherry and Roxanne were extremely delicious, and I would not mind gobbling them up all the time if only I could.


    No, I am kidding. That is not the only thing that I was focusing on the entire time, seriously. In fact when the fourth round of testing was over, I still felt like I could go on for yet another round, so that definitely means that my ¡¸Vigor¡¹must have been increased even further, but other than that, I cannot really say that I was able to notice any kind of other significant differences between the time when I had Sex Maniac equipped and when I did not have it equipped, and as a result of that, I do not know exactly what the effect of ¡¸Enhanced Vigor¡¹ is supposed to be outside of increasing my sexual stamina. Maybe that is really all that it is supposed to be doing, and I am just the one who is thinking more about it than I should be thinking? Or maybe it is because that I still have plenty of energy left, so I do not know what my actual limit of it is?


    In this case, should this verification be considered a failure? Or maybe I should not be so fast to label it as such because this is only the first day of testing? Whatever the case may be, it is more than abundantly clear that the verification process needs to continue so that I could explore the nuances of Sex Maniac¡¯s Skill in even greater detail.


    But come to think of it now, I cannot say that I have ever truly reached my limit, be it with or without Sex Maniac being equipped, so if I want to conform the exact extent to which ¡¸Enhanced Vigor¡¹ is working on me, then maybe I should conduct the testing in a following manner: challenge myself by going to my utmost limits without Sex Maniac equipped and then do the same thing but while having Sex Maniac equipped? Yes, I think that would certainly be better for me right now, but at the current moment something is telling me that going so far just so that I could verify the effects of a single Skill¡­. Or rather, I think that if I would try going to my utmost limit, then I would just end up breaking myself without really intending to.


    After everything that we have done today, Roxanne and Sherry have fallen fast asleep without even talking to one another, but honestly, I cannot say that I really blame them for it. After all, so much sex in such a short time bust have been quite tiresome to them, since they do not have their sexual stamina enhanced in the way that I do. In that regard, I have to admit that Sex Maniac is a really useful Job, but this is also another thing that is going to make is quite difficult to measure the effects of ¡¸Enhanced Vigor¡¹: just because I can go on without stopping or feeling tired for prolonged periods of time, it definitely does not mean that my partners can actually do the same.


    The next morning, I woke up while hugging onto Roxanne, as per my usual morning routine. And even though I have fallen asleep with the Sex Maniac Job still equipped as my First Job, it looks like I did not end up shooting any wasted bullets, if you know what I mean. Anyway, as usual, seeing Roxanne as the first thing that would be right before my eyes from the moment that I first opened my eyes in the morning always sets my heart at ease and makes me feel all warm and bubbly inside. I am well and truly relieved to have someone like her as my slave.


    Man, if only I could, then I definitely would have stared at her beautiful body for hours without stopping, and the sensation of being embraced by her beautiful limbs and having her perfect tits pressing against my own body is an experience that I can never get enough of ever since I have experienced it for the first time, and a mere sight of this impossibly perfect body of hers is making me feel like I want to drown her in the entirety of my desire¡­.


    Haaa¡­.. haaaaa¡­.. haaaa¡­.


    No, no, no, no, no. What the hell do you think you are doing, Michio? What are you thinking the first thing in the morning? You cannot allow your perverted desires to take control over you. You have to demonstrate to everyone else around you, but mostly to yourself, that you have a will of absolute iron that can withstand such temptations, no matter how inviting they might seem. And that is because aside from testing the limitations of ¡¸Enhanced Vigor¡¹, you are going to have one other, very important Job to do, and that Job is to test the other Skill Granted to you by the Sex Maniac Job: ¡¸Abstinence Attack¡¹.


    Just as the name implies, ¡¸Abstinence Attack¡¹, which is an Active Skill of the Sex Maniac Job is an offensive Skill that is becoming more and more powerful the more its user refrains from engaging in any kind of sexual acts. If the abstinence period is ten days or longer, then supposedly this Skill can become so powerful that it would make it possible to kill even Floor Bosses with easy, clapping their cheeks with a single attack or something extremely close to it.


    Naturally, there is no way in hell that someone like me, a possess or of two beautiful female slaves who are ready and willing to do it with me whenever I am going to ask them to would be able to survive ten whole days without sex. Hell, I think that lasing only three days without it would have been out of the question for me. But then¡­.. what about if it was not ten or three days, but half a day instead? I wonder how high the damage of ¡¸Abstinence Attack¡¹ would have been then.

 Volume 5 - CH 2.10

    However, a fact that they actually end up eating something that they have filled with their own poison literally moments before capturing and devouring it was something that I never thought about much until now, but now that this has been brought up, I started ruminating over that particular matter. Yes, snake venom being actually digestible does make a lot of sense, because if it was not like that, then snakes would have also been dying from their own poison after eating the prey that they have previously filled with it to the brim.


    However, that is how the snakes of my old world worked, and it is entirely possible that the snakes of this world can be build a little bit differently, but essentially, if their primary method of hunting their prey is through the usage of poison, then I think it would be safe to assume that they are more or less the same as the one that were present on earth, because the possibility of the snakes from this world being this much of an alpha predators that they would have two separate kinds of poison: one for the purpose of hunting and the other for the purpose of protecting themselves from other predators is extremely unlikely.


    ¡¸Is that so? I am amazed that you happen to know so much, because that is a really specific type of knowledge.¡¹


    ¡¸I, on the other hand, am not surprised at all. As expected of master, your knowledge truly knows no bounds.¡¹


    Roxanne and Sherry were fawning over how much I knew about snakes and, but the truth is that this piece of knowledge was really nothing that special. Moreover, In the modern times where I was originally from, I am pretty sure that something like that would have immediately been branded as the so called ¡¸useless knowledge¡¹ that would not be of use to anyone aside from those who would want to flex their knowledge of random animal trivia at a party or some other social gathering. And besides, that one piece of info about snakes was pretty much all that I knew about them, and that was it. I did not know how to handle poisonous needles or stingers, and I most certainly did not know how to safely remove the venom from the body of the bitten victim without making the situation even worse for them as a result, and that kind of practical knowledge could have been pretty handy on this floor and against the enemies that we had a chance of encountering, but since I do not know how to do that, then the best option for me here is to not dig myself an even deeper grave, because I can already imagine the kind of stares that Sherry would be giving me if I started to boast that I know how to handle poison and poison needles, only for it to turn out that I actually know jack shit about it at the most critical moment possible. So instead of acting like some kinda redneck who stubbornly refuses to stop believing that he is the center of the entire universe, I decided to play my cards straight here and ask Sherry about everything that I might have not known about poison, poison needles and the like in hopes of actually learning something useful about it or the way of how to use it and utilize it either in fusion or some other fields.


    ¡¸Sherry, if I may, then would you tell me how exactly there Poison Needles can be used?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course, master. It would be my pleasure! So, what do you want to know?¡¹


    ¡¸Pretty much everything, but let us start from a slightly different angle: can these Poison Needles be utilized in combat?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, they can, and in fact, they can be pretty effective against ordinary monsters, since if you throw such a Poison Needle at them, then you are going to be able to inflict the poison status on them quite easily, and I also heard that some of the Adventurers tend to utilize them in such a way that during the encounter with the Floor Boss they are throwing them at him to inflict him with poison and only then do they proceed to engage them in a regular battle, because that method, which has become widely accepted as one of the basic strategies of monster fighting that has the potential to make certain Floor Boss encounters much easier and shorter than they could have been otherwise.


    ¡¸So Floor Bosses can also be poisoned in the same was as regular enemies can?¡¹


    That piece of info really surprised me, because if my knowledge of modern RPG games has taught me anything, then it would be that most if not downright all of the Bosses in video games would be resistant, or downright immune to most harmful status effects, including poison.


    ¡¸Normally doing something like that would have been relatively difficult, but if all six members of a full Party would start throwing Poison Needles at the Floor Boss at the same time, than that would have resulted in a considerable accumulation of poison in said Floor Boss for sure.¡¹


    ¡¸In other words, poisoning the Floor Boss id definitely possible, but you would need a considerable amount of Poison Needles being thrown by a full Party of people, so outside of the probability of inflicting poison upon the Floor Boss has to be relatively low, correct?¡¹


    If we assume that a full Party of six people would start throwing two or three Poison Needles at the Floor Boss all at once, then that would give us from between twelve to eighteen stacks of poison and twelve to eighteen chances for that status ailment to proc in the first place, so if you compare these numbers to the ones that a Party of two or three people would be doing on it, then those numbers would really be not as impressive as the ones achieved by the full Party, and I can already guess without even having to ask Roxanne or Sherry that Poison Needles are going to be quite costly, and going bankrupt just so that we could poison a Floor Boss is definitely not something that I would recommend.


    ¡¸Do these items have any other special uses besides that one we discussed just now?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, there is, the one that is used mainly against the kind of monsters from outside of the Labyrinths that do not attack anyone who just happens to wander into their line of sight outright, but rather only do so when they are provoked, or if they feel that their territory has been threatened by trespassers. Now, since the only purpose of the Poison Needle is to inflict poison onto the target that it has been thrown at, such monsters are not going to recognize it as an actual attack that would provoke them to attack the one who threw the Poison Needle at them, and that exploit can give travelling Explorers and Adventurers the edge they need to defeat such monsters roaming the wilds even quicker than usual because of the poison that is going to repeatedly damage them in tandem with the damage from normal attacks that would then be inflicted.¡¹


    So, there was actually such a trick that works not only against the monsters in the Labyrinths, but against the ones in the overworld as well? In tha case, does that not make this one item kinda strong in various ways?


    ¡¸Ah! Now that you started talking about it, I remembered that I used to play with that when I was a little kid.¡¹


    Roxanne raised an enthusiastic voice at Sherry¡¯s commentary. So she used to play with such a dangerous thing when she was a little kid? Honestly, I¡­. I do not know what I should be thinking about it.


    ¡¸You used to play with it, Miss Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸Not often, but there were a few occasions when I had the chance to. Nowadays though, I think that only aristocrats and wealthy people can afford doing something like that purely as a hobby, because Poison Needles can be quite expensive after all.¡¹


    Yeah, that makes sense. After all, Poison Needle is not just a toy or an ordinary commodity that can be obtained just about from anywhere, but a material from a dangerous monster obtained by delving into the depths of the Labyrinth, so of course it would cost a lot of money. If the Guilds buy even something as cheap and common as Kobold Salt, then something useful like Poison Needle is definitely going to cost a hefty amount of money, so naturally it would be a huge waste to simply be using these items as playthings to be throwing at the monsters in the wilds.

 Volume 5 - CH 2.11

    ¡¸You said that you were playing with the Poison Needles on occasion, but how exactly did you do that since you could not buy them because they are expensive?¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm¡­ actually, near the place where I used to live there was a place that was essentially a nest of wild NT Ants, so I was going there to collect the Poison Needles from those who have died or were killed by other monsters, which always resulted in me being severely scolded by my family that I should not be going to dangerous places and should not be doing anything dangerous that might result in me getting hurt or even worse, and I always had to go to the forest nearby to throw the Poison Needles that I brought back with me away, but as I was getting older, I started taking those opportunities to go deeper into the forest where monsters lived so that I could throw the Poison Needles at them and kill them is such a way¡­.¡¹


    Hmm, certainly, for the standpoint of someone young who has never hunted monsters before in their lives, such an approach makes a lot of sense. However¡­.


    ¡¸So¡­. You hunted NT Ants outside of the Labyrinth when you were younger? Just like that?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, that is right.¡¹


    ¡¸Even though you knew that you would probably get into a lot of serious trouble if your family ever found out?¡¹


    ¡¸I was not afraid of it at the time, or I guess it should be more accurate t say that I was going to face the eventual consequences when they happened without needlessly worrying myself over small things. That being said, when I was younger I was considerably weaker than I am right now, so when I took on a single NT Ant, defeating it took me as long as few hours of time.¡¹


    I think that what I just heard were some pretty insane words, but Roxanne spoke them in a matter-of-factly fashion, almost as if it was not that big of a deal to her. Did I misheard what she said just now? Or maybe there is something wrong with my sense of time, or perhaps a few hours in this world are equivalent to only a few seconds of the time that I knew back on earth?


    ¡¸Uhm¡­. Roxanne? Do not take this the wrong way, but I think that what you were doing back when you were younger was very dangerous, not to mention incredibly careless. Since NT Ants can poison you with their attacks, then what would you have done if you were attacked and poisoned by it without any option to quickly get rid of the poison from your system?¡¹


    ¡¸Dangerous? Why would that be dangerous, master? As long as you are able to dodge every single attack that comes your way, there is nothing that you could possibly be afraid of.¡¹


    As long as you can dodge every single attack that comes your way, huh? Well, I am sorry to say this to you Roxanne, but what you are talking about is basically impossible for anyone else but you to pull of.


    ¡¸Miss Roxanne, you were fighting against monsters as fierce as the ones from the Labyrinths when you were younger, and you were doing this for hours?! That is amazing!¡¹


    ¡¸Is it, really? Because for me it was something perfectly normal, but nevertheless, thank you for your kind words, Sherry.¡¹


    Well, I on the other hand, am going to go out on a limb and say that Sherry should not be digging into this matter too deep, because even though she means Roxanne no harm with her praises, I am afraid that they might cause her to act is a similarly hot-headed way just because she thinks that her godly dodging abilities are making her invincible and immune to the attacks of all the monsters out there.


    ¡¸So, like, what exactly were you doing, Miss Roxanne? You defeated the NT Ant, got its Poison Needle and used that Poison Needle to go hunt other monsters?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes.¡¹


    ¡¸And what was that like?! I assume that you were hunting some pretty strong monsters that could not be hunted through any ordinary means, right?!¡¹


    ¡¸Of course that I was aiming for the strong monsters, but at the same time I made sure that they were not too strong for me to handle at that time. It was tough finding a proper type of monster at first, but after some trial and error I found the one that I could take on without having to worry that I will not be able to dodge its attacks. And once I got that figured out, I could hunt them normally without any major issues.¡¹


    ¡¸And what exactly was that monster, if I may ask?¡¹


    ¡¸It was a Non-R.E.M Golem, another type of monster that happened to inhabit the area that was relatively near where my family lived. Due to their size and mass heir strikes could hurt you pretty badly if you allowed them to hit you, but because it was pretty slow with both its attacks and movements, I had no trouble dealing with it whatsoever.¡¹


    This is the first time when I heard the name Non-R.E.M Golem, but just from the ¡¸Golem¡¹ Part I can already guess what kind of enemy that must have been, which brings me to my next question: Roxanne said that she could hunt it normally without any major issues, but can a strategy where you have to kill a giant, poisonous ant so that you could grab its Poison Needle and then stab a golem, a being made out of stone, with it considered something normal? Well, it might not be entirely normal, but from the perspective of someone who presumably did not have much experience with fighting monsters, such a strategy really makes sense. After all, if Poison Needle really poisons anything that it comes into contact with, then just think how devastating the poison damage is going to be if a single target is going to be attacked with it repeatedly, over and over again.


    ¡¸N-Non-R.E.M Golems?! I thought they were supposed to be one of the types of monsters that would never attack people outside of the Labyrinth! So you are telling me that they can really do that?!¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, they can definitely do that.¡¹


    ¡¸But then, would it not be pretty dangerous when that golem was finally able to spot you? I know that right now Miss Roxanne is superb at dodging the attacks of every monster that might try to attack you, but in the past surely you were not as good at dodging as you are now, so the risk of you getting hit by the Golem¡¯s fists must have been that much greater, right?¡¹


    ¡¸It was dangerous all right, but the thing is: no matter if you attacked it normally, from a distance or through sneak attacks, when it finally notices that it is being attacked, you are going to have to dodge its attempts at attacking you anyway, meaning that the final outcome is going to be the same in every case, so why bother with it?¡¹


    No Roxanne, this is where you are wrong. It is actually totally different. Poisoning a non-active monster and an active monster are completely different situation, because with inactive monster, you will always have the element of surprise in your favor and you will most definitely be able to poison such a monster when it is going to be not expecting any kind of attack to actually come its as it is just minding its own business, but poisoning an active monster that is presumably going to start charging right at you with the intent of killing you as soon as it sees you is on a whole other level of difficulty.


    ¡¸And what about other monsters? Can they also be found in places where the Non-R.E.M Golems usually roam?¡¹


    ¡¸I can always determine the position of other monsters by their smell, so if there will ever be a need for that, we will always be ready to launch a successful sneak attack.¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, I understand that and I know tat sneaking up on them would not be the hard part. What I want to know the most right now is how hard would it be for us to actually poison such Golem. Would you say that it would be more on an easy side, or perhaps more on a hard side of the possibility scale?¡¹


    ¡¸Hmm, let me think¡­. If we could hit it with approximately twenty or so Poison Needles, then we would definitely ended up poisoning the Non-R.E.M Golem for sure.¡¹

 Volume 5 - CH 2.12

    Sherry asked the most important question here, and Roxanne gave her the answer in the plainest voice possible.


    ¡¸Twenty Poison Needles? That is quite a lot. Not to mention that the possibility of us getting found out and attacked in the meantime is definitely going to be high.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, definitely, but that is something that should be expected. All you would have to do then is to continue throwing Poison Needles at the monster while avoiding all of its attacks.¡¹


    Continue throwing the Poison Needles while avoiding the attacks of a Golem-type monster from up close and personal? Again, I feel like this is something that no one else beside Roxanne would be able to pull off, since she has her godly dodging abilities and all that.


    ¡¸Well, poisoning such an enemy would be fine and all, but after you poisoned it, what were you doing next?¡¹


    ¡¸That is also quite simple. I would continue to avoid and dodge its attacks until it would have collapsed due to the accumulation of all the poison damage.¡¹


    ¡¸You¡­ you just dodged? You did not try to attack it in any other way, only avoiding its attacks the entire time?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, Because Non-R.E.M Golem is one of the few opponents against which my attacks were not working at all, and if I would have been hit with even one of its attacks, it would have definitely resulted in my instantaneous death. In the worst-case scenario anyway.¡¹


    ¡¸Worst-case scenario? And what would the best-case scenario be?¡¹


    ¡¸You would survive the direct hit of the Non-R.E.M Golem¡¯s fist and not die instantly, but the impact would likely be so strong that it would shatter most or all of the bones in your body, thus resulting in your death soon after, or perhaps the pressure of the air would crush your internal organs into a bloody paste. That is why I was always super desperate to dodge every single one of its attacks, because I knew that if I do not do it, it would be all over for me. But on the bright side, fighting against Non-R.E.M Golem takes way less time than it did with the NT Ant, because the poison really helped in bringing things up to speed.¡¹


    I do not know about you guys, but somehow, Roxanne¡¯s words did not convince me or relieve my worries. At first I thought that she was kidding and was only telling us all of that in order to illustrate how powerful of an item Poison Needles can really be, but the serious expression that she had on her face the entire time told me that she was not kidding at all, and that she meant every last word that she spoke.


    Could this be the source of Roxanne¡¯s godlike dodging abilities? It has to be. If she was doing something like that ever since she was a young kid who was ¡¸playing¡¹in such a way, then it would not be all that strange for her body to retain the habits and muscle memory from those times, allowing her to utilize the moves that she learned through trial and error¡­..


    No, something is telling me that it actually might have been the other way around. She was probably able to ¡¸play¡¹in such a way exactly because she had that kind of evasive power since a very early age. Did her power to perform evasions and dodges increased because of that kind of play, or was it possible for her to play around in such a way precisely because of that evasion power? What came first here, the egg, or the chicken? Evasive power, or its refinement through frequent battles against the monsters that Roxanne was playing with?


    However, whatever the case may be here, it remains a fact that when I first met Roxanne, her Level was actually not that high. Maybe it is because the Level of the monsters found in the overworld is Lv.1, meaning that the value of EXP that can be gained from them is really small? Or maybe there is a rule that states that you cannot gain EXP for killing an enemy through the passive means such as poison, and it has to be done with your own hands in order to actually count? But those are just a few out of the many more questions that I actually have for Roxanne.


    ¡¸Roxanne? Were¡­. Were you the only one who was ¡¸playing¡¹in such a way, or were other kids doing the same?¡¹


    ¡¸I tried to invite them to play with me like that on occasion, but every time I did that it always ended up in them being scared, and the adults were very angry at me and they would give me quite the earfuls on top of forbidding me to ever play with other children in such a dangerous way.¡¹


    Yeah, they had every right to be angry at you like that, because such a dangerous thing as throwing Poison Needles at Golems is definitely not something that I would call a good way for little kids to play.


    But knowing that she was unable to rope other kids into playing such dangerous games together with her also made me kind of relieved, because at least now I am absolutely sure that there are no more people with Roxanne¡¯s level of dodging incoming attacks. I mean, imagine if pretty much everyone of her friends from back there learned to do exactly the same thing that she does, simply by the virtue of hanging around with her and copying her movements when the monsters would start attacking them. It would definitely be a sight to behold, but the one that would also be pretty disturbing at that.


    When I glanced back at Sherry to see how she was doing, I noticed that her shoulders were trembling, and that she was literally in tears. Yes, Sherry. There is nothing shameful in crying. I know perfectly well how you are feeling right now. I placed my hand on Sherry¡¯s shoulder, which was trembling like a small leaf in the wind, and then we both called out to Roxanne, because there is something that we absolutely have to say to her, and she needs to hear it from us.


    ¡¸Roxanne.¡¹


    ¡¸Miss Roxanne.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes? What is it, master? Sherry?¡¹


    ¡¸¡¸We are glad your family stopped you. Please, do not do that ever again.¡¹¡¹


    Telling her that right now was like doing her a kindness, because it will be much better for her to hear something like that form us than from a complete stranger or the figures of authority if she ever tried to introduce children to the methods of ¡¸playing¡¹that would place them in danger.


    Now that we have started exploring the ninth floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth in earnest, we discovered that most of the groups of enemies that we have encountered so far were either just NT Ants, monsters native to the ninth floor of his Labyrinth, or Needlewoods from the previous floor, or combinations of these two, which was a pretty weird and unusual combination, since Needlewoods are resistant to Water Magic while NT Ants are weak to Water Magic, which made it somewhat difficult for me to adjust my spells and change them on the fly whenever I had to switch to a different target.


    Up until now I did not really have to pay attention to those things and aside from testing the other types of magic out I was pretty much using either ¡¸Fireball¡¹or ¡¸Fire Storm¡¹all the time, so needless to say, the flow of the battles is not as smooth as I would have liked it to be, but if there is one good thing to be taken from such a setup, then it would be the thing that, at least in my opinion, it is good that NT Ants are the monsters from the ninth floor that have a weakness that I can exploit.


    If it was the other way around and the Needlewoods were the monsters from the ninth floor instead of eighth, then it would have been much harder. But now, when we are facing a group of three NT Ants and one Needlewood, I can quickly get rid of the ants with Water Magic and then finish the remaining Needlewood without any issues or fear of getting myself poisoned in case I would focus on it too much and allowed the NT Ants to get close to me.


    The situation was also the same with the other configuration of three Needlewoods and one NT Ant, but in that case Water Magic is substituted for Fire Magic, which I use to dispose of the Needlewoods with ¡¸Fire Storms¡¹.

 Volume 5 - CH 2.13

    Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist Editor: Weasalopes


    And once the three Needlewoods are dealt with, I can easily switch back to the Water Magic and dispatching the remaining NT Ant with ¡¸Water Balls¡¹. It is quite a bit of tedious work, but it is certainly better than trying to use only Water Magic that the Needlewoods are resistant to, which would just be a needless waste of my MP.


    In the Labyrinth of Quratar the setting is such that the eighth floor was the place where Needlewoods were the native monsters, and the ninth floor is the place where NT Ants are the native monsters, so naturally the probability of NT Ants appearing as the mobs that we are going to have to break through is going to be much higher than any other monsters.


    And since NT Ants can poison us with every attack they are going to make, then dealing with them first is the highest priority on our to-do list whenever they appear as part of the group of monsters that we are currently facing. Thankfully, since they are weak to Water Magic, all that it takes to defeat a single NT Ant are three shots of my ¡¸Water Ball¡¹Spell, so most of the time I am capable of defeating them without even allowing them to close in on our location enough for them to get into the melee range, so with the way that things stand, it is very unlikely that any one of us is going to get poisoned by the NT Ants anytime soon.


    Now that we are on the ninth level, the level of the Needlewoods went up from Lv.8 to Lv.9, which means that they have more HP and that the battles with them are going to last a little bit longer than the ones on the eighth floor and that more spells is going to be needed to bring each individual one down, but since the overall number of battles is lower than the number of battles that we had to go through on the eighth floor, I am actually using fewer spells than I was anticipating to be using, which is good from the standpoint of the conservation of my MP.


    It took us a few battles to adjust to the changes in comparison to the previous floor we have been on, but now I feel that we can fight in quite a smooth way here on the ninth floor. We then wandered around the ninth floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth until the sunrise, and after we returned back home from the Labyrinth, it was just the perfect time for us to cook breakfast. And the dish on today¡¯s menu was yakisoba¡­.


    Okay, maybe not the genuine Japanese yakisoba, but rather the closest thing to yakisoba that I could have prepared with fried macaroni, sauces, meat and some vegetables that were cut in as smallest pieces as possible. The process of making it was not ac complicated as you might think.


    We just fried Rabbit Meat and the vegetables with olive oil, add in some boiled short pasta, sprinkled it all with a bit of the cooking wine and then fried it all while adding just a little bit of fish sauce as a finishing touch before finally taste-testing the entire thing. I have already made tha dish before for our dinner on one particular evening so I was pretty confident in the outcome, and sure enough, I was definitely not disappointed with how it turned out in the end.


    Taste-wise, it was pretty good, and not a single ingredient tasted like it was out of place or not in harmony with the others. Oh, and by the way, this world has not only short pasta, but also the long variant that is typically used in making spaghetti, but there is one problem with it: I do not know how it happened or why it is like that, but for whatever reason, this world has no forks in it, so in order to eat this makeshift Yakisoba, Sherry and Roxanne were skillfully using a combination of wooden knives and forks.


    As for myself, I do not have to worry about how I am going to eat because I bought a pair of chopsticks for myself, but then I began to wonder: if I made a classic yakisoba with long pasta, how would Sherry and Roxanne go about eating it?


    Would they just start grabbing the pasta and everything else with their bare hands then shove all of that into their mouths unceremoniously? Meat and vegetable can always be eaten by stabbing them with a knife, but eating hot, fried pasta is definitely not something that I would have liked to see Sherry and Roxanne doing, and that is exactly why I decided to go with short pasta instead of the long one: so that we could avoid the bare hands pasta eating scenario. Short pasta is ideal for this kind of world without forks, because it can be easily scooped with a spoon.


    We divided the house chores in the following way: I was in charge of cooking breakfast, Roxanne was doing laundry and Sherry was doing some minor cleaning around the entire house.


    This world is not a technologically advanced one, so there is no washing machines or vacuum cleaners, which makes the housework a pretty burdensome and time-consuming series of activities, so right now making breakfast, which is comparatively easy when paired up with cleaning and doing laundry is the best kind of dream job for me because I still get to be useful around the house without overexerting myself too much. And now that everything was done and ready, I brought my yaki macaroni to the table for all of us to enjoy.


    When I got to the living room, Roxanne and Sherry were already there, and I could see that the scent of the spicy fish sauce that I used for this dish was already causing their mouths to water.


    ¡¸Did I make you wait long?¡¹


    ¡¸No, we just got here after finishing our chores for the time being.¡¹


    Apparently I caught them in the middle of something, because Sherry was siting on a chair while Roxanne was holding her hair from behind.


    And what is that which she is holding in her hand? Is that¡­.. the brush that she bought during her day off? In any case, the sight of the two of them just sitting there, getting along with one another was quite a relaxing one¡­.. but I could not shake off the feeling that something was missing from this harmonious picture.


    ¡¸Thank you very much for combing my hair for me, Miss Roxanne. I really appreciate it.¡¹


    ¡¸Do not mention it, Sherry. Doing this is a pleasure, because your hair are so rich and glossy and feel really nice to the touch.¡¹


    When Roxanne was done with combing Sherry¡¯s hair, she put away her brush and sat down at the breakfast table while sitting right across from me so that we could see each other face-to-face.


    ¡¸Well then, are you girls ready to eat?¡¹


    ¡¸¡¸Yes, time to dig in!¡¹¡¹


    We then dug in into the food that I have distributed equally on our plates so that no one would feel like he got too much or not enough. That fried yaki macaroni of mine did not taste bad, but at the same time I could clearly feel that there was something missing from this dish, something that I had trouble pinpointing exactly. Maybe it is because of the short pasta that I used instead of the regular long pasta? No, I feel like the problem is not with pasta, but something else entirely¡­. And they are probably seasonings, like blue seaweed or red ginger, which I had no way of obtaining at the current moment, because none of the Quratar¡¯s shop offered it or anything that could have been used as a possible replacement.


    As a result, the dish that I have prepared tasted like only something that was half-ready to me, affecting my experience of eating this thing in a negative way, but since blue seaweed and red ginger are very specific products even in my old world, then I guess there is no point brooding over it for to long and simply accept that this is just how things are and that they simply cannot be helped sometimes, and there is just nothing that I could have done to change that state of being.


    However, the most important thing to me right now is the fact that both Sherry and Roxanne are stuffing their faces with it while looking incredibly satisfied and puffing out their cheeks because of all the pasta and sauce that they were trying to shove into their mouths all at once, which was the best possible review of my dish that I could have gotten.

 Volume 5 - CH 2.14

    Granted, this is definitely nothing that could rival the best pasta-based dishes in the world by any chance, but as long as it turned out edible and the people whom I am serving it to are satisfied by it, then I guess there is no reason at all for me to not to feel satisfied as well. This just goes to show that as long as you keep in mind for whom you are cooking and why you want to cook it for them in the best way possible, then these feelings of yours are sure to reach the recipients of the dish that is going to be so good that they will not even be complaining or paying attention to the missing ingredients (not to mention that in order to complain about the things that are missing and the taste of the dish they just eaten, it means that they would have to be aware of what the original Japanese yakisoba tasted like).


    When we finished eating breakfast, Sherry and Roxanne sat down at the chair in front of the mirror and resumed the long and arduous process of combing their hair for one another, and even though they were sitting in front of the large mirror on the wall, neither of them was looking at it too much, focusing instead on the hair of the other person that they were combing in order not to hurt them by accident. Personally, I do not look into the mirror all that much, but I thought that it will be looking nice when mounted on the wall and that the girls are going to make a much better use of this than I ever would. If it was not for them, I would have probably not bought that mirror at all, thinking that it would be nothing more but a waste of money.


    It has already been around a month since I have arrived in this world. Or perhaps I should say that only a month has passed, even though it feels like a much, much longer period.


    Recently, my hair has grown a little longer than I intended to grow them out, to the point where it is seriously starting to annoy the living hell out of me. It is probably not going to be all that long before I will go and ask Roxanne cut them all a bit shorter for me, and when that happens, my gut feeling is telling me that I should better have a mirror on me when such a day comes so that I could avoid a possible hair-cutting disaster that might occur when Roxanne or Sherry get a little bit too enthusiastic about doing this for me. And so, I asked both Sherry and Roxanne while I continued to chew down on my portion of yaki macaroni:


    ¡¸Do you think that having such a mirror installed here at home was a handy idea after all?¡¹


    ¡¸It is a good thing to have it around in case we ever needed to cut our hair when they get too long, but other than that, I would not really say that it is something absolutely necessary or vital for our day-to-day lives.¡¹


    ¡¸What Miss Roxanne said, plus the fact that it does not look all that good.¡¹


    Sherry made a point that I definitely could not argue with, because while I called the thing that is on the wall ¡¸mirror¡¹it is actually a far cry from the mirrors that I am familiar with from my old world. In this world, the thing that are called ¡¸mirrors¡¹ are nothing more than polished surfaces of thick metal, so as you can probably imagine, it is not something that grants very good visibility when you gaze into it. I ended up buying it on impulse when I saw it one time in the general store, but now, after some time has passed since then, I think I might actually be suffering from buyer¡¯s remorse, because now I see that its quality does not match up its relatively high price.


    ¡¸Yeah, I definitely have to agree that the quality of this mirror is not very good. Is there something we can do to make it look better, even if only for a little bit?¡¹


    ¡¸No, there is not much that we can do about it, or at least not here, because anywhere where you would try to look, the mirrors are going to essentially look exactly the same. But if you want a mirror of better quality, then why not try one of the mirrors that are being sold in Palmasque?¡¹


    ¡¸Palmasque?¡¹


    ¡¸It is a city located between The Empire and Kassim. When I talked with Miss Roxanne about a lot of things, she told me that her birthplace is located some distance away from Kassim.¡¹


    Yeah, I remember that there was this one time when I had a conversation with Roxanne about this particular subject. Now, since it was some time ago I do not remember exactly what she said, but it must have been something similar to what Sherry said just now. And since she is from a place near Kassim, then it would stand to reason that she would know about Palmasque, that is apparently situated between The Empire and Kassim.


    ¡¸So, master? A question, if I may. From what Miss Roxanne told me, you said that you are from a place located even further to the east than Kassim, right? But if that is the case, then how come that you do not know about Palmasque?¡¹


    Oh crap, I did say something like that, did I not?! Now quickly, find some good words to defuse the situation!


    ¡¸Y-Yeah, I did live in a place farther to the east than Kassim, but even then, I for the most of my life I was living in a very remote region where very little information was reaching, and I was being brought up with very limited knowledge of the outside world, thanks to which I did not even know about Kassim until recently.¡¹


    There, is that going to be enough to deceive them? I sure hope it is going to be enough. I really have to stop saying such random things all the time, because if I keep on adding more lies to the pile, then eventually the mountain of them is going to grow up so big that one of these days I am just going to run myself into a corner out of which I will not be able to weasel my way out.


    ¡¸Is that so? Well then, I guess some explanations are in order, right? Palmasque is a city famous for its glassworks and a huge variety of products they are able to create because of it. The mirrors that they are making by using glass all look very good, and they are said to reflect the exact image of whatever is being placed in front of them without distorting it in any way. It is one of their most valued luxury items, and the one that is often exchanged as gifts among nobles and particularly rich people.¡¹


    So it would seem that there are mirrors made from glass in this world after all, as well as some pretty advanced techniques of manufacturing items. Looks like I underestimated the technological capabilities of this world, which just goes to show: you cannot judge a book, or in this case, a world, by its cover. I wonder if I could find one of these Palmasque-made mirrors if I went looking for them in the Imperial City?


    ¡¸Since they are such a luxury item, then they are probably bound to be really expensive. Nevertheless, I think it might be worth it to try and look for one of them one of these days.¡¹


    ¡¸Normally that would have been the case, since the prices of glass mirrors have to be appropriately raised since Palmasque is located quite far away from the Empire, but if you were to go and buy such a mirror directly in Palmasque, then the prices would surely not be all that high, and it would certainly not be as expensive as having it imported here.¡¹


    ¡¸Master, with your abilities, would it not be possible for you to travel to Palmasque and back in an instant?¡¹


    Roxanne pointed that out to me. Certainly, if I could just go there by using ¡¸Warp¡¹, I could buy it directly from one of the shops that would be offering it there, and if I would buy a glass mirror in such a way, then it would definitely be way cheaper than having it imported from such a far-away place, because I am pretty sure that the payment just for that would have been enough to knock me and my wallet off my feet.

 Volume 5 - CH 2.15

    ¡¸That is some good thinking, Miss Roxanne, but unfortunately it is not that simple. You see, Palmasque is located so far away from the Empire that it is actually impossible to go there directly from within the Empire¡¯s borders, and that is exactly why the prices of not only glass mirrors, but also everything that is being made there are so expensive.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. That certainly makes sense.¡¹


    Roxanne nodded her head when Sherry pointed that fact out to her. And honestly, I was expecting something along those lines as well. If Adventurers could go pretty much anywhere without any kind of restrictions by using their ¡¸Field Walker¡¹ Skill, then the price of any local specialties or imported goods would not be so high because of the relative ease of obtaining them. Large objects aside, things such as hand mirrors or even medium sized stand mirrors can be carried with you while using ¡¸Field Walker¡¹ without any issues, so if you could continuously travel between Palmasque and the Empire in order to buy their products at a cheaper price only to then sell it in the Empire for a small fortune under the guise of having to ¡¸set the price so high in order to cover the costs of the transport¡¹ than that would have been an almost cheat-level way to making a quick profit and easy money.


    But since Sherry said that Palmasque is located quite far away from the empire, it probably means that the distance is so great that Adventurers cannot go there by using their ¡¸Field Walker¡¹, then it probably means that not even my ¡¸Warp¡¹ would be enough to get me there, and I do not even want to think about how much of my MP such a journey would sap away, or would I even have enough of it to make such a journey, because the last thing that I would have wanted for myself would be to end up throw into some God-forsaken shithole or in the middle of the ocean or whatever simply because I have ran out of MP halfway across the process of warping.


    ¡¸Master, would it really be impossible for you to go directly to Palmasque? You are so amazing and can do so many amazing things that is should be easy for you, right?¡¹


    Roxanne, it makes me immensely happy to see that you are thinking of me as someone amazing who can do pretty much everything, but I am nowhere near as amazing as she thinks I am, because all of that can be attributed not to me personally, but to the Bonus Skills in my possession that allowed me to have all of these OP Bonus Spells and Bonus Weapon like Durandal. However, this particular situation that I am in right now can be said to be the result of the lie that I made about hailing from a country in the far east, way farther beyond Kassim, so by that logic, I should be able to warp directly to Kassim because I must have been there as a part of my journey from my ¡¸homeland¡¹ to the empire, so if I would now go and said that I actually cannot do that, that is definitely going to make me look sus as hell in Roxanne and Sherry¡¯s eyes¡­¡­ man, I know that I have just said that, but I really need to stop making such random shit up. If I did not tell Roxanne that I hail from a country in the far east (which ironically is not a lie, aside from the fact that this country in the far east is in another world), I would not have ended up in such a sticky mess of my own making.


    ¡¸I-I guess? I never really tried it before, so I have no idea if it is going to work or not. ¡¹


    ¡¸Miss Roxanne, I know that master is definitely an amazing person, but there is just no way for him to be able to cover such a great distance like the one from the Empire to Palmasque is a single use of ¡¸Field Walker¡¹, and frankly, while that would definitely be convenient for us, it is not entirely necessary, because we can always cover that distance in a few smaller trips.¡¹


    Sherry advises to cover the distance in parts. Yes, it is exactly like she says. There is no need for us to go to Palmasque in one go, doing it with a few stops in between is a perfectly viable strategy. And also, even though I told Roxanne that I came to the Empire from way beyond Kassim, I sure as hell am happy that I did not specify exactly how did I managed to do that, because now I will not have to make any additional excuses that might as well turn into landmines that I could have stepped on and spectacularly blow myself up. Right now, in order to back Sherry¡¯s words up I can say that I did not come to the Empire is a single day, but had to make a lengthy journey, and if it just so happens that this Kassim land is connected to the rest of the empire by land, then it might be possible to reach it while travelling on foot, in which case it would not even matter if it took me days, weeks, months or even years to do so.


    ¡¸Well, if anything, I guess that this is an option that is certainly worth giving it a try.¡¹


    I then asked Sherry to tell me what are the cities located located between the Imperial City and Palmasque that we would have to travel through in order to get there.


    ¡¸The nearest city located a little farther away to the east from the Imperial City is a city called Dohona. Do you know about it, master?¡¹


    ¡¸No, I do not.¡¹


    ¡¸After Dohona there is Dobur, then the next one after Dobur is Saboja, after which is Aiena, and then¡­..¡¹


    Sherry continued to list a number of town and cities one after another in rapid succession. Of course, I had completely no idea what any of these cities were and where exactly were they located, because I have never been outside of the Empire ever since I got transported here to this world.


    But then again, it will definitely sound strange for someone who supposedly came from beyond Kassim, to not know any of these towns, and if Sherry or Roxanne catch wind of that contradiction, then my reputation with them and their trust in me is definitely going to be placed in jeopardy, and that would be all sorts of bad for me, which is why I need to come up with some kind of excuse as to why I do not know any of those cities, but what is going to sound conveniently enough without immediately ratting me out?


    Hmm¡­¡­ well then, since I will probably not come up with anything more believable on such a short notice, then I will just have to say that I came here from Kassim directly, without stopping at any of these other towns.


    ¡¸Unfortunately, I do not know any of these cities, so¡­..¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, is that so? Well, it was to be expected. After all, the route to Palmasque that I have listed is not the only one, so it would not be at all surprising if you have arrived in the Empire while taking a different route.¡¹


    Yeah, that is right, another route! Of course I have taken another route to get from beyond Kassim to the Empire! Uh-huh, totally, I am not making any of this up!


    Now that I think about it, it is exactly as Sherry says: there is no place in the world that has only a singular route leading up to it, so there are bound to be other routes by which you can go from Kassim and Beyond to the Empire, and all that I have to say to diverge all suspicions at not knowing any major cities that are in between these two from myself is saying that I took one of those alternative routes to get here!


    ¡¸That¡¯s right. I took me quite a long while as a result, but that is exactly what I did.¡¹


    ¡¸All right. So, when it comes to travelling to Palmasque, I would generally not recommend going straight to Palmasque¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild. It would be much better for us if we went there by first going through the Adventurer¡¯s Guilds of all the cities that I listed.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay, since this is what Sherry is recommending, then I have no reason to go against your recommendation if you think that this is what is going to be the best course of action for us. Is that not right, Roxanne?¡¹

 Volume 5 - CH 2.16

    ¡¸Yes master, absolutely.¡¹


    And just like that, it has been decided that we are going to go to Palmasque not by making one big trip with my¡¸Warp¡¹, but by doing a number of smaller ones instead, and honestly, such a plan of action is really to my liking, because while it might not eliminate the possibility of me running out of MP in the middle of warping, at the very least


    After we finished eating our yaki macaroni breakfast, I had Sherry create another set of Misangas as part of her Master Smith training.


    The number of Misangas that she can make in one sitting is also progressively increasing, to the point where now she can make a few of them without running low on MP. And as for the results of today¡¯s training:


    Misanga, Accessory


    Skill: Empty


    Together with the one that she has created just now, we now have a total of three Misangas with an Empty Skill Slot. I wonder if this is going to be enough for Shery¡¯s Misanga-making training for the time being? In any case, with that third Misanga with Empty Skill Slot, we can now make three Sacrificial Misangas, one for each of us. When that happens, we are going to have a safety measure that is going to save us from death one time, but if it does happen and the used Misanga breaks as a result, then we would have to go and create yet another one to compensate for the one that has been lost, and in order to do that we would have to get our hands on another Green Caterpillar Skill Crystal, which might take us some time, but if it means that our safety while exploring the Labyrinths would be secured, then I think it is going to be well worth it.


    ¡¸Tell me, Sherry: when a Master Smith gets proficient enough in creating Misangas, what is the next piece if equipment that they are supposed to be creating after that?¡¹


    ¡¸Once a Master Smith has trained themselves in creating Misangas, the next step of their training is leaning how to create a Dagger, after which they proceed with it in the exact same manner as with the Misanga creation training.¡¹


    ¡¸A Dagger? I see. So instead of making another accessory, this time it is going to be a weapon.¡¹


    So, the next thing that Sherry will be training to create is going to be a Dagger, huh? It is certainly nice that she is going to be moving on to creating weapons, but at the same time a part of me cannot help it but to feel just a little bit disappointed that the thing she will be creating is not going to be a sword. And I was soo looking forward to her making me one! I know that this cannot be helped, but in my private opinion, a Master Smith, or perhaps it would be better to say blacksmith, cannot call themselves a true blacksmith if they do not start making swords, and the same logic of mine applies to the process of creating Misangas. While she was making all of them, Sherry was more like a handicraft maker that a genuine Master Smith. But hey, since she is going to be moving on from Misangas to Daggers, then that has to mean that she is going to be moving on to eventually start creating swords, right?


    However, here I am thinking of what Sherry is going to be making in the future, but I did not even ask her is she is feeling comfortable enough with the Misangas that she created to move on to making Daggers.


    ¡¸So Sherry, are you ready to graduate from making Misangas and move on to creating Daggers?¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm¡­¡­ I am not so sure about that. Normally, Misanga-making training requires a minimum of six months to up to a year of continuous morning-evening practice, but depending on the individual and their talent and the level of their skills, this process can be extended up to two years.¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, I hear you louds and clear¡­. But did you not say that such procedures only apply to those Master Smiths who are unable to create more than one Misanga in the morning and more than one Misanga in the evening during the period of their regular training?¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yes, that is right. I believe that is what I told master about it when we were last talking about the matters related to the smithing training.¡¹


    ¡¸But right now, you can make more than one Misanga in the morning and more than one Misanga in the evening, so does that not mean that you should finally be able to move on to creating the next pieces of equipment on your Master Smithing agenda?¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yes, I guess I should do that.¡¹


    Looks like Sherry is still not ready to completely let go of her worries and of the stigma that being unable to become a Master Smith along with all the other kids from her village has left upon her, as well as that whole matter of sticking to the Dwarven training regimen. That, and she probably still thinks that her Level as a Master Smith is locked at Lv.1, and that mental block is causing her to think that it might still be too early for her to start Creating Daggers. I know that I may not be the best person to be saying this, but she has to let go of that way of thinking and finally fully embrace her talents.


    And that is where I need to step in, all clad in white. As her master, I know better than anyone else that her Level as a Master Smith has grown exponentially ever since she first obtained it and it keeps getting higher and higher with every passing day, so at the current point in time, she should be able to easily create not only a Dagger, but probably every piece of equipment that she would want. So the thing that I say to her now is¡­


    ¡¸It is alright, Sherry. I know you can do it. And even if you cannot, that is not going to be any reason to beat yourself u over it, you hear me? If at first you do not succeed, then all you have to do is to keep on trying until you eventually do.¡¹


    ¡¸I know, master. I realize that all to well. However, when moving onto creating Daggers from creating Misangas, the stakes are getting much higher than they were before. With Misangas, you do not really need to be worrying about wasting resources, because even in the case of failure, the only thing that you would be losing are two pieces of cheap strings. However, one of the materials needed in the process of creating a Dagger is Needlewood¡¯s branch, but if the process of fusion ends up being a failure, then the branches used in the process will be lost as well, same as with any other fusion materials.¡¹


    I see. So her current set of worries is about the costs of her potential failure. Personally, I think that as long as the lost item is only going to be a branch, which is a pretty common drop from the Needlewoods that they tend to be leaving behind them when they die all the time, so even if some of their branches were to be indeed lost in the unlikely event of Sherry failing a fusion, the losses on our side would have been minimal, since Needlewoods¡¯ branches are actually so cheap that you have sell them in really large batches to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild if you even want to think about making a profit out of it, so I would not even mind to sacrifice some of them for the purpose of ¡¸Item Fusion¡¹, just as long as it would mean that Sherry would continue to grow as a Master Smith.


    ¡¸Is there anything else that is going to happen when the fusion ends up failing, or is that that the only thing?¡¹


    ¡¸No, there¡¯s nothing else. The repercussion of losing all of the materials that have been involved in the fusion process is the only penalty.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay. So that means that if the Dagger fusion fails, we are only going to lose materials like branches and the like that we might as well replenish easily by killing more monsters that give us those materials, right? In that case, I see no problems with it, even if you fail. Whetever ends up happening, I am sure that it will be fine.¡¹


    ¡¸I -Is that so? I, I understand. ¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, that is the spirit. So, what exactly are you going to need in order to fuse a Dagger?¡¹

 Volume 5 - CH 2.17

    ¡¸In order to make a Dagger, I am going to need two Kobold Knives that drop from Kobolds when they are killed, one branch and one piece of hide.¡¹


    That many items just so that she could fuse a simple Dagger out of them? Seems a little bit too complicated if you ask me. I wonder if we are going to be all right? No, I cannot think like that right from the get-go. I need to be positive and adopt the mindset that everything is definitely going to be all right. Yeah, it will be fine. Everything is going to be okay, just like it was with all the other fusions that Sherry performed up until this point. That being said, there is just one thing that keeps on bugging me, and that thing is¡­..


    ¡¸Compared to Misanga that required only two pieces of string to make, this seems like a sudden difficulty spike, do you not think so?¡¹


    ¡¸It might look like that to those who are not Master Smiths, but I assure you that Item Fusions using multiple materials are not as difficult as they might seem. In fact, Dagger is the easiest item that requires multiple materials in order to be fused, and the better and more powerful the weapon, armor or an accessory that you want to make, the more materials they are going to require. I heard that in order to create the items of the highest possible quality, you are going to need over a dozen materials, and not all of them are the things that can be easily obtained.¡¹


    Well, that is certainly good to hear. So what Sherry is trying to say is essentially: be glad that a Dagger needs only three different materials that can all be obtained from the monsters that can be found in the lower levels of the Labyrinths.


    ¡¸I see. Two Kobold Knives, a branch and a piece of hide, right?¡¹


    I repeated the list of required materials out loid in order to be sure that I am not going to forget it in an instant.


    To me, Kobold Knife always seemed to be used a finished, perfectly functional weapon that could be used on its own, but it can actually be used as a base material for the fusion of Daggers, huh? In that case, maybe fusion in this world actually works kinda like evolving the base weapon one step further? And if so, then would I be able to tell which weapons can be evolved in such a way? No, ordinary people would probably be unable to do something like that, since this is something related to the process of ¡¸Item Fusion¡¹, which is reserved strictly for Master Smiths. Also, Kobold Knives are made of metal that is being used in the production of copper coins in this world when they get melted down, so that is probably why the branches are also needed in the fusion process: to simulate the act of setting the fire that is going to melt the Kobold Knives into metal with branches. If you asked me, that is a kind of roundabout way of going about it, but hey, I am not a Master Smith, so I do not understand all of the nuances that come along with fusing items.


    Anyway, that is probably why branches are needed, but what about that one piece of hide that is also necessary?


    ¡¸I think I understand why we need Kobold Knives and branches, but what is hide going to be used for?¡¹


    ¡¸Hide is going to be a material that is going to be used in order to make a sheathe for the finished Dagger.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, really? Well, talk about being convenient!¡¹


    When an equipment is made, its sheath is made together with it, which is actually a pretty good detail that the developers of this game paid attention to, because it would definitely be bothersome if you were forced to first make the weapon that you wanted only to then have to make its sheathe separately, so the decision to include the materials for a scabbard in the list of materials needed to make the weapon itself is like killing two birds with one stone.


    It was a decision that might have been easily overlooked due to how minor of an influence it has on the game as a whole, but I am definitely glad that someone actually went through all the trouble of implementing into the ¡¸Item Fusion¡¹ system after all.


    For the afternoon bit of our exploration, we went to the third floor of Vale¡¯s Labyrinth in order to fight against some Kobolds so that we could get our hands on some Kobold Knives, which are going to be needed for fusing Daggers out of them.


    However, while we were easily stomping and cutting and burning through the Kobolds that were now so far beneath our level of ability that we could probably fight against them with our eyes closed, we have encountered a very particular problem: so far, none of the monsters that we have defeated dropped a single Kobold Knife, which was annoying the first few times, but after a while of situation not improving at all, it was beginning to get straight up frustrating. I mean come on, Kobolds are supposed to be the weakest of the monsters that can be encountered in the Labyrinths that also drop their items left and right when they are killed, so how come that we have not seen even a single Kobold Knife drop out of them?!


    Forget Kobold Knives, none of them even dropped a single piece of Kobold Salt, which is supposed to be the most common of common Drop Items from the Labyrinth-inhabiting monsters. What is wrong with this drop rate RNG bullshit today?! (TL Note: That is essentially how a typical Genshin Impact Player feels while grinding for the artefacts with ideal substats, hahahaha¡­.. hahaha¡­. Ha ha¡­.. Come on game, gimme a headgear with CRT Rate, I beg of you!)


    Right now, I have hunted about ten Kobolds, and eight of them did not drop anything, which was beginning to make me feel severely annoyed, but then the last two of them finally dropped something! A whole two Kobold Knives! Finally! It was about time for me to get some of them, or else I would have been royally pissed off! But since the drop rate of these Kobold Knives has been so pathetic this time around, then maybe I should consider finding myself an alternative source of b=obtaining these items, like¡­ like maybe buying them from the Adventurer¡¯s Guild?


    No, an ordinary Dagger is not such an essential item that I would want to have it on me no matter what. I only want Sherry to make it because this is the next item on the list of the Master Smith¡¯s training regimen, so maybe a better thing to do would be to have Sherry make the Dagger once just to see what the result is going to be, and then move on to another item on the list assuming that there even is some kind of list and this is not just a figurative one that has been passed down orally from generation to generation based on somebody¡¯s fancy.


    I have no idea what level you need to have as a Master Smith in order to create a Dagger, but I am quite sure that Sherry should be more than capable of doing that right now, considering that she increased her Master Smith Level considerably ever since she started fusing all those items every morning and every evening. Also, while we are on the subject of shit-talking Dwarves and the rules for Master Smith¡¯s that they have created,


    I have no idea why senior Master Smiths have set such a strange and seemingly random order of items that the Master Smiths in training have to create, and figuring it out just by guessing seems to be a fool¡¯s errand, so all that I have left are pure speculations. Maybe it has something to do with the amount of MP that the freshly-made Master Smith¡¯s possess, or perhaps it is a training program optimized to allow them to gain as much EXP as Master Smiths as possible?


    If I were to choose, then I would definitely choose the former option because it sound more rational and logical. After all, making a Misanga costs less MP than the creation of a Dagger, which I bet cannot be created with the amount of MP that Master Smiths possess at Lv.1, and it definitely costs less than the creation of a sword with a Skill fused into it, which we have witnessed firsthand when Sherry created a Copper Sword of Obstruction for me. Of course, there is a possibility that gaining EXP points amassing fusion experience also have some part to play here.

 Volume 5 - CH 2.18

    Because for all that I know there might be a rule that states that you will not be able to create the next item on the list unless you create many Daggers first. Maybe that is why some of the Dwarves who become Master Smiths have to make Misangas for almost two years instead of a year?


    Well, whatever the reason is, we need to follow it and make sure that we are going to do so as best as we can.


    ¡¸Okay, I think we can start now.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes! I promise to do everything in my power to meet master¡¯s expectations!¡¹


    Before dinner, I handed the two Kobold Knives, a branch and a piece of hide to Sherry, telling her that she can start the fusion whenever she would be ready. Without further ado, Sherry activated the ¡¸Item Fusion¡¹ Skill and immediately after her hands started glowing with a bright light, and with each passing second the light grew brighter and brighter, until it became almost blinding, in a way that I almost could not see the surroundings around me or discern if Sherry was standing still or doing something else, but I think that I could barely see that she was picking up the materials from the table where they were placed one after the other.


    I do not know why it is taking so long this time, but one thing was abundantly clear to me: the difficulty of creating a Dagger is definitely way bigger than the difficulty of creating a Misanga. But then the light has finally subsided after the long moment, and what was revealed to my eyes was the following thing:


    Dagger, one-handed weapon


    Skill: None


    The fusion of a Dagger was done, and no materials were left. There was only the newly-created dagger, complete with its leather sheathe.


    ¡¸Ohhhh, well would you look at that, Sherry. Another successful fusion!¡¹


    ¡¸Yes! I did it! I did it, master!¡¹


    Sherry seemed to be overjoyed at the fact that she was able to successfully create a Dagger, and it did not look like there was anything wrong with her either. But since we can never be too careful with that, I might as well ask her about it to confirm her condition.


    ¡¸Are you feeling okay, Sherry? You did not run out of MP just now, did you?¡¹


    ¡¸No, master, I feel completely fine. Actually, I feel like I could easily create one more Dagger if I wanted to.¡¹


    ¡¸It is okay Sherry, there is no need for you to overdo it, especially since the fusion of that Dagger must have been more taxing than the creation of a Misanga if even someone like me who knows next to nothing about fusing items could have noticed that it was taking longer than usual.¡¹


    ¡¸That is right. It definitely took more time than to create a Misanga, however even though I was told that making a Dagger requires a lot more effort than making something as simple as a Misanga and that the first time when I will manage to create one is going to feel especially tiring for me, I do not feel tired at all. In fact, it is exactly like I said just now: I think I could definitely make more Daggers, and it still would not be enough to make me feel spent and have difficulties standing from the supposed exhaustion, which I am not feeling at all right now. This makes me think that maybe everything that I knew up until now was a complete lie.¡¹


    ¡¸A lie? How so?¡¹


    That line that left Sherry¡¯s mouth just now was an incredibly curious one, so I inquired about it further.


    ¡¸I was always being told that the creation of a Dagger is going to be more tiring to me then the creation of a Misanga, and that in order to even think about creating a Dagger in the first place I would have to create Misangas in the mornings and in the evenings for a very long time, but now I can see that this is completely not true, because I do not feel tired at all, and I did not have to spent an excruciatingly long amount of time creating Misangas in order become ready to create a Dagger. Nr right now, all of this is leading me to believe that the ones who were teaching me about the ways to become a Master Smith and what I would be doing once I finally become one have lied to me, and I cannot comprehend why would they ever do that to me when I never said or did anything at all for them to give them a reason for giving me false information, so why did they do something like that to me when I clearly did not deserve it?¡¹


    Sherry¡¯s distrust towards the people who taught her about the way of the Master Smith seems to be increasing at an alarming rate. I only hope that this distrust of hers is not going to be turned into something genuinely dangerous, because at this point in time she looks like she would be ready to throw any and all caution to the wind  if it meant the ability to have an opportunity to meet those who were teaching her about Master Smithing and give them a piece of her brutally honest mind. But I am the only person who knows that all of these accusations of hers are completely baseless and untrue.


    The ease of her ability to create the Dagger even though she was convinced that without training she will not be able to do it comes from a combined number of external factors, like her MP being much higher than that of other Master Smiths of the same age as her because her Level as a Master Smith has already exceeded theirs due to all the farming in the Labyrinths that we did and my EXP accelerating Bonus Skills, as well as the shared effects of my Hero Job, so it is no surprise that she id feeling different from all the other Master Smiths that she knew thus far in her life.


    ¡¸I think it may vary from person to person, so in my opinion those scholars of yours who were telling you all these facts about Master Smiths were not wrong per se, because they were simply stating the general facts, not the ones suited for each individual, but that is just my personal opinion on the matter. If it is easier for you to digest in such a way, then just think about it as a testament to how extraordinarily amazing Master Smith you really are, Sherry.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you very much, master. It might be just as you say. But whatever the case may be, it does not change the fact that I succeeded in creating a Dagger, which are said to be difficult to make, which in turn makes mass production of them quite problematic, but exactly because of that the prices when you want to sell them should be quite high. And judging from what I heard when the other Master Smiths were making Daggers, the process of their creation is really supposed to be quite tiring, so if a number of Master Smiths were saying exactly the same thing, than I think it has to be true, but then it makes it all the stranger that I do not feel tired at all. That is quite a mystery indeed.¡¹


    ¡¸The selling price of Daggers is quite high you say? Then  if at all possible, could you try making more of them from now on so that we could try to sell them for a profit?¡¹


    I change the subject into something much safer in order to distract Sherry from thinking about it too much. She is an intellectual type of person after all, so I do not want her to overthink certain things that might compromise me and my abilities if she ever decided to keep investigating the issues that are on her mind right now. The less time she has to dwell on these matters, the better.


    ¡¸Yes. I will do my best in trying to make them if that is what master wishes of me.¡¹


    ¡¸Great, I will be counting on you with this matter then. So, what comes next on the Master Smith¡¯s to-do list after a Dagger?¡¹


    ¡¸Next in order should be the equipment made out of hide, or to be more precise, leather.¡¹


    ¡¸The equipment made out of leather? So, armor and accessories then and other things like that?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. Leather Mittens, Leather Helmets, Leather Boots and any equipment that requires at least one piece of animal hide in order to make it.¡¹

 Volume 5 - CH 2.19

    I see. So does that mean that the difficulty level is not going to increase if these items require only one piece of leather in order to make them?


    ¡¸Well, we should have plenty of leather and animal hides on us, so would you like to give creating one of those a try?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, definitely! Since neither of the leather items requires a branch in order to make them, then it should be fine for me to fuse them, because even if the fusion ends up failing, it will not be any kind of loss at all!¡¹


    Sherry answered me with a really energetic voice, most likely because she was fired up to have a stab at something that would have no cost of eventual failure at all.


    The next morning, I decided to go to Vale¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild while Roxanne was doing the laundry, and Sherry was preparing breakfast. My target? To make preparations for our eventual journey to Palmasque.


    Quratar, the city in which we are renting our current home, is the farthest city located away from Palmasque, since it is to the west of the Imperial City, and Imperial City is located to the west of Vale, so it is going to be perfectly rational for us to start our journey from Vale, the farthest city to the east that I have currently been to. And since Vale is more to the east than Quratar and Imperial City, it was well into the morning hours here.


    Before I left, I had Sherry write me a list with the names of all the towns and cities that are a part of the route from Imperial City to Palmasque, and now, with that list firmly I my hand, I was comparing it with the myriad of papers that have been posted on the wall of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.


    There are many Adventurers who are stationed here for the sole purpose of making money from teleporting people to other locations, and just like that one time when I was taken to the Imperial City for the first time, the charge for such a service is two silver coins per person. That is why I have decided to come here alone without Roxanne and Sherry, even though unlike me, they are the ones who can read the letters of this world¡¯s written language much more fluently. If I make this trip alone, it is only going to cost me two silver coins, and if I took the two of them along with me, the price would be bumped to six silver coins, so if there is a chance for me to save those coins, no matter how miniscule the amount would be, then you can bet your ass that I am going to take that chance!


    Aside from going to a desired location myself, the alternative is to post a commission with the name of the place to which you want to be teleported to, but the price for such a specific request would be much higher than the one you would have to pay while talking to the teleporting people in the Guild directly, not to mention that if I ended up posting a commission that I want to go to Palmasque, which is located pretty far from Vale, I might have ended up attracting all sorts of unnecessary attention to myself, ad I think we all know how much I would hate that to happen, right?


    I have no reason to be hasty with this, so I might as well take a slower, but much safer way of going about it.


    When I was searching through the ads on the Guild wall, I found an ad that had the same letters as one of the cities that Sherry put on my list. Let me see now¡­ I think it is the ad mentioning Dohona, if I read this correctly. Yeah, I definitely remember it from yesterday¡¯s conversation with Sherry, so this might be a good place to start.


    ¡¸Is the person who is  taking people to Dohona here?¡¹


    I asked a woman who was standing at the counter of Vale¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild, and she pointed me to the person that I was looking for, a femal Adventurer standing near one of the Guild¡¯s walls, and showed her the paper with the ad from which I read the name of Dohona. She gave me a short nod, and after I paid the price of two silver coins to her, she activated her ¡¸Field Walker¡¹on the wall behind her and took me through it to Dohona¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild.


    Now, this is my first time being in Dohona¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild so I was initially pretty confused as to where I should go, but upon locating the large wooden board that looked almost exactly the same as the one in Vale¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild, I determined that the best course of action would be to walk up to it and look for another poster with letters similar to the ones on Sherry¡¯s list of cities. Of course, there was always a possibility that this is not really Dohona¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild but some other, strange place, but I quickly threw that thought out of my head, because I thought to myself that there is absolutely no way that people who would try to kidnap others by teleporting them to some strange places would be sitting in the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, right?


    In any case, according to Sherry¡¯s list, the next name that I should be looking for is for the city of Doburo, but no matter how hard I looked for it I just could not find it anywhere.


    And there is no other poste that matches with the cities mentioned on Sherry¡¯s memo either!


    ¡¸Excuse me. I want to go to Doburo, but there seems to be ad for such a travel being possible from here.¡¹


    I asked the middle aged man who was standing behind the counter for information.


    ¡¸I am afraid you will not be able to go to Doburo  from here because it is too far from here.¡¹


    ¡¸Too far away?¡¹


    ¡¸To be more precise, It is too far  away for the cost of two silver coins. I have been to Doburo before, so I can take if you want, but I would have to charge you eight silver coins for such a trip.¡¹


    So apparently, the posters on the wall mention only those towns and cities that are not too far away from the city in which the Adventurer¡¯s Guild is located. Also, I wonder if that price can be negotiated, because eight silver coins for one teleportation is like four times the price of a regular teleportation!


    ¡¸Eight silver coins, huh? And where could you take me for the price of two silver coins?¡¹


    ¡¸Not to Doburo, that is for sure. For that price, the closest city I could take you to is Shuboir. But even if you go there, I cannot guarantee that you will be able to go to Doburo from there.¡¹


    That seems reasonable¡­. Is what I would say if I did not know that I was being taken advantage of!  Is this way of business, which borders heavily on extortion, considered normal in this world?


    ¡¸Then can you take me to Doburo from Shuboir for four silver coins?¡¹


    I guess it is time to haggle then.


    ¡¸Let me see¡­ how about six silver coins?¡¹


    You cannot go directly to a place that is too far off, because the MP consumption is your main constraint here. I do not know what happens if you run out of MP in the middle of teleportation, but once you run out of, then your only choice is to wait for it to recover or use MP Recovery Pill. Is that why this guy wants to charge me extra for such a trip?


    ¡¸I will take you there for five silver coins then. I cannot go any lower than that.¡¹


    As time went on, the guy was steadily reducing the price.


    There is a possibility that I will not be able to go Doburo from Shuboir. Do I have no other choice but to spend those five silver coins then? Maybe, but that being said, does this guy even know if it is possible to go from Shuboir to Doburo or not? If he knows that and agreed to reduce the price, then I guess that means that such a trip is definitely possible, because if it was outright impossible, then I am sure that he would have outright told me so.


    He also might not know if that is possible or not but cut the price to six silver coins in order to lure not only me, but also other customers into a clever trap where he would still have to get paid that six silver coins, because you have to pay upfront for the teleportation services.

 Volume 5 - CH 2.20

    and that is why him agreeing to lower the price to five silver coins might be his attempt at bluffing because it might not be possible to go there after all. No matter if it is Adventurer¡¯s ¡¸Field Walker¡¹ or my ¡¸Warp¡¹, their limitation always stays the same: a limitation that states that you can only use those Skills in order to travel to the places that you have been to before, and there is a possibility that I might have to visit Shuboir in the future or that I will have some kind of business to take care of there, so with that in mind, going there now might not be such a bad idea after all. Even if it will be impossible to go to Doburo from Shuboir directly, at the very least I will gain myself two new points to which I would be able to fast travel with my ¡¸Warp¡¹to: Shuboir and yet another city or town. Thinking about it like that, the price he asks for taking me there can actually be considered to be a cheap one.


    Ahh, screw it!


    ¡¸Alright, two silver coins for a trip to Shuboir!¡¹


    ¡¸Pleasure doing business with you.¡¹


    The old man then laughed bitterly. He was probably doing that to defuse the somewhat tense atmosphere, but it would be another matter entirely if a handsome young man laughed like that. When it is done by a middle-aged old fart like him, it just looks plain weird and creepy.


    I handed the two silver coins over to him and he took me to Shuboir. And while I was there, I went to the notice board right away to see if it had Doburo on the list of proposed teleportation locations, and sure enough, it was there! In that case, the trip from Shuboir to Doburo should definitely be possible! So you can actually go from Dohona to Doburo for four silver coins total! Then again, maybe five silver coins is actually a market price for such a trip because such a long trip takes time? And besides, like I already said, I do not regret coming here to Shuboir, because I might be doing business here in the future, so having a warp point so that I could come here by myself without any middleman in between is definitely a good thing.


    In any case, eight silver coins for such a trip is definitely too much, and that old man definitely wanted to scam me, so it is a good thing that I did not agree to his proposition!


    Next, I went to Doburo from Shuboir¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild, and then returned home to Quratar from Doburo¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild.


    I wasted too much time on these useless negotiations, and as a result I definitely made Roxanne and Sherry wait for me with breakfast. So, what I learned from this trip of mine is that you cannot go from Dohona to Doburo for two silver coins per person, but I also learned that it is possible for me to go from Doburo back to Quratar in one go, which was definitely a useful information tha will allow me to save time on any future trips that I will be making there.


    When I arrived back home from Doburo, I noticed that my MP had decreased for a bit though, which means that just like with ¡¸Field Walker¡¹, ¡¸Warp¡¯s¡¹MP consumption also seems to be dependent on the distance that you have travelled with it. The reason why this distance did not affect me as much as it affects other Adventurers is because I have multiple Jobs on me, including a Mage, so I have a lot more MP than other Adventurers as a result. Unfortunately, I cannot verify whether ¡¸Field Walker¡¹ is more efficient from¡¸ Warp¡¹ in terms of MP consumption, because I do not have ¡¸Field Walker¡¹ because I am not an Adventurer. When you are stationed at an Adventurer¡¯s Guild, you will often get customers in quick succession, which means that you will not be able to afford to have any spare time to recover MP, so you will definitely need to consume Mana Recovery Pill, which is not free, which is why I think that it might actually be a directive given to the Guild workers and Adventurers who offer the teleportation trips to people by the higher ups that they are not supposed to offer trips over distances that are going to be too long because of the natural constraint that is the total MP pool of someone who only has one Job available to them, and that might be the reason why the distance that you can cover with two silver coins is so short.


    The next morning, I decided to continue my experiment with travelling across various distances with my ¡¸Warp¡¹, so I travelled even further than yesterday and then I checked if it will be possible for me to return to Quratar without having to do any forced stops in between. As it turned out, it was definitely possible, but when I opened my Character Status screen to see exactly how much MP I had spent for this trip, I noticed that the amount that got deduced from my total MP pool was even greater than what I have spent yesterday for a trip from Doburo to Quratar, which was pretty concerning, because I do not even know if I was able to cover half of the total distance that I will have to travel.


    Is going directly to Palmasque really not going to be possible? If what I am seeing on my screen is true, and there is no reason for me to doubt what I am seeing right now, which is admittedly concerning, but until I manage to either confirm or deny that, I do not think that I need to get seriously worried just yet.


    When I returned back home, I asked Sherry to create a pair of Leather Boots using a piece of hide that I have given her.


    Combining the Leather Boots with the items that she created during the yesterday¡¯s bit of her training, she has now successfully created Leather Boots, Leather Mittens and Leather Helmet, which was definitely great for me and my entire Party, but unfortunately, this situation did have a downside to it. I feel that with each successful fusion, Sherry¡¯s trust in the words of the Dwarven Scholars who taught her that the process of creating items as a Master Smith is a long and difficult one continued to decrease even further, but honestly, I do not know if this is only my impression or a factual state of being anymore.


    ¡¸All right Sherry, after creating all of the Leather items, what is the next item that Master Smiths in training are supposed to create?¡¹


    ¡¸A Club or a Hammer.¡¹


    ¡¸A Club or a Hammer, huh? Okay.¡¹


    So now her goal is going to be the creation of the weapons from the same category as the one that she is using whenever we are exploring the Labyrinths. Who would have thought that she is going to be so proficient at being a Master Smith that she will grow up to make actual weapons in such a short time? Maybe it was because of her drive and dedication to prove all those who mocked her for not being able to become a Master Smith together with the rest of her peers wrong, but it feels like Sherry has caught up to them now, or quite possibly even went ahead of them.


    All right, so she will be making Clubs or Hammers now. I wonder if Master Smiths need some kind of separate Skill in order to create weapons? And while we are at it, I also wonder what are the materials required in order to make the fusion are going to be, because I cannot even imagine creating a massive Club out of a tiny, weak-ass Needlewood Branch.


    ¡¸What are we going to need in order for you to make a Club?¡¹


    ¡¸In order to make a Club, we are going to need a Board, a Drop Item that is left behind by a Rub Shrub.¡¹


    A Board, huh? And¡­¡­ a Rub Shrub? Never heard that name before.


    ¡¸A Board?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, a Board.¡¹


    ¡¸And where exactly can we find the enemy that can drop it? This¡­. Rub Shrub, you called it?¡¹


    ¡¸We can find Rub Shrubs on the higher floors of the Labyrinths.¡¹


    I see. In other words, this is a kind of a trap set for Master Smiths, or rather, a natural risk that comes with being a Master Smith. If a Master Smith is to make better equipment, they need to go to higher floors of the Labyrinths where the stronger monsters dwell, and get their Drop Items. That is quite cleverly thought out, actually.

 Volume 5 - CH 2.21

    A good equipment should use good materials indeed. There is only so much you can do with cheap materials from the lower floors, and good materials are dropped by stronger monsters.


    The items which monsters drop are originally parts of their own bodies. In other words, if you want Orichalcum, which is a type of steel, you have to defeat a monster that had this Orichalcum as part of its body (most likely armor), and such a monster definitely cannot be weak.


    If you do not hunt strong monsters, you will not get strong materials. It is perfectly rational.


    ¡¸Can we not just buy it?¡¹


    ¡¸Umm¡­ generally speaking, you are supposed to make and sell Leather equipment until you are able to hunt Rub Shrubs for their materials.¡¹


    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹


    ¡¸If you buy materials, your profit will decrease, so unless you specifically request me to make it, I will not be doing it. There are many items beside the Club that can be made with just leather, so I can try making those instead. It will also serve as a good alternative to my training.¡¹


    Just like making a Dagger consumes more MP than making a Misanga, equipment which are further up the order list are going to require more MP in order to make them, even if they are made of just plain old leather.


    If you make only the simple items, you will make much less money than if you made more complicated, but more expensive things. Because people who can make advanced items are fewer, they are entitled to making more money because of how they are putting their practical skills to use but there is no need for us to overdo it, since we are not that strapped for money.


    ¡¸I understand. You keep making Leather Mittens, Helmets and boots for the time being.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood. Also, now that we can hunt monsters on the ninth floors, we should try the Labyrinth where Minos appear on the ninth floor.¡¹


    Is there really such a convenient Labyrinth? But it is true that if we do that, thenthat way, we can keep hunting monsters and get used to battling tougher opponents, and Sherry will be able to collect materials at the same time, so it would be like killing two birds with one stone.


    ¡¸Hmm. I do not think we have to go out of our way too much with this one, because Leather is a normal drop from Minos, so there will be no trouble with collecting it anyway.¡¹


    Not to mention that the monster on the ninth floor of Vale¡¯s labyrinth is Slow Rabbit, the skin of which sells for twice as much as Mino¡¯s, so it would be better for us from the financial standpoint.


    Although I am reluctant about fighting Rapid Rabbit again, it does not mean we should just run away from it. That, and it is definitely not good to fight only weak monsters, because that would feel like bullying to me.


    ¡¸Understood.¡¹


    ¡¸Anyway, is there no labyrinth where the monster that drop Boards appear on the ninth floor?¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm¡­ the least floor where Rub Shrubs appear is the twelfth floor. Although the order is different for each Labyrinth, monsters that appear from the first floor to eleventh floor are the same for every Labyrinth. It is the same for floors twelve to twenty two and so on.¡¹


    So it is like that.  It is my first time hearing this. Kobolds, Slow Rabbits, Minos¡­ they seem to be the monsters that appear from the first to eleventh floor in every labyrinth. This has indeed been the case for Quratar¡¯s and Vale¡¯s Labyrinths. And Rub Shrub seems to appear from twelfth floor to twenty second floor.


    ¡¸Then would you like me to find a Labyrinth where Rub Shrub appears on the twelfth floor? At this point, this is pretty much all that we can do.¡¹


    For the time being, Sherry is only going to be able to make Leather equipment, but I cannot have her make in large quantities, because if we tried to sell it then we would end up breaking the market and its prices, so she should just stick to making it at her own leisure.


    We finished afternoon round of exploration rather quickly.


    It is the eleventh day of Sherry living with us in our house, and today should also be the day when her maid clothing should have been finished.


    ¡¸We finished quite early today. Are we going to take a bath?¡¹


    When we returned home, Roxanne asked me with her eyes filled with expectations.


    She is really hoping for it, huh? But it is perfectly understandable, since she seems to have


    taken a liking to baths.


    Unfortunately for her, however, it is not time for bath now.


    ¡¸No, it is not the time for bath. It is time to go to the Slave Merchant¡¯s place.¡¹


    ¡¸Slave Merchant? Do you intend to increase the numbers of our Party again?¡¹


    The light of expectation quickly faded from Roxanne¡¯s eyes, and she looked at me pretty coldly, but that last bit might be just my own imagination.


    ¡¸Not this time, unfortunately. I do not have enough money to afford another slave, but I do intend to get more Party members in the future. It is a natural course of action to increase our battle strength, just like it was with the two of you.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. Of course.


    ¡¸Understood.¡¹


    It is better to inform them about it ahead of time, but I should still only tell them that which is absolutely necessary. The purpose of increasing party members is to increase battle strength, of course. There is no ulterior motives behind it. At all.


    Well, maybe just a little bit.


    ¡¸My objective is to increase  our battle strength, but I will not buy someone who will not be getting along with Roxanne and Sherry, you can be sure of that.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes.¡¹


    Having a male slave is out of question because of the risk he would pose to these two. Not to mention that I could not have sex with him. Ideally, I would like someone young again to improve our strength even more, but also someone who would motivate me to give it my all the entire time. Morale is an important factor in determining battle strength, after all. The most important one, even.


    A young, beautiful woman would have been nice. But my motivation for getting such a slave is slightly different from what I have been saying to Roxanne and Sherry all this time.


    The purpose of adding new party member is to increase battle strength. It is a natural course of action to increase battle strength. We should follow it to enhance our battle strength. It cannot be helped as long as it helps us increase our battle strength. Yes. It is the rational thing to do.


    ¡¸The reason for my visit this time is different. I have to go pick Sherry¡¯s clothes, as well as her will. Are you sure you do not want yours to be changed still Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I am sure.¡¹


    Roxanne nods with confidence. Roxanne is supposed to die if I die. There seems to be a system in this world where slaves are killed when their masters die so that they do not try to do anything harmful to their masters. It can be changed by a will, but I when I talked about that subject with Roxanne, she got really angry at me and said that she does not want that. Well, if Roxanne says it is fine, then it is probably fine.


    ¡¸Sherry, do you want your will to be changed? The way it is now, it states that in the event of my death, you are going to be released from your duty as my slave.¡¹


    ¡¸Eh? I can decide what to do with my will, even though I have come under your care only recently? And whatever I end up choosing, you are going to be fine with it?¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, exactly. Whatever you end up choosing, I promise you that I will have no qualms about it and that I will not try to question your decision.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you very much, master.¡¹


    There is always a possibility that I might suddenly die outside of a Labyrinth or battle, from an illness, for example, and if such a thing happens, I see no reason or merits in needlessly dragging the two of them into death together with me just because they have become my slaves. If nothing else, I want the two of them to decide their own fate with their own hands, and that includes allowing them to choose the moment of their deaths.

 Volume 5 - CH 2.22

    To have Sherry released from her contract as my slave after my death is a perfectly rational thing to do¡­.. no, even more than that. It is the morally correct thing to do. And besides, the system of a slave¡¯s will is nothing but a preventive measure for the masters who are afraid of their slaves trying to kill them the moment they let their guards down around them, but the only people who need to be afraid of that are those who abuse and mistreat their slaves and refuse to abide by the contract that they made with the Slave Merchant that they bought the slaves from that states that as a master of a slave, you are required to give them food, clothing, shelter and appropriate living conditions.


    It is also a precaution against the slaves committing murder on their master while in the Labyrinths so that they could get away with the items that they obtained instead of giving them back to their master, but in Sherry¡¯s case, I do not have to worry about any of those things happening, because I have made sure to treat her right ever since day one and she was also on her best behavior and did not do a single thing that might have caused me to think that she might be plotting something against me, so I have my full trust placed in her.


    ¡¸That being said, master¡­ are you really, truly certain that you can place your trust in me in regards to the matter of a will? Are you not the least bit afraid that I might use its arrangement against you?¡¹


    ¡¸Use it against me? And what exactly would you try to do? I know that we do not know each other for that long, but I like to think that I possess a good general understanding of what kind of person Sherry is, and according to my understanding you are not someone who would try to stab me to death while I was sound asleep in my bed just so that you could free yourself from the servitude faster. And do correct me if I am wrong about this, but such a thing would not have been the most smart thing for a slave to do, right?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, you are absolutely correct with that assumption, master. Whenever a person that owned slaves is found dead in his or her house, the slaves that they have owned are the first people to be suspected of killing their master, and they are also the first to be interrogated on that assumption. Therefore, masters who have agreed to alter the will of the slave in such a way that the slave is to be set free in the event of their master¡¯s death, the place better suited for any murder attempts are the Labyrinths, because without any eyewitnesses to testify against the slave, it is entirely possible that they might kill their master themselves and then tell that he or she was killed by monsters that ambushed them in case if anyone ever conducted any investigation, and they would have to take their word for it due to a lack of any kind of evidence that would point otherwise.¡¹


    ¡¸Wow, talk about scary. Should I be paying an extra amount of attention to my surroundings when we will be going to the Labyrinths from now on?¡¹


    I said with a laugh, because I knew that the possibility of Sherry trying to kill me in the Labyrinth was lower than zero. And besides, if she ever wanted to kill me there, the only occasion she would have for it would be right when we are warping to inside of them and emerge in their safe rooms, because all the other times she is together with Roxanne in the vanguard, while I am staying behind in the safety of the rear guard from which I support them both with my spell, so if there would be anyone out of the three of us who would need to have their eyes all around their head, it would have to be Roxanne and Sherry.


    ¡¸No master, there is no need for you to be worried about that, because I would never do something like that. How could I, when you are the master under whose guidance I was finally able to become a Master Smith when I myself have lost all hope of that ever coming to happen? I have a debt of gratitude that I will never be able to pay in full with you, and if I ever chosen to pay you back by stabbing you in the back and killing you, then that would make me the worst kind of scum possible, even worse than Bandits and lawless criminals.¡¹


    Sherry said that with a tinge of coldness in her voice, which indicated to me that she was taking this matter extremely seriously. That being said though, if you were to really think about it in a logical and rational manner, then it is pretty obvious that the Labyrinths are the best kind of place for committing not only mastercide, but also every last crime that involves murder with it, because in the Labyrinths, the potential perpetrator is never going to have to worry themselves about the things such as disposing of the evidence or hiding the body, because the Labyrinths are going to do all of that for them. After all, it has already been stated a number of times, but Labyrinths are living creatures.


    They feed on the bodies of dead Adventurers, using them to keep on growing  and turning their equipment into treasure chests, so if a slave stated that his master was killed by a monster in there, then I am willing to bet there would not even be an investigation conducted  t check if it was true or not.


    Yeah, Labyrinths are definitely the best place for murder. However, while there, I Have Roxanne with me, and she is unfalteringly loyal to me, so if Sherry were to ever try something, she would not be able to act recklessly.


    ¡¸I trust you, Sherry.¡¹


    ¡¸And I will work hard to repay master¡¯s trust. If I may ask, what is in Miss Roxanne¡¯s will? Will she also be released in case of your death?¡¹


    ¡¸No.¡¹


    ¡¸In case of master¡¯s death, I will not be released.¡¹


    Roxanne declares that herself, and it is better for her to talk about it than if I were to do it. If I were the one to say it, it would seem like I am just forcing her to say it.


    ¡¸You will not be released? Why?¡¹


    ¡¸To protect master is my only purpose. I will protect him no matter what happens, even if I have to give my own life for him. That is why there is no need for me to be released. If master dies, I would mean that I have failed in my duty, so it is only natural to follow him in death. I would not want to live in a world without master in it.¡¹


    I¡¯m in awe after listening to her reason ,but also grateful to her for telling us.


    ¡¸Uhm¡­¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s what Roxanne feels, but you do not have to imitate her if you do not want to, Sherry. I may also die to illness at some point, I am perfectly aware of that. And if that happens, there is no point in you dying along with me because of that.¡¹


    The atmosphere became somewhat uncomfortable, and I feel like a kamikaze soldier who is about to crash his plane into the enemy¡¯s ship in order to sink it. It was awkward to tell her about her release just like that, so I had no choice but to explain it that way. Sherry does not have to follow me in death, but ultimately this choice will be hers to make.


    ¡¸Do you not have anyone to inherit your slaves?¡¹


    ¡¸No, I do not.¡¹


    ¡¸Is that so? Then I would like you to have me released.¡¹


    Oohh, amazing. She spoke her mind openly. As expected of Sherry. She is always so rational.


    Soon after that I went to the Slave Merchant¡¯s shop in Vale to pick up Sherry¡¯s maid uniform. I was also introduced to a new slave while I was there. She is an eighteen years old young woman from the Wolfkin race. She is quite cute, but her hair is a little rough, and her skin complexion looked a little unhealthy, but there probably would not be any problems with her after she was polished for a little bit.


    If this were a school, I would compare her to a student that stands out the most in the entire class. If I was still in Japan, she would be at a level where I would definitely take notice of her.


    However, right now things have changed.Now that I have Roxanne and Sherry, I am not as interested in other slaves as I was used to be. You could say that I graduated and calmed down, or maybe that I have gotten used to a higher level of life in relative luxury?


    Roxanne and Sherry are waiting for me when I return home, so I do not need to be greedy or impatient. A full Party consists of six people, so I should choose every member carefully. I can have more than five members in my harem, but that number cannot be increasing infinitely, because I have to keep up the guise of adding more members only to increase out battle strength.


    ¡¸What do you think? She cannot speak Brahim yet, but I will be more than happy to sell her to you after she gets educated enough here.¡¹


    ¡¸I will pass this time, though she is not half bad, I will give you that.¡¹


    ¡¸Of course.¡¹


    Finishing the discussion, I turned down Alan¡¯s offer. I don¡¯t have enough money to buy another slave now anyway, so there is no helping it, so Ichanged the topic quickly.


    ¡¸Can I have a change in Sherry¡¯s will be made?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course. What kind of will?¡¹


    ¡¸For her to be released if I die.¡¹


    ¡¸The change in the will costs 300 Nars, is that okay with you?¡¹


    I will make that adjustment for her. Since I only asked for one thing this time, the thirty percent discount did not work, so I coughed up three silver coins.


    ¡¸Yeah, please do it.¡¹


    ¡¸Then, your left hand please.¡¹


    ¡¸Sure.¡¹


    It seems that the Intelligence Card is used to leave a will and make changes to it. The Slave Merchant pulled out my Intelligence Card and did something to it. Checking it after he was finished, the following changes have been made:


    Kaga Michio


    Age: 17 years old     Sex: Male, Freeman


    Job: Explorer


    Owned Slaves: Roxanne,  Sherry (release upon death).


    The will seems to be displayed on the Intelligence Card itself, most likely to make it difficult to scam your slaves by saying that you would release them upon your death only for that to turn out to be a lie. Well, it should be fine just as long as I do not show my Intelligence Card to anyone.


    ¡¸I will give you this as well.¡¹


    After he finished with my Intelligence Card, the Alan gave me something else. A papyrus. A folded one with a wax seal at the center of it.


    ¡¸What is this?¡¹


    ¡¸A letter of introduction to the Slave Merchant in the Imperial City. They currently do not have any Master Smith slaves, but paying them a visit at least once might not be a bad idea.¡¹


    I do not need a Master Smith slave anymore, and there are no other slaves that I would want right now, so I will go there only after I amass enough money.


    I then returned home with the case filled with maid clothes and then passed it on to Sherry while saying:


    ¡¸These are the clothes for you, Sherry. Put them away in the closet for the time being.¡¹


    ¡¸May I at least try them on before?¡¹


    ¡¸If you want, then go right ahead.¡¹


    I nodded, and Sherry glanced at me before going to the corner of the room and began to undress herself. What, you are going to be changing right here? Well, I guess our relationship is at such a point where it is no longer needed for her to be embarrassed about such things. After all, I already saw her naked quite a few times, so it is nothing new to me. Well, to be blunt, I have not gotten a chance to watch that many people change, so being able to look at it is nice in its own right, and Sherry¡¯s bashfulness about it is a nice addition too¡­.. damn, I think I might get addicted to this!


    ¡¸Uhm, can I wear my uniform as well?¡¹


    While I was enjoying the sight, Roxanne asked me that as well. When I approved it, she promptly left the room.


    ¡¸Master, while you were out, we received a message from Mr. Luke. He said he made a successful bid on a Green Caterpillar Skill Crystal.¡¹


    Sherry spoke to me while she changed her clothes.


    ¡¸Ah, the Green Caterpillar Skill Crystal, you say?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, with that, I will be able to make a Sacrificial Misanga.¡¹


    So the time has finally come? Well, I did say that I will be fine even if the price will be a little high, so it is natural that he has obtained it so soon.


    ¡¸That is all we need for a Sacrificial Misanga?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, since a Green Caterpillar Skill Crystal cannot be fused with a weapon, or with a Kobold Skill Crystal.¡¹


    ¡¸So it can only be used to make Sacrificial Misangas, huh?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. The winning bid was fourty three hundred Nars. The previous time it went for thirty nine hundred Nars, so the difference is not that big.¡¹


    Sherry explains as she puts on the maid clothes.


    She opens the buttons from the bottom. The buttons on the maid outfit go up the back.


    ¡¸That is good. I would have to complain if the price was too high.¡¹


    I moved around behind Sherry to help out with doing them.


    ¡¸Thank you for the help, master.Anyway, that is pretty sly of him, raising the price like that to the limit, but not enough to cause you to complain.¡¹


    Well, unless Luke did that, it would not be profitable for him to sell that Skill Crystal to me. But even so, Sherry¡¯s opinion on him and all the middleman is still unchanged, huh?


    Roxanne comes back with her maid uniform and placed it on the table before she started undressing herself here as well. Why is she doing that here too?


    Since there are no bras in this world, Roxanne¡¯s boobs got completely exposed the moment she started undressing.


    *Jiggle!*


    They jiggle and bounce like a wave, probably because of the momentum. They are soft and elastic, like a pair of white fruits. S-Such a powerful move! But unfortunately, now they are covered again by her maid uniform.


    ¡¸¡­Miss Roxanne is big after all.¡¹


    ¡¸R-Roxanne, do you need help with the buttons as well?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, and thank you, Master.¡¹


    Roxanne turned her back to me. Maybe I should comment on Sherry as well?


    ¡¸Sherry, you look good in it as well. Your small stature is really cute.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you, master.¡¹


    Sherry is as beautiful like a doll in maid outfit, while


    The charm of Roxanne¡¯s maid clothes is of a more sensual womanly variety, but I love them both!


    The maid uniforms are truly the best, because they never fail to emphasize the feminine charms of whoever is wearing them!


    ¡¸Master.¡¹


    After I did all of the buttons, Roxanne turned around.


    ¡¸Yes, what is it?¡¹


    ¡¸What do you think about my clothes?¡¹


    ¡¸That you look lovely in them.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you very much. Ah, uhm¡­¡¹


    She then looked away a from me awkwardly.


    ¡¸Can you carry me like this?¡¹


    I do not even need to respond. I lift Roxanne in my arms immediately. Her body is light, and has a soft and warm feeling to it. And as for where I am going to carry her, well, the answer to that should be pretty obvious.


    ¡¸Wait here for a moment, Sherry. I will carry you as well.¡¹


    Our destination is the bedroom.

 Volume 5 - CH 2.4

    Yes, in that sense, it really can be said that the Labyrinth and a bedroom are immensely similar to one another.


    But¡­. But¡­. Fuck, what the hell am I doing?! This is not the time to be having my head muddied by erotic thoughts that are more befitting of high school boys who waste their precious time thinking and fantasizing about sex instead of actually making an effort to go out there and kiss their V-Cards goodbye. Thankfully, that particular problem is no longer my concern, and even if it was, then a Labyrinth is no place for such thoughts.


    However, there is still much time until the evening, the best time of the day where I will be able to have fun with Roxanne and Sherry again, and something is telling me that today is going to be a long and painful day for me to endure, but if I manage to go through it without losing my mind, then the reward waiting for me at the end of it is definitely going to be well worth the wait.


    Oh yeah, maybe all three of us should take a bath together again today? That seems like an especially good idea, even more so since it has already been a few days where we have gone without it, so having a nice, long soak is probably going to feel incredibly good and¡­ and maybe I will even be able to convince Roxanne and Sherry to do it with me in the bath for the first time?


    ¡¸Fuaaaah¡­¡­!¡¹


    When it was finally evening and we returned home from another bit of Labyrinth exploration, I immediately proceeded to go about filling the bathtub with water and then heating it up, and I have to say, the entire day of forcing my body into abstinence was beginning to weight on me so heavily that I was beginning to have difficulties with breathing, but now that I have subjected myself to this long and monotonous bit of work, I could feel the burden on my body easing up a little bit, most likely because now that I had focus on the work, I did not have that much time to be daydreaming about all things sexual.


    I managed to fill up a considerable part of the bathtub with water already, but it still looks like we will have to go to the Labyrinth at least once more so that I could recover the MP that I lost so that I could finish filling the bathtub up, and here is to hoping that this next time is also going to be the last one today, because honestly, for some reason, I was feeling especially fed up with the Labyrinth today, so the less I would have to go to it now, the better. At this point, I just want to be able to conduct the experiment with ¡¸Abstinence Attack¡¹ already so that I would not have to accumulate the lust within me anymore, because it already feels quite painful and more bothersome than anything else for me.


    Actually, it feels like my entire body, and its nether regions in particular are about to burst at the seams and explode. If this keeps up, then I do not know if I will be able to return back some safely and in one piece once we go there. Arghhhh, why does this have to take so long?! And what is this feeling of me being subjected to the worst kind of hellish torture possible. Is this hell? Is this how it actually feels to be in hell experiencing inhumane torture?


    At least while we were in the Labyrinth during the day my abstinence was not showing such painful symptoms, most likely because in the Labyrinth you have to constantly be on the move and you do not have the time to be thinking about all of these unnecessary things, so my sexual abstinence is not being as much of a great deal as it could have been if the circumstances were different.


    If I was not here in this Labyrinth and in this new world of mine and I was not an antisocial loser, then it is entirely possible that I would not have to ever consider things such as sexual abstinence and the like and I could have just enjoyed your typical day-to-day life fantasies of high school boys my age.


    Fantasies like getting excited after seeing a faint outline of a girl¡¯s bra after the first day of switching back from the winter to summer uniforms, seeing the girls in school in their swimsuits during the first pool classes when the weather gets warm enough or having my fantasies run wild after having a cute girl model for the rest of the class during the practical drawing exercises in art class. Yeah, those are the typical materials that your average high school boys are using to fuel their sexual fantasies, and if anything in my life gone differently, I might have been one of them.


    In any case, I thought that I am going to have a much harder time keeping the abstinence up in order to raise the power of Sex Maniac¡¯s ¡¸Abstinence Attack¡¹, but it look like it is not going to that much of a big deal as I thought it was going to be. Maybe the constant tension of being in the Labyrinth made it a little easier on me? After all, since that place is so dangerous, then even with the Sex Maniac Job equipped there is absolutely no way that anyone would be focusing their mind on perverted things instead of making sure that they and their Party would be safe from the surprise attacks by the monsters that can pop up literally from around every corner at any given time. Honestly, even I was surprised how normally I was able to function. I mean sure, strange thoughts were making their way into my had here and there from time to time, but that was pretty much it. If I am to be honest, then I thought that it would be much, much worse. I wonder if it is always going to be like that whenever I am going to go to the Labyrinths with Sex Maniac set as my First Job?


    ¡¸Are you going to go to the Labyrinth now, master?¡¹


    When I walked out of the bathroom and proceeded to go upstairs, Roxanne called out to me from the kitchen. She is so cute. I want to push her down and jam myself inside of her to hear her sweet moaning voice. However, I have to contain these urges of mine and wait with doing it for just a little bit more, so I shook my head in order to clear my thoughts for a little bit.


    ¡¸Yeah, so if you could come with me, that would really be appreciated.¡¹


    ¡¸Go ahead, Miss Roxanne. I will stay and watch the fire for you.¡¹


    And so, after leaving Sherry behind to watch the kitchen for us, we went and warped to the eighth floor of the Labyrinth of Vale, and we proceeded through it while Roxanne guided me forward.


    ¡¸They are coming, master.¡¹


    Roxanne said calmly. And moments after that, the first group of enemies appeared within our sights. It was a group of four monsters consisting of three Collagen Corals and one Escape Goat. Oh would you look at that, what a lucky coincidence. It just so happens that my Durandal seems to be especially bloodthirsty today.


    ¡¸Roxanne, you take care of the three Collagen Corals to the right, and I will take care of the Escape Goat to the left.¡¹


    Aiming my Durandal at the Escape Goat, I immediately run up to it and readied up my attack. Usually, one swing from Durandal is enough to trigger Escape Goat Lv.8¡¯s escape mechanism, which means that if I want to finish it off for good, I have to do it with my first strike. Or to put it in other words, now that I have made sure to keep my abstinence for almost an entire day, we shall see if it was for any good. If the Escape Goat will not try to immediately run away after my first attack, it will mean that the offensive power of my normal attack became weakened, and if it starts running, then the offensive power of my normal attack will be either the same as is always is or stronger than normally. Yes, now that I have endured as much as I could up to the last minute, the time has come to conduct the ultimate test of Sex Maniac¡¯s ¡¸Abstinence Attack¡¹! That being said, I would definitely prefer this attack to be a success, because if I will have to abstain from sex throughout the night as well in order to be effective, that I will not make it.

 Volume 5 - CH 2.5

    Stopping myself from doing anything remotely sexual has been hard on me throughout the day, but having a ban on sex during the night would have been too much of a blow to my mental health. So for my own sake, please let this experiment be a success!


    The Escape Goat has gotten close enough for me to strike at it, so I thought about the name of ¡¸Abstinence Attack¡¹ in my mind and then swung down my weapon onto it, and in the moment when that hit connected, I could definitely feel that it was a pretty powerful one. Yes, if it was so powerful, then surely that has to mean that the strength of this attack must have been more powerful than usual, meaning that my period of abstinence for almost an entire day must have paid off, right? Yeah, it must have paid off, because that feeling I got from this one strike was vastly different from that first time when I used it, which could have been likened to a slap with a wet piece of cardboard. It is definitely different now, but the question is: exactly how different it is going to be?


    The strike of Durandal finally connected with the neck of the Escape Goat, and the impact of it send it right into the ground, collapsing it on the spot¡­.. and then it turned into a cloud of green smoke and disappeared.


    A single blow. That strike of mine managed to obliterate that monster in a single blow! This can only mean one thing: that the power of the current ¡¸Abstinence Attack¡¹ must have been at least twice that of a normal attack with Durandal!


    Now that the fourth monster has fallen to the ground, the remaining three Collagen Coral began to fight even more fiercely. They were no longer just standing around, waiting to be hit, but they actively tried launching counterattacks against Roxanne¡¯s blows, trying to smack her with their limbs or slam her with their bodies. I was in a pretty great mood when I realized that a whole day of my abstinence was not for nothing after all, but since the turbulent battle was still underway, it meant that there was no time for rest and patting myself on the back just yet, so in order to help Roxanne deal with them, I rushed into the group of monsters and slashed at them with Durandal, and each of my hits not only damaged them, but also replenished a little bit of my lost MP, recovery of which was the main reason for why we came here today. Of course, I was not able to avoid every single one of the monster attacks and ended up being smacked by them quite a few times, but even then, the damage that has been inflicted upon me was nothing that a few good strikes from Durandal could not fix.


    I feel pain, but at this point it is actually the pain of a refreshing kind, as if I could finally remove the little prickly bones that have been stuck in my throat, or as if I was entering the pool on a particularly hot midsummer evening.


    I glanced go the side to see if the same thing was happening to Roxanne¡­. But of course, she was dodging practically every attack that Collagen Corals were throwing at her without having as much as a single scratch on her. It was kind of saddening to see that once again


    I was the only one who was receiving damage, but that is basically how it always is with Roxanne whenever she fights, so I learned that there was no reason for me to keep on sulking about it.


    A few slashes later, all of the Collagen Corals have been swiftly dealt with, collapsing to the ground and becoming the puffs of green smoke.


    ¡¸Thank you for your hard work and helping me with these monsters, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you for your hard work as well, Roxanne. Looks like you have not sustained a single hit in this fight as well, huh?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. Dodging them was not a problem.¡¹


    Even though the attacks of the Collagen Coral here not that damaging, I still sustained quite a lot of them when I rushed in to Roxanne¡¯s help. Exactly how many hits have I sustained in that short battle alone? Honestly, I do not even want to count it. Good thing that Durandal has ¡¸HP Absorption¡¹ Skill on it, because thanks to it my wounds were healed up pretty fast, but if I did not have it or any other method of healing on me then I would have been in quite a pickle. Thanks to that, as long as I could land a successful hit on the enemies without them blocking it, I could have get away from basically any skirmish without losing too much HP, so if there was ever such an emergency, then I probably could make a run through the eighth floor on my own, but the only remaining problem is that even if I can heal most of the wounds that have been inflicted upon me by the enemy attacks, it does not change the fact that receiving these attacks still hurts like a living hell, and I absolutely hate pain and everything that is related to it, so if at all possible, I do not want to get hurt at all.


    ¡¸All right, should we go back home now?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, let us do that.¡¹


    Thankfully, I no longer have to run through the Labyrinths alone. I can have Roxanne or Sherry accompany me whenever I need them, and so I do not have to worry about the possibility of having to trek through the higher floors of the Labyrinths by my lonesome. If there ever comes a time when such a thing is going to be needed of me, then that is when I will start worrying about it, but as long as it is not required of me.


    After agreeing that it is high time to go back now that the reserves of my MP have all been replenished, we went back to the starting room of the eighth floor and we warped back home.


    Now that I learn that about half a day of sexual abstinence is enough for ¡¸Abstinence Attack¡¹ to one-shot monsters that have Lv.8, I guess you could say that my heart and mind were finally able to calm down a bit, since there was no longer any need for me to be nervous about whether this whole experiment of mine was going to work or not. It also might have something to do with the fact that all of the urges that I have been accumulating have disappeared, resulting in me feeling as if my mind has been cleared of the fog that has been obstructing it, bestowing supreme clarity upon me.


    There was no more hesitation and that strange feeling that was making me all jumpy and jittery whenever I was looking at Roxanne as well. I felt as calm and enlightened as if some kind of switch has been pressed in my mind, resetting its settings to the ones from before I equipped Sex Maniac as my First Job. I felt¡­.. at peace, as if I had become the surface of a lake, ass still and undisturbed by even the smallest of ripples running along its surface. It almost feels as if¡­.. as if I have achieved a state of Post Nut Clarity, a state unique to men who do not feel any kind of sexual thoughts whatsoever immediately after they reach sexual climax. The way I am currently feeling, I felt as if I could easily acquire the Job of a Shrine Maiden if only I put my back into it¡­. Oh, but wait, did Sherry not mention that a Shrine Maiden is a Job that can only be acquired by females? Yeah, I think she was saying something along those lines¡­.. so, a priest then? Yes, right now, I feel like I could easily acquire the Job of a Priest. Actually, let me just check if I seriously got this Job real quick¡­.. aaand of course not. I mean, why would I get it in such a scuffed way? If successfully using ¡¸Abstinence Attack¡¹ would be everything that would be required to get your hands on a Priest Job, then I guess all Human males would have the potential to become Priests, right?


    Even after we had dinner and the time came for us to take a bath, I still felt relatively calm and that nothing could disturb my present state of being. Just like all the other times, I have made sure to wash every last corner of Roxanne¡¯s body, but I remained calm and collected throughout the entire process, not a single dirty thought in my mind.

 Volume 5 - CH 2.6

    It felt kind of strange for me not to have any kind of reaction to it, but I did not think much of it, thinking that this must simply be how it is after using ¡¸Abstinence Attack¡¹ and expending all of the accumulated lust in order to power up the Skill, so I just continued to do it until Roxanne was squeaky clean. Even though I had her heavy, elastic fruits in my hands like I always do every other day, I did not do a single perverted thing to them. I then did the same thing to Sherry, washing every last corner of her body thoroughly, leaving no place unattended, but just like with Roxanne, it was just for the purpose of washing her, without any sexual undertones whatsoever.


    And after the cleaning part was finished and we were soaking in the hot water with our bodies rubbing against each other, I was still completely calm and collected. We even did all of the usual things that we do during bath time: we hugged each other, we kissed each other and we caressed each other affectionately, but neither of these actions was sending my mind into a lustful haze, like it was all those times before. Roxanne and Sherry were nestled at either side of me and they were holding onto my arms, allowing me to enjoy the elasticity of and smoothness of their chests and were showering me with kisses, but even despite that, my perfectly calm mind remained unmoved by the stimulation and the earthly desires. I was still calm. Perfectly calm.


    It was the same when we finished bathing and went to bed. I mean, we still ended up doing it, but this time, instead of going until all three of us would pass out from exhaustion, we ended up doing only two times in a row, so in comparison to yesterday when I was testing the limits of the  ¡¸Enhanced Vigor¡¹Skill, it could be said that I was still relatively calm, even more so if you consider the fact that I still had Sex Maniac equipped as my First Job, so  ¡¸Enhanced Vigor¡¹should still be in effect, granting me an increased amount of sexual stamina and the drive to continue shaking my hips inside of Roxanne and Sherry until they would not be able to move anymore for the rest of the evening.


    Can all of that be attributed to the aftereffect of using ¡¸Abstinence Attack¡¹, which apparently works like some kind of libido quencher that calms down my sexual urges even though Sex Maniac is still equipped on me? Anyway, in terms of pure attack power, I would have to conduct more tests to see how it compares to other offensive Skills such as Warrior¡¯s  ¡¸Rush¡¹.


    But for the time being I think it can be concluded that as long as I manage to uphold  sexual abstinence for almost an entire day, than  ¡¸Abstinence Attack¡¹can definitely be used as one of my go-to offensive Skills as long as I would need raw power to fight a Floor Boss or a particularly strong or problematic opponent during the time of the regular Labyrinth exploration. And the longer I will be able to keep my abstinence up, then the more powerful that Skill is going to become, meaning that the damage that it is going to be inflicting is going to be even bigger, which would be great.


    If almost one day of abstinence was enough to one-shot a Lv.8 monster from the eighth floor of the Labyrinth, then I do not even want to imagine how powerful the ¡¸Abstinence Attack¡¹ that has been charged for as much as ten days would have been. And if that Skill was so effective against a normal monster from the eighth floor, then I wonder how effective it is going to be against the Floor Bosses on the eighth floors.


    However¡­. Keeping myself from doing anything even remotely sexual for at least ten days? Yeah, as much as I would have liked to see what the effect of that would have been, I am positive that in my case something like that is not happening, because for me, while keeping the abstinence for almost a day was not all that hard, then doing the same thing for two days in a row, because if there is a thing that I would never want to deny myself, it would be the option to have sex with Roxanne and Sherry every single night.


    Starting from the morning of the next day, I have returned to my usual way of fighting the monsters that does not involve having Sex Maniac as my First Job. Judging by our current pace, I estimated that we should probably be able to break through the eighth floor of the Vale¡¯s Labyrinth, and I was not mistaken about it, because during our morning exploration of it, we already managed to arrive at the Floor Boss¡¯s Boss Room after battling through a few groups of Collagen Corals mixed in with other monsters, and after a short strategic meeting we decided to give the battle with the Floor Boss a shot, because why the heck not?


    We have been able to handle regular enemies on this floor with relative ease, so we all thought that there is no way that the Floor Boss is going to be any more difficult than them just as long as we stay calm and continue to work together, and as it turned out, we were absolutely right, because once we got down to it and challenged it, that guy turned out to be a total pushover whom we managed to absolutely obliterate in a matter of few minutes. All it took to secure our victory over it was a few strikes with Durandal while I reinforced Sherry with ¡¸Plating¡¹ as a precaution just in case if some of the Floor Boss¡¯s attacks were somehow able to reach her. Overall, for a Floor of such a relatively high floor, this was one of our easiest victories up to date.


    We then advanced to Vale Labyrinth¡¯s ninth floor, which seems to be inhabited by Slow Rabbits, according to the intel gathering that Sherry has performed in the Explorer¡¯s Guild. Thankfully, at this point all of us have encountered them our fair share of times, mainly across our many treks through the seventh floor of the Labyrinth of Quratar so we know both their attack patterns and the speed of their movements, which is just as their name implies: slow, so I do not think that we are going to have any problems with dealing with them, even though they are going to be Lv.9 monsters. In ither words, this floor should be pretty relaxing for us, and it should give us another easy victory.


    ¡¸To think that there was actually a time where I thought that Slow Rabbits were scary, tough opponents. Heh, feels like so long ago now.¡¹


    The first Slow Rabbit Lv.9 that we came across fell and turned into a puff of green smoke after I unloaded six ¡¸Fireball¡¹Spells into it.


    Six shots of ¡¸Fireball¡¹in order to bring down one opponent, huh? I knew that something like that would inevitably happen, but it does not mean that I was not slightly disappointed. If that one Slow Rabbit was any indication, then it would seem that if I wanted to fight the enemies on the ninth floors of the Labyrinths with my magic alone, I would have to prepare myself to fire six Spells to defeat a single one of them, and that number would only increase in battles where there would be more than one opponent, so this checks itself out with the general rule of dungeon crawling in this world: as the number of the floor increases, the monsters that we are going to encounter in the are going to get progressively stronger, and I know that at one point the battles that I thought were easy will stop being easy  and start giving us trouble, so we have to take advantage of the easy ones whenever we can now.


    ¡¸I see that the number of times that you have to shoot your Spells to defeat the enemies has increased again, but it is not all that different in comparison to the number of times you had to do it on the lower floors, but I can see that this is not making all that big of a difference to you and that you can still take the enemies out wit it with no problems. As expected of master, even the enemies that are getting progressively stronger are no match for you.¡¹


    When the battle was over, Roxanne offered me her words of praise for my accomplishment of defeating the Slow Rabbit with Fire Magic alone.

 Volume 5 - CH 2.7

    Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist  Editor: Weasalopes


    ¡¸Yeah, you are right. The number of shots that I have to fire with my magic to defeat the monsters does increase, but for the time being it is nothing that I could not possibly handle, so there is no need for you or Sherry to worry about a thing. You and Sherry can both focus on doing your own thing while I will continue to shoot magic at our enemies until they are burned to cinders, okay? Since the enemies are going to be even harder to beat the higher we go then fighting against them in the vanguard might be all the more inconvenient for you, but as long as we continue to do exactly what we were doing until now, we are going to be just fine.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, exactly like you said, master. As long as I continue to avoid their attacks, there will be no problems with them for me.¡¹


    It is exactly like I told to the girls. The more shots of my magic it is going to take to bring the monsters down, the longer it is going to take for the battles to get resolved, and the longer the battle, the bigger the probability of us sustaining unnecessary injuries, especially Sherry, who does not have the godly dodging ability like Roxanne does.


    Out of all of us, she is the one that I can allow myself to be the least worried about, because she has already showed that no matter how many enemies there are or how high their levels actually are, as long as she can still dodge all of them, everything is going to be fine. Unfortunately, Sherry and I do not have such abilities, so we have to contend ourselves with defeating the enemies through tried and true conventional means before they will be able to inflict injuries upon us. Well, I guess that if you really want to get in on the specifics, then I also do not have all that much to be worried about since I have Durandal with its ¡¸HP Absorption¡¹ Skill that can heal my wounds and recover my missing HP as fast if not faster than the damage can be inflicted upon me¡­.


    Which leaves Sherry as the only problem, because she can neither dodge the enemy¡¯s attacks as good as Roxanne, and she does not have any means to constantly keep herself healed like I do. And that is why¡­.


    ¡¸How are you doing, Sherry? Are the monsters from the ninth floor not too big of a problem for you? Because we can always go back to the lower floors if you need a breather or you find yourself struggling with keeping up, you know?¡¹


    After a few more monster encounters, I asked Sherry that question. Over the course of these last few battles, she was the one who was aggroing the monsters around the most, and as a result she was the one who has sustained the highest amount of hits out of all three of us.


    ¡¸Thank you for worrying, master, but I feel fine. In fact, I do believe that the battles here are not too different from the ones on the eighth floor, except for the enemies being somewhat tougher than the ones from the previous floor.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay, that is good to hear, but how do you feel about the increased number of monsters per encounter and the fact that they do seem to be attacking more frequently than before now?¡¹


    ¡¸As long as I will be able to treat myself with the Medicinal Pills that I have received from master, then there is going to be no problem and everything is going to be okay. Uhm, master? Maybe I should not be asking this, but am I¡­.. am I being a nuisance because of how frequently I get hit by the monsters? Because if so, then do not worry, master! I promise that I am going to do my best to get better at dodging until I am going to get as good at it as Miss Roxanne is!¡¹


    ¡¸No, no, no Sherry, you are not a hassle in any way, you have my word, so it is perfectly okay for you to continue being exactly they way you have been up until now. As long as you do not feel like you are pushing yourself too hard or that the ninth floor is something way beyond your current capabilities, then everything is fine.¡¹


    I hurriedly denied Sherry¡¯s worries and her implications that I think of her as bothersome and problematic. She is simply doing her best with the hand that has been dealt to her, so blaming her for anything at this point would not only be pointless, but also needlessly cruel. And while I know that she will most likely never be able to match Roxanne when it comes to her dodging game (honestly, I do not feel like this is something that any other person in this world could have pulled off), I do know that if given time, she will be able to develop her own unique way of handling enemies and mitigating the amount of damage that she is sustaining from their attacks. She is absolutely not to be blamed here, the monsters from the ninth floor are. I do not think any of us could have actually suspected how tough these bastards were going to be when we got here, but now at least we know what we should be improving and what se should be working on as a team.


    We then decided that this would be enough for the first foray into the Labyrinth of Vale¡¯s ninth floor and decided to call it a day there and go back home. And on the morning of the next day, we made a decision to go check out the ninth floor of the Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth, but in order to do that, we needed to go clear the eighth floor and its Floor Boss first, which was not all that hard considering that since the monsters on the eighth floor were Needlewoods, then it would mean that we would be facing against Udowood as the Floor Boss. We also have a map of the floors of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth at our disposal, so the road from the safe room at the beginning of the eighth floor all the way to the Waiting Room in front of the Boss Room was a short one without all that many encounters along the way thanks to Roxanne¡¯s supreme sense of smell leading us along the shortest path to our destination.


    and since the Floor Boss guy here was basically nothing more than a bigger, thicker Needlewood on steroids, we did not have too many problems with dispatching it and advancing to the ninth floor.


    ¡¸So Sherry, any information on what kind of monsters we can expect to encounter here?¡¹


    I asked Sherry for information as soon as we have emerged in the Safe Room on the ninth floor.


    ¡¸The monsters here on the ninth floor should be NT Ants. They are quite big insectoids whose attacks can inflict poison upon those who will be unfortunate enough to suffer a hit from their mandibles. Water Magic should be their weakness.¡¹


    Sherry gave me and Roxanne a proper explanation of NT Ants, their strengths and weaknesses. Attacks that can inflict poison, huh? Well, I can certainly see these enemies being quite problematic without proper items to counteract the effects of the poison, so maybe we should go and buy enough of the anti-poison items and medicine to have it on us just in case? Also, it looks like this ninth floor is not going to be as straightforward and easy to overcome as I have hoped it would be, which is admittedly kind of a bummer.


    ¡¸Thank you for the information, Sherry. So, Water Magic it is then.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, that is going to be the best way of fighting against NT Ants.¡¹


    ¡¸Right. So I guess this is going to be our first time fighting against monsters that can inflict poison, right?¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm, not necessarily, master. While NT Ants have the effect of poison added to their attacks, we have already encountered other monsters who also could employ that tactic.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh yeah? Which monsters were that, exactly?¡¹


    ¡¸Spi Spiders have a low probability of inflicting poison upon their target with their attacks, and the Floor Boss of the floors where the Green Caterpillars are the main enemy, White Caterpillar can also launch Skills that hurl balls of condensed poison at their prey, and it is a tactic that they usually employ after immobilizing their pray with the Skill that spits forward their sticky threads first.¡¹


    They have a tactic like that, huh? I was then reminded of how I was hit with a thread spit Skill of a regular Green Caterpillar.

 Volume 5 - CH 2.8

    Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist  Editor: Weasalopes


    It is a very good thing that normal Green Caterpillars do not have the poison spit Skill up their repertoire as well, otherwise I would have probably been pretty much boned back then. And also¡­.


    ¡¸I never realized that White Caterpillar would have such complex attack patterns.¡¹


    ¡¸A lot of people do not realize that until it is too late as well, but actually, many monsters have those kinds of combination Skills, and the higher the floor, the stronger and increasingly more complex they can get.¡¹


    Oh, is that so? Then I guess that is all the more reason for us to be especially careful from now on. It would be pretty bad if we were to happen upon the enemies who would be spamming those types of combination Skills that would result in all of us getting caught in them without the ability to do anything to counteract them, and for this particular floor, it would seem that an anti-poison medicine or pills would be the best thing for us to obtain, since there is a pretty high possibility that we are going to be seeing the poison-inflicting enemies on a regular basis here. I thought tht we will not be seeing such a status-inflicting monsters until much later, but apparently we are just out of luck when it comes to that, eh?


    Well, no matter. Now that Sherry informed us which enemies have the probability of inflicting poison, we can come up with the appropriate strategies to work against them. When it comes to Spi Spiders, I can always have Roxanne deal with them, since because of her godly dodging abilities, the probability of her being hit not only by the poison-inflicting attack, but also any attack at all is extremely low, so she can just proceed with them how she always did up until this point, and when it comes to the White Caterpillar¡¯s Skill attacks, they can always be cancelled with my Durandal.


    ¡¸It is amazing that you know so much about monsters thar are using poison, Sherry. I did not notice it at all until this point.¡¹


    Roxanne praised Sherry for her extensive knowledge. It is a good thing that I told Sherry to be gathering intel on the monsters whenever she could find a spare moment. Now the information that she managed to obtain are really going to come in handy.


    ¡¸There is nothing for you to be worrying about, Miss Roxanne. Out of all the monsters on the floors that we have been on so far, NT Ant is the most dangerous monster type that has status inflicting attacks, to the point where they can be said to be the representatives of such monsters on the lower floors of the Labyrinths. The scariest thing about them is that they can inflict poison with their regular attacks, and they also possess Skills that can do the same.¡¹


    Damn, so that means that they are doubly as dangerous as I initially thought they are going to be, huh? Couple that with the fact that the higher the level, the more frequently the monsters are going to be using the Skill that they have on their disposal, and you are going to have a truly deadly mixture for yourself. And now that we have arrived on the ninth floor of the Labyrinths, the enemies are sure to be using their Skills much more frequently than they did back on the eighth floor or the seventh floor, and as much as I do not like it, then I guess there is genuinely nothing that I can do about it other than accepting it and learning to roll with it.


    ¡¸All right, I am pretty sure that I understand what happens when you get poisoned, but  just to give ourselves a refresher, could you tell me what is going to happen to me if I get inflicted with it, Sherry?¡¹


    ¡¸When you get poisoned, the toxins from the venom that has been injected into you are going to gradually be making you weaker and weaker, until you are eventually going to die from it.¡¹


    You are going to die if you allow poison to accumulate in your body for too long? Yup, that sounds like the poison I know and love from all the other RPG games.


    ¡¸Understood. And can this poison ailment be cured with the Anti-Poison Pills and Anti-Poison Medicine?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, these medicines are the primary method of removing poison from your body without using ailment curing magic or visiting a temple so that they could cleanse it off of you.¡¹


    ¡¸And after you clear the poison off of yourself, are there any lasting aftereffects of it?¡¹


    ¡¸Not in the way that you might be thinking, master. However, even after you remove the poison from your system, it does not change the fact that the damage that it has inflicted upon you still remains, so in order to get yourself back to full health, it is going to be necessary for you to use wound-curing medicine or Healing Magic on yourself if you have access to it.¡¹


    All right, so even if the poison itself seems to be a pretty serious and troublesome ailment, then at least the methods of removing it are aplenty and it is not going to be leaving any effects that are going to be permanently unremovable, which is very good to hear, even more so since it can be removed with Healing Magic, which is even better, because with that, there is absolutely no way for me to have any sort of problems with dealing with it.


    ¡¸Okay, now let me double check¡­.¡¹


    I said while summoning my Item Box and rummaging through its contents for a while, until I found what I was looking for.


    ¡¸¡­¡­ right. I have some Anti Poison Pills in the Item Box, so if either one of you ever gets hurt, be sure to come to me for treatment right away.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood!¡¹


    ¡¸As you wish, master!¡¹


    In order to make the eventual process of removing poison quicker, it might even be good for me to get the Anti Poison Pills out of the Item Box and place them in my backpack for a much easier access. Right now Sherry also has her own item Box, so I was thinking whether or not I should give some to her as well, but in the end I decided against it, because if she ever wanted to take the Anti Poison pills out of her Item Box, she would have to recite a full chant for the Item Box first, while I can do it without it, giving me pretty much instantaneous access to my Item Box¡¯s contents¡­.. but maybe I should come up with some kind of contingency plan in case that I will be rendered immobile and will not be able to give Anti Poison Pills to either Sherry, Roxanne or myself in time? Not for the battles with the mobs in the Labyrinth, because at this point we pretty much have all of them covered nicely, but the Floor Bosses might be another thing entirely. So, with that in mind¡­.


    ¡¸Sherry, open up your Item Box. I am going to give you some of the Anti Poison Pills just in case. I hope the need for you to use them will never come, but just in case it does, I want you to use them in an emergency.¡¹


    I had Sherry open up her Item Box and handed her a part of the Anti Poison Pills that I had in my own Item Box. The capacity of Sherry¡¯s Item Box is essentially the same as the one possessed by a Lv.10 Explorer, meaning that it held ten times ten spaces where the items could be placed, so it should be enough if I gave Sherry ten Anti Poison Pills in total.


    We then proceeded to begin the exploration of the ninth floor with Roxanne acting as our guide, and the first enemy that we happened upon was our very first NT Ant. I do not know what it was that I have expected when I heard the name NT Ant, but it turned out to be a large ant. There was nothing distinguishing about it, really. It was just a huge-ass regular ant. And when I say huge-ass, I do not mean, like, for example, an ant the size of a small dog. No, when I say that NT Ant was huge-ass, I meant in in a literal sense of the word. It was HUGE, and absolutely massive, almost strangely so. It was that kind of big where we did not even need Roxanne to be telling us beforehand with her sense of smell that this enemy was around, because both Sherry and I could see it perfectly way from the distance in the corridor.

 Volume 5 - CH 2.9

    I thought that this was only going to be a matter of a messed-up perspective, but much to my displeasure, it turned out that this was not the case, and that this thing really was that friggin¡¯ huge, and the closer we were getting to it, the more uncomfortable it was making me feel. No, not in the sense that it was creepy, because it really was not. But it was definitely scary and unsettling, and I did not want to look at it longer than it was absolutely necessary. Yup, for as long as I was thinking about it as little more than an oversized beetle, looking at it was reasonably manageable. This is not an ant. This is a beetle. A big, black, shiny beetle, not a bug and not anything in between¡­. *sigh* yeah, right as I thought, thinking about it like that is not going to cut it.


    That¡¯s because soon after I started thinking that this was not a bug, but a beetle instead, it was not long until my mind began screaming at me that there¡¯s no way that this thing could ever be a beetle, because there was just way too many differences between the two that my mind could not ignore them, no matter how hard I was trying to force it to¡­¡­


    Uwaaah, this thing is so disturbing from up close, especially those jagged areas on its legs that continue to squirm around even as it stands still, and those giant beady eyes at the sides of its head are not making the situation any better, not by a long shot! Yeah, this is an ant alright! A big, disturbing, disgusting ant¡­¡­!


    Okay Michio, calm down. It might look disturbing, but other than that, it is just an ant. Sure, it might be way bigger than the ants that I am so used to seeing, but other than that it is just a regular ant¡­. that can also poison you if you allow it to get too close, so you know what? Here is what I am going to do: in order not to let that NT Ant to get too close to me, I immediately thought about ¡¸Water Ball¡¹ and used and launched it at the disgusting critter from afar. A ball of water slowly materialized itself over my head and then was sent forward through the Labyrinth¡¯s cave in order to meet the NT Ant¡¯s ugly head head-on. Throughout all that time that it took it to reach the target, NT Ant did absolutely nothing in order to dodge it or even try to move to the side. It just stood there and took that hit, probably because it did not see it coming, or at least that is what I like to believe. Whatever the case with that may be, the fact remains that the attack connected with the NT Ant properly, splashing all over it, doing a nice bit of damage.


    Phew, I sure am glad that this magic attack of mine actually worked. I was afraid that this NT Ant is was going to turn out to be more intelligent than the regular ant and that it would avoid my attack at the last possible moment, but thankfully nothing of the sort happened, so I gladly took that as an encouragement to press the attack, so I launched a second ¡¸Water Ball¡¹at it, which also ended up hitting its mark without any issues.


    All of that makes me think that these NT Ants are just the same as any other monsters, and instead of having some semblance of intelligence and capitalizing on it, they move while being driven by little more than pure instinct. And honestly, what was I expecting? After all, this is nothing but an oversized ant, and something is telling me that NT Ants are not like the warrior ants and are more like worker ants, because if it was like a warrior ant, then it would have moved in to attack me as soon as that first ¡¸Water Ball¡¹hit it, and if it was a warrior ant, then I definitely would have had a harder time with it, because fighting something that would be jumping at you all aggressively while every one of its attacks can poison you is not my ideal scenario of a fight with a monster.


    As we got closer to it, I tried to estimate its total length, and it was something around one meter a worst, I think? That alone made this monster even more disturbing, which was a thing that I never thought would be possible, and yet, here we are, so I reacted in the only way possible: by shooting yet another ¡¸Water Ball¡¹at it.


    It worked flawlessly this time as well. If it is just going to continue standing there and taking it without any attempts at fighting back, then so much the better for me I say, and scoring myself a free and easy kill is never going to be something that you are going to see me complaining about. I then shot yet another ¡¸Water Ball¡¹at the NT Ant, and this time the damage it sustained finally resulted in me defeating it.


    Since Water Magic was this monster¡¯s supposed weakness, then it would stand to reason that by continuously using it against it, I will be able to bring it down faster than it would have taken me if I was not using the Spells that it was weak against. If I use the attribute that a given monster is weak to against them, does that mean that I am dealing double the usual damage to them, or perhaps even more? Anyway, the NT Ant fell over and died, disappearing in a cloud of green smoke. And once it was gone, a truly terrifying drop item has been left behind by it: it was a poisonous needle.


    And yet, even though it was looking all ominous and venomous and all that kind of stuff, Sherry still walked up to it and picked it up as if that was the most obvious thing to do in the world, which made me feel slightly confused. Can she really do that? Is she going to be okay? Is she not going to get poisoned just by holding onto this item? And wait, is she¡­.. is she heading towards me with that thing?!


    ¡¸Here you go, master, the Drop Item that the monster left.¡¹


    ¡¸T-Thanks, but¡­. Are you certain that this thing can be touched without any kind of protective measures? Are you not going to get poisoned just by holding onto it?¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, so you are actually familiar with the Drop Items that are left behind by NT Ants, master? I understand why you would be concerned, but fear not, it is perfectly safe to be keeping the Drop Items from NT Ants in your hand without any protective equipment, because while these Drop Items are indeed poisonous, they are not going to be posing any threat to both people and animals alike unless they are going to be directly ingested into your system by eating them.¡¹


    So according to Sherry, touching the items that came from the poisonous monsters that are also poisonous with my hands should be fine as long as I do not decide to eat them, huh? Well, I am certainly not that crazy to be trying something like that, but I think that I am going to thoroughly wash my hands more than once when we get back home from this Labyrinth excursion.


    I still had my fair share of reservations, but I ultimately accepted the item from Sherry¡¯s hands and took it into my own, and then it was the time to carefully inspect what that thing actually was. As it turned out, Poison Needle was a black, conical object that was about five centimeters long. I also wondered if the tip of it was going to be sharp like a needle, but much to my surprise, it was not.


    ¡¸So you are saying that if I wanted to get poisoned by it, I would have to ingest it orally first? In that case this is the opposite of how it is with snakes and their venom.¡¹


    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, it is.¡¹


    I heard that even though the venom that snakes use to poison the prey that they sink their fangs into is usually deadly, it is actually made out of a certain type of protein that can be properly digested if consumed, and that info would check itself out because of how snakes hunt. They are doing so by sinking their teeth into the unsuspecting prey which is then paralyzed and robbed of its ability to run or defend itself, and in the moment where it is the most defenseless, snakes then devour their prey whole.

 Volume 5 - CH 3.1

    Chapter 23: Palmasque


    ¡ºRoxanne¡»


    ¡ºCurrent Character Levels & Equipment¡»:


    ¡ºJob¡»:


    Beast Warrior Lv.24


    ¡ºEquipment¡»:


    Scimitar


    Leather Helmet


    Leather Jacket


    Leather Gloves


    Leather shoes


    The morning of the next day. I can definitely say that I did not manage to have a good night¡¯s rest, but for all the right reasons. The main culprit behind my sleepless night was the fact that I have spent it all on enjoying the service offered to me by the two beauties clad in maid uniforms. The busty and seductive maid was servicing me from the left, and the petite but eager one was servicing me from the right. I fully enjoyed the service of the two maids showering me in affection, fully reveling in the fact that I was living the dream that most guys in the world can only dream of without any prospects at ever seeing their fantasies come true. That was the best! The ultimately supreme experience where I got to screw my servants to my heart¡¯s content while they kept on moaning for more as they were doing everything that I told them to. Afterwards we had a late dinner, which was then followed by me equipping Sex Maniac as my First Job so that I could enjoy having sex with the two of them even more until all three of us passed out from exhaustion when we could not lift our bodies and their lower halves anymore.


    I woke up in the morning of the next day at the usual early hours, most likely because it has become such a routine thing to do that both my body and mind already got used to it, and because of that, I did not get nearly as much sleep as I should have gotten myself in order to feel properly rested. And to be honest, right now I am seriously worried about going to the Labyrinth while being sleep deprived, because the fatigue that I have accumulated since yesterday was still with me, and even though I wanted to go in order not to make any unnecessary breaks in the daily farming cycle unless I really had to, my mind and reason were telling me that even though I might seriously consider it, it would not be good to enter such a dangerous place as the Labyrinth with a tired body that would be slower and much less responsive than usual.


    Oh, but please, do not misunderstand what I am saying right now. Everything is alright with my health, it is just that the amount of sleep that I should have gotten for myself was insufficient, as a result of which I felt incredibly groggy, my body felt heavy and all of my thinking processes seemed to be dulled, and I was feeling as if I was about to fall unconscious at any moment now.


    I carefully checked on Roxanne and Sherry, but neither of them seemed to be displaying the same kind of symptoms that I did, which means that they two of them were probably all right despite everything that we did yesterday.


    Now, the reasonable thing to do here would be to not go to the Labyrinth and catch myself some much needed zzz¡¯s so that I would stop feeling like a walking corpse on the verge of decomposing, but just like I said before on a number of occasions, I feel that I cannot do things like not going to the Labyrinths just because of some cheap excuse, because if I do it once, I will probably do it a second time, after a second time there will be a third one, and the numbers of days where I did not go to the Labyrinths will continue to pile up so much that ultimately I will stop going there altogether because of my own laziness and I absolutely do not want that to happen, so even if I do not really feel like it right now, I decided to go to the Labyrinth for the morning bit of exploration after all. It is okay. Everything is going to be fine, just as long as I will remember to pay careful attention to my surroundings and pay even more attention to the movements of the monsters that are going to be engaging us in battle.


    We went to the Labyrinth like normal, and the first enemy we happened upon was an NT Ant, which I managed to defeat with my tried and true strategy of shooting it in the face with three shots of ¡¸Water Ball¡¹. All right, so far, so good. First battle is done and everything seems to be all right with me, as I did not notice any kind of drops in my performance just now, so we proceeded to go through Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth¡¯s ninth floor until we reached a small room.


    ¡¸Look master, a treasure chest!¡¹


    When we entered that small room, I saw that the ground in its center was slightly raised. Yeah, this is definitely a treasure chest. It has been quite a while since I last saw it.


    ¡¸Wait, wait, wait!¡¹


    I know that this is a tempting sight, but we must not be impatient. So as Roxanne was about to poke the mound of earth with her Scimitar, I rushed towards her and pulled her back with a panicked movement. Why did she try t do that?! I thought that we made it clear numerous times that when we see things like that we must not rush towards them blindly and without thinking, because this might be a cleverly disguised trap. The only time and circumstances where we are allowed to be rush, reckless and forceful is in the evenings when we are having sex on the bed!


    Could it be that Roxanne is just as severely sleep deprived as I am, and that is what made her act so carelessly? Maybe our yesterday¡¯s activities really left her as exhausted as I was, and she also could not get enough sleep because of our routine where we are waking up even before the sunrise so that we could go to the Labyrinths to farm monsters for their Drop Items before breakfast? If it really is like that, then she should have just told that to me, and then we definitely would not have come here, instead taking this opportunity to have ourselves another day of rest that we apparently both needed quite desperately.


    Not to mention that there is a chance that this is not an actual treasure chest, but a cleverly disguised Mimic, so we should be very careful as we approach it.


    I put my Wand away, and pulled out Durandal instead.


    ¡¸Master, what are you doing?¡¹


    ¡¸Preparing myself just in case that this chest turns out to be a Mimic. You ready, Roxanne?¡¹


    After giving Sherry a short explanation and taking my battle-ready stance, I gave Roxanne a small nod, and she nodded back at me. Now, if this supposed treasure chest tries anything funny, it is going to be so surprised when instead of feasting on the flesh of an idiot Adventurer who was dumb enough to approach it without any precautions, it is going to have its teeth shattered to pieces by Durandal¡¯s blade.


    ¡¸Uhm, master? I know that you are always wary and careful when it comes to the Labyrinths and its traps and monsters, but I think you can rest easy this time, because I do not think that Mimics are going to be appearing on the lower floors of the Labyrinths, and even if they were, the chance of running into one on the ninth floor would be truly miniscule.¡¹


    ¡¸Really? You think so?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. There is not that much information available about them, but from what is indeed known, it does not seem like they appear on the first ten floors of the Labyrinths, must likely because the lower floors are the place where there is not that many treasure chests. If I were to hazard a guess as to where they would start making their appearances, then it would probably be floors from twelfth and above, because that is the point that separates rookie Adventurers from the experienced ones, which is mirrored by the appearances of treasure chests being much more frequent from that point onward, and these are the chests that have a random chance of them not being a treasure chest, but a Mimic monster. And on top of that, some Adventurers even reported encountering them in the Floor Boss¡¯ Boss Rooms disguised as treasure chests, so they can not only appear as a regular enemy, but as a substitute of a regular Floor Boss as well.¡¹


    So it can also work like that, huh? From my knowledge of video games from my time back on earth, I happen to possess a vague understanding of how Mimics work.

 Volume 5 - CH 3.10

    A break where he is probably going to just laze around doing nothing but sipping bear in the tavern until the time for the evening teleportation to begin will come, but that actually works to my advantage here, because if her were to see me being back from Palmasque so soon, literally moments after I just got there, he might start getting suspicious and ask a lot of questions that I would not be comfortable answering at all, so now that he is nowhere to be seen, it would be best for me to get to know about everything that I have to know and then skidaddle the hell away from here.


    As for my MP, it decreased so much that I could clearly feel it, because I noticed that my mood worsened slightly. Zabir is closer to Palmasque than Quratar, but even with that being the case, moving between Palmasque and Quratar via Zabir still seems like it is going to be quite a daunting and problematic task. However, moving between Palmasque and Quratar directly is going to be even more problematic, since I have to take not only myself, but my entire Party into account.


    When I got back to Zabir¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild, Roxanne and Sherry immediately approached me and welcomed me back, and I added them back into my Party, and then I proceeded to wait until someone who looked like an Adventurer finally came out of one of the portals that opened up on the Guild¡¯s wall. It looked like he was alone, which means that there was no one-way comers who came form Palmasque to Zabir with him. I had a question that I wanted to ask him , so I immediately approached him.


    ¡¸Excuse me, sir!¡¹


    ¡¸Yes? What is it?¡¹


    ¡¸I am sorry to be troubling you, but would you happen to know how much does a Palmasque Mirror cost?¡¹


    I asked my question while hoping that the answer was not going to literally knock me off my feet.


    ¡¸A Palmasque Mirror? That depends on its size. How big are you looking for?¡¹


    ¡¸About this much, I would say.¡¹


    I then used both my hands to show him the size that I was thinking of: from the top of my head down to my chest.


    ¡¸Is it going to be a costly purchase after all?¡¹


    ¡¸Now, as I said, the exact price depends on the size, but when it comes to the Palmasque Mirrors, most of the ones that are being sold are the ones with expensive decorations made from jewels added to them, and these are the thing that can really ramp up the price of the final product. As for the smaller ones, there are hand mirrors that are crafted to function as pendants, but since most of the craftsmen tend to create them from silver or gold, then you should prepare yourself to pay for such a mirror with gold coins.¡¹


    The Adventurer replied to me, sharing what he knew about the prices of Palmasque Mirrors. When it comes to the decorated mirrors, I have to admit that I do not know how they look like, because back on earth I only ever saw the regular ones.


    But if they are supposed to be decorated with gemstones, then they have to be decorated on the outer rim, because if the decorations were to be placed on the surface of the mirror itself, then that would make it extraordinarily difficult to use them for their intended purpose. And if the decorations are to be placed on the mirror¡¯s frame, then I guess that frame has to be made out from at least silver or gold, just like the Adventurer mentioned. In Palmasque, the business of creating mirrors has to consist now only of the artisans of glass working creating the actual mirror that is going to reflect the image of whoever looks into it back at them, but it must also consist of the craftsmen knowing full well what to do and where to place the jewels that are going to be used for decoration in order to increase the value of the finished product in order to elevate its price to the highest possible degree.


    And in order to pull something like that off, you would definitely need not only mirror makers themselves, but also the help of the metal and jewelry workers, and all of them would have to be highly trained in their respective fields. Has this world never even heard of such a thing as free competition, or is it perhaps too modern of a concept for them to even wrap their heads around?


    I took Roxanne and Sherry and moved away into one of the corners of the Guild building so that we could talk in a slightly more private manner.


    ¡¸Sherry, open your Item Box.¡¹


    ¡¸Of course, master.¡¹


    I asked Sherry to open her Item Box for me, and then I handed her some silver coins. One entire column worth ten items was reserved strictly for the Anti Poison Pills, which means that she should still have nine columns worth ten items still free. So I handed both Roxanne and Sherry a silver coin that they would need to pay for their City Entrance Tax.


    In addition to that, I filled Sherry¡¯s Item Box with a generous amount of silver coins and a number of gold coins. I could have given her ten gold coins because that is the maximum amount that could be fitted into her current Item Box, but to be honest, I hesitated from giving her such a small fortune when she probably is not going to need as much of it for what I was going to ask her to do in a moment.


    ¡¸We are going to go to Palmasque now, and you are going to be buying two mirrors there, the money that I have given you should be enough.¡¹


    ¡¸Two mirrors, master?¡¹


    Sherry asked while tilting her head to the side, unsure of how she should react to what I just told her.


    ¡¸Yeah, two mirrors, one for Gozer and one for us to use at back at home. And since you and Roxanne are going to be the ones who will be primarily using that mirror, make sure to pick up the one that the two of you are definitely going to like. Do not buy anything decorated or ornamental, just plain old regular Palmasque Mirror, and the price should not go beyond what I have just given you. In case that it is going to not be enough for the two of the same kind of mirrors, buy a large one for Gozer and a small, pendant-like one for us. The City Entrance Tax that you are going to have to pay is going to be one silver coin.¡¹


    ¡¸Are you not going with us to do this, master?¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, I guess you can kinda say that.¡¹


    Roxanne asked me doubtfully, to which I have chosen to answer with some vague, unspecified words. But that is simply how it has to be.


    Since I am not an Adventurer, then I probably will not be able to enter Palmasque through Palmasque¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild, because I would not pass Intelligence Card¡¯s inspection, and if the Knights who are supposedly belonging to the Knight Order that answers directly to the city council would have caught wind of an Explorer who is using Adventurer¡¯s Guild¡¯s wall to travel for some bizarre reason, there would be no end to the questioning that I would have been subjected too, or perhaps fate would have even worse things in store for me. Therefore, I am going to be entrusting the mission of buying the mirrors to the two of them.


    ¡¸Are you sure you want me to handle such a large amount of money, master? I mean, you have given me so many of your gold coins¡­.¡¹


    ¡¸Everything is going to be fine, Sherry. I fully trust you, so I have no problems with that.¡¹


    Sherry had a good point though. Under normal circumstances, I would have never given her such a large amount of money, but this time, however, I feel as if the fates had forced my hand and left me with no other choice. However, if I was a type of guy who would have chosen to continue to live according to the rule that I would never want to spent gold coins for the purpose of shopping, then my own stinginess with money would have resulted in me not being able to buy good weapons and pieces of armor.


    ¡¸Y-Yes, master! I understand!¡¹


    ¡¸Now, as for how much time this should take you¡­. How about one hour? Yeah, that sounds like more then enough time. Unless of course you will not be able to find any mirror that would suit the criteria that I have given you. If that happens, be sure to go back the Adventurer¡¯s Guild¡¯s Building immediately. I will make sure no to disband our Party for the next hour, I will immediately know when you are going to be back.¡¹

 Volume 5 - CH 3.11

    I cannot stay in Palmasque¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild for too long, or I may start looking suspicious, so I should better relocate myself to some other place that is not here, and fast, preferably to somewhere where I will be able to spend time actively, because even if this is only going to be an hour, I would definitely die of boredom if I just sat around doing absolutely nothing. I just need to find myself something to do to keep myself occupied long enough for Sherry to be done with her task, and once she is going to be done and on her way back to Palmasque¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild, I will definitely know about it, since as a Party Leader who established his own Party, one of the Party¡¯s Settings functions allows me to know the general location of any of the Party Members that I am going to focus my attention on.


    I warped us through the wall of Zabir¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild to Palmasque¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild, as a result of which my MP has really went into the red zone, decreasing more than it did when I returned from Palmasque earlier.


    It decreased considerably. It decreased so much that my mood is getting worse¡­. Oh fuck, it decreased almost completely! I knew it! So the consumption rate of MP does increase when the number of people that are teleporting together with you increases! I should have known! And I should have also known that it was a bad idea to take Roxanne and Sherry with me! If only I had not taken them with me, I would have still had enough MP not to descend into depression like that! Then again, there is also a possibility that there might be yet another thing at fault here: it might be possible that the consumption rate of MP is increasing while going eastward, which would make it the exact opposite of the jet airflow of the earth.


    Yet another, even more likely possibility is that my own abilities are simply too lacking to allow me to save enough MP while travelling across wide distances, but I would rather believe in the former than openly admit that I am so incompetent despite possessing so many Jobs and Bonus Skills!


    ¡¸Okay, I guess I better get going then.¡¹


    Just now, when Roxanne and Sherry left Palmasque¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild, I almost ended up following after them subconsciously. Yes, I know that it is because of how much my MP has decreased and affected my mind and thinking processes, so you can stop looking at me with that condescending eyesight as if I had done something incredibly cringeworthy already! I will get around to fixing that real soon, so just give me a moment, jesus! This is exactly why I hate having my MP drop down to the red zone so much: it affects my thinking to such an extent that I do not even realize what am I doing until it is way too late to do anything about it without me either making a fool of myself or making myself look suspicious as heck!


    Let me see, how exactly did I arrive in this peculiar situation again? First I went from Vale to Zabir, and then moved between Zabir and Palmasque twice. By doing just those things alone, I have ended upusing most of my MP. This is definitely a lesson for me: if I do not want to lose too much of my MP too quickly, I absolutely cannot do long distance warping in quick succession, or at least not without having MP Recovery Medicine on me. Which reminds me¡­..


    I drank a Mana Recovery Medicine as soon as I parted ways with Roxanne and Sherry. I am sure that to whoever was looking at me from the side now, I probably looked like a good-for-nothing husband who has been abandoned by his wife and their daughter, but I do not care about that. All that I am interested in is watching over them until they are going to leave Palmasque¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild to see if there is not going to be any problems while they will be going through Intelligence Card check, but from what I am seeing, nothing like that is happening. Roxanne and Sherry simply approached the checkpoint at the entrance to Palmasque¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild, handed their silver coins po pay the City Entrance Tax, had their Intelligence Cards looked over and were allowed to move forward without any incidents, after which they turned around and waved goodbye at me. I guess that is my confirmation that even those who are officially somebody¡¯s slaves can enter Palmasque without any major issues, and that is one less thing to worry about off my mind. Well, the Adventurer who gave us all of those long-ass instructions before did say that anyone was free to enter Palmasque without any kind of restrictions, but to be honest, I did not believe his words and thought that there has to be a catch somewhere, but apparently there is none.


    But¡­. But if anyone can go there freely¡­. Then does that not mean that the girls have no reason to come back to me anymore?


    Yes, there is absolutely no reason for them to do that. No reason whatsoever. I mean, how could there ever be any kind of valid reason for them to do that? No, there¡­. There really is no reason.


    They probably hate me for being such a terrible pervert of a master who wants to do nothing but screw them until they pass out every single day, and because they hate me with a passion for it, that might want to leave me for good and seek refuge here in Palmasque. They probably figured out why I was so reluctant to go through the Intelligence Card inspection and concluded that this is going to be an ideal place to run away from me! This possibility is so true that it is scaring me shitless right now!


    There is no reason for Roxanne and Sherry to follow me forever. Roxanne herself even mentioned before that there is a certain trick to switching masters that slaves could use.


    I know I am not an able master because I do not know anything about this world. Hell, I doubt if I ever acted like a proper slave master for even a single moment. Most likely not, since all that I do is to randomly speak whatever comes to my mind, because of which I always end up getting myself in all sorts of awkward situations.


    I am always paranoid about everything, and whenever we are faced with a difficult or unfavorable situations, the first thing that I am always thinking about is to tuck my tail between my legs and run away from them, so it is a given that they would lose all semblance of respect that they initially might have had for such a failure of a master as myself.


    God fucking damn it, I feel so useless now!


    I am overwhelmed with negative thoughts and they are starting to go in a very, very wrong direction, so I took another gulp of the MP Recovery Medicine. Such a waste of good resources for a shitbag like myself, but it cannot be helped! I have to do it to replenish all of the MP that I have lost. And thanks to that, my mind calmed down and became more clear now.


    Now that I have calmed down, I know there is no reason for them to not come back to me, and I have faith that both Roxanne and Sherry will come back after they finish the mission that I have entrusted them with. There is no problem at all, and everything is going to be perfectly fine.


    Having calmed myself down, I exhaled deeply, and took a look outside of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. From where I am standing right now, the city feels very exotic, but it also has that¡­. artificial feeling to it, probably because pretty much all of the city¡¯s buildings were colored the same shade of white, without any exceptions to that rule, and they were also quite small and build at identical intervals and fixed distances from one another. The reason for all of them being identically white is probably because of the use of the Shield Cement in the process of their creation.


    It is quite different from the Imperial City and Quratar, and certainly unlike anything that I have seen in Japan.


    The closest thing to it that I can think of is that one Greek city on an island off the coast of the Aegean Sea, or perhaps an oasis in the middle of a desert. But even though I said that, there is nothing green in this city. No trees, no forests, no grass, no nothing. However, that does not mean that this place is a complete desert, because there are still weeds growing in vacant spaces between buildings.

 Volume 5 - CH 3.12

    It felt strange, but then a realization hit me while I was thinking about it: were all of the trees cut down? They have to be, because if there were some of them remaining, then it would have been possible to use ¡¸Field Walker¡¹to get to Palmasque from the outside world. That might have been a hindrance to the city¡¯s rulers that would invalidate their efforts of building every building in town with Shield Cement, so that is probably why they had all of the trees removed. I have no idea what was their reason for doing this, but it does not bother me in the slightest since I can use¡¸Warp¡¹even in the buildings made out of Shield Cement.


    But just because I can do it does not mean that I am actually going to do it, not in the broad daylight at least. I mean, what if I get caught red-handed? If I am going to ever use ¡¸Warp¡¹here, it would have to be in the dead of the night. Even if I would not have to worry about being seen by anyone during the night, it would still be a huge hassle to wait until the morning. If I do not find myself a safe point to which I could warp here in Palmasque, then I would have to wait until nightfall again.


    I waited until I was completely calm again, and then I went to Vale¡¯s labyrinth again, because I must test whether I can warp again without any problems or not.


    My MP decreased considerably yet again. It will not be exaggeration to I say that it has completely run out this time. So, the consumption rate of MP is high when going westward just as much as it was while traveling eastward? In that case, I guess distance is what truly matters here.


    I definitely cannot make a return trip the way that I am now. The distance between Palmasque and Vale is just too great to efficiently cover it in just one trip. And to be honest with you, I do not want to do it, and I do not even want to think about it!


    I wonder whether MP goes into the negative value if  it is decreased beyond its lowermost limit? It might be possible.


    See? That is how much ¡¸Warp¡¹is worth. Just as useless as I am. A worthless piece of trash Bonus Skill masquerading as something unique and useful, quite befitting of me, its user, who is also a worthless piece of trash of a human being who could not even live his life properly without fucking up literally everything that he touched!


    No! These are not my honest thoughts! I do not think like that at all! I only think that because of the MP deficit! I have to go replenish it quickly!


    I then recovered my MP in Vale¡¯s labyrinth using Durandal. I am going to be fine. I only need to recover MP and I will go back to being fine. But it would have been disastrous if Roxanne and Sherry were here with me right now. So for my own sake, I have to make a checkpoint somewhere along the way if I do not want to continuously run out of MP and brood like I did just now.


    After that, I returned to Zabir¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild.


    ¡¸Are there any Labyrinths around here?¡¹


    I asked the Adventurer who was stationed there.


    ¡¸Err¡­ what kind of Labyrinth are you looking for?¡¹


    ¡¸I have no particular preference, so I would say: whichever one happens to be the closest to here.¡¹


    ¡¸Closest one, eh? All right. If you really need to go to the nearest Labyrinth, then one should be just off a little distance from the town¡¯s east gate. One word of advice, if I may: even if you do decide to go to that Labyrinth, you will soon find out that it is not managed by any Explorers, so there is going to be no one who would be able to take you to the higher floors, which means that you would have to start exploring if from the first floor where the weakest monsters are. Now, knowing this, are you still interested in going there?¡¹


    ¡¸I would not be asking about it if I was not interested in it, do you not think?¡¹


    ¡¸Well, that is true enough I guess. Even though it is not in the immediate vicinity of the town, there are still people who use it regularly, so the exact road should be perfectly visible and there is no way for you to get lost on your way there, but it is branching up into multiple branches somewhere along the middle. You will find the Labyrinth as long as you will take the left branch and follow it through all the way. Luckily for you and everyone else in this town, even if you do not have access to ¡¸Field Walker¡¹on you or you do not have anyone whom you could pay to take you there, the Labyrinth is still in a reasonable walking distance from here.¡¹


    So it would seem that the Labyrinth of Zabir is also located pretty close to the town of Zabir, just like the Labyrinth of Vale was located a short distance away from the town of Vale. However, in terms of convenience for the Adventurers and Explorers, I guess nothing is going to beat Quratar, a city that has been literally build around the Labyrinth, with it acting as the city¡¯s very center.


    I thought that I would have no other choice but to pay one of the Adventurers in here two silver coins so that they could get me there, but if the Labyrinth is really close buy just like this guy is saying, then I guess I can entertain myself with a little walk since I have time to kill anyway. Also, I have to say that this guy right here is a pretty all right fellow.


    Even though he could have withheld the information about the Labyrinth being so close to the town and instead told me that the only way for me to get there is through ¡¸Field Walker¡¹, thus forcing me into having to pay the two silver coins for the trip because there was no way for me to know whether he was telling the truth about the Labyrinth¡¯s distance from the city, he ultimately did not choose to do than, and instead he decided to be perfectly honest with me. I respect that.


    He is like a total opposite of that receptionist from Dohona who was trying to scam me to pay more money than I actually had to in order to go to Doburo! Ugh, thinking about that shitty scammer is still making my blood boil even now. I know that I should not be saying things like that because you should never wish misfortune upon others unless you want karma to get back at you really fucking fast¡­.


    But I wish every misfortune possible in the world upon that guy! It does not have to be anything serious or life-threatening, but I just wish that something would happen to him to make him seriously rethink all of his life choices. Go and take a page out of this guy¡¯s book! He is not crafty, but honest! I wish that more of the people working at the receptions of various Guilds of this world could be more like this guy, even if this is just my wishful thinking that is never going to come true.


    Anyway, I thanked the guy for his assistance, and then I promptly left the Zabir¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild¡¯s building. While I was going through the town, I could not help it but to notice that, in contrast to Palmasque, Zabir was actually quite a quaint, serene and peaceful town.


    The scenery of the townscape was rich with greenery that goes quite well with the red brick that was the main element with which all of the buildings of the town were build. It had a much better, more welcoming and friendly atmosphere in comparison to Palmasque and its white, bull looking structures and a complete lack of trees and anything that was even remotely green aside form the occasional weeds. That being said, maybe I should not be so quick to make judgements. If there is anything that I have learned from my time spend here in this world so far, it is that appearances can and definitely will be deceiving.


    This place may look calmer and comforting in comparison to Palmasque, but that might be nothing more but a fa?ade meant for keeping something much more disturbing hidden from the eyes of those who are not meant to see it. But even if that is what is going on in this place, I have to say that so far I am not seeing anything out of the ordinary, and this is looking like a perfectly normal, peaceful town.

 Volume 5 - CH 3.13

    Size-wise, I think it is pretty close to how big Vale actually is. I wanted to draw some comparisons between this town and the Imperial City, but then I realized that there is actually nothing much to compare, because this is just a regular town, while the Imperial City, being the capital of the Entire Empire, is in a class of its own when it comes to sheer size of the city and the grandeur and splendor of each and every one of its buildings.


    And as for Quratar, that city does not have any kind of walls and its buildings are all perfectly ordinary, or at the very least, nothing particularly eye-catching that would make you stop in your tracks in order to admire it, so I cannot really draw any comparisons of anything that is there to the things that I am seeing here. But here in Zabir, the one thing that I can definitely say with all certainty in the world is that its walls made out of reddish-brown bricks certainly do look splendid.And they are also pretty high, reaching up to about three meters high, I think?


    But on the other hand¡­. The gate that has been build in that was is¡­.. actually, it is kind of small. It is a one-sided gate, about a meter high and a meter wide, and above that gate, a magnificent-looking watchtower has been build. It would seem that this is where the gatekeeper is residing throughout most of the day, keeping a careful and watchful eye over the people who were coming into the city and going out of it through its main gate.


    However, I wonder if it is even okay to be calling that construct a gate, because from where I am standing, that ¡¸main gate¡¹is looking more like a sloppily-made door than an actual gate, so whoever designed it should either give it a general makeover or dismantle it and build a new one entirely from scratch, because the way it is looking now, it does not look representative enough at all, and gives off a feeling of a side entrance to the city rather than a main one.


    It is so small for a main gate that I think I might actually have to crouch in order to get through it. Yes, whoever thought that slapping something like that as the main entrance to the entire city was going to be a good idea should be fired immediately.


    When I walked out of the gate (After bending forward a little instead of crouching, but still), the first thing that I have noticed was a field, which eventually turned into a forest. It is not a particularly dense one. It is the one that has many openings and free spaces between the individual trees, with a path that looked as if it was made by many people trampling over the ground over and over again. Is this perhaps the way that the Adventurer back in the Guild was talking about?


    After walking for about five minutes, I found myself standing in front of the entrance to the Labyrinth. There is no one else at the entrance, which checks itself out with what the Adventurer at the Guild had said: that since this place is not under the management of any Explorers, there is going to be no one here. If there was an Explorer stationed here, I could immediately go to the higher floors of this Labyrinth, but since there is no one else but me here, I guess I really have to start the exploration of this Labyrinth from the first floor.


    So I took Durandal out and entered the Labyrinth by myself for the first time in quite a while. Because Roxanne is not here with me, I have to wander around the halls looking for monsters by trial and error. I now understand the true value of Roxanne superior sense of smell that is an immense amount of help to us whenever we are in the Labyrinths, and it makes me appreciate her even more than before.


    After that, I went to Vale¡¯s Labyrinth, and then returned home. Since I have time to spare, then might as well use it to get a short nap to compensate for my sleep deprivation from last night, right?


    Then, after I woke up I went to Vale¡¯s Labyrinth to fully recover my MP, and then it was off to Palmasque with me, but through the route that looked in a following way: Quratar ¨¨ Vale ¨¨Zabir ¨¨ Palmasque. Every time I arrived at the next checkpoint, I was recovering my MP bit by bit as needed, which made the entire journey that much more acceptable. And after a short wait at Palmasque¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild, Roxanne and Sherry were finally back¡­¡­


    But they do not seem to have brought the mirrors back with them. I wonder if they were unable to obtain them, or if they found some, but did not like any of them enough to buy them? Or maybe they did end up buying mirrors, but instead of the big ones they went for the smaller, pendant-like ones?


    ¡¸We are sorry to have kept you waiting, master.¡¹


    ¡¸It is quite alright. So, how did it go?¡¹


    ¡¸We would like to talk about that later.¡¹


    Immediately wanted to know how did their shopping mission go so I asked them openly, but Sherry answered me back with a whisper. Looks like something quite serious must have happened. Well, I guess I will get to know that soon enough.


    ¡¸Shall we go home then?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes please.¡¹


    Like that, we said goodbye to Palmasque for now. Since we did not have any mirrors with us, I was thinking if maybe I should use this opportunity to warp my entire Party from here to Quratar, but would there be any kind of merit to doing that? Even if we do not have mirrors with us, the presence of Roxanne and Sherry is still going to take quite a toll on my MP, so I should pick a safer but longer route in order to limit my MP¡¯s decrease as much as possible. Once we will have the mirrors with us, it is going to be hard to move from one relay point to another, so I should save going to Quratar directly only when we are going to have the mirrors with us. So this time, going the roundabout way should be fine.


    As the first stop, I teleported us to the Labyrinth of Zabir that I just discovered. My MP decreased in such a way that I could clearly see it after moving from Palmasque to Zabir, so try to imagine what would have happened if I went straight for Quratar with my current group. Yeah, that would be pretty scary.


    ¡¸Roxanne, look for the nearest group of monsters please. So Sherry, how was the mirror purchasing?¡¹


    ¡¸The mirrors themselves have been placed up for sale just as we expected, but they all had these tacky, nouveau riche decorations that seemed a bit too much for us. Not to mention that they were ridiculously expensive.¡¹


    So they also have this word functioning in this world as well, huh? Well, it is not surprising seeing as how people can quickly get rich here if only they decide to go to the Labyrinths and hunt monsters actively, just like I was doing right now.


    ¡¸Just like Sherry said! Such thing can be used by aristocrats and master, but us common people have no use for them whatsoever!¡¹


    So I am getting lumped together with aristocrats and nouveau riche? I do not know if I should be happy or mad about it.


    ¡¸Well, it was just supposed to be a decoration, so do not worry about it too much.¡¹


    ¡¸When we asked the shopkeepers if they had some more ordinary, they were all saying that they prefer them to be more ornate and decorative. They also said that the higher the original price, the higher the resale value, and it is for that reason that they are adding things like gold and silver to the mirror¡¯s frame¡­¡¹


    ¡¸Ahh, in other words, this is their strategy to add to the mirror¡¯s value.¡¹


    ¡¸Add¡­ value?¡¹


    It seems that Sherry does not know what it means to add to the value of the product, which is no surprise, since this is a term strictly from modern days of business strategies.


    ¡¸Since Palmasque craftsmen have a monopoly on mirror creation, it is a process that would allow them to sell not only mirrors, but also their other products at the same time.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. Certainly, many things can only be found in Palmasque, such as glassworks, mirrorworks, clockworks, goldworks, silverworks, jewelworks¡­.. Palmasque truly has no equal when it comes to these things.¡¹


    ¡¸There are clocks there too?¡¹


    I had no idea there were clocks in this world. I have never seen one before, or even heard anyone talking about them.


    ¡¸Yes, because Palmasque is the home of glassworks.¡¹


    ¡¸Are clocks made of glass here?¡¹


    ¡¸They have to be, because otherwise you would not be able to see the grains of sand inside of them.¡¹


    So not a classic clock, but an Hourglass huh?  Yeah, in that case they really have to be made out of glass, there is no doubt about it. An hourglass that is not made out of glass would not be capable of serving its purpose at all.


    ¡¸Well, they have some talented people there, it seems.¡¹


    ¡¸Palmasque as a whole is an island of very talented people.¡¹


    Indeed, there were no mountains or anything of the sort as far as I could see from inside of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.


    ¡¸Heeee¡­.¡¹


    ¡¸Because it is an island, craftsmen and artisans cannot easily run away from there. And that is why the arts and crafts of Palmasque stay in Palmasque.¡¹


    ¡¸By the way, there is a check of the Intelligence Cards when leaving and entering the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, and it  is for the purpose of strictly confirming whether you are the same person who entered the city or not.¡¹


    ¡¸They are going that far, huh?¡¹


    Sherry nodded at Roxanne¡¯s remarks as we moved forward. Is that why ¡¸Field Walker¡¹ is not allowed outside the Adventurer¡¯s Guild? To ensure that their techniques are not leaked to the outside? Sounds like a terrible place where there is no freedom for craftsmen and artisans alike.


    ¡¸And because it is an island, there is no Labyrinth there either?¡¹


    ¡¸It would seem so, yes.¡¹


    Sherry nodded to my question. So unfortunately, it seems that we will not be able to make a relay point in Palmasque.


    ¡¸I asked if there was a possibility to make a mirror without such decorations, but no craftsmen even wanted to hear about it. It was the same when we went directly to the workshops where the mirrors were made. Nobody wanted to sell us the ones without decorations.¡¹


    ¡¸So even the workshops directly refused you, huh?¡¹


    If they agreed to sell undecorated mirrors directly from the workshops it would ruin the business strategy of decorating and selling mirrors at higher prices, so it is no wonder that Roxanne and Sherry¡¯s requests got refused.


    ¡¸However, the craftsmen also said that while they cannot sell such mirrors normally, they could do it if it was through a commission made by an aristocrat.¡¹


    ¡¸A commission, huh?¡¹


    ¡¸That is why we came back without buying anything today. You know the leader of the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy, right, master?¡¹


    Yeah, Gozer. Sherry and Roxanne also met him at the Quratar Merchant¡¯s Guild. Is she suggesting that I am going to buy the mirror that we want if I do it at the request of the Duke of Hartz? Can we really use our connection to that handsome guy like that?


    ¡¸So you are saying that we should rely on him on this one?¡¹


    ¡¸Even if he is an Elf, you should always use everything and anyone at your disposal to make your own life easier. And after we use him for all that he is worth, we can just throw him out from our lives like a pair of used Sandals.¡¹


    That metaphor just now was pretty damn scarry. I hope that Sherry is not going to start advocating the policy ¡¸The Only Good Elf is a Dead Elf¡¹ anytime soon!

 Volume 5 - CH 3.2

    I know that Mimic is a type of monster that possesses the ability to shapeshift its body into another animate or inanimate object or creature and that this is its main gimmick that it uses to catch the unsuspecting prey off guard before devouring them when they least expect it, but I would never have expected that they can also appear in the Boss Rooms instead of their regular Floor Bossess!


    Does that mean that the Floor Boss version of a Mimic is going to be stronger than a regular one, or is there no distinction between the two and both of them are the same in terms of their Stats and power? I do not know the answers to those questions and it seems very unlikely that we are going to get them in the near future, but while Sherry was explaining all of that to me, Roxanne went and thrusted her Scimitar into the mound of earth that was hiding the treasure chest. When she did that, the entire mound was cut open right down the middle¡­..


    And what spilled forward out of it was a bunch of silver coins.


    ¡¸Look master, silver coins!¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yeah, those are the silver coins all right.¡¹


    In total, there were thirteen silver coins, which was the equivalent of thirteen hundred Nars. It is a relatively small amount of money, but it is nice to have it nonetheless, since we can always use it to do some minor shopping.


    It is a shame that there was not any more of it, but I guess that is as much as we can possibly expect from the treasure chests on the lower floors, so there is little else to do right now than to graciously accept what we found and move on.


    Inside of the Labyrinths, which are basically living organisms that feed off of Adventurers, what is commonly referred to as treasure chests are the mounds of earth that contain either equipment or things from the Item Box of Adventurers who were unfortunate enough to die from the hands of monsters while they were exploring the Labyrinth.


    And since we got thirteen solver coins from this treasure chest, then I wonder if the one who was the owner of this money was a Lv.13 Explorer, since the size of the Explorer¡¯s Item Box and the amount of money that they can hold inside of it is entirely dependent on the Explorer¡¯s Level. I received the coins from Roxanne while offering a silent prayer for the soul of the money¡¯s former owner.


    ¡¸All right, since I already have it out, then I might as well use my sword to fight the monsters here for a while.¡¹


    I said to Roxanne and Sherry after we left the small room and continued our exploration of the ninth floor. Since I have used a fair bit of MP, then I might as well use Durandal to recover it, seeing as I already have it out and about.


    As usual, Roxanne was leading our forward advance, guiding us with her superior sense of smell. And after a shot while, what she guided us to was a chamber where we happened upon a group of four NT Ants. A group made out entirely of these guys, huh? Well, this might be slightly problematic, since now the three of us are going to be facing a group of four monsters who not only have a numbers advantage over us, but all of them can poison us with their attacks as well.


    ¡¸Here they come!¡¹


    ¡¸All, right, let us do this! Here we go!¡¹


    First  of all, I swung Durandal at the leftmost NT Ant.


    I parried its incoming attack and then made my own counterattack swing to counter its counter. The NT Ant on the left side got defeated easily.With one of the enemies out of the picture, I moved on to face the NT Ant that Sherry was fighting with.


    Taking advantage of the tunnel vision that the enemy had which made it focus its attention entirely on Sherry and no one else, I sneak my way behind its back and then attacked it with the element of surprise backing me up.


    In the meantime, an orange magic circle lit up beneath the NT Ant that was in the center. That is a sign that this NT Ant was about to unleash its Skill. In that moment, I remembered that Sherry told me that the Skill possessed by the NT Ant allows it to shoot poison over large distances, which makes it quite dangerous, so I quickly turned around and extended my body and sword-wielding arm towards that NT Ant in the center and swung Durandal horizontally in order to reach that NT Ant in time with my attack.


    This is definitely a bad position that leaves me wide open and vulnerable to attacks, but if I want to stop that NT Ant from using its Skill, then this is the risk that I have to take, whether I like it or not. Thankfully, Durandal¡¯s blade manages to reach the monster¡¯s body and come into contact with it just in time for its ¡¸Chant Interruption¡¹ Skill to kick into effect, cancelling the NT Ants Skill activation. Haha, too bad for you, you stupid ant! No spitting poison for you today!


    I was feeling relieved and quite satisfied with myself¡­¡­. But then I felt sharp pain in my right leg. And when I looked down to see what was wrong with it, I noticed that one of the remaining NT Ants managed to deliver a blow to my right thigh.


    Damn it! Which one?! Which one was it?! Looking around in a small panic attack, I finally noticed it. It was the rightmost NT Ant, one of the two that were now left behind. Taking advantage of the fact that we were distracted with fighting against its other two companions, it made its way behind me and attacked in the moment when I let my guard down, because I never expected that I am going to be sneak attacked by a monster when I was the one who sneak attacked one of them literally not a minute before!


    But that is not the worst thing about it. The worst thing about it is that I can feel the impact of that one attack, or rather, its effects that it is having on me now not only in the place that has been attacked, but throughout my entire goddamn body, and it is causing me to feel quite a strong shock. What exactly was that attack just now if it ended up causing me so much pain even with the ¡¸Plating¡¹Skill active, which was supposed to protect me from the enemy attacks!


    I do not understand it! Even though the wound itself does not look all that bad, the pain that I am feeling right now is horrible and unlike anything that I have ever felt before¡­¡­ of my fucking God, and¡­. And apparently this shit is just keep on spreading!


    Khh¡­.. ghhh¡­¡­ Uwaaaah!


    The shock that I am feeling right now reaches my heart, straining it to the brink and the limits of its endurance! Yes, it is more of a shock than an actual pain, the shock that feels as if something was grabbing directly onto my heart and kept on squeezing it repeatedly in tandem with its increasing heartbeat.


    This¡­. This might actually be the worst kind of feeling that I felt ever since I have arrived in this world. And I really mean it. Nothing else can possibly compare to this: not the pain of being smacked with the branches of a Needlewood. Not being scared and confused after finding myself on the receiving end of Green Caterpillar¡¯s Web Spit Skill.


    Not the horror of a Kobold grabbing onto his rusty knife with that demonic Smirk on its oversized head. Not having my finger injured by a Mino¡¯s horn when I was a few seconds too slow to didge its attack properly, and definitely not being splashed to the face with a Needlewood¡¯s ¡¸Water Ball¡¹Spell when I discovered that even Needlewoods will be capable of using magic attacks if only their level is going to be high enough. Yup, this is like¡­.. at least a hundred times worse than all of the above feelings combined into one, no two ways about it!


    ¡¸¡¸Master! Are you¡­¡­ What is¡­¡­.¡¹¡¹


    Sherry and Roxanne seem to be saying something to me, but to be honest, I cannot hear them all that well anymore, because my head is getting filled with that dull, high-pitched noise that seems to be muffling out every sound that is being registered by my ears.


    This is bad. This is really, really dangerous. I do not know what is happening to me, but I cannot just stand here and take it like a little bitch!

 Volume 5 - CH 3.3

    I swing Durandal to my left in an attempt to absorb some HP, hoping that it would make me feel just a little bit better¡­..


    However, even though the hit probably connected,  I do not feel like my condition has improved at all. In fact, I think it might have actually worsened, because I started to break out in a cold sweat.


    Yeah, the shocks are definitely getting bigger and more intense. Why? Why is this happening to me? I do not understand! Somebody, anybody, please! Help me understand what is going on with me right now!


    I am desperately clutching at my chest as I collapse down onto my knees, hurting them against the hard, stony floor of the Labyrinth. It is getting harder and harder for me to endure the pain that I am feeling right now.


    Even my head feels like it has been hit by a major earthquake that continued to rumble inside of it without any intentions of stopping anytime soon.


    The trembling and the shivers do not want to stop. They are clinging onto me without the slightest intentions of letting go of me. I cannot think straight anymore. I am starting to feel delirious and I probably have a fever, but I am not really sure about that, because every sensation that I am feeling right now begins to coalesce into a single mess of signals that my brain is trying to decode all at once and it is utterly failing at it.


    ¡¸X X X X X X! X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X! X X X X X X!!!¡¹


    Sherry rushes to my side and says something, but I cannot understand what she is saying anymore.


    All my nerves are feeling as if they have been set on fire by that shock. Pain that I am feeling and how much it hurts: those are the only two things that I am capable of thinking right about now. I cannot bring myself to think about anyone else, because if I try to do that it just ends in me feeling even worse than I am already feeling.


    For some bizarre reason, Sherry¡¯s face is approaching me. Why? Why is she doing that? As these thoughts bumped into my head, she pressed her lips against mine really tightly. She extends her tongue moves it into my mouth. Sherry, for the love of fuck, what the hell are you doing in the middle of the battle? We are in the Labyrinth here, where there is no time for such displays of affection.


    Nevertheless, I accepted her, even though I cannot possibly comprehend the reason for why would she be doing something like that. I just opened my mouth and allowed her into my mouth, sucking on her tongue with my own, just like I always do.


    Her tongue is soft, slimy and gentle as usual¡­.. but then something rolled off of it and found its way into my mouth. I do not know what that is, but it definitely does not feel like a part of Sherry¡¯s tongue. Or maybe a part of it has fallen of due to the enemy¡¯s attack as well? I do not know, but I do know that whatever that thing is, it is obstructing my mouth, making it even more difficult for me to breathe than it already was. I swallowed it to remove this obstacle to my breathing, and then I continued to be glued to Sherry¡¯s mouth.


    I twirled my own tongue around Sherry¡¯s tongue that keeps on entering and leaving my mouth over and over again as I twirled, clung, and sucked on it. It tastes so good that it is making me forget about anything else that is currently happening around me, even the shock that I was feeling and the impact it was having on my body. In fact, I feel like all of these unpleasant feelings that I was slowly drowning in are subsiding right now, because Sherry¡¯s kiss is acting like a tranquilizer on me, gradually making me feel better as the shock continued to decrease little by little.


    It feels as if the burden and weight on my whole body have been removed. I do not feel any pain anymore, the dullness in my limbs disappeared and the heavy clouds and fog that have been messing with my mind have finally cleared up as well. It feels like my heart has been released by whatever was grabbing it, and I could not be happier about it, because that feeling was truly unbearable, and I do not think that I would have been able to resist it for much longer. The burning in my entire body is gone, the trembling of my limbs has stopped and I do not feel this overwhelming sense of dread and fear anymore and my thoughts are back where they belong: firmly in my head.


    What the fuck was that? What in the world just happened to me? And what was I doing just now?


    ¡¸Master! Are you alright now?! How do you feel?! Master, please, answer me!¡¹


    When Sherry finally separated her mouth from mine, she bombarded me with a series of questions with an extremely worried expression, but thankfully now that this awful feeling was gone from my body I could hear what she was saying to me clearly.


    ¡¸Oh¡­ y-yes, I¡­. I feel fine now, I guess. Anyway, what happened to me just now, and what did you do to make me feel better?¡¹


    ¡¸I fed you the Anti Poison Medicine with a direct mouth-to-mouth method because you have been poisoned by the NT Ant¡¯s attack and in your current condition there was no way to give the medicine to you otherwise, because you might have ended up hurting yourself.¡¹


    I see. So Sherry did that for me because I was poisoned.


    Wait. Poison? Ahh, I see, I get it now. So I was actually poisoned by an attack of that NT Ant that managed to score a sneak attack on me, and that is what caused me to feel this awful shock all over my body. Come to think of it, that dreadful sensation definitely had a¡¸poisonous¡¹feeling to it, because I felt as if something was continuously eroding on my body, melting and eating through it from the inside. It was both unbelievably strong and tremendously terrifying, and if I was left without a proper care for just a little while longer, then I am positive that I would have definitely died, so I feel grateful to Sherry for her quick thinking and the immediate decision to jump into action as soon as she saw that something was not right with me¡­¡­ but now is not the time to be thinking about that! Now that my mind is cleared, I can finally assess my situation properly, and the conclusion could have been only one: we are still in the middle of combat, and there are still two NT Ants left to deal with, and when I looked around my surroundings, I saw that Roxanne was fighting the other two, and she was dodging their attacks perfectly.Great, this is exactly the opening that I needed!


    I quickly got up and attacked the nearest NT Ant with Durandal.


    Since it is blindly charging towards Roxanne, I moved in and slashed at it from the side for maximum effectiveness. My body is still feeling somewhat heavy, but with each consecutive blow, I feel like the burden on my body is being lifted little by little, so it would seem that the damage done to me by the poison can be easily recovered with Durandal¡¯s ¡¸HP absorption¡¹Skill, so these guys will not be a problem as long as Ibeat them with Durandal.


    And just like that, the remaining two NT Ants have been annihilated in a matter of two minutes.


    ¡¸Master, are you alright?!¡¹


    When the battle was over, Roxanne also immediately rushed to me to check up on my condition since she could not afford to do it while we were still in the middle of the battle.


    ¡¸I am all right now, and I am sorry to have caused you to worry, Roxanne.Now, let us go back to that small room we were in a little while ago.¡¹


    I do not think there is a anything wrong with me anymore, but just to be on the safe side I should thoroughly confirm my physical condition, so we picked the Poison Needles that the defeated NT Ants left behind when they died and return to the small room where we found the treasure chest.


    ¡¸Okay, we should be safe from any potential monster attacks here.¡¹


    ¡¸You girls saved my backside back there. Thank you, both of you. Roxanne, you kept the last two monsters at bay, which allowed Sherry to treat my condition without any interruptions. Thank you, thank you both so very much.¡¹

 Volume 5 - CH 3.4

    If it was not for the two of them, then I would not be able to deal with that poison at all on my own, probably because it was my first time dealing with something like that and I was taken by surprise. That is why the thought that I might have been poisoned never even crossed my head and I ended up not taking the antidote, thinking that what was happening to me was just an aftereffect of a regular attack from the NT Ant. If I was alone in here and the same thing happened to me, then I definitely would have been done for, that is how dangerous of a status ailment Poison is. Well, I guess this is just one more reminder for me that the Labyrinths are truly dangerous placed that have to be taken seriously at all times unless you want to end up dead like I would have been if it was not for Roxanne¡¯s ability to stall the last two enemies and Sherry¡¯s timely intervention.


    ¡¸Thank you, master, but there is no need for you to thank us. After all, we only  did what was natural for loyal slaves to do: save our master al all costs!¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yes, exactly what Miss Roxanne says!¡¹


    Roxanne puffs up her chest with pride, while Sherry turned her face away from me in embarrassment. Honestly, I cannot blame her for doing that, not at all. I mean, she basically had to administer the Anti Poison Medicine to with a mouth-to-mouth method, which is a wholly different source of embarrassment than the one coming from your regular kissing.


    ¡¸But, I wanted to do it as well, and Sherry got to do this twice now.¡¹


    Roxanne muttered in a quiet, barely audible voice. At first I did not know what she was talking about, but then it clicked with me. She was talking about that one time when Sherry was all out of MP after she fused a Copper Sword of Obstruction for me as the very first item in her Master Smith career and I had no other choice but to feed her the MP Recovery Medicine via mouth-to-mouth method because otherwise she might have ended up hurting herself in her depressed state caused by the MP deficit. So if we count that as the first time, then I guess that this really is our second time doing something like this.


    ¡¸Do you want to drink some water while we take a little break? I think we all deserve it, so get your cups out.¡¹


    ¡¸Of course!¡¹


    I take a small tub out from my backpack, and fill it with water with my¡¸Water Wall¡¹Spell.


    ¡¸Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, master?¡¹


    ¡¸I am still a bit sore from that earlier battle and I cannot move around as much as I would  want to, so can you give me some water mouth-to-mouth?¡¹


    I asked Roxanne, and she happily nodded while holding her cup of water close to her chest.


    When we left the Labyrinth Later, I made my way to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild on my own. The poison is all gone from my body now, my mind is crystal clear and there are no uncomfortable feelings hindering my functioning whatsoever, so I guess that goes to show that these Medicine Pills really do work and they are not just an advert aimed at novice Adventurers to buy them from the Guilds in large quantities only to discover that they are pretty lackluster, all things considered. Also, thanks to Durandal¡¯s ¡¸HP Absorption¡¹Skill I have fully recovered all of my lost health as well, so I was completely healed, both in my body and my spirit. The time has come to resume my trip to prepare us for going to Palmasque, so I warped and visited more Adventurer¡¯s Guilds in other cities.


    Today, I reached the town of Zabir.


    According to what Sherry said, this town is supposed to be situated on the very border of the Empire, and it is from here that we would be going to Palmasque next, so I went to the Notice board in Zabir¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild in order to compare ads and posters with the notes that Sherry prepared for me.


    However, nothing that was written and posted on the entire message board looked even remotely like the letters that should spell the word ¡¸Palmasque¡¹.


    ¡¸Excuse me! I want to go to Palmasque from here. Can you tell me how can I do that?¡¹


    ¡¸We go to Palmasque three times a day: In the morning, at noon and in the evening. The price is five silver coins per person. The morning transfer has already departed, so the next one is scheduled for noon, which means that there are still four more hours before it becomes available.¡¹


    I asked one of the Adventurers, who was stationed in a place where usually all the other Adventurers responsible for teleportation in other Guilds were standing, and that is what he told me in response. However, since there was no clock in the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, it would be difficult for me to tell if there was really morning, noon or evening and I will be in trouble if there is going to be no one outside to confirm the time from the position of the sun for me, so seeing as there was nothing else for me to do here, I returned back home.


    And when I did that, I immediately went outside to check on the position of the sun in the sky.


    Since Quratar was more to the west than Zabir was, the sun has just barely began t emerge from beyond the horizon here, meaning that it was definitely earlier than in Zabir. Judging by the exact position that the sun was in, I would say that it must have been around six o¡¯clock in the morning here, and since the Adventurer back at Zabir¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild told me that there was four more hours until noon, it has to mean that in Zabir it was around eight o¡¯clock, which would make the exact time difference between Quratar and Zabir the one of approximately two hours.


    Considering that there is a time difference even between Quratar and the Imperial City, it looks the distance between them is not that big as I have initially thought, and also that it might be a little more to the north or the south instead of the east.


    In any case, the difference of two hours means they are most probably about 30 degrees in longitude apart, which is roughly one-twelfth of the total circumference of the planet, assuming that the planet that this world is located in has exactly the same characteristics that earth had. As for the cost of MP that had to be expended so that I could move from Zabir to Quratar, it was so much that the amount of my total MP has decreased considerably.


    If so much of it has been expended for the trip to a town that was on the border of the Empire, then I have to wonder if it is going to be possible for me to travel directly between Quratar and Palmasque at this rate, because honestly, I highly doubt it.


    But in that case, what is going to happen if it runs out in the middle teleportation? Will it go into the negative value, resulting in an even stronger mental backlash than in the case of it simply getting to zero? But if it is going to be like that, do I want to take a risk and do so anyway, hoping that nothing too bad is going to happen to me? No, definitely not.


    Something like that would have been too much of a gamble even for me to risk. If my current amount of MP is not going to be enough, then it is not going to be enough, and that is that. There is no need for me to needlessly inflict unnecessary damage upon myself if I can just try searching for some other way if it is going to be at all possible.


    ¡¸Oh, you are back already, master? Have you taken care of everything that you wanted to do? Or perhaps you forgot something and came back to pick it up?¡¹


    Roxanne talked to me when I went back to the house while feeling more then a little depressed and dejected.


    ¡¸No, I did not forget anything, and no, unfortunately I was not able to do anything that I wanted to do just yet, because as it turns out I have to wait for another four hours to do it, so I just came back here to confirm exactly what time it is and wait.¡¹


    ¡¸Four hours? Then I will definitely let you know when that time passes, so you can leave that up to me, master!¡¹

 Volume 5 - CH 3.5

    As expected of Roxanne¡¯s body¡¯s inner clock. It would seem that I can always depend on it, no matter what happens, for which I am extremely grateful to her, especially since I cannot tell the exact time anyway. That being said, I cannot have absolute certainty if her body¡¯s internal clock is going to be the most accurate thing in the world too, but I feel like at this point there are not too many alternative that I can use, so I guess that is going to have to suffice for now.


    After I had myself some breakfast, I decided to pay a visit to the Merchant¡¯s Guild since I had nothing better to do while I waited for the period of four hours to pass anyway. While I was there, I went to see Luke, my broker in the Guild, and I bought the Green Caterpillar Skill Crystal off of him. When the purchase has been finalized, he once again offered me to have the item appraised at the Guild¡¯s temple for a small fee, but I have already used my ¡¸Identify¡¹Skill on it beforehand, just like I did with my previous purchase that I got from him, the Mermaid Skill Crystal, so I already know that this Green Caterpillar Skill Crystal is a genuine one and not a fake, so once again, I opted for not choosing to have it verified at the Guild¡¯s temple. Like I was saying, as long as I have my own ¡¸Identify¡¹, I do not need to pay money to others for something that I might as well be doing myself.


    When I returned to the waiting room of the Merchant Guild from upstairs where I was meeting with Luke, I saw a familiar face of someone who I honestly did not expect to see here at all.


    It was Gozer, the leader of the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy, who was also an exceptionally good-looking ikemen (TL Note: ikemen means pretty boy or men). Even though he was just sitting there in the waiting room without doing anything in particular, he was still looking like someone taken straight out of a damn painting, and just as usual, he was emitting this overwhelming aura of authority that made everyone else around him look small and insignificant in comparison to him.


    And did I already mention that the guy is so good-looking that it should be made criminal? Now, I know that Roxanne and Sherry are going to be one hundred percent faithful to me because I am their master, but I do not want neither of them to see this guy or be in his general vicinity at all, because if they saw that there are such good-looking guys out there, I am afraid that it might have put some strange ideas into their heads.


    I wish that my worries were baseless and nothing more than the side effect of my constant paranoia and insecurities, but back on earth I already saw that once good-looking buff guys start hanging around girls, they are going to cause them to alter their way of thinking and behaviors until they will devolve to such a degree that even the smartest, most calm and collected of girls and women would start acting like little more than a hormone-crazed, braindead morons that are not going to be able to put one coherent sentence together as long as such a Chad Thundercock stays next to them, which is why I sincerely wish all the worst and every possible miseryimaginable onto every ikemen, chad and good-looking guy in existence.


    I do not care that I might be worrying for no reason, or that thinking like that and harboring such a strong resentment towards the people who look better than me is going to make me look like a complete and utter fool. Even if I am going to be branded as an anxious fool much in the same vein as ¡¸The people of Qi who lament the heavens¡¹ (TL Note: The Chinease state of Qi from the beginning of the Shang Dynsaty (16th c. BCE) was apparently very small in scale, as it is rarely mentioned in ancient Chinese documents except to say that ¡°its affairs are not worth mentioning.¡± It is perhaps best known as the inspiration for the popular Chinese idiom, è½ÈËÓÇÌì (è½ÈË‘nÌì) (Q¨« r¨¦n y¨­u ti¨¡n, literally meaning, ¡°Qi people lament heaven¡± or ¡°the people of Qi worry about the sky¡±), which is said to refer to the fact that the people of Qi often talked anxiously about the sky falling down on their heads. The idiom is used when mocking a person¡¯s needless anxiety over an impossible, inconsequential, or inevitable matter).


    I just cannot help but to worry whenever pretty guys, or any guys at all start eyeing Roxanne and Sherry. They are my slaves and would never think to betray me, or so I would like to think, but the history of my old world has shown us time and time again that nothing lasts forever. Empires may fall because of a single man or women, pillars can be toppled down by a single crack formed at their base and sages can eventually be led astray from their path towards enlightenment, so naturally the hearts of Roxanne and Sherry might one day end up being swayed by some hot guy, but as long as I draw breath I will not allow that to happen.


    My harem has yet to fall, the pillar of my resolve to protect my girls from any square-jawed assholes is standing firmly still and I will not allow either them or myself to be led astray! And that is precisely why I can declare these words with pride and conviction: Fuck the ikemen and screw the chads! As far as I am concerned, they can just go rot in a ditch and die!


    Yes, die, pretty boys and good-looking lads! Go die! Die right now, and torment us regular and average guys with your insufferable presence no longer!


    ¡¸Oh, what a coincidence. Are you here for auction as well, Michio-sama?¡¹


    Fuck. Oh great, now that is just peachy. It seems that I have been noticed by Gozer. I just hope that it was not because of all the curses that I have been directing towards him and all the ikemen of the world in my mind.


    If at all possible, I wanted to just ignore this guy and pay him as little attention as possible¡­.. but there is just something about Gozer¡¯s refreshing smile and the way that he carries himself that is simply not allowing me to ignore him even if I wanted to.


    ¡¸Not really. I came here today mainly to settle a few equipment related matters.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. Well, that is one the most important things for a proper Adventurer to do, so I commend your diligence.¡¹


    Yeah, except for the fact that I am not a proper Adventurer, and I do not know if I am ever going to be one, so take those pretty praises of your and shove it up your pretty¡­..


    ¡¸And what about you, Lord Gozer?What brings you here, all the way to Quratar today?¡¹


    I stepped forward in order to cover Sherry and Roxanne, who were following closely behind me. I especially wanted to cover Sherry, because I did not want to have her look at that guy. Thankfully, it turned out that Sherry was not even interested in the guy in the slightest, because she went away from us in order to read through a couple of booklets that seemed to have caught her attention. She seems to be more interested in books than in good-looking men. Good, that is very good indeed. An attitude worthy of the highest of praises, Sherry!


    ¡¸Since a large portion ofthe duke¡¯s work includes socializing, I was sent here by him today in order to acquire some Gift Items.¡¹


    ¡¸Gift¡­.. Item?¡¹


    Just like Gozer said, socializing is an important part of a noble¡¯s job, (or as some would probably say, a bothersome duty that comes in a s a part of their Job description) so if he wants to give someone an item that is gong to be appropriate for someone of his position and social standing, then it is more than likely that he will surely be acquiring such an item through auction, because I am sure that for nobles, gifting someone something that needs to be sufficiently rare or unique is the only way to go. Man, come to think of it, nobles do have their own share of troubles to be dealing with, huh?


    Getting rid of Labyrinths in their territories and protecting people from the monsters is another part of the noble¡¯s job.


    ¡¸May I ask what is going to be the occasion for which you have to obtain a Gift Item?¡¹

 Volume 5 - CH 3.6

    ¡¸Of course you can. It is soon going to be the time for the third imperial prince¡¯s wedding, and His Highness intends to move into his own house right after the ceremony, so I was thinking about what would be the most appropriate gift for the newlyweds. Initially I though that perhaps an Orb of Self Destruction might be a good present for their soon-to-be-born child? Or perhaps an Elixir would be better? And just like that, I ended up spending quite a bit of time here thinking what to choose, but unfortunately to no avail so far, since I have distinct trouble discerning what might be the best possible gift for a young couple moving on to their new home.¡¹


    So, this third prince wants to move to his own house with his bride, huh? In other words, he does not want to eventually succeed the throne, but he would rather go fully independent? I do not know how manageable that is going to be, but at the very least I can respect the guy for rejecting the easy way out that has been laid before him and instead choosing to try and conquer his destiny with his own two hands.


    The third imperial prince, huh? I do not personally know him, and I doubt that I ever will, but overall he sounds like an okay kind of guy, and maybe that proves that not members of the royalty or nobility are complete douchebags and assholes? But nevertheless¡­.


    ¡¸That does sound like you are in a pretty tight spot.¡¹


    ¡¸It sounds like that indeed. You would not happen to be in possession of anything that could be used as a Gift Item, would you not, Michio-sama?¡¹


    ¡¸No. Unfortunately, I am not in possession of any such items.¡¹


    And honestly, why would I ever be? I have no reason to be in possession of such items, because I have my hands full providing for decent living conditions for myself and my slaves, so it never even crossed my mind to have items that could be given to other people as gifts.


    ¡¸Well, choosing gifts takes time, and those two are not the only one that I was considering. On that note, if you would happen to have some Clematis flowers on you, I would gladly buy them off of you, for an appropriate compensation of course.¡¹


    Clematis flowers? Quite a peculiar choice of flowers to give to the newlyweds, but whatever, it¡¯s not like I know any better (TL Note: In the language of flowers Clematis means mental beauty, and its symbolism is that of  the beauty of ingenuity or the trait of artifice, most likely related to its clever ability to climb around high places such as walls as well as trellises) since I am not a florist and I do not know the symbolism of each and every flower in the world.


    ¡¸I do not know much about giving gifts to others, but if you are looking for one, then how about a Palmasque Mirror? Sure, it might not be a much of a practical gift, but at least it is going to look pretty nice mounted on the wall of the prince¡¯s new house, right?¡¹


    Sherry was the one who told me that it is a popular gift among nobles, and that is why I suggested it to him, but the turn that the conversation took after that surprised me greatly.


    ¡¸Nobles in the east use them often from what I have heard, but here in the north, we hardly get a chance to obtain them, since a journey to Palmasque from these territories would be a long and difficult one.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. That is understandable.¡¹


    They are not using the Palmasque mirrors here because they are unable to get their hands on them, but I am willing to bet my right arm that if only they could, then such a thing could definitely be used as a Gift Item of the highest quality. Because, I mean, why would it not be so? At the very least, I know that I would have done something like that without a second thought if I was a noble or a member of royalty, and I would have done so, then that is all the more reason for me to believe that others would have done so as well.


    ¡¸Normally there would be a chance for us to get it in the Imperial City, since they are always used whenever there is a wedding ceremony for the important figures, but this time we already tried that and there is not a single one left in the capital, and I am not sure if we will be able to obtain it from Palmasque in time this time. Unless¡­ unless you would be able to perhaps get it from somewhere else and for a reasonable price?¡¹


    ¡¸Well¡­. I cannot make any promises, but I can say that I might have an idea.¡¹


    ¡¸Well then, if you could get it from somewhere else, then we would definitely like to purchase it from you. If you do manage to buy it, you can deliver it straight to the Duke¡¯s castle in Bode.¡¹


    I am not sure if I can go directly to Palmasque, but I can definitely go to Zabir at the very least.


    and because Zabir should be the closest town to Palmasque, then I wonder if I will be able to acquire a Palmasque Mirror from there for a cheaper price than usual?


    Alternatively, I can always rest in Zabir to recover the MP that is going to be spent, and then go to Palmasque.


    ¡¸Okay then, I will see what I can do about it.¡¹


    ¡¸Wonderful. It would seem that I am going to be in your debt once again. If you are really going to try to obtain the Palmasque Mirror for us, then I want you to have this.¡¹


    Gozer then handed me a small item that looked like an emblem with a crest etched onto it.


    ¡¸What is this?¡¹


    ¡¸The Emblem of Hartz Duchy.If you show this to the guards or servants at the castle, the Duke and I will immediately be informed of your arrival. One word of advice though: please make sure not to misuse it in any way, because if you do, we will be forced to charge you with the crime of abusing the Duke¡¯s authority.¡¹


    I examined the emblem, which was etched onto a piece of good quality cloth, closely. Everything about it practically screams that it is the property of someone belonging to the higher echelons of society. I cannot discern if it is weaved or embroidered, but no matter the case, it looks like something that would be especially hard make, not to mention create a counterfeit of.


    Maybe that is actually the reason why Gozer was willing to give it to me so easily: because he knew that even if I tried to create a copy of this emblem, then my attempts to do so would all be for naught. At the same time, should I treat is as a sort of a letter of introduction? Because if we are treating this thing as a letter of introduction, then that would mean that I have received yet another letter of introduction, which makes it a total of two letters of introduction in a very short time: one from Alan the Slave Merchant that should allow me to do business with the Slave Merchant situated in the Imperial City, and now this one from Gozer that is going to make it possible for me to enter the castle in Bode, the capital of the Hartz Duchy so that I could deliver the Palmasque Mirror after I obtain it. Hoo boi, I am definitely on a roll when it comes to these things.


    What is this, a season for handing out letters of introduction left and right? Because if so, then why did nobody informed me of this? If I knew that I will be able to get such sweet deals for myself, I would have prepared myself for it just a little bit more.


    ¡¸I am sorry for having you wait, Gozer-sama. I had to take care of the business transaction with another visitor first.¡¹


    As I was putting the emblem back into my backpack, I heard someone calling out to Gozer from behind me. It was Luke, the broker who I just bought the Green Caterpillar Skill Crystal from.


    ¡¸By saying ¡¸another visitor¡¹, I believe you were talking about me, right?¡¹


    I remarked half-jokingly.


    ¡¸Oh, so you two know each other?¡¹


    When I turned around, Luke the Broker and Gozer both looked surprised, although each of them for a very different reason.

 Volume 5 - CH 3.7

    Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist  Editor: Weasalopes


    So the person for whom Gozer was waiting here in the waiting room must have been Luke. I guess that should not be all that surprising, since it is nothing unusual for the nobles to take part in the auctions organized by the Merchant¡¯s Guild through the brokers and middlemen just like the rest of us common folk do. And since he knows Luke, then I guess that has to mean that Luke must have some connections to the Hartz Duchy.


    ¡¸I guess you can say so.¡¹


    ¡¸Is that so? Then please excuse my intrusion.¡¹


    Gozer then left along with his two subordinates, who were accompanying Luke. They were also elves, and of the especially good-looking variety at that.


    Damn you, pretty boys! Damn you all to hell, truly!


    ¡¸*Sigh* Are all elves as good looking as these guys?¡¹


    ¡¸It would seem so.¡¹


    Roxanne replied to my weary comment without any particular expression on her face and speaking incredibly matter-of-factly. From the looks of it, it appears that she is was not interested in them at all, which made me feel relieved. The last thing that I want in my life is Roxanne getting NTR¡¯ed by some pretty-looking elven fag.


    ¡¸An elf and a broker, what a perfect combination.¡¹


    Oh no! Sherry seems to be interested I them! What should I do? Should I start worrying? Or maybe try to somehow persuade her that noting good will come from her being interested in elven ikemen, or maybe I should play my Master Card and outright forbid her to associate herself with any Elven men? For the time being, maybe I should try asking her what exactly did she mean by the words ¡¸perfect combination.¡¹


    ¡¸Perfect combination?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, you can even say that they were made for each other. With both Elves and brokers, you may never know what the are truly thinking under those mask-like faces of theirs, and that is why most of the other races tend to distrust them, and I can definitely understand why that would be, because whenever I am looking at one of them, I always get this uneasy, unpleasant feeling that I can never put into words well enough.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, is that so?¡±¡¹


    ¡¸While we were still kids, everyone in my village was always telling us younglings that Elves are not to be trusted and that we should be wary of them if we ever meet on of their kind.¡¹


    So apparently the good old fantasy trope of Dwarves not getting along with Elves much is pretty much alive and kicking in this world as well, huh? Well, they can be on unfriendly terms all they want for all that I care, just as long as they leave Roxanne and Sherry alone. With that said, I am very satisfied with the fact that Sherry is as interested in elves as she would be in a pile of a dirty, leftover snow from last year¡¯s winter, and that seems to be not just her personal preference, but a racial thing as well. However, the matter that is still pretty much shrouded in mystery is the question of why she dislikes brokers and middlemen so much. Also, I wonder what she would have done if she ever happened upon an Elven broker?


    ¡¸So getting acquainted with a broker or an Elves is absolutely out of the question for you then, Sherry?¡¹


    ¡¸No, not necessarily. Even if they are Elves and they cannot be trusted, I realize that not every Elf out there is a bad Elf, and that it is important to get to know them first before jumping into conclusions or making any hasty judgements.¡¹


    Good, so even when it comes to such things, Sherry is trying to behave in a rational manner, and her distrust of Elves in not something unconditional dictated by the deeply rooted racial hatred and racism between Dwarves and Elves, so there should not be any problems stemming from that in the future.


    ¡¸All right, shall we get back home then?¡¹


    ¡¸We still have a little more than three hours to go, so I think that we can go to Vale and still make it in time.¡¹


    Roxanne told me that as I was preparing to go back home. Her internal body¡¯s clock seems to be a really reliable thing.


    Sherry making another batch of equipment, us having breakfast, meeting with Luke for the purpose of me buying a Green Caterpillar Skill Crystal and happening upon Gozer in the waiting room of the Merchant¡¯s Guild¡­. have all these things took us just around one hour? Somehow, I find it pretty difficult to believe.


    Since Roxanne herself suggested it, we went to Vale¡¯s Labyrinth for a bit, and while we were going through it, I asked Sherry about one thing that I did not understand from my conversation with Gozer, so I was hoping that she was going to shed some light onto that matter.


    ¡¸Sherry, can you tell me what exactly is The Orb of Self Destruction?


    ¡¸To put it really simply, it is an item that allows its user to perform a suicide attack.¡¹


    ¡¸A suicide attack? That sounds pretty scary.¡¹


    ¡¸If you use Orb of Self Destruction, you inflict massive damage to your opponent in exchange for your own life. It is being advertised as a perfect method of self defense when everything else fails and you do not want to simply allow monsters from the Labyrinths to kill you without putting up a fight, but I have not heard about many people actually using it.¡¹


    ¡¸Well, I can definitely see why that would be.¡¹


    After all, even if it is meant to be used a s a weapon of last resort, I think we are all going to agree that you would have to be a very special kind of insane to actually want to use something that would wipe out all of your enemies but ended up killing you in the process of doing so.


    ¡¸and how exactly does that item work? The attack that it triggers, I mean.¡¹


    ¡¸When it comes to The Orb of Self Destruction and how it works, it seems to be causing a huge explosion that ends up obliterating the user and everything around him, leaving only the bloodstains on the floor and walls behind.¡¹


    Wow, that sounds like a pretty terrifying item, so I definitely do not want to have anything to do with it, and even think about what would have happened if someone were to use such a dangerous tool incorrectly or irresponsibly. Yeah, the best thing that you can do when you come across something like that is to just leave it be and do not touch it at all. That would be one less problem to worry about for you and everyone in your immediate surroundings.


    ¡¸Ahh, so that must have been what one of the Bandits who attacked the Slave Shop in Vale used when master found him dead in one of those rooms on the first floor, right? He even looked extremely similarly to what Sherry was describing when it came to how much blood was left from him.¡¹


    Roxanne remarked when she picked up on mine and Sherry¡¯s talk. Yes, she is talking about that one guy whom I have found in one of the rooms on the first floor of Alan-san¡¯s Slave Shop, the one that I have defeated by using the ¡¸Equivalent Exchange¡¹Skill from the repertoire of the ¡¸Bonus Spells¡¹ section of my Bonus Skills. When I used that Skill on him, there really was nothing left of him aside from that bloody smear on the room¡¯s walls and floor. And apparently the usage of The Orb of Destruction would have had pretty much the same effect.


    ¡¸Damn.¡¹


    Of course, on that night in the Slave Shop, it was not the Bandit that used The Orb of Self Destruction, but it was the result of me using ¡¸Equivalent Exchange¡¹, but I guess that from the perspective of someone who was not there the entire time and did not see it all happen, the difference between one and the other would probably be pretty much indistinguishable. Back then, when I first saw what happened to that poor sap when the spell got to him, I told myself that I should not be using it at all, but with how the current situation has developed, I think that I can start employing that Spell again and then cheat both the system and those around me by saying that said enemy used The Orb of  Self Destruction.


    ¡¸Are there any restrictions or limitations for as to how The Orb of Self Destruction can work?¡¹

 Volume 5 - CH 3.8

    ¡¸Not really, but there are some curious rumors about it.¡¹


    ¡¸Rumors? What kind of rumors?¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm¡­. For example, the ones saying that adults have a one hundred percent chance to die whenever they will end up using it, but at the same time, they strongly believe that if a child that is three years of age or younger were to use such a destructive item, there is a pretty high chance that the skill might not activate. The younger the child is, the bigger the probability of the Orb of Self Destruction failing to activate, and the effect is said to be automatically failing whenever a child that is younger than three years old. When the effect of the Orb of Self Destruction fails to activate properly, there will still be a powerful blast from it, but that one is going to only damage the monsters around the caster without taking their life in return. And if the child that used this failed Orb of Self Destruction can survive that encounter, they are going to be guaranteed to obtain the Mage Job.¡¹


    Sherry continued to explain. I heard that they had to consume some sort of medicine during their childhood years to acquire the Mage Job. Could it be that this ¡¸medicine¡¹is actually The Orb of Self Destruction? And from what Roxanne told me, this is a popular gift given to the newborn children, but honestly, there is no way that I am ever going to consider a literal suicide bomb as a good kind of gift, neither to a newborn baby, nor anyone else.


    Also, if it causes the user to literally explode until there is nothing but a wet bloodstain left of them, then I guess this is really just like my ¡¸Equivalent Exchange¡¹, even though the principles on which that Skill and Orb of Self Destruction operate are a little bit different. ¡¸Equivalent Exchange¡¹works by exchanging your own MP with the enemy¡¯s HP, but if I understood it correctly, then The Orb of Self Destruction works by sacrificing all of the user¡¯s HP in order to inflict damage to everyone and everything around them, and if I were to hazard a guess, then I would say that the amount of damage dealt is proportional to the amount of HP that the user had at the moment of the item¡¯s activation.


    I obtained a Mage Job for myself precisely because I used ¡¸Equivalent Exchange¡¹on that Bandit during the raid on Alan-san¡¯s Slave Shop, so if it is possible to become a Mage by casting ¡¸Equivalent Exchange¡¹, then it has to be possible to also get the Mage Job by using The Orb of Self Destruction.


    If you can get lucky enough to survive the blast, that is, and children seem to be using that method because the younger they are, the bigger their chance of actually not dying from the blast that would have definitely killed a regular adult, and that is why children in this world can become Mages from a very young age. Now, I wonder if this is an intentional feature put into the game by the developers, or is it more likely that this is actually a bug that they somehow forgot about or were too lazy to remove, thinking that nothing is going to happen if they just leave it there as is.


    Also, people in this world seem to be deeply fixated and oddly desperate on getting the Mage Job as soon as possible, which seems kinda counterproductive to me if most of the regular methods used to obtain it are the life threatening ones.


    ¡¸And what about an Elixir?¡¹


    ¡¸It is a medicine that can be said to be the best type of panacea currently available, a healing potion of the highest grade that no other healing salve or recovery medicine can possibly compare to. When drank, it will immediately heal any injuries, get rid of fatigue and remove any negative statuses that have been inflicted upon you.¡¹


    ¡¸Wow, that really sounds like something that you would want to have on you at all times no matter the circumstances. There was one more thing that Gozer said he would want to buy from me if I had it. It was¡­. What was the name of that thingy¡­¡­ Clematis flowers, I think?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, the thing that he mentioned were definitely Clematis flowers.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, okay. And¡­. Why did he want me to give those away to him? Does he want to make a bouqet of flowers for the third imperial prince and his bride with them because of their symbolic meaning or something?¡¹


    ¡¸No, I do not believe that those were his intentions at all. He was asking you about Clematis flowers most likely because they are the raw ingredient from which the Elixir is being made.¡¹


    Clematis flowers, huh? In short, that is another luxury item used as gifts among nobles and royalty, and Gozer was asking me about it because he was willing to pay me for them if I happened to have some on me so that he could then use these flowers to order an Elixir to be made for him.


    ¡¸I see. Thank you for enlightening me.¡¹


    After talking to Sherry, about all of the items that Gozer was asking me about, we continued our trek through the Labyrinth.


    We could also go back home and wait there so that I could use the shadow of our house to tell the passage of time, instead of relying on Roxanne¡¯s internal clock, but I was not in the mood for just sitting around and doing nothing.


    As long as I have the chance to spend my time in an active manner while possibly making some more money and gathering more Drop Items in the process, I will take that option any day of the week, and I do not want to miss the next chance to go to Palmasque from Zabir, since we only have three chances to do so per day and I already missed the opportunity to go there in the morning, which means that I only have two attempts left.


    ¡¸Master, it is about time for us to leave.¡¹


    Roxanne said that when I took a Slow Rabbit out with my Cook Job activated. And while I am at it, I do have to wonder: Cook¡¯s Skill is increasing the odds of enemies dropping rare items, but does that chance increase the more Levels the Job itself is gaining, or does it stay the same no matter what? Because I do not know if it is just my imagination or a real deal, but I think that Slow Rabbits have been dropping more Rabbit Meat as of late.


    ¡¸What, is it time already? It went by surprisingly fast.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, it has been about three hours since we came to the Labyrinth already.¡¹


    Sherry says exactly the same thing, so it seems like the bill to go back home has been passed by a two-third majority.However¡­.


    ¡¸Let us hunt down one more group of enemies before we go?¡¹


    ¡¸Hmm¡­¡­ okay, but only if it is going to be just one more group, all right, master?¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, sure. Well then, I guess I will be troubling you with going along with my whims one more time.¡¹


    I equipped myself with Durandal again and told Roxanne go searching for another group of monsters, and she quickly found the one consisting entirely of Slow Rabbits, so I had an exceptionally easy time recovering all of the MP that I have expended across the span of the last three hours, and once that was taken care of, I went to the Zabir¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild directly from Vale¡¯s Labyrinth. Although not completely, my MP after this trip decreased to the extent where I could clearly tell and feel it. To be even more specific, it decreased more than it did in the morning, so before we will be going back, it would definitely do me good to stop by a Labyrinth first so I could recover


    On the way back, I should better go to the labyrinth first to recover my MP, and only then head back home to completely eliminate the risk of me running out of MP. Bringing Roxanne along with me for the ride this time was definitely the right idea. No, on second thought, I am not really sure about that, but at least now I know why my MP decreased more than it did in the morning.  It is because Quratar was located farther away from Zabir than Vale and its Labyrinth, so in a way, I guess you can say that it is somewhat similar to a jet plane.

 Volume 5 - CH 3.9

    Why jet plane, you ask? Because it travels through the air slower of faster depending on the flow of air and the currents that it would encounter along the way, so in that sense whether I am warping to the east or to the west should not increase or decrease the consumption rate of my MP.


    With all of that in mind, I thin it is safe to say that the consumption rate of MP probably depends on the number of people who are actually going through the portal that you have created, and I can tell the difference in that exactly because I have covered the same distance before while Warping alone. So if the number of people who are warping along with you really does increase the amount of MP that has to be extended in order to travel from one point to another, then bringing Roxanne and Sherry along with me for this ride was actually a bad call on my part.


    Oh, well, what can you do? They are already here with me, so it is not like I am going to tell them to go back now, right? That would have been a really dickish move on my part, so instead, I just approached the same Adventurer who stood in the same place as the one where I have found hi standing a few hours ago and I asked him:


    ¡¸Would it be possible for me to go to Palmasque now? I hope I have not come too late again?¡¹


    ¡¸Ah, you¡¯re that one lad from earlier. Do not worry, you managed to make it in time this time. And I see that you have also brought company, since there are now three of you. You are in luck, because aside from you, there does not seem to be any other people who would want to go to Palmasque at this hour, not yet at least. Now listen carefully; the bell heralding the coming of noon is going to sound any minute now, and we are going to be departing for Palmasque when the bell stops ringing.¡¹


    We are the three people while a full Party can consist of up to six people, so just like the guy said, we are definitely in luck, since if we count the one who is going to initiate the teleportation process, then up to six people could travel to Palmasque at once.


    If we were unlucky enough that there would be other people wanting to go there at this hour as well, then we would have to either call the travel off ad wait until evening whle hoping that there would be no more people wanting to go, or I would have to leave either Roxanne, Sherry or both of them behind. But now that there are four of us in total, it means that two more people can join us without any problems. I wonder what they are doing if there is more than six people who want to go to Palmasque at any given window of opportunity, like say¡­. Twelve people, for example?


    If such a thing happens, are they going to make two trips back and forth between Zabir and Palmasque, or are they going to take only five people and tell the rest to buzz off and wait for the next available window for teleportation?


    Probably not, because that would have been outright rude, incredibly unprofessional and bad for their business as a whole Adventurer¡¯s Guild, but it does not really matter for now, because they are not going to be having such problems with us. If it really is only five people at one teleportation round, then there is going to be no problem, because:


    ¡¸It is true that I came here with the members of my Party, but they are going to be staying here. I will be the one travelling to Palmasque.¡¹


    That is what we have agreed on while we were on our way to the safe room in the Labyrinth of Vale. Since the transport fee for a single person is five silver coins, then I would have to pay fifteen silver coins just to have all three of us go to Palmasque, and since we have no idea how much the Palmasque mirror is going to cost us, it would be better to save up as much money for its purchase as we possibly can. Hence I will be the one to go and take care of everything while Roxanne and Sherry are going to be waiting for me here.


    ¡¸Very well, as you wish.¡¹


    After that, I disbanded my Party while confirming with Roxanne and Sherry that they are free to spend their time however they see fit, just as long as they are not going to wonder off too far from the Guild building. They both nodded their heads, and then Sherry walked towards the Guild¡¯s message board in order to read through all of the ads and posters that have been placed there. It is a very good thing that she is an intellectual type who enjoys reading through every poster or book that happens to end up within her reach, because at the very least that means that unlike Roxanne, she is going to have something to keep herself occupied and kill time.


    And then the bell signaling the coming of noon finally rang.


    ¡¸Those of you who want to go to Palmasque, please gather here. The charge for the teleportation is five silver coins per person!¡¹


    I paid the transport fee of the five silver coins, and then it was off to Palmasque with me.


    ¡¸Welcome to the city of Palmasque. Here in this city, all of the buildings aside form the Adventurer¡¯s Guild are made with the use of Shield Cement as the main building material, so the only destination in the entire city where it is possible for you to use ¡¸Field Walker¡¹is this here Adventurer¡¯s Guild!¡¹


    As soon as we finished the teleportation process, we were approached by an Adventurer from the Palmasque Adventurer¡¯s Guild, who began giving us all sorts of instructions. To be honest, that was not what I was expecting to hear as literally the first thing after coming here, but without much of an alternative, I had no choice but to listen to what this guy had to say.


    ¡¸Please be advised that when entering the town from the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, you are going to have to show your Intelligence Card for an inspection by the Knight Order serving directly under the Palmasque City Council! During the Intelligence Card inspection, you will also be required to pay the City Entrance Tax, which is one silver coin! Palmasque is a city that anyone can enter freely, but it is prohibited to be taking any of the city¡¯s residents outside of the city walls! Should you happen upon any individuals who would express a desire to leave the city, you are to report such individuals to the members of the Knight Order under the City Council immediately, and remember that helping such individuals achieve their goal of leaving the city is going to be treated as a grave violation of the Palmasque City Law, and is going to be punished accordingly! While in Palmasque, you are allowed buy local products and items as well as to sell the items that you own to the city¡¯s merchants, but do bear in mind that you are only going to be needing copper coins in order to do so!¡¹


    The explanation about what we can and cannot do in Palmasque was quite lengthy and filled with a lot of pompous-sounding big words, and this Adventurer just talked on and on and on and it looked like he was not going to shut up any time soon. I know that this is his job and that he has to give us all of the rules to ensure that none of the people who are coming here are going to be causing trouble for the local authorities, but come, the fuck, on! There has to be a way to give us all of the rules in a much more acceptable manner than through that diarrhea of the mouth that is leaking out of him now, which makes seem unbearable and reminds me of all these dialogues of the NPC¡¯s that exist just for the purpose of showing exposition and infodumps down your throat, which I always hated.


    Anyway, now that I have acquired a fast travel point in Palmasque¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild, I went back from there to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild in Zabir by myself.


    Normally, they would have probably start gathering the next batch of customers who wanted to go to Palmasque so that they could take them all there, but the Adventurer who was responsible for taking me to Palmasque was not doing any of that, because now that the noon window for the transportation to Palmasque was over, he apparently went on a  oh-so-well-deserved break.

 Volume 5 - CH 4.1

    Chapter 24: Amber


    ¡ºSherry¡»


    ¡ºCurrent Character Levels & Equipment¡»:


    ¡ºJob¡»:


    Master Smith Lv.20


    ¡ºEquipment¡»:


    Club


    Leather Helmet


    Leather Jacket


    Leather Gloves


    Leather shoes


    ¡¸So, the time has finally come.¡¹


    I sat up while correcting my posture and declaring that in a solemn tone of voice.


    Now that we have returned from our trip to Palmasque, we should finally be able to do it, by which I mean, Sherry should be able to do it. I took the Green Caterpillar¡¯s Skill Crystal from my Item Box, then removed the Misanga with an Empty Skill Slot that I was wearing tied around my ankle and passed these two items to Sherry.


    Misanga, Accessory


    Skill Slot: Empty


    But before I handed them over, I also secretly switched the Misanga that I was wearing, the one without an Empty Skill Slot, with the one that had an Empty Skill Slot on it. After all, this is too important of a matter to risk the Item Fusion ending up in failure just because of my own forgetfulness.


    ¡¸Ah, y-yes, of course! I promise to give it my all, like always!¡¹


    ¡¸Do not worry, Sherry. I am sure that you are going to show off your talent here, just like you have been doing with the rest of your fusions up until this point.¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm¡­. I am grateful for all of your kind words, but I would like to say that I think that the saying that the Master Smith who is going to turn their first-ever made Misanga into a sacrificial Misanga is going to be an incredibly talented one is just one big superstition in my opinion.¡¹


    Sherry is once again trying to brush things off with being rational, perhaps in an attempt to temper our expectations of her.


    It is admirable to see that despite all of the successes that she had with fusing various items ever since she acquired the Job of a Master Smith she is still trying to keep a tight hold on her own reasoning, but even despite that, I could see that she was not completely calm, because her hands were shaking ever so slightly, so for her own comfort and mental safety, it might be a good idea not to tell her that the Misanga that I just handed to her was not the very first one that she has made, but one of the recent ones with Empty Skill Slots in it.


    If I gave her the very first one that she has made, then the fusion process would definitely end up in failure, and both the Misanga and the Green Caterpillar Skill Crystal would have gone to waste, and being wasteful with precious resources is not something that I am ever going to allow.


    Not to mention that it is going to be better for Sherry¡¯s self esteem, which she can still have some problems with, so by allowing her to believe that the Misanga that she is going to turn into a Sacrificial  Misanga is the very same one that she fused as the first one, she should get that much-needed confidence boost that should be enough for her to stop worrying and constantly compare herself to other Master Smiths who have more experience in smithing and fusing items than her simply by virtue of them doing them for a longer period of time.


    After all, miracles happen to those who believe in them. It might take quite a long while for them to come about, but as the old Japanese proverb says:¡¸You can worship even a sardine¡¯s head if you believe in it enough¡¹. (TL Note: a Japanese proverb that can mean more or less the following thing: ¡¸everything that you have deep faith in can make the thing feel all the more precious¡¹, or that ¡¸even such a trivial thing as a sardine¡¯s head can be precious to those who believe in it.¡¹and it comes from the Japanese belief that the heads of sardines had the power to ward off the households from the influences of evil spirits that would avoid the house with sardine¡¯s head I it because of their smell during the time of Setsubun, a demon-warding festival held before the first day of spring).


    And, as I think we are all perfectly aware, a drowning man will grab even onto a straw, a beggar who is impatient is not going to get much, and those who believe will eventually be saved. But even so, right now Sherry is probably thinking that even though she has been enjoying so much success with her fusions up until now, she should still be extremely careful not to make any mistakes, which makes her similar to a soldier who cannot declare that he has won the battle until he has successfully returned home from the battlefield, because even though she has managed to win all of her previous battles against the Item Fusion¡¯s chance of failure, there can never be any guarantee that her next fusion is going to be a successful one again.


    Or at least I think that is more or less what must be going on through her head right now, because unfortunately for me, I do not possess as Skill that would allow me to read the thoughts of the people around me. If only I had access to such a convenient ability, then I would know exactly what I should be saying to make Sherry feel better and more confident in herself instead of playing deception and guessing games.


    Nevertheless, even if Sherry might still be wary and cautious of the fusion process and its outcomes, I at the very least know that she is definitely going to succeed, all because I managed to crack the code on exactly in what way are the Item Fusion and the Empty Skill Slots on equipment related. So the way I see it now, Sherry¡¯s way on the road to becoming an even better Master Smith should be relatively simple. Knock, and it shall be opened for you. Ask, and it shall be given to you.


    ¡¸Well, even if it is nothing more than just a folk tale or an urban legend, it would still be nice if you managed to succeed with the turning of your very first Misanga into a Sacrificial Misanga, because then you would have all the bragging rights in the world as well as the ability to promote yourself to others as a successful Master Smith who managed to accomplish a feat that not many other Master Smiths can accomplish even though you had way less experience in the fields of smithing and item fusion than your contemporaries. You think like that as well, right, Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸Right. I believe it is going to be exactly like master says. Sherry is going to succeed because you possess an immense amount of hidden talent. After all, you have been chosen by master, and he happens to have an excellent eye for the talented people.¡¹


    I purposefully aske Roxanne what she thought about the matter of Sherry¡¯s attempt at creating a Sacrificial Misanga in order to use her as a source of further motivation for Sherry. It might seem like a cruel thing to be putting her under so much pressure, but on the other hand, exactly because we are placing her under so much pressure, the feeling of joy when she eventually succeeds is going to be that much greater, and it is my duty as her master to put her under as much pressure as needed in order for her to continue to challenge herself and rising into new heights as a result.


    That being said, since Sherry has never failed in any fusion before, I have no idea how is she going to take her first ever failure at fusing an item when it eventually happens. Is she going to accept it gracefully, or is she going to throw a temper tantrum and start cursing at everything around her as a way of coping with her own failure? If I pressure her like I did just now, is she going to be really mad at me, or is she going to understand that I only wanted to give her some much needed positive reinforcement that every single one of us need at least at one point throughout our lives?


    Sherry, you are going to be all right, right? You are going to succeed, just like you always did, right? There is no way that all of your successes up to this point were simply coincidences and flukes, right? Or maybe the chance to fail is still there, no matter how small, even if the item that is going to be infused with a Monster Skill Crystal does have an Empty Skill Slot in it?

 Volume 5 - CH 4.10

    Spi Spiders are monsters that are native to the third floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth. Because of that, they are going to appear on the fourth floor quite often. And that means¡­ that means¡­.. fuck, I cannot even think straight anymore. There is not enough energy and intelligence left in my head to form such complex thoughts. And even if I had enough of it, my small, pea-sized brain would probably not be able to comprehend them.


    I could have easily blamed the current situation on Roxanne and her choice of enemies that she has chosen to guide us to¡­. But I know very well that this is not her fault. She had no way of knowing exactly which enemies we are going to be running into, and she was simply following my command of finding an easy set of targets for us so that I could have replenished my MP while killing them all with one blow¡­¡­


    But there is also a possibility that she chose such targets in order to be mean to me and make the process of my MP recovery as long and arduous as possible. Of course¡­. But of course¡­.! That much should have been obvious! That must be her way of getting revenge on me for having her carry that heavy mirror while I myself just stood there and watched, not even asking either her or Sherry if they wanted some help with it!


    Ugh, my poor, slow, incompetent brain feels like it is going to boil over from all these thoughts that are currently running through my head. And it makes it difficult for me to aim my strikes with Durandal properly, but ultimately I finally managed to defeat all three opponents with a grand total of three swings, thanks to which the haze that has been clouding my mind gradually clears up, making it obvious that there was no reason for me to be afraid of just two Spi Spiders Lv.4, because they are so weak and the probability of them inflicting poison upon me is so miniscule that it is practically none-existent.


    Instead of whining about how  much I wanted to run away, the correct answer here is to stand my ground and fight. I also feel pretty bad about myself after the fact, because I realized that I have exposed my ugly, hideous self before Roxanne and Sherry, but now that it has already happened, there is nothing that I can do about it aside from accepting it and moving forward, knowing that no matter how shameful my conduct might have been, Roxanne and Sherry are always going to accept me no matter what I say or do.


    I just defeated another group of enemies, thanks to which my MP has gone back to its full value, and then we were on our way back home.


    ¡¸This is the Palmasque Mirror.¡¹


    When we got back home, this is what Sherry said as she peeled off the wrapping made out of papyrus that the mirrors have been packaged in. It was a pretty mirror of a good size that was just right for our personal use here at home. There was no frame or stand attached to it.


    ¡¸Thanks to all of the money that Master gave us and the written commission from the Duke of Hartz, we were able to get our hands on a pretty good mirrors without any decorative frames that would only elevate the price.¡¹


    ¡¸I only ever heard stories about such mirrors and did not have a chance to ever see one for myself, but now that I look at it, this mirror is every bit as beautiful as the stories about it were telling.¡¹


    I can totally see that, however, how does a Palmasque Mirror compare to the modern mirrors that can be commonly found all across not only Japan, but also the entire world? Well, If I were to give my honest opinion, then I would have to say that this mirror is pretty¡­ normal, and of acceptable quality. I do think that it is looking a little bit dull, but it is definitely miles ahead of the polished metal sheets that were trying to pass for mirrors like the one that we had at home up until today. It definitely shows much more than those polished metal mirrors, so for that alone I think it is definitely going to be worth replacing.


    ¡¸Yes, this is indeed a good purchase that you have made, girls. I am absolutely proud of you.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you very much, master. We are glad that you like it as well.¡¹


    ¡¸So tell me, how much did you have to pay for them?¡¹


    ¡¸The price for a single mirror was thirty five silver coins per a single mirror. However, when we were negotiating the price, the one from whom we bought the mirrors agreed to sell us eleven undecorated Palmasque Mirrors for the price of three hundred and fifty silver coins, and since we agreed to pay for all of them up front, we saved up to three gold coins!¡¹


    Oh, so they also managed to cut down on the final price? Great! As expected of Sherry and her intellectual mind! I can always count on her and her smarts whenever it matters the most!


    ¡¸Hou¡­.¡¹


    ¡¸Making such a good purchase was only possible thanks to you, master, because you decided to trust me with the gold coins that were in your possession. We also went to order the Duke of Hartz¡¯s request in one of the most renowned mirror workshops in Palmasque, and judging by the opinions on it that we asked about while we were looking around to decide to which workshop we should be going, I think it would be safe to assume that the craftsmen who work there are not going to simply take our money and escape with them, because supposedly, if the word of such practice ever reached the ears of the Palmasque City Council, then the craftsmen who has committed such a crime would have been done for in Palmasque.¡¹


    ¡¸I definitely hope that this is going to be the case. Because if they do try to escape with our master¡¯s money, I can guarantee you that money is going to be the last thing that they are going to have to worry about once I get my hands on them, since I had their smell memorized, so I will be able to track them no matter where they might try to run to, and when I do, then¡­¡¹


    Roxanne was smiling cheerfully the entire time, but her words were anything but cheerful! ¡¸And when I do, then¡­.¡¹? And when you do, then what?! Roxanne, say something, because you are scaring the shit out of me when you stay all silent like that! I do not like it! Not at all!


    If there were thieves and frauds who would be masquerading themselves as legitimate craftsmen, then the tried-and-true tactic of: get the client to pay as much up front and then disappear with the money without even performing the task that they have been paid for. It is a cowardly, vile and despicable tactic well suited for the absolute scum of society who are in the same boat as Outlaws and Bandits. I am sure that such deceivers and con artists are aplenty in this world, but luckily for me, for as long as I am in this world, I have yet to happen upon such schemers.


    ¡¸And what about the sizes of the mirror? Is it going to be a problem to have them made in different ones, or is it not going to be the problem at all?¡¹


    ¡¸The size of these particular mirrors is the large one, but the craftsmen said that it will not be a problem to make the mirrors of various sizes across the span of that commission, and he also mentioned that the sizes of the mirrors are not going to change the price at all.¡¹


    ¡¸And with that, I think it can be said that the request from the Duke of Hartz has been successfully cleared.¡¹


    ¡¸While we were also at the workshop that is going to take care of the production of the mirrors, we also saw that they do decorations there as well, which is not at all surprising since practically every workshop in Palmasque that takes care of making mirrors is bound to be dealing with the decorations of the frames as well. The craftsmen said that they are going to add a small table mirror with a stand to our order, even though they normally do not tend to create products like that, but they said that they are going to make an exception and attach that additional mirror to the largest regular mirror that they are going to be making for us.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh really? I see.¡¹

 Volume 5 - CH 4.11

    In that case, the largest mirror of the bunch is going to be the one that we are going to take for our personal use. It is also good that apart from that table mirror with the stand, the price is going to stay the same regardless of the sizes of the mirrors.


    ¡¸Since it is only going to the one in the whole eleven mirrors set, it would seem that the stand is going to be attached as a special service at a later date, and it will also be done without any additional charges.¡¹


    Wait, so you are telling me that the price of attaching a stand to the table mirror that is going to be added to the largest mirror out of the eleven that we ordered to be made is already included in that fee that Sherry and Roxanne paid? Oh wow. As, as expected of Sherry I guess, and for the second time today no less.


    ¡¸Great job, Sherry.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, I forgot to mention that, but this particular thing has been negotiated by Miss Roxanne.¡¹


    ¡¸Really, Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. I asked him if it could be done in such a way and he agreed to do it.¡¹


    ¡¸In that case congratulations to you as well for you bartering skills.¡¹


    Who would have thought? I was convinced that Sherry was the one who negotiated that particular thing as well, but the one whom I have to thank for it is actually Roxanne. She seems to be a girl of many talents besides dodging and smelling enemies in the Labyrinths, it would seem.


    ¡¸And what about the amber situation in Palmasque? Did you manage to learn anything about it?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, actually. In the very same workshop to which we went with the commission. The craftsmen there said that since his workshop is dealing in decorating mirrors as well, he would be willing to buy amber, but he mentioned that he would prefer the rough stones instead of already processed ones so that he could process them freely himself according to his preferences.¡¹


    ¡¸So that means that there actually is a possibility for us to do some amber-based business in Palmasque, right?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, definitely. From what we could gather, amber seems to be quite the coveted resource in Palmasque for the purpose of processing it into decorative ornaments, but amber itself is quite rare in the region of Palmasque, most likely because Palmasque itself is located pretty far from the Northern Sea, where amber is usually being harvested, so I think that if we were to deliver amber to that craftsmen, it might be a lucrative business opportunity for us, because if he really wants to get his hands on amber to use it in his decorations as much as he was saying that he wants it, then he should be able to offer us enough money for it to actually make giving it to him profitable enough for us.¡¹


    As expected of Sherry¡¯s knack for information gathering, there is nothing that can possibly sneak past her. That being said, can amber really be harvested from the sea? Because I thought that id it is fossilized resin, then it would have to be dug up from the depths of the soil. But if it is not the case, then how is it harvested? Kinda like from an undersea oil rig? (TL Note: *Commits lobotomy via soup spoon* Sigh, I do not know if I should be angry at the MC, author, or both of them, because that is such a ¡¸Pee is stored in the balls moment¡¹.). Maybe I should ask Sherry to give me a proper explanation about it later? (TL Note: Yes. Yes you should.)


    ¡¸If you do decide to sell amber to that craftsmen from Palmasque, then I think it would be good to go to that amber-selling place in Bode that you mentioned the Duke of Hartz giving you a letter of introduction to.¡¹


    Yeah, the girls are definitely right about that. Now that we have two Palmasque Mirrors on us, it would be a good idea to deliver them to the Duke¡¯s castle in Bode tomorrow morning. But before we do that, I think it would be best for us to pay a visit to the amber merchant first. That way, I would be able to immediately consult the Duke about it if I am going to have any trouble with that merchant and his willingness to do business with me at all.


    ¡¸I guess you are right about that.¡¹


    ¡¸Well then, do you want to come with me next time?¡¹


    ¡¸We can? Are you sure about that, master?¡¹


    ¡¸I mean, the two of you were the ones who bought the mirrors and took care of all of the formalities, so I guess that would only be fair.¡¹


    Also, Roxanne and Sherry are going to be handling any kind of deals involving the selling of the amber we would get from Bode in Palmasque, because you know, Intelligence Card checks, me not actually being an Adventurer and all of that other stuff that I have already mentioned multiple times.


    On a sidenote though, I would have very much liked to see how exactly would they handle doing business and the prices negotiations with various merchants like the amber one in bode, since the two of them have apparently gotten some practice at talking to the merchants while they were discussing the details about the Palmasque Mirrors commission with the craftsmen back at Palmasque.


    ¡¸We understand. Thank you very much, master.¡¹


    And so, just like I promised them, I took Roxanne and Sherry with me on my next trip to Bode. We quickly stopped by the castle so that I could ask for the directions leading to Bode¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild, and after that we have made our way to the castle town. When we finally arrived there, I saw that the Duke was definitely telling the truth, and the shop of the amber merchant really was situated right next to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild¡¯s building, so we did not even need to have to look for it, since all that it took ro reach the guy¡¯s establishment was a short walk across the tranquil cobblestone road.


    It was right next to the sign of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, which was a motif of the earth on a square mark right at the Guild¡¯s entrance. I think that either Roxanne or Sherry explained to me before why is the symbol of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild that one in particular, and if I remember correctly, it was all about the symbolism that Adventurers can go pretty much anywhere they want on this earth.


    The building right next to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild looked perfectly ordinary, just like any other building around it, so if I did not even knew what exactly I was looking for, I would have most likely simply went past it without looking back. All right, since we are already here, then I guess there is nothing left to do for us but to go inside, huh?


    And that is exactly what we did.


    ¡¸Welcome, esteemed customers.¡¹


    A courteous, cat-eared female clerk welcomed us.


    Oooooh! Cat ears! Genuine cat ears! They look incredibly good on her. They make her look both playful and cute at the same time. As I thought, Roxanne¡¯s doggy ears have their own unique charm to them, but nothing is ever going to best cat ears in terms of their sheer cuteness value.


    ¡¸Is this the place that deals in selling amber?¡¹


    ¡¸Indeed. If it is amber you want, then you have definitely come to the right place.¡¹


    All right, so it looks like we are exactly where we needed to be, even if this place is looking more like an office than a shop in a typical sense of the word, not to mention that I do not see any amber on the display anywhere here. Well, if it is really as valuable of a jewel as everybody is saying that it is, then it would stand to reason that they would not be keeping it displayed in the proper shop un order to prevent any attempts at stealing it.


    ¡¸Forgive me for being too direct, but I was under the impression that you are going to be an Elf.¡¹


    ¡¸An understandable assumption since Bode and the Hartz Duchy are considered to be an Elven territory, but amber is found near sea, and it just so happens that the lands where it can be harvested belong to the members of the Catkin race, so it is only natural for the Catkin to run such a shop, do you not think, Mr. Customer?¡¹


    She said so in a small, matter-of-factly voice, after which I felt dumb for speaking so casually about something that might have insulted her.

 Volume 5 - CH 4.12

    Yay, my ignorance is on full display yet again.


    There are many things about this world that I don¡¯t know and this is one of those things. Anyway, the words of the cat-eared female clerk basically confirmed what Sherry was telling me earlier: that amber is indeed harvested from near the sea (TL Note: No shit Sherlock.). If that is the case, then maybe what they are dealing with here is not actually amber, but pearls instead?


    ¡¸I often find myself travelling to faraway places, so I have decided to sell amber during those travels of mine. I heard about this place from the Duke of Hartz and the leader of the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy, and both of them advised me to come here in case that I would ever want to buy and sell amber.¡¹


    I then showed her the letter of introduction that the Duke has written for me.


    ¡¸Please, sir, if you could wait here for just a little bit while I confirm this letter¡¯s contents, that would be much appreciated.¡¹


    The cat-eared clerk then bowed to me respectfully as she took the letter of recommendation from my hands and then walked away to the depths of the shop with my letter in tow. And after a short while¡­.


    ¡¸This letter of introduction¡­. It has been penned by the hand of the Duke himself!¡¹


    A bitter-looking old merchant appeared immediately from the back of the store where the cat-eared female clerk was supposed to have taken the letter. I was hoping for an another appearance of a cat-eared servant, but what I got myself instead was a cat man who apparently was the one responsible for an entire shop. And exactly like I thought, cat-eared do not look good on older guys. In fact, they do not fit him at all, making him look as if he was some kind of a poor excuse of a cosplayer.


    ¡¸Yes, that letter of introduction has indeed been penned by the Duke of Hartz Duchy.¡¹


    He gestured me with his hand to come with him to the room in the back of the shop. When I entered that room, the female cat-eared clerk from before even offered me herbal tea. I guess this has to be the power of the letter of introduction prepared by the Duke of the entire Duchy himself.


    The merchant gestured me to sit on the sofa that was placed in the room, so I sat in the middle of it while having Roxanne and Sherry sit at the either side of me. Then, the female clerk with cat ears came to the table and placed four cups on it, pouring the herbal tea not only for the merchant and myself, but also for Roxanne and Sherry as well. So she is treating them as full-blown customers as well, instead of just something of an accessory to my own person? That is good. Very good, even.


    ¡¸Thank you, and sorry for the trouble.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, thank you.¡¹


    Both of them thanked the cat-eared clerk politely.


    ¡¸So, let us hear it then. What is it that brings you here, exactly?¡¹


    ¡¸I would like to get myself involved in the business of selling amber.¡¹


    The old merchant gazed at me from beyond the other side of the table that was placed in between the two sofas. In the meantime, he nodded at the cat-eared clerk, signaling her that she might leave. Oooh, no, do not go, you can stay here a bit longer! Damn, what a waste of a perfectly good cat-girl that I could have used to feast my eyes upon her cuteness! Anyway, I guess it is now the time to switch into the business mode and start the talks with this guy here in all seriousness.


    ¡¸The Duke and the leader of the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy advised me that if I ever wanted to start dealing with amber, this store should definitely be the place that I should visit, and so I came here with their encouragement.¡¹


    In my opening statement, I chose to further emphasize my connection to the big shots of Hartz Duchy. There is always a possibility that it might not mean much in the end due to the Duke¡¯s light-hearted and free-spirited nature being widely known in these parts, but still, if I managed to get myself a connection to the two of the most important people in the entire Duchy, then why not make use of it whenever I get the chance? Maybe it is going to work like a charm, or maybe it will not work at all. Whatever the case may be here, I guess I am about to find that out for myself.


    ¡¸I figured as much. Since there are not that many customers who come here to my shop with the letter of introduction written directly by the Duke himself, then that has to mean that you really must be someone who is in the Duke¡¯s good graces, and that is why me and the personnel of my shop are going to treat you with the same level of esteem and respect as we would the Duke himself.¡¹


    ¡¸I see.¡¹


    ¡¸However, before we start talking about anything that is going to be business-related, there is one thing that I want you to understand: as an establishment, this shop operates primarily within the borders of Hartz Duchy, Imperial City and its vicinity, and because of that I would have preferred it if my business within those regions remained undisturbed so that it could continue as is. So, if the business that you want to have with me is not about doing anything in these regions, and if your order is going to be something that could be fulfilled from the remainder of our stock that we have right here, I would be more than happy to help you out with that. So, what is your plan going to be exactly, sir?¡¹


    So, it seems that this shop is still going to do business properly, even if they are not going to be lined up with amber in the store directly. And I can definitely see where this man is going with what he said about having his region of operations and not wanting that region to be disturbed. If I was in his shoes, then I definitely would not want some unknown upstart to just barge into my field of business disturbing the stability of what has already been established, and it would have been a huge problem for him if his business got too ruined because of such an unexpected influence from the outside. Of course, my primary goal here buy amber from him at the lowest price possible so that I could then sell it in Palmasque at the highest possible price for maximum profits, but even if I manage to buy it at relatively cheap price by getting it directly from this shop, there is also the problem of transportation costs that I need to take into consideration. Since carrying it from Palmasque to the Imperial City results in essentially doubling the original cost of the Palmasque Mirror, then I am afraid that it might just end up being exactly the same with amber and the costs of its transportation, and that would be pretty bad for business from my perspective. Or rather, it would have been, since Adventurers, in other words those who have access to ¡¸Field Walker¡¹or in my case, to ¡¸Warp¡¹, the superior version of ¡¸Field Walker¡¹, can essentially dump all of the transportation costs thanks to them having access to those skills.


    ¡¸I am planning to do a bit of business in Palmasque this time, and because it is only going to be an occasional thing, not a regular trade I do not plan on selling amber there in  large quantities.¡¹


    ¡¸I understand. If you really plan on selling amber only in small quantities, then it does not really matter where exactly you are going to be selling it, because it will not end up destabilizing the market, but if you say that you want to do it in such a distant place as Palmasque, then I have no reason to refuse selling the amber from my shop to you, so it is going to be perfectly fine for us to do business.¡¹


    As he was saying that, the old cat-eared merchant has produced a wooden box from somewhere and placed it on the table. Does that mean that he liked my answer so much that he is going to do business with me with no further questions asked from now on?! Because it would certainly be great if he did that, as it would make things much simpler and cause them to move on at a much smoother pace.

 Volume 5 - CH 4.13

    When he finally opened the box, I saw that inside of it was a transparent gemstone with a color that looked like a mixture or orange and yellow, with a slight tinge of black to it. Yes, this is amber. Not a pearl, definitely amber. This is such a distinct color that there is no way for anyone to mistake that gem for anything else.


    ¡¸Uwaaaah¡­¡­¡¹


    ¡¸It is so beautiful¡­..¡¹


    Roxanne and Sherry expressed their amazement at the sight of amber from both of my sides. Just like any other girl in the world, they seem to really like beautiful, sparkling jewelry.


    ¡¸A small amber gemstone like this can cost from a thousand to several thousand Nars. A necklace made form amber can cost tens of thousands of Nars. The price of this necklace right here is fifty five thousand Nars, while this right here is fifty thousand Nars. As for why the price of the both of them is so high, it is because large grains of amber, which are pretty rare in and out of themselves, have been used to make them. So, how about it?¡¹


    Perhaps it was because he immediately smelled a possible business opportunity, but the cat-eared merchant immediately recommended the necklaces to Roxanne and Sherry after seeing how lively they reacted to the piece of amber that he shown to us. *Sigh* merchants will be merchants no matter where you go I guess.


    ¡¸No, we¡­.¡¹


    ¡¸Well, I see no harm in looking at them, so feel free to do that if you want.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood. Then, we would like to take a look, if it is not a problem.¡¹


    I urged Roxanne and Sherry to check out the Amber Necklaces if they wanted. Roxanne took the one that was worth fifty five thousand Nars, while Sherry checked out the one worth fifty thousand Nars.


    I also took this opportunity to see from up close exactly how Amber Necklaces are made.


    Oooh, I see. So they are made like that, huh? Well, that might be a simple method, but I cannot say that it is not an effective one.


    The Amber Necklaces that the girls were looking at now were made from dozens of oval-cut and polished egg-shaped chunks of amber connected through a piece of string that was going right through the middle of every individual stone. Is that how such a necklace would have been made in modern day Japan as well, or perhaps this method is a little bit old-fashioned? I cannot say with absolute certainty, because I do not really understand jewelry and other types of decorations like that, because in my previous life there was no need for me to bother myself with these things, since there was no need for me to be wearing them when I was spending the days in my room all the time and I did not have a girlfriend who would wear such accessories.


    ¡¸Necklaces are not the only things that can be made with amber, since it can also be used to make brooches that can be especially valuable if the amber used for the purpose of making them is going to be of exceedingly good quality that can be cut into large pieces. This particular brooch right here had its price set to approximately twenty thousand Nars.¡¹


    The merchant said while also passing me an Amber Brooch to me so that I could inspect it closely to my heart¡¯s content. A brooch, huh? It looks like one of these fancy ones that you could occasionally see men and women alike wearing while having it attached to their coats and mantles. Until now, I was under the impression that only women and men with specific tastes would be wearing something like that, but maybe in this world they are something that men can wear without worrying about being branded in a particular way by the rest of the society.


    ¡¸Hm¡­¡­¡¹


    But honestly, such accessories are not really my cup of tea, and so I am not interested in them in the slightest.


    ¡¸Palmasque is a town famous for its arts and crafts, so it might be better for me to sell rough amber stones there, because I heard that a lot of craftsmen prefer them that way because then that can have the freedom of working with them however they see fit. Do you also sell rough, unprocessed amber here?¡¹


    ¡¸I see. Yes, definitely. Since Palmasque is such a city, then it really might be a better option to bring them rough gemstones to sell, since they will be in much higher demand than the already processed stones.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I think so too as well, and that is why I asked about them.¡¹


    I already heard all about that from Sherry, who in turn heard it directly from the craftsmen who is going to be making the Palmasque Mirrors for us and the Duke of Hartz, but there is absolutely no need for this guy to know about that, and there is definitely no need for me to reveal every ace that I have up my sleeve.


    Sherry was looking at the amber necklace quite intently, which indicated that she was greatly interested in it, even though she was trying her best to look like she was not interested in it at all, but she was doing an exceptionally poor job at deceiving all of us who were here in the room with her, because while she might have tried to control her facial expressions, she could do nothing to control that bright shine that she had in her eyes whenever she saw something that picked her interest. She then exchanged necklaces with the one that Roxanne was holding and was examining it with even bigger interest and attention to every single detail, no matter how small it was, but Roxanne was also looking at the necklace curiously.


    ¡¸Thank you very much for letting us see the necklaces.¡¹


    ¡¸Do not mention it. Well? What do you thin about them?¡¹


    The merchant asked Roxanne when she returned the necklace to him after she stopped examining it.


    ¡¸Well¡­ these necklaces are unquestionably beautiful¡­. But to be honest, I would have preferred something with a lighter coloring.¡¹


    ¡¸Do not worry then, because I have just the product like that.¡¹


    Not allowing Roxanne to let this matter go after her words which normally should be taken as a refusal that should end all talks here and there, the cat-eared old guy continued to press her on by taking out another wooden box and showing her yet another necklace that was inside of it.


    ¡¸Eh? Eeeeeh?¡¹


    ¡¸This necklace right here is made out of a highly transparent amber, which gives it a light color that is quite refreshing for the eyes, and it is one of the last few that I have for sale purposes here. Price-wise, it is going to be cheaper than the other two that you looked over because its colors are not as vibrant and intense, but thanks to that it should be a pretty good deal to be had.¡¹


    ¡¸No, I¡­..¡¹


    Roxanne was even more hesitant than before, but the merchant did not let go his assault. He definitely is a true businessman, not allowing any potential prey to escape once he already set his sights on her.


    ¡¸And what do you think about them Miss Customer?¡¹


    ¡¸Hmm, let me think¡­ I think that both of these necklaces are good-looking and exquisitely made.¡¹


    After the old man merchant spoke to Sherry, she returned the necklace to him as well. She praised the products that he has shown to us, but the tone of her voice was as cold as ice. And that glare of hers¡­. This is a glare that is very different from the usual one that she is giving me whenever I say some dumb or questionable shit. I have a feeling that I should be uncomfortable looking at her staring daggers at someone like that, but this time¡­ this time that glare of hers caused me to feel good, mostly because I was not on the receiving end of it.


    ¡¸Does that mean that you like them?¡¹


    The merchant asked her, seemingly unfazed.


    ¡¸Maybe I would have, if it was not for the fact that I am a Dwarf, and the necklaces of this length, which are typically made with humans and the tall humanoid races in mind, making them a more than a little bit too long for us.¡¹


    ¡¸You are absolutely right. Most of the things here are made with Humans, Elves and other tall races in mind because they tend to like the necklaces of this length, but for the clients who do not fancy the long ones we also have something like that.¡¹

 Volume 5 - CH 4.14

    The cat-eared old fart said while taking out yet another necklace. Just how many of these does he have stored in here? This time, it was a necklace with just one big chunk of amber in it, but the string was constructed in such a way that its length could have been freely adjusted according to one¡¯s needs and tastes.


    ¡¸A necklace with adjustable string length? I see.¡¹


    ¡¸And here I this box are all the rough amber chunks that I currently possess.¡¹


    The merchant pushed the necklace against Roxanne and Sherry and addressed me this time. Inside of the box that he just took out were some reddish stones. Is that also amber? Because it surely does not look like that. Noticing the question mark floating above my head in mass quantities, the merchant took one of said reddish stones out and handed them to me for inspection.


    ¡¸This is how a rough amber gemstone looks like.¡¹


    ¡¸This is a rough amber gemstone? It looks different from what I have expected.¡¹


    ¡¸That is because rough amber chunks look different from the ones that have already been polished and worked around with. On the other hand, what you see right here are the fragments of the larger lumps of natural amber that was formed on the seafloor and then washed ashore. See those scrapes right here? These markings are the signs that it has not been that long since they have been formed and harvested and they are the sign that these pieces of rough amber are of the highest quality possible.¡¹


    ¡¸I see.¡¹


    These chunks of amber certainly look as if they have been scraped in many places.


    ¡¸Mr. Customer, do you know what kind of amber you would like to do business in when you go to Palmasque? Or rather, do you know what kind of amber is the best to trade?¡¹


    ¡¸No, unfortunately I do not know.¡¹


    Yes, I do not know that, because there was no way for me to know about any of those things before. Back when I was still living on earth, there was no need for me to be interested in amber, its price, properties and all of those other things related to it, and even if I knew about it, there is always a chance that the amber of this world might be different from the one from my old world, meaning that all of the knowledge that I could have possessed about it would have been no good and could be thrown out the window.


    ¡¸Basically, the general consensus is that the raw gemstones are better for the purpose of trading, especially the ones with high transparency and reddish color. Roughing is used to separate the shades from one another to some extent, but that method is not always an absolutely effective method.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh really? Why is that?¡¹


    ¡¸Whenever you polish the raw amber chunks, there is always a possibility that there might still be traces of the foreign substances left in it. According to one of the legends, amber was actually created by one of the Goddesses through magic as a means to deal with the plague of insects that were ravaging the lands, and that is why the corpses of insects can be found contained within pieces of amber. The ones that contain a whole intact insect, like an ant or a mosquito are the most beautiful, very valuable, and they also have a great value for the collectors of such peculiarities of nature, but unfortunately, whether or not a piece of amber with the remains of insects in them is going to be of high value or not cannot be determined at the rough cutting stage.¡¹


    Huh? But I thought that amber was a perfectly natural mineral made from hardened sap of the trees such as pine and the like that is turned into its gemstone form after it fossilizes after much time passes! Now I definitely think that I am going to have to ask Sherry to give me a crash course on amber of this world, its history and the myths that surround it, because at this point in time there is just too many things that I seem to not know about it, even though I am supposed to be passing for a resident of this world just like anyone else around me.


    ¡¸So amber came to be because of a Goddess¡¯s magic? That is the first time I am ever hearing such a thing. Back where I came from, we have a completely different explanation for its origin.¡¹


    ¡¸At least that is what the story says. Some of the Dwarven scholars even wondered if amber can actually act as medium and the catalyst for the purpose of utilizing the magic power of that Goddess in the process of fusing weapons and equipment, but so far I have not heard about anyone who would actually be able to make that happen, and the general consensus on the matter seems to be that amber cannot be used as a weapon and armor strengthening material because it is something that came to exist naturally and not because a monster dropped it.¡¹


    So, just like with most of the experiments conducted by these Dwarven, scholars, it ended up in spectacular failure, huh?


    ¡¸Really?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. But supposedly, one of the great scholars of the past and few others who came after him claimed that they have managed to extract the Goddess¡¯s power from the amber in form of lightning by rubbing two pieces of amber together.¡¹


    If it really was exactly like Sherry has described and they managed to extract ¡¸lightning¡¹from the amber by rubbing two pieces of it together, then what the encountered was probably not the magic of the Goddess, but static electricity, to which amber seems to be prone to, as was discovered by the people of the ancient Greece, mainly Thales of Miletus, who observed that when amber was being rubbed with a piece of cloth that has been made form wool or a material that is similar to it, it gained the ability to attract small pieces of leaves or dust to itself, which was due to it generating static electricity because of the friction.


    I turned to the merchant and returned the rough amber gemstone to him.


    ¡¸It would seem that it is pretty difficult to assess the quality of an unrefined amber gemstone, at least the way I see it. ¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, it is impossible if you do not have experience of  at least several years in this field of work, and even then the proper assessment of amber¡¯s quality might be pretty hit or miss depending on the exact condition of each individual piece and a number of external circumstances and factors that we oftentimes cannot foresee or predict, but you can rest assured that my shop is always going to strive to bestow the products of the highest quality possible to our clients.¡¹


    At first I was wondering why he was talking about all of this, but maybe that was his way of communicating the anti-complaint measure that this shop is employing to ensure that none of the potential clients would be storming the shop at a later date while demanding a refund of the money that they have spent here if they ever found the product to be lacking or not up to their standards?


    ¡¸I understand.¡¹


    ¡¸When it comes to the raw amber gemstones, all of the ones that are currently left in stock are about the same size as this one right here, and they all cost eight hundred Nars per piece, and since the processing of the raw gemstones is actually done in a separate place form here, it means that not all of the raw stones that we possess will be immediately available, but right now, I could accommodate you with up to ten pieces of them.¡¹


    Ten pieces of raw amber, eight hundred Nars each. It might not seem like much, but you have to understand that this is a price for a raw, unrefined stones, and the cost of refined amber can jump up to sever thousand Nars per one piece. Well, considering all of the hassle that the craftsmen have to go through in order to obtain, refine and then polish each and every stone they manage to get their hands on, I guess it can be said to be pretty understandable


    ¡¸Oh well, since the Duke recommended you and went through the trouble of giving me a letter or introduction, then I guess I will take all that you have to offer.¡¹


    I do not know how much would it cost at the shops in Palmasque and how much gemstones I would be able to buy from them.

 Volume 5 - CH 4.15

    But if I had the option to buy amber here instead of in Palmasque, then I am going to take that option, but not just because it would definitely be cheaper that way, oh no. That is not what I am about here. I am about something different entirely. By bringing a certain amount of amber with me when I will go sell it in Palmasque, I would be able to show the craftsmen there that I am not just some upstart off the streets, but someone who legitimately means serious business. I do not need to sell all the of the raw amber gemstones at once, but I definitely need to bring more than just one of them with myself, otherwise I might not be treated seriously.


    I do not know what is going to happen in the future or how the things are going to turn out, but just to be on the safe side, it would be better for me to buy everything that this merchant has to offer so that I would not end up regretting it later. And since Gozer said that the price of the Palmasque Mirrors can go up to twenty thousand Nars, then it means that I can make quite a nice profit by selling them to the Duke. And in the case that the cost of the eventual failure would surpass the limits of what I currently have, then I am just going to go and drop the idea altogether.


    I have already earned enough profit from selling three mirrors to the duke.


    If the cost of failure surpasses my limit, I¡¯ll just drop the idea.


    Even though I already finished talking to the merchant and thought that it was about time for me to be on my way, Roxanne and Sherry were still pretty much absorbed in looking at the amber necklaces. In fact, they are looking as if they were so entranced by it that they might not have even registered what the merchant was saying about the raw amber gemstones costing eight hundred Nars per piece?


    Ugh, now that I think about it, bringing them both here with me might have been a mistake after all, because it seems like even Sherry does not know much more than I do when it comes to amber. Well, no use crying over spilt milk now that it is staining the floor already, right? And besides, Roxanne and Sherry might now have been that great of a help in providing me information about amber, but they certainly seem to be happy looking at it.


    They are both girls after all, and what girl does not like pretty, shiny things, am I right? This seems to be true especially for Roxanne, because she is staring at the necklace that she was given earlier quite enthusiastically. It must have really stricken her fancy.


    Since I had literally nothing to lose by doing so, I tried to imagine her wearing that necklace on her pretty neck¡­¡­.


    Oh dear. Oh damn. Oh my God!


    Mind blowing. The sight that I have imagined is simply mind blowing! I just could not stop thinking about the amber-colored transparent stones resting on top of Roxanne¡¯s rich bulges, and it was¡­. Definitely a stimulating sight that I would appreciate from the bottom of my heart whenever I would have had the chance to do so at every waking moment of my day.


    I want to hold them. I want to rub them. I want to squeeze them in my hands and bury my face firmly in between them. I am talking about the amber necklace and its beady segments, of course. That is definitely something that I would have loved to see Roxanne wear while going to the bed with me.


    Well, I guess there is no other choice for me but to go and buy it for her now. Roxanne is definitely going to be pleased with me if I will buy it for her, so I have to do it for her¡­.. or do I now? Yeah, do I¡­ do I really need to do it for her? No, come on now Michio, do not be rash and do not panic. For all I know, this might just be a clever trap, a cunning ruse set for me by this cat-eared merchant. Yeah, it has to be. After all, he would not be so forceful about presenting all of these necklaces to Roxanne and Sherry if his ultimate goal was not gaslighting me into buying it for them even if that was not my original intention at all. I have to keep a cool and calm head, or else I will be playing right into the enemy¡¯s hands.


    I avert my eyes.


    My gaze falls upon Sherry. She is still looking at the necklace as if she wanted to make a hole through it with her sight alone, and she is even frowning a little. I can only hope that this is just my imagination and nothing else, but she definitely does not look like the usual Sherry that I know and love.


    ¡¸I wonder if this one would look better on you than that one after all?¡¹


    The merchant muttered to himself loud enough so that we could all hear him loud and clear, and then he produced yet another necklace. The new one was dark-red in color, and it was made of amber gemstones that were definitely larger than the one s from which the previous necklace that Sherry was looking at was made of. Initially Sherry was a little hesitant, but eventually she took the necklace and tried it on. The entire time she was struggling with tying the string at the back of her neck her heart was beating so fast and so loud that even I could hear it from where I was sitting, and when she finally managed to tie the string and looked down on the necklace that was now resting firmly around her neck, her face became flushed and she exhaled with admiration and a beaming smile bloomed on her lips.


    ¡¸Oh wow!¡¹


    ¡¸Oh wow indeed.¡¹


    Those were the simple words, but at the moment, I felt that they would be the ones to best describe how Sherry was looking right now, because the necklace shines gorgeously on her neck and chest.


    ¡¸Definitely.¡¹


    I never thought that it could look as good as it did on her, but it really looks outstanding, and apparently the merchant thinks so as well


    ¡¸B-But¡­ I-I do not really¡­ ¡¹


    Even though Sherry clearly liked the necklace, she looked as of she wanted to decline it.


    ¡¸The dark-red colored amber that this necklace is made of is a favorite color among many female customers, and most importantly, it is priced at forty five thousand Nars, while the other necklace that you looked at was priced at fifty thousand Nars. The one that Mr. Customer is holding is thirty thousand Nars.¡¹


    The merchant told me the price of the necklace. I feel annoyed at the fact that the price that he stated is not something greater, which would automatically mean that I would have an excuse not to buy it¡­. And there is also the matter of me feeling a little bit disgusted with myself, because if I do end up buying that necklace for Sherry, then not only would I also need to buy a necklace for Roxanne as well so that she would not feel left out, but even if I did that, Sherry¡¯s necklace would still me more pricey that the one that I would have gotten for Roxanne, even though she is my Number One Slave, which might cause her to become hurt and jealous, thinking that I no longer care about her, and such a misunderstanding is something that I have to avoid at all costs!


    Is there no escape from this situation for me? Can I not do anything to have a cookie and eat the cookie at the same time?


    What is going to happen if I do not buy that necklace for Sherry after all? Is she going to be mad at me? Or perhaps disappointed? God damn it, why did this merchant had to show the more expensive necklace to Sherry of all people?!


    ¡¸Really? I see.¡¹


    ¡¸And I would recommend this one for the lady over there.¡¹


    When I was pondering over what I should do and how should I proceed to salvage this seemingly hopeless situation, the merchant brought out another necklace and puts it in front of Roxanne. My God, seriously, where is he keeping all of these things?!


    ¡¸Hou?¡¹


    ¡¸Although its color is faint due to high degree of refining, it¡¯s one of the few necklaces our firm takes  genuine pride in. The large amber in the center is especially well made, because you rarely see a gemstone this big that would be this transparent at the same time.¡¹

 Volume 5 - CH 4.16

    He was right. The amber in the middle of the necklace was definitely bigger than the rest and more transparent.


    There is a big jewel in the center of the string, with several smaller ones lined up on both sides of it.


    ¡¸How is it, master?¡¹


    Roxanne showed me the necklace after she finally put it on.


    There are three mountains on her chest now: the amber one in the center, and her own big mounds on the either sides of it.


    Because it has faint color, it does not assert itself too much, but just sits quietly in the valley of Roxanne¡¯s chest, surrounded by her two bountiful hills.


    Oh, you have to be shitting me! This means war! I can do nothing but watch while it¡¯s sitting on her chest. This truly means war!


    ¡¸It¡­ It looks good on you, Roxanne.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you very much, master!¡¹


    Her smiling face looks so dazzling.


    ¡¸Do you like it?¡¹


    ¡¸It surely looks better than the previous one.¡¹


    ¡¸This one is priced at fifty thousand  Nars.¡¹


    So it is actually five thousand Nars more expensive than Sherry¡¯s necklace.


    In other words, this is the escape route that I was so desperately seeking.


    ¡¸T-Then, I will be taking these two necklaces, please.¡¹


    ¡¸Are you sure about that, master?¡¹


    Roxanne asked me when I finished placing my order with the merchant. Of course, she kept the necklace with the big amber in the middle of it on her, meaning that the big amber was still lodged firmly in between the safety of her chest, which was basically an equivalent of her forcing me to buy it. Without anything else to say or do, I simply nodded at Roxanne¡¯s question, causing her to smile and nod back at me happily.


    ¡¸Now then, about the price for your purchase. With the price for the raw gemstones and the letter of introduction from the Duke himself¡­. Let us call all of that a special service and make it seventy two thousand Nars.¡¹


    The old man merchant nodded with a big smile on his face. Damn it! Even with my thirty percent discount Bonus Skill active, it still feels as if I was doing exactly what this guy wanted me to do, making me dance at the palm of his hand to the tunes that he was playing. I mean, do not get me wrong, it it nice to see that the letter of introduction given to me by the Duke apparently acted as yet another source of discount, but even with that in effect, the price that I have to pay for these necklaces an draw ambers is still astronomically high. Well, I guess that right now there is not much more that I can do about it. It cannot be helped. I do not know exactly what cannot be helped, it does not change the fact that it cannot be helped. What matters the most right now is the fact that I managed to get my hands on the amber necklaces that are going to be adorning Roxanne and Sherry¡¯s necks.


    ¡¸Well, I guess this concludes our business then.¡¹


    As I was telling him that, I coughed up the dough and paid it to him without complaints or any attempts to haggle in order to get the price down any further than was it already was, because something was telling me that haggling and bargaining would not do me ant good at this point.


    ¡¸Yes, we certainly concluded our business here, and I hope that our partnership is going to be the one that is going to be beneficial for the both of us.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, definitely. I am going to be in your care when it comes to amber.¡¹


    ¡¸The next time when you come to pay a visit to Bode we are going to have your raw amber gemstones ready¡­. Is what would like to say in order to not needlessly keep you on the edge of your seat for too long, but since they are not the kind of product that can be picked up immediately, preparing them all properly is going to take some time, so I would like to ask you to be patient.¡¹


    ¡¸Sure, no problem. Do whatever you have to do, just as long as you will make sure that everything is done right.¡¹


    That might have sounded a little cheesy, but these are my honest thoughts on the matter of doing business with this guy. But now that our business here in this shop was concluded, we went back home. For a moment I thought about going to Palmasque, but ultimately I did not want to travel that far for once, and for twice, there is no need to show ourselves to others as greedy individuals.


    Even though I do not completely trust those craftsmen from Palmasque, as long as Sherry and Roxanne paid for a deposit of the mirrors that were being made for us, we do not need to get hem right away. I thought that maybe we should have went there to show off Roxanne and Sherry¡¯s new Amber Necklaces, but since that might have been seen as a fraudulent method of rushing a sales contract, so we should exercise a healthy dose of restraint so hat these craftsmen could see us as serious business partners.


    ¡¸Thank you so very much, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, thank you, master.¡¹


    ¡¸But¡­. Are you sure that was really okay? Buying us those necklaces, I mean?¡¹.


    When we got back home from the shop of the amber merchant from Bode, the girls thanked me for buying the jewelry for them, but not before confirming once again whether or not that purchase was really, really okay with me.


    ¡¸Yes, I am really fine about it. Since the two of you are going to be responsible for the selling of our amber in Palmasque, I thought it might be a good idea if you were to wear some kind of amber accessory yourselves, so you can think about it as a necessary business expense to increase our chances of everything going smoothly.¡¹


    Yes, if you think about it, that is exactly right, even if these might not have been my original intentions when I was buying these necklaces. This is going to be a kind of exhibition, where Roxanne and Sherry, as the two people responsible for the selling of our amber need to be wearing something made out of amber themselves, that is simply how it has to be.


    ¡¸Okay, then we will  be borrowing them from you, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Borrow? Why would you borrow from me something that has been bought specifically for you?¡¹


    Sherry said something pretty strange


    Says Sherry while I was putting the necklace around her neck, so I asked her about that particular matter.


    ¡¸Everything that an owner buys for his slaves is the owner¡¯s property. Well, aside from consumables, undergarments and other items of daily use.¡¹


    Sherry replied to me. Is it really so? I honestly had no idea about that. So you are telling me that even if I buy equipment or accessories for these two, then from the standpoint of the law of this world, any such items belong solely to me, and I am only borrowing them to my slaves?


    I mean, I guess this is kinda understandable since I am their master and all, but that still kinda sucks, if I am to be honest. And by the way, I feel like I have heard a similar thing being said to me back when I was buying clothes for Roxanne back in the day.


    I know that in the understanding of this world such a thing is going to be just right because slaves are nothing but another commodity in the hands of their masters and they are not treated as living beings but rather as objects, tools to be used until they get broken down and replaced, I still think that they should at least deserve that much. If I am buying accessories for them, then at the very least I want them to know that the accessory that I bought is well and truly their, and not just something that they are going to constantly have to ask for permission to wear.


    ¡¸Well, in any case, if you do your best to sell the raw amber, then you are going to get the money right away. Even though I do not know how much is it going to be in the end.¡¹


    Even if the mirrors are going to be sold to the Duke and the leader of the Knight Order at a cheaper price, we are still going to be selling them quite a lot of them, so we should still be able to make quite the profit out of them, and we can always recover the rest of the money by selling the raw amber, and even if that were to fail for some reason and Roxanne and Sherry would not be able to do it, then I will find a way to recover the costs somehow.


    But for the time being, I think we should assume that the selling of the raw amber is going to be successfully conducted, allowing us to earn some fast and easy money off of it. And while we are still on the subject of the Duke and his Knight Order, then since we are already selling the mirrors to them, then would it not be possible to sell them some amber as well?


    Because amber is easier to carry than mirror, it should not be as expensive as mirror.


    Mirrors and amber cannot be kept in Item Box because they are not items dropped by monsters, nor they are used as materials in making equipment. Not only that, but mirrors are quite large, so their transportation is almost always guaranteed to be problematic since due to their innate fragility the possibility of them getting broken for whatever reason is going to be quite large, much larger in fact then with other objects and instruments of similar size, and because of that it is impossible to be carrying more than one of them at once.


    When Roxanne and Sherry bought the two mirrors that we carried back home with us, they had to do it by one of them holding each mirror with both of their hands and while having them lean on the entirety of their body weights, and even then it did not look like that was the safest of methods that could be used to carry these mirrors, but if there was a different, safer method of transporting them then I am sure the craftsmen at the workshop where they were buying these mirrors would have informed them about it, so apparently that is the only way in which they can be carried, or at the very least, the only known method of how to transport them.


    Amber, however, is just a small stone, so you can easily carry some of it in your backpack, and there is virtually no way for you to trip over it even if it were to somehow to fall out of your backpack, because let us be honest with ourselves for a moment here: you would have to be a very special kind of touched to the head to trip on something as small as a pebble at best, and a small rock at worst.


    ¡¸Yes, master! W-We will try to do our best!¡¹


    Awww, just look at them, ensuring me that they are going to do everything in their power to meet my expectations of them. If having such slaves by my side cannot be called a pure blessing, then I do not know what can.


    ¡¸You do not have to be so worried about it. Since it is the incidental product, then I am going to be satisfied just as long as we will not end up getting into the red because of it.¡¹


    I am looking forward to seeing exactly how much is it going to cost.


    On that day, we did not end up going to Palmasque. Instead, we went to the Labyrinth of Vale and spend our entire evening hunting monsters there so that we could get ourselves some of the items that would then be exchanged in the Adventurer¡¯s Guild for some quick cash that we would use to buy the ingredients which we would then use to prepare the dishes that would constitute our supper, but also so that I could recover the MP that I have expended for the purpose of taking all three of us from Quratar to Bode and then back to Quratar from Bode.


    I did not spend as much MP for it as I did when I warped us from Quratar or Vale to Palmasque, but it was still an amount that I wanted to recover, because I was planning on taking a bath with the girls after dinner, and I knew that I would still have to make at least one or two trips to the Labyrinth in order to fill the bath with hot water, so I wanted to have as much MP as possible to limit the amount of additional trips that would have to be made.


    When we got back home from the Labyrinth, we had ourselves some dinner, and then took an extra long bath to ensure that our bodies will be thoroughly cleansed from all the grime, sweat and dirt that accumulated on them throughout the entire day, and when we finished bathing, the time has finally come for the girls to wear their respective Amber Necklaces, which I have volunteered to help them put on. Seen from above, Roxanne¡¯s boobs were just as magnificent as they were when I was looking at the from below during the nightly fun activities or when I was looking at them normally during the day.


    When I tied the string of her necklace behind her neck, I had her turn to me to show me how it looked, and I have to say, the bead of the necklace looked absolutely magnificent in the valley of Roxanne¡¯s breasts, which were still shiny and glossy after the bath that we took.


    Yes, buying that necklace for her was a correct choice after all.


    Next, I did the same thing for Sherry.


    The gorgeous red amber looked absolutely breathtaking against her white, slightly flushed skin.


    Oh yeah, Roxanne and Sherry adorned with their Amber Necklaces were truly a superb dish, and I partook in every delicious bite of it.

 Volume 5 - CH 4.2

    Oh God, now even I am starting to get nervous! Is the chance to succeed if the right conditions are met a guaranteed one hundred percent or not? Is it certain that Sherry is going to succeed this time as well, or is that matter still in the air and yet to be determined?


    ¡¸All right then, I am going to start the Item Fusion process.¡¹


    ¡¸No, Sherry, wait! On second thought, you do not need to be so hasty about it¡­¡­ oh crap you are already doing it, are you? Is it too late to stop the fusion process now? Yeah? You sure? Are you definitely, absolutely sure that there is nothing that can be done to stop it now? Oh, o-okay, I see, I understand. In that case, keep doing what you were doing. Yes, go ahead and fuse it.¡¹


    Unfortunately, it seems that it is too late to stop the Item Fusion process, so I have no other choice but to allow Sherry t continue on with it, it would seem. But this is quite troubling for me. What am I going to do if this fusion really fails, and more importantly, what is Sherry going to do? As I was thinking about all the possibilities of how this fusion might proceed, I started looking at Sherry¡¯s hands and the items that she was holding in them with a suspicious look.


    I do not know if this fusion is definitely going to succeed, but on the other hand, there has been nothing so far that would point to the possibility that the fusion is definitely going to turn out a failure as well. Maybe it is going to be all right, or maybe it will not be all right. At this point, I really do not know what it is that I should be believing and what is right or what is wrong.


    The only thing that I do know that Sherry is an intellectual and rational type of person, so even if the fusion does end up in failure, she is probably going to accept it and simply move on forward. After all, she must have already seen her fair share of Master Smiths who tried to fuse something only for that fusion to end up in failure, so she probably knows that a single failure does not mean that your life or career are going to be over, and that this is going to be just a minor setback on the road to her success.


    Yes, this is nothing but yet another trial presented to her by God that she simply has to overcome, and she will only be able to obtain true happiness for herself after triumphing over such challenges. If she passes it, happiness and joy will await her. If she fails, the thing waiting for her will be sorrow instead. So go ahead, God, let Sherry partake of your trial, and if she succeeds, open the gates of your kingdom for her.


    Oh crescent moon, take her through The Seven Misfortunes and Eight Hardships (TL Note: Seven Misfortunes: fire, wind, floods, wars, punishments, demons and thieves, all of which humans can escape by reciting the name of Kannon, the Goddess of Mercy, according to the Buddhist Lotus Sutra. Eight Hardships: Eight places, states, or circumstances wherein one is unable to see a Buddha or to listen to his teaching. They are (1) hell; (2) the realm of hungry spirits; (3) the realm of animals; (4) the heaven of long life (any of the eighteen heavens in the world of form or the four heavens in the world of formlessness where beings live long; or, by another account, the Heaven of No Thought in the fourth meditation heaven in the world of form); (5) Uttarakuru, the continent north of Mount Sumeru where pleasures dominate; (6) obstructions of the sense organs, such as blindness; (7) attachment to and satisfaction with secular knowledge; and (8) the period before a Buddha¡¯s birth or after his death. Man, why does Buddhism have to get so weirdly fucked up at times and filled to the brim with so many esoteric themes?)


    As I prayed to the God and the moon, Sherry finally began the fusion process.


    She holds the Misanaga with an Empty Skill Slot in her one hand, and the Green Caterpillar Skill Crystal in her other hand until both of them began to emit a bright light and gets stronger and stronger, until it finally subsides and fades into nothingness, almost as if it was never there in the first place. I held my breath and used ¡¸Identify on the item that Sherry created, looking at it with an even bigger anticipation than usual. And the result of Sherry¡¯s latest fusion is¡­.


    Sacrificial Misanga, Accessory


    Skill: ¡¸Sacrifice¡¹


    Ahhh, what a relief! It is yet another success from her!


    ¡¸I¡­ I did it!¡¹


    ¡¸A wonderful result as always,  but I will be damned if that was not insanely bad for my poor heart.¡¹


    ¡¸As expected of Sherry. I knew Sherry is going to turn out to be a successful and capable Master Smith, because there was no way for master to make a mistake while judging your character and potential. Since he was not worried about your fusion, I knew there was nothing to be worried about as well. See, I told you that master is a really good judge of character and that he is going to help you realize exactly how talented you are.¡¹


    Roxanne says all of these things cheerfully, with a beaming smile on her face. However, she is only half right about what she said just now,  because while it is true that I knew that Sherry was going to succeed with her fusion once more, doubts began to set in my mind at the last possible moment, hurling my brain into panic and causing me to start overthinking things that I should never have been dwelling on. I guess you can say that Sherry¡¯s stress rubbed off on me, causing me to tense up as well.


    But now that I know that everything has ended well, exactly like it was supposed to from the very beginning, that means that all three of us can breathe a sigh of relief.


    ¡¸Thank you, Miss Roxanne. Thank you, master. I honestly do not know if I would have been able to do anything without your support and words of encouragement.¡¹


    ¡¸Do not mention it, Sherry. What is important is that you managed to succeed once again, and while proving just how amazingly talented you are at the same time. As expected of you.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, exactly what Roxanne said just now, Sherry. You did a great job, like always.¡¹


    Roxanne and I continued to shower Sherry down with praises.


    ¡¸Yes! Once again, thank you both so very much!¡¹


    Even though it cost me way more stress than it was actually necessary, I guess I can say that as long as the original goal of Having Sherry fuse a Sacrificial Misanga has been accomplished, then all¡¯s well that ends well, and it is going to be for the better if I stop talking about this topic even further so that could avoid slipping up on mown words so that neither of the girls could catch up onto my little web of lies.


    ¡¸All right, I guess I will be wearing this then.¡¹


    I said while I immediately put on the Sacrificial Misanga that Sherry just created a soon as humanly possible. Oh yeah, now the lovely effect that Sacrificial Misanga has if well within my reach, I absolutely cannot allow anyone other than me, Even Roxanne and Sherry, to be wearing that item. I am their master as well as their Party leader, and because of that I am going to need the appropriate level of protection that I can get myself from all of the Skills and equipment that I am going to need to keep myself alive through the most harsh and unexpected of the enemy attacks.


    Yes, that is going to be the best possible outcome to this situation. And while we are still on the subject of Misangas and Sacrificial Misangas, I tried to do a little experiment with the two of them, which I have conducted in the Labyrinth of Vale. I wanted to see which one of the two Misangas would be listed as active and effective if I would be wearing two of them at once, but no matter what I did or what combination of items I have tried, the result was always one and the same: the result in which only the Item that has been equipped at the first one was the one that was actually being displayed effective, and the end result was pretty much always the same no matter how many times I have repeated it.

 Volume 5 - CH 4.3

    I then tried to check the status of myself and my items, so I ended up casting ¡¸Identify¡¹on myself, and the results were exactly the same as I have already saw: While wearing the two Misangas at once, only the one that has been put on first was being displayed as an active item.


    If I wear an ordinary Misanga without any Skills or Empty Skill Slots on my right ankle, and then equip the Sacrificial Misanga on my left ankle, ¡¸Identify¡¹ will just display the ordinary Misanga as the active one, treating the Sacrificial one as if it was never there.


    If I then remove the Misanga from my right ankle, nothing will be displayed as equipped by ¡¸Identify¡¹, which makes me think that for whatever reason,¡¸Identify¡¹has probably determined that the Sacrificial Misanga on my left ankle is an invalid equipment in this state.


    And since it is not displayed as a properly working piece of equipment, I do not think there is going to be a possibility of the effect being active.


    I asked Sherry about why such a thing might be happening, and she explained to me that the effect of the Sacrificial Misanga will probably not be registered as working properly unless I unequip it and then equip it again, this time putting the Sacrificial Misanga on first before that other Misanga that does not have any Skills assigned to it.


    So what I gathered from all of this is the following thing: wearing two Sacrificial Misangas at once is not going to make the second one¡¯s effect become automatically active after the first Sacrificial Misanga has been destroyed, meaning that the strategy that I initially wanted to go for: equipping as many sacrificial Misangas on me as possible in order to have them negate multiple attacks that would have otherwise killed me at once is not going to work, and in turn, that also means that it would be useless to try and sell multiple copies of the Sacrificial Misanga at once is also not going to work, because no one would be willing to buy more than one copy of it since it is not going to be worth it from a financial standpoint.


    I cannot say that this particular setback makes it impossible for me to continue exploring the Labyrinths, but being able to negate not one but many deadly attacks aimed at me would have certainly been a nice bonus to my safety while exploring the Labyrinths, but as I said, this is nothing worth making a fuss over. It simply means that after having one attack that would have otherwise killed me neglected, I will have to resume my careful style of advancement instead of going in a more balls-to-the-wall style that the Sacrificial Misanga would have allowed me for due to its ¡¸Sacrifice¡¹Skill.


    And just like that, we went to the Vale Labyrinth while I was wearing a Sacrificial Misanga and ensured that its effect is going to be active. After hunting Slow Rabbits for their Rabbit Furs and Rabbit Meat through most of the day while being in a pretty good mood, we arrived at Vale Labyrinth¡¯s ninth floor, we finally arrived at its Floor Boss¡¯s Boss Room.


    Since the monsters at this floor are Slow Rabbits, it means that the Floor Boss is going to be Rapid Rabbit. When I fought against it for the first time in the Labyrinth of Quratar, I have to admit that I had a pretty hard time against it, but now that I had a pretty good understanding of its attack patterns and how it operated, I was not going to hesitate and used ¡¸Overwhelming¡¹ right from the get-go, getting rid of the Rapid Rabbit rather quickly. Yes, here it is, the demonstration of how big of a difference knowledge of your enemy can do in battle.


    Where I struggled at first because I did not know the enemy, now that I already knew how to fight it, we managed to beat it consistently without the fight being difficult at all, and everything ended after a few minutes without any major problems or any of us suffering any major damage.


    ¡¸What monster is the one native to the tenth floor of Vale¡¯s Labyrinth?¡¹


    ¡¸I believe they are going to be NT Ants, master.¡¹


    Sherry shares her knowledge.  Oh, great, NT Ants again? Since now I know exactly how much of an unpleasant feeling it is to be poisoned, I cannot say that I am particularly happy about the prospects of facing these damn insects again so fast after we have only just encountered them in Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth. But nevertheless, since e are already here on the tenth floor of Vale¡¯s Labyrinth, it would be a shame not to explore it, even if just for a little bit, so I swallow and give the order to advance forward while asking Roxanne to guide us to the nearest group of monsters, as per the usual.


    Thankfully, even though the NT Ants here are of Lv.10, it still takes only three shots with ¡¸Water Ball¡¹ in order to kill them, so I guess that is some piece of good news. If they can still be defeated with three spells, then I am not going to have as much trouble fighting them as I initially thought. With that amount of spells, they can be easily disposed of even before th reach us, and if they have been paired up with other monsters, Sherry ad Roxanne can easily take them out due to their superior teamwork in the vanguard position. With the way that things were going now, I did not even had to switch back to Durandal in order to recover my HP wit its ¡¸HP Absorption¡¹ Skill, because I ended up suffering practically no damage throughout the entire time that we have spend exploring the tenth floor.


    The only time when I actually had to whip out Durandal were the times where my MP was running kinda low due to all the ¡¸Water Ball¡¹spamming that I had to be doing, but other than that, everything was proceeding rather smoothly. This proves that with our current levels, we are more than capable of fighting against anything that the tenth floor of Vale¡¯s Labyrinth might be throwing at us, and it makes me feel good not only about how much progress Sherry and Roxanne have made, but also about my own progress.


    After staying in the Labyrinth until the evening, we left it and made our way to the Imperial City in order to do some market research on mirrors and their prices. We managed to do quite a lot in the Labyrinth and we were pretty busy throughout the entire day, but before I go back and report my findings to Gozer, it would be best to go and see what is the situation with the Palmasque Mirrors in the Imperial Capital, because if there is one thing that I do not want to do, it is to incur the wrath of the Duke of Hartz and the leader of the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy upon myself.


    My first stop was a luxury goods store in the Imperial City, the one that was sure to have at least one Palmasque Mirror available in their stock. I found one rather easily, because it was pretty eye-catching due to the gaudy frame around the proper mirror¡¯s surface. The frame itself, which was made out of wood, has been adorned with an intricate geometrical pattern. Is there any reason for it to have something like that?


    Some kind of deeper, hidden meaning, perhaps? Because if it is not serving any kind of purpose, then that means that this would be something that would certainly looked nice in the house of some noblemen or in a castle of the member of royalty, but for somebody like me, a perfectly ordinary citizen who has a perfectly ordinary house in Quratar, something like that would simply be a useless decoration that is probably only there to artificially elevate the price of the mirror itself. And as for the price itself, it was also much higher than I could have expected.


    The cheapest mirror that the store had to sell, which was essentially a small table mirror, costs eighteen thousand Nars. Eighteen. Thousand! For such a small mirror at that! When I continued to look around, I confirmed that this luxury goods store did not offer any big mirrors or three-sided mirrors, but it was clearly visible that the taller mirrors were much more expensive than the small ones. In fact, their prices were set sooo high that they nearly caused me to faint on the spot so I had no choice but to leave the luxury goods shop because I could not take it anymore.

 Volume 5 - CH 4.4

    Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist  Editor: Weasalopes


    I do not know what the clerk behind the counter thought about me since I left so fast while looking quite shocked, and to be honest, I do not care about it. He could even sprinkle the entire floor of the shop wit salt to avoid getting it contaminated with poverty for all that I care, but that was the only thing that I could have done in this situation, because the prices there were at least three to four times higher than what was supposedly set up as the standard price for the mirrors in Palmasque!


    ¡¸How was it, master?¡¹


    Sherry checked in with me after I went back home.


    ¡¸The mirrors in Imperial City were no different than the ones in Palmasque. I think it might be more than possible that the people in the Imperial City bought these mirrors at lower prices and elevated them up even further when they moved the mirrors from Palmasque to their shops, because they were way higher than what you told me the standard prices were.¡¹


    ¡¸I thought that that might be the case, because increasing the price of something that you have bought at a lower price is a standard business strategy.¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm¡­ certainly, this might be true if you only look at the price, but in truth, the transportation of the mirrors between cities , even when using the methods available for the Adventurers, is relatively difficult.¡¹


    Transporting the mirrors is actually difficult, huh? Well, thinking about it now, there is no way for it to not be difficult, since if you wanted to do this by using ¡¸Field Walker¡¹, then you would have no choice but to do it by transferring the mirror through a number of different Adventurer Guilds in a row, and if you are not an Adventurer who has access to the ¡¸Field Walker¡¹Skill, then such a trip is definitely going to be a costly one, and it is going to be extremely difficult to close such a trip within one day of time, since the teleports from Zabir to Palmasque are only carried out three times a day: in the morning, at noon and in the evening.


    So depending on your luck, circumstances and the road that you are intending to take, the total costs of such a trip are going to be oscillating from fifteen hundred to three thousand Nars to seven thousand Nars if we add the costs od staying the night at an inn and eating meals in case when you will be unable to wrap everything up in a single day. And to top it all off, we cannot forget that ¡¸Field Walker¡¹is only able to transport objects that are not too big, so if you bought the mirror that is too big to fit into that category, then you would have a whole other cost, the cost of transportation that would bump the final price up to such a degree that it would not be worth it anymore in my opinion. But on the other hand, those who would plan to only but the mirror to sell it for a profit would have a perfect argument to set the price astronomically high up.


    ¡¸If you think about it that way, then it might become quite a business opportunity.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. No matter the circumstances and the road that has been chosen, if the transportation of the mirror from Palmasque to other cities is going to be successful, it is going to be a very big chance for the merchant who is going to be acquiring it¡­.. but even so, the acquisition of a mirror from Palmasque is still going to be difficult. Yes, very difficult indeed.¡¹


    Why did you have to say that last thing twice though?


    The next morning, we made plans to move onto Quratar¡¯s tenth floor as well to explore it, but first, we are going to start things up by having a little warm-up in the form of fighting against the Floor Boss of Quratar Labyrinth¡¯s ninth floor.


    ¡¸The Floor Boss of the ninth floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth, in other words, the higher form of the NT Ant is called Hunt Ant. It is similar in strength to the regular NT Ant, but its poison spit Skill is stronger, and the chances of inflicting poison with its every attack are quite high, so we have to be careful and not allow even a single attack to hit us.¡¹


    Sherry gives us a short briefing. Yeah, of course it is going to be stronger and much more troublesome than a regular NT Ant. It would not be a Floor Boss at all if its strength remained exactly the same as that of the regular monsters on the floor where it resides. That being said, since the name of the game here is not to let ourselves be hit by its attacks at all, it means that this is going to be another perfect opponent for Roxanne to fight against, since the encounters with the enemies who rely on fighting mainly through physical attacks have only those who are meant against a single target instead of multiple targets at once are the ones in which she excels the most, so she should be able to focus the Floor Boss¡¯s attention on herself without sustaining even a single injury while Sherry and I are going to focus on inflicting as much damage as possible onto it for as long as it is going to remain distracted.


    With the plan of action firmly formulated in my mind, we entered the Floor Boss¡¯s Boss Room. Immediately when the Hunt Ant appeared from within the vortex of green smoke, Roxanne took the position in front of me and Sherry, ready to evade all of its attacks at a moment¡¯s notice, and in the meantime, I was making my way towards the Hunt Ant¡¯s backside, where I continued to slash and whack it across its oversized ass for as long as it took it to finally fall to the ground and die while disappearing in yet another cloud of green smoke.


    Good. Even though we are on the tenth floor of the Labyrinth, it looks like the good old strategy of ¡¸have Roxanne occupy the Floor Boss¡¯s attention while you continue to go towards its back where you continue to molest it until the Floor Boss drops dead¡¹is still the one that can be utilized effectively.


    ¡¸What monsters are going to be waiting for us on the tenth floor?¡¹


    ¡¸I believe they are going to be Escape Goats.¡¹


    ¡¸Ahh, I see.¡¹


    Escape Goats, my absolutely favorite enemy to fight that does not have any bullshit mechanics that it is going to be abusing whatsoever. So yeah, as you can clearly tell from my very enthusiastic description, I love fighting against them and how troublesome they are with their escape mechanic once their health drops down sufficiently low. And now that they are going to be Lv.10, I am sure that they are going to become an even greater nuisance than ever before.


    The first Escape goat that we happened upon was shot with three shots of my magic, and, surprising absolutely nobody, it immediately tried to turn around and make its escape. Those three spells that I fired against it should have done the damage of roughly around half of its total HP


    It seems to still run away after it¡¯s lost half it¡¯s health, so three more spell, six of them in total, should be enough to bring it down and defeat it. But now that it has already started to run away, I would have to aim my spells perfectly without allowing even a single one of them to miss their mark. If I am going to be even one millimeter off with my aim, the Escape Goat is going to escape, taking the EXP points and potential Drop Items with it.


    Now that we are on the tenth floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth and the NT Ants were on the ninth floor, it is going to mean that they are going to be appearing more often, and if they are going to be paired up with Escape Goats, it is going to be the worst possible combination for us, since we will have to mix up being cautious not to allow NT Ants to poison us with the need to chase after the Escape Goats that are going to try and flee from the battlefield constantly. Damn it, this is exactly why I was so afraid of fighting against mixed groups of more and more enemies. Right now, we should still be more or less fine, but what are we going to do if we ever encounter more enemies that are going to have escape as their main gimmick?

 Volume 5 - CH 4.5

    Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist  Editor: Weasalopes


    Suppose for a second that we would run into an Escape Goat or something similar on the higher floors. If the next time we met such an opponent the number of spells required in order to take it down would increase from six to seven, it would mean that such an enemy would start to escape after being hit by four consecutive shots of magic, so I could technically kill them with three more shots, but what is going to happen if eight or more spells are going to be needed? *Sigh* Looks like Escape Goats are shaping up to be one of the monsters that I am going to have to be especially careful about, and that is worrying me more than a little bit, if I am to be honest.


    For the time being I deemed that dealing with the Escape Goats all the time is going to be too troublesome to be actually worth it, so instead I ordered a change of scenery, and so we moved on to the Labyrinth of Vale, where we explored and killed monsters until the sunrise. We then returned back to our home in Quratar, where I asked Sherry and Roxanne to start preparing dinner and do the laundry respectively, and while they were keeping themselves busy with their assigned, I decided to go to the city of Bode, the capital of Hartz Duchy, alone. Since that place is literally an elven pretty boy paradise crawling with Elven ikemen who are looking so perfectly that I cannot help but to die a little bit inside whenever I am looking at them, I definitely do not want Roxanne and Sherry to be anywhere near such a place.


    When I arrived in Bode, I went to the same room where I was resting while I was doing the supplied distribution mission as part of the disaster relief taskforce. This place is a perfect room for travelling in and out of Bode, because it is the one where ¡¸Field Walker¡¹can be used without any major restrictions on it.


    ¡¸I would  like to request an audience with Gozer, the captain of the Knight Order.¡¹


    I said as I passed the Hartz Duchy emblem that I have received from Gozer the other day to a knight-looking person, who was either a member of the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy himself or he was simply clad in the armor of the knight. Whatever the case might be, the took the emblem from my hands and examined it carefully from both sides.


    ¡¸May I ask you for your name?¡¹


    ¡¸My name is Kaga Michio. If you tell him that an Adventurer who was helping with the delivery of the supplies during the flood relief wishes to speak to him, he is going to know who I am.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. In that case, please wait here for a moment.¡¹


    The knight says as he enters the depths of the castle¡¯s interior. It is exactly like Gozer said. I showed the emblem to the knights, and everything immediately started to go smoothly.


    For the time being, I was simply standing in the lobby-like room, waiting for Gozer to arrive. For a lobby of a castle, this room is a really bright one.


    The side window is widely opened, and light is coming in through it in generous amounts, which contrasts with how things looked here when I was here before when everything was tightly closed up, but then again, that was in the time of the flood and intense rain, so maybe that is why everything was kept under lock and key to avoid the scenario in which the entire castle gets flooded because of the water that would pour in from the opened windows, which was probably the least that they could do to minimize the damage done to the city and its surroundings by the flood and intense rainfall.


    When I was leaving the house, the sun was still high in Quratar, but here, it is not that high yet. I heard that this city was to the north, but maybe it is actually to the east?


    ¡¸Oh, so it was the excellent Adventurer after all!¡¹


    I heard a familiar voice as I was looking through the window.


    This voice¡­. It is not the one belonging to Gozer! That one is definitely¡­..!


    When I turned around, the person who was standing there¡­. Was the Duke of Hartz himself! He has a smile on hi face that makes it look as if it is shining brightly. Ugh, now even a minute of our meeting in and he is already flexing his ikemen charms on me?! Damn you, you Elven pretty boy! Why can you not just die of a curse or something other along those lines?! I knew that leaving Roxanne and Sherry behind in order to come here alone was a good choice to make after all!


    ¡¸Uhm¡­ What about Knight Captain Gozer, your lordship? Is he not going to come?¡¹


    ¡¸Unfortunately, Gozer is currently at the training school for the new Knight Order recruits, so I will be the one who is going to hear you out instead. Follow me.¡¹


    The Duke turned around quickly, and left the lobby almost as fast as he appeared in it.


    He seems to be exactly as impatient as  he was last time. If he is a noble and the head of an entire Duchy, then you would think that he should act more refined, but with him, it was not the case at all.


    Well, he probably can get away with all sorts of increasingly odd behaviors since he is so good-looking that all it takes for him to win people¡¯s faith over is a smile. That damn smile of his!


    ¡¸I thought it would be a good time to come after the sun had risen, but was I mistaken?¡¹


    ¡¸There is no problem with that at all. In this season, we tend to be awake as soon as there light of the sun graces us with its brilliant presence (TL Note: PRAISE THE SUN!).¡¹


    ¡¸Ahhh.¡¹


    I see. So it is like that, huh? The season is different here in the north. The sunrise is earlier than in the south, so they are going from spring to summer. If this was the arctic, they would still have sun shining even at midnight. Since this is north of Quratar, does the sun rise earlier here?


    ¡¸Thankfully, we have already made it through the period of the biggest hardships. The rain has stopped for now, and the water levels have decreased, so we do not have to worry about the Duchy getting flooded anytime soon anymore.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. That is most definitely good to hear.¡¹


    The Duke opened a door, and entered a room. It is the same small office which I was in before.


    ¡¸Go ahead and have a sit. So, may I ask what business brings you here today?¡¹


    ¡¸The other day I met lord Gozer in Quratar¡¯s merchant¡¯s guild.¡¹


    ¡¸Ah,  so it is about that time, huh?¡¹


    The Duke sits in his chair behind his ornate office desk. I sat myself on the edge of the sofa that was still in the corner of the room and then turned towards him. This position is actually convenient for me, because while I am sitting in such a way and so far away from him, it works as a method of showing to the Duke that my intentions for him are not ill-begotten ones and that I do not, for example, am planning to assassinate him while he is not looking my way.


    ¡¸I hear that a mirrors from Palmasque are being used as Gift Items given as a present between the nobles and royalty.¡¹


    ¡¸A mirror from Palmasque, you say? Well, certainly, here in this Duchy such an item would definitely be considered a gift of the highest quality by whoever would end up receiving it.¡¹


    So this basically confirms that mirrors cab be given as an expensive but good gift between the nobles and other members of high society. But if it is like that, then maybe it would actually be better for it to have those intricate, fancy-pantsy decorations? Well, whatever. There is no helping it now, and most certainly no undoing what has already been done.


    ¡¸When I went to Palmasque the other day in search of a mirror at Gozer¡¯s¡­. I mean Lord Gozer¡¯s request, the only ones they had were the decorated, expensive ones. However, I learned that it would be possible for them to make the mirror with a plain frame without any decorations which would have toned the price down significantly, but only if it was a commission made by a noble or an aristocrat.¡¹

 Volume 5 - CH 4.6

    Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist  Editor: Weasalopes


    ¡¸Ohhh, I see. That way, we would only have to pay for the mirror¡¯s main body itself without having to pay exaggerated prices for the mirror¡¯s frame.¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm¡­ and do you have access to a good wood for a frame here in your Duchy?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, there should be a wood of exceptional quality near the Tare village.¡¹


    Good, so it looks like he is going to have access to good wood. I have only thought of this idea because while I was looking through the window I saw a thick forest outside of it so I thought I will ask him about it. If they have forests here, then of course there are going to be businesses such as forestry and wood processing.


    ¡¸Since it is supposed to be a gift, I was thinking you could remove this decoration, and add something from your own territories as a kind of a local flavor to spice things up a little bit.¡¹


    ¡¸Ah, I see.¡¹


    The Duke nods, picks up a bell from his desk, and rings it.


    ¡¸You called, my Lord?¡¹


    As soon as he rang the bell, the door opened at once and someone who looks like a servant immediately came in. Quick, these servants are all so very quick! How are they able to do that is beyond me though.


    ¡¸Yes, I called indeed. Please go and tell Gozer to come here as soon as he can.¡¹


    ¡¸Of course. It shall be done as you ask, my Lord.¡¹


    He answered the Duke briefly and then promptly left. He must be one of the many servants who serve the Duke here, or perhaps some kind of personal guard, because throughout the short time that he was here in the room he was always bowed so that I could not even get a good look at how his face looked like.


    If you were to ask me, then I would say that appearing immediately after the Duke rung that bell is both pretty impressive and extremely concerning, because such a feat would not have been possible without someone following him around quite literally all the time, because no matter how long and hard I think about it, it would be impossible for the servants to hear the bell all the way from the servant¡¯s quarters and then appear here in the office moments later, and it is simply not possible for that person to be just on e of the many ordinary servants tasked with doing the chores around the castle, since they would never abandon their assigned duties just because they heard a bell ring.


    That, and if that was really the case, then we would have many more people here instead of just this one. As I said, this is getting increasingly suspicious. Does the Duke really have people following him around literally all the time and wherever he goes?


    From what I am seeing, he seems like someone who is incredibly free-spirited and always acts and carries himself in such a manner, so for such a man to have an escort lurking behind in his shadows? As much as I do not want to believe it, it is also something that might be quite possible, since it is always the free-spirited that need to be watched closely at all times so that the potential enemies would not take advantage of them and their free-spiritedness, be it by a kidnapping or a straight-up assassination attempt.


    Anyway, for the time being, I simply leaned on the sofa as we waited for Gozer to arrive, while the Duke continued to scribble something with a quill on top of the pieces of parchment that were laying on top of his desk. Since he is the lord of the entire Duchy, then he must be a really busy person, so I actually started feeling kinda bad for intruding upon his work.


    Eventually, Gozer finally came in after knocking at the door and politely asking for the permission to enter.


    ¡¸Excuse me for taking so long. Oh, if it is not Mr. Adventurer.¡¹


    ¡¸He seems to be called Michio. Kaga Michio.¡¹


    Oh, so the Duke knows my name even if Gozer himself does not seem to remember it? That is what I initially thought, but then it dawned upon me that I have never introduced myself to him properly in person, but I gave my name to the receptionist in the lobby when I came here, so he probably must have heard that at that time. So maybe I should give him a little reminder by introducing myself again? Yeah, let me just do that.


    ¡¸Yes, I am Kaga Michio.¡¹


    ¡¸It would seem that he has gone to Palmasque at your request. As expected of an excellent Adventurer like him. He once again ended up exceeding my expectations.¡¹


    ¡¸All the way to Palmasque, you say?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, so the way I see it, I am clearly the winner here.¡¹


    The Duke was acting all proud in front of Gozer. What? What the heck is he talking about? He is the winner here? What kind of winner? Was there some kind of bet between the Duke and Gozer? Were they betting if I¡­¡­ am going to turn out an excellent Adventurer or not?


    Well, to be honest, I can totally see that it might have been possible that Gozer might have accused the Duke of getting too friendly with a weird Adventurer like myself who just came to the Hartz Duchy to help with the distribution of the disaster relief supplies because of the commission that he accepted, and the Duke argued back that I am not weird, but excellent for how well I performed the task that was given to me even though he did not think that of me at first, to which Gozer might have replied that he is just being stubborn, and that is how the bet between these two might have been made.


    Of course, I have no guarantee that this is exactly how things went down between these two, but I also feel like my shot was pretty damn near the bullseye mark here.


    ¡¸Did you really travel to Palmasque all by yourself?¡¹


    ¡¸Well, it was certainly not an easy thing to do, but I said that I was going to see what I can do about your request, and so I did.¡¹


    ¡¸In tha case, I must truly commend you. No Adventurer or a member of the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy was ever able to travel from Bode to Palmasque.¡¹


    To be honest, even I am not sure if I could go from Bode to Palmasque in one go, and I do not even want to think about testing that out, because thanks to my vivid imagination I can already see how that would have turned out. If my travels from Vale and Quratar to Palmasque and the cities and towns that are close to it are any indication, then I would have definitely ended up exhausting all of my MP.


    I just hope that by admitting that I have gone to Palmasque personally I did not make any serious mistakes that would cause them to think of me even more highly than they are now, because that might bring with itself a whole new batch of unwanted trouble for me. For the time being, I think It would be best to correct the Duke assessment that I could travel to Palmasque without any inconvenience, just so that I can avoid his misunderstandings about myself and my capabilities getting so much out of hand that no amount of damage control could possibly be able to fix them later.


    ¡¸According to Mr. Michio¡¯s words, since he can go to Palmasque, it would be possible for him to buy an undecorated Palmasque Mirror.¡¹


    ¡¸An undecorated Palmasque Mirror?¡¹


    ¡¸We already talked about this for a bit before you arrived, but I think that the materials for the frame could be made from the wood from the forest near Tare village.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. Wood from the Tare village, huh? That certainly sounds like a good idea.¡¹


    The Duke and Gozer had a short conversation that I did not understand much of. However, now that the Duke explained pretty much everything to Gozer, he at least saved me the trouble of going through the explanations myself.


    ¡¸Personally, I also think that this might not be that bad of a business opportunity.¡¹


    ¡¸I think so too as well. How much would such a mirror cost?¡¹


    Gozer looks back at me and asks about the price of the Palmasque Mirror. Now this might be a troublesome question. Since he is technically in charge of this particular business affair with me, he still cares so much about this detail?

 Volume 5 - CH 4.7

    Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist  Editor: Weasalopes


    In that case, I have no choice here but to answer honestly, even though I would have loved to use this opportunity to make the price of the Palmasque mirror slightly higher than it actually is in order to make a profit out of it for myself, but since there is a possibility that Gozer might run a thorough check of the market prices of Palmasque Mirrors in order to verify if what I said was indeed true or not, any attempts at deceiving them might do me more bad then good in the long run, so I am going to give them straight facts about the matter.


    ¡¸Like I already informed the Duke, in order to even start thinking about getting a Palmasque Mirror without a decorative frame, it would have to be done through a special order commissioned by a noble or a member of royalty.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. So, have you come here today in order to have the Duke write an official commission for such an item to be made?¡¹


    ¡¸You do not have to worry about it, because I finished writing the necessary paperwork just now. This should be enough to do the trick, right?¡¹


    The Duke lifted the piece of paper that he has been scribbling of for some time now and then shook it playfully beside his face. I thought that he was simply catching up on the administrative work that he was behind on because of my sudden visit, but he was actually writing the undecorated Palmasque Mirror commission paperwork this entire time?! Just how far ahead is this guy, actually?! But hey, if there is a possibility of me obtaining the commission papers from him so fast and without any additional explanation, then that would be all the better for me.


    ¡¸As for the price of the undecorated mirror itself, the lowest would probably be something around ten thousand Nars, but I am afraid that a mirror of a better quality can cost up to even twenty thousand Nars, so I could technically buy it just as long as the price will not go beyond those sums that I just mentioned. As for the number of the frames, I think that enough wood should be supplied to the craftsmen to make at least one test frame to see how the finished product is going to look like, but other than that, I think it would be reasonable to have at least ten of them to be made for the time being. I would also like to have all of them in different size variations, just to see which ones would be the best for the purpose of our gift. If there was a need for them to be transported, would you be willing to do this for us?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I could transport them, but not all of them at once.¡¹


    ¡¸It does not have to be all within a single day. As long as all of them are going to be delivered safely, I do not care how many days this is going to take.¡¹


    ¡¸I understand.¡¹


    And thus, the business talk with Gozer and the Duke were concluded. Now that I am going to have the papers with the commission from the Duke of Hartz, it is finally going to be possible for me to obtain the Palmasque Mirror, since I have all the pieces of the puzzle that Sherry mentioned that I was going to need. I thought that the biggest problem tp overcome was going to be the price, but as far as I can say after my visit to the luxury goods store in the Imperial City, the prices should be pretty acceptable as long as I will remember to keep my expectations in check.


    In any case, buying the Palmasque Mirror in Palmasque is going to be much cheaper than buying from any of the stores in Imperial City that might be offering them, and the price of their undecorated mirrors should not exceed ten thousand Nars. Man, now I a glad that I actually took my time to go to that store in the Imperial City and had a look around.


    ¡¸If you plan on visiting Palmasque often from now on, then I think it would be a good idea for you to consider selling amber there.¡¹


    Gozer gave me some advice on doing business in Palmasque.


    ¡¸Amber?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. It is one of their regional specialties, and although amber is quite small in and out of itself, it is still considered as a jewel, which means that there is going to be quite a high demand for it in Palmasque since any kind of jewel can be used as a material in mirror decoration. Unfortunately, I do not know what is its current market price in Palmasque, but at the very least I can tell you that it is not going to be a small amount, of that I do not have any doubt.¡¹


    ¡¸Ooooh, I see. Well, in that case, I humbly thank you for sharing that information with me. I will be sure to put it to good use.¡¹


    With that information now in my possession, I can seemingly double my earnings if I ever go sell something in Palmasque when I go there to buy mirrors, so this is going to be like killing to birds with one stone while actually having someone else do the picking up and throwing for you so that you will not have to do literally anything! This is definitely going to come in useful for us! Also, since it was translated properly from this world¡¯s language, I also received a confirmation that Amber does exist in this world.And since it is not as bulky and expensive as diamonds, it can easily be carried by Adventurers who would want to use it for commercial purposes.


    ¡¸Oh, I am sure that someone as excellent as you is going to put that information to good use. To that end, allow me to introduce you to to a merchant who deals in amber here in Bode. He is a reliable fellow as well as a long-time business partner of ours who singlehandedly takes care of almost all of the amber related dealings and transactions here in Bode. His store is situated right next door to the Bode¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild. I will also write a letter of recommendation for you. As long as you are going to have it with you, you can be sure that he will not try to sell you any items that would be of substandard value.¡¹


    The duke picked the quill up from the table and started writing something on another piece of paper. He then folded the paper and dropped some wax from the candle on top of it, while stamping it with the seal with his emblem engraved upon it.


    Is this how a letter of introduction is actually made? By doing something so simple as writing the introduction of a particular client on an ordinary piece of paper and then sealing it up with a wax seal? I do not know what I actually expected, but definitely not something so¡­ plain and ordinary, I guess. Well, just as long as it allows me to obtain the Palmasque Mirror without the ornamental frames by virtue of having the commission for it from a noble, then I guess what form does this letter of introduction takes is of no consequence to me.


    ¡¸Here you go. Show this to the store¡¯s owner and he is bound to do business with you in the same way as if he was doing it with me.¡¹


    Gozer took the sealed letter of introduction from the Duke¡¯s hands and placed it, along with the written commission for the ornamentaless Palmasque Mirrors and the Hartz Duchy Emblem on the table before me. The emblem is exactly the same one that I gave to the Knight at the lobby when I came here. Does this mean that he does not need it anymore? And more importantly, do I need it anymore? Because I do not think that I need it anymore¡­


    No, upon careful consideration, I do not think that this is going to be the case at all. I think that this emblem is definitely going to come in handy when I will be buying and eventually selling mirrors in Palmasque, so for the time being I should just hold onto it and wait until the right opportunity to use it is going to present itself to me.


    I then took a look at the paper where the details of the Duke¡¯s commission for the Palmasque Mirrors were written down. It was written not on a papyrus, but on a legitimate sheet of parchment, same as with the letter of introduction, the only difference being that the parchment with the commission¡¯s details was not sealed with a wax seal or anything else similar to it.

 Volume 5 - CH 4.8

    Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist  Editor: Weasalopes


    I do not know if it holds any kind of deeper meaning or not, but maybe it is customary among the nobles and royalty to write down all instances of official documents on a paper of supreme quality, different from the papyrus and ordinary sheets of paper used by the common folk?


    ¡¸Thank you kindly for all you have done for me. Well then, if you will excuse me, I will be on my way.¡¹


    I took all of the items that were prepared for me and promptly left the Duke¡¯s office. I returned to the castle¡¯s lobby and left the Bode¡¯s Castle, returning back home to Roxanne and Sherry.


    ¡¸All right, I managed to get my hands on the commission order from a noble, so we might go to Palmasque and buy the mirrors.¡¹


    I said to the girls during breakfast when we were discussing everything that has happened while I was away.


    ¡¸You really managed to obtain something so important so easily like that?¡¹


    Sherry looked quite surprised, even though she was the one who told me that we were going to need a commission order from a noble in order to get our hands on mirrors without decorative frames.


    ¡¸It would seem that the matter of obtaining a Palmasque mirror has given you a surprisingly large amount of additional benefits, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yeah, that may be so, but I am actually as surprised as Sherry is, if not even more. I mean, I did not expect that obtaining a commission for the mirrors with non-decorative frames from a noble is going to be so easy. It almost feels as if it happened too easy.¡¹


    ¡¸You should not feel surprised. You have already proven time and time again that good things tend to happen naturally around you, master.¡¹


    Putting aside the matter of whether such things really are happening around me naturally or not, I think that most of the luck that I seem to be having lately can be attributed to the straightforward and free-spirited disposition of the Duke of Hartz. I would not go as far as to say that he is light-hearted or careless, but to put it another way that will not make it seem as if I was making fun of him or insulting him: he has this rare ability to make quick but reasonable decisions and to execute them immediately for maximum effectiveness.


    ¡¸So master, how many mirrors are we going to be buying? Two? Or just one for ourselves this time?¡¹


    ¡¸Actually, the commission that the Duke has written is for a grand total of ten Palmasque Mirrors with undecorated frames. The Duke also said that we do not have to bring the mirrors to him all at once, and that as long as we manage to deliver them to him safely, we can take as much time as we want, but the exact amount depends on how well the talks in Palmasque are going to go, but if you asked me , it is definitely better go with one mirror at a time so that we could be absolutely sure that none of them are going to break accidentally. Also, for the mirror that we will be buying here for our home, I think that one is going to be more than enough. If you want, we can even but the one that is going to be equipped with a simple stand instead of the one that would be hanged on the wall.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. That could definitely come in handy, because then we would be able to move it around without the risk of damaging it. What great thinking of you, master!¡¹


    ¡¸What about the size of those ten mirrors though? Did the Duke of Hartz specified what kind of mirrors exactly would he want?¡¹


    ¡¸He said that he would not mind it if the sizes were different so that he could experiment with them and choose the best one based on that. Like I was saying, since the commission that the Duke wrote asks for ten mirrors in total, it is going to be impossible to carry all of them all at once, so we will e transporting them over the course of several trips. And since I also learned that the merchant who is well acquainted with the Duke of Hartz runs a shop that deals with amber and I got a letter of introduction thanks to which I will be able to do business with that merchant as if I was the Duke himself, then we might as well go and find out exactly how big of a demand for amber is in Palmasque right now.¡¹


    ¡¸Certainly, since we are going to be heading there again, it would be best to maximize our profits from such a trip as much as possible. I understand.¡¹


    Sherry started nodding vigorously at my suggestion. As expected of her, she really does know what is good for our business. It looks like I will be able to leave the matters of making all of the purchases un her capable hands again and everything is going to be fine.


    After finishing our meal, we warped to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild in Palmasque, where I sent the girls to take care of the shopping after giving them the written commission, money necessary to make the purchases and a silver coin for the City Entrance Tax. I was a little bit worried about giving them something so important as the commission written by the Duke of Hartz, but unfortunately, as much as I would love to go to Palmasque and deal with everything by myself without giving my important items to others, I simply cannot do that because I am not an Adventurer, and once that fact gets discovered by the Knight serving under the Palmasque City Council during the Intelligence Card inspection, they might get all suspicious of me and start asking questions, and what is an Explorer heading out of the building that should have been reserved for Adventurer¡¯s usage only if not extremely sus? Yeah, exactly!


    Also, while Sherry did not say anything about it, I have a lingering feeling that slaves might not like royalty and aristocrats very much, so the guards might find it suspicious that a slave is carrying an order with a commission written by a noble, but then again, maybe that exact fact is going to work to our advantage here? After all, since royalty and nobles use slaves all the time, it might not actually be strange at all for them to be sending their slaves to the shopping instead of going personally, because they might see it as too much of a bother to handle such a menial task by themselves.


    Having Roxanne and Sherry go do the shopping in my stead is a waste of the two silver coins for the City Entrance Task in my opinion, since if I went there by myself I would have to use only a single silver coin, but going to Palmasque is out of the question for me right now. Well, it is not that it would be totally impossible for me, but it would definitely be extremely hard.


    Since ¡¸Warp¡¹ can only take me to the places that I have seen and been to myself, than that leaves only Palmasque¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild and what little of the city that I have seen from within it. Of course, I could always try warping to Palmasque in the middle of the night, when I would be pretty sure that nobody could see me warp into the city from a place other than the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, since normally such a thing should not be possible without having ¡¸Warp¡¹like I do which is a Bonus Skill, but then I would have another problem on my plate: how to spend the time in the city until the morning throughout the night hours?


    And would people not find it extra suspicious if there was a complete stranger whom they have never seen before wandering around the time at even more suspicious hours from the dead of night to the early morning? Staying at an inn might have been a good option, but if I had to pay the City Entrance Tax just so that I could go and pay even more money just to sit around in an inn doing absolutely nothing productive, then that is what I would call a waste. Also, even if I were to warp to Palmasque during the nightly hours, there is no telling that it would be one hundred percent safe for me, because there is always a chance that someone could have been passing by at the moment of my emergence from the warp portal, which would end up causing quite an uproar, I am sure.

 Volume 5 - CH 4.9

    Now that I think about it, these are clearly the things that I should have researched more before coming here, but on the other hand, coming here many times over means increasing the risk of the locals remembering my face and attributing it either with snooping around or some other suspicious activities, and if that happens to me even once, it is going to be all over for me, since I will no longer be able to keep coming here to Palmasque the way that I am doing now. Now I am truly begining to see the wisdom of Sherry¡¯s words when she said that it is going to be difficult to find a safe place to where I could warp to in Palmasque.


    After sending Roxanne and Sherry to do the shopping that they have been entrusted with, I spent some time at home and in the Labyrinth, after which I warped back to Palmasque again, and after a short while of waiting, I saw that the two of them were coming back, each one of them carrying a particularly big peace of baggage in front of them. And although I am saying baggage, you know that by that I meant the mirrors, right? Good, it would seem that they were able to purchase them successfully this time.


    I am definitely glad that they manage to complete the task that I have given to them, but at the same time, the way in which they are carrying these mirrors is making me suffer through numerous anxiety attacks at the same time. To put this bluntly, these mirrors look like they are quite large, and the way in which Roxanne and Sherry are holding them is not exactly what I would call the safest one. They are holding onto them by supporting them from below with their hands, and the mirrors rest on top of their bodies, covering both of them from waist up entirely.


    If these are the kind of mirrors that they bought, then I am guessing that they have to be full-length mirrors, the kind that allows you to see your entire body from top to bottom at once in it instead of showing just a portion of it. The method of holding that they employed might have seem like the best possible one for them, but in truth, if they are going to be holding the mirrors like that, then we will not be able to transport many of them at once, just one for each of them, meaning that during one trip to Palmasque and back from Palmasque we should be able to transport two mirrors at best. Moreover, if the mirrors are this big, then it is more than likely that we will not be able to go straight back home to Quratar from Palmasque, but we will probably have to make a stop somewhere along the road so that I could hunt down a few monsters to recover my lost MP, and that ¡¸somewhere¡¹is definitely going to be the Labyrinth of Zabir¡­.


    But Palmasque Mirrors, which are the mirrors made out of glass, are most likely just as fragile as the glass mirrors that I know from my old world, and that means that we absolutely cannot allow ourselves to take them to the Labyrinth with us or else we are going to risk shattering them into a million pieces, which means that using the Labyrinth as a checkpoint along the way is out of the question.


    ¡¸I see that you were able to purchase the mirrors successfully.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. With the written commission from the Duke of Hartz in our hands, there was no reason of the craftsmen to refuse us this time.¡¹


    ¡¸All right, that is great to hear. So, would you like to go back home now?¡¹


    Well, if that is how it is going to be, then I guess there really is no helping it this time, and since we would have to give this a try at some point, so we went back home from Palmasque¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild. And when we arrived back at home, it felt like the earth has immediately become distorted the moment I placed my foot on it. It was so distorted and uneven and it felt as if my feet were sinking into it, which made me want to scream until my vocal cords all broke and my throat became soaked with my own blood gushing out of it.


    I do not understand what is going on, but the earth which was perfectly fine when we were leaving for Palmasque before is all fucked up, there is darkness as far as my eyes can see and the air feels heavy and stagnant, making the atmosphere of our cozy home feel heavy and suffocating, almost as if my arrival here has turned every possible element of the world hostile towards me.


    The cause of me having all of those messed up hallucinations is, of course, me running out of MP due to taking not only myself, Roxanne and Sherry, but also two big mirrors along for the ride with us. It has been a long time since I felt like that, or rather, I think that this is the first time where I allowed my MP to drop so much, and now it is making me feel as if I was tripping some serious balls.


    Ahhhh¡­.. no, it cannot be like that. Ahhhhh¡­¡­.. dear God in heaven. Ahhhhh¡­¡­ if you are listening to this, then please forgive me in your infinite grace.


    Why is this even happening to me? Why are you making me go through all these tortures? Have I ever done anything to offend you? Or just the fact of my existence is like a continous insult to you, because you cannot bear the thought that something like me, something worse than even the most vile and defiled of the fallen angels that you have cast down from heaven continues to walk the earth while enjoying his new life?


    ¡¸Going from Palmasque to Quartar in a single warp, as expected of master.¡¹


    ¡¸¡­. I just barely managed to pull that shit off. Now drop these damn mirrors wherever and let us be off to the Labyrinth already! Roxanne, as soon as we get there, find me a group of weak monsters, okay?!¡¹


    I gave Roxanne an order without really paying attention to the praise that she has given me right now, because to be honest, in my current state of mind, such a praise was pretty much meaningless and awkward to me. I mean, even if I can go from Palmasque to Quratar in one go, then what of it if such trip drains out my entire MP bar? Such an ability is useless to if it is going to have such tremendous drawbacks!


    The destination to which we have warped is the fourth floor of the Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth because it is the closest one to our home so it should not even consume any of my MP due to it being basically in the neighborhood, whereas even going to the Labyrinth of Vale now might have been impossible for me without worsening my condition even further.


    Normally I would have ordered for us to go to a higher floor like ninth or tenth, but with my current, extremely unstable condition there is no way that I am going to put myself through such unnecessary risks. Right now, I just need to face enough monsters with my Durandal to recover the entirety of my MP as soon as possible, and in order to do that, there are no better enemies than the ones on the lower floors of the Labyrinths that are going to just go and die in one hit¡­..


    Or at least that was what I thought, until I saw the group of enemies that we would actually have to fight: a group of  a Cheap Sheep and two Spi Spiders.


    Oh no, of fuck, of my sweet Jesus why, just WHY?! You fucking game, why are you throwing a group of such strong opponents at me when I am at my most vulnerable here?! Spi Spiders are one of the enemies who have a chance to poison me with their attacks! Do you understand what you have just done here?! I specifically went here because I did not want to fight against NT Ants that could poison me, and what do you do to help me with that? You throw me at yet another enemy that can poison me! Where the fuck is any kind of logic in that?! No, I cannot do it! I cannot fight against these monsters! I am afraid! I am just too afraid of getting my ass poisoned again if one of their attacks is going to hit me!

 Volume 5 - CH 5.01

    CHAPTER 25: Cassia


    ¡ºPlayer Name: Kaga Michio¡»


    ¡ºCurrent Character Levels & Equipment¡»:


    ¡ºJobs¡»:


    Explorer Lv.36


    Hero Lv.34


    Mage Lv.36


    Monk Lv.35


    Sex Maniac Lv.19


    ¡ºEquipment¡»:


    Wand


    Leather Helmet


    Leather Armor


    Leather Gloves


    Leather shoes


    I woke up late at night.


    It is not even morning yet. Moreover, my senses were telling me that it has not been all that long since I actually fell asleep after having so much amber-colored fun with Roxanne and Sherry wearing their Amber Necklaces, so I will just go to the toilet real quick and then go back to sleep as soon as possible in order not to disturb Roxanne and Sherry. After all, I do not want them to be sleep deprived because of something as simple as me going to the toilet in the middle of the night.


    I have to admit that I might have overdo it last night. I mean, Roxanne, Sherry and I are always hustlin¡¯ and bustlin¡¯ in the sheets as if there was supposed to be no tomorrow, but what we did yesterday, or I guess I should say a few hours ago in order to be accurate, was especially intense, even for my Sex Maniac-enhanced standards.


    I moved my lower body so much that even now I was still sweating like a pig, and because I moved around and ¡¸exercised¡¹so much I had to drink a lot mor water than usual in order to keep myself properly hydrated, which in turn caused excess water that my body did not need to keep functioning the way that it was supposed to accumulate itself in my bladder, which began to feel as if it was about to explode.


    And all of that because of the impact that the sight of Roxanne and Sherry wearing Amber Necklaces had on me. I did not know that amber could be so powerful and terrifying at the same time. Maybe I should watch myself from now on in order to not get consumed by my carnal instincts and urges whenever Roxanne and Sherry are going to be wearing the necklaces? Or perhaps it would be better to have them only wear them at home so that they would not end up provoking any other guys just in case amber worked at other me the same way it worked on me?


    ¡¸Mmmnnnn¡­. master?¡¹


    Oh, it would seem that Roxanne also woke up because I woke up. How cute of her. Unnecessary, but still cute.


    ¡¸I am just going to go to the toilet for a bit, so feel free to go back to sleep and do not mind me.¡¹


    ¡¸No, it is not a problem at all. But if you want to go to the toilet, then you are going to need a candlestick. Here you go.¡¹


    Even though Roxanne looks as if she was still sleepy, she prepared a candle and a candlestick for me to use. I gratefully took them from her and ignited the candle with with magic.


    On a side note: magic of this world is really amazing and immensely useful for the battle purposes, but when it comes to such simple day-to day things like lightning a candle, it was surprisingly difficult to utilize properly without accidentally causing a large scale fire, because as far as I know there exist no spell that would allow me to create only a little bit of fire ideal for the purpose of lighting up a candle, so I had no choice but to create a ¡¸Fire Wall¡¹ in an empty space next to the bed and light the candle off of that.


    Needless to say, the amount of fire created by a ¡¸Fire Wall¡¹Spell is way too excess for my needs, and throughout the entire process I was praying for the fire to remain relatively calm so that the occasional spark that was flying out of it and into the air did not end up hitting the bed, bedsheets or anything else that would start burning brightly in an instant.


    It took me a good while due to my cautiousness, but when I finally managed to tight the candle, it was high time for me to head downstairs to the toilet. But you know what?


    As I was making my way there, I definitely could not help it but to notice how creepy my own shadow was in the dim swaying light the illuminated the floor, walls and the ceiling of the corridor and the stars, and the more I looked at it, the better I understood why in the old days, before they invented electricity and the lightbulbs people would believe in the existence of ghosts.


    If I did not know any better, I would probably believe that the shadow on the walls was not my own, but that it was actually a demon lurking in the darkness, waiting to drag me down into the dark abyss together with him¡­¡­


    Yeah, right. It is a good thing that no such thing as ghosts exists and they will not come to hunt my sorry ass. However, the further I went, the more I could feel this feeling of uneasiness and dread washing over me, almost to the point of making me feel sick.


    Come on, Michio, do not be a scaredy cat now. You have nothing to be afraid of, so just go to the toilet, do the deed and come back upstairs to where Roxanne and Sherry are waiting for you in your warm bed.


    I reached the kitchen, where the surroundings that were dimly lit by the swaying light of the flickering candle only increased my feelings of uneasiness and despair, and somehow, my shadow became even more disturbing, even though there was no reason for it to be like that. I mean come on, this is my own shadow, so why am I having shivers and goosebumps as if it really was some kind of monster that seemed to be stalking me¡­¡­


    No, wait a second.


    This¡­.. this is really not my shadow.


    Something is here. Something is moving around in the kitchen, on the border of the candle¡¯s light and the darkness that the rest of the house is bathed in right now. There is something there together with me right now! Something pitch black, which prevented me from seeing exactly what it was. I knew that this is probably going to be a bad idea, but I could not have taken my eyes off it, and so I have chosen to stare at the thing. I stared at it.


    This whole situation felt so surreal to me that I could not believe that it was happening. There is a strange black creature in my house wandering around my kitchen in the dead of the night. Some kinda strange being that moved around so fast that it almost looked as if it was flying instead of moving along the ground.


    I thought that there was no way for the creatures such as ghosts, demons and devils to exist, but I have forgotten that this was the assumption that I made based on the fact that these things did not exist in the modern-day Japan of my old world, but this world is not modern-day Japan.


    This is a fantasy world based on medieval Europe, and what is a world in a fantasy setting without ghosts and demons in it? Not a very interesting world to many people, I am willing to bet. And because of that, this demonic monster that plunges the hearts of all people into the depths of horror is now here with me, and I do not know what I should be doing with it!


    What should I do? Should I stay? Should I run? Maybe I should run. But what if it sees me and starts chasing after me? Am I going to have enough time to take out Durandal and engage it in combat? But what if this thing is going to have the properties of a ghost, which is going to render it invulnerable to physical attacks? Should I just fight it with magic then?


    But if I fight it with magic, there is a very likely possibility that the house is going to get caught in the crossfire and will get badly damaged!


    If only such nightmarish creatures did not exist! But unfortunately for me, they exist. They are one hundred percent real, and I am looking at one of them right now. The deadliest of creatures that man could ever think of. A messenger from hell. Black lightning.


    As I was sitting around like an idiot doing nothing to deal with the danger that has invaded the safety of my home, the black thing moved. Just from it skittering about the kitchen I was convinced that it has to be quite fast, but what I saw just now absolutely blew my goddamn mind.

 Volume 5 - CH 5.02

    The damn thing was moving at least three times as fast as a normal human! And in an instant, it disappeared from my sight even though I was trying to make sure that I am not going to let it out of my eyes for even a single second.


    However, there is no doubt that it existed. Whatever that thing was, it was definitely here before my eyes. I am certain of it. It was here, in this home, in this kitchen. But now it has ran away¡­.. No, it did not run. I think it was more of a strategic retreat, a withdrawal to change its position and possibly attack from yet another angle.


    I thought that the monsters were showing up mostly in the Labyrinths and wildernesses so that I would only have to worry about human enemies like Thieves and Bandits outside of them, but apparently I was mistaken in thinking that.


    I thought that human beings infesting the earth and this different world were like cancer cells in the healthy tissue of the world, but they were definitely not. Now I know that there are forces far more powerful and evil inhabiting the mortal plain, both in my old world and in this new one. The enemies of mankind, the strongest, the worst, most foul and deadly creatures that are more like sentient lethal weapons rather than anything else.


    This different world was not a safe haven for humankind. Eventually, we the humans will lose the survival race and will be either killed and go extinct or we will be forcefully driven out of the lands that we thought were our home, only to find out in the absolutely worst way possible that nothing in this world is truly ours, and we are only borrowing it because we are allowed to do so.


    Because in this world, there are the absolute beings who stand at the top of all living things in the food chain.


    ¡¸U¡­. ugh¡­. Uwaaaaa¡­.!¡¹


    Unable to bear it any longer, I hurried back to my bedroom. I ran away from the kitchen and buried myself in the sheets of the bed while my entire body continued to shiver and tremble, so in order to stop it from doing so, I hugged Roxanne as hard as I could without actually hurting her.


    My God, I am so relieved that she is here with me and that I can do this to her to calm myself down. If she was not here for me like that, then I do not know what I would have done, but I definitely know that it would not have been nothing good, because the fear would have caused me to revert back to my old self from before I started this new life in a different world.


    But now that Roxanne is here, I know that everything is going to be all right. As long as I have her bombshell body right next to mine, there is nothing in the world for me to be afraid of.


    ¡¸Uhm¡­.. what is wrong, master? Did something happen to you?¡¹


    Roxanne gently puts her hand on my back and asks me, just like a mother would her child after it came up crying to her in the middle of the night because it had a nightmare.


    ¡¸I saw it. It was there. In the kitchen!¡¹


    ¡¸It?¡¹


    ¡¸Glowing, black formless thing that was running around from one corner of the kitchen to the next!¡¹


    Oh, that was probably¡­..¡¹


    Do not do it. Do not say that name, Roxanne. For all that is holy,, unholy and anything else in between, do not finish your sentence that you are about to finish!


    Before Roxanne could speak the forbidden name, I covered her mouth up with my hand. If that really is what I think it was, then is it not going to be summoned in here at the mere mentioning of its name out loud? Even so, is this thing¡¯s name known in this world as well? Because if so, then I have to say that I definitely would have been glad if that thing stayed in the folklore and urban legends of my old world without coming to any other worlds there it would scare more people into giving them heart attacks. But if that thing is in this world, then could it be possible for some viruses or bacteria from earth to also be here in order to simulate the earthly dieseases? No, as much as this is a very curious topic, that is not something that I should be worrying myself with right about now.


    ¡¸A-Anyway, let us just go back to sleep, okay? We would not want to be all sleep deprived in the morning, right?¡¹


    Taking my own words to heart, I closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep, but I just could not do it, because I still felt like that thing was out there somewhere. It is definitely still here. Maybe it is even in the bedroom, or on the bed?


    Gyaaaaaah! No, stop imagining that! Do not think about it and just go to sleep you idiot!


    ¡­¡­ Ugh!!!! I cannot do it! No matter how hard I try, I just cannot sleep! I am just too curious about this thing! I feel like it is somewhere close! Okay buddy, if that is how you are going to play, then I will play along and beat you up at your own goddamn game, by showing you the ultimate proof of us humans being here and living right here, in this very moment! I will show it to you, and Roxanne is going to help me up with it!


    There, do you see it? That intense physical activity of mine?! If you do, then choke on it, shove it up your etherial ass and die!


    ¡¸Good morning, master.¡¹


    In the morning, I have been woken up by Roxanne, as per the usual. After our little late-night activity, I seemed to have fallen asleep due to the comfortable sexual fatigue. And after a sweet and intense activity, I have been woken up by a sweet and gentle kiss. I was about to think that this is such a wonderful way to start my morning after what happened during the night, but then I noticed that there was something weird about our surroundings, which caused to become quite shocked.


    That thing. It is that thing again! It is here!


    ¡¸Good morning Roxanne. Good morning,  Sherry.¡¹


    ¡¸Good morning, master. Did¡­did something happen, by any chance? Because you are looking quite upset.¡¹


    My suspicious behavior was noticed by Sherry.


    ¡¸No, nothing much happened. It is just that I saw it last night.¡¹


    ¡¸And by ¡¸it¡¹, do you perhaps mean a black thing that seemed to be scurrying around frantically?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, that is right! That was exactly it!¡¹


    As expected of an intellectual type like Sherry! She knew that the name of that thing should not be spoken out loud. I am so proud of her and her intelligence.


    ¡¸So it finally came out, huh? I was wondering if this would happen sooner or later after you rented the house, but it would seem that the time has come now, and the battle is about to begin.¡¹


    ¡¸A battle? Are we really going to fight that thing? And how?¡¹


    And more importantly: can we really fight it?


    ¡¸Purchase the leaves of Shiyurab in the Guild, and then finely chop them. Once that step is done, you have to boil it down until it becomes a sticky paste out of which you are going to be making dumplings, and they are going to be your weapon with which you are going to fight that thing.¡¹


    Ohhhh. So we are essentially going to be making something like the oxalic acid dumplings? So there seems to be pesticides in this world as well.


    ¡¸And if we do that, then we are going to be safe, right?¡¹


    ¡¸You are going to have a weapon for fighting it, but it is not going to be a perfect one, not by a long shot. The leaves of Shiyurab are basically tasteless and odorless, so in order to enhance them properly you are going to have to add flour, sugar, various vegetables, soup broth and other things to make it as appealing as possible, because otherwise it might not be lured into eating it. That being said, the enemy is not that stupid, and once it remembers the taste and the smell of the dumplings it will stop eating them, which is why we have to change the recipe all the time in order to fight it off little by little. This battle is going to be a long one, possibly lasting forever in worst case scenario.¡¹

 Volume 5 - CH 5.03

    ¡¸So what you are saying is essentially that we should prepare ourselves for a difficult battle?¡¹


    ¡¸Not only difficult, but also the one where we cannot expect a complete victory like we always did up until this point, but hopefully the result is going to be that we will be seeing that thing much less often, and that alone should give us some relief.¡¹


    If there is a way to decrease the rate at which that this is going to be showing in our house, then we have to take it. It does not matter that I will only be buying myself a momentarily peace of mind, that is going to be more than enough for me. Of course, it would be a great thing if we managed to make that thing disappear completely, but if it is not possible to achieve then I have no choice but to settle for the next best thing that we can get.


    ¡¸Seems reliable enough, considering that we do not have any other options on our plates. You said that we are going to need the leaves of Shiyurab? I obtaining them going to be difficult?¡¹


    ¡¸If we are talking about obtaining them ourselves, then yes, it is going to be rather difficult, because the enemies that drop those leaves only start appearing around the fiftieth floor of the Labyrinths, so if you do not have access to this floor yet, then your only option is to buy them from the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.¡¹


    In other words, that item can be harvested from the Labyrinth as a Drop Item from a monster, but at our current progress rate it is going to be pretty much impossible for us to obtain it, and that is why the only option left to us is to go and buy the leaves that we are going to need from the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.


    Right now, we have barely managed to get to the tenth floor of the Labyrinths, which means that we are only at one fifth of the floors required in order to obtain that item, but before we will be able to get it by normal means it might be way too late for us, so I think that even if these leaves are going to be a little bit on the pricier side, it is still going to be better for us to get them this way, because at the current point there is no way that we could brave forty more floors of the Labyrinth in short enough time, not when the Labyrinth grows more and more expansive with each floor that we are advancing on and the monsters getting not only progressively stronger as their level increases, but also growing in numbers, meaning that without a bigger Party we would quickly get overrun and annihilated by them. After all, the Labyrinths are not passive buildings, but living creatures that actively seek out new and improved ways to kill the Adventurers that are delving deep into its hallways in order to continue growing and expanding even more, so if we go to the higher floors while being outnumbered and outpowered by the Labyrinth¡¯s monsters, the only thing that is going to be waiting for us is going to be certain death.


    However, the one thing that we absolutely cannot allow ourselves to do is to just sit around and do nothing, simply tolerating that this thing is just keep going to show up at our house like it owns the goddamn place. Now that I have seen it, there is no way that I am going to allow it to keep appearing at our house and disturb its peaceful atmosphere, so we have to create the weapon that is going to allow us to fight it at all costs, and if we have to expend money I order to do it, then I say that in this particular case this is going to be well worth it, all the more so if it is going to mean that we will not have to risk our lives on an endeavor that may or may not end up in our favor.


    ¡¸Okay, Sherry. I will leave this matter to you.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood! I will make sure to do my best.¡¹


    Sherry seems to be pretty motivated to do this. As for me, I am perfectly okay with leaving this matter to her for the time being, because I am going to be very busy from the early morning, since I am going to have a lot of things to do on my plate.


    First, we went to the Labyrinth and stayed there exploring and slaying monsters until around sunrise while scoring one easy victory after another, and then it was the time to go to Palmasque in order to sell the amber that we have obtained from the cat-eared merchant in Bode, so I also had Roxanne and Sherry wear their Amber Necklaces to ensure that they are going to look their absolute best to make sure that this trip is going to be as successful as can possibly be.


    ¡¸All right girls, I am counting on you.¡¹


    I gave a silver coin to each of them to pay for the City Entrance Tax, and on top of that Sherry was given sixty silver coins and rough amber gemstones. Also, this time I have refrained from giving Sherry any gold coins.


    ¡¸Umm¡­ are you not going with us again, master?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I will have you two go by yourselves once more.¡¹


    ¡¸But we have Amber Necklaces with us this time, and they are worth a small fortune.¡¹


    Certainly, right now these two combined have more than one hundred thousand Nars worth of money on them, and since amber can be sold for a very high price in Palmasque, there is always a risk of misappropriation.


    However, they will not be able to do it when they are in custody of such expensive accessory as Amber Necklace, plus, if they are not going to have any gold coins on them, then the risk of them being targeted because of the amount of money that they have on them should be considerably lessened.


    ¡¸It is going to be alright. I trust you two.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you very much, master.¡¹


    With all of the preparations ready, I warped us to the Labyrinth of Zabir and then to Palmasque from there, where I sent them out to make another round of the purchases. Because this place is the furthest to the east among all the towns and cities that I have visited so far, the sun has already risen completely here.


    ¡¸Well then, we are heading off.¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, have a safe trip, and I will be looking forward to the results.¡¹


    Now that Roxanne and Sherry were off to do business, I means that I have some time to kill before they are going to be back, but what exactly should I do? Maybe I should go to the Labyrinth of Zabir and hunt some monsters there? Or is this going to be a bad idea? Nah, as long as I will keep that trip on the shorter side, it should probably be fine. And just like that, I moved to the Labyrinth of Zabir where I hunted some monsters for a while and then warped back to Palmasque to come pick the girls back up. It was a fifty-fifty chance that they were still away doing business, but luckily for me, they were already back with another two mirrors by the time I have emerged from the portal on the wall of Palmasque¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild, so we immediately returned home and then went to the of Quratar so that I could recover my lost MP.


    We have already obtained four mirrors, so that means that we have to go to Palmasque like that at least four more times.


    ¡¸We have sold all amber gemstones at forty silver coins apiece.¡¹


    Sherry reported to me after I finished recovering all of my MP and we took a break.


    ¡¸Oooh, that is great to hear. I knew that I could count on you two.¡¹


    It means that they have managed to sell the amber at five times the cost of a singe stone. It is definitely more than I have initially expected. It is more than the total amount I paid to the amber merchant, so it means that the cost of the Amber Necklaces has already been recovered. It is good to hear that Sherry and Roxanne made such a good business, but now that I learned that it left me feeling more than a little unsatisfied. After all, if I were to go do business buying mirrors and selling raw amber, we would have been able to buy the mirrors for thirty percent less and sell amber for thirty percent more.

 Volume 5 - CH 5.04

    But because I am too afraid of my Intelligence Card getting inspected and the Knights at the checkpoint finding out that I am not an Adventurer but just a lowly Explorer, we are now missing out on so much money, so maybe I should actually go with them the next time we will come here to Palmasque to buy mirrors¡­.


    No Michio, just because you are missing out on money, I does not justify you getting unnecessarily greedy. And besides, there is no telling if my thirty percent discount would work during the buying of the mirrors and selling of the raw amber anyway.


    ¡¸However, the merchant at the place where we were selling the raw amber said that such a price would be only a one-time thing due to Miss Roxanne¡¯s necklace, so I am afraid that if we come to sell the amber to the same merchant next time, the money that we are going to get will not be as good as the ones that we negotiated today.¡¹


    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹


    So Roxanne was Dealing directly with the owner of one of the workshops, huh? Well, I did instruct them to go directly to the workshops to make sure that they will be able to buy a simple plain mirror, so it should be obvious that in that case they are going to be dealing with the owners of such establishments themselves. But in that case, the owners should possess the Job of a Merchant, which mean that my thirty percent discount Bonus Skill should still be effective.


    But what was that thing about Roxanne¡¯s necklace?


    ¡¸¡­He should just go an perish on the spot. I am sure that nobody would miss him if he did that.¡¹


    Sherry spit out the words that definitely sounded like a curse.


    I¡­ I see. I think I get it. Was the owner a man? Yeah, if Sherry reacts in such a way, then the owner definitely must have been a man. If the owner was a woman, she would not have used such strong words. Judging from Sherry¡¯s reaction, the guy must have been ogling Roxanne¡¯s necklace¡­. But wait, if he was looking at the necklace, then that definitely means that he was also staring at her¡­¡­.


    Damn him! How dare he laid his filthy eyes on my Roxanne? The audacity of this prick!


    ¡¸Yeah, if it was like that, then the guy should definitely perish.¡¹


    ¡¸Thinking about it now, I should have just sold that necklace to his wife for twenty five gold coins. That would have been a nice punishment for him.¡¹


    So the owner of the workshop had a wife? And despite that, he was still looking at my dear Roxanne with such filthy eyes?!


    Such transgression is worthy of the worst kind of punishment indeed!


    Oh well, I am sure that the merchant¡¯s wife would be easily able to put two and two together and is going to find out about her husband¡¯s indecent intentions as soon as she notices that he bought amber from Roxanne at such unusually high price.


    ¡¸Way to go Sherry, you did good once again.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you for your kind words, master, but I was only doing exactly what you wanted me to do. Also, we managed to buy the mirrors at a discounted price of twenty silver coins per mirror, and because of that, we have decided to pay for the next two mirrors in advance already. Considering the amount paid in advance and the amount already bought, we will receive a total of fourteen mirrors. After deducting this amount, the rest is the remaining ten mirrors including the amount to have the stand attached to the biggest one. So as you can see, the numbers have increased a little.¡¹


    Since I handed over three gold coins. Or sixty silver coins, as a prepayment, so twenty silver coins should be an equivalent of fifteen Palmasque Mirrors, but the two I have already purchased are calculated as thirty silver coins, and the remaining two hundred and fourty silver coins are the equivalent of twelve mirrors. In other words, did they buy it by calculating the price as twenty silver coins? And although they paid all sixty silver coins, they still had enough left to pay for two mirrors in advance. In other words¡­.


    The price dropped too much, but I think that it is because they also negotiated various other things including that, so it was still a great achievement.


    ¡¸You do not have to worry yourselves with the extra numbers. Even so, that is quite a drop from the regular price. I wonder if that workshop is going to be all right?¡¹


    ¡¸It¡¯s better if the workshop of such an owner does not make any kind of profit. His wife did not know much about sales either, so she could not lower it anymore. This was the lowest and best price we could get.¡¹


    ¡¸I-I see.¡¹


    It would seem that he was forced to give it up. Well, it was already two thirds anyway, so it is not like he had any other choice to make. Anyway, this just proves that Sherry is an especially ruthless and merciless negotiator.


    ¡¸He was not lowering the price, of course, so we talked to his wife about it instead, causing the great evil to perish.¡¹


    So, the owner first incurred loss when he bought amber and was then exposed to his wife  for his scheming as well. Talk about a one-two punch straight to the gut without holding anything back. But even if they had not exposed him, his wife would have definitely found out that he bought amber from Roxanne at such a high price, so he would have gotten his rightful comeuppance anyway.


    Oh man, Sherry really is unbelievably ruthless and unforgiving. I would not have expected that from her just from her appearance alone. I guess that really proves that you cannot judge a book by its cover.


    ¡¸The world is a beautiful place, so evil absolutely cannot be allowed to flourish in it. It needs to be weeded out at all costs before it can contaminate the world with its filth.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. Also, we have received four gold coins in total. Here you go, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Alright.¡¹


    Twenty amber gemstones for four gold coins in total. It might have been better, but overall that is not a bad catch by a long shot.


    Sherry nodded reassuringly, opened her Item Box and took the gold coins out. I opened my Item Box as well, receiving the gold coins from her and putting them away safely in my own Item Box. As for gold coins, we have a total of twenty-one of them now, and if we ever needed more money, then in addition to selling the Palmasque Mirrors to Gozer, we can also sell the Amber Necklaces to that workshop owner¡¯s wife. Overall, I have to say that we are managing to accumulate quite a nice sum of money again, and once the business with selling the Palmasque Mirrors to Gozer is going to be concluded, I am definitely going to have enough money on me to go to the Imperial City and visit the slave merchant to whom Alan-san has written me a letter of introduction. Also, on a side note: usually, we are making the money for our living mainly by selling the Drop Items that we obtain from killing monsters in the Labyrinths to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, but if you think about it carefully, is doing that really all that profitable? And looking at how much Sherry and Roxanne managed to earn in a single day, maybe I should consider seriously switching my main way of getting money from dungeon crawling to trading?


    However, I absolutely cannot forget that the only reason why I was able to go to Palmasque in the first place was because I was going to the Labyrinths and earned so many levels fighting the monsters there, which in turn allowed me to increase my overall MP pool to such a degree that traveling from Quratar to Palmasque, even if needed to be done with a few stops in between. And if I had not started my journey at Vale¡¯s Labyrinth back there, I probably would not have been able warp to Palmasque in the first place. That, and I also needed the money so that I could buy mirrors and amber. If I did not earn all the money that I did in the Labyrinth first, then it would not have been possible for me to buy them at all.


    I then recovered my MP in the Labyrinth, and from there, I warped back to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. We did dome light shopping for the breakfast ingredients and then we proceeded to go back home.

 Volume 5 - CH 5.05

    Leaving the matter of preparing breakfast entirely to Roxanne and Sherry, I warped to Bode together with the mirror.


    ¡¸I would like to request an audience with Lord Gozer.¡¹


    ¡¸Of course. Please, come with me.¡¹


    When I talked to the same Knight as yesterday, I was told to follow after him to the back of the castle through the labyrinth of corridors along a familiar way. I am being led to the Duke¡¯s office, even though I explicitly told the Knight at the reception that I wanted to have an audience with Gozer. The Knight that was leading me stood in front of the door and then knocked on them a few times, until the voice called out to us from the other side.


    ¡¸Come in.¡¹


    That was Gozer¡¯s voice. There is no mistaking it. Instead of the Duke, he was the one who replied to the Knight¡¯s knocking on the door.


    ¡¸Pardon the intrusion, my Lord, but there is a guest who wishes to speak to with you.¡¹


    The Knight said as he entered the room, and I followed closely after him.


    ¡¸Ahhh, Mr. Michio.¡¹


    Inside of the office, both the Duke and Gozer were sitting at their respective desks doing something that looked like an awful lot of paperwork. It would seem that I am disturbing them when I really should not yet again.


    ¡¸Forgive me for intruding upon you when you are in the middle of work, but I have come to deliver the Palmasque Mirror once again.¡¹


    ¡¸Ooooh! Is that it?¡¹


    As soon as the Knight who guided me to the Duke¡¯s office leaves the room, the Duke looked over the mirror that I have brought in with me.


    ¡¸That is right.¡¹


    I placed the mirror on the desk.


    ¡¸Hmm¡­¡­¡¹


    ¡¸Certainly, that is a mirror without any decorations.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, and even though this office is dimly lit, the quality of the image that it reflects is still good.¡¹


    After commenting on that, the Duke took a bell in his hand and rung it. And then, just as soon as it was yesterday, a person appeared out of the hallway outside of the office, even though there was no one there when the Knight was leading me here. But in that case, where were they hiding if it was impossible for me to detect their presence at all? If it is someone who is serving as the Duke¡¯s escort, then is it a part of their job that they must not allow anyone, not even the Duke himself, to realize that they are here?


    ¡¸Your orders, my lord?¡¹


    ¡¸Call Cassia here.¡¹


    ¡¸As you wish, my lord.¡¹


    As soon as the servant received the order from the Duke, they left his office immediately.


    ¡¸Since I am not at all knowledgeable about mirrors or any other such items, I am going to have my wife Cassia look at it for me. I have already talked to her about it before, so she should come and join us soon.¡¹


    The Duke explained to me, most likely because he saw all of the question marks floating above my head when the name ¡¸Cassia¡¹ was mentioned. It would seem that women of this world are more knowledgeable and interested in such things than men, in which case it would mean that this trend is not much different from how thing were in Japan¡­.. and thinking about it, I guess that the same principle applies to me as well, because technically speaking, I was not the one who obtained the mirrors that we are now giving to Gozer and the Duke. The ones who obtained them, and at such favorable prices as well, were Roxanne and Sherry, and therefore they should be the ones who should take the full credit for it.


    ¡¸Just as you requested, the mirrors will come in various sizes.¡¹


    ¡¸They are? Great, this is exactly what I wanted.¡¹


    ¡¸However, their exact number is going to increase a little.¡¹


    I explained to Gozer while we were waiting for the Duke¡¯s wife to arrive. His initial order was about ten undecorated Palmasque Mirrors, but now, that order of about ten mirrors has grown up to about thirteen mirrors.


    ¡¸As long as we will be able to get our hands on them, the exact number does not really matter. Even if it turns out they are not going to be up to standard, there will always be other uses for them.¡¹


    I see. Gozer¡¯s goal here was to give the mirror to the third imperial prince as a Gift Item on the occasion of his wedding, but if it turns out that they will not be deemed something that can be used as a gift for such an important person, then Gozer will be back to square one here: with nothing to give as a gift and with thirteen mirrors that he will have to find a use for, but the Duke said that it is going to be okay either way, so if that is what he claims, then it really has to be like that.


    ¡¸Also, it turns out that amber can indeed be sold in Palmasque for a profit, so allow me to extend my deepest gratitude for writing me that letter of introduction.¡¹


    I thanked the Duke for giving me the possibility of doing business by selling amber. However, just to be on the safe side I decided to omit how much money I was able to make by selling the raw amber that I managed to obtain from the cat-eared merchant in Bode. For the time being, I went to Palmasque this morning before coming to Bode to be able to report if anything would have happened. Selling local goods to Duke and Gozer might not be such a bad idea after all, and I was definitely glad that I came to make my report this early.


    ¡¸I have arrived, my lord. Did you call for me?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, you may enter.¡¹


    A female voice called out to the Duke from beyond the door. That must be the Duke¡¯s wife. The door opened, and a beautiful woman wearing a dress appeared. Or you know what? I take back what I said. Just calling her beautiful is like doing her a huge disservice. She is actually extraordinarily beautiful. But¡­ there are actually three of them? Does¡­. Does that mean that the Duke of Hartz actually has three wives?! No, wait, the one who is his wife must be the young woman in the middle, and the other two must be¡­. Her attendants, I presume?


    She is especially beautiful. She is by far the most beautiful woman that I have seen since coming to this world. All three of the women who came are pretty in their own right, but as I said, the one in the middle is in a class of her own, and the other two cannot even measure up to her. Her beauty was so radiant that it was almost making an illusion as if there were rays of sunshine shining down on her with every step that she took. She had bright golden hair, skin as white as freshly fallen snow large eyes the are pale blue in color and cherry-colored lips. If I were to liken her to something, it would have to be nothing less but the biggest, most beautiful rose in the entire bouquet. Yes, compared to all the other beautiful elven women that I have seen up to date, she is like a whole level¡­. No, two levels higher. Just one glance at her would be enough for everyone to realize that she is a cut above the common rabble, someone who should not be approached unless you are of the same social position and stature as her. Since the one in the middle is the Duke¡¯s wife, the Duchess of Hartz, then the other two have to be her maids.


    ¡¸Allow me to introduce you. This is Cassia, my wife. Cassia, this is Michio, one of the Adventurers who helped us with the distribution of the relief supplies after the floods.¡¹


    The Duke introduced me to the beauty in the middle. So, my hunch was right after all? That person really is¡­.?


    ¡¸It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Cassia.¡¹


    The Duke¡¯s wife, Cassia, stated her name and gave me a curtsy. That kind of greeting would have been elegant no matter who performed it, but when she does it, it looks that much more dignified. And, although it pains me greatly to say this, unlike Roxanne, there seems to be both perfection and beauty in every move that she makes, and every step that she takes.

 Volume 5 - CH 5.06

    If I were to liken her to something, then it would most likely have to be a combination of a sculpture of a Greek Goddess, while Roxanne is ¡¸just¡¹ a bisque doll. So, the pretty boy who became the Duke of Hartz got himself a beautiful wife to match him, huh? If I were to be in his shoes, would I be able to do the same thing? Is that the benefit of being someone who holds a position of power in his hands? Is that really how it is: that political power and influence can give you not only money and status, but also all the beautiful women that you could have ever dream of as well?


    I hate him for being a pretty boy so much. I hate him, and I am jealous of him. And so incredibly envious that I might start melting any minute now. This is all the fault of this world and its social hierarchy system that is rotten to the core! It is exactly that which causes the difference in social standing to create rifts between people, and those rifts only serve to deepen the inequality between those at the top of the social hierarchy and those who are below them, especially the bottom feeders who are getting shat on by everyone who is above them. This is a straight-up example of crippling inequality, and yet nobody seems to care and try to do anything about it! Is this really how it should be? Should such an exploitation really be allowed?! Are we really going to allow these social atrocities to continue while closing our eyes, ears and hearts to it, pretending that everything is fine and dandy while we go on about our daily lives as per the fucking usual?! Are we going to allow such blatant injustice to go unpunished and continue to spread its absurdity?! No! What we need to do is to have a revolution! We should make the ruling class tremble and cower in fear of us! The proletariat has nothing to lose, and the world to win! Members of the working class, UNITE!!! (From ¡ºThe Communist Manifesto¡».) (TL Note: Is Michio secretly a commie?)


    From today onwards, let us all live as the red warriors! Let us live and dedicate our lives to the glorious cause of fighting against those who would dare to oppress and exploit us! Let us deliver the noble scum to justice, and usher in the new era of freedom and equality for all! And next, we have to dethrone the emperor and give the power to rule back where it rightfully belongs: in the hands of the people!


    ¡¸Nice to meet you. My name is Kaga Michio.¡¹


    However, in front of Cassia, I bow respectfully. After all, you have to act respectfully in front of a lady.


    ¡¸The Duke has told me that you are quite an excellent Adventurer, Lord Michio.¡¹


    Cassia said to me. Oh wow, did the Duke really say something like that to her about me? I mean, I do feel kinda flattered, but I really would have liked him not to spread his own misunderstandings to other people who might take him too seriously, thus spreading the misunderstandings even further. Nevertheless, it makes me happy to see that the Duke is such a good person who praises those who deserve praise, like me for everything that I have done for him, so maybe we are not going to be in need of a revolution after all?


    ¡¸No, no, no. Whatever your husband told you about me, I assure you that I am nowhere near as amazing as the Duke was probably making me out to be.¡¹


    While I was acting humble towards Cassia and the Duke, I used ¡¸Identify¡¹ on Cassia to see her exact Stats.


    Cassia, Female, 29 years old


    Job: Mage Lv41


    Equipment: Sacrificial Misanga


    She is only twenty nine years old? Oh my God so she is basically still so young that she can basically be called a sweet, glossy fruit dripping with water that is about to ripen into its most delicious state! And moreover if I did not have ¡¸Identify¡¹ on me, and checked to see that she almost approaching her thirties, then I would have definitely said that she could not have been more than twenty years of age, and that would check itself out with the general saying that when it comes to elves, you cannot really determine their true age by something so simple as looking at them with your naked eye alone. But you know what? It does not matter if Cassia is twenty or thirty years old, because in my book she is only one thing: a beautiful woman. I feel like I want to just stare at her and feast my eyes upon her beauty, but I know that I have to keep myself in check, because if I do that for too long, it will be entirely possible that the Duke might start suspecting something. And on top of being exceptionally beautiful, Cassia is also a high-levelled Mage, which adds a whole another level of amazingness to her! And by the way, when I checked him with ¡¸Identify¡¹ earlier, I saw that Gozer was definitely not a Mage himself, so if Cassia has that Job, and at such a high level at that, then could this perhaps mean that¡­.?


    ¡¸And this here is¡­?¡¹


    ¡¸This is one of the Palmasque Mirrors that Michio bought for us.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, is that so? Allow me to see it then.¡¹


    Cassia said while approaching the desk upon which the mirror that I brought in with me has been laid out. Her appearance when she was walking was so elegant and beautiful that I just could not stop myself from admiring her every motion. Is this how all of the women from the aristocratic class are, or is being so elegant while doing something so mundane a quality that was unique to her only, because I never saw anyone else walk so elegantly like that before. As I was already saying, she looked absolutely beautiful.


    Then she leaned down and looked at the mirror, examining it very closely.


    Such a wonderful profile. And her eyelashes are so long and beautiful as well.


    ¡¸Well? How is it?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, this is a beautiful mirror, without the shade of a doubt.¡¹


    After looking at the mirror for a good while, Cassia replied to my inquiry.


    She did not say that what was beautiful was her own face in the mirror, nor the reflection that the mirror was showing. She said that about the mirror itself as a whole, which means that she must have been wondering whether it was a genuine article or just a really well-done forgery. But now that she has a closer look at it, there was no longer any doubt in her mind that what she had in front of her was a Genuine Palmasque Mirror.


    Does that mean that a revolution is still necessary after all?


    Well, it is not like I can do anything about it now. I am pretty sure that there are numerous fake items called Palmasque Mirror available for purchase on the black market, and if these forgeries are popular enough to be able to be sold in substantial number for a much lower price than that of the original Palmasque Mirror, then I cannot blame the members of the aristocracy for running thorough checks to see if the potential seller is not trying to scam them from their money by selling them a fake mirror advertised as a genuine article. But since Cassia was able to tell that this mirror is a real deal after only a short glance at it, then does that mean that she already has experience in appraising mirrors, or perhaps it is that she also possesses the ¡¸Identify¡¹ Skill? Well, it would probably be best not to think about it too much, so let me just think positively and revel in the thought that the Palmasque Mirror that I bought got Cassia¡¯s endorsement.


    ¡¸Now then, what about the price?¡¹


    Now that it has been confirmed that the mirror that I delivered was a genuine article and not a fake, Gozer talked to me about the price that they would have to pay for it.


    The matter of price, huh? Well, certainly, Gozer himself said that a single Palmasque Mirror should be between ten thousand Nars and twenty thousand Nars, and even though Sherry and Roxanne managed to get a discount for themselves, the craftsmen at the workshop originally wanted to ask for the price of thirty five silver coins. Now, if we were to buy this mirror at one of the Imperial City luxury goods shops, that price was essentially going to get tripled, ending up at around fifteen thousand and five hundred Nars.

 Volume 5 - CH 5.07

    So, should this be the price that I should give to them? Is that going to be enough to guarantee me a good profit out of this sale?


    If only the Knights were willing to do so, they could have always gone and buy the Palmasque Mirrors on their own, using their own hands instead of going for the middleman Adventurers like myself. Even if going alone is out of the question, they could have always formed a full Party of six people and take turns in order to reach Palmasque if they were using ¡¸Field Walker¡¹, and if everything else have failed, they could have always opted for staying in Palmasque overnight. Now, assuming that the cost of one Adventurer staying in Palmasque would be thousand Nars per day and that it would take around two days for each of the Party members to buy the Palmasque Mirror and bring it back home with them, then the total cost od such an operation would be two thousand Nars per Party Member, so by adding the price of the mirror itself, that means that you could get one mirror for a total of five thousand five hundred Nars total.


    Looking at it like that it might seem like it is hell of a lot expensive because of all of the accommodation costs, but if it means that they would be able to make a full back and forth trip within a single day, then it would actually be cheaper, considering that they cannot allow themselves to spend too much money on such an excursion without ramping the costs up too high to the point where the entire trip would not be worth it due to too much money being spend to get the mirror, which might be deemed as not worthy of its price.


    ¡¸Then, how about one gold coin per mirror?¡¹


    Moreover, I cannot allow myself to be too greedy in front of Cassia. I have to admit, it was a pretty smart and tactical move on Gozer¡¯s part to start talking about business-related things only after Cassia came here. Does he know that I will have to stay my tongue and my demands in regards to money in order not to be seen in an overly bad light in her eyes?


    ¡¸I think it might be a little too cheap. You would have gotten a better price even if you went with it to the Imperial City. But it also costs money to have my men go to the Imperial City to buy them there.¡¹


    ¡¸If you had a full Party of Adventurers go directly to Palmasque, you might be able to get them  at half the price.¡¹


    ¡¸But hiring people just for something like that might be too bothersome and wasteful money-wise. After all, Palmasque Mirrors are not something that we need for our own everyday usage. But since I decided to buy them on the spot like that, it should be a given that they would end up being a little expensive.¡¹


    So that is how it is, huh? Instead of looking at this whole endeavor as an individual, Gozer is looking at if from the perspective of his standpoint as the leader of the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy. He just cannot hire pretty much anyone off the street to do it because since he has his reputation to consider he would be unable to dismiss them pretty much whenever he would have wanted or when it would have suited him.


    As the leader of the Knight Order, if he hires someone to do a job for him, he has no choice but to keep them employed throughout the whole thing even if there is not that much work to do to begin with. From that perspective, I can definitely see where his opinion is coming from. Hiring an Adventurer to run errands for you might seem like a good idea at the beginning, but in the long run it might just not be worth it.


    Of course, the most obvious solution to that problem would be to simply go and buy the product that you want yourself, even if you had to consent with the price and sacrifice your own time that could otherwise be saved by hiring help from the outside, but when doing things yourself, you will at least have one hundred percent certainty that the job has been done for good and that no one is trying to deceive you that it has been done in order to just get your money and then run away before you could verify whether or not that was actually true.


    However, it is a little different in my case, since I have been invited to do this job of obtaining mirrors by Gozer himself, precisely because I had a certain value to myself: I claimed that I could travel to Palmasque, and I did not claim to have wanted to be compensated for the costs of the travels that I would be doing.


    ¡¸It should be fine, what with the increased number of mirrors and all.¡¹


    ¡¸You really are fine with that? Very well then, I understand, and thank you for your understanding.¡¹


    ¡¸As expected of Mr. Michio. He truly is an excellent Adventurer.¡¹


    The Duke praised me again, but I do not know if I should be happy with his praises or not.


    ¡¸I am also grateful to you, Lord Michio. This is a high quality product, and we are lucky to be able to get them at such an affordable price.¡¹


    I do not care about the praises from the Duke at all, but Cassia can praise me however much she wants, and I will accept her praises any day of the week, even though in reality she should be directing her thanks not towards me, but towards Sherry, since she was the one who was the architect of the prices for the mirrors being so low, but since neither of the people here actually met Roxanne and Sherry in person, I will allow them to think that it is me who they should be thanking, and thanks to this, I will be able to say to the girls that I managed to sell the mirror to the Duke for a pretty good price myself.


    I received the gold coin from Gozer and left the Duke¡¯s office and the castle while feeling overjoyed that a beauty such as Cassia praised me and felt thankful toward me.


    Now, I could go straight back home, but before I do that, I decided to go and pay a visit to the cat-eared amber merchant next to Bode¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild.


    ¡¸My oh my! Welcome, Mr. Customer!¡¹


    A cat-eared merchant welcomed me after I went through the shop¡¯s door. I was more than a little disappointed that it was him and not the cat-eared female clerk who was here last time, but she was nowhere to be seen, which was quite a shame, because now that I did not have Roxanne or Sherry with me today, I thought that maybe I could get the chance to play with her cat-ears for a bit, but unfortunately it does not look like that is going to be the case.


    ¡¸I hope that I am not interrupting with anything?¡¹


    ¡¸No, not at all. Please, right this way!¡¹


    ¡¸Welcome, Mr. Customer.¡¹


    When I greeted the cat-eared merchant, he eagerly welcomed me to the back of the shop, to the same room where I was sitting with Roxanne and Sherry the last time when I was here, and there, much to my joy, a cat-eared female clerk welcomed me as well!


    So she was here after all, just not in the front of the shop! Of thank the heavens for that! Looks like I am going to get to enjoy my fair share of of cat-eared goodness after all! Cassia was definitely a beautiful woman who is in a class of her own when it comes to looks and the aura that she emanates around her, but this cat-eared girl undeniably has a unique charm of her own that cannot be denied. There is just something about cat ears that hits you differently, you know? In a pretty unique way that neither Elven ears nor anything else can possibly hope to replicate.


    As I sat on the sofa, the female cat-eared clerk served me herbal tea, just like she did the last time when I was here.


    ¡¸Mr. Customer, I think you will be pleased to know that I have managed to order another batch of raw amber from the amber processing plant, and that we should be able to get you another ten pieces of it if you would like them.¡¹


    Unfortunately, the one with whom I have to do amber-related business is not the cat-eared female clerk, but the cat-eared merchant.

 Volume 5 - CH 5.08

    ¡¸Yes. If it is not a problem, then I would like you to get all of them for me.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you very much for your business, but unfortunately, I have no way of knowing then they are going to be available next time.¡¹


    The cat-eared merchant apologizes. It would seem that large quantities of amber are not something that is so easy to arrange. I wonder why it is like that? Maybe it is just his own excuse to gatekeep his business, because if he sells too much amber to someone at any given time, that would mean a risk of him accidentally creating a competitor for himself on the amber selling market?


    And what is more, if you could just go and get any amount of amber as if it was nothing but pebbles on the side of the road, they definitely could not be as expensive as they currently are. The only reason for why amber can be sold for a premium price is precisely because it is so rare and hard to come by. If it was any other way around, then the amber merchants would just start popping up like hallucinogenic mushroom after an acid rain, resulting in the drastic drop of amber¡¯s market value, meaning that it would really be worth nothing more than ordinary pebbles, and that is not a situation that any merchant who is worth his salt would allow to happen.


    I always thought that the amber merchant could simply employ the Adventurers in order to sell amber in distant places to make an even bigger profit, but if he is not doing so already, then it has to mean that there probably is not all that much of a supply of amber available at the current moment. And following that line of thought, if he started selling amber in the places where there is not much supply of it all of a sudden, then its prices would skyrocket, destabilizing the local economy as a result.


    ¡¸I see. Well, if it is like that, then as unfortunate as it is, I guess there is nothing much that we can really do about it, is there?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, it is exactly as you say, Mr. Customer. Unfortunately for us, amber is only being washed ashore where it can be safely collected after there is a storm at the sea, so more of it might just become available the next time when there will be a storm happening, and for the sake of my business, I hope that this is going to happen sooner rather than later.¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, I guess we can only hope for that to happen now, huh? By the way, is it available in Talem or Tamel or whatever the name of that town is?¡¹


    ¡¸It is Talem. It is a town famous for its woodworks. Many kinds of wood that are typically used for decorative purposes can actually be found there, but it is exactly for that purpose that we do not cater to that particular area with our services.¡¹


    It is the same place where the Duke is planning to get the mirrors decorated. So, it is a place renowned for its woodworks, huh?


    If that place is so renowned, then I bet there are trees such as Japanese Cypress, Teak or Mahogany growing in that area.


    ¡¸Could you please have wooden cases for the necklaces prepared from this Talem place for me?¡¹


    Right now, the necklaces that I bought from here earlier were being kept in a cloth bag, while in Japan, the necklaces have these special cases in which they can be held. Apparently, as I could have expected, honestly, there is no such practice in this world, which means that if I want Roxanne and Sherry¡¯s necklaces to be stored in a proper way that is not gong to damage their Amber Necklaces, I have to make a special custom order for such cases to be made.


    ¡¸Wooden cases?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. Amber Necklaces that I bought from you are, without a doubt, a very special kind of a high-class luxury item, so a case made out of wood found only in Talem is definitely going to only add to its class.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. You are certainly correct about that, but why are you asking me about it?¡¹


    The amber merchant has become quite restless. It is just as I thought. This guy does not understand that holding a luxurious item such as Amber Necklace in a case that was made specifically for it will only add to the sense of luxury surrounding the item, because you are going to make it seem that it is so valuable that it has to be kept separately from all of the other items in your possession, but if the word gets out that I am the only one selling necklaces in special wooden cases, then I will definitely gain quite a reputation to my name, and that is something that I would have liked to avoid for the time being.


    ¡¸Well, if I will be the only one who sells necklaces in cases, I will gain reputation quickly and it will be only a matter of time before others start to copy me. And besides, I am not from this region, but a faraway place, so I would rather have someone who is a local of Hartz Duchy to deal with the matters in Talem.¡¹


    ¡¸You¡­ you are planning to sell amber necklaces in wooden cases?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, because according to the market research that I have conducted, there are people who would definitely be willing to buy such a product, and it looks like it is going to have a pretty good chances of being a huge sales hit especially in Palmasque. Oh, but if you are getting worried about it, then be at ease, I can assure you that I am only going to be selling them around Palmasque, and not anywhere near the vicinity of Bode or Hartz Duchy.¡¹


    After all, this guy and the company that he runs are focused on selling amber and amber-related items exclusively in Hartz Duchy and the Imperial City, and he has made it very clear last time that he does not wish to see his business getting disturbed, but as long as I promise to keep my own amber-selling business away from those two regions, he told me that he will not mind selling me his amber, and that is what I should be sticking to.


    ¡¸So, in other words, what you are saying is that you would not mind if my company started selling Amber Necklaces is wooden cases?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, that is exactly what I said. I would not mind that at all.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood. In that case, I will consider ordering these wooden cases for you immediately. Wooden cases from the Talem wood, was it? I will get to it right away, so you can definitely expect good news during the next time we meet!¡¹


    After asking the cat-eared merchant to fetch me a pair of wooden cases, which he seemed to be oddly enthusiastic about right there at the very end, I left his store. Now that I requested him to get these items for me, we will not have to keep Roxanne¡¯s and Sherry¡¯s Amber Necklaces in a cloth bag anymore, because if I am to be honest with you, it did not look very good to be keeping such an expensive pair of items in something so poorly-looking, and the poor necklaces must be feeling all depressed about it as well, so putting them in some proper casing is surely going to make them feel better on the spot.


    Just like every man should have his own place to stay, every proper piece of jewelry should have its own case from which it could be displayed to others. That is definitely going to be something that the wife of that craftsmen who Roxanne and Sherry sold raw amber to will not be able to boast about, because just like this cat-eared merchant right here, in this world, no one is even thinking about the decorative functions of things, focusing too much on their practical aspects and applications instead. Well, if the plan with the wooden cases ended up being a bust, selling the Necklaces back to the craftsman¡¯s wife once they start to get a little bit too worn out for my liking is always going to be a valid option as well.


    For the remainder of they day I did not go anywhere else in particular, and just stayed in the Labyrinth exploring and killing monsters for their Drop Items. When it was evening and the time to go back home, I went to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and bought the Shyuraf leaves and a small pot to go along with it, and only then went home.

 Volume 5 - CH 5.09

    I do not feel that pesticides are something that should be prepared in a literal cooking pot, but what can you do, this is literally the only option available for me if I want to get rid of that thing that appeared in our house.


    Now, I remember that back when I first acquired the Alchemist¡¯s Job it was as a result of me creating some simple soap by boiling it in a cooking pot, but I wonder if the process is going to look similar this time around as well? I mean, Sherry said that we should use the leaves to ultimately create a paste out of them, but who says that we cannot make a soap that is going to be shaped like a dumpling?


    That would have been quite a combination: a dumpling-shaped soap containing disinfectants and insecticides. But if we actually did that, I have a feeling that there would be a pretty solid chance that that thing would not have touched something like that with a ten-foot pole, and honestly, I would not even blame it for it. I have never tasted soap in my life, not even as a kid by accident, but I am fairly certain that the taste would be so revolting that it would have left me traumatized for the rest of my life and the aftertaste would have stayed in my mouth for weeks to come, so going through something similar is a fate that I would not have wished upon the worst of my enemies¡­.


    Unless they were a bunch of total assholes and douchebags of course, in which case, serves them right! Anyway, what I am trying to say here is: if it is for the purpose of bringing peace and harmony back into our house and riding it of that goddamn thing, then I will gladly use those leaves to commit the biggest and most foul of crimes against food, just as long as it is going to be enough to get the job done properly.


    ¡¸Okay master, I am going to start giving you the instructions now, so make sure that you will listen and follow them closely. Now that we have the Shyuraf leaves, you have to chop them all into a really small pieces, after which you have to simmer all of them until they become thick and sticky. When the mixture become sticky enough, you have to remove the leftover leaves that did not turn into a paste along with the others, and then simmer it some more. After boiling everything until it becomes completely white, you just have to remove it from the heat and leave it out to dry.¡¹


    While Roxanne and I were busy cooking dinner for the three of us, Sherry was taking care of creatin our makeshift insecticide while giving me a step-by-step explanation of how to do it, ¡¸just in case if I ever had to prepare it myself¡¹, as she have put it.


    ¡¸And exactly for how long it would be best to do it?¡¹


    ¡¸Ideally you should leave it to dry for a couple of days. Two or three at best. Supposedly, the longer you are going to leave it to dry, the stronger the effects of the final, finished product are going to be. By the way, master, did you know that the creature that we are going to be using it against is a lowly and vulgar one, so when it is offered food, it is simply going to follow its basic instincts and eat everything that has been offered to it, regardless of what it is and how it might taste?¡¹


    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. And since the leaves of Shyuraf, much like other naturally poisonous substances, are tasteless and odorless, the animals and monsters that have eaten the food made out of it are going to have their flesh and blood permeated with the poison¡¯s effects, which is going to work against others of their ilk who will later come to devour the body of their fallen brethren, because a master is probably aware, in nature, nothing is allowed to go to waste, not even the corpses of animals big and small that still have flesh on them that can be eaten by others who are going to be using it as their own sustenance. And that is why we are going to aim for the medicine to be as strong as possible so that it would cause as much damage as possible not only to the thing but also to its brethren when it comes back to its natural habitat after eating the food offered to it by us. If we are going to be lucky, the secondary damage of that poisoned thing is going to spread to any potential others that would have come to take its place after its death, meaning that it is going to be all over for them, and we will be able to celebrate our complete victory over them without ever having to worry about them coming back to haunt us ever again.¡¹


    Amazing. That is a truly amazing, if only just a little bit morbid, plan.


    ¡¸C§á§Ñ§ã§Ú§Ò§à (TL Note: Spasiba, for those of you who do not know Russian writing system), Sherry.¡¹


    ¡¸I am sorry master, but what was that? Because I totally did not understand what you just said.¡¹


    And there is no way you could have, Sherry, because that was spasiba in Russian language from my old world. (TL Note: Frankly, I have idea why the author threw such a random Russian word in there, but am I the only one who starts to see a pattern here?)


    ¡¸I said spasiba.¡¹


    I said matter-of-factly.


    ¡¸Supa¡­..?¡¹


    ¡¸Spicy¡­. Ba?¡¹


    ¡¸It means thank you. Changing the subject, what are we gonna do with the finished mixture when it dries up sufficiently? We will just make balls out of it and leave them somewhere in the house, hoping that the dam thing is going to catch the bait?¡¹


    ¡¸Essentially, but before we are going to use it to set our trap, we will have to apply some finishing touches to it, mostly by battering the balls of poison in sugar and flour that are going so add some much-needed, because if they stay odorless and tasteless, there is a risk that it might not eat enough of it to get poisoned right away.¡¹


    ¡¸In other words, what you are saying is that if we prepare it in the right way, then we can expect to see the effects as soon as today¡¯s night, right?¡¹


    My chest is getting hot with anticipation, even though I know that it should not be doing that, because when it comes to stuff like this, it is always better to temper our expectations then to hold them unreasonably high like I am doing right now. But if everything goes down smoothly, just the way it should, then I am finally going to be able to sleep with the piece of mind without having keep one eye open all the time and constantly being at edge.


    It was probably because I managed to get an uninterrupted good night¡¯s sleep, but when we went to the Labyrinth the next day, our exploration was able to proceed considerably well. After we went to Palmasque and delivered yet another mirror to the Duke of Hartz in the morning, we stayed in the Labyrinth for an entire day and arrived at the Boss Room on the tenth floor of Vale¡¯s Labyrinth to challenge its Floor Boss. Since the main enemies on the tenth floor were NT Ants, it meant that the Floor Boss of this floor was going to a bigger, meaner version of them, and it really was.


    When we walked through the door and the green smoke began to accumulate in the middle of the room, what emerged out of it after a moment was the figure of the Floor Boss, but even though it looked more imposing than the regular NT Ants and its attacks had a much higher chance of getting us poisoned, it was no match for our tried and true strategy that has been honed throughout all of our previous Floor Boss battles on lower floors and other Labyrinths: Roxanne simply got in front of it and focused its attention on herself as she continued to dodge every single attack while Sherry and I approached it from behind and molested its backside util it dropped dead and disappeared in an explosion of green smoke. Overall, it was not that hard of a Floor Boss to deal with.


    ¡¸All right, so what should we do for now? Should we withdraw for now or proceed forward to the eleventh floor to get a feel for how it is up there?¡¹

 Volume 5 - CH 5.10

    ¡¸I think we can go there for a bit.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I think so too.¡¹


    It was about time for us to finish the exploration for today, but before that, we unilaterally decided to go to the eleventh floor to have a little sneak peak at what was about to wait for us in there.


    ¡¸What are the monsters native to Vale Labyrinth¡¯s eleventh floor?¡¹


    I asked Sherry when we arrived at the eleventh floor from the Floor Boss¡¯s Boss Room of the tenth floor.


    ¡¸The monsters native to the eleventh floor of Vale¡¯s Labyrinth are Spi Spiders. We have already faced them in Qutartar¡¯s Labyrinth, but this is going to be our first time dealing with them here in Vale¡¯s Labyrinth.¡¹


    As usual, Sherry was more than eager to share the information that she learned about the monsters on the eleventh floor of Vale¡¯s Labyrinth.


    Monsters that appear from 1st floor to 11th are same for every Labyrinth no matter its location, except that their placement is different in each one. That is why it is exactly like Sherry said: even though we have already fought against Spi Spiders in the Labyrinth of Quratar, this is actually going to be our first official bout against Spi Spiders in the Labyrinth of Vale, because the eleventh floor is the first floor in Vale where they are appearing, whereas in the Labyrinth of Quratar they appeared as early as the third floor, so they were not that much of a threat there.


    And much in the same vein as the Spi Spiders here on the eleventh floor, the enemies that we have not yet encountered in Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth, Green Caterpillars, should be the enemies that we are going to be encountering next on the eleventh floor of the Quratar¡¯s Labrinth.


    ¡¸Spi Spiders are another type of enemy that has poison on their list of Skills, right?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, but the chances of actually getting poisoned by Spi Spider¡¯s attacks is much lower compared to the chances of suffering from poisoning when battling against an NT Ant. We have already fought against them in Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth countless times before, so we should not have any problem at all dealing with them.¡¹


    ¡¸So the chances of getting poisoned do not increase along with the enemy¡¯s Level?¡¹


    ¡¸I have not heard anything about the chances of getting poisoned increasing with the enemy¡¯s level, so no, they do not increase, at least when it comes to normal attacks. When it comes to Skills, it might be possible to be an increase, but even if it is, then it is probably going to be a pretty negligible one.¡¹


    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹


    Yes, we have already fought against Spi Spiders in Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth, so we should have their patterns of attack well memorized by now. This is the advantage of exploring more than one Labyrinth at a time, and it is a pretty great one indeed.


    I would not go as far as to call it a cheat, but it is definitely a nice quality of life improvement that allows us to always be ready for whatever might be waiting for us on the next floor, as long as we are going to know what kind of enemy is going to be native to that floor and if we fought against them before or not.


    And so, we proceeded with the exploration of the eleventh floor of Vale¡¯s Labyrinth, fighting the monsters along the way. As expected, the patterns of attacks of the Spi Spiders did not change, but because their Level is considerably higher than that of the ones on the third floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth, they were considerably tougher and trickier to defeat, partly because unlike NT Ants, Spi Spiders did not seem to have any kind of elemental weaknesses to them.


    On that front, NT Ants, who are weak against Water Magic, are considerably easier to fight, because at the very least I know that they do possess a weakness that I can exploit against them.


    Spi Spider Lv.11 collapsed in seven magic attacks, so it means that the number of attacks required to defeat them has increased by one. With Durandal, however, it takes just two swings of it or one ¡¸Rush¡¹ attack, same as with the enemies on the tenth floor of the Labyrinths. NT Ant Lv.11 took four water type magic attacks in order to defeat it. Having faced so many NT Ants, I have reached the point where I can take them out without the risk of getting poisoned at all.


    This proves that we can fight against the monsters on the eleventh floor of the Labyrinths without any major issues.


    Next morning, we also cleared the tenth floor of Quratar¡¯s labyrinth as well. We had already beaten Pan, the Floor Boss of the Floor where the Escape Goats were the major enemy, more than twice in Vale¡¯s Labyrinth, and the experiences that we gained from these battles certainly did not go to waste.


    ¡¸The eleventh floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth is considered to be quite a difficult one to traverse.¡¹


    After passing through the now empty Boss Room and advancing to the next floor, Sherry shares the information about the eleventh floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth with us.


    ¡¸Really? Why is that?¡¹


    I thought that since the monster native to Quratar Labyrinth¡¯s eleventh floor is supposed to be Green Caterpillar then that would mean that it was going to be one of the easier floors to deal with.


    ¡¸The monster native to eleventh floor of Quratar¡¯s labyrinth are Green Caterpillars. They are considered to be the most difficult and dangerous of all the monsters that appear on the first eleven floors of the Labyrinths. And as if that was not enough, the NT Ants from the ninth floor also tent to appear on the eleventh floor quite often.¡¹


    One of the most difficult and dangerous enemies on the first eleven floors? Are Green Caterpillars really that dangerous of an enemy? Because to me, that sound like an over exaggeration. I mean, Green Caterpillars do not use poison as part of their attacks, so what could be so dangerous about them to earn the ones from the eleventh floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth such a sinister reputation? Is it about their threads and the ¡¸Thread Spit¡¹ Skill that they are using? Is that it? Because if so, then I could say that I agree with that, because that Skills of theirs is pretty nasty indeed.


    And I do agree that more NT Ants to be dealing with is always going to be a promise of an especially bad time since the chance of getting myself poisoned while fighting against them is definitely real. Poison is bad. I do not like poison, not at all, not even a single bit. If only I could, I would have removed that status ailment from the game entirely. I still have the trauma from that one time when I got myself poisoned due to my own lack of awareness of my surroundings, and I absolutely do not want to go through that experience ever again.


    ¡¸Because Green Caterpillars spit their sticky threads.¡¹


    I see, so it is about the threads after all, huh?


    Green Caterpillars have a ¡¸Thread Spit¡¹ Skill that works in such a way that after a short delay due to the cast time, the Green Caterpillar spits the threads out of its mouth that are so sticky that once they hit you, you are going to have your ability to move sealed and you are going to end up getting pinned down to the floor where the Green Caterpillars will gather all around you and use their highly acidic fluids in order to dissolve you into little more than a puddle of soup that they a are going to drink up next.


    Just from that description alone, I cannot possibly imagine that this would be a particularly good way to go. Also, the higher the levels of the monsters in the Labyrinths, the higher the chance that they are going to me using their Skills more and more often, so if the Green Caterpillars Lv.11 are going to be resorting to using their ¡¸Thread Spit¡¹ Skill much more frequently than their counterparts from the lower floors, then I can certainly see how that would have been especially troublesome to deal with.


    And that is when we are talking just about Green Caterpillars alone, so imagine now, if you will, a following combo: Green Caterpillars Lv.11 use their ¡¸Thread Spit¡¹ Skill in order to slow me down and pin me to the floor, and then NT Ants Lv.11 swoop in to inflict poison on me. Normally, even though I do not possess Roxanne¡¯s godly dodging abilities, I am pretty confident that I would have been able to either block or jump away from their poisonous fangs or their ¡¸Poison Spit¡¹ Skill, but if my movements were greatly impeded due to the influence of the Green Caterpillar¡¯s sticky threads? In that case, I would not have been so sure about that.

 Volume 5 - CH 5.11

    The last time I was hit by the Green Caterpillar¡¯s spit attack, I was only able to get myself free after I burned the threads binding me with fire magic, but before I thought about using that method, I was trying to free myself with regular means, slashing at the threads with Durandal, and it ended up going¡­ pretty poorly. If it was not for Roxanne¡¯s help, I would have been most definitely done for, so as you can see by the picture that I am trying to paint, if I were to be hit by such a combination, then the result would have been pretty deadly for me, and the dame thing can essentially be said about Sherry. The only person from our Party who can allow herself not to worry about the Skills the the enemies are using is Roxanne, because no matter what happens to her or what kind of Skills are going to be fired against her, she can simply brush it all off like it is nothing and dodge either to the sides or backstep.


    ¡¸So it is about such a thing, huh?¡¹


    ¡¸The threads of the Green Caterpillars can certainly prove to be troublesome, but thankfully they can be avoided pretty easily!¡¹


    Yes Roxanne, it is certainly possible to avoid getting hit by the Green Caterpillar¡¯s sticky threads, but you know what is a fundamental problem with such a manuever? That iit can only be done by a certain member of the Wolfkin tribe who possesses unnaturally high dodging abilities. Regrettably, something that you can do pretty much effortlessly remains pretty much impossible to pull of for me and Sherry. Is that not right, Sherry?


    ¡¸Ah¡­!¡¹


    When Roxanne turned her back towards us, I gave Sherry a suggestive glance, and once she saw it, she nodded back at me, expressing that she agrees with what I have said.


    Once the fighting on the eleventh floor started, it was exactly like we expected: it was not very easy on us. I know that we fought all of  the enemies that can be encountered here before, but it does not change the fact that here on the eleventh floor where the enemies get even tougher than before we actually have to put in an effort into doing it now, and whenever there are Green Caterpillars mixed in with other enemies, we have to do our very best to either kill all of them before they can activate their Skills or do our very best to dodge them if they do manage to unleash them.


    That being said, we have no other choice but to move on and keep on fighting if we wish to proceed with our exploration. And thus, we move on little by little, fighting against the groups of enemies from time to time, and although we were encountering Green Caterpillars unusually often, so far neither me nor Sherry were caught in any of their threads. Escape Goats Lv.11 tend to run away from the battle after being hit with four magic attacks, so I always made sure to hit them with three magic attacks and then switch to Durandal in order to deliver the last strike that would defeat them for sure.


    Yes, it is slowly but surely, but I can definitely see why people would be saying that the eleventh floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth is the most difficult to explore out of all the other floors. The combination of various types of different enemies plus their high levels makes it so that progressing through the eleventh floor is maybe not difficult, but most definitely a much slower endeavor than on the lower floors.


    Eventually, we found a group of three Green Caterpillars Lv.11, and that was the first time when they actually managed to properly use their ¡¸Thread Spit¡¹Skill.


    ¡¸Here they come, master, Sherry!¡¹


    Roxanne shouted that loudly, after which she jumped forward to avoid the incoming threads, which ended up falling and covering the ground where she was standing just a moment before, but now, the white threads hit nothing but empty air.


    Thread lays scattered there where Roxanne was supposed to be standing. What the white thread hit was but empty space. Surprising nobody, Roxanne managed to dodge them all pretty much flawlessly, so if I am to be honest, I do not know why am I still getting worried about her. I know Roxanne for some time now, and throughout the entirety of our life together, there was not a single enemy and not a single attack that she would not be able to dodge with perfect accuracy.


    Thankfully, due to my position in the backline as a magic casting support for Roxanne and Sherry¡¯s vanguard, neither of the threads ever came close enough to hitting me. Ever since we first encountered the magic-using Needlewoods that scored a hit on me with their ¡¸Water Balls¡¹, I have already learned my lesson and made a habit to keep a safe distance from the main battlefield: far enough not to get myself aggroed by any of the enemy¡¯s long distance Skills, but at the same time close enough to be able to aim my magic accurately and a still act as a reliable help for Roxanne and Sherry.


    It was a good general strategy, but unfortunately it had one major weakness: if I stayed too far away from Roxanne and Sherry, there was an increasingly large risk of me getting attacked from behind by a monster what would have managed to make its way behind me without me noticing it, just like that one NT Ant that poisoned me did, and also there was a risk that if I stay to far and do end up getting attacked, Roxanne or Sherry will not be able to react in time to come to my rescue.


    Second barrage of the threads has been shot by the Green Caterpillars, and just like before, Roxanne was able to dodge all of them splendidly.


    Their third attempt at using their Skills was interrupted with my help as I switched to Durandal and proceeded to engage them in melee range. But unfortunately, the fourth wave of the threads managed to catchSherry, since she was just a second too late with her side roll.


    In a matter of seconds, Sherry has been covered in sticky white threads from top to bottom, and it was all because Sherry lost sight of the Green Caterpillar for a moment when the Escape Goat that I was currently fighting began running away before I could give it the last smack with Durandal to finish it off. It was a near perfect attack to Sherry¡¯s blind spot, so she had no way of avoiding it in time. If I was in her place, then I do not think that I would have been able to dodge that attack as well, because all of it happened so fast and in such a hectic manner that even I had problems following up with all of it when staying at a distance.


    Tens of¡­ no, hundreds of small white threads were now all over her, just like it was once with me. And now that Sherry¡¯s moves were slowed down to a halt, one of the Green Caterpillars used that opportunity to ram its body into her. It was unfortunate that she got herself caught like that, but the saving grace here was that she did not fall victim to Green Caterpillars concentrated attacks one after the other. Should I start healing her now? Or maybe cast ¡¸Plating¡¹on her and capitalize on my attack magic while it is still active to finish the enemies off and give her first aid once that is going to be done? I chose to go down the latter route.


    Because I had already used my Attack Magic six times, I had to wait with shooting the seventh one right after the sixth spell went off cooldown. Since the Green Caterpillar could not move right after it attacked Sherry, the ¡¸Fire Storm¡¹that I fired in its direction ended up hitting it without fail, and because I chose to use the AoE Spell, it caught not only the one Green Caterpillar that was attacking Sherry, but also the other two of them and the Escape Goat that was about to make its escape from the scene of the battle inside of the blast, after which they all disappeared while turning into puffs of green smoke one after the other.


    ¡¸Are you alright, Sherry?¡¹


    I ask Sherry while casting Heal on her to recover the damage that has been inflicted upon her.


    ¡¸Yes, master, I am fine. I am sorry that I could not dodge the threads in time.¡¹


    ¡¸Don¡¯t blame yourself for it. If I were in your place, I probably would not have been able to dodge these threads either. There, all done. How are you feeling?¡¹

 Volume 5 - CH 5.12

    ¡¸Thank you. I should be fine for now, thanks to your quick help.¡¹


    Sherry stops me when I tried to cast ¡¸Heal¡¹ on her for sixth time. So five times was enough to bring her back to full health? Or is she just trying to be strong in order not to look bad in my eyes? Is she really fully healed now? For her own sake I hope she is not trying to just tough it out, but it would seem that the ¡¸Plating¡¹ that she already had cast on her beforehand helped in mitigating the total damage that she sustained from the Green Caterpillar¡¯s Skills and the attack of the one that slammed its body into her.


    But I have to admit that some of the combinations of enemies that we have to face now can really get quite problematic to deal with. Take the NT Ants and Escape Goats, for example. If I want to make sure that I am definitely going to be able to consistently kill them in one or two hits, that would require me to add Warrior to the list of my Active Jobs so that I could use Warrior¡¯s Skill, ¡¸Rush¡¹.


    But the problem with that is that if I want to use Warrior and its Skill, I would first have to get rid of Alchemist Job and its ¡¸Plating¡¹ Skill, but plating can provide Sherry with an additional layer of defense whenever she is getting hit by the enemies whose attacks she is unable to avoid in time, and if I were to remove the Alchemist Job in the middle or right after using ¡¸Plating¡¹ on Sherry, its effect is going to be cut off prematurely. That is why I was always making sure to use ¡¸Plating¡¹ on Sherry in the situations where I would be absolutely sure that she was likely to be continuously attacked, and in any other situations than that one, I usually refrained from using to much so that its effects would not end up going to waste.


    So if she were to be attacked now, then she would have to bear the full brunt of the attack¡¯s force herself, since the ¡¸Plating¡¹ that I have previously placed on her has already worn off.


    ¡¸In the worst case scenario, you might just have to endure a number of the enemy attacks before I will be able to come to your aid. Are you fine with that?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I should be able to do at least that much. I promise to do my best.¡¹


    Sherry nodded with confirmation. You are going to do your best, huh? Well, since Sherry is an intellectual and a rational person, then she would have definitely told me if she felt like she would not have been able to withstand the attacks of the enemies while waiting for me to come to her aid in case of an emergency, or at least as many attacks as it would take for me to use three shots of my Spells to come into contact with the Green Caterpillars and deliver a finishing strike to them before they could launch any more of their threads towards Sherry.


    But the downside here is that she would have to endure any attack that would be coming her way before that could happen. I could also try removing Warrior and quickly select Alchemist to cast ¡¸Plating¡¹ on her again, but on the other hand that would only serve to prolong the time needed to actually take the monsters out.


    Then again, what if the situation is going to be a fifty-fifty, or an extremely close call?


    What if the attack that Sherry will have to take on is going to be more severe than expected and she is only going to be able to barely make it out alive by the skin of her teeth?


    Should I tell her to not be reserved with me and not to act tough and be more considerate with herself without constantly trying to keep up with the rest of the Party?


    I could do that, but I do not know how is she going to react. She could either accept my words and start taking better care of herself, or it might be possible that my words are going to have the opposite effect and she might end up resenting me for it. Either way, I should not take what Sherry said at face value.


    After all, a short and simple ¡¸I can¡¹ would have been much more appropriate in this situation than the ¡¸I promise to do my best¡¹ that she gave me, and safety of myself and the members of my Party should always be my number one priority no matter what.


    I am definitely glad that the Escape Goat was already running away when Sherry got shot with the Green Caterpillar¡¯s threads, but I cannot stop thinking about what would have happened to her if it was not running away, or what would have happened if it was another monster instead of an Escape Goat?


    If it was an NT Ant, then there would have been a real risk of Sherry getting poisoned by its attack, and I would not have been able to administer the Anti Poison Medicine to her in time to help her. As things are standing, I am afraid that the difficulty level of the eleventh floor of the Labyrinth of Quratar has exceeded the limit of what might be called an appropriate level for us to clear it safely.


    After we finished the exploration of Quratar¡¯s labyrinth for today, we headed to Vale¡¯s Labyrinth next. There, on the eleventh floor of Vale¡¯s Labyrinth, the Green Caterpillars hardly ever appeared.


    There is still a chance that we might get poisoned by the Spi Spidesr and NT Ants if they ever make their appearance, but some risks are just unavoidable and we have to take them regardless of whether we want to or not.


    The danger caused by the increased frequency of magic and poison effects have both increased, and we have to find a reliable way to counter these threats.


    if we want to keep on exploring that Labyrinths at the pace that we have been able to keep up until now, then that is the bare minimum that we have to do. But those are just Labyrinths for you. When you enter them, there is always going to be a risk that you have to be prepared to take, and it is not possible to be going through its treacherous halls while thinking that no harm is ever going to come to you and that everything is always going to be fine, because it will not. There is no guarantee that the Green Caterpillars will not appear on Vale Labyrinth¡¯s eleventh floor, and we have to be ready to take them on if they do show up.


    There was a chance of it appearing on the ninth and tenth floors as well, but I am not sure if I could endure long enough to cast three spells if I was covered in that thread of theirs. Actually, wait just a goddamn minute. Where, or I guess I should ask where have I last seen Green Caterpillars in the Labyrinth of Vale? Was it on the ninth floor?


    Or perhaps somewhere on the eighth floor? Well, anyway, that is how common of an enemy it is in here, so hopefully there will be nearly no chances of us running into them while exploring the eleventh floor. I want to believe that at least here our hunting is going to go smoothly and we are going to make much faster progress than the one we did on the eleventh floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth.


    Well, I mean, there is still a chance, small as it is, but a chance nonetheless, that we are going to run into Green Caterpillars here after all, so I think we should at least come up with some kind of countermeasures against them and their Skills if such an unfortunate encounter does end up happening. Other than that, I can say that the hunting on the eleventh floor of Vale¡¯s Labyrinth was pretty stable, but all of that stability can pretty much go to shit in a moment¡¯s notice if a Green Caterpillar appears.


    If it does appear and uses its ¡¸Thread Spit¡¹ Skill, it is going to be too late for us to think about anything else, so there is no time like the present to start thinking about the countermeasures and preventive methods that we could implement.


    The best option would be, obviously, to increase my magic attack power, as well as Sherry¡¯s defense Stat, and maybe we could start at her equipment.


    The Leather Jacket that she is wearing right now is pretty much no different from a starting equipment of a beginner player who could not have afford anything better.

 Volume 5 - CH 5.13

    Or at the very least a little bit more fancy to his name, so if we are looking to improve Sherry¡¯s situation on the battlefield, then I guess there is no better place to start than there.


    I think that once we make enough money from the sales of all the mirrors and abler, we should all go buy ourselves some pieces of armor that are going to be genuinely better than the ones that we already have here on us, because if Sherry manages to increase her DEF Stat, the she is automatically going to take less damage from the enemy¡¯s attacks, and taking less damage is going to directly influence the amount of time that she should be able to withstand on her own even if she did end up being hit my another one of the Green Caterpillar¡¯s threads.


    There is also the matter of a Wand that I am using. It is nothing spectacular or even enchanted, it is just a simple wooden Wand that I bought at the weapon shop and used ever since then because there was no need for me to be getting myself some other ones, because the Wand that I currently have on me has been doing its job pretty nicely, but I can definitely see how just ¡¸doing your job pretty nicely¡¹ might just not be enough anymore, so it would be a pretty good move to either get myself a new, better one or improve the one that I have on me now.


    If magic gets strengthened, then the number of Spells needed to defeat each monster is going to decrease, which is directly going to impact the time that we are going to have to spent fighting enemies, decreasing it as well.


    If we assume that this decrease means one spell less needed to kill the monsters on the eleventh floors, then that means that the fighting time can decrease by over a quarter, and if a fight lasts only three quarters of the original time that it would have taken to get the desired results, then can such a battle really be called hard or difficult?


    Or perhaps in order to be talking about a success in that regard, we would have to achieve the result of only spending half of the battle time that the original battle would have taken? I will have to think about it seriously from now on.


    Strengthening my Wand might not be such a bad idea after all, considering the additional damage that I will be doing from the enemies with each consequtive Spell, and as for Sherry¡¯s improvements, I can also give Sherry a Sacrificial Misanga to protect her from the attack that would have otherwise claimed her life. Then again, ¡¸Sacrifice¡¹, a Skill that causes Sacrificial Misanga to be such an OP accessory is just a one-time usage, after which the item becomes essentially useless and no different from an ordinary strings tied together in order to create the best accessory possible, so I cannot be putting too much faith into it unless I want to be in for a world of disappointment.


    All in all, I guess it all boils down to the matter of whether or not we are going to be able to move around even after getting hit by the threads, because if we are not going to be able to move at all while being afflicted by them, then being able to survive just one attack is not going to mean much at all. Sacrificial Misanga is a piece of equipment that should be used to negate one blow that would have otherwise proven to be a fatal one, and as such should generally not be considered as a legitimate part of any kind of battle plans that we might be strategizing about in the future.


    Also, I cannot forget about a very simple, but easily missable fact: I should not make assumptions that Sherry is going to be the only member of our Party who is going to be hit with the Green Caterpillar¡¯s threads. I should make contingency plans in case that I would be hit with their threads, but we should also prepare one for Roxanne as well.


    You might be thinking that with her godly dodging abilities such a thing is not going to be necessary at all, but we are talking about the Labyrinths here, a place where pretty much everything remains a possibility, even if only a faint or an unbelievable one, so as much as I do not want to do this, I need to start thinking about what I should be doing in case that Roxanne ever got hurt or slowed down by the threads.


    We then fought and explore in the Labyrinth until dawn, and after we left the Labyrinth , I decided to go to Bode in order to deliver yet another mirror to the Duke in Bode. I know that it has not been all that long since I started doing this, but it has actually become quite a daily routine for me that I could probably deliver the mirrors to Bode¡¯s castle with my eyes closed, that is how accustomed to it I have already become.


    After I got back from Bode, all three of us had breakfast, after which I told Sherry to continue her Master Smith training by making new Leather-based items. This is also a daily routine that I sincerely hope is going to continue even into the future.


    ¡¸After we finish eating here, I am going to go pay Armor Shops a visit.¡¹


    ¡¸Does that mean that the time has come to buy ourselves better equipment?¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, the time has come indeed. I want Roxanne and Sherry to wear stronger Leather Jackets so that you could increase your defensive capabilities, and for that, buying a better piece of equipment is the best possible place to start.¡¹


    ¡¸In that case, master should be the one to upgrade his equipment first.¡¹


    ¡¸My equipment is not the best, I agree,  and there is  certainly a room for improvement. But for now, I want to do only that which is necessary to clear the eleventh floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth.¡¹


    I tried to convince Roxanne that she should place her own needs before mine, but as usual, I do not know whether my words managed to reach her or not. What she needs to understand is that now that I have taken the role of a rearguard support for her and Sherry, I am not in that much of a need for new armor, because I am not going to be as exposed to the enemy attacks as Roxanne and Sherry going to be in the vanguard.


    And in the case that I do end up getting attacked, I do not have to worry about my defenses as much as the others, because I have my Durandal and its ¡¸HP Absorption¡¹Skill to cover that for me, so what I should be focusing on instead is to increase the amount of damage that I am going to be dealing to the monsters as much as possible so that the battles could be finished up much faster to allow us to go through the higher floors of the Labyrinth at a much faster rate and without putting the three of us in danger of suffering unnecessary damage. For the time being, our most pressing concern is to upgrade Sherry¡¯s Leather Jacket into something better.


    ¡¸Umm¡­ I am sorry that you have to do all of this for me.¡¹


    Sherry said apologetically, thinking that she was causing problems for us.


    ¡¸Do not worry about it, Sherry. Every Party member has a role that the need to fulfill. And since you are in the vanguard with Roxanne, then it should be obvious that we need to increase your defensive capabilities since you are going to be much more susceptible to taking damage than I am at this point.¡¹


    I told Sherry to not worry about it and just focus on increasing her defenses. She might not realize it, but by being able to take more hits without needing to heal right away after each and every one of them, she is going to be helpful to me as well, because I will be able to focus more on killing monsters with magic instead of having to constantly heal her all the time.


    Not to mention that Sherry¡¯s worth lies not only in being the second member of my Party who is fighting on the frontlines, but also in being a Master Smith who is going to contribute to our cause by creating new items and equipment.


    ¡¸Yes, thank you, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood.¡¹ The current countermeasures are supposed to work with Sherry in mind, but in fact, it would be the height of stupidity to limit the improvement of our equipment to just Sherry.

 Volume 5 - CH 5.14

    I am also going to need to change Roxanne¡¯s equipment for the better in order to make her even more ferocious in battle, and if I am going to be buying things for Sherry, then I might as well buy them for Roxanne as well, since I need to buy more than one item in order for my thirty percent discount to trigger properly.


    ¡¸When you go to the craftsmen, make sure to ask his wife if she is looking for a good Amber Necklace, okay?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, we will!¡¹


    First thing¡¯s first, I took out Roxanne and Sherry¡¯s Amber Necklaces, handed them out to them and send them on their way to Palmasque to get two more Palmasque Mirrors for the Duke. Even though this thing has also become somewhat of a daily routine for us, it is the one that I would like to get over as soon as possible in order to get all of the money that we possibly can from it, and we still have as much as four mirrors left to go!


    After finishing up the business in Palmasque, we went to the Labyrinth so that I could get all of my spent MP back, and once that was done, we returned back home to have some breakfast. Afterwards, Roxanne started doing the dishes while Sherry continued on with her Master Smith training, and later on all of us went on a quick trip to the Armor Store.


    ¡¸Excuse me, what is next, or one tier above Leather Jacket on the list of protective pieces of armor? If that going to be a Hardened Leather Jacket?¡¹


    I asked the man at counter with whom I have become quite a good acquaintance with as of late. We are currently in one of the bigger Armor Shops located on the main street of Quratar, where I started coming to in order to sell all of the items that Sherry has been creating recently and we are not going to be using due to them being somewhat inferior to the equipment that we currently have on ourselves, and the guy is always offering me some pretty preferential prices for them, so I cannot really complain about it.


    ¡¸For the people fighting in the vanguard, the next best thing would be a Mail Hauberk. It is about equal in defensive capabilities to armor made out of Hardened Leather and it is cheaper than Hardened Leather, but it does come with a downside of slowing the wearer¡¯s movements to a certain degree.¡¹


    The guy at the counter answered my question.


    Opposite to the shelf that has Hard Leather Jackets on it, there was the shelf that had Mail Hauberks put on display.


    Mail is a type of armor consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh. When I took it into my hands to see exactly how it would feel, the first thing that I noticed about it was how heavy it was. This would surely provide the wearer with a very stable defense, but I have to wonder, would it really be possible to run around and move quickly through the hallways and the corridors of the Labyrinths? Because somehow I doubt it. If you would be wearing this on your torso and then all of your other equipment on top of that: helmet, gloves, pants, boots and a weapon, the it will really become impossible for you to be moving at quick enough pace to be able to fight and avoid the attacks of the monsters properly. For that exact reason, this piece of armor is absolutely prohibited for Roxanne to wear, because in battle, she relies exclusively on dodging, so if she were to wear that thing, it would affect her greatly, taking one of her biggest strengths away from her. So instead¡­


    ¡¸Roxanne, are you going to be fine with a Hardened Leather Jacket?¡¹


    ¡¸I certainly should be fine with it, but are you going to be fine with that, master?¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, I do not mind.¡¹


    Our current equipment is essentially the same as the most basic one, so we should not sweat too much over such a small upgrade as the one that we want to do this time. We should just grab whatever we can in order to make ourselves stronger and harder to kill for the enemies.


    ¡¸Sherry, the same question for you: are you going to be fine with the Hardened Leather Jacket, or perhaps you would have liked something else?¡¹


    ¡¸Well, personally, I do not think that it is going to make too much of a difference to me if the armor that I am going to wear is going to be light or heavy.¡¹


    Saying that, Sherry picked up the Mail Hauberk and examined it thoroughly. Does that mean that she is going to pick up the Mail after all? Well, I mean certainly, with her strength as a Dwarf, she should be more than able to handle its increased weight properly, but I am going to ask her about it just in case.


    ¡¸Do you not think that it is going to be too heavy for you?¡¹


    ¡¸It certainly is heavy, but I would say that it is not all that different in comparison to the Leather Jacket that I am wearing now, so I think that I am not even going to notice the difference.¡¹


    Well, id Sherry is saying so, then I guess that she is really going to be fine. After all, who else but her can know the limits of what she possibly can and cannot do? All Dwarves seem to be inherently strong, probably due to some kind of Passive Skill for their race, but I cannot help but to wonder just how heavy the armor would have to be in order for her to actually feel how heavy it is and for it to limit her ability to move?


    Hardened Leather Jacket, Armor


    Skills: Empty, Empty


    Mail Hauberk, Armor


    Skill: Empty


    I take a look at other Mail Hauberk and Hardened Leather Jackets to appraise them more closely.


    However, is seems that the best that the Mail Hauberks can do is one Empty Skill Slot, while on the other hand, Hardened Leather Jackets seem to have up to two Empty Skill Slots, so overall, Hardened Leather Jacket appears to be a better piece of equipment for us at the current moment.


    But there seem to be only a few Mail Hauberks in here, so who knows, maybe if we went to some other Armor Shop, they would actually have Mail Hauberks with two Empty Skill Slots in stock?


    ¡¸Alright then, be sure to choose an armor for yourselves from one of these right here.¡¹


    I pick more equipment with Empty Skill Slots and pass to Roxanne and Sherry. If I left the choice to them, they would have probably ended up picking something that does not have any Empty Skill Slots in it whatsoever, but now that I have suggested to them from which they should be picking, I have essentially made sure they are going to choose only from the selection of those Hardened Leather Armors that have two Empty Skill Slots in them.


    Well, it is not like they can tell the difference, so my guidance in that regard is the best thing that can possibly happen here. If they ended up choosing something without any Empty Skill Slots in it, I think I would have straight up refused to pay for it until they would choose what I advised them to pick, but at the same time I know that Roxanne enjoys looking over all of the things that the store has to offer before she makes up her final selection, so at the very least I did not want to take that simple pleasure away from her, and that is why I only gave them a hint instead of outright saying: you should pick this or this or this or this.


    While they were deciding which piece of armor they should be going with, I took a look around the store to check out all the other pieces of equipment that were for sale. Among all of the equipment that was made from Hardened Leather, there were also Hardened Leather Helmets and Hardened Leather Gloves that also had Empty Skill Slots in them. I wonder if all pieces of armor made from Hardened Leather have two Empty Skill Slots in them, or is it perhaps nothing more but a coincidence? It would definitely be nice of that turned out to be the case, because these things are an obvious improvement over the equipment that we currently have, so maybe I should work on improving our situation with these pieces of armor next?


    Nah, I think we should be good for now when it comes to them.

 Volume 5 - CH 5.15

    It would be nice if we could improve all of our armor all at once, but is there really a need for us to be doing that right now? I mean, we definitely could go down this route, but if we do that too soon, then I would jus end up getting worried in advance over what kind of armor should we be taking next if the hardened leather ones stopped being enough when it comes to providing us with protection from the many dangers of the Labyrinths.


    So for now, I think it would be best for us to just focus on getting the better pieces of armor for our torsos and see if that is going to be enough for us to handle the Green Caterpillars Lv.11 just a little bit better. If we are going to be able to handle them without much difficulty then hooray for us, and if we are still going to be struggling with them, then that is just going to mean that we are simply not ready to face them properly yet, and that we just have to do some more grinding, gain more levels and then try again.


    After much deliberation, searching and discussions between them, Roxanne and Sherry finally managed to choose their equipment. I bought it all with the help of my thirty percent discount, and then we were ready to leave the Armor Shop.


    Unfortunately, even with my discount active, the total cost of our shopping trip still ended up costing two whole gold coins, so whether I like it or not, I had no choice but to kiss those gold coins goodbye. That is the ugly truth of this world, which stays exactly the same as its equivalent in my old world: the better quality the equipment that you want to buy, the more expensive it is going to be, and there is no way around it.


    We then returned back home, where Roxanne and Sherry immediately proceeded to change themselves into their new outfits. Wearing her new chainmail, Sherry looked like she was as ready as she could be to take on the battlefield by storm, but if I am to be completely honest with you, then I have to say that I am pretty disappointed by this armor.


    I know that I should not think about it and look at it as a simple article of clothing but a thing worn for the purpose of combat and combat only, but a part of me just could not stand it to see that it was completely covering Sherry¡¯s body, and because it was made out of metal mesh, it did not emphasize the outline of Sherry¡¯s chest at all.


    Hell, forget about the outline of her chest, now that she has the chainmail on, I can barely even see her regular clothing from beneath that armor. I mean¡­. I can kind of see the color of her clothing beneath it, but I think that we all know full well that this is not what we are about here, right? Yeah, most definitely. I know that this armor is supposed to be first and foremost protect Sherry from suffering damage from the attacks of the monsters from the Labyrinths, but can it not do it while looking just a little bit sexier?


    Is that really so much to ask? It would have been another thing entirely if Sherry had to wear it while being naked without literally anything underneath, but since this is not that type of armor and the reasons for why I bought them for Sherry and Roxanne were not perverted, but as practical as could be, so I guess there is nothing that I can possibly do about it now.


    I touched the chainmail of Sherry¡¯s shoulder to confirm if that was really metal or not, and sure as hell, this is metal all right, so cold and unfriendly to touch. Yup, it is metal all right. But maybe, just maybe¡­. Maybe I could ask Sherry to wear the chainmail for me while she would be wearing nothing else underneath, even if only for a short while?


    I wonder if she would be against such an idea, or would she be all for it since I was the one who requested her to do it? Of course, I would never ask her to do something like that while we were in the Labyrinth, since that would go against everything I ever said about safety  being my number one priority and we cannot afford to have one of the two of our vanguard members to just run around the treacherous halls of a living dungeon while being semi-naked simply because her master ordered her to do it.


    Come on guys, I might be horny most of the time, but I would never allow horniness to cloud my mind and actively work against my better judgement.


    ¡¸Is it possible to wear a chainmail over a leather jacket? Or the other way around?¡¹


    ¡¸It would have been possible if only items such as armors sold for Adventurers were perfectly normal items, but adventuring equipment is most definitely not a normal type of items, because it is equipped with the spell that automatically reads all of the information about the person who is wearing it, and that is the reason why armor can fit anyone perfectly regardless of their mass, figure or size of their bodies. That is also why doing something like the thing that you just described: equipping one piece of Adventuring gear over the other would be counterproductive, because if more than one piece of armor is being worn on a single body part, then the magic of both equipped pieces of armor would end up getting in conflict with one another, causing the conflicting pieces of equipment to break down.¡¹


    Sherry explained to me why putting a hardened leather jacket over a chainmail would not have been a very good idea. So, the general rule of thumb here seems to be that there can only be one piece of equipment on a single part of the body, and equipping more than one piece of equipment on a single body part is possible, but only if you are fine with your equipment getting destroyed because of it.


    ¡¸Is it also not good to have both sword and wand equipped at the same time?¡¹


    ¡¸As long as you do not hold one in each of your hand, there should be no problem. If you equip them only one at a time, you should be perfectly fine.¡¹


    So I should be all right if I just keep switching between the weapons, huh? Duly noted? But then¡­ what is going to happen if Durandal ends up breaking? What am I going to do if that happens?! Durandal is literally my best weapon here, and I cannot afford myself to lose it, so I definitely need to be more careful with switching between weapons.


    ¡¸I would definitely like to see the effect of changing equipment in the Labyrinth of Quratar, but maybe we should go there tomorrow morning?¡¹


    ¡¸The eleventh floor of Quratar is not very popular because it has strong opponents on it, so because of that it should not be all that crowded even now.¡¹


    ¡¸So what you are saying is that it should be okay for us to go to Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth in order to test that out?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes.¡¹


    After receiving Sherry¡¯s confirmation, we then went to the eleventh floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth, but even if I said that I wanted to test the effects of having new equipment on us, then the entire point of this visit right now is to allow ourselves to be attacked by the enemies in a controlled environment.


    In the eleventh floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth, Sherry is the one who is most likely to be caught in the Green Caterpillar¡¯s¡¸Thread Spit¡¹ Skill and have her movements slowed down, so that is why I think that Sherry should be the one to conduct the tests, because being a damage sponge, even if done for the noble cause of an experiment with the new armor, then that is definitely not something that I would like to be doing myself.


    And what is more, I am not the best suited candidate for this experiment, because all of the damage that I would have sustained would have been healed over the course of the battle, meaning that the testing period would have just dragged on forever, but since Sherry does not have any healing Skills on her, she is the perfect specimen for the job this time.


    ¡¸Let us fight here for a while. Ah, that is if you really have no qualms about being deliberately attacked by the monsters here of course. The choice is yours, Sherry, and I will not force you to do anything that you do not want to do.¡¹

 Volume 5 - CH 5.16

    ¡¸Do not worry, master. I am perfectly fine with it.¡¹


    What we are doing here, allowing Sherry to be attacked on purpose, is essentially different from being suddenly attacked while fighting seriously, so Sherry will not be able to feel the genuine shock of being attacked like that because she is already waiting for the opponents to attack her, so she is basically anticipating the damage that is going to be inflicted upon her by the opponents.


    However, what is the most worrisome at the eleventh floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth is the possibility of being caught au in the Green Caterpillar¡¯s sticky threads, because if she ends up getting immobilized by them, even if it was on purpose, then she is not going to be able to do shit to protect herself, and needlessly putting Sherry¡¯s life in danger is not what this experiment is all about.


    A lot of the enemy groups now contain Green Caterpillars. It is starting to look pretty dangerous, so it is going to be a lot safer to go and try our experiment in a more convenient place without as much of these disgusting bugs as there are here.


    Guided by Roxanne, we looked for a group of monsters to confront. The first handy group that we found consisted of a Green Caterpillar and two Escape Goats. Now, with these guys here, the experiment might just work out. Great job, Roxanne! That is what I have initially thought, but the Green Caterpillar did not use his thread spitting attack until the end.


    ¡¸That was a boring group of enemies.¡¹


    ¡¸Too weak.¡¹


    ¡¸And they did not even use any Skills.¡¹


    Roxanne and Sherry looked at me strangely. It looks like the Japanese puns do not get translated all too well in Brahim. I should have expected as much. Maybe I should just drop any attempts at witty humor if they are just not going to work?


    The next group of enemies consisted of three Green Caterpillars. Is this battle going to be just as easy as the previous one?


    ¡¸Here they come!¡¹


    Seeing that, Sherry immediately moved in to try and take out two of the enemies at the same time by swinging her Club at them. Her strike connected with the Green Caterpillars, but they did manage to spew out their threads before that happened. Because of the impact of the blow that Sherry dealt to them, their slimy bodies have been stretched in a direction in which I am pretty sure that no normal body, be it a bug¡¯s or a human¡¯s should ever be stretching, but like I already said, it did not stop their threads from hitting Sherry in the end.


    In this situation, I am sure that Sherry could have avoided being hit by those threads if only she tried it, but instead she chose to accept that attack head on, and after she has been covered with the Green Caterpillar¡¯s threads, she also chose to quietly accept their attacks that came at her next without even a word of complaint. That was the moment for me to act. I chose which magic to use, thought about its name in my mind, and then fired it at the enemies


    (¡¸Fire Storm!¡¹)


    All this time, Sherry was not panicking and continued to stand there, acting calmly. This must have been her intention all along. She knew that even if she manages to catch the enemies with her Club and strike two of them at the same time, at their current level it is not going to be nearly enough to destroy them, so instead, she chose to accept a few of their attacks as she waited for me to finish them off.


    ¡¸Fire Storm¡¹was properly activated, and covered all three of the Green Caterpillars with the sparks that exploded into a fiery explosion after a short while. They all fell to the ground and turned into puffs of green smoke, so when it was finally over, I immediately came over to Sherry in order to check up on her. After all, she was still attacked a few times after she delivered her strike to the monsters, so she is definitely going to be in need of healing, even if only for a little bit.


    ¡¸How are you feeling, Sherry? How was it?¡¹


    ¡¸I am feeling fine, master. There really was a noticeable difference, because even though I was hit by the Green Caterpillars a few times, their attacks did not seem to have as big of an impact as they had before, so I guess that must mean that my defensive power has definitely improved. Well, there are still some parts that are not clear to me because I was only hit those few times so I could not measure everything up properly, but at this point I do not think that dealing with the attacks of the monsters here on the eleventh floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth. Also¡­.¡¹


    ¡¸O-Okay now, the most important thing is that you are safe and unharmed.¡¹


    I forcibly summarized Sherry¡¯s story, because it was beginning to look as if she was about to go on another lengthy talk about all of the things and aspects related to what she just went through, and if I guessed correctly, then she was about to suggest that in order to conduct a much more thorough testing she should allow herself to be caught by the Green Caterpillar¡¯s threads and allow them to hit her even more than they did just now, and that is just impossible and out of the question. She has already done enough and played her part, proving that the changed equipment does indeed make a difference and caused her to withstand more attacks than she could face before, and for the time being that is more than enough contribution from her in my book.


    ¡¸Yes, I am most definitely unharmed. In fact, I feel that I could really use some more thorough testing in order to see exactly how much more damage I could possibly take an to what point I could withstand the increased amount of attacks before¡­.¡¹


    ¡¸Then, do you want go to the eleventh floor of the Vale Labyrinth next?¡¹


    I quickly changed the subject to defuse the situation that was about to head of in the exact direction where I thought that it was going to go.


    ¡¸Oh yes, we can definitely do that to see how are my new defenses going to fare against the monsters there instead. Good thinking, master!¡¹


    It is not good thinking, but common sense! Anyway, since Sherry expressed her agreement, we went to the eleventh floor of Vale¡¯s Labyrinth next. Fortunately, the eleventh floor of Vale¡¯s Labyrinth was not as hard as the eleventh floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth, so we did not have as many problems traversing through it. As long as Vale is concerned, we should be doing pretty okay here. Now that Sherry had her equipment changed for a better one defense-wise, I feel like I can safely kick back and observe her battles here on the eleventh floor of Vale¡¯s Labyrinth with the confidence that she is going to be fine and will safely pull her own weight around. That might sound as if I was worried about her performance, but trust me, I was not all that worried since the beginning, because I knew that she was going to make it work one way or another. We then fought our way through the Vale Labyrinth¡¯s eleventh floor until the evening and then we went back home.


    While I was in the middle of preparing dinner, Sherry continued to make dumplings from the broth of the dried-up Shrub Rose leaves. I have to say, the finished product looks quite big, definitely bigger than I have initially anticipated. Instead of being of the same size as the three-colored dango that you put together on a skewer, but instead it is as big as a peony rice cake.


    ¡¸There. It is all dried up nicely and cleanly. And since it is our first time ever making it, we are only going to mix in flour and sugar into it.¡¹


    ¡¸I see that you have also made it pretty big, huh?¡¹


    ¡¸That is because you do not actually need a lot of them in order to make this plan work. You can put one of them in the kitchen where you have last seen it, and then we can place the rest of them near the entrance to the house.¡¹


    Sherry then set the dumplings.


    Maybe it was only my own imagination, but in my opinion they looked pretty dignified on that table. They look pretty reliable, so I want them to live up to their reputation and prove to be as useful as Sherry describes them to be.

 Volume 5 - CH 5.17

    On the morning of the next day, Sherry told me to come to the kitchen, and when I did that, I saw that the dumpling that has been left there bore the mark of being bitten, so the plan to have that thing eat it must have been a success after all, and once again proves that the wisdom of mankind has triumphed over the brutality and mindlessness of simple beasts.


    Take that, you black creature! You will not be seizing control of the world just yet! Mankind is still going to be here for a while longer, and we are going to continue to foil your plans of world conquest, no matter how many times we have to do this!


    After that, we waited until the night to confirm whether or not these suspiciously-looking shadows have truly disappeared, and once Roxanne has reported to me that she did not see any suspicious activity in the kitchen throughout the entire night, only then was I able to finally breathe a sigh of relief, but ever since then, I made sure to develop a habit of not drinking excessive amounts of water in the evenings or at night so that I would not have to go to the toilet in the middle of the night ever again.


    Say whatever you want about it being nothing but a primal, irrational fear, and something that not even the kids in kindergarten are afraid of anymore but I absolutely cannot deny that seeing that black thing scurrying about our house in the middle of the night had left me with a sense of intense trauma that might just stick with me for a good while longer.


    Of course, now that I have regained full control over my house and can be absolutely sure that no pest or evil spirit or any other kind of meddlesome gremlin is going to be disturbing the safety and tranquility of my bedroom, I am once again free to engage in nighttime activities that kindergarteners are not allowed to engage in and cannot even begin to dream of without running the risk of suffering from a heart or anxiety attack caused my being aware of the presence of unwanted guests in the house and that they might just randomly pop up somewhere in the bedroom or in my bed itself when I am going to least expect it.


    But now that the vermin that threatened us have been swiftly dealt with, there is nothing stopping me from indulging myself further in the sweet nighttime debaucheries.


    On the morning of the next day, I continued with my routine of delivering Palmasque Mirrors to the Duke of Hartz Duchy in Bode exactly like I was doing for a past few days. Before I knew it, this had become a part of my new daily routine, but I am glad that it will soon be over and done with, because I definitely do not want it to turn into a habit, because I have not been able to cook breakfast in the morning myself because of it lately, and that is a habit that I am starting to miss greatly.


    That, and it also makes me feel a little bit guilty that Roxanne and Sherry always have to wait for me for God knows how long before they could eat because they always want the three of us to eat all meals together and it never even crossed their minds that they could eat by themselves without waiting for me, for which I am grateful to them, because now that I have gotten used to eating my meals together with them, I would certainly feel lonely if I had to go back to eating my meals alone. However, as bad as I am feeling about having them wait for me, it is a necessary sacrifice that I have to make, because the alternative is much too frightening for me: alternatively, if I did not want them to wait for me with breakfast, this means that I would have to take them with me to Bode and Bode¡¯s castle, and both of these locations are literally crawling with handsome Elven pretty boys.


    I know that both Roxanne and Sherry already stated that they have no particular interest in Elves, and Sherry seems to dislike them just as much as she dislikes brokers and middlemen from the Merchants Guild, but who is to say that her mind wouldn¡¯t change if she saw how ridiculously pretty all of the Elven ikemen really are? So yeah, there you have it. If the three of us would go from Bode to Palmasque together, we would have been able to carry three Palmasque Mirrors instead of one Palmasque Mirror at a time, but if taking only one Palmasque Mirror to Bode per day means that I can protect myself from being cucked to death, then I will gladly take that option every time.


    Just like it has been up until now, I arrived at the castle in Bode, announced myself in the castle¡¯s lobby, was guided to the Duke¡¯s office where the Duke and Gozer were engaged in their paperwork, delivered the mirror and received the payment of one gold coin from Gozer for my troubles. Yup, all in the day¡¯s work, just as usual.


    ¡¸I assume that you are quite used to getting around the castle by now? If that is so, perhaps you could come straight to my office without having any of the Knights or servants guide you here?¡¹


    ¡¸Well, I guess you have a point there. But is it really going to be all right for an outsider like myself to be coming and going as I please?¡¹


    ¡¸I think it should be fine, since most of the staff working in the castle remembers you from the relayed supplies distribution operation and from your everyday mirror deliveries.¡¹


    Even Gozer seemed to agree with the Duke¡¯s words. However, I still had some difficulty believing that the residents of the castle would accept my continuing presence just like that.


    ¡¸Besides, your coming here is not going to be cause for alarm, unlike the situation that we have on our hands now.¡¹


    ¡¸A situation?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, precisely. The Knight Order is going to be busy like never before from now on, because a third Labyrinth has just been found in the Duchy¡¯s territory, and since we found the second one just the other day, we need to move forward with our exploration of it and proceed to this new one immediately.¡¹


    Gozer added an explanation to the Duke¡¯s words. A new Labyrinth has appeared, huh?


    It is one of the Lord¡¯s responsibilities to exterminate Labyrinths that pop up in their territories as soon as they appear, because the safety of his subjects depends on it. Even so, I cannot possibly imagine such an endeavor to be an easy one, even if he does have both people and resources to spare for these efforts.


    ¡¸I see.¡¹


    ¡¸The number of Knights in the castle is surely going to decrease, and I do not want to thrust any additional duties on the shoulders of those who will remain here.¡¹


    You do not want to add to your Knight¡¯s duties as their numbers in the castle decrease, but you are fine with letting a strange, unverified Adventurer like myself into your castle? I have to say, these are surely some strange priorities that you have there. Oh well, as long as Gozer and the Duke are fine with me being here and walking around freely, then I guess there is nothing for me to worry about.


    ¡¸That is what our current situation looks like.¡¹


    ¡¸All right, I think that I understand.¡¹


    ¡¸With that being said, I would like to extend a request to you, Lord Michio. Would you be willing to offer us your assistance in the exploration of the new Labyrinth? Having someone like you aid us would be a huge help.¡¹


    The Duke presented me with a request. Oh wow, he wants my help with the exploration of their newest Labyrinth? Once again, are they really going to be all right having someone like me, an outsider not affiliated with the Hartz Duchy in any way helping them out with their internal problems? I am somewhat hesitant about this¡­. But also kinda flattered and embarrassed at the same time. I mean, who would not be if they were in my shoes? The Duke of the entire Duchy and the leader of the Knight Order, asking me to fight side-by-side with them? I imagine that a chance like that does not happen all that often.

 Volume 5 - CH 5.18

    ¡¸Ah, it is going to be alright if you just enter it.¡¹


    ¡¸I would have to just enter it? That is going to be enough for you?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, and if you want, you can feel free to bring all of the members of your Party along with you, we will not really mind it. After all, the more people to explore the Labyrinth, the faster it is going to be cleared, am I right?¡¹


    They are really going to be fine with me entering their Labyrinth? Okay then, if they say so, then who am I to judge them for it? But that reminds me, back when we met at the Quratar Merchant¡¯s Guild, Gozer definitely saw Roxanne and Sherry together with me, so that is why he probably suggested me to take them along with me for the ride in the excursion. Since this is supposed to be an entirely new Labyrinth it would have been quite a nuisance it it turned out to be too difficult for us to handle, but if all that I have to do is just to enter it, then I see no problems with doing that.


    ¡¸Allow me to ask this for confirmation purposes, but you are not contracted to any Knight Order of your hometown or any other organization like that, are you?¡¹


    The Duke asked me a question to see whether I was already affiliated with some kind of organization or not.


    I see. So that is his reasoning here, huh?


    Even though I am an Adventurer (in Duke¡¯s eyes), that does not mean that I might be completely free to do what I want, or to do what the Duke might have requested of me.


    because even though Adventurers are technically able to go wherever they want and do whatever they want, some of them might still be bound by territorial boundaries, their relationships and affiliations to other groups and organizations. Also, the way that he phrased it, is there some kind of rule that prohibits the members of one Knight Order to seek help with such matters from the members of the other Knight Orders?


    ¡¸Well, for the time being, do know that there will be no problems with you entering the new Labyrinth for the foreseeable future.¡¹


    By not saying anything, I did not confirm having connections to a Knight Order from my hometown, but at the same time I did not deny there being such a possibility either. If only Gozer and the Duke knew that I am actually a totally free guy who is not bound by connections and obligations to anyone or anything, they would have probably gone after me in a much more aggressive manner, or at the very least that is what my hunch is telling me.


    ¡¸In any case, it is going to be quite reassuring to have an excellent Adventurer like you enter the Labyrinth.¡¹


    ¡¸I only have the experience with the exploration of the Labyrinth¡¯s lower levels, but as long as they are concerned, then I should be able to help you by clearing them up a bit. I just hope that I will really get a chance to be of use to you since you seem to be having quite the high hopes for me.¡¹


    As much as it makes me happy to see that the Duke has such high hopes for me, I had to do something to at least keep his expectations of me somewhat in check, and it is exactly for that reason why I told him, truthfully enough, that I only have experience with the exploration and the battles on the lower floors of the Labyrinths. If he thought that I am the type of Adventurer that goes and eats the higher floors of the Labyrinths for breakfast, that would have spelled out one hell of a problem for me.


    ¡¸It does not matter to us. Just be having you enter that Labyrinth, you are already going to be a great help to us, Lord Michio.¡¹


    I don¡¯t understand. Is that really how it all should be? Instead of relying on me too much, should the Duke not have Gozer and his Knight take care of it entirely?


    ¡¸Okay, is there anything that I should be aware of before I go and enter this new Labyrinth?¡¹


    ¡¸You can enter wherever you want. When you arrive there, just show the emblem of Hartz Duchy that I gave you to one of the members of the Knight Order watching over the Labyrinth¡¯s entrance, and they are going to take you to the topmost explored floor for free, since I already told them to treat you in the same way as they would have treated the other members of the Order. There are also advantages to be had from exploring and clearing the newly-discovered Labyrinths, like material rewards for every Knight who is going to make it to the new floor as the very first one. The first Labyrinth is in Haruba, the second is in Tare, and the third is to the south of Bode, not that far away from here.


    ¡¸Roger that.¡¹


    I did not understand some of the things that he said, but nodded affirmatively anyway.


    It would have been a huge problem if such an¡¸Excellent Adventurer¡¹like myself did not know even such basic things.


    ¡¸Tare is a village that received the relief supplies from you during the flooding packages during the floods. I will organize for an Adventurer to guide you straight to Haruba.¡¹


    I am going to be taken there instead of having to go there myself? That is great news. For once in my life I will be able to have it a little bit easier.


    ¡¸Thank you, you are too kind.¡¹


    ¡¸Great. I am going to organize it right away, so you can go wait in the lobby for a little while, and we are going to be there with you shortly, Lord Michio.¡¹


    The duke stood up and left the room at once. For a leader of the entire Duchy, he always seems to be in a rush to get everywhere where he might think there is a need for him right away. But I guess that him leaving was my cue to stand up and haul my ass to the castle¡¯s lobby myself, huh?


    ¡¸Well then, if you will please excuse me, I will be on my way.¡¹


    I said my farewell to Gozer, who nodded back at me, and then I moved towards the castle¡¯s lobby from which I have come from. And after a few moments of waiting, the Duke has finally arrived, with his wife Cassia at his side. She was just as beautiful as the last time when I saw her, but now she was also elegantly armed.


    Cassia Nordbraum Anzelm, Female, twenty nine years old


    Job: Mage Lv.41


    Equipment: Staff of Offerings, Waterproof Tiara, Fireproof Robe, Windproof Gloves Earthproof Shoes, Sacrificial Misanga


    The equipment that I saw she is wearing after I used¡¸Identify¡¹on her is pretty amazing, especially the pieces with the four elemental resistances:Waterproof Tiara, Fireproof Robe, Windproof Gloves and Earthproof Shoes. Is this the equipment that someone of the Duchess¡¯s stature is going to be wearing?


    But rather than that, there was something else that was intriguing me even more. Is the Duchess Cassia going to the Labyrinth with us as well? Let me ask her.


    ¡¸I might be overstepping my boundaries by asking this, but are you going to be fighting in the Labyrinth together with us, Lady Cassia?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, because that is a part of my duty as the Duchess of Hartz.¡¹


    She answered my question while also giving me a graceful nod.


    The duchess who takes the lead and fights for the people. How admirable. With this, I really do not think that a revolution is going to be necessary here anymore.


    ¡¸All right, listen up. First of all, the four of us here: Michio, Cassia, Klaus and myself are going to head to Haruba.¡¹


    The Duke declared with a voice that was just dripping with confidence and charisma. Since we have a full Party of six people, that means that the Adventurer is going to need two round trips to deliver everyone, including me, to our destination.


    I am terribly sorry for being such an inconvenience.


    The six Elves that arrived here with the Duke and Cassia might be the members of Duke¡¯ Party. Overall, he has a Paladin, a Knight, a Mage, Shrine Maiden, an Explorer and an Adventurer.


    It is a well-balanced Party where both the Mage and a Shrine Maiden can play the role of a support to recover as much of the other Party member¡¯s HP as it is going to be necessary depending on the situation.


    The Adventurer is their only transport, and he formed the Party with the first group that was going to be transported, so I was quietly preparing myself as I was waiting for my turn to come.


    ¡¸Well then, here we go.¡¹


    The Adventurer came back and formed a Party with the remaining members of the group. As the Adventurer faced the wall to prepare his ¡¸Field Walker¡¹Skill, I took that chance to see what the Duke¡¯s status is. And what my eyes saw were the following information:


    Paladin Lv.l4, Knight Lv.50, Warrior Lv.30, Villager Lv.6, Mage Lv.1, Explorer Lv.1, Swordsman Lv.1, Forest Ranger Lv.1, Herbalist Lv.1


    I used Party Job Settings to see at the Job that was set as the Duke¡¯s First Job.


    I am not familiar with it yet, because I have never seen anyone use it before. If I had to guess, then I would say that the order of obtaining it probably went like that: Warrior Lv.30 ¨¨ Knight Lv.50 ¨¨ Paladin. Forest Ranger is probably the Job that is unique to Elves, just like Sex Maniac is for Humans, since all the other Elves have it as well. Did he also pick up a leaf or something to get the Job of a Herbalist? He is always so hasty to do things that I can picture him grabbing items before even getting a chance to see them or show them to his Party.


    The Duke follows the Adventurer into the wall. Cassia was next, and I went as the last one.By the way, since I can use Party Job Settings, it would also be possible for me


    to change the Duke¡¯s Job¡­.. for example, to Herbalist Lv.1.


    Ahahahahahaaaa!


    He would have entered the Labyrinth like that! It certainly will not be the first floor, so I wonder what would it be like to be a Herbalist Lv.1 fighting against the stronger demons of the upper floors of the Labyrinth?


    Ahahahahahaaaaa!


    Cassia would definitely end up becoming a widow! So hilarious¡­¡­.!


    No, I will not do it. Most likely. Probably. Perhaps. We shall see.


    ¡´To be continued in¡ºA Harem in the Fantasy World Dungeon Volume 6¡».¡µ

 Volume 5 - CH 6.1

    ¡ºPlayer Name: Kaga Michio¡»


    ¡ºCurrent Character Levels & Equipment¡»:


    ¡ºJobs¡»:


    Explorer Lv.35


    Hero Lv.34


    Mage Lv.36


    Monk Lv.35


    ¡ºEquipment¡»:


    Wand


    Leather Helmet


    Leather Armor


    Leather Gloves


    Leather Shoes


    Sacrificial Misanga


    ¡¸At the request of the Duke of Hartz, I will be exploring the newest Labyrinth that appeared in the territory of the Hartz Duchy.¡¹


    While having breakfast, I talked to Roxanne and Sherry about the request to explore the newest Labyrinth that appeared in the territory of Hartz Duchy that Brocken North Braun Anhalt, the Duke of Hartz himself, had for me recently, and that request is exactly what it sounded like: to explore the Labyrinths of Hartz Duchy in order to help with their exploration and aid the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy in clearing them up as fast as possible.


    The Duke of Hartz is the free-spirited ruler of the Hartz Duchy whom I have met purely by chance while being in the middle of a commission that required me to go to Hartz Duchy and help its authorities with the delivery of the disaster relief supplies that had to be distributed to the villages that have been cut off from the rest of the Duchy during the flooding that occurred at the beginning of the spring due to the melting of all of the leftover snow.


    Most of the time he is friendly and open-minded, but I just cannot shake off the feeling that he might also have a careless or short-sighted side to him because of his tendency to always rush into things as soon as he hears about them. He is also an Elven pretty boy, and probably because of that he managed to score himself a real beauty of a wife, a fellow Elven woman named Cassia Nordbraum Anzelm. She is a beauty that might be even prettier and more elegant than Roxanne is, and for that fact alone, I will never forgive the guy.


    But you know how it is, right? As much as I might hate the guy for being a chick magnet and a killer looker, a request is still a request, so I have no choice but to put my personal grievances away and just do it.


    ¡¸And since I will be entering the three Labyrinths in the Hartz Duchy, it means that we will not be going to the Vale and Quratar Labyrinths for a while.¡¹


    ¡¸I understand. If that is what the Duke himself requested of you, master, then I have no reason to distrust your judgement since you have chosen to accept that request.¡¹


    ¡¸Do you know the exact location of the Labyrinths, or should I look them up for you in the Explorer¡¯s Guild?¡¹


    At the current moment, my Party consists of myself, Wolfkin Roxanne and Sherry, a Dwarf. Out of the two of them, Sherry is more of an intellectual type who asks all of the questions whenever she is curious about something or something ends up picking her interest. As for Roxanne, she might not be as inquisitive as Sherry is, but she is capable of fighting practically every opponent due to her Godly dodging abilities that allow her to evade being hit by the attacks of even the most vicious of the monsters from the Labyrinths.


    ¡¸I have already been told where they are located, so there is not going to be any need for that. They are located near Bode, Haruba and Tare.¡¹


    I informed Sherry about the locations of the Labyrinths that the Duke disclosed to me.


    ¡¸Bode, Haruba, and Tare. Roger that. Do you have to go to a concreate one, or are you free to choose wherever you want to go?¡¹


    ¡¸According to the Duke¡¯s words, I am free to enter whichever one of these three places that I feel like, meaning that I am going to have free access and lifts to the highest possible floors of all the Labyrinth that are on the territory of Hartz Duchy, because the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy has already been informed to treat me like one of their own members and do not charge any money from me for the teleportation services.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh really? Is that the case? I see. If that is really how it is, then fine.¡¹


    ¡¸Also, the Duke told me that my help with the Labyrinths is going to be appreciated, even if I am not going to be exploring their highest floors and advancing to the new ones.¡¹


    ¡¸Now that is a curious decision. Is that really true? That is what the Duke of Hartz told you?¡¹


    ¡¸Um, oh, y-yes, I am pretty sure that this is exactly what he told me.¡¹


    For a second, Sherry had a pretty strange look on her face. Because I am not originally from this world, I have no idea what things are in line with this world¡¯s common sense and what goes against it, which is always making me feel a little bit on edge because of what people might start thinking of me if I accidentally say something suspicious or something that I should not be saying in public.


    Just now, Sherry looked as if she could not believe that I was granted access to all of the Labyrinths on the territory of the Hartz Duchy, so could it be that according to the laws of this world, the laws that I do not know even though I should be familiar with them in Roxanne and Sherry¡¯s eyes, maybe it is that not everyone can freely enter all of the Labyrinths of a given territory? And if it is really like that, then does anyone know which of the Labyrinths can, and which cannot be entered?


    ¡¸I see.¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yeah. Why do you ask about it, Sherry?¡¹


    ¡¸Because for the Labyrinths, people who are coming inside them are nothing but prey that they can feed upon to grow themselves. The Labyrinths where Adventurers are going in frequently will be less active, while the Labyrinths where Adventurers are not venturing in as often will become more active, because when the Labyrinths will start getting hungry, they are going to produce increasingly more monsters just so that they could provide them with sustenance that they could use to continue their growth process. That is why it is always advised to go into the Labyrinths with a group of at least three people, because that is the countermeasure against the Labyrinth¡¯s carnal instincts. When bigger groups of people enter it, the Labyrinth becomes a significantly safer place, so what the Duke of Hartz probably wants from you is to keep the Labyrinths of the Hartz Duchy relatively in check due to someone constantly entering them on a daily basis.¡¹


    ¡¸Oooh, so it is like that, huh? I had no idea.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, that is exactly how it is, or at least that is the relationship that has been observed between the number f Adventurers entering the Labyrinths and the amount and ferociousness of the monsters dwelling within them. For example, the Labyrinths near the cities and villages do not have that many monsters inside of them as the ones that are located in the more remote regions, and the few of them that are inside are actually rather weak and not as aggressive as you would have expected. On the flipside, however, Labyrinths that are located in the countryside or in the middle of a wilderness will have a large amount of strong monsters that are going to be more aggressive towards the people who will be visiting said Labyrinths.¡¹


    So the Labyrinths can have such differences about them, huh? Well certainly, if you think about it that way, then it really would seem that the Duke wants me to go to the Labyrinths that are also going to be explored by the members of the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy to act as potential food, or perhaps a way to keep the aggro of the Labyrinths off his boys while it is going to be busy sending monsters after me, since my Party only has three people in it, so it is definitely going to be an easier target to pick off than the groups that are going to most likely be composed of full, six-people teams.


    Later, when I arrived in Tare, I made my way to the same location where I was delivering the relief supplies to during my commission: to the house of the village chief. As for Tare as a whole, there was not really that much to say about it. Since it was the capital of the entire Duchy, Bode, even if it was a small town, at least had walls around it to protect itself in the event of a monster or bandit attack.

 Volume 5 - CH 6.2

    On the other hand, Tare was nothing like Bode. It was just a perfectly normal, ordinary village. Nothing more and nothing less. As you would have expected, the hut that I have emerged from was easily the best looking and upkept one in the entire village, but still, as a meeting place it was still kind of underwhelming, even more so because in such a small village there was no Adventurer¡¯s Guild or Explorer¡¯s Guild.


    ¡¸Oh, look girls, over there!¡¹


    We managed to find an inhabitant of the village rather quickly. Since they are already here, then we might as well ask them about the directions towards the Labyrinth. Well, here goes nothing!


    ¡¸Excuse me sir, we are terribly sorry to bother you, but could you possibly point us which way would we have to go in order to reach the Labyrinth that is supposed to be around these parts?


    ¡¸ X  X X X X X X X X X? X  X X  X X X X X,  X X X  X   X X  X X X  X X X X  X X X X X X .¡¹


    ¡­. Well, shit. Even if the villager understood what I have just said to him, then I would not know that, because it seems like he does not speak Brahim.


    ¡¸I am very sorry, master, but I do not understand what he is saying either.¡¹


    Whatever language this guy is speaking, it does not look like Roxanne is able to speak it and understand it either, which is somewhat of a problem for us.


    ¡¸X X X  X X X  X X X X  X  X X X X X X? X  X X  X X X X X  X X  X X X X  X X X X X X X  X X X  X X X  X X X X X  X X X X X.¡¹


    As we just simply stood there, thinking about what we should do in this situation, the man whom we could not understand apparently must have gone and called someone else over, because in a few short minutes, another man approached us. I think that this is the village¡¯s mayor, but I can also be wrong about it, because I did not pay all that much attention to him the last time when I was here.


    As a curious side note, both the first villager that we met and the village mayor are Elves. They are also pretty good looking guys, but I felt as if they could not hold a candle to the likes of the Duke and Gozer. Then again, maybe my own sense of beauty and handsomeness began to get warped an altered due to how many handsome and beautiful Elves, both males and females alike I have been seeing lately? Anyway, these guys I can accept, because their handsomeness is not on the level that would pose a threat to me, but when it comes to the Suke and Gozer, I still cannot forgive them for how much of an ikemen they both are.


    ¡¸Are you perhaps an Adventurer who comes here seeking the Labyrinth?¡¹


    The village mayor asked me in a way that I could clearly understand, so apparently he can speak Brahim properly.


    ¡¸Yes, that would be the target of my visit here today.¡¹


    It is nice to see that there is at least one person here with whom we can speak properly without having to worry about the language barrier. And by the way, if I remember correctly, it was more or less the same in Somara, the first village that I have arrived in after being transported to this game¡¯s world. The villagers of Somara did not know Brahim and therefore I could not understand a thing of what they were saying, but I could understand everything that the village¡¯s mayor and the village¡¯s merchant, Picker were saying perfectly.


    ¡¸If you are truly looking for the Labyrinth, then you are going to find it to the southwest of the village. It is so easily distinguishable from the buildings and the trees around here that even someone like you, a member of the Human tribe, should not have any problems with locating it if only you look hard enough.¡¹


    ¡¸¡­I get it. Thanks for telling us the way.¡¹


    ¡¸No problem. Do your best not to die.¡¹


    What was that now? Care to repeat that? Because I do not think that I like what I heard you say all that much.


    His words were not openly hostile, but you could definitely feel the disrespect that was contained within them.


    I was then reminded about what both Sherry and the Duke told me at one point: that most of the Elves tend to look down on us humans. I did not receive such high-and -mighty treatment from the Duke, Gozer, Cassia or any of the members of the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy, but I should have known that they were nothing more than the exceptions that proved the general rule, because there is no way in hell that an entire race would have felt in exactly the same way as a small group of Elves that thought that it would be better if humans and Elves could just get along without any animosity between our races.


    Maybe the fact that we are actually in the countryside has something to do with the Elves perception of Humans? I have to say, it would be cliched if it turned out that the ones who look down on Humans are almost exclusively country bumpkins while the ones advocating equality and camaraderie would be exclusively the Elves living in the bigger cities, but then again, that would not be too different from how it was back in my old world, where the country folks were much more prone to fall into stereotypes and discrimination based on either race or social standing, but it did not change the fact that these words do ended up stinging me just a little bit, even more so since I was the one who delivered the disaster relief supplies to this village during their time of crisis, so I think that the mayor could show me just a little bit of appreciation for what I have done, even if it would be just for show?


    But then again, I guess I did kinda came here, delivered what I had to deliver and returned back to the castle in Bode almost immediately, so I did not have that much time to actually talk with anyone here, but still, the way this guy is treating me right now, it almost feels like my efforts in helping them overcome the flood situation did not meet with any kind of appreciation at all.


    Oh well, at this point arguing about what is right and what is wrong in this situation would be beyond pointless, so I guess for the time being it would be best for us to leave this village and make our way towards Tare¡¯s Labyrinth as soon as possible. The mayor said that it is supposed to be southwest of the village, right? Then that is where we are going to go next.


    ¡¸Can you believe how rude that man was just now?!¡¹


    Roxanne shouted when we were far enough from the village to make sure that nobody would hear her.


    ¡¸Let us just not talk about it.¡¹


    ¡¸But¡­. But they were looking down on master and even mocking you! They think that you are so weak that you will not survive in the Labyrinths, which is a slanderous accusation!¡¹


    ¡¸Roxanne, I realize what you are trying to say, but nothing that we could say or do would probably be enough to change the minds of the inhabitants of that village, so the next best thing that we can do is to ignore such attempts at starting an argument and move on. If they are not going to be the better people, then we will.¡¹


    I tried to calm Roxanne down, but I would lie if I said that I did not feel somewhat happy at the fact that she was getting angry at the xenophobic villagers on my behalf. Still, there is no use getting angry at people who we may not even meet again, so instead of wasting our energy thinking about them at all, it is going to be better to direct it towards something more practical, like getting ourselves mentally ready to explore a brand new Labyrinth that we have yet to visit before.


    ¡¸As expected, of master, you are so tolerant that I would even say you are too tolerant for your own good. If it were up to me, then I would not have hesitated to teach these xenophobes a good lesson or two, and made it especially memorable so that they would have never forget it.¡¹

 Volume 6 - CH 1.01

    ¡ºPlayer Name: Kaga Michio¡»


    ¡ºCurrent Character Levels & Equipment¡»:


    ¡ºJobs¡»:


    Explorer Lv.35


    Hero Lv.34


    Mage Lv.36


    Monk Lv.35


    ¡ºEquipment¡»:


    Wand


    Leather Helmet


    Leather Armor


    Leather Gloves


    Leather Shoes


    Sacrificial Misanga


    ¡¸At the request of the Duke of Hartz, I will be exploring the newest Labyrinth that appeared in the territory of the Hartz Duchy.¡¹


    While having breakfast, I talked to Roxanne and Sherry about the request to explore the newest Labyrinth that appeared in the territory of Hartz Duchy that Brocken North Braun Anhalt, the Duke of Hartz himself, had given me recently, and that request is exactly what it sounded like: to explore the Labyrinths of Hartz Duchy and aid the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy in clearing them up as fast as possible.


    The Duke of Hartz is the free-spirited ruler of the Hartz Duchy whom I had met by chance while in the midst of a commission to aid the Hartz Duchy with the delivery of disaster relief supplies to their villages that had been cut off during the spring floods as a result of rapid snow melt.


    Most of the time he is friendly and open-minded, but I just can¡¯t shake the feeling that he might have a careless or short-sighted side to him due to his tendency to always rush into things as soon as he hears about them. He is also an Elven pretty boy, and probably because of that he managed to score himself a real beauty of a wife, a fellow Elven woman named Cassia Nordbraum Anzelm. She is a beauty that might be even prettier and more elegant than Roxanne is, and for that fact alone, I will never forgive him.


    But you know how it is, right? As much as I might hate the guy for being a chick magnet and a killer looker, a request is still a request, so I have no choice but to put my personal grievances away and just do it.


    ¡¸And since I will be entering the three Labyrinths in the Hartz Duchy, it means that we will not be going to the Vale and Quratar Labyrinths for a while.¡¹


    ¡¸I understand. If that is what the Duke himself requested, master, then I have no reason to distrust your judgement since you have chosen to accept that request.¡¹


    ¡¸Do you know the precise location of the Labyrinths, or should I look them up for you at the Explorer¡¯s Guild?¡¹


    At the current time, my Party consists of myself, Wolfkin Roxanne and Sherry, a Dwarf. Of the two of them, Sherry is more of an intellectual type who asks all sorts of questions whenever something pricks her interest. As for Roxanne, she might not be as inquisitive as Sherry is, but she is capable of fighting pretty much any opponent due to her Godly dodging abilities allowing her to evade the attacks of even the most vicious of the monsters within the Labyrinths.


    ¡¸I have already been told where they are, so there is no need for that. They are located near Bode, Haruba and Tare.¡¹


    I informed Sherry about the locations of the Labyrinths that the Duke disclosed to me.


    ¡¸Bode, Haruba, and Tare. Roger that. Do you have to go to a specific one, or are you free to choose wherever you want to go?¡¹


    ¡¸According to the Duke¡¯s words, I am free to enter whichever one of these three places I feel like, meaning that I am going to have free access and transport to the highest possible floors of all the Labyrinths that are within the Hartz Duchy, because the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy has already been directed to treat me as one of their own and not charge for the teleportation services.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh really? Is that the case? I see. If that is really how it is, then fine.¡¹


    ¡¸Also, the Duke told me that my help with the Labyrinths will be appreciated, even if I¡¯m not involved with exploring their highest floors and advancing to new ones.¡¹


    ¡¸Now that is a curious decision. Is that really true? That is what the Duke of Hartz told you?¡¹


    ¡¸Um, oh, y-yes, I am pretty sure that this is exactly what he told me.¡¹


    For a second, Sherry had a pretty strange look on her face. Because I am not originally from this world, I have no idea what things are in line with this world¡¯s common sense and what goes against it, which makes me somewhat on edge worrying about what people might start thinking of me if I accidentally say something suspicious or that I should not be saying in public.


    Just now, Sherry looked as if she could not believe that I was granted access to all of the Labyrinths within the territory of the Hartz Duchy, so could it be that according to the laws of this world, the laws that I do not know even though I should be familiar with them in Roxanne and Sherry¡¯s eyes, maybe it is that not everyone can freely enter all of the Labyrinths of a given territory? And if it really is like that, then how does anyone know which of the Labyrinths can and cannot be entered?


    ¡¸I see.¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yeah. Why do you ask about it, Sherry?¡¹


    ¡¸Because for the Labyrinths, people who enter them are nothing but prey that can feed their growth. The Labyrinths which Adventurers frequent will be less active, while the Labyrinths where Adventurers are not common will become more active, because when the Labyrinths start getting hungry they produce increasing quantities of monsters so that they can seek out that which they require to fuel their growth process. This is why it is encouraged to enter the Labyrinths with no fewer than three people, because that is the countermeasure to the Labyrinth¡¯s carnivorous instincts. When bigger groups of people enter it, the Labyrinth becomes a significantly safer place, so what the Duke of Hartz probably desires of you is to keep the Labyrinths of the Hartz Duchy somewhat in check as a result of being entered on a daily basis.¡¹


    ¡¸Oooh, so it is like that, huh? I had no idea.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, that is how it is, or at least that is the relationship that has been observed between the number of Adventurers entering the Labyrinths and the number and ferocity of the monsters dwelling within. For example, the Labyrinths near the cities and villages do not have as many monsters within them as those that are located in the more remote regions, and those are actually rather weak and less aggressive than you would have expected. On the flipside, however, Labyrinths located in the countryside or a wilderness will have a larger number of strong monsters that are more aggressive towards those entering them.¡¹


    So the Labyrinths can have such differences between them, huh? Well certainly, if you think about it that way, then it really would seem that the Duke wants me to go to the Labyrinths that will also be explored by members of the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy to act as potential food, or perhaps a way to keep the aggro of the Labyrinths off his boys while it is going to be busy sending monsters after me, since my Party only has three people in it, so it is definitely going to be an easier target to pick off than the groups that are going to most likely be composed of full, six-people teams.


    Later, when I arrived in Tare, I made my way to where I had delivered the relief supplies during my commission: to the house of the village chief. As for Tare as a whole, there is not really that much to say about it. Since it was the capital of the entire Duchy, Bode, even if it was a small town, at least had walls around it to protect itself in the event of a monster or bandit attack.

 Volume 6 - CH 1.02

    On the other hand, Tare was nothing like Bode. It was just a perfectly normal, ordinary village. Nothing more and nothing less. As you would have expected, the hut that I have emerged from was easily the best looking and upkept one in the entire village, but still, as a meeting place it was still kind of underwhelming, even more so because in such a small village there was no Adventurer¡¯s Guild or Explorer¡¯s Guild.


    ¡¸Oh, look girls, over there!¡¹


    We managed to find an inhabitant of the village rather quickly. Since they are already here, then we might as well ask them about the directions towards the Labyrinth. Well, here goes nothing!


    ¡¸Excuse me sir, we are terribly sorry to bother you, but could you possibly point us which way would we have to go in order to reach the Labyrinth that is supposed to be around these parts?


    ¡¸ X  X X X X X X X X X? X  X X  X X X X X,  X X X  X   X X  X X X  X X X X  X X X X X X .¡¹


    ¡­. Well, shit. Even if the villager understood what I have just said to him, then I would not know that, because it seems like he does not speak Brahim.


    ¡¸I am very sorry, master, but I do not understand what he is saying either.¡¹


    Whatever language this guy is speaking, it does not look like Roxanne is able to speak it and understand it either, which is somewhat of a problem for us.


    ¡¸X X X  X X X  X X X X  X  X X X X X X? X  X X  X X X X X  X X  X X X X  X X X X X X X  X X X  X X X  X X X X X  X X X X X.¡¹


    As we just simply stood there, thinking about what we should do in this situation, the man whom we could not understand apparently must have gone and called someone else over, because in a few short minutes, another man approached us. I think that this is the village¡¯s mayor, but I can also be wrong about it, because I did not pay all that much attention to him the last time when I was here.


    As a curious side note, both the first villager that we met and the village mayor are Elves. They are also pretty good looking guys, but I felt as if they could not hold a candle to the likes of the Duke and Gozer. Then again, maybe my own sense of beauty and handsomeness began to get warped an altered due to how many handsome and beautiful Elves, both males and females alike I have been seeing lately? Anyway, these guys I can accept, because their handsomeness is not on the level that would pose a threat to me, but when it comes to the Duke and Gozer, I still cannot forgive them for how much of an ikemen they both are.


    ¡¸Are you perhaps an Adventurer who comes here seeking the Labyrinth?¡¹


    The village mayor asked me in a way that I could clearly understand, so apparently he can speak Brahim properly.


    ¡¸Yes, that would be the reason for my visit here today.¡¹


    It is nice to see that there is at least one person here with whom we can speak properly without having to worry about the language barrier. And by the way, if I remember correctly, it was more or less the same in Somara, the first village that I have arrived in after being transported to this game¡¯s world. The villagers of Somara did not know Brahim and therefore I could not understand a thing of what they were saying, but I could understand everything that the village¡¯s mayor and the village¡¯s merchant, Picker were saying perfectly.


    ¡¸If you are truly looking for the Labyrinth, then you are going to find it to the southwest of the village. It is so easily distinguished from the surrounding buildings and the trees that even someone like you, a member of the Human tribe, should not have any problems finding it if only you look hard enough.¡¹


    ¡¸¡­I get it. Thanks for telling us the way.¡¹


    ¡¸No problem. Do your best not to die.¡¹


    What was that now? Care to repeat that? Because I do not think that I like what I heard you say all that much.


    His words were not openly hostile, but you could definitely feel the disrespect that was contained within them.


    I was then reminded of what Sherry and the Duke both told me at one point: that most of the Elves tend to look down on us humans. I did not receive such high-and-mighty treatment from the Duke, Gozer, Cassia or any of the members of the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy, but I should have known that they were nothing more than the exceptions that proved the general rule, because there is no way in hell that an entire race would have felt in exactly the same way as a small group of Elves that thought that it would be better if humans and Elves could just get along without any animosity between our races.


    Maybe the fact that we are in the countryside has something to do with the Elves perception of Humans? I have to say, it would be cliched if it turned out that the ones who look down on Humans are mainly country bumpkins while the ones advocating equality and camaraderie would be exclusively the Elves living in the bigger cities, but then again, that would not be too different from how it was back in my old world, where the country folks were much more prone to fall into stereotypes and discrimination based on either race or social standing, but it did not change the fact that these words did end up stinging me just a little bit, even more so since I am the one who delivered the disaster relief supplies to this village during their time of crisis, so I think that the mayor could show me just a little bit of appreciation for what I have done, even if it would be just for show?


    But then again, I guess I did kinda come here, delivered what I had to deliver and returned back to the castle in Bode almost immediately, so I did not have that much time to actually talk with anyone here, but still, the way this guy is treating me right now, it almost feels like my efforts in helping them overcome the flood situation did not meet with any kind of appreciation at all.


    Oh well, at this point arguing about what is right and what is wrong in this situation would be beyond pointless, so I guess for the time being it would be best for us to leave this village and make our way towards Tare¡¯s Labyrinth as soon as possible. The mayor said that it is supposed to be southwest of the village, right? Then that is where we are going to go next.


    ¡¸Can you believe how rude that man was just now?!¡¹


    Roxanne shouted when we were far enough from the village to make sure that nobody would hear her.


    ¡¸Let us just not talk about it.¡¹


    ¡¸But¡­. But they were looking down on master and even mocking you! They think that you are so weak that you will not survive in the Labyrinths, which is a slanderous accusation!¡¹


    ¡¸Roxanne, I realize what you are trying to say, but nothing that we could say or do would probably be enough to change the minds of the inhabitants of that village, so the best thing we can do is to ignore such attempts at starting an argument and move on. If they are not going to be the better people, then we will.¡¹


    I tried to calm Roxanne down, but I would lie if I said that I did not feel somewhat happy at the fact that she was getting angry at the xenophobic villagers on my behalf. Still, there is no use getting angry at people who we may not even meet again, so instead of wasting our energy thinking about them at all, it is going to be better to direct it towards something more practical, like getting ourselves mentally ready to explore a brand new Labyrinth that we have never visited before.


    ¡¸As expected of master, you are so tolerant that I would even say you are too tolerant for your own good. If it were up to me, then I would not have hesitated to teach these xenophobes a good lesson or two, and made it especially memorable so that they would never forgot it.¡¹

 Volume 6 - CH 1.03

    Huh, so what? Just because I did not get back at the mayor when he was talking shit about me because I though that it was going to be too much effort to do so, it makes me a tolerant person now? Because I do not think that this is what being tolerant should be all about, but okay, whatever Sherry and Roxanne think is best for them, I guess. If they want to think that I am a tolerant guy just because I do not pay attention to the trash-talking that comes my way, then I am going to allow them to keep believing that.


    We kept on walking for a while as I tried to  calm Roxanne down, by directing the conversation away from the xenophobic inhabitants of Tare village, until a while later we arrived at the entrance to Tare¡¯s Labyrinth.


    ¡¸How far has the exploration of the Labyrinth progressed?¡¹


    I ask the Explorer who was standing at the entrance to the Labyrinth, and while I was asking that question I was a little apprehensive about whether on not I was going to get a legitimate answer to it, because I noticed just a little bit too late that the Explorer here was also an Elf.


    ¡¸The highest that the exploration managed to progress is up to the thirteenth floor.¡¹


    He answered without any animosity towards me in particular. Does that mean that he does not care about me being a Human?


    ¡¸And which monster is the one native to that floor?¡¹


    ¡¸The monsters native to the thirteenth floor are Rub Shrubs.¡¹


    The Explorer answered the second one of my questions without batting an eye. As for the monsters native to the thirteenth floor of this Labyrinth, I have already heard about them before. They are the monsters that drop planks as their Drop Item when they are killed, and planks are exactly what Sherry needs right now in order to move on her Master Smith training to the next stage. Man, the timing for their appearance could not have been better!


    ¡¸All right then, can you take me up to the thirteenth floor then?¡¹


    I took out the Emblem of Hartz Duchy that I received from the Duke and showed it to the Explorer.


    ¡¸Are you a member of the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy?¡¹


    ¡¸I am not their member per se, but a related party.¡¹


    That is what Gozer told me to say once I get to the Labyrinth. That phrase, when spoken to the one standing at the Labyrinth¡¯s entrance who was responsible for all of the teleportation services should allow me to partake of said services without having to pay a single coin for them because of my affiliation  with Gozer, who said that he instructed those who would be staying near the entrances to the Labyrinths that whenever I happen to go to the Labyrinth, they are supposed to treat me in exactly the same way as they would have treated the members of the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy, which means a ride to the highest floor that is being explored right now absolutely free of charge!


    However, a good moment has passed and the Explorer at the entrance just continued to stare at me in absolute silence. Huh? What is wrong there, buddy? Was me saying that I am a party that is related to the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy actually not enough?


    ¡¸Umm¡­ since you already have two people in your Party, then why do you not try to add me to your Party as well?  Because if you do not do that, then I will be able to take only one person with me.¡¹


    ¡¸I understand.¡¹


    Ahh, I see. Now I get it. So the Explorer was simply waiting for me to add him to my Party.


    Because we are only two people, there will be no problem with adding him to my Party¡­.. but wait, why did he only say two people, when actuality we have a third member of my Party right here with us: Sherry. Anyway, once I add this guy to my Party, we should be able to go directly to the thirteenth floor of Tare¡¯s Labyrinth. I just do not understand why is it that when the Explorers are forming their Parties themselves, they are only capable of taking only a single person with them. Without thinking about it all that much, I went ahead and added the Explorer to my Party so that we could enter the Labyrinth without any major difficulties


    The Explorer goes into the portal that he made first, while Roxanne and I follow closely behind him.


    ¡¸This is the thirteenth floor. Unless you intend to go back outside, you can now remove me from your party.¡¹


    ¡¸Ah, no, we will be going back.¡¹


    Although I wanted to say we will not be going back, I ended up saying that we are going to do so anyway.


    Now that I think about it, thanks to that guy we were able to move directly to the thirteenth floor of this Labyrinth, but does that mean that we are going to have to visit all of the previous floors separately if we are going to want to go to the lower floors at any given time? Or is it that now that we have moved to the thirteenth floor in one go, we will be able to move to the lower floors of this Labyrinth because the game¡¯s system already counted the as cleared for us?


    Let me test that real quick now.


    We went back outside of the Labyrinth where I removed the Explorer from my Party and we tried entering the Labyrinth again. After thinking about going to the eleventh floor of Tare¡¯s Labyrinth I tried to conjure up my own portal in order to get us there, but unfortunately nothing happened, much to my displeasure. So next, I thought about wanting to go to the first floor of this Labyrinth, and the game allowed me to go through with it this time, so it seems that right no we can only choose to go either to the first or thirteenth floor of Tare¡¯s Labyrinth, because these two floors are the ones that we have visited personally, with the first one being a default one, and the thirteenth being the one where the Explorer took us.


    Without doing anything else in Tare¡¯s Labyrinth for today, we moved from Tare¡¯s Labyrinth to Quratar¡¯s Labrinth, but we are only going to be staying there with Roxanne for as long as it takes me to recover all of my lost MP, while in the meantime Sherry is going to go check things out at the Explorer¡¯s Guild where we will rendezvous with her later. Once that business of MP recovery was done, we left the Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth as well.


    At Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth, you are required to pay money when you are entering the Labyrinth. But the same thing does not apply to when you are leaving Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth. Because of that money collection detail, the city is probably earning astonishing amounts of money every single day, but that also caused s certain habit to occur: since they have to pay the same amount of money every time when they want to enter Quratra¡¯s Labyrinth, most Adventurer¡¯s tends to go inside on an early morning and stay inside for as long as possible in order for such an excursion to be absolutely worth every goddamn coin. And because people are going in and staying there for so long, it would not be all that unusual to see that the Knights responsible for collecting the money would not remember and recognize every single person who entered the Labyrinth on that particular day.


    When we left Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth, we joined up with Sherry at the Explorer Guild¡¯s building.


    ¡¸Did you manage to find anything at the Explorer¡¯s Guild?¡¹


    I asked Sherry as soon as we were reunited.


    ¡¸Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth has been cleared up to fortieth floor. End-of-Exploration Notification has already  been issued for its lower floors. The exploration of Tare¡¯s Labyrinth has progressed up to the ninth floor, but the End-of-Exploration Notification for its lower floors has not been issued yet. There is no information regarding Bode¡¯s Labyrinth.¡¹


    ¡¸Is it because it has only just been found?¡¹


    It will definitely take some time for them to gather the new information on all of the Labyrinths. It is of course impossible for information of a Labyrinth found in Bode just yesterday to be available in Quratar¡¯s Explorer¡¯s Guild today, because that information is still much too fresh.


    And the exploration of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth has already progressed to fourty first floor? Woah! Talk about having a killer tempo!


    ¡¸The monsters native to the eleventh floor of Haruba¡¯s labyrinth are Minos and Green Caterpillars appears on fourth floor of it, so I would suggest going to that Labyrinth next.¡¹

 Volume 6 - CH 1.04

    Mino are dropping Leather, which is used for Sherry¡¯s smithing purposes, and they appear on the eleventh floor. We will also have no problems with the Green Caterpillars, for we have upgraded our equipment sufficiently.


    However, in order to start exploring Tare¡¯s Labyrinth from the eleventh floor, I would first have to pay that Explorer so that he would take me to the eleventh floor.


    Should I just pay him and move directly to the eleventh floor and start the exploration from there? Or, and I do not want to sound stingy here, but hear me out on this, maybe we should actually go and start exploring all the way from the first floor? Damn, now It makes me  wish that we knew about Tare¡¯s Labyrinth sooner, because then we could have focused our efforts on clearing it all the way to the eleventh floor and simply start from there now.


    Alternatively, we could also wait until the exploration of Bode¡¯s Labyrinth reaches all the way to the its eleventh floor¡­or we could just go there ourselves and explore it from the first floor onwards, getting all of the rewards for cleaning all of the floors ourselves.


    ¡¸By the way, exactly how much is the reward for clearing  the floors of a Labyrinth?¡¹


    ¡¸Umm¡­ if we are talking about a newly discovered Labyrinth, then it should be a silver coin per cleared floor.¡¹


    ¡¸What?! That is way too cheaper considering the effort that needs to put in order to clear just a single floor! What the hell?!¡¹


    If the reward is really as cheap as one silver coin per floor of the Labyrinth, then that means that we would only get eleven silver coins for clearing eleven floors of the Labyrinth! At this point, can something like that be even called a reward?


    Because I do not think that it even qualifies as a bonus, or even a spare change at this point, so I think that we are not going to be aiming for any of that, because that is just not worth the trouble. One silver coin per floor, can you believe it?! With such a low rate like that, we could have cleared even fifty floors of the Labyrinth in a row and it still would not be enough! If that is how things are standing, then I think our only remaining option is to really wait and go to the other Labyrinths until the exploration of Bode¡¯s Labyrinth progresses to the eleventh floor.


    But if we do that and go back to our usual routine of going to the Labyrinths in Quratar and Vale, that would essentially be the same as if I went back on my word that I have given to the Duke. Well, it is not like he is going to ever find out if we do that anyway¡­. But I cannot stop thinking about what is going to happen to us if he somehow does find out and exposes us for it.


    ¡­


    ¡­¡­.


    ¡­¡­¡­..


    Okay, I have decided. For the time being, we are going to stay on the eleventh floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth until we get used to the monsters that are appearing there. And besides, it would be too bothersome to actually go and start from the first floor, so I have no choice but to cough up some dough so that this ball could start to seriously roll. Or maybe we could start from one floor lower, the tenth floor, just to make the whole process just a little bit easier for ourselves?


    If we go from there, the strength of monsters should not be all that vastly different from the tenth floors in other Labyrinths. The only difference will be the number of people in the Labyrinth, which may or may not prolong our exploration, but yeah, overall, I think that thing are going to be about the same as they were in the Labyrinths of Quratar and Vale¡­.


    But that does not change the fact that having to pay for going to the tenth or eleventh floor is still going to be such a waste. Not to mention that there is still going to be our good old problem to worry about: the problem of people seeing me use either Durandal or my magic.


    Well, even if there are indeed going to be more people on the eleventh floor, it will not be a problem because we have Roxanne with her superior smell, so she can always guide us towards the smaller groups of monsters in places that are going to be secluded and removed from the places that other Adventurers and Explorers are going to be frequenting.


    All right, I guess that cements the eleventh floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth as the next target of our exploration, so after we have finished eating breakfast, I ordered Roxanne and Sherry to stay at home while I left for the Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth by myself. I will be taking them to the eleventh floor later, but that moment has not yet come. Earlier, after I parted ways with the Duke and Cassia, I warped from Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth to home just like that, so it would be awkward to bring Roxanne and Sherry with me this time.


    When I move out of the small starting room on the first floor, I found out that Gozer was already there.


    ¡¸Oh, if it is not Lord Michio. I see you have decided to enter the Labyrinth early as well?¡¹


    He noticed me almost immediately and called out to me, asking me a pretty obvious question. Normally I would have started cursing at the fates for making it so that I have to be in one room with such a good-looking, charisma oozing fellow, but just this once, I was actually happy that something like that happened, because this timing was perfect.


    Yes, that is right. He is correct in thinking that it was my intention to come to Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth as early as possible, and now that he has seen me actually coming here, he will be able to confirm that I have indeed entered one of the Labyrinths on the territory of Hartz Duchy, exactly like the Duke wanted me to do.


    No, I might not be in the clear just yet. There is always a possibility that I might get accused of just wandering around here without actually intending to do any exploration even though the Duke asked me to, and there is also a matter that some people might have seen me at Tare¡¯s and Bode¡¯s Labyrinths which may lead to inconsistency in my statements if I were to be questioned about it.


    Or rather, that is how it could have been, if only we were still back on earth in the modern times, where there were photo-taking and video-recording technologies. But since this world is the one that is not going to have such thing for a good while longer, I do not have to be worried about anything! As far as everyone is going to be concerned, Gozer is the only eyewitness here, and he personally saw me entering Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth early in the morning, so my cover-up is perfect!


    ¡¸And I see that you decided to come to this Labyrinth as well, Lord Gozer. Is there any specific reason for it?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, there is. We have just broken through the fourty first floor.¡¹


    ¡¸That is great to hear.¡¹


    Woah! They have already broken trough the fourty first floor?! That is amazing! As I thought, a Grand Wizard Lv.61 is in completely different league than me, who is just a regular old Mage. If power levels could be measured in this world, then his power level would surely be over one million. In that case, these people who are accompanying Gozer have to be the members of his Party. Together, they are probably the team that is representing the Knight Order of Harz Duchy and leads the exploration of the Labyrinths. Now, let me see, who do we have here¡­¡­ Two Paladins, a Monk, and a single Shramana. Shramana? What the hell is a Shramana? Okay, whatever, I will just have to ask Sherry about it later when I will have a moment of spare time on my hands. Regardless of whether I recognize that last Job or not, it needs to be stated that all of the members of Gozer¡¯s Party are high-leveled individuals, the Monk in particular. I do not know how he managed to do it, but his level easily exceeds Lv.90!

 Volume 6 - CH 1.05

    And since I have the Job of a Monk myself, I know that this is not an advanced Job like a Paladin or a Grand Wizard. And also, because how could it be otherwise, all of the members of Gozer¡¯s Party are Elves. Of the exceedingly beautiful, handsome variety I might add. Just looking at anyone of them is huring both my eyes and heart, since I know perfectly well that I will never be able to reach their level of handsomeness, and it is simply driving me crazy.


    ¡¸Are you leaving already, Lord Michio?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I am afraid that I have to be on our way now, since I came here only so that I could get a hang of how this Labyrinth looks like and what kind of monsters can be encountered here, but now that I have seen this place for myself, I will be sure to come back here together with the members of my Party.¡¹


    ¡¸I can have a member of my Party guide you if you want.¡¹


    Gozer offered me his assistance.


    Is he really that caring of a person, or is there something else to it? After all, if someone like him who has such a high level and a Party that is equally as amazing as he is, then he definitely must have had a reason to come to such a low Labyrinth floor as this one.


    The more I talk to him, the more suspicious he is getting, and that worries me to no end.


    ¡¸Ah, thank you for your kind offer. I was thinking of going to the tenth or eleventh floor.¡¹


    However, as suspicious as he might seem to me at the current moment, there is no way that I am going to decline such a generous invitation when it is being offered to me with seemingly no strings attached. Only a complete idiot would have turned it down, and I am most definitely not an idiot. This might come at the price of exposing which floor I was intending to explore, but even if I am going to expose that bit of information about my plans, thi is simply an opportunity that I cannot allow myself to miss. I was planning to challenge the eleventh floor, but now I think that it might be worth my while to actually change the slightly and take on the tenth floor as well.


    ¡¸Ah, you are here. Good, you came at just the right time. I am sorry for the inconvenience, but could you take this man with you to another floor? Well, where do you want to go, exactly? Tenth floor, or eleventh floor?¡¹


    The Explorer comes of the entrance along with some Adventurers, and as soon as they did, Gozer started talking to the Explorer.


    ¡¸Well then, let me confirm first.¡¹


    The Explorer takes out the map of the Labyrinth. He seems to be confirming something.


    ¡¸Yes, tenth floor and the eleventh floor.¡¹


    ¡¸Please allow him to guide you. Can you add him to your Party?¡¹


    Gozer asked me to add that Adventurer to my Party. Is this Adventurer Lv,53 a member of Gozer¡¯s Party as well? Now that I think about it, none of the overpower members of Gozer¡¯s Party whom I saw and appraised with ¡¸Identify¡¹were actually Explorers or Adventurers, and if you do not have at least one of these two in your Party, then the said Party is going to be absolutely trash tier, because even with all of these uber strong members with advanced Jobs and a plethora of powerful Skills, they are going to be all for naught without one of the two truly useful Skills that every Party in this world simply needs to possess: Explorer¡¯s ¡¸Dungeon Walker¡¹ and Adventurer¡¯s ¡¸Field Walker¡¹.


    While I was adding the Adventurer to my Party, the Explorer has already left.


    ¡¸Just to confirm, forty two silver coins for the forty two floors, right?¡¹


    They really seem to have reached forty second floor, huh? I see. Gozer said that they have already broken through the forty first floor, and since they have broken through the fourty first floor, then it would stand to reason that their next objective is going to be an attack on the forty second floor, and when I entered the Labyrinth, they were probably readying themselves to leave for the time being. I wonder if they have received two silver coins instead of one when they were clearing the first floor of this Labyrinth?


    The Adventurer who is a Party member of Goslar¡¯s Party and the Explorer in charge at the entrance of the Labyrinth probably went to the forty second floor together to scout the area ahead that is still going to be waiting, while Gozer himself and the rest of his team were waiting for them in the meantime, and the Explorer has just confirmed that they have broken through the forty one floors, so did he manage to come in and out of it in such a short time?


    And if it is like than, then maybe I would also be able to go to the forty second floor myself if only I put this guy in my Party and then think about going to the forty second floor wile thinking about it pretty intently in my mind the entire time.


    Our Party of two moves to the tenth floor, and when we arrived on the tenth floor I immediately opted to go back outside of the Labyrinth where I repeated the entire process, this time by going to the eleventh floor and then going back to the overworld again, and it is all because Adventurers do not possess ¡¸Dungeon Walker¡¹ Skill that would allow them to swiftly travel from one floor of the Labyrinth to another. Now, just imagine how much easier their lifes


    ¡¸Thank you very much for guiding me here.¡¹


    ¡¸It is I who should be thanking you for putting so much effort into what His Lordship requested of you, so I hope that you are going to succeed with your exploration.. Now then, take care.¡¹


    Gozer and I thanked each other like a pair of gentlemen we are, and then each of us went their separate way.


    I returned home through a nearby tree. In order to grab Roxanne and Sherry so that the three of us could go to Haruba Labyrinth¡¯s eleventh floor. But before that, in order to show the Explorer at the entrance that I was back, I did not go directly into the Labyrinth, but to the trees in the nearby forest instead, and then entered the tenth floor of the Labyrinth from the outside.


    ¡¸When we will be entering the Labyrinth, can we choose the floor from which we will be able to begin the exploration?¡¹


    ¡¸Adventurers and Explorers are capable of doing it, so yes.¡¹


    As we were talking, I also took a glance at Sherry¡¯s level as an Explorer. She is now currently Explorer Lv.11. It would seem that Explorers and Adventurers can freely choose which floor of the Labyrinth they want to enter, so from that standpoint, Gozer¡¯s actions from earlier were not suspicious at all, so at the very least that is one mystery solved, so now I can take Roxanne and Sherry to do some Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth¡¯s tenth floor exploration with a clear conscience.


    ¡¸All right, we are going to start with the tenth floor for the time being. Sherry, can you tell us which monsters are native to the tenth floor of this Labyrinth?¡¹


    ¡¸Umm¡­ the monsters native to the tenth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth are NT Ants.¡¹


    ¡¸Poisonous enemies yet again, huh? Well, we are exploring this Labyrinth for the first time, so starting from a slightly lower floor was bound to be a good decision, even if it means dealing with my least favorite enemies. Anyway, Roxanne, can you start searching for the nearest group of monsters please?¡¹


    If things are going to get too dicey here, we can always advance to the eleventh floor.


    ¡¸Understood.¡¹


    For now, we proceeded through the tenth floor under Roxanne¡¯s guidance. The first enemy that we found was actually an NT Ant Lv.10, so I promptly proceeded to hit it with ¡¸Water Balls¡¹until it died after eating three of them to the face. It is not our first time facing them, so we are definitely going to be all right. Even if we happen onto a group, we will be able to take them all out. But just to be on the safe side, we can hunt some more of them here for good measure.


    On a side note, do you think that these NT Ants could succeed in killing a dinosaur if they were fighting it? Nah, probably not.

 Volume 6 - CH 1.06

    Escape Goat appears as well on tenth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth, which means that it is probably the monster native to its ninth floor. Escape Goat Lv.10 starts running away after three magic attacks, so it is exactly the same pattern as before. Boring.


    ¡¸Roxanne, I will chase it, and you finish it off when it has nowhere else left to run!¡¹


    I said no such thing, because there was absolutely no need for me to resort to having Roxanne help me. Right now, I took it out with just three attacks of my magic.


    Nothing seems out of place on the tenth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth. We can take on the monsters that are dwelling here without any trouble.


    I am itching to test how capable our new equipment is but it is not a good idea to receive an NT Ant¡¯s attack for that reason alone. We might not have problems killing the enemies here on the tenth floor, but their increasing attack power is bound to become a problem at one point or another, so the wise thing to do here is to not get too full of ourselves just because we have updated equipment on us. When we will reach eleventh floor, we will be bound to take some attacks from the enemies that are going to be there anyway, so it is best for us to prepare ourselves for it mentally.


    ¡¸We seem to be doing fine on tenth floor, so how about we move on to the eleventh one already?¡¹


    ¡¸Okay.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood.¡¹


    And so, we proceed to the eleventh floor. When we thought there, I noticed that the situation with the monsters on the eleventh floor oh Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth is more or less the same as with the eleventh floors of Vale and Quratar¡¯s Labyrinths, meaning that the battles with them were taking longer than with the monsters on the previous floors, and because battles will be long, Sherry is bound to receive an attack from the enemy sooner or later, so I have to keep an eye on her to be able to properly rush to her aid when needed.


    However, even though I was thinking like that, I was actually the first one to receive an attack in Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth, which was admittedly kinda lame and made me feel somewhat stupid about myself, because it happened in a rather stupid way that could have been easily avoided if only I was more careful.


    While I was recovering my MP through Durandal¡¯s ¡¸MP Absorption¡¹Skill, I could not avoid the incoming attack from a charging Mino and I got slammed with the full weight of its body as a result. It was my first time ever tasting the full brunt of such an attack, and not only did it hurt like hell, but it also must have made me look like a complete idiot in the eyes of Roxanne and Sherry.


    In comparison to Minos, it is definitely quicker to take out NT Ants and Escape Goats. Aside for Durandal, which can kill the monsters around these floors in two or three hits, the NT Ants are weak against Water Magic, which means that I can kill them with three shots of my ¡¸Water Ball¡¹, and the escape Goats start to run when they are hit with three magic attacks, so whenever that happens, it is my cue to attack them with Durandal to takeout the remaining half of their HP in one fell swoop. With Mino¡¯s however, the situation is a little different, because they do not have any kind of gimmicks or Skills to them (and even if they do, I have yet to see them.)


    Even though Minos are not the main monster of the eleventh floor, that does not mean that there will be no groups of monsters that consist of four of them. They might not be all that frequent, but they are definitely here.


    If there are three or less Minos in a group, Roxanne can handle two while Sherry can


    take on the last one, and even if I would be forced to fight one of them one-on-one, I think that I would be able to hold my ground relatively easily without allowing myself to be attacked. Provided, of course, that I would be extremely careful at all times without getting too greedy with my attacks.


    Yeah, I have to remember to be careful. Greed is bad, and greedy people die more easily than those who are careful.


    While I was thinking so, I readied Durandal. However, this time we are fighting against   NT Ants, and one of them moved in to attack me instantly when the battle started. It tries to attack me with its huge mandibles. Oh no, not this time you damn insect! I will never allow you to attack and poison me ever again! In your goddamn dreams!


    After I took them out with Durandal, I saw that Sherry has finally come under attack by a group of four monsters: two NT Ants and two Minos.


    When I was moving on to next NT Ant after taking out first NT Ant with ¡¸Rush¡¹, Sherry receives a head-butt from Mino. The direction I was charging into and the direction Sherry was escaping to happened to be same, so she could not avoid it.


    ¡¸My bad. I blocked your way.¡¹


    After I took the monsters out, I apologized to Sherry.


    ¡¸Not at all. I should have known you were moving in that direction. It was careless of me.¡¹


    In other words, I did block her way, but she just wanted to be nice about it so that I would not feel bad.


    I receive the item and then cast ¡¸Heal¡¹on Sherry in order to treat her wounds.


    ¡¸How was the monster¡¯s attack after equipping the Chainmail? Any difference here in comparison to our earlier test?¡¹


    ¡¸The Damage that I received was definitely light. Thank you master, I should be fine for now.¡¹


    This time, only two ¡¸Heals¡¹ were enough to bring her back to full health, so yeah, the damage that she has sustained from those attacks has definitely decreased in comparison to when she was wearing her old Leather Jacket.


    ¡¸Will we be able to clear eleventh floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth now?¡¹


    ¡¸Well, we will not  know unless we try, right?¡¹


    Although we have upgraded our equipment, that question still remains, and just like I told Sherry, we will not know the definite answer to it unless we try going there again to see if we have improved.


    That said, we can still make predictions based on how we perform on the eleventh floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth. Even if there are strong and weak points of monsters, there is not much difference in their overall strength at any given level. Because the battles were long, we spent all morning exploring the eleventh floor of Haruba¡¯s labyrinth. We took a little break in the afternoon and then resumed the exploration, but this time with a different target in mind.


    ¡¸We should go to the  thirteenth floor of Tare¡¯s Labyrinth next.The monster there is Rub Shrub that drops the item that Sherry needs to make the next equipment on the Master Smith training list, right?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, that is right, master.¡¹


    Our aim right now is going to be the thirteenth floor of Tare¡¯s Labyrinth. This is going to be two levels higher in comparison to where we were exploring and killing monsters now, but we should be well prepared for it, because I do not think that two floors are going to be making that much of a difference in the strength of the monsters that are dwelling there.


    First, we enter the first floor of Tare¡¯s Labyrinth.


    As a precaution, not only did I bring Durandal with me from the get-go, but I also added a Sixth Job to my Bonus Skills to be able to use both Alchemist¡¯s ¡¸Plating¡¹ and Warrior¡¯s ¡¸Rush¡¹. If push comes to shove, I will use ¡¸Rush¡¹in combination with Durandal¡¯s offensive power to make sure that we are going to get out of every possible tight spot unscratched. Having applied ¡¸Plating¡¹to Sherry, we should be as ready as we can possibly be now, and we can finally proceed to explore Tare¡¯s Labyrinth¡¯s first floor.


    ¡¸So, what kind of monster this Rub Shrub is?¡¹


    ¡¸I have never fought against it myself but I heard it uses long-range attacks. It shoots its branches from a distance, and its weakness is supposed to be Fire Magic.¡¹


    A monster specializing in long ranged attacks? Judging by that alone, monsters from the twelfth floor onwards are definitely going to be different than the ones that we have encountered on the lower floors thus far.

 Volume 6 - CH 1.07

    But it is definitely a good thing that it seems to be weak to Fire Magic.


    ¡¸Fire Magic huh? Well, this time I am planning to use a new type of magic, so look forward to seeing it in action. Roxanne, can you please search for the monsters?¡¹


    I send Roxanne out to search for monsters, and we proceeded forward with her guidance. Not log after we began the exploration, two monsters appeared.


    Rub Shrub Lv.13


    These monsters looked a lot like trees, if I am to be honest, but they were smaller in size than the Needlewoods, the enemies from the lower floors that can be best described as walking trees, however the roots and branches of Rub Shrubs are shaped differently than the ones belonging to the Needlewoods. Yup, no matter how you looked at it, these guys look a lot like genuine trees. Moreover, their movement speed appears to be quite slow.


    Well, that works nicely to my advantage, But do I really have to use my Fire Magic against them? It seems like such a waste to me right now if I could just run up to them and slash them in half with Durandal, but oh well. There are two of them right now, which is a manageable number, but honestly, whenever we are facing a new enemy I would have preferred if it was just a single one, but I know that it would be difficult even for Roxanne to determine the exact number of enemies by the smell alone, so I am not going to hold that against her.


    ¡¸Here it comes¡­¡­ whoa!¡¹


    Just as I was about to unleash my magic, Roxanne dodged right in front of me, and something was sticking out of the ground where Roxanne was just standing.


    Roxanne, halt your horses! It is good to be dodging and all,  but there may be someone standing behind you, or to the side of you, so it is not good for a member of the vanguard to be suddenly disappearing from their position in a place as dimly lit as the Labyrinth¡­¡­ and then I saw a brown object flying right past me at blinding speed.


    Oh shit!


    I could not move for even one millimeter. There are times when it is really dangerous to have Roxanne around¡­. But enough about that! I almost freaking died here! Is this the ranged attack of Rub Shrub that Sherry was talking about?! So it has long-range attacks in order to compensate for its lack of movement speed, huh? And moreover, it attacked with it right as I was about to release some really cool magic attack! Damn it! Is this divine retribution?


    To think I would die to an attack of an ordinary Rub Shrub. But okay, that is fine, I am totally fine with that. However, before you kill me, I will at least show you one of the best magic Spells that I have up my arsenal! I will show you my best magic. My ultimate magic. My true power. One of my most OP Spells that is more terrifying than even death itself, so be grateful for this extra special, once in a lifetime service!


    ¡¸You should feel honored, for you are the first to witness this magic ever being used! Heed my call, descend from far end of the universe, and crush all into nothingness¡­¡­ ¡¸Meteor Crash!¡¹


    I used the Bonus Spell that I have selected specifically for this occasion.


    ¡¸Meteor Crash¡¹. This is the same Spell that I was not able to use earlier, back at the very beginning of my stay in this world when I had no idea how magic and spells actually work here. Now that I have raised my level, I should be able to use it. No, I must be able to use it. For I have succeeded in casting it. I can feel my MP decreasing considerably, so this time it was definitely a success! My MP is almost all used up, but the spell finally managed to materialize itself. I have finally succeeded!


    Over my head, a number of burning rocks has appeared. They are the meteorites that burn bright and red like the hottest lava.


    The entire cave is getting dyed bright red because of it¡­¡­ and then finally, the red-hot meteors struck the ground while filling the entire cave with inhuman amounts of shockwaves, heat waves and tremors that could be felt all the way in my bones, and they were not going to stop just yet. One meteor, two meteors, three meteors¡­. The sounds of their roaring impact as they exploded upon the contact with the ground must have been heard far and wide on this floor as the effects of my spell continued to cut through the air itself.


    ¡¸Eh¡­?¡¹


    ¡¸W-What is that?!¡¹


    One of the huge rocks goes past dumbstruck Roxanne and Sherry, but it did not hit them, so they are fine.


    Because I did not choose a specific target for it, ¡¸Meteor Crash¡¹simply struck the entire area at random. But even though it did that, neither I, Roxanne or Sherry were hurt by it. For some reason, that Spell does not seem to harm the people that were not specified by the caster, and that is why we are safe, even though the rest of the cave is definitely anything but that.


    Probably out of reflex, Roxanne was dodging every rock that was flying past her. I am honestly amazed that she can still do that. Sherry, however, could not do it, so one of the rocks grazed her head, but surprisingly it did not inflict any damage on her.


    The huge rocks continue to advance, leaving marks on the ground and sparks in the air that illuminate the cave, until it finally crashes into the two Rub Shrubs.


    It crashes into the Rub Shrubs. The meteorite completely smashes the two Rub Shrubs with the entirety of its weight being brought down upon them in a single moment.


    Silence then returns to the cave. There are neither the meteorites nor the monsters left in it. What remained was only the two planks that the monsters left behind. A One Hit Kill? As I thought, Bonus Spells are truly powerful.


    ¡¸What was that just now?¡¹


    ¡¸A new magic attack.¡¹


    ¡¸Master has such powerful magic?! As expected of master.Amazing!¡¹


    ¡¸B-But  to kill those monsters in one hit?!¡¹


    Certainly, it would have to be a very powerful Spell if even the eleventh level monsters could be killed in one hit of it. In reality, ordinary magic could not ever hope to achieve that. But Rub Shrubs are weak against Fire Magic, and the meteorites were burning red, so it might in fact be classified as Fire Magic. Still, it was unexpectedly powerful. I might have overdone it a little bit here.


    ¡¸A-Amazing!¡¹


    At the same time, it took considerable amount of my MP. Too much of it, I would even say.


    After recovering some MP on first floor of Tare¡¯s Labyrinth, we moved to eleventh floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth to recover rest of my MP. Moving between two floors of same Labyrinth is significantly less taxing than moving between two separate Labyrinths. However, only one Lv.1 monster appears on 1st floor, so recovery takes too long. After recovering MP on the eleventh floor of Haruba¡¯s labyrinth, we returned to the thirteenth floor of Tare¡¯s Labyrinth.


    Now I want to try fighting with Durandal this time. If I feel I cannot take the enemies out, I will just have them eat ¡¸Meteor Crash¡¹again.  I also recovered all of my MP again, so I am good to go.


    ¡¸Once more, Roxanne. Search for small groups of enemies please.¡¹


    Under Roxanne¡¯s guidance, we find a lone Rub Shrub. Exactly what I wanted. I raise Durandal and charge at it.  If I do not do it quickly, it will shoot its branches at us again. But before I could close the distance, it shot its branches at us anyway, or at least prepared to unleash its Skill that would allow it to do so. I could see orange-colored magic circle light up under its feet, but at this moment it was too late for me to dodge it. The branch hits me in the chest where I have my Leather Armor on, but the impact was still considerable. In fact, it hurts like hell! Such power, even though I was covered with ¡¸Plating¡¹!


    Because it came to a stop, I charged in to close the distance, and I have no time to apply ¡¸Plating¡¹ again because that might give it the opening it would need to launch another branch at me! I raise my sword up high, activate ¡¸Rush¡¹ and bring it down on the Rub Shrub.

 Volume 6 - CH 1.08

    It is not dead after one strike, so I use ¡¸Rush¡¹on it again.  *Tch!*, This shit is much stronger than I expected. I am genuinely surprised. To think that there would exist someone in this world capable of taking two¡¸Rush¡¹ attacks without dying! Even two Rush attacks could not get rid of this Rub Shrub. While it begins to launch another attack, I swing my sword from the side and use a third ¡¸Rush¡¹. Only then the Rub Shrub finally collapses.


    Three ¡¸Rush¡¹ attacks to defeat just one monster, when one ¡¸Rush¡¹ can take out a Lv.11 monster? How can a monster be three times stronger with a difference of only two floors? I wonder if the difference of strength between monsters of the eleventh and twelfth floors is great as well. So, in other words, are monsters of the eleventh floor small fries in comparison to the ones from the twelfth floor and higher? Well, I guess that means that the service period is over now. If they are only going to be a few enemies, I guess I can make do with Durandal if things are going to turn out really bad. For now, wecan hunt some more on thirteenth floor. I will give them slow death, if that is what they want.


    ¡¸How many planks do you need, Sherry?¡¹


    ¡¸Five to six should suffice for now.¡¹


    Six, huh? We have collected three of them so far. Alright, I am ready to hunt three more of them, so let us commence forth.


    Another Rub Shrub comes out and attacks us, so I attacked him back with magic. It is comparatively more difficult to take it out while using Durandal. Magic attacks seem to be working better on it.


    This time, I will turn it to smithereens without fail!


    ¡¸Annihilate without a trace! ¡¸Gamma Ray Burst¡¹!¡¹


    I call for forth ¡¸Gamma Ray Burst¡¹. It is another Bonus Spell that I have beside ¡¸Meteor Crash¡¹. Whether it is classified as Fire Magic or not, I do not know. But what I do know is


    that the enemy that I a fighting right now is a Lv.13 monster, so I have to use powerful Spells I order to get rid of it, but¡­¡­


    But nothing happens.


    Do I still not have enough MP for ¡¸Gamma Ray Burst¡¹to work, even though my levels are all fairly high? Does it need even more MP than ¡¸Meteor Crash¡¹?  Well, even ¡¸Meteor Crash¡¹ took almost all of my MP, so it is probably going to need only slightly more. Oh well, I guess I will just use ¡¸Meteor Crash¡¹for now then. Sparks scatter as red-hot meteorites strike the ground again.


    Wow! How wonderful! Look, Roxanne, Sherry¡­ see the beautiful fireworks that I can produce?!


    ¡¸Are there only Rub Shrubs on this floor?¡¹


    At the moment, we are fighting Rub Shrubs on the thirteenth floor of Tare¡¯s Labyrinth, but so far we have only seen Rub Shrubs and no other monster besides them, so I asked Roxanne about it. But I do not think that would be the case though, because that would be pretty stupid after all the other floors that we have went through.


    ¡¸Well, that seems to be the case for the small groups to which I am guiding us at master¡¯s request.¡¹


    ¡¸So it is like that after all, Well, That is fine then.¡¹


    ¡¸I can smell a monster we have not fought yet. I think it is the monster from the twelfth floor.¡¹


    ¡¸Information about the twelfth floor of this Labyrinth wasn¡¯t available in the Explorer¡¯s Guild back when I went to check it out.¡¹


    Sherry does not know about it either. I could have asked the Explorer at the entrance about it, but I did not care about it that much then, and as it turns out, it might come back to bite me in the ass right now.


    Maybe I should have done that after all? Yeah, it would have probably been for the  better.


    ¡¸I smell a Collagen Coral ahead.¡¹


    ¡¸It¡¯s the monster from the tenth or eleventh floor then.¡¹


    Did the Explorers Guild only possess information up to the first nine floors of this Labyrinth? Man, now I am glad that Sherry is such an intellectual type with a penchant for looking up information. It is also good to know that most likely the enemies from the ninth floor are not going to be making their appearance here.


    ¡¸Are there just a few of them?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. I think there might be just one or maybe two at best.¡¹


    ¡¸Take us to them then.¡¹


    ¡¸As you wish, master.¡¹


    I should try fighting some monsters from the lower floors. That way, I will be able to see if the Rub Shrubs require three ¡¸Rush¡¹ attacks, because they are Lv.13, or just because Rub Shrubs themselves are so absurdly tough.


    After moving for a while, we get to the Collagen Coral Lv13. The level seems to go up like normal, even for monsters from the lower floors. I prepare, and then use ¡¸Rush¡¹on it.


    And then I use another one straight after the first one. The collagen coral is defeated after two ¡¸Rush¡¹ attacks.


    Two ¡¸Rush¡¯s¡¹, huh? One ¡¸Rush¡¹ is enough for the monsters from the eleventh floor, so that is probably a normal increase. It is also possible that I could defeat it with one ¡¸Rush¡¹and a Durandal swing, so it means that it is not unreasonably stronger. Two ¡¸Rush¡¯s¡¹were not enough to defeat a single Rub Shrub. Is the strength of monsters from the twelfth floor onward one and a half or two times times more than the lower floor monsters?


    I am going to need to check that more thoroughly.


    ¡¸Can you find the monster from the twelfth floor? It can be in a group because I am going to use magic on them anyway.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay, it shall be done as you ask, master!¡¹


    I asked Roxanne, and she took us to the monster whose smell she had not previously smelt.


    Pig Hog Lv.13


    Two Rub Shrubs and a Pig Hog appeared. It is not a monster from the first eleven floors, so it must be the monster from the twelfth floor. It is a pig the size of a piglet. It has grown tusks, but no whiskers. As expected of Roxanne, excellent job tracking the monsters down like always!


    ¡¸Great job, Roxanne! Now let us get to it!¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you very much, master!¡¹


    I thank Roxanne for a job well done and then use ¡¸Meteor Crash¡¹on them right away, and the two Rub Shrubs are defeated immediately, while the Pig Hog is not. Is ¡¸Meteor Crash¡¹ classified as fire attribute magic after all?


    I switch weapon from wand to Durandal and run towards the piglet. My MP has not been completely depleted, but it is getting close to the red zone, so I have to replenish it quickly before it gets too low.


    As expected, the Pig Hog did not use any range attacks and simply rushed towards me, aiming for a purely physical confrontation, so I got as close to it as possible and then blasted it with ¡¸Rush¡¹ ,but it did not fall after being hit with it just once, instead just brushing it off like it was nothing.


    Okay, no need to panic just yet. I calmly dodged the Pig Hog¡¯s headbutt and then countered with yet another ¡¸Rush¡¹. This time, it did fall for good, turned into a cloud of green smoke and disappeared. Finally.


    It took two ¡¸Rush¡¹attacks to beat a single Pig Hog down, huh? The monsters from the twelfth floor onwards are definitely stronger than the monsters from the lower floors. I am not sure by how much, however, since I was cautious and used ¡¸Rush¡¹in order to dispatch it as soon as possible.


    If I consider that ¡¸Meteor Crash¡¹ is an example of Fire Magic that does double damage to the Rub Shrub that is weak to Fire Magic, then that would explain why the Pig Hog did not fall from it, because it is not weak to Fire Magic.The Collagen Coral Lv.13 took two ¡¸Rushes¡¹to kill, so do monsters from the twelfth floor and higher have twice as much strength? Is ¡¸Meteor Crash¡¹ only barely able to kill a Rub Shrub? Does ¡¸Meteor Crash¡¹ only have the same power as two ¡¸Rushes¡¹?

 Volume 6 - CH 1.09

    So many questions, and it does not look like the answers to them are going to be anywhere near in sight.


    ¡¸The monster from the twelfth floor is Pig Hog.¡¹


    ¡¸Do you know about it?¡¹


    ¡¸Just that. I do not know any other details.¡¹


    ¡¸The Pig Hog is an earth attribute monster. It has resistance to Earth Magic, and can use Earth Magic itself. Water Magic is its weak point.¡¹


    Sherry gives us an explanation.


    I only knew the name of it because of ¡¸Identify¡¹, I do not know anything else about it, so I guess it was a stroke of luck that I was able to defeat it the way I did, because it saved me from looking like a complete fool in front of Roxanne and Sherry again.


    Also, its Drop Item is Pork Ribs. The ingredients for tonight¡¯s dinner have officially been decided. I need to recover a bit of MP with Durandal, so we went to the eleventh floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth to do that.


    While there, I slaughtered some Minos and recovered MP, but I was doing that, a certain thought popped into my mind: if Pig Hogs leave Pork Ribs when they are killed, then why are Minos not dropping Beef Ribs, or any kind of food item that has something to do with beef? If they did that, then we might have sold them at a butcher¡¯s shop.


    I calm down after recovering some MP. Beef Ribs would be nice. I want to eat them so badly now that I started thinking about them. Where would they come from? Where can I get them from¡­.


    I can fight on the thirteenth floor with ¡¸Meteor Crash¡¹ and Durandal, and as a general rule, I should fight stronger monsters to improve myself and increase the levels of my Jobs. In that case, should I make the thirteenth floor of Tare¡¯s Labyrinth my permanent hunting ground?


    But in my case, I need to consider my EXP and skills. If I want to keep on using Durandal, Alchemist¡¯s ¡¸Plating¡¹, and Warrior¡¯s ¡¸Rush¡¹, then I am definitely going to be forced to sacrifice some of my EXP increasing Skills in order to continue doing so. Overusing ¡¸Meteor Crash¡¹also does not seem like that good of an idea, because there is always a chance that I might end up being seen by someone, and if I will be busted like that, then it is going to be all over for me.


    With my Mage Job it is going to be a little bit safer, because Magescan use Spells like¡¸Fireball¡¹ and ¡¸Water Storm¡¹, so if anyone sees me casting those Spells, at worst they are just going to think that I am my Party¡¯s Magic user.


    Unfortunately, since ¡¸Meteor Crash¡¹ is a Bonus Skill, there is a good probability that it does not normally exist in this world, so using it is basically like a cheat, and even if I tried to come up with a cover story for it and for why am I able of using it, such deceptions would definitely be seen right through.


    So then, would it actually be better for me to stay on the eleventh floor? It might still be too early to go to the thirteenth floor after all. The eleventh floor is a better hunting ground.


    Since I have already collected some planks, I continued hunting on eleventh floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth for the reminder of the day. We finished exploring, then sold all of our items that we gathered today and returned home.


    We got a lot of planks from the Rub Shrubs today, and Sherry is going to need as much of them as she can get her hands on in order to make new equipment out of them.


    According to the to-do list of Master Smith training regimen, the next item on her to-do list should be a Club or a Hammer. Sherry¡¯s skills in creating weapons and equipment are quickly catching up with our equipment¡­. Or maybe not. Maybe I should look at it the other way around?


    It just means that our current equipment is made only of cheap materials that can be obtained on the lower layers of the Labyrinths, and while that is good for Sherry who became a Master Smith only recently and she needs as much training as possible, it is actually bad for us, since we are going to need some quality weapons and equipment if we want our Labyrinth exploration to proceed smoothly?


    The strength of monsters from the twelfth floor and up is doubled in comparison to the monsters from the eleventh floor. Currently, seven spells are required to defeat a monster on the eleventh floor, so it would actually take fourteen regular shots of magic to defeat them. Fourteen Spells for a single monster is just too much.


    At this rate, even the Skills of something as basic as the Green Caterpillars are going to be more efficient than my magic. Fire Magic is the Rub Shrub¡¯s weakness, so I would only need half the spells to defeat it if I were to be using only Fire Magic on it. If other monsters are mixed in, it will not be as good.


    Defeating monsters on the twelfth floor and up seems to be quite difficult. We can do it, but it is not going to be as easy as it was on the lower floors, so I think it is high time to increase our power, especially upgrade my wand. I wonder how other Parties are capable of clearing the Labyrinth floors without magic users in their ranks?


    Do they just get more people? If they have someone on recovery job, like a Priest or a Monk, then they can probably do it even if the battles are going to get prolonged. As for my Party, I am currently fulfilling the role of a healer.


    There is no problem with recovering after the fight has ended. The problem is recovering during a fight. Defeating monsters also depends on my magic. If I recover during combat, it delays defeating monsters. Taking longer in a fight against something like a Green Caterpillar would be bad.


    Should I switch Roxanne or Sherry to recovery duty? When I take out Durandal, I have a Monk Job on just in case, but a full-blown Priest could respond to any health-related emergencies immediately. Yeah, things would be a bit easier for us with a priest.


    Is it bad to make a recovery position if I don¡¯t have enough vanguards? The number of people is not enough.


    ¡¸Master¡­¡­. Master!¡¹


    Roxanne¡¯s voice fades in as I think about it. I had not noticed it.


    ¡¸Sorry. What is the matter?¡±


    ¡¸There was a message on the door. It is from Luke. He seems to have made a successful bid on a Rabbit Skill Crystal.¡¹


    While we were in the labyrinth, a messenger seems to have come from the broker, Luke.


    ¡¸Oh. Rabbit? Rabbit Skill Crystal gives ¡¸Chant Delay¡¹, right?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, that¡¯s right.¡¹


    Sherry confirms it. It can become ¡¸Chant Interruption¡¹ if fused together with the Kobold Skill Crystal. If I put ¡¸Chant Interruption¡¹ on Sherry¡¯s weapon, it will help my strategy. She will be able to cancel the spell from the Green Caterpillar Lv.11 as well. The long-distance attack from the Rub Shrubs can¡¯t be prevented though. There¡¯s nothing we can do about long distance attacks. The skills and magic can be prevented after we get close, so even that much would be good.


    This is going to increase out battle potential even further, and I absolutely cannot wait for it!


    However, we still have a number of thongs to do before we go get that Skill Crystal. First, I had Sherry make some equipment using the planks that we have obtained, then we had dinner, after which I washed every part of Sherry and Roxanne¡¯s bodies quite thoroughly during our bath, then I had them inspect my body to see if it has been properly washed, and after that we had some fun in the bed that ended up with us feeling exhausted, but satisfied, so all three of us fell asleep rather quickly.


    On the next morning, we followed up our daily routine of waking up, going to the Labyrinth to do some grinding and exploring, then I was off to deliver yet another mirror from Palmasque to the Duke in Bode, and when I went back home and we had breakfast, I had Sherry make some equipment again. See, that was a lot of things to do, and it is just the morning, and there are still more of them to do.


    Now that we finished eating dinner and Sherry is about to do another round of her Master Smith training, I will have to go to the Merchant¡¯s Guild in Quratar.

 Volume 6 - CH 1.10

    And then I will have to deliver Roxanne and Sherry to Palmasque so that they could buy another mirror or two.


    ¡¸Sherry, what is the next thing on your list now that you managed to create a Club?¡¹


    ¡¸A Wood Stick. I am going to need two planks in order to make it.¡¹


    ¡¸A Wood Stick¡­¡­ so something like a cane, I assume? Is it any different from my Wand?¡¹


    I asked as I passed the needed amount of planks to Sherry.


    ¡¸Wands strengthen the power of magic that the person holding it is using. On the other hand, stick-type weapons can be used to beat up monsters, as well as strengthen the power of magic for a bit. Miss Roxanne said to me a while ago that Priests and Shrine Maidens tend to use that kind of weaponry if they are in a vanguard position.


    ¡¸Ah, so it is useful for both combat and magic strengthening. Got you.¡¹


    The price of the sticks was about the same as the price of Wands, so sticks are probably weaker in the magic-boosting department. If the strength was not related to price, then pretty much no one would be buying wands at all due to them not being efficient enough.


    Considering my current style of fighting, I think the wand is still a better choice for me?


    I do not know what is going to happen in the future, but I maybe I will have to find a good candidate to use the stick at some point. There is nobody that I have in mind for it yet, but we will probably have a difficult time in the future as the demons get stronger, so someone using magic, and then attacking the monsters with a stick that has ¡¸MP Absorption¡¹ Skill might be a good fighting style.


    Personally, I do not think that I will be able to absorb MP with a magic attack. The only way that I can recover my own MP is only because of Durandal¡¯s ¡¸MP Absorption¡¹ Skill, and when I have Durandal out, I usually tend to not use magic at all, instead switching to a more physically oriented build, so even if I put ¡¸MP Absorption¡¹ on my wand, or a stick, I do not think either would recover MP while casting Spells.


    ¡¸O-Okay, I am going to start making it then.¡¹


    Sherry has the planks in both her hands and recites the incantation for the ¡¸Item Fusion¡¹ Skill. In the next moment, a dazzling light flows out, and then stops before long, revealing a brand-new Wood Stick in Sherry¡¯s left hand.


    A walking stick is left in her hand.


    ¡¸Oh, it was a success.¡¹


    ¡¸Well, there is supposed to be a large chance of failure when creating new weaponry if you have not been training for a long time, or at least I heard that that is how it normally supposed to be, so in a way, this is actually somewhat anti-climactic.¡¹


    ¡¸Just think about it as a testament to how amazing you are, Sherry.¡¹


    Besides, making a wooden stick from two planks leaves me with a feeling of it being wrong. To begin with, it is strange that clubs and sticks (round, cylindrical weapons,) are being made from square boards. Where is the logic in that? I was always convinced that a flat wooden shield could be made from a flat board, and round or cylindrical weapons would have to be made from logs of wood. There is no other choice for me but to think that the magic of the Skill has something to do with it.


    ¡¸Thank you for the words of encouragement, master. Here you go, one Wood Stick, a weapon that can both cast magic and be used in melee combat.¡¹


    ¡¸Certainly, this looks like something that could hurt a man pretty badly if he were to be struck by it. By the way, are there any other weapons that can be used both for physical attacks and the purpose of enhancing magic?¡¹


    ¡¸Aside from the sticks, there is also a weapon called The Holy Spear that strengthens magic. It is quite valuable though, and can be hard to get outside the auctions, so not that many people are using them.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, so there actually is such a weapon?¡¹


    It might be a good weapon for someone with a healing-oriented Job to attack from the rearguard.


    We then continued to talk about the possibility of strengthening our weapons while we were eating breakfast.


    ¡¸Now that we have upgraded our armor, we should work on our weapons next.¡¹


    ¡¸Our weapons?¡¹


    ¡¸Because Rabbit Skill Crystal is available for purchase. Besides, we might have no pressing problem on the current floors of the Labyrinths, but the Rub Shrubs on the thirteenth floor are quite strong.¡¹


    I start the conversation while munching on Rabbit Meat which Roxanne grilled.


    ¡¸But master¡¯s magic can take them out in one hit.¡¹


    ¡¸To be honest, it is not as easy as it looks like.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. So it something more akin to a trump card rather than something you can just use over and over again, right?¡¹


    Yeah, it is just as Roxanne is saying. In my present condition, I cannot cast two ¡¸Meteor Crash¡¯s¡¹ or more in a row, because I simply do not have enough MP to pull something like that off. That, and if I take into account efficiency of MP consumption and the risk of getting exposed to other people, it is not a good idea to go around shooting meteors in the Labyrinth in general. It should be reserved as a trump card against Floor Bosses or when we are surrounded by the enemies with no other way of getting out of such a pickle.


    ¡¸Yeah, that is right.¡¹


    ¡¸Certainly, the monsters from the twelfth floor onward are quite strong. And moreover, from the twenty-third floor onward, monsters will be getting even stronger than they are now.¡¹


    Sherry says in support.


    Monsters from the twelfth floor onward will be a lot stronger in comparison to the first eleven floors, and the difficulty level will only increase again from the twenty-third floor onwards. Well, the point is, the higher we move, the stronger the monsters become, so we have to be as prepared for it as we can possibly be.


    ¡¸So as you can see, at the very least I need to upgrade my Wand. Incidentally, is there a Skill Crystal that increases the power of magic attacks?¡¹


    ¡¸There is: Goat Skill Crystal.¡¹


    ¡¸Goat, huh? In that case I will ask Luke to make arrangements for the acquisition of that one. So I guess all that is left now is Sherry¡¯s Club.¡¹


    Until now, I have not asked Luke to arrange for a Skill Crystal that increases the power of magic attacks, because I was operating under a rather simple assumption: do not fix that which is not broken. But now I know that the issue of my magic is quite broken, so I have to fix it before it ends up causing us some serious problems or even injury during the Labyrinth exploration.


    ¡¸My Club?¡¹


    ¡¸¡¸Chant Interruption¡¹ should be attached to Sherry¡¯s weapon. Roxanne can dodge attacks herself, so I am not too worried about her performance, so what remains is your Club.¡¹


    ¡¸But we need Kobold Skill Crystal for ¡¸Chant Interruption¡¹.¡¹


    ¡¸¡¸Chant Delay¡¹ will be of no use if only Sherry¡¯s weapon has it.¡¹


    I have my Durandal that can interrupt the chanting of enemy¡¯s Skills and Spells, Roxanne can dodge even magic attacks and Skills without any issues, so the only one who is lacking any sort of special combat-oriented ability is Sherry. Therefore, I am going to have her attach ¡¸Chant Interruption¡¹ to her weapon. Then, Roxanne can take on the monsters from the front as a vanguard while Sherry can hit it from the side with ¡¸Chant Interruption¡¹.


    ¡¸Thank you. Still, it is going to be a waste to attach ¡¸Chant Interruption¡¹ to a Club. If it were attached to a war hammer or a flail, it would sell for good price instead.¡¹


    War hammer? Flail? So both these weapons and Club are all classified as hammer, it seems.


    ¡¸Hammer is good but how about spear?¡¹


    ¡¸Spear?¡¹


    Sherry can use both hammer and spear.


    ¡¸There will be merit in attaching ¡¸Chant Interruption¡¹ to a spear, for it has a long reach.¡¹

 Volume 6 - CH 1.11

    ¡¸I see. That is certainly true, and it might work in our favor.¡¹


    ¡¸Currently, there are not many situations where we are surrounded by monsters, so there is not much need of swinging a Club around to clear our surroundings.¡¹


    ¡¸That is right. However, we have been fighting mostly against NT Ants and Escape Goats. I have no idea if it will be same against other monsters.¡¹


    There is another reason why I am so insistent on her using a spear, but should I really say it? Oh well, it is not like I have that much to lose, so I will just spit it out anyway.


    ¡¸We will eventually have more Party members, the more the Party members, the less the opportunities you are going to have to swing your Club around.¡¹


    I have to put the stress on the need for more Party members.


    ¡¸I see. Okay.¡¹


    ¡¸The more Party members we have, the more options we have for making a diverse and versatile vanguard. Sherry can then drop behind the vanguard and attack with a spear. In that case, you can also take on the role of healer. So as you can see, if you use spear, we can afford to have more flexible battle strategy.¡¹


    ¡¸But I am not a Shrine Maiden, so I cannot use any Healing Magic and other methods of curing wounds.¡¹


    Ah, yes, that is right. I have yet to tell her that she actually has a Shrine Maiden Job.


    ¡¸It is alright. You are a Master Smith already, so do not worry about it too much for now.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay¡­ I will do my best.¡¹


    ¡¸As for a healer, vanguard can take on that role.¡¹


    When Sherry nods in affirmation, albeit a bit forced, Roxanne interjects.


    ¡¸Really?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. Monk or Shrine Maiden is not necessarily a Job meant for being in a backline, especially when the Party is small.¡¹


    ¡¸Because they can use ¡¸Heal¡¹ if they ever receive an attack?¡¹


    If a Party is small, it is not a good idea to have distinct vanguard and rearguard roles, because you will be spreading your forces too thin and too far away from each other in case there was ever an emergency. In that sense, Monks and Shrine Maidens can act as vanguard members too I guess.


    ¡¸To be able to hold monsters from the front and heal Party members in the back ¡ª this is why the people who enter Labyrinth hold them in such high regard.¡¹


    Like the Goddess of Liberty who led masses during French Revolution? Then Roxanne would be perfect for this role.


    ¡¸Well, like I was saying, we do not have to concern ourselves with filling the healer role just yet. it can wait for the future, since right now my own healing capabilities are more than enough to keep us covered. However, I think that Sherry should still try using a spear so that we could keep broadening up our possibilities.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood!¡¹


    In any case, the spear would be the better weapon for the current Sherry, and she agreed to replace her weapon for it for the time being.


    After eating breakfast, I headed to the Merchants Guild to buy Rabbit Skill Crystal from Luke. I managed to get it without any major issues from him after confirming that it is a real deal with my¡¸Identify¡¹.


    ¡¸I would like to use this with the Kobold Skill Crystal. Is the price for one still around fifty two hundred Nars?¡¹


    ¡¸Close. The last time was fifty five hundred Nars and the time before that was fifty two hundred Nars.¡¹


    ¡¸Well, it cannot be helped, if you can get it for up to fifty four hundred Nars then I would like to buy it.¡¹


    People are still paying fifty two hundred Nars for the kobold Skill Crystal, huh? I want it myself, so I need to be tenacious. I want to get one soon. The last winning bid for the Kobold Skill Crystal was fifty five hundred Nars, so that means I have to pay even more if I want to be sure that I will be able to get it before anyone else.


    ¡¸I will try to get it for you. You just want one copy of it?¡¹


    ¡¸¡­.That is right.¡¹


    Well, Sherry is not going to fail the fusion, so one Skill Crystal is more than enough for us for the time being, but Luke does not have to know about that.


    That is what I thought, but in the off chance that the fusion does end up in failure, the Rabbit Skill Crystal is going to be gone forever, and there will be no getting it back. But that is the worst-case scenario, the one that I am currently not even going to consider. As soon as I get the chance, I should also get a Kobold Skill Crystal for myself.


    The person who bid fifty three hundred Nars last time might not bid anymore, so that might be my chance. If I manage to play my cards right, then maybe I will not need to offer fifty four hundred Nars after all?


    The person who bid fifty three hundred Nars last time might not bid anymore, so maybe I will not need to offer fifty four hundred Nars after all? But if I want to be absolutely sure that I am going to get it, then maybe I will not have any other choice?


    People buy it for fifty two hundred Nars as well, and they will also need to buy the same number of Skill Crystals to fuse them with the ones they might already have. But if I end up missing out on it, I can always go hunt for the Kobold Skill Crystal in the Labyrinth. Thinking about it now, maybe I could have waited a bit?


    That way, I could have saved hundreds of Nars, because the amount of other bidders will surely decrease at some point or another.


    ¡¸Okay, I will aim for a kobold Skill Crystal for up to fifty four hundred Nars.¡¹


    ¡¸I would also like to get a Goat Skill Crystal.¡¹


    ¡¸The Goat Skill Crystal? The last successful bid for it was five thousand Nars. The time before last was fifty one hundred Nars. It might cost a bit more to obtain it immediately though. It often sells from forty seven to forty eight hundred when it is on the cheaper side, and up to between fifty four and fifty five hundred Nars if it is on the expensive side.¡¹


    Luke gives a quick answer with the estimation of the price of a Goat Skill Crystal. This is a lot of numbers to take in, but I will have to remember them all. While I was busy talking things out with Luke, Sherry was looking through the list of bid results in the waiting room.


    ¡¸That is a rather high price.¡¹


    ¡¸The Mage is the main fire power in a Party, so it is perfectly understandable. Increasing magic attack power is the first choice for a Party if they have a Mage as well. Also, parents of Mages are normally quite wealthy, and it is easy to go to upper floors of the Labyrinths if you have a Mage, so the price of the Goat Skill Crystal goes up compared to other Skill Crystals.¡¹


    So Skill Crystals are actually coveted by the rich people and the nobles that much, huh? That is another fact that is definitely going to be worthy of noting.


    ¡¸I see, so there is no helping it then.  In that case, I will buy a Goat Skill Crystal for up to fifty four hundred Nars.¡¹


    ¡¸As you wish.¡¹


    You are not going to ask if I am really fine with just one if I maybe do not want more of them? I am disappointed in you, Mr. Luke, honestly. Nevertheless, this Skill Crystal is going to be a necessity for me. I also need more Skill Crystals for ¡¸Chant  Interruption¡¹, and Sacrificial Misangas, but for the time being I am only in need of one Goat Skill Crystal. Yeah, just one will be absolutely fine. I cannot mention that one is enough though.


    Luke does not need to know that Sherry is going to be succeeding with her fusions every single time. That means I should probably buy extras of those Skill Crystals, just to shake any potential suspicion off my back. Eventually I will need it on multiple items, so they will not be wasted, they are just going to have to wait for their turn to be of use to me.

 Volume 6 - CH 1.12

    I need the Goat Skill Crystal quickly though, since it increases magic attack power, and that is exactly what we need right now.


    After ordering the kobold & goat Skill Crystals, I leave Luke and walk out of the room. But instead of leaving the Merchant¡¯s Guild through the portal on the wall, I am doing so by walking out through the front entrance on foot. That is because there is another place where I want to go right now: the nearby Weapon Shop. And that is because I have to find a good weapon for Sherry and myself.


    Is a Steel Spear going to be a good choice here? Most likely, because it comes with an Empty Skill Slot in it, but as a downside, there are only two of them. The rest does not even have Empty Skill Slots in them. It would have been ideal if we managed to find the ones with two or perhaps even three Empty Skill Slots in them, but you know what they say, right? Beggars cannot be choosers.


    ¡¸Choose one of these two, Sherry.¡¹


    I pass the two Steel Spears with the Empty Skill Slots to Sherry.


    ¡¸Um¡­.. I will do my best.¡¹


    Sherry sounds like she is straining a bit as she answers.


    Even if you does not choose well, I do not think there will be that much of a difference, since all of these Steel Spears are basically identical anyway.


    ¡¸Um¡­. Master?¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah? What is it?¡¹


    ¡¸You know that If I fail at fusion with this, I will not be able to remake it, right?¡¹


    She is muttering in a quiet voice. I see, she is still worrying about ¡¸Skill Crystal Fusion¡¹.


    ¡¸It will probably be alright, so there is no need for you to worry yourself too much.¡¹


    I pat her on the shoulder, and then turn to the racks with wands, staffs and canes lined up on them.


    Hmm¡­.. perhaps this one is going to be all right? A Damascus Steel Rod that is cherishedly displayed in the back of the store. I think that this is the best one that is going to be available here, unless of course the shopkeeper is hiding the truly good stuff under the counter, only to be sold to his most trusted of clients?


    However, this is a Rod, not a Wand, so it does not meet my current requirements, and above all, ¡¸Identify¡¹ shows me that it has no Empty Skill Slots in it. I guess I should have expected that it is going to be like that. After all, the advantage of having a lot of cheap, bottom tier weapons is that you can freely choose from among the literal dozens of them, and you are still going to have pretty high chances of happening on the one that is going to have an Empty Skill Slot in it, but with expensive-looking weapons and armor that all seem to be beautifully decorated, this is not the case.


    The really expensive, good-looking items are only displayed as a single piece of an item instead of many copies of it, so as soon as I see that such an armor or weapon does not have any Empty Skill Slots in it, I immediately lose all interest in it.


    The only good thing about such pieces of armor or weapons is that an expensive, good-looking items, are going to have more Empty Skill Slots in them in comparison to their cheaper counterparts, but as a general rule, it is relatively find a weapon or a piece of armor that is going to strike that perfect balance between a good price and a large amount of Empty Skill Slot when you are practically being denied the ability to choose them because the shopkeeper only placed one item of each category on display.


    When it comes to the Steel Spear, there were only tow of them available that had three Empty Skill Slots in them, and when it comes to weapons and armor that are made from truly good materials like Orichalcum, they can only be bought at the auctions, which means that you are forced to buy them while being blinded as to the amount of Empty Skill Slots that they are going to have. You might get lucky and end up with a weapon or armor that is going to have one, two or maybe even three Empty Skill Slots in it, but at the same time you might draw the short end of the stick and end up with something that does not have any Empty Skill Slots in it.


    I worry for a moment as I think about the future. I go to the weapons and armor shops frequently, so I will need to keep it in mind to check for good items with Empty Skill Slots every now and then.


    I am also selling off the items that Sherry makes, so I will not have any problems with coming regularly to these shops, and honestly, the owners are saying that a steady influx of items is good for business anyway.


    In any case, are a Damascus Steel Rod and steel Spear the best things that I can get from among the mass-produced goods? Apart from the number of Empty Skill Slots in them, there is probably not much difference between them, so I ended up choosing a Rod that was the most appropriate for me in terms of both price and the Empty Skill Slots.


    Sherry also gives me the Steel Spear she chose, and I buy them both. I did not buy a weapon for Roxanne this time, because just for the Rod and the Steel Spear I already had to pay three gold coins.


    If I think about it, I¡¯ve bought Roxanne the Hardened Leather Jacket, and the Amber Necklace recently, so that should even itself out.


    ¡¸Sorry that this time were just getting weapons for Sherry and myself, Roxanne. I promise I will make it up to you when I get the chance.¡¹


    ¡¸It is okay, master. I do not mind.¡¹


    I comfort Roxanne as I leave the weapons shop. However, it is true that I just cannot continue to buy things only for her all the time. I have to make sure to keep a healthy balance between her and Sherry.


    ¡¸At the current moment I do not have any problems in particular with the Scimitar that I have been using.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay, as long as you are satisfied with it, that is all that matters for me.¡¹


    If our circumstances were any different, I probably would not have hesitated even for a moment to give her anything that she might have wanted, but as things stand now, I am her master, and she is my slave, so I cannot favor her too much, or else Sherry might end up feeling neglected. And besides, if I really was doing everything for her at her every request, Roxanne might have started acting too spoilt, so every now and then I have to show her a firm and decisive attitude, even if it might end up coming off as a bit cruel.


    ¡¸We will need to increase the amount of Party members to strengthen our battle potential. I cannot just invest all of our money into equipment alone, because then we would not have any of it left for other purposes.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, that is most certainly the truth.¡¹


    I cannot be a sweet master to you all the time, Roxanne, this world would simply not allow it. I cannot spoil you, and I definitely cannot pamper you. If I did that and people would caught wind of that, I would definitely be branded as a weird master who is not establishing his dominance over his slaves properly, and that would put me in the spotlight and the center of attention, and right now, such attention is the last thing that I need and want.


    ¡¸I need to think of our income and how to balance the things that we absolutely need with the ones that we can do without for the time being, because I do not want you to think of me as a bad, incompetent master.¡¹


    ¡¸You are not a bad master, master, and you will never be.¡¹


    ¡¸If you think that you might be bad or incompetent, then how is it possible that we have a whole house to live in instead of living in an inn? How is it possible that we have good armor and equipment that allows us to fight in the Labyrinths without putting our lives in danger, not to mention that you are always hunting and exploring it with us when you do not really have to? And how is it possible that we are capable of eating such luxurious meals every single day? If master was a bad master, then we would never had any of those things.¡¹

 Volume 6 - CH 1.13

    Hearing that from Roxanne and Sherry made me very happy, and cemented my will and belief that I need to strengthen my resolve. Dignity, bravery, manliness, I need to utilize all of those things in order to put on that kind of appearance that is not going to bring me and my slaves any shame, allowing me to stand tall in comparison to other slave masters.


    ¡¸If you were a bad, annoying master, would that not be a cause for us to start looking for a new master behind your back?¡¹


    ¡¸Ah¡­yes. Thinking about it that way, I guess it would have made sense, huh?¡¹


    Uhm¡­. Maybe I have actually become too dignified?


    ¡¸We will probably strengthen Roxanne¡¯s weapon some time soon.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you, but there is no need for that. My weapon is okay as it is at the moment.¡¹


    ¡¸Was the one handed sword hanging in the weapons store an Estoc? It looked like a good weapon.¡¹


    ¡¸¡­I think that it was a good weapon as well.¡¹


    Did my strict attitude work? Roxanne hesitated for a second. My resolve might have gotten through to her, and I think I was also able to show off my dignity properly.


    ¡¸Okay, we will think about it in the future, no need to make any hasty decisions right now.¡¹


    ¡¸Ah, y-yes.¡¹


    ¡¸And if Roxanne¡¯s weapon becomes stronger, it is going to aid the whole Party, not just you alone.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹


    Roxanne is also going to have her own opinions, so I cannot be so arrogant as to force my own opinions onto her without giving her even the slightest chance to express hers.


    We returned to the Merchant¡¯s Guild, and used the wall there to travel to Haruba Labyrinth¡¯s eleventh floor in order to test out our new weapons. I hold my new Rod, and pass the Steel Spear to Sherry as she hands me over the Club that she was using up until now.


    Just as I expected, the spear is not a kind of weapon you could carry around town freely, because the damn thing is over two meters long, which means that Sherry probably could not have used it in the vanguard as well, because the sheer length of this weapon would guarantee that she would be hitting not only enemies, but also her allies as well, not to mention that she would probably bounce the spear¡¯s blade on the walls and the ceiling of the narrower corridors in the Labyrinths, and that pretty much checks itself out with what Sherry was saying: that generally speaking, spears are not the type of weapons that should be used in the vanguard, and that instead they are more fitting for the usage by the rearguard members so that they could harass the enemies with constant poking from a safe distance while their opponents would be utterly unable to do anything to reach them, because they would have to go through the vanguard first.


    ¡¸Since Sherry may need some time to get used to her new weapon, please guide us to somewhere with a small number of monsters for now, all right, Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸I understand, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Sherry, I know the spear is not easy to use as a vanguard member but please do try to do your best with it.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I will!¡¹


    ¡¸Thinking about it again, it should be alright if we were to fight against large groups of enemies, since my weapon has been upgraded as well, which should make it easier for me to fight while using magic than before, so ultimately, I am going to leave the decision of where we  should be going next up to you and your judgement, Roxanne.¡¹


    First, Roxanne guides us to a place with one NT Ant, and it was promptly defeated by me when I used three ¡¸Water Balls¡¹on it. It dropped dead and turned into a pathetic little pile of smoke even before Sherry could get to it and strike it with her new Steel Spear even once.


    Three spells to defeat the NT Ant on the Labyrinth¡¯s eleventh floor. Before, when I was still only using want it took four spells, so this is definitely an improvement.


    Next, Roxane leads us to a place with just one Mino. I used ¡¸Fire Ball¡¹on it, but unfortunately I was not able to defeat it before it made it to us, so Roxanne stood in its way while Sherry thrusted her spear towards it from the side and I readied and used yet another ¡¸Fire Ball¡¹, all the while Roxanne was skillfully avoiding every attack that the Mino wanted to throw at her, and even though it was a Lv.11 monster, it ended up falling to the ground shortly after its confrontation with Roxanne began. It also looks like the Rod is working exactly as it was intended for it, because even though I could not defeat a Mino Lv.11 before it engaged us in battle, I did manage to kill an NT Ant Lv.11, but the big factor here was probably the fact that it is weak to Water Magic, which allowed me to defeat it in just three Spells. But even so, even after changing my weapons, I expected to be able to kill my enemies with but a single blow.


    It would seem that doing it is still impossible for me after all. Just as I was expecting, the battles from the twelfth floor onwards are going to be especially difficult.


    ¡¸Now that we changed our weapons, should we go to the thirteenth floor of Tare¡¯s Labyrinth? Well, we might as well go in there anyway to see how our new equipment is going to perform against the monsters there, but I think that there is not going to be any need for us to go too far in there.¡¹


    ¡¸We should go there.¡¹


    ¡¸Hmm¡­.yes, with how we are now, nothing should be able to harm us.¡¹


    When I asked the girls if we should go to Tare¡¯s Labyrinth or not, they expressed their support of that idea, although Sherry¡¯s reply came slightly later than Roxanne¡¯s, most likely because she was thinking on how she should have answered down to the very last second, but if I were to be honest, she still looked as if she was not convinced about it.


    ¡¸All right, so we will be going there. And since we have already been there before, then it should not be that dangerous this time.¡¹


    ¡¸Ah, that was not what I meant. Uhm, are we really strong enough to do it?¡¹


    Sherry talked with Roxanne. Is she still doubting our readiness, despite all of the preparations that we have made?


    ¡¸We are going to be fine. After all, we have master with us.¡¹


    ¡¸But still, we are just three people.¡¹


    ¡¸We just have to take is slowly and carefully and everything is going to be just fine.¡¹


    They seem to be having an increasingly noisy conversation.


    ¡¸Are you not a bit too calm about this?¡¹


    ¡¸I mean, that is just how it is on the thirteenth floor, so¡­¡¹


    ¡¸But there are also Bandits lurking there, and as long as we go there, we will not be able to avoid eventually fighting them.¡¹


    Sherry then said something that caught my interest.


    ¡¸Bandits?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. Most of the people who come to the lower floors of the Labyrinths are beginners without good equipment on them, but from the twelfth floor onwards, the difficulty of the fights and the strength of monsters increases, so the idea there is that only experienced fighters who have prepared both themselves and their equipment should be coming there.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. So getting better equipment is pretty much a necessity in order to deal with stronger monsters.¡¹


    Those who come to the twelfth floor and above need to have enough money to buy good, expensive equipment, and such people would make perfect targets for Bandits. It would be easier for them to attack the novices, but since they do not have the money on them, they are not worth their time and efforts. But on the higher floors, people are going to have better items and more money, but on the flipside, they are going to be harder to defeat, so the question here is whether on not they are going to be willing to take such a risk.


    ¡¸On the twelfth floor there might still be monsters from the lower floors, so the Bandits who are not satisfied with hunting them move to the thirteenth and fourteenth floors in hopes of better Drop Items, thus making life more difficult for all the other people who also go there.¡¹


    ¡¸Can they not just make money by selling the items from monsters like we do?¡¹


    ¡¸Maybe they could, but in their eyes, attacking unsuspecting people is way easier.¡¹


    ¡¸Well, I see the harsh point here.¡¹


    That is the ugly truth, but the truth nonetheless.


    ¡¸Of course, Bandits do tend to pick their targets carefully rather than attacking anyone blindly. Their most frequent targets are the children of the aristocrats and wealthy people who enter the Labyrinths to earn experience while being surrounded by the members of their Parties who are going to do all of the heavy lifting for them.¡¹


    So they are also selective about their targets. It is an unpleasant tactic, but when you really think about it, the pirates of my old world were doing largely the same thing, not to mention the burglars of the modern day. In that regard, the mentality of Bandits and Thieves has not changed much since the medieval times.


    ¡¸So what is going to happen if we will look like a strong Party.¡¹


    ¡¸We will most definitely not get attacked by them.¡¹


    Well, that is to be expected. Thankfully though, my ¡¸Identify¡¹ is going to tell me if someone is a Bandit or not, so we will not be falling for their traps anytime soon.

 Volume 6 - CH 2.01

    Chapter 27: Bandits


    ¡ºRoxanne¡»


    ¡ºCurrent Character Levels & Equipment¡»:


    ¡ºJobs¡»:


    Beast Warrior Lv.25


    ¡ºEquipment¡»:


    Scimitar


    Leather Helmet


    Hardened Leather Jacket


    Leather Gloves


    Leather Shoes


    Sandals


    While we were at the thirteenth floor of Tare¡¯s Labyrinth, caution was the name of the game for us this time. Instead of going forward as fast as possible, this time we decided to adopt an approach that was a direct opposite of our usual one: moving forward more slowly while paying more attention to our surroundings so that we could have a bigger control over the situation in case if something unexpected ever happened, and there was also the matter of Thieves and Bandits that could supposedly be lurking in the shadows of the Labyrinths starting from the twelfth floor onwards. If I can help it, then I want to avoid being attacked by them as much as possible.


    It is not that I am afraid that we would lose to them in battle, because with our equipment and my magic, there is no way for something like that to happen. I have already fought against Bandits a few times in the past, and if at all possible, I do not wish to be facing another human being in battle, because killing monsters is one thing, but killing other people, even if they are the bad guys for whom you are not supposed to feel sorry for, is not something that I would like to engage in again if I can help it.


    ¡¸There certainly seems to be not that many people here. Still, I do not know if it is a lot of them or not, because the only comparison that we have that might come close to it is the eleventh floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth, and we have not been there that many times, so we do not know what the usual number of people there actually is.¡¹


    Roxanne continued to guide us through the Labyrinth¡¯s corridors while saying some concerningly creepy things.


    I am still worried about the possibility of us becoming a target for a Bandit attack, but if what Sherry said is true, then even if we are going to be observed by them, they should not openly attack us once they see that we are a strong Party that is going to give them more trouble than it is actually worth if they decided to attack us with the intention of robbing us of our belongings, and I am more than confident that thy should decide against that one they see Roxanne and her godly dodging abilities in action.


    But still, knowing that they might be observing us throws more than one wrench into my usual plans and battle strategies, because being potentially observed goes against my policy of not allowing other people to see me using magic, but the saving grace here is that since I have my ¡¸Identify¡¹ Spell, I will be able to recognize the Bandits even before they attack us, so being ambushed by them is not going to be that much of a problem.


    Moreover, even if the Bandits decided to attack us after all, I am pretty confident that we would be able to not only repel them, but quite possibly inflict heavy losses upon them or even slaughter them all under the extremely favorable conditions, even more so if I knew that the Bandits watching over us would be approaching, meaning that they would never have the best thing that the Bandits or other outlaws could use in order to catch their unsuspecting prey: the element of surprise.


    However, for the time being we do not have to worry about them, or at least I think we do not have to, but just to be on the safe side, I decided to refrain from using my newly-bought Rod in order to try if my spells have really become stronger or not. Also, to rub some salt into my wounds, since this thirteenth floor of Tare¡¯s Labyrinth is a home to the Lv.13 Rub Shrubs, my ¡¸Meteor Crash¡¹ would have been very helpful in dispatching them quickly without running the risk of them skewering us with their branches, but now, bcause of that whole possible Bandit mess, I cannot use is so openly, meaning that the only option of magical battle left for me is to fight the enemies on the thirteenth floor by using ordinary elemental Spells so that in best-case scenario I am simply going to be taken for an ordinary Party Mage instead of someone who is so uber OP that he can summon freaking meteors out of thin air.


    Now, usually I would not have any trouble whatsoever with fighting the enemies with just magic, but this time, or I guess I should say, in the case of this particular floor this ordeal was especially grueling and difficult, primarily because the higher the floor, the stronger the enemies are getting and the battles with them are getting more severe and require me to use more shots of magic to kill a single enemy, so I think that now you should understand why the perspective of only using regular magic on the enemies that can withstand more than six or seven shots of it before they finally drop down and die is having me more than a little worried, but unfortunately there is nothing that I can do about it for now, so I just have to grit my teeth and suck it all as we continue on forward.


    Thankfully, even though the enemies are getting stronger, that also means that they are going to be giving us a lot of EXP from defeating them, and as long as we continue to get ourselves a lot of EXP, we will continue to grow stronger, even if it is going to be bit by bit, and the battles are going to become that much easier.


    At some point, it might also be a good idea to increase the amount of my Party members again, but until that happens, we are going to have no choice but to continue to fight the way we have been until now ever since we have cleared the first eleven floors of the Labyrinths and managed to enter the twelfth floor and fight the enemies that started to appear there without much difficulty.


    One of the more important Drop Items that we got from the trip to the thirteenth floor of the Labyrinth were the Pork Ribs that dropped from the Pig Hog enemy after we killed it. Honestly, as long as I will be able to enjoy these ribs for dinner, then I do not even care what kind of a dish are we going to incorporate it into. All that I care about is the sweet and juicy taste of the pork meat that is going to be melting in my mouth like a true delicacy.


    The only thing that could possibly top these when it comes to taste would be beef meat, but unfortunately I do not know where can I procure it or what kind of monster drops it, and the price of it at a butcher¡¯s shop is simply outrageously high, so as long as I have a choice between getting them that way or from the Labyrinth, then I am more than willing to put my bet on the Labyrinth. But before we find a monster that can drop beef upon its death for sure, these Pork Ribs are going to have to make do. And while we are on the subject of making food¡­..


    For today¡¯s dinner I used the Pork Ribs that we brought back home with us. First I grilled them, then stir-fried them together with vegetables, then watered and boiled them in a soup, and then thickened the entire thing with some Slime Starch. After putting in the finishing touches that consisted of some salt, pepper and fish sauce, I am happy to report that I managed to obtain something that should be coming pretty close to a chop suey. It is not exactly it because some of the ingredients differ from what should be typically used in order to make it, but I daresay that it should be as close to the original thing as humanely possible.


    ¡¸I tried to recreate one of the dishes from my homeland with this one. I doubt I did a perfect job at it, but this is as close as it is going to get.¡¹


    I said when the food was ready and I placed it on the table in front of Roxanne and Sherry. Both of them looked at it with curiosity and anticipation.

 Volume 6 - CH 2.02

    Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist Editor: Weasalopes


    ¡¸This is delicious. As expected of master!¡¹


    ¡¸It is  a smooth and easy-to-eat dish. Definitely one of the best that master has ever made.


    It would seem that Roxanne and Sherry ended up liking this dish pretty much.


    ¡¸This is a first time ever in my life eating such a delicious dish!¡¹


    ¡¸I have heard before that there are some lands where the Slime Starch can be used in order to thicken the overall consistency of the dishes to make them even more delicious than they already were, but I never would have expected that a dish where such an extravagant technique was utilized was going to taste so good!¡¹


    Is there now? Well, good to know that this is not something unusual or unheard of before, because otherwise I might have been royally screwed by saying something that I was not supposed to say yet again, but good to know that just this once I said something that was legitimately true.


    ¡¸Heeee, really? . But I have to say it really is unbelievably delicious! What kind of dish is this, exactly?¡¹


    ¡¸A one that I have made with a lot of love and care for my treasured slaves.¡¹


    Normally such an answer would have been a little bit too cheesy even for my liking, but this time it felt appropriate to use such an argument in order to answer Roxanne¡¯s question, and since it brought a smile on both her and Sherry¡¯s faces, then I say that it was well worth it.


    On the evening of the next day, we received a message from Luke a day after placing order for the Skill Crystals. When we arrived back at home, from another day of Labyrinth exploration, we found a note left at our house¡¯s entrance.


    ¡¸Apparently Mr. Luke seemed to have made a successful bid of forty four hundred Nars for a Caterpillar Skill Crystal.¡¹


    Roxanne reads the contents of the note. So, he got us a Caterpillar Skill Crystal, even though I asked him specifically for Kobold and Goat Skill Crystals.


    ¡¸Last time, it was forty three hundred Nars. He is probably observing our reaction to an increase in price by one hundred Nars.¡¹


    Sherry still seemed to be extremely cautious of him.


    ¡¸Hmm¡­.. would her really go that far for something so simple? I do not think so.¡¹


    Sherry has a really low opinion on brokers for some unexplained reason, and she is even going as far as to have the same kind of resentment for them that she seems to have towards Elves so she might be more than a little bit biased towards him and his profession, but if it turns out that he is not going to drop the price of that Skill Crystal, then I think that I am not going to be buying it after all.


    ¡¸I think he might be doing it after all, because all Brokers use underhanded methods like that as much as possible. It is in their very nature.¡¹


    ¡¸You know what? You may have a point here.¡¹


    ¡¸Right? Of course I do! After all, it is only rational to think so.¡¹


    ¡¸Now that you say it like that, I think it might be like that too.¡¹


    If rational Sherry says that it is rational, it has to be rational. Because if it was not rational, then what in this world can actually be called rational?


    Next morning, we visited the Merchants Guild, and shortly after we have arrived, Like showed up with two Skill Crystals in tow.


    ¡¸This one right here is a Caterpillar Skill Crystal and this one is a Goat Skill Crystal which I managed to win in an auction that took place just yesterday.¡¹


    Luke places two Skill Crystals separately on the table.


    Such an action is unnecessary of him, however, for I can use ¡¸Identify¡¹, and so I see that he is telling us the truth and that the items that he is offering are not any kind of forgeries at all, and are both as genuine as they can possibly be, and all of that thanks to my handy little Bonus Skill.


    ¡¸Goat Skill Crystal huh?¡±


    ¡¸Successful bid was fifty four hundred Nars.¡¹


    Was it really fifty four hundred Nars or did he move it up to fifty four hundred Nars himself? In any case, what Sherry said earlier seems to be right. It does not look like brokers work in the best interests of their clients, but first and foremost to cater to their own interests and further their own agendas, even if it means artificially raising the price of the product that was not as expensive as the broker claims it to be.


    ¡¸That was rather.¡¹


    ¡¸There was some competition, but I managed to win it nonetheless.¡¹


    There is no guarantee that the person he competed with was not one of his partners, and that it was all just a setup meant to net the both of them the biggest possible profit.


    ¡¸We do not have immediate need for more Goat Skill Crystals. Do not buy any more of them unless the price drops to fifty two hundred Nars or below.¡¹


    ¡¸Very well, as you wish.¡¹


    This time, I make my discontent known, and if Luke is really as smart of a man as he thinks himself to be, then he will surely figure out that I am angry and exactly why I am angry. And even if he does not, I have no problem with it as long as the price will be lowered hereafter, so one Goat Skill Crystal will suffice for now.


    ¡¸How much for these two Skill Crystals?¡¹


    ¡¸Ah, yes. Let me see¡­ including advance payment of commission for next Skill Crystal, it is going to be ten thousand five hundred Nars.¡¹


    Out of ten thousand five hundred Nars, fifty four hundred Nars and forty four hundred Nars pertain to the cost of the Skill Crystals themselves. So, the commission fee is seven hundred Nars? Commission fee for two Skill Crystals should be thousand Nars¡­.. so a thirty percent discount worked, huh?


    Because the prices vary much, he seems to have used ¡¸Calculate¡¹.


    Like I thought, my discount does not seem to work on the bids made at the auctions. I made the payment with a gold coin and silver coins.


    When we return home, I give Caterpillar Skill Crystal to Sherry for fusion. Because Sacrificial Misanga is a useful accessory, I have her make it immediately.


    ¡¸I am still nervous in fusing Skill Crystals.¡¹


    ¡¸It is going to be alright. And if it fails, I will take responsibility, so do not worry about it so much.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay.¡¹


    I have already told Sherry that I can identify if a Skill Crystal can be fused with an equipment. In other words, if anyone is to be held responsible for the potential failure of the fusion, it is going to be me. That said, I cannot think of a reason for it to fail. And besides, can a fusion of a Skill Crystal with a piece of equipment with an Empty Skill Slot really fail?


    ¡¸So, which Skill does Goat Skill Crystal give?¡¹


    ¡¸If fused with a weapon or an accessory, it gives ¡¸Increased Intelligence¡¹ Skill. If fused simultaneously with a Kobold Skill Crystal, it gives ¡¸2x Intelligence¡¹ Skill.¡¹


    After successfully fusing the Green Caterpillar Skill Crystal as a matter of course, Sherry explained that to me.


    Because Kobold Skill Crystal upgrades Skills of other Skill Crystals, if fused simultaneously, it most probably doubles the effect of ¡¸Increased Intelligence¡¹Skill, not the INT stat itself. So, an increase of just thirty percent will become something like a fifty percent increase?


    ¡¸Can it also be attached to an accessory?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, it can be.¡¹


    ¡¸So, is it better to attach it to an accessory than attaching it to a weapon? That way, it will be there even if I upgrade weapon, right? Also, if I attach ¡¸2x Intelligence¡¹ Skill to both weapon and accessory, will the increase in Intelligence not grow four times instead of two?¡¹


    ¡¸Something like that is not possible.¡¹


    I was told earlier that the effects from offensive Skills cannot be stacked with one another, so it would seem that my dream is going to remain a dream still.


    ¡¸How about attaching the same Skill to the same equipment more than once?¡¹


    ¡¸I have not heard about anything in that regard.¡¹


    If attaching a second Skill results in failure, first Skill disappears as well. Therefore, attaching multiple skills is not all that common.

 Volume 6 - CH 2.03

    Considering the risk, no one would try to attach same Skill twice, but as far as I am concerned, I am not afraid of attaching multiple Skills, so maybe we should give it a try?


    If the equipment breaks, however, I will most definitely become a laughingstock, so maybe I should stop thinking like a high school girl and start looking at things more realistically? After all, there has to be a reason for why people say that this does not usually work.


    Let us get back on track then. Should I fuse Goat Skill Crystal with my Rod? Yes, let me have that.


    And for accessory, I am going to have a Sacrificial Misanga.


    I have already told Luke to get it at lower price next time, so we can buy more Skill Crystals later without any problems. That way, I am going to be able to will be able to obtain multiple Goat Skill Crystals and attach ¡¸2x INT Skill¡¹ to other weapons, or attach it to accessories if I am going to have extra Green Caterpillar Skill Crystals. But in that case, should I not wait for another Kobold Skill Crystal before having it fused with the Rod?


    ¡¸In any case, Kobold Skill Crystal will be available soon. Roxanne, you should be the one to put this Sacrificial Misanga on.¡¹


    ¡¸Umm¡­ Do I really have to? Can we not sell it for profit?¡¹


    Roxanne hesitates in receiving the Sacrificial Misanga that Sherry just made from me.


    ¡¸If we are going to have a surplus amount of it, then of course I am going to sell it, but we must also keep some of them around in order to have spares just in case if we ever ran out of them. And rather than keeping the spare one in the closet, I would feel much better knowing that you will be wearing it, Roxanne.¡¹


    That was my argument for Roxanne to take the Sacrificial Misanga, because just like I told her, I would much rather have hear wear it and make a good use of it than to simply have it sold for a momentary profit. That being said, why is she still so reluctant? Is it because she thinks that a Sacrificial Misanga is not an equipment that anyone, especially a slave like her, can put on? Is that it?


    ¡¸But I may receive an attack and break it as a result.¡¹


    I thought it would be a simple matter but she is making it much more difficult than it really has to be. Hoo boi, why is it always that Roxanne has to worry about all of the things that she does not really need to be worrying herself about?


    ¡¸Sherry, what is a typical market price for a Sacrificial Misanga? It does not cost hundreds of thousands of Nars per a single one, right?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, its price ranges between thirty thousand and forty thousand Nars per a single Sacrificial Misanga.¡¹


    ¡¸Right, so as you can see, it is not  something nearly as valuable as you, Roxanne. Now, even if it were to break while you are wearing it, can you imagine, what would have happened to you if you were not wearing it at all? What would you have done if something seriously bad were to happen t you, and more importantly, do you realize how awful I would have felt if something were to happen to you?¡¹


    Roxanne is the one who is always the most exposed to enemy attacks whenever we are going into the Labyrinths. Therefore, I feel like Sacrificial Misanga is a must have item for her, because even if she is capable of dodging the enemy attacks right now, there is always a possibility that one day we are going to be facing against an enemy who is finally going to be able to land a hit on her despite her incredible prowess at evasion, and if she is not going to have any kind of defensive measures on her when that happens, then she would have no one else but herself to blame for it.


    And at the moment when Roxanne becomes unable to fight and keep the attention of the toughest enemies exclusively on herself¡­.. that is going to be the moment when our entire Party is going to get absolutely annihilated.


    Green Caterpillar Skill Crystal costs only a little over four thousand Nars, and the price of the Sacrificial Misanga is only so high because under the normal circumstances of this world, the fusions that involve Monster Skill Crystals only tend to succeed in a ration of one to ¡­. Let me guess¡­. ten attempts at best?


    So while the Sacrificial Misanga might be more expensive than the entirety of Roxanne¡¯s current equipment combined, it is definitely not more valuable than Roxanne herself.


    ¡¸O-Okay. Thank you, master.¡¹


    I have finally convinced Roxanne to put on the Sacrificial Misanga. Honestly, she is always such a handful whenever it comes to the matters of getting her some new or expensive equipment.


    Anyway, I approached Roxanne as she sat down and put one of her legs a little bit forward so that I could put the Sacrificial Misanga on her without any difficulties.


    ¡¸I will tie it on for you. So, where do you want it? Ankle or wrist?¡¹


    I asked her again just to be sure.


    ¡¸O-On my ankle should be fine. That way, it is going to attract less attention.¡¹


    Yeah, it is exactly like she says. If I am going to put the Sacrificial Misanga onto her wrist, it definitely will be visible to onlookers. Well, it is not like they could be able to tell whether it was a Sacrificial Misanga or an ordinary Misanga, but you know what they say, right? Better safe than sorry. You never know if somebody else in this world does not possess the ¡¸Identify¡¹Skill like I do, and I would like to not find out about that the painful way.


    Then again, it is not like people who do happen o possess Sacrificial Misangas are doing anything in particular to hide that fact from the others. Case in point? The Duke of Hartz and his wife Cassia both possess Sacrificial Misangas, and they both are wearing them on their wrists as if it was the most natural thing to do in the world, so I think that we might as well take a page out of their books and do the same, but if it is Roxanne¡¯s express wish to have her own Sacrificial Misanga tied around her ankle, then all that is left for me to do is to honor her wish and do exactly like she asks of me, so I got on one knee and proceeded to tie the Sacrificial Misanga around Roxanne¡¯s slender ankle.


    If she wears it on her ankle and put the pants on, it will certainly not be visible to other people, and as an added bonus, it is going to cause those who would like to attack us through sneaky means to act that much more careless around her.


    However, that is not to say that wearing a Sacrificial Misanga on your wrist does not have any merits to it as well, and that is that you would have realized it immediately if the Sacrificial Misanga broke, whereas when you are wearing in on your ankle, it might just slip off of it without you even realizing when exactly did it happen.


    Also, now that I think about it, the example with the Duke and Cassia wearing the Sacrificial Misangas on their wrists so openly might not exactly be a good one, because I forgot about one tiny, albeit crucial detail: that in their case there is really no point in hiding the Sacrificial Misangas, because pretty much everyone is going to know the influential people or the people that hold the positions of power such as the Duke and the Duchess of an entire Duchy will be wearing Sacrificial Misangas in order to protect themselves from a potential assassination attempts, so there is really not much need for them to be hiding them anywhere on their bodies.


    On the other hand, if Roxanne wears it on her wrist, people may think that she is someone rich, which will potentially solicit even more attacks on us due to the Bandits thinking that she either has a lot of money on her person or that her equipment is worth a ton.


    ¡¸Well then, can you please roll your pants up a bit for me, Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸Ah! Y-Yes, of course!¡¹


    Roxanne takes her shoes off and rolls her pants up for a bit. Her white, delicate, naked shin is right in front of my eyes. So smooth. So slick. I so want to rub my cheeks on it and kiss it!

 Volume 6 - CH 2.04

    It is bathed in the light coming in through window, which makes it look even more enchanting. And now that I think about it, seeing the outline of her body peeking through her clothes in the light has its own unique charm, as if I was looking at something that I should not normally be seeing.


    I subconsciously extend my hand out to stroke it while looking at her face to see what her reaction to it is going to be. Is she going to be mad at me? Happy? Will she allow me to do it, or maybe she will take her leg away from me while looking at me with an expression of pure disgust on her face? N-No, I cannot think like that! It is going to be okay. It is going to be all right, because I have not done anything wrong.


    She is not stopping me, which means that I am not doing anything that she does not like or finds distasteful. Now that I know that what I am doing is nothing wrong, I can easily go all the way. I am wracking every last cell of my brain thinking of how to turn ¡¸tying the Misanga on her ankle¡¹ into¡¸going all the way¡¹with her, but unfortunately nothing really comes to my mind. Ah well, I guess there is no helping it then. I suppress my urge to stroke it, rub my cheeks on it and kiss it, and tie the Sacrificial Misanga on Roxanne¡¯s ankle like a good boy that I am.


    It is fine. I am going to have my fair share of fun with it later tonight. When it comes to these kinds of things, I am the kind of man who is fine with waiting patiently, because I know that the reward that I am going to be receiving at the end of it is going to be that much greater because of it, and now that I have set my eyes on my prey, I am going to be as persistent as I an going to need to be in order not to let that prey get out of my sights.


    ¡¸Thank you very much, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Is it not too tightly done? Because I can always loosen it up a little bit if you want.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you, but that is not going to be necessary. It is tied just right.¡¹


    Roxanne expresses her gratitude after I tie the Sacrificial Misanga for her. Let us see if you will be saying the same things later tonight when I get to have my fun with these lovely feet of yours!


    It was only a few days later when I was informed that the Kobold Skill Crystal has actually become available for purchase. The message informing us about it has been delivered to us through exactly the same means as the previous message: when we came back home from the hard day of exploring the Labyrinths, we found a door stuck onto the door of our house, and Roxanne, who could read the letters written in the Brahim language, picked the note up and scanned it with her eyes immediately after she has seen it and then proceeded to relate the note¡¯s contents to me. And by the way, I have to make a confession here: due to everything that has been happening lately, I have neglected the process of learning how to read the Brahim letters and how to write in Brahim as well, so I should really try to come back to it as soon as I get the chance. After all, I cannot rely on Roxanne and Sherry to read everything for me forever, can I not?


    ¡¸Master, this is another message from Mr. Luke. Apparently he has made a successful bid for the Kobold Skill Crystal for fifty four hundred Nars.¡¹


    ¡¸I told him that he should only go for it for the price was going to be fifty four hundred Nars or lower, and there he went for exactly fifty four hundred, huh? I am just curious how did he managed to obtain it so fast?¡¹


    ¡¸Well, is that now obvious? Everybody knows that the middlemen and brokers are a bunch of dirty sleezebags who exchange information with one another at every chance that they get, so it must have been like that this time as well. True, he managed to obtain the Kobold Skill Crystal rather fast, but probably only because he promised a part of what he is going to earn to whoever it was that collaborated with him on this, and so he must have upped the price sufficiently to suit his own needs. How despicable.¡¹


    At this point, this is pretty much that kind of a secret that everybody and their mother knows about huh? If two or more brokers know exactly how much they are going to be bidding, it will become possible for them to rig the auctions in such a way that no matter which one of them actually ends up winning the item that they have been competing for, they are both going to make a profit out of it, one way or another. Just like Sherry said, it is a dirty and unfair tactic, but it is probably also a one that is commonplace in the world of middlemen, and if that is the case for all the middlemen, and they are all utilizing that tactic and incorporated it as part of their official business model


    it will be very difficult to rebel against it, because if it turns out that only one person would try to go against the others and be faithful to the client, they would end up getting completely and utterly crushed by the rest of the competition that would just ganged up on them in order to teach them a lesson and not try to be a nail that is sticking out. Anyway, even though I was hoping that some of the customers would just the Kobold Skill Crystal for less than five thousand Nars, it looks like this is not my lucky day in that regard, but oh well, it cannot be helped I guess.


    ¡¸Now that Luke managed to make a successful bid for the Kobold Skill Crystal, I would like Sherry to fuse that Kobold Skill Crystal together with my new Rod that is also going to be infused with a Goat Skill Crystal. If everything goes well and the fusion turns out to be a successful one, then my battle strength should be improved considerably, and I think we all know that we are going to need as much firepower as we can possibly get if we want to go and venture beyond the twelfth and thirteenth floors of the Labyrinth, right?¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yes, of course! I will do my best!¡¹


    I explained why I wanted to infuse new Rod with both Kobold and Goat Skill Crystals, but even so, Sherry was still visibly nervous, probably because that is going to be her very first time fusing anything with a Kobold Skill Crystal. If she is going to fail, then it is going to be the same as if she just took those fifty four hundred Nars and flushed them down the drain, and I think that it is that knowledge and the realization of how big of a responsibility is resting upon her shoulders that were making her act up like that.


    ¡¸You do not have to worry about anything, Sherry. I am sure that you are going to do just fine. And, I am sorry for planning something like that out of the blue when I said that we were going to focus on giving your Club ¡¸Chant Interruption¡¹. I promise that we are going to take care of it as soon as you are going to be done with this fusion, so just bear with me for a little while longer, okay?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course, master. And please, do not worry yourself about it.¡¹


    ¡¸Thanks, Sherry. And while we are already on the topic getting stronger in order to break through the Labyrinth Floors above the twelfth one, there is no doubt that the enemies are only going to get stronger and stronger as time and the Labyrinth floors go, and since it is indispensable for us to keep on increasing our strength and battle potential, then I would like to obtain yet another Party member for ourselves.¡¹


    Yes, as long as we are talking about expanding our battle potential, there is no matter that would be more important than getting a new harem¡­¡­ uhm, I mean Party member for myself. Yeah, that is it, Party member for battle purposes, nothing more.

 Volume 6 - CH 2.05

    The next morning, we went and got the Kobold Skill Crystal from Luke and had it fused with my Rod by Sherry as soon as we got back home. Kobold¡¯s Skill Crystal was priced down a bit and I also told Luke to be on the lookout for more Monster Skill Crystals as I continued to place orders with him. In my opinion, fifty four hundred Nars was still a little bit expensive for the price of a single Monster Skill Crystal, but on the other hand, as long as I continue to ask Luke to make the purchases that should not go above that set price, it would still be well within acceptable limits of expenses for us.


    Sherry was about as nervous as ever when it comes to the process of fusing items together with the Skill Crystals, but nevertheless she proceeded with it as requested, psyching herself up as she held my Rod in one hand and the Goat Skill Crystal in one hand, and I was waiting for her with the newly-bought Kobold Skill Crystal on standby.


    Sherry spoke the incantation, both of her hands began to shine with a magnificent, blindingly white light, and when it finally subsided and we confirmed that the first part of the fusion was a success, I handed her the Kobold Skill Crystal so that she could infuse it into the Rod next, and when that next part was done as well¡­.


    ¡¸T-There, it is finished.¡¹


    ¡¸Oooh, amazing! As expected of Sherry!¡¹


    ¡¸Th-Thank you¡­.. very much.¡¹


    Sherry exhales a great of number of heavy breaths, but it seems to like these were the ones done out of stress rather than physical exhaustion. After all, she still seems to be uneasy about fusing Skill Crystals to the weapons and armor, and this time the stakes were much higher than usual, because there was not only my new weapon, but also two Skill Crystals at stake here, so it cannot be helped that she must have felt like she was under an immense amount of pressure, but nevertheless she once again managed to succeed with flying colors.


    There were two monster cards at stake this time, so it cannot be helped. I think, however, that the result was well worth it, because what I managed to get out of it was the following weapon:


    Rod of Offerings, Weapon


    Skills: ¨C ¡¸2x lntelligence¡¹, Empty, Empty


    My ordinary Rod has been turned into a Rod of Offerings with the use of the two Skill Crystals, and it still has two Empty Skill Slots that could be used the next time when we manage to obtain them. But that is the less important matter right now. Since I got my hands on a new and upgraded Rod, we immediately, went to Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth so that I could try it out.


    First, I asked Roxanne to find us a group of enemies to fight, and the one that she guided us to was a group consisting of two NT Ants and a Mino, so I hit them all up with ¡¸Water Storm¡¹.


    Water magic is the NT Ant¡¯s weakness, meaning that using it against them is going to do even more damage than usual, so as soon as the effects of the first Spell ended, I prepared a second one and launched it at them as soon as it was ready. They were annihilated before they could even get to us, and so I used ¡¸Fire Ball¡¹ to dispose of the remaining Mino, but just that one shot was not enough, which is no big deal, since I was about to unleash yet another one after Roxanne finished dodging its charge and the attacks with its horns.


    As expected, that second ¡¸Fire Ball¡¹was enough for the Mino to finally fall to the ground, never to stand back up from it again


    Two Water Magic Spells on the NT Ant Lv.11, plus an additional two ¡¸Fire Balls¡¹


    on the Mino, which makes four Spells in total to bring down three enemies in a relatively short time. Before I got myself this Rod of Offering, just killing a single Mino would require five Spells, while right now it took only four if we count in the damage done to it by the AoE from the two ¡¸Water Storms¡¹that obliterated the NT Ants.


    The Rod of Offering has definitely increased the amount of damage that I am doing to the enemies, but there is one very important thing that I absolutely have to keep in mind as we continue to move forward across the eleventh floor: even if my Rod of Offering has a ¡¸2x Intelligence¡¹Skill added to it now, it means just that, that my INT stat essentially got doubled, and doubled INT stat does not automatically equall double damage, and it does not mean that the time required to do battles has been cut exactly in half.


    But it definitely got shortened, which is a great improvement in and out of itself, since that is going to mean that every time when I am going to be using magic to fight the monsters instead of Durandal, our battles against them are going to be that much shorter, which is always a welcomed improvement. With this, even if the amount of monsters that we would have to fight on the twelfth floor doubles from four to eight, what I currently have should still be pretty much enough to get rid of the monsters relatively quickly.


    Right now, we no longer have any problems battling the monsters on the eleventh floor so our hunts and battles are ending almost as fast as they are starting, and because we are making pretty much a short work of everything that we are coming across, we managed to arrive at the eleventh floor¡¯s Boss Room relatively quickly. When I opened the door, there was just another empty room with a door at the other side of it. This is the Waiting Room before the Floor Boss, a room where all of the other Adventurers have to wait for their turn if it just so happens that there is already another Party taking on the Floor Boss.


    ¡¸Should we try to go to the twelfth floor today?¡¹


    I asked the girls if they wanted to try challenging the Floor Boss and move onwards to the next floor, and once I got their approval, I brandished Durandal and we proceeded to enter the Boss Room right away, since there was no one else around.


    Since Mino¡¯s were the enemy native to Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth¡¯s eleventh floor, it means that the Floor Boss that we are going to be facing is going to be Hachinosu. It looked big end tough since it was even more beefed up version of the regular Mino, which was already like a moving mass of muscles, a factor that this Floor Boss seemed to be cranking up to eleven, but despite its size and undeniable mass, it was ultimately no match for my Durandal, which I used to slash at it and poke it full of holes.


    It tried to use its Skills on more than one occasion, but with my speed and maneuverability, I was able to move fast enough to ensure that each and every one of its attempts at casting a Skill was going to end up in vain thanks to Durandal¡¯s ¡¸Chant Interruption¡¹Skill, thanks to which it ended up falling onto the ground and dying rather quickly, because like with the most Floor Bosses that we have been facing before, all we had to do in order to achieve victory was to place Roxanne in the front of it so that she would evade all of its attacks while simultaneously focusing all of its aggro on herself while Sherry and I went for its sides and just hacked away until it was dead.


    After the Floor Boss battle was over, we went forward and set foot in Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth¡¯s twelfth floor.


    ¡¸The monsters of the twelfth floor are the Grass Bees. They have the ability to fly and shoot their stingers from a distance. We have to be especially careful of that ranged attack, because if it manages to hit us we might ger poisoned.¡¹


    Another enemy that is using poison attacks from a distance? Seriously?


    ¡¸As expected, the monsters on the twelfth floor sure are strong.¡¹


    ¡¸Thankfully it does not have resistances to any type of magic, and it is especially weak to Wind Magic. And that fact is pretty well worth remembering, master, because that particular weakness is not Grass Bees¡¯ alone. In fact, pretty much any monster that is capable of flight seems to be naturally weak to Wind Magic.¡¹


    Flying enemies are weak against Wind Magic? Okay, duly noted.

 Volume 6 - CH 2.06

    After the explanation from Sherry, Roxanne leads us to a place where a Grass Bee was located so that we could get a hang of how to fight it. Just like its name was suggesting, it was a giant bee that was flying in the middle of the corridor. All in all, it looked pretty much like a winged version of an NT Ant with a different color scheme, because its body was mostly black while its legs were yellow.


    Since we were still a fair distance away from it, I used ¡¸Breeze Storm¡¹on it from a distance. If I used a single target magic from this distance it would have definitely been avoided, because if there is one thing that I know small flying monsters such as this one, it is that they are incredibly agile and it would have definitely dodged my attack if all that I would have tried to hit it with was a simple ¡¸Breeze Ball¡¹.


    Perhaps I would have been able to hit it if I could get just a little bit closer to it, but it is my first time facing this type of monster,  so I want to attack as early as possible in order to inflict as much damage to it as I possibly can without giving it any opportunities for a counterattack.


    When the ¡¸Breeze storm¡¹ hit it, the Grass Bee was tossed around, up, down, left and right very intensely, almost as if it has been caught inside of a violent torrent of air that denied it any freedom of movement that it might have possibly had. It looks like that attack was indeed very effective against it.


    If it was a human, they would have surely gotten an intense concussion by now due to all the shaking that their brains would have been subjected to, but it might not have such an effect against the Grass Bee due to how differently their heads and that which is inside of them are shaped in comparison to humans.


    The second shot this time is the ¡¸Breeze Ball¡¹, just to see how is it going to hit it, and the third one followed right after the second one. All, this time, the Grass Bee did not use any of its ranged attacks as it was being approached, and when it finally began moving on its own, it was doing so while emitting a strange, low buzzing sound. Was it trying to intimidate us in such a way? Or perhaps that was just a normal sound that it made while it was moving around?


    Roxanne takes the lead, and dodges a sword like dash from the Grass Bee, while Sherry uses that opportunity to thrust her spear at it from the distance. Because of Roxanne¡¯s distraction, I also get a pretty good, chance to use another ¡¸Breeze Ball¡¹.


    It hits the Grass Bee directly, and when it does, its buzzing stops and the bee crashes into the ground with its twig-like yellow legs all curled up after thrashing about for a bit where it turns into a puff of green smoke and disappears. So, it took up to four spells to bring it down, huh?


    It is exactly the same amount as with the monsters from the eleventh floor. Monsters on the twelfth floor are twice as strong as monsters on the lower floors, but since Wind Magic is Grass Bee¡¯s weakness, it was twice as effective against it in comparison to other types of magic which enabled us to achieve a quick and decisive victory, which means that as long as we keep on encountering Grass Bees all that I have to do is to spam Wind Magic against it, and if NT Ants appear, I will just have to switch to Water Magic and defeat them in the exact same number of Spells since Water Magic is NT Ants¡¯ weakness.


    All things considered, it look like right now we are going to be able to hold our own against the monsters dwelling on the twelfth floor of the Labyrinths. Now that the Grass Bee was gone, the only thing that was left after its demise was the Drop Item that it left behind, which was a Beeswax.


    ¡¸A Beeswax, huh? What is it used for, exactly? Can you make candles from it?¡¹


    ¡¸If you sell it to the Guild, craftsmen will turn it into candles, yes. It is not a very precious material, so the Guild is the only place that really buys it, and even then, the money that you can get from it is not really that much.¡¹


    Sherry tells us about Beeswax. There does not seem to be a Skill that would allow you to make candles from Beeswax, and yet they can still make them despite that, which means that they have to be preparing it from scratch, making them entirely by hand.


    ¡¸It is  also useful for maintenance on the equipment made from Leather. If you do not mind, can I use some of it, master?¡¹


    ¡¸Sure, go right ahead.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you very much.¡¹


    So she intends to use the Beeswax as a simple wax to keep our Leather and Hardened Leather equipment from getting out of shape? If so, then yes, giving the beeswax to Roxanne is going to be the best possible decision that could have been done here.


    I put it in my Item Box for now, but soon I am going to have to do a bit of a spring cleaning in there, because I am pretty sure that I am slowly running out of storage space in there.


    Now that I know we can fight here, that will do for today, at least when it comes to Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth.


    ¡¸Okay, now that our business here has been concluded, how about we go back home for today? Unless of course you want to go to the thirteenth floor of Tare¡¯s Labyrinth and spend the rest of the day over there?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, we should most definitely go there.¡¹


    ¡¸Since we are going to go to Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth early in the morning tomorrow anyway, then I see why we should not be going to Tare¡¯s Labyrinth now.¡¹


    My original intention was to really go back home and call it a day for today, but both Sherry and Roxanne opposed that idea, expressing their desire to go to the thirteenth floor of Tare¡¯s Labyrinth instead. I could understand why Roxanne would be all eager to do it, but to be honest, Sherry¡¯s desire to go has caught me pretty much off guard, because I thought that she was going to be in favor of doing some other things in the morning, like continuing to deliver the mirrors to the Duke¡¯s place, but this time she is apparently raring to go to the Labyrinth both right now and tomorrow morning, so I guess that is that then.


    ¡¸All right then. Just like you wanted, we are going to go to the thirteenth floor of Tare¡¯s Labyrinth where I am going to test out how my new Rod is doing against the monsters of the thirteenth floor. Is that acceptable?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, absolutely.¡¹


    ¡¸I am fine with that as well.¡¹


    And so, we warped to Tare¡¯s Labyrinth¡¯s thirteenth floor. We arrived at the small room that served as the starting area of the entire floor, because the last time when we were here we did nt have enough time to perform a thorough exploration of this floor, thanks to which we have yet to locate the thirteenth floor¡¯s Boss Room and the Waiting Room in front of it that could serve as our anchor point. But now that we have arrived at the starting room, Roxanne proceeded to walk forward like always, but this time, there was something rather strange about her behavior, because the farther we went, the more cautious and silent her steps were becoming, almost as if she was alarmed by something¡­.. or perhaps someone. As we continued to go forward, I went to the front to where Roxanne was and asked her in a quiet voice:


    ¡¸What is wrong, Roxanne? You have been unusually cautious for a while now. Did something happened?¡¹


    ¡¸Ah, I am sorry to have worried you, master, but I think¡­. I think there is someone following behind us even as we speak.¡¹


    Roxanne whispered back to me without even turning her head backwards for even a millimeter, staying absolutely focused on looking at what was right in front of her, probably to deceive whoever it was that was following us in order to let them think that we have not caught wind of them just yet.


    ¡¸Someone is¡­.. following behind us?¡¹


    I replied to her short report with an even more hushed voice.

 Volume 6 - CH 2.07

    ¡¸Yes, someone is most definitely tailing us. We should not have come here at this time of the day. If I knew that something like that was going to happen, I would have opted for master¡¯s proposal to go back home for the day and come here tomorrow morning, when the probability of something like that happening would have been much smaller.¡¹


    ¡¸Maybe it is not what you think it is? Maybe they are just random people who are following in the same direction as us?¡¹


    I knew that this sounded like a huge stretch, but it is not like something like that could not have happened at all. This is the Labyrinth after all, a place where there is likely only one path that leads to the Boss Room on the entire floor, so it would stand to reason that the people who wanted to reach the Boss Room and challenge the floor Boss would bump into other Parties on their way there from time to time.


    ¡¸Initially I thought that this might be the case as well, but now I am certain that it is definitely not it, because whoever these people are, they have been following us for a long time ever since we left the starting room. I can tell because I have been sensing the same kind of smell dragging itself behind us. A foul smell, I might add.¡¹


    Yeah, if Roxanne is going to put it like that, then I guess it cannot be just an ordonary coincidence, huh?


    ¡¸Any idea who these guys might be, Sherry?¡¹


    I asked, but the answer to that question was already formulating itself in my mind without the need for Roxanne or Sherry to be saying anything, but at the very least I want to know what they think about it as well to see if my own guess was correct or not.


    ¡¸If they were watching us ever since we left the starting room without revealing their identities and always staying on our backs, then I would say that we are definitely dealing with Bandits or Thieves here.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I think so too as well. If they were regular Adventurers or Explorers whose goal is to find the entrance to the Boss Room, they had more than one occasion to go past us and continue marching on ahead, but since they did not do that, then there can only be one answer. They are staying behind us on purpose, an that is only something that a fould bunch of outlaws would do.¡¹


    Seri seems to agree with Roxanne¡¯s suggestion that apparently we have a group of Thieves or Bandits on our hands, or I guess I should say backs.


    Thieves or Bandits, huh? Hoo boi, I say to myself as I take a deep breath. Depending on what happens next, we might have a good time, bad time or a colossally bad time, and if I am to be completely honest with you, then I am not looking forward to finding out which of these is it going to be.


    ¡¸Well, if we are really dealing with Thieves or Bandits here, then I really doubt if it would have changed anything if we came here in the morning, in the middle of the day or in the evening. Anyway, they seem to be more active when there are fewer people around in the Labyrinths so that they can avoid being detected. So maybe if we walk around enough to come across some other Party, we could force them to drop the idea of attacking us?¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm¡­. Unfortunately, it looks like there are no other Parties nearby, or at least I cannot sense any other smells aside from the ones that are following us.¡¹


    Well, shit. Great job Roxanne, you just went and ruined the possibility of a peaceful resolution. I know that it is not really your fault and there is nothing that we can really do about it if there are no other people in our immediate vicinity, but still¡­ you could have just let me think that we could still get this thing resolved without it turning ugly. Now I just have to go and prepare myself for the worst, it would seem.


    ¡¸All right then what are we going to do about them?¡¹


    ¡¸If we turn left at the nearest crossroads, they we could use the monsters that are there as a distraction and finish those Bandits off while they are going to be busy fighting the monsters. If there were any other people, then I would have prepared not to fight them openly because there is always a possibility that one or two of them might escape and then the fact that master is capable of using magic might get exposed, but if they are really Bandits, then the solution here is simple: we are going to get rid of every last one of them so that there would be no one left to tell the tale.¡¹


    ¡¸In other words, no one would be able to hold what we are going to do against us, because we are simply going to take out the trash?¡¹


    ¡¸Precisely.¡¹


    Both of the girls seem to be really aggressive about the notion of beating the Bandits that are following us into a bloody pulp, or possibly even putting them six feet under themselves. And since even Sherry seems to be on board with such a radical solution, then I guess this is probably how things are unfolding whenever Thieves and Bandits are involved, and since they are outlaws, then I guess nobody is going to miss them or even bat an eye if just another group of lawless scum like them were to just up and disappear never to be heard from again.


    ¡¸They might not be the Bandits, you know? They might be¡­¡¹


    ¡¸With all due respect master, but Miss Roxanne is right. If these people were Adventurers or Explorers, they would have gone past us a long time ago. As things are standing right now, we have pretty much absolute certainty that they are Bandits, and we have every right, and even duty, to protect ourselves from them.¡¹


    Sherry has cut into what I was saying before I even got the chance to finish my sentence. She is the most intellectual and reasonable member of our group, but was it really reasonable and rational to be looking at this matter the way she was looking at it now? Well, I am going to put my trust in her and Roxanne on this one, but since I am the one who is ultimately going to make the final call, then I will allow myself to slightly alter our plan of attack here.


    ¡¸All right, here is what we are going to do then: we are going to turn right at the crossroads. If they are still going to be following us, we are going to turn right back up and face them head, hitting them as hard as we can before they will be able to realize what is happening. Or instead of all three of us attacking them first and doing that head on, we might hide in the shadows and attack them from the sides while one of us is going to be at the front, acting as a decoy to draw attention away from the other two at the sides.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood!¡¹


    ¡¸Got it, master!¡¹


    There was no dissenting opinions, and all three of us agreed on that particular course of action pretty easily. But the only question that remains now is: are we ready to do this? Because, if I am to be completely honest, I still had my fair share of reservations about this, but you know how it is: a man¡¯s gotta do what a man¡¯s gotta do when it counts the most, right?


    And so I brandished Durandal. With how powerful my trusty Holy Sword is, once I hit the opponents with it they are definitely going to get scared and confused about why they are all getting decimated with just a hit or two, and it is going to be a huge aid for us in this upcoming battle. I then took a couple of deep breaths, but surprisingly enough, I noticed that I was not as nervous as I supposed that I was going to get. In fact, I was feeling strangely calm about this whole thing that we were about to do.


    It is going to be okay, Michio, everything is going to be fine. You have already decided that you are going to do this thing, and Roxanne and Sherry are on board with it as well, so the time for hesitation is long since past. You just have to grit your teeth and do this thing now!

 Volume 6 - CH 2.08

    Besides, there is nothing for you to feel nervous or anxious about. There are the Bandits, the bad guys that want to steal all of your valuables and quite possibly kill you and take Roxanne and Sherry away from you, and that is a transgression that I will never allow to go unpunished. If that is how they want to play it, then so be it. They want to take all that is valuable to me away from me, then I am going to take their lives away from them., since that is the most reasonable thing to do in this situation. I mean, if these guys want take my most valuable possessions from me, they should be prepared that someone might be out to do the very same thing to them, so once we are done with them, there should be no hard feelings between us.


    Now I am fairly sure that I am going to be able to do what has to be done no matter the circumstances, but if there is one thing that I am still worried about, it is Roxanne and Sherry¡¯s involvement in all of this. Now, they are both strong, without the shadow of a doubt, but even if this world is the one in which everyone has to be ready to eventually get their hands dirty in order to do what has to be done, I do not want them to get their hands dirty with the blood of such scum as these random Bandits that are following us.


    If at all possible, I should be the one to defeat all of these guys alone so that Roxanne and Sherry would not need to get themselves involved, and in order to achieve that lofty goal, I am going to have to rely on Durandal¡¯s help. It has not failed me ever since the first time that I have gotten my hands on it, and it will definitely not do so right now.


    All right, almost at the intersection, so it is about time to get this show on the road. I turned right and walked down the right corridor, the one where Roxanne did not detect any monsters or people, and walked down its isle for a short while


    ¡¸Are they still coming after us?¡¹


    I asked Roxanne to check if we were still being followed as discreetly as possible, so she took a few quick whiffs with her sensible nose and then reported:


    ¡¸Yes, they have not given up and they and they are still following us while maintaining a safe distance away from us.¡¹


    ¡¸All right then, I think it is high time to give them a surprise that they are not going to forget very soon. You ready to do this, Roxanne, Sherry?


    ¡¸Ready as I can be.¡¹


    ¡¸Definitely ready.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay, so we will be turning around in three¡­. Two¡­.. one¡­.. now!¡¹


    On the mark that I gave them without any prior warnings, we turned around and saw that in total, there was four people who were tailing us: three Bandits and one Explorer, appearing on the other side of the cave. The person with the highest level there was a Bandit Lv.40, while the other two Bandits were such a weak scrubs that their levels were barely above Lv.10, while the Explorer was even better than them, having his own Level at Lv.25. ¡¸Luckily¡¹for them, none of the four had a single digit level or just Lv.10, but that just begs a question in my mind: if we assume that these above Lv.10 Bandits and Lv.25 Explorer are the norm when it comes to levels and acquiring them, then what did that one other Bandit had to do that he was already Lv.40, which is the equivalent of a mid game player in a typical RPG game. Not to mention that this Guy¡¯s level, Lv.40, is actually higher than the level of all the Jobs that I currently possess. Normally this would have meant that I am inferior to that guy, but we have to remember that unlike him, who only had that one Bandit Job at Lv.40, I have multiple Jobs available to me.


    So what if he has one Job that has higher level than all of mine?! If he has only one Job, then he also has bonuses o the stats and Skills from just this one Job, whereas I have six of my Jobs with their stat bonuses and Skills, so while I may not beat this guy with the quality of my Jobs, I sure have him beaten when it comes to quantity of them, and when we couple that up with the fact that I definitely have a much better weapon than this guy, then I am fairly certain that I am going go be able to beat him up in a fight.


    ¡¸Hey, hey, hey! What the fuck is this now?! I though you said that these lil¡¯ shits have no idea that we are following them and that the job was going to be quick and easy, so why the fuck this they notice us and came back from where they were going?!¡¹


    ¡¸Because I was certain that was going to be the case, so fuck off!¡¹


    ¡¸Oi! Stop yapping that traps of yours and take up your fucking arms already! Get in line, on the double, you dimwits!¡¹


    ¡¸¡¸¡¸Y-Yes sir!¡¹¡¹¡¹


    Four people get ready for battle after receiving order that the Bandit Lv.40 barked at them.  The formation that they have assumed is such that the Bandit Lv.40 was at the backline, and the other two Bandits and an Explorer were lined up in front of him in a kind of a protective human wall. I guess that is all the evidence that I need to know that that this guy must be their leader, which should be the perfectly logical conclusion here since there is no way that the Bandits with low levels would be able to command the kind of authority and respect high enough for them to ensure that the guy that was almost twice their level would listen to them.


    ¡¸You know the drill boys! Kill the guy, but whatever you do, do not kill these fine lassies! I am sure that we are going to be able to sell them for a really good price¡­. after we are going to have our fun with them of course, muahahahaha!!!!¡¹


    ¡¸Hell yeah! I am so looking forward to this! Dibs on the one with huge knockers!¡¹


    ¡¸Forget it! I saw her first, so get in line!¡¹


    ¡¸Get in line yourself, moron! You can have that little runt instead, she is going to be a much better fit for your tiny¡­..¡¹


    That unpleasant conversation of theirs was making me feel sick in my stomach, but I cannot allow their words to provoke me into losing my cool. They are only talking like that because they think that we are going to be an easy target that is not going to put up any kind of fight at all, but if that is what they are thinking, then they are in for the rudest awakening of their lives. Go on, think that you are in a much better position than us because your boss is Lv.40, but in a moment, it is not going to be any good for you.


    That being said, if the leader of these guys managed to attain Lv.40, then it probably means that he is experienced at going to the Labyrinths and killing the monsters inside of it¡­. Or that he killed so many people. Either way, he is the one that we are going to have to be extremely cautious of, but the other three should be much easier to defeat.


    ¡¸Oh, guys, wait, how about I try a little bit of something first? Hey kid! If you have any money in your Item Box, then take it out and give it all to us! If you do then maybe, just maybe we are going to let you live! But only if you beg us nicely enough!¡¹


    The Explorer from the Bandit group says something outrageous, but I simply ignored what he was saying, using the time that his little diharrea of the mouth gave me to select a particular Bonus Spell that I was going to use to make an example out of this guy, just to show the other three Bandits that we are not to be fucked with.


    Oh, you want to know which Bonus Spell I have selected? All right, I will tell you. The Bonus Spell that I have chosen¡­. is ¡¸Equivalent Exchange¡¹.


    That is right, ¡¸Equivalent Exchange¡¹. So I think that you all know what is going to happen to that Explorer guy real soon, right?

 Volume 6 - CH 2.09

    I know that I should probably use this against their leader in order to get rid of the most dangerous one of the entire bunch, but hear me out on this, okay? Normally I would have done that, but since that guy has Lv.40, I do not know how much total HP he has, and the last thing that I want to do is to use it against someone who is going to turn out to have mor of it than me. As you probably remember, it was already difficult for me to properly use ¡¸Equivalent Exchange¡¹back when I used it against that Bandit Lv.3 that was a part of the raid group that invaded Alan-san¡¯s Slave Shop, even though I definitely had a higher level than that guy.


    But this time, the scenario is a direct opposite of the one that has happened on that night when Alan-san hired me as a bodyguard for his shop. This time I am the one who has a lower level, while the leader of the Bandits has a higher one. I know that I said that since I have multiple Jobs equipped instead of a single one then I should be able to take that guy on in a fight, but when I was saying that I meant it as just the combat scenario.


    As long as actual HP is concerned, I have absolutely no way of knowing which one of us has more HP, so if I tried to use ¡¸Equivalent Exchange¡¹on him, I would have no way of knowing whether or not things would not have ended up badly for me instead. With the Bandit Leader, there are simply too many unknown factors to keep in mind.


    For example: the Bandit Leader may have a lot of HP just because his level as a Bandit is so high, but on the other hand, it may also be that he simply has a lot of HP in and out of himself, not because he possesses the Bandit Job. Now, ¡¸Equivalent Exchange¡¹works in such a way that it exchanges my total MP pool with the specified opponent¡¯s HP and then reduces it by the same amount, and if the opponent has any HP left over, it then drains the HP of both the Spell¡¯s caster and his target until the HP of one of the two reaches zero, or at least that is how it is supposed to be based on my observation from the times when I actually used that Spell.


    So if it turns out that the HP of the Lv.40 Bandit Leader is actually bigger than mine, then even after I use ¡¸Equivalent Exchange¡¹and it is going to do all of its shenanigans with the swapping of HP and draining MP, I am still going to be the one who is going to have less HP than the Bandit Leader, which means¡­..


    ¡­¡­ Which mean that I am the one who is going to die first when I use that Spell, and that is a risk that I absolutely cannot allow myself to take.


    However, that would have only been the case if I was adamant about using ¡¸Equivalent Exchange¡¹on the Bandit Leader Lv.40. On the other hand, since the level of that Explorer is Lv.25, then that means that his level is most definitely lower than mine, so there should technically be no problems with him as with the Bandit Leader Lv.40.


    Now, My MP is full ever since I restored it in Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth. Well, it might not be fully restored because I still had to use some of it in order to transport the three of us from Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth to Tare¡¯s Labyrinth, but such an amount should not be fatal to me right now, so I should not hesitate one bit when dealing with this Explorer and the other two low-levelled Bandits. That is right, that Explorer might not be a Bandit as long as my ¡¸Identify¡¹is concerned, but as long as he is pointing his sword at us along with the three Bandits, he is essentially no better than them in my eyes, and deserved to be disposed of just the same.


    And so, I activated ¡¸Equivalent Exchange¡¹without any reservations¡­.. and at the next moment, the Explorer exploded. Or no, maybe not exploded. Saying that he exploded is a poor choice of words, because it would be more appropriate to say that he¡­ disappeared. Yes, disappeared without a trace, in such a way that the place where he was standing just now has become completely empty. He was gone without ever making a single sound, so if someone was looking at the place where we are in right now the entire time, they might have said that he was actually never here to begin with. It was that kind of phenomenon.


    My MP has not decreased as much as I was expecting either. I would say that it has dropped to about half of its total value, so naturally, since my MP did not drop down to the red zone, I did not have to go through the bitter depression associated with losing to much MP this time, for which I am extremely thankful. Since I am not going to be depressed, it means that I am going to be able to fight the remaining Bandits at my full strength, without going all batshit about their each and every move.


    I feel fine, I can fight!


    To that end, was that ¡¸Equivalent Exchange¡¹Spell really that equivalent? The Explorer¡¯s HP and my MP may have been exchanged equally, but he still ended up disappearing almost instantly, so that must mean that I had much more MP than he did, and that is why I was still left with over half of it left even though the Spell activated itself and worked properly.


    Is it because the level of that Explorer was that much lower from mine? Or maybe it was because that Explorer had much less total HP than I have right now? Or maybe my MP has increased so much because I have the Job of a Mage? After all, I managed to obtain the Job of a Mage only after I used ¡¸Equivalent Exchange¡¹for the very first time, and before I used that Spell, there was no other way for me to obtain the Job of a Mage, since I gained the ability to use all those different types of Basic Magic only after I unlocked the Mage Job after casting ¡¸Equivalent Exchange¡¹which trained me from almost all of my MP reserves for the very first time since I have arrived in this world.


    Maybe one of the things that the game is not telling me about the Mage Job is that it gives the player significantly increased MP pool upon equipping it in order to compensate for the fact that the Spells cost a significant amount of MP to be cast, especially when you are a low-levelled player who just unlocked the Mage Job and would normally not have enough MP to cast anything on their own? Is that how it has always been with it? Am I at fault here for being too incompetent to even realize something so basic, so elementary?


    Anyway, going back to what was currently happening between us and the Bandits that attacked us, the remaining three were pretty much stunned speechless by the sudden disappearance of their fourth companion, and I mean that in a very much literal sense.


    That which has happened to him was so sudden and so abrupt that they could only watch at the end result completely slack-jawed and at a loss for words. Well, in their defense, if I were the same as them and lost one of my companions in such a mysterious, inexplicable way, I would have probably reacted in the same manner that they did.


    But since I already knew what was going to happen to the guy who was going to suffer through being the target for ¡¸Equivalent Exchange¡¹, it means that I have the element of surprise on my side, and you can be damn sure that I am going to use it to the fullest. Now that the bandits are still stunned by what they were witnessing, they are no different than the training dummies or sitting ducks, so I am going to have to exploit that particular condition of theirs in order to whittle down their effective fighting force.


    You damn Bandits. If you were any other people, I would have probably allowed you to get away from this with your lives, but now that you are oh so pitifully stuck in one place and unable to move even a single muscle because your tiny little heads and crippled minds cannot comprehend what just happened here, you are just going to die because of it.

 Volume 6 - CH 2.10

    But it is your fault for acting like such an idiots. This is a Labyrinth, a place where people might die at every corner if they are not careful enough, so is should have been obvious that you or your comrades in crime might as well die while delving into them, be it at the hands of the Labyrinth¡¯s native inhabitants, the monsters, or at the hands of a Party that you have considered to be weak and incapable of holding their own to such a degree that you have designated them as targets for robbing without running any further checks or investigations. But now, serves you right, you made a mistake and you are going to die because of it. Idiots! Shitheads! Worthless dimwits!


    No, I should not be getting so toxic and calling them names like that. Maybe my MP did decrease considerably, enough for me to start having these negative thoughts again? Either that, or I am on the precipice of stumbling into that awful depression again, but it is not too late for me to actually do something about it.


    All that I have to do in order to immediately make myself feel better¡­. Is to slay these guys with Durandal, so I stepped forward and shook it in the direction of the first of the two low-levelled Bandits. My swing decapitated him and send his head flying cleanly into the air as he was still standing still, too stunned to do anything after witnessing his companion disappear in such a brutal fashion that did not even allow him any space to defend himself.


    Okay, on to the second chump who is about to go meet his maker.


    The second Bandit was a little bit better than the first one, because he actually collected himself enough to move around when the initial shock of losing two of his comrades in rapid succession has finally subsided, and he was even smart enough to attempt to block my initial attack with Durandal with his own sword, but as soon as the blades of our weapons collided with one another, his weapon got snapped in half as if it was nothing but a dried-up twig instead of an actual weapon.


    He gets some points for actually trying to do something to save his own life, but ultimately it did not have any kind of meaning, because the chump is going to die now either way after managing to prolong the rest of his life for a few seconds at best. I mean, what did he expect, that some cheap-ass looking sword is going to be enough to save him in battle against the might and wrath of the Holy Sword Durandal?


    Yeah, exactly, he did not stand a chance for even a second there. As expected of my Durandal, this just proves once again how powerful of a weapon it actually is, breaking the weapons of other people on contact as if it was not a big deal.


    The last one to regain his composure was the boss of this little Bandit group, Bandit Leader Lv.40. He shook his head strongly to the sides and drew his own sword in a hurry. He was initially looking confused, but now he was looking sharp and alerted. I have to admit that this is a slight fuckup on my part. If only I was a little bit faster, then maybe he would not have the time that he needed to recover, but now he had the time he needed to do so, which may mean that we are going to be in for a much tougher battle than we could have otherwise had.


    Maybe I should have aimed for this guy with ¡¸Equivalent Exchange¡¹after all, even with all of the risks of doing so still potentially being there? Well, it cannot be helped right now, so there is no use thinking about what could have been and wasting my time on pointless theories that may or may not have been proven to be real. Since I still do not know how does ¡¸Equivalent Exchange¡¹work exactly, going after the Explorer Lv.25 instead of the Bandit Leader Lv.40 was the best, safest course of action for me.


    With the Explorer guy, I was fairly certain that I was going to destroy him with ¡¸Equivalent Exchange¡¹thanks to the overwhelming difference in the levels of his Explorer Job and all of my set Jobs and the fact that apparently having a Mage Job equipped has drastically increased my overall amount of MP.


    Then again, if I went for that guy instead of the other three, there is a very high possibility that I would have either killed myself in the worst case scenario, and drained myself out of almost all if not outright all of my MP without any immediate way of restoring it quickly enough, but now that I have cleared all three members of the vanguard with only the main guy being left, it was objectively a better thing to do, because at the very least that allowed me to kill the Explorer Lv.25 pretty much in an instant while the slaying of the other two worked towards restoring the MP that I have lost when casting ¡¸Equivalent Exchange¡¹, so yeah, in hindsight, that was a much better course of action than the possible alternative, or so I have judged while keeping a cool head and remaining as cool and composed as possible.


    So now, with my MP recovered to a sufficient degree, I should have more than enough measures up my sleeve to manage fighting the Bandit Leader Lv.40. He might be of higher level than me, but as long as I stay composed and shower him with a barrage of strikes from Durandal, I should be able to win this battle without getting myself damaged at all.


    Fully recovering from his state of bewilderment at seeing his cronies disposed off like they were nothing more than the pebbles at the side of the road, the Bandit Leader Lv.40 has assumed his battle stance and brought his sword down towards us.


    Although his swings definitely packed quite a lot of punch behind them, they were still relatively slow and easy to avoid, just like the entirety of his movements. I though that he was going to turn out to be one of those encounters where even though the enemy is big and you would think that he should be slow and easy work around he was actually going to be deceptively fast, thus creating quite a difficult combo to overcome, so I am glad that this does not seem to be the case with him here. Like I said, each of his attacks must be packing enough of a wallop behind it to actually cleave a man in half or inflict pretty grevious wounds, but they are all pretty telegraphed, so I can see where they are coming from without any issues, so the rest should just be about me reacting fast enough to jump out of harm¡¯s way whenever he is going to come swinging at me, and even though I am not an expert dodger like Roxanne is, I should still be more than capable of pulling something like that off.


    But then¡­. Something has suddenly occurred to me. Why am I even worrying about whether this guy is going to be attacking faster than me or not, when I have access to ¡¸Overwhelming¡¹since I am using Durandal? Have I really just went and forgot about something so obvious? I really did, which must mean that the loss of MP from that one ¡¸Equivalent Exchange¡¹must have affected me more than I initially though. Damn, talk about annoying! But since I have ¡¸Overwhelming¡¹, I can just employ the same strategy as I did with the Rapid Rabbit on the seventh floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth: wait until he goes in for an attack and then activate ¡¸Overwhelming¡¹for his movements to practically grind into a halt so that I could go in and counterattack with my own flurry of attacks that would slice him up into ribbons and chunks of meat before he could even realize what has happened to him.


    When the next attack of the Bandit Leader Lv.40 came my way, instead of dodging it, I have took it head on and blocked it with Durandal. Bandit Leader then pushed onto his sword with the weight of his entire body placed behind it in an attempt to push me back and break my posture which would leave me completely opened for an attack, but I managed to withstand it and started pushing against him on my own, however, it did not look like any of us was going to get the upper hand in this peculiar tug-of-war. Could it be that our power and STR stat are about equal?

 Volume 6 - CH 2.11

    Until now, the Bandit leader had both of his feet planted firmly in the ground so that he would not get pushed back by me, but then the force of his push suddenly got weaker as his feet began to move again when he tried to use his feet in order to knock me down to the ground, so I also stopped pushing and delivered a quick slash aimed at his right foot which was the closest to me, but as soon as he saw that I was aiming Durandal at his feet, he made a quick backstep to increase the distance between us as much as he needed to stay out of my blade¡¯s reach. Damn it, talk about a troublesome opponent! Who would have thought that someone as simplistic as a lowly Bandit Leader was going to prove to be such a pain in the ass who not only used the power of his muscles and his bug weapon, but also a swift legwork as well?!


    Will I really be able to win against an opponent like that? Well, of course I will win against him, but the question is: how? Because as things are standing right now, I think I will have no other way but to really go and bust out ¡¸Overwhelming¡¹¡­. But as I was about to activate it, I noticed that the Bandit Leader¡¯s line of sight has been drawn slightly to the right, and when I glanced there myself, I saw that it was actually because Roxanne has begun moving behind my back. If I had not known her as good I am have, I would have probably freaked out the moment when I sensed her presence behind me, because I would have surely mistake her for yet another Bandit that has suddenly joined the fray.


    Yes, I almost forgot about that. I am not alone in this battle. I have Roxanne and Sherry here with me, so I am not fighting against this Bandit Leader one on one, but this encounter is actually a three versus one.


    ¡¸Ei!!!¡¹


    Since the Bandit Leader was completely preoccupied with Roxanne who was moving behind my back, he could have never hoped to notice Sherry, who moved in from my left and thrusted her spear forward with a Spirited shout. And since the Steel Spear that Sherry was holding was at least two meters long, she managed to perform her attack from a safe distance that practically guaranteed that the Bandit Leader would not be able to retaliate against her in any way, shape or form! I was hoping that Sherry¡¯s sudden thrust would be able to pierce our opponent¡¯s left side and slow him down as a result, but Bandit Leader Lv.40 blocked the attack of Sherry¡¯s Steel Spear with his sword. Even when he had the odds stacked so heavily against him, I have to give him credit for remaining much calmer than I have expected.


    However, there was a gap in his defense that I can easily exploit right now. Sherry might have not pierced the Bandit Leader¡¯s body with her spear from the left, but she managed to do something that was just as good: she focused the enemy¡¯s defenses and attention entirely on his left side, which mean that the other one, his right side was wide opened and defenseless, so I took my chances and thrusted Durandal forward in there!


    ¡¸K h h h h h ¡­¡­ g h h h¡­. g h h h h h h h h  a a a a a a a a a¡­¡­!!!!¡¹


    Durandal breaks through the chain mail and stabs the Bandit¡¯s body. I would not call it a stab right through the heart, but judging from the position where my sword pierced his body, I definitely must have damaged the area around it at worst. So now that Durandal¡¯s blade if firmly embedded in his body, I twist it and rotate it around as much as possible to make sure that the maximum possible damage is going to be inflicted onto him without giving him a chance to pull the sword out or to perform any kind of counterattack.


    Then, after I widened his wound, I slowly pulled Durandal out diagonally, and watched as the last Bandit¡¯s body collapsed onto the ground. I was afraid for a second that Durandal¡¯s blade might get stuck in the Bandit¡¯s guts, but fortunately, nothing of that sort happened and the blade slid out of him as if it was buttered up, leaving the Bandit¡¯s body lying prone on the ground before me.


    There was no further signs of any movement coming from him, so the injury that I have inflicted upon him must have been a fatal one.


    ¡¸It is over.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, it would seem that this is indeed over, master.¡¹


    Roxanne talked to me while moving around in a more relaxed manner now that the battle has been finished with our victory.


    ¡¸Okay, now then¡­..¡¹


    I was about ready to move on and proceed with the exploration of the thirteenth floor now that this little incident was over, but then my ears were drawn to a peculiar sound that sounded as if someone was cutting through flesh, so I turned back to see what was that al about, and what I saw¡­.. was that Roxanne was cutting off the left wrist of a fallen Bandit. Uhm, Roxanne? What are you doing?


    ¡¸Is¡­ is everyone okay? You did not get injured in this battle, did you?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I believe that both Sherry and I managed to come out of this unexpected skirmish unharmed.¡¹


    ¡¸That is great to hear. Also, thank you for distracting the Bandit Leader the way you did back there. That was a huge help.¡¹


    ¡¸Of course! If you want us to do so again, just say the word, master!¡¹


    Honestly, I would have preferred them not to put themselves in such danger if they absolutely did not have to do it, but if they are offering to do so themselves, then how can I say no to their earnest pleas? But anyway, I noticed that Sherry was also doing the same thing that Roxanne was doing, but she was cutting the Bandit Leader¡¯s hand off with the tip of her spear. Honestly, what are they doing? Roxanne was even taking all of the equipment of the fallen Bandits, stripping it right off their bodies like some kind of grave robber. I mean, okay, these guys attacked us first and we killed them in self defense, so by the laws of this world we had every right to claim anything that they might have had on them as our own spoils of war, but it still made me feel somewhat bad, even more so since with these actions my intent for the two of them to have their hands clean. *Sigh*¡­.


    ¡¸Ah, good. I see you have also cut off his wrist, Sherry. Good job.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, Miss Roxanne!¡¹


    Both of them collected the wrists of the killed Bandits and then wrapped them up in the pieces of fabric that they have tore off from the pieces of clothing that they have stripped from them. I was wondering what they were doing, but could it be¡­.. could it be about the Bandits Intelligence Cards? After all, Intelligence Cards are placed in your left wrist, and it is a common practice to cut off the wrists of defeated Bandits and Thieves so that you could exchange their Intelligence Cards for money. And now that I a thinking about it, I already saw a handless corpse of a Bandit before, back when I was looking through the slums in Vale where that one Bandit¡¯s body was dumped into the streets after he got killed by the rivalling Bandit faction.


    In the next moment after Roxanne and Sherry cut off the Bandit¡¯s wrists, their bodies began to sink into the floor of the Labyrinth, and they disappeared like that one after another. Were they being sunk, pulled, or perhaps eaten? In any case, their bodies have been completely gone without a trace now, and if it was not for the pieces of their equipment on the floor next to Roxanne and Sherry that they placed there after they finished stripping it off of them, then I would not have even known that a battle has taken place here. Is that how the Labyrinths are digesting people who died within them? Also, back when we found that Party that has been defeated by a Pan on the seventh floor of Vale¡¯s Labyrinth, their equipment was left after they have died,


    most likely because it takes much longer for a Labyrinth to process weapons and equipment than the bodies of the people. But anyway, even though their equipment was left, the same thing could not be said about their Intelligence Cards.

 Volume 6 - CH 2.12

    So I guess that the general rule here is that if you do not go out of your way to specifically cut away the wrists of the people whose Intelligence Cards you wish to confiscate, then they are going to be sucked in by the Labyrinth along with the bodies of the deceased, never to be recovered again.


    ¡¸So you want to obtain their Intelligence Cards before they dissapear to exchange them for money, huh?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, and keeping the cut hands in a cloth like that is the best way to ensure that the Intelligence Cards will not be lost anywhere after the get naturally extracted from them.¡¹


    Well, if you say so, then I guess that is how it is going to be. And honestly, I thought that I was going to get used to how brutal and violent this world was at times, but apparently I was wrong, because seeing them actually cut someone¡¯s hand and then toss it into an improvised cloth bag like that has still made me feel a little bit sick in my stomach. Is this what is considered to be common sense in this world?


    Is this procedure a widely accepted one when it comes to handling the remains of Bandits and Thieves? Because if so, then this is definitely one of these moments where I feel genuinely happy about the fact that the common sense of this world did not become a part of my mind, which is still largely intact and the same as it was in the time when I was still living my sad, depressing life back in Japan.


    ¡¸Okay, not that this little distraction is done with, I am going to defeat the next group of monsters that we are going to encounter with my sword, but after that, I will switch back to using magic again, but utill then, the three of us are going to be fighting together in the vanguard.¡¹


    ¡¸¡¸Yes, thank you very much, master!¡¹¡¹


    My MP still has not fully recovered after I used that ¡¸Equivalent Exchange¡¹and the killed two of the Bandits to replenish some of it, so I would like to use Durandal throughout one more fight in order to replenish it completely, and after that, it is going to be back to using magic, after all, my original goal of coming here was to test how comfortable my new Rod of Offerings was going to be to use.


    Defeating those Bandits, while ultimately profitable because we claimed all of the gear and the items that they had in their possession, was nothing but a distraction from my original intention, and we have already lost enough of our time because of that. If I am going to go back to using magic, then it should be entirely okay for me to have a cloth around my wrist.


    ¡¸I think it would be best if we aimed for a small number of monsters, so do you think we could go to the room at the opposite end of the crossroad that we passed through in order to get here?¡¹


    ¡¸No, that is not going to be a good idea, because there are too many monsters out there. This way.¡¹


    Ahh, so Roxanne is still going to ultimately consider my safety to be the top priority, and so she is not going to take me to a place that might have too many monsters in it. How thoughtful of her. But on the other hand, it might come across as just a tad bit too overprotective, because in this particular situation I want to be all warlike and face many enemies in order to recover the rest of my MP, and I will not be able to do it if I will not have the opportunity to fight many monsters simply because Roxanne is on high alert all the time, but there is nothing much that I can do about it now, so I just have to put up with it for now as I placed all of the items and Magic Crystals that we managed to pillage off of them.


    At the very least, we should be able to make some good money. Then again, the owners of the shops are probably going to notice that it was the equipment belonging to Bandits right away and will decline buying it from us under the claims that they do not want to have anything to do with all things that are related to Bandits.


    If that is how it is really going to be, then the only thing that is going to be left for us to contend with is going to be the money from the bounty for killing them.


    After slaughtering the next group of enemies in what I can only describe as Durandal¡¯s blood festival, I managed to recover my MP in its entirety, which enabled me to effortlessly defeat the groups of enemies that consisted of Rub Shrubs and Pig Hogs.


    Well, maybe not effortlessly, because taking them out still took some time, but now that I knew exactly how I should be fighting them and had more than enough MP to afford it, it was at least easier in comparison to the first times that I fought with these enemies, where I was basically shooting in the dark the entire time, and the thing that makes it both easier and harder on me are the elemental weaknesses of the enemies.


    If I want to defeat Rub Shrub as fast as possible, then the best way to do it is to use Fire Magic, because Rub Shrubs are weak against it, but if I do that in a mixed group with Pig Hogs, it is going to take longer to kill Pig Hogs, because they are not weak to Fire Magic, but to Water Magic instead.


    The thirteenth floor of the Labyrinths is definitely an undeniable jump in both the difficulty and the length of the fights that we are waging here, but Roxanne still managed to avoid the attacks that were directed towards her with such ease as if she was doing just a bit of morning exercises before a meal¡­. But wait, are you supposed to do your exercises before, or after you eat breakfast in the morning?


    Is it not that one of these two is supposed to make you feel hungrier so that the food would taste better, while other is supposed to help you burn all of the calories you might have accumulated from your meal? No matter. The most important thing to know here is that Roxanne was doing just as fine as she usually did.


    ¡¸The battles have really gotten slightly longer than usual, do you not think, master?¡¹


    Roxanne remarked about the exact same thing that I have already observed.


    ¡¸Yeah, but even so, we should not have any problems with cleaning up the enemies here, especially since I can defeat most of them with my magic.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, most definitely. That is exactly why I am so grateful to master for having mastered so many magical abilities, because thanks to them a portion of the burden that would normally be placed on mine and Sherry¡¯s shoulders can now be lifted, meaning that do not have to be on alert as much as we would have to be if master was not supporting us with his magic. Thanks to that, if I only have one enemy to deal with thanks to master disposing of all the others, I know that I am going to be able to doge their attacks and defeat them even with my eyes closed!¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm, yes, I agree with what Miss Roxanne is saying wholeheartedly. If master did not have access to magic, then we would definitely have shared the same problems like all the other Parties that did not have a Mage among their ranks, meaning that the battles that can be concluded relatively quickly under our current circumstances would have dragged on for much longer than it is actually necessary¡­. So as I was saying, master¡¯s magic is really a huge help as long as concluding battles in a quick fashion is concerned.¡¹


    Concluding battles in a quick fashion, huh? It would have been much better if I could wrap the battles with the lesser monsters up as soon as they are starting, but at my current level and with my current MP pool I guess there is nothing much that I can really do about it, huh? Also, for that same reason, I would not really call myself all that strong. I mean, with magic, and Durandal and all of my Jobs and their combined bonuses I guess you could call me pretty OP in my own right, but I still think that Roxanne is much more amazing than I am because of how she can avoid the attacks of all the enemies that we have encountered so far without breaking as much as a sweat.

 Volume 6 - CH 2.13

    Also, even though both Roxanne and Sherry are saying that thanks to my magic the battles that we have been going through in the Labyrinths up until now really are concluded in a rather fast fashion, I feel like I still have a lot of room for improvement when it comes to wielding magic and knowing when to use which spells. That way, I will be able cut down the time needed for us to do battles even further, possibly reducing the need for us to be staying on one floor of the Labyrinth for too long, like it has been with Quratar¡¯s seventh floor and its Floor Boss, Rapid Rabbit.


    That was perhaps one of the floors where we have spent the most time out of all the other floors, but it was partially because I was afraid and reluctant of advancing to the eighth floor where the number of the monsters that we would have to be fighting simultaneously would increase to up to four enemies per group and only chose to advance forward once Sherry has joined us.


    Thinking about it now, I might¡¯ve been a tad bit too paranoid about it, but at that time I was thinking first and foremost about my own and Roxanne¡¯s safety, and I wouldn¡¯t have done anything differently even if I was given the chance. But now that my Party has three people in it instead of two and I no longer need to concern myself with fighting in the vanguard, I can focus completely on refining my mastery of magic by supporting Roxanne and Sherry with my spells from the safety of the backlines, where the only thing that can harm me are the enemies that are using magic or long-distance Skills themselves.


    So far, that strategy seems to have been an effective one not only according to my own opinion, but also according to Roxanne and Sherry¡¯s opinion, so we can keep on going while still utilizing it until there¡¯ll come a day when that strategy would have to be adjusted. But thankfully, that day is not today, and I can only hope that it¡¯ll not come around for a good while longer.


    ¡¸Is that so? Well, if you think that my magic is so useful, then I can only be grateful for your praise. I only hope that my magic and I can continue to meet your expectations.¡¹


    ¡¸Of course, master. Also, I think it¡¯s about time for Intelligence Cards to finally appear, so you might want to check inside of those cloth bags to see if they are already there or not.¡¹


    Sherry tells me to check if the Intelligence Cards of the Bandits finally appeared. There were indeed three of them. They must¡¯ve appeared when we were fighting against the monsters, but still, I feel like it took them quite a while to appear.


    ¡¸You¡¯re right, they¡¯re finally here. But what should we do about the remaining wrists? I mean, they are still human remains, so I think we cannot just parade around the Labyrinth with them inside of the bloodied cloth bags, because people might get the wrong Idea if anyone were to see us with them by accident.¡¹


    ¡¸It should be perfectly fine to just go and throw them away wherever you feel like it.¡¹


    ¡¸Really? Throw them away just like that and that¡¯s it?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, exactly. Here in the Labyrinth you do not have to worry about cleaning or disposing off the remains of the Bandits that you¡¯ve defeated, because just like with regular Adventurers or Explorers, the Labyrinth is pretty much going to do all of the work for you, digesting them immediately so that there¡¯ll be not even a trace of them left.¡¹


    Sherry told me to just throw them away wherever I feel like it. I have to say though: even though Labyrinths are scary places, having them digest the remains of the Bandits so fast sure comes in handy, but are we sure it¡¯s a good idea to just feed the Labyrinth people like that? I mean, since Labyrinths of this world are not just regular buildings or structures, but legitimate living organisms that continue to grow and expand more the more bodies of the Adventurers and Explorers that died inside of them they devour, then giving them more things to sustain them selves off seems to not the smartest thing to do, unless¡­..


    Unless that is a good method of keeping the spawn rate of the monsters relatively in check.


    If the number of people that die in the Labyrinths is low, then it is going to produce more of them in order to prevent itself from starving to death, so it might actually be a good idea to feed the Labyrinths human bodies to keep its stomach relatively full, thus preventing it from producing more monsters that would hunt Adventurers more violently.


    ¡¸That¡¯s right. I understand. If you¡¯re telling me that¡¯s the best thing to do, then that¡¯s what I¡¯ll do.¡¹


    ¡¸Right!¡¹


    In accordance with Sherry¡¯s words, I throw the wrists on the ground in their cloth bags, and they disappear almost immediately after. It really was that easy.


    By the way, the Bandits have all been digested along with their clothes, but their equipment was left behind. Is it because regular clothing is not treated in the same way as weapons or Magic Crystals that are probably classified as foreign elements due to them being imbued with magic power and Skill Crystals, but instead are treated just like extensions of the people¡¯s bodies? It must be so, for I cannot even begin to fathom any other reason for why it would be doing something like that.


    Alternatively, it might just be like that because the Labyrinths are picky eaters, just like kids who would not touch their food as long as it has even a bit of parsley on it. But anyway, I am glad that it devoured the Bandits like that, because that way, it spared me from having to conduct the strip search of their bodies.


    ¡¸That leaves only the Intelligence Cards.  Where exactly should we take them?¡¹


    This is the next matter that we have to think about to avoid screwing ourselves over. Back when I defeated the Bandits in Vale and wanted to claim their bounties, my Intelligence Card was most definitely checked, so if we assume that this was the standard procedure when dealing with the people who want to claim Bandit bounties, then we can most definitely assume that in case of those Bandits, my Intelligence Card is going to be checked as well.


    ¡¸You said that Tare¡¯s Labyrinth is a Labyrinth that falls under the jurisdiction of the Hartz Duchy, correct? In that case, the perfectly rational thing to do would be to take the Intelligence Cards of the defeated Bandits to the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy so that they could take care of handing out the bounty that has surely been placed on the Bandit¡¯s heads.¡¹


    Sherry doesn¡¯t seem to realize that this matter can develop into quite a crisis if handled incorrectly, and so she offers me the most rational solution, since she doesn¡¯t know that the checking of my own Intelligence Card is the last thing that I want to go through right now. Even though going to the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy seems to be the most logical choice, I don¡¯t think that I¡¯d recommend it just yet.


    To the Duke of Harz and the knight leader Gozer, I am an Adventurer since I took their commission. Now, let us assume for a moment that I¡¯m really going to take them to the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy. If I pass them to Gozer, it would show him that I was going to the Labyrinths in their territory like I promised, and possibly it¡¯d put me in their favor for exterminating the Bandits hanging out in a Labyrinths in their territory. After all, I need to value all of the special connections that I¡¯ve managed to gain in this world.


    On the other hand though, it would¡¯ve been troublesome if I was seen as someone who¡¯s being too useful and being taken advantage of, and I also have to consider the possibility of trouble and problems arising if the Knights started snooping how exactly did I managed to tell that these people were Bandits in the first place, and the biggest problem that I¡¯d have to look out for is the possibility of my Intelligence Card being checked when I¡¯ll bring the Intelligence Cards to exchange them for the money from the bounty on the Bandit¡¯s heads.


    If they check my Intelligence Card so that they could give me the reward, they¡¯d immediately know that I¡¯m not an Adventurer, but rather an Explorer who posed as one in order to reap the Benefits of doing the commission for the Duke.

 Volume 6 - CH 2.14

    I cannot simply count on them skipping the check procedure just because their leader knows me personally.


    If my Intelligence Card gets check and my real occupation gets exposed, it¡¯ll only bring a landslide of questions with it, like how can I use ¡¸Field walker¡¹if I¡¯m not an Adventurer, or how did I managed to come to Bode so fast upon receiving the commission in the first place? So, if I¡¯m going to risk all of my other secrets getting exposed, then I really think that we should not be handing the Intelligence Cards off to the Knights of Hartz Duchy.


    Then again, at some point the news of the Bandit¡¯s demise are sure to reach the Duke and Gozer¡¯s ears, and once that happens, they might start to question me about why didn¡¯t I bring the Intelligence Cards to the Knights immediately, and them snooping around that matter would be just as bad for me, so it would seem that the only possible choice for me here is to hold onto the Bandit¡¯s Intelligence Cards without handing them over.


    Should I bring the Cards to the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy only after I will become an Adventurer in a legal manner? To be honest, that seems like the safest thing to do, but then again, if I choose to do that, then I am going to lock myself out of the possibility of claiming the reward until I¡¯ll actually become an Adventurer, and since the Job of an Adventurer cannot be acquired before you increase your Explorer Job to Lv.50, which is the lowest requirement,  it means that it¡¯d still take some considerable time, but considering my own safety, that might actually be the best course of action for me right now.


    ¡¸Sherry, can you tell when someone died just from reading the information from their Intelligence Card?¡¹


    ¡¸I haven¡¯t heard anything about the possibility of doing anything like that. However, the Intelligence Card is going to contain the information of how old the owner of the Intelligence Card was at the moment of their death, so if you really wanted to check exactly when they died, you could try narrowing it down with that to some degree.¡¹


    So the Intelligence Card is not going to show me exactly when someone died, but it is going to show me how old that person was at the moment of their death? I don¡¯t know about you, but to me, that function seems to be¡­.. kinda pointless, actually, because if I understand what Sherry just said correctly, then if the Bandit¡¯s birthday was tomorrow and that would cause his age to increase, then that would mean that he didn¡¯t die yesterday, or today, but over a year ago!


    But maybe there¡¯s a way of knowing when the Bandit¡¯s birthdays are in this world?


    ¡¸Are people able to tell when the Bandit¡¯s actual birthday was?¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm, I think it can be done only by every season when the age on the Intelligence Card increases.¡¹


    So it¡¯s like that in this world? They base years not on the passage of the set number of days, but instead they base their years on seasons?


    It should be fine if I start the count from each spring. And if it takes too much time for me to become an Adventurer, I can just take the Card somewhere else to avoid suspicion.


    Yeah, given all of the information that I¡¯ve learned just now, this seems like the best possible way of handling the matter with the Bandit¡¯s Intelligence Cards.


    I am going to keep them in my Item Box for the time being, and if I happen to acquire the Job of an Adventurer for myself across the changing seasons, then I am going to go to the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy and claim the Bandit¡¯s bounty in a legitimate way, without having to worry about the possibility of being discovered and thrown into jail for hiding the truth about my Job.


    And besides, it¡¯s not like we are in dire need of getting more money for ourselves right now. What we currently have on us is perfectly enough for us to afford both the food and the clothing, and if we¡¯re ever going to need more, we can always go to the Labyrinths and get it from hunting monsters from the lower floors and selling their Drop Items. We¡¯re also in the middle of the process of bringing the Palmasque Mirrors to Gozer and selling them to him for the price of one gold coin per mirror, so when that task is going to be finished, we¡¯re going to have quite a nice amount of money available to us from it.


    On the next day, even though we should be doing our best to clear the eleventh floor of the Labyrinth of Tare, we decided to go to the eleventh floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth instead, where we managed to break through the entire floor all the way to the Boss Room with relatively little resistance from the regular monsters that were unable to hinder our progress.


    Since the regular enemies of the eleventh floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth were Green Caterpillars, that means that the Floor Boss that we¡¯re going to be facing is going to be White Caterpillar. Its size was certainly imposing and needed to remain vigilant since it was trying to use its Skills much more frequently than its equivalents from the lower floors, but other than that, our usual strategy of defeating the Floor Bosses worked on it like a charm this time as well.


    Roxanne positioned herself right in front of the White Caterpillar and was focusing all of its attention on herself, and while she was doing that, Sherry and I were whacking at it from the side and the back, with my strikes from Durandal serving both as the primary source of damage and the interruption for when the magic circle was appearing below its body, indicating that it was about to use a Skill. Overall, it was yet another easy victory for us.


    After the battle was finished and we gathered up the Drop Item that the White Caterpillar Lv.11 left behind, we were clear to advance to Quratar¡¯s twelfth floor.


    ¡¸Okay Sherry, what can you tell us about the main monsters that we¡¯re going to find here?¡¹


    ¡¸The monster native to the twelfth floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth is called Sarracenia. It is a plant-like monster that is also capable of using ranged attacks, and its Skill involves it violently regurgitating its digestive juices so that it could use them as projectiles to fling towards its prey. Its ranged attacks are capable of inflicting poison upon those struck by them, but luckily for us, the attack with its digestive juices cannot poison you. As for its strengths and weaknesses, it is not resistant to any type of magic, and Fire Magic is supposed to be its weakness.¡¹


    Upon arriving at the twelfth floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth, Sherry provided us with a briefing on the peculiarities of the monster native to this floor upon my request. So this Sarracenia is a plant-based monster capable of not only poisoning its targets with its ranged attacks, but it also possesses a Skill where it quite literally can vomit its digestive juices at us? Talk about a truly frightening enemy.


    ¡¸Well, I have to admit that from the way that you¡¯ve described it, this Sarracenia fellow sounds like a sort of monster that we should be definitely avoiding at all costs, but since we¡¯re already here and it¡¯s the main monster of this floor then we¡¯re bound to happen upon it sooner or later, so we might as well use this chance to find the one that¡¯s going to be alone so that we could see how it fights and check how we¡¯re going to be faring against it.¡¹


    This is the twelfth floor of the Labyrinth, which means that the enemies are going to be stronger than the ones that we¡¯ve encountered on the tenth and eleventh floors, but as long as the monsters that we¡¯re going to be fighting here won¡¯t be totally immune to magic, then we should be able to pull through just fine.


    On top of that, this Sarracenia is supposed to be weak against Fire Magic, so if only I keep on using it against it, then the encounters with it shouldn¡¯t be all that different from how I was able to handle the Grass Bees with Wind Magic before. If only I keep doing that and not let overconfidence get the better of me, I should have no problem with dispatching Sarracenias on my own, reducing the possibility of Roxanne and Sherry being targeted by it and injured from one of its attacks.


    ¡¸All right, is there anything else that I should know about this floor?¡¹


    I asked Sherry for any additional info before setting of onto the twelfth floor of Qutatar¡¯s Labyrinth for good.

 Volume 6 - CH 2.15

    ¡¸The twelve and thirteenth floors of Quratar are the ones that are considered to be financially advantageous for the people venturing into them due to the drops from the monsters, so if at all possible, we should make those floors our main hunting ground for the time being whenever we are not going to be delving into the Labyrinth¡¯s of Hartz Duchy.¡¹


    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, because the Drop Item that Sarracenia leaves behind when it dies is a Sumac Gallnut. It is a type of herb that can be used as raw material for all kinds of medicine, so it could definitely come in handy for us in medicine creation, or we can simply sell it at the guild for a good amount of money.¡¹


    When I was confused about it, Sherry offered me an explanation. So we can use its material to make medicine, huh? Maybe I could do something with it ¡¸Herbal Medicine Creation¡¹, one of the Skills possessed by the Herbalist Job?


    And while we are at it, maybe it would actually be more profitable to sell the medicine made from the raw ingredients than the raw ingredients themselves? In the same way, it might be better to sell the medicine made with the usage of the Sumac Gallnut than to go and sell the obtained Sumac Gallnut by itself. Well, that is not surprising. After all, with the medicine that utilizes it, the price can always be set to be a little higher than usual in order to cover the costs of the labor that needs to be done by the Herbalist in order to create such medicine.


    ¡¸I see. Can you guide us to the nearest Saracenia then, Roxanne?¡¹


    Roxanne nodded affirmatively, and so we followed her lead.And what appeared when we got to the location designated by Roxanne was a monster made out of grass that looked like it had two giant leaves folded on top of one another like a water-filled balloon. The leaves on its body were also extending to its left and right sides, making them look almost like a pair of arms.Is it as tall as Sherry is? It was not all that huge, but when it comes to its size, it reminded me of a few types of tall grass like Susuki or Canada Goldenrod.


    The brown roots wriggled eerily and moved like tentacles, so I shot it with ¡¸Fireball¡¹as an opening act. The flames licked the surface of the grass for a moment, and the disappeared, so I fired a second shot at it. After that, I saw that an orange magic circle emerges at the base of Saracenia¡¯s body.


    ¡¸Here it comes!¡¹


    Even if Roxanne did not tell me that, I could see it because I went out to the side to shot magic at it, so I stopped to immediately hide behind Roxanne¡¯s back like a pathetic coward.


    Sarasenia bowed her head, which is like a tulip flower now, with the bottom slightly dented. Overall, it looked like it was in the shape of a bag. Is it actually a carnivorous plant? Yup, that definitely looks like a carnivorous plant. Is that how it is going to shoot the digestive juices at us¡­. Yes, that is exactly what it is going to do! Digestive juice popped out of Saracenia¡¯s head in the very next moment, so I gave it a ¡¸Fireball¡¹in return.


    Roxanne received the demon¡¯s digestive juices with her shield, and then she and Sherry slashed and poked at the approaching Saracenia. It shakes her leaves at them, but Roxanne simply avoids them, only to watch the monster collapse after the third shot of my magic hit it.


    ¡¸Are you okay, Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, the juices dried pretty fast.¡¹


    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹


    I confirm with Roxanne, but it seems that it is not powerful enough to melt the shield.It feels like Saracenia is not much different from a Grass Bee in terms of difficulty. We can definitely fight it.


    ¡¸Its normal attacks are more dangerous than the digestive juices.The swings are big and telegraphed, but their trajectory is unstable because the grass limbs are so soft, and because of that, it is especially hard to attack this enemy with a sword.¡¹


    Could this be the first enemy that genuinely bothers Roxanne? Well, since it is made of grass and leaves, then of course hitting it would be difficult.


    ¡¸It looks like it is going to be  a tough enemy to tackle  physically.¡¹


    ¡¸Well, if you look closely at the movements of the monsters and match them exactly, there should be no problem.¡¹


    As expected of Roxanne, so upbeat in the face of difficulty.


    I turned to Sherry, but she just shrugged it off and handed me the drop Item, so I removed my Monk Job and switched wit with Herbalist. I closed the hand in which I was holding the items and thought of the appropriate Skill, and in the next moment, three pills materialized in it. They are apparently called Nutrient Medicine. So unlike with the Anti Poison Medicine, I can actually make three at once.


    ¡¸All right. This confirms that I can successfully create Nutrient Medicine.¡¹


    That, and fighting against Saracenia proved to be no problem at all. Even Sherry could hold her own against it without needing my protection all the time, and even when I switched from magic to Durandal, we still managed to achieve an easy victory. Well, I mean what did you expect? Since Saracenia is a monster made of grass, then of course its physically attacks are not going to be strong at all.


    ¡¸Uooh!  That was a close one!¡¹


    As I was thinking about it, another Saracenia that we fought against next  tried to shoot its digestive juices at us. It slightly tilted its head in an attempt to sprinkle us with them from above. They were not flying particularly fast, but they has a pretty large spread, which made it quite difficult to avoid them


    ¡¸So it also had such an attack pattern, huh?¡¹


    Roxanne was pretty laid back about it, but I was desperate to slash the Saracenia with Durandal in order to bring her down before they could harm me or Sherry. Well, I guess this is the Labyrinth for you, always finding new and creative ways to screw you over. At least now we know that we can fight with the monsters not only in Haruba Labyrinth¡¯s eleventh and twelfth floors, but also in Quratar¡¯s as well, so we carefully continue our exploration after that, and in the afternoon after we finished exploring for the day, we went to visit the amber merchant in Bode.


    The purchase and procurement of the fourteen mirrors so that we could sell them to Gozer is going to be done during the next trip, which is going to be the last one of its kind. But before we go to Palmasque, we have to make yet another stop, because I need to buy another Amber Necklace so that we could then sell it to the wife of the craftsmen merchant who owns the workshop from which Roxanne and Sherry were buying the mirrors, so we went to Bode through Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth. And once we got there¡­..


    ¡¸I am afraid that at the current moment there is only one rough amber gemstone that we can offer you for purchase, but if you do decide that you want to buy it, then its price is going to be exactly the same as last time, which is to say, eight hundred Nars. So, what do you say? Shall I bring it to you, or perhaps you would like to wait for a little while longer until there will be more of them available for purchase?¡¹


    ¡¸I am fine with that, so you can go ahead and bring it here. Also, I want to buy a necklace as well, so do you think it would be possible for me to buy these two things in bulk as well?¡¹


    It would seem that there is only one rough amber gemstone available for purchase this time, which is admittedly a little bit of a letdown, but considering that it has not been all that long since my last visit to this shop and the shopkeeper did told me that getting his hands on more rough amber gemstones might take a while due to how long you would have to wait first for a storm to occur out on the sea and then for amber to be actually washed ashore, I should be happy that there was even this one stone available, otherwise my visit here would have been pretty much in vain.


    Well, it is not like I can do anything about this now, since I do not have any abilities that are able to manipulate the weather.

 Volume 6 - CH 2.16

    There seems to be just one raw amber gemstone left in the Amber Merchant¡¯s stock, which is a shame, but nothing too terrible in the grand scheme of things.


    Just like I thought, even though amber trade is dealing in gemstones, it must be pretty difficult to earn some big money in this kind of trade where so much is dependent on so many factors that us mortals have no way of influencing whatsoever. And even if by some miracle amber could be mined and gathered in large quantities all the time, this one  Amber Merchant would not be the one who would receive all of by himself.


    But just like I said, for now, even one rough amber gemstone is going to suffice for my plans, and since my thirty percent discount is going to be effective, then I am going to receive a preferrable price anyway.


    I let Roxanne and Sherry choose the necklace that we¡¯re going to buy. After all, the more opinions on the matter, the better.


    ¡¸Well then, here are the wooden cases made from Talem wood.¡¹


    The cat-eared Amber Merchant brings the wooden cases that I asked him to make earlier along with the necklaces. They are beautiful cases made from white, decorative wood, but they are not so simplistic, because thay have also been adorned with subtlebrown, circular patterns that make them look like a really high-class product that could be deemed quite valuable even in the modern day Japan.


    ¡¸It looks really good.¡¹


    ¡¸I know, right? However, these ones right here are only the prototypes. But because sir was the one who suggested making them in the first place, then as a show of my gratitude I would like you to accept them as a gift from me.¡¹


    ¡¸Ah, really? You didn¡¯t have to. Thank you very much nonetheless.¡¹


    I receive two cases from the merchant. For something made out of wood, they are quite heavy, much more than their looks would suggest, actually. Also, the wood doesn¡¯t look like it has been painted white, so that must mean that the Talem wood is naturally white in color? In that case, I have to admit that it looks even better than what it seemed to be at first, and I can say that I am most positively surprised with it.


    Its weight only adds to its luxurious feel, so it¡¯s a welcomed addition.


    ¡¸Which one looks better? This one or this one?¡¹


    ¡¸Both look pretty.¡¹


    ¡¸If you had to pick one, which one would you pick?¡¹


    ¡¸This one, I think.¡¹


    These two seem to have decided on the necklace. Sherry finally picks one of the two. This is probably the same necklace which he showed me on my first visit to the store. It was priced at fifty-five thousand Nars if I remember correctly. Because it was showed to me on my first visit, it¡¯s probably this store¡¯s most prized necklace.


    Well, I don¡¯t know much about jewelry, so I¡¯m not sure about it myself. Sherry, however, shares same opinion as the store¡¯s owner, so I¡¯m going to go with that one. Sherry may have a keen eye for those things, because she bought a book in her grandfather¡¯s days when she was still a kid, but even if she didn¡¯t have a keen eye, she has established good relationship with the craftsman¡¯s wife already, so it¡¯s best if Sherry picks it.


    ¡¸Well then, I would like to buy this necklace and the raw amber gemstone.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you. Because you received letter of recommendation personally from the duke, I¡¯ll give you special price of fifty-nine thousand and sixty Nars.¡¹


    Influence of the duke¡¯s letter of recommendation is incredible. I feel embarrassed for having it sold to me so cheaply.My thirty percent discount is effective as well, so I pay even less that I was prepared to pay. Beside gold coins, I gave the merchant ninety silver coins and sixty copper coins.


    ¡¸Is the price correct?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, of course. The price of the case has been included in it as well. Although it costs about two hundred Nars, it¡¯ll not be charged this time, for you were the one who gave us this idea in the first place.¡¹


    The amber merchant removes the necklace from the cloth bag, puts it in the case and passes it to me, and I receive if from him carefully so as to not damage it in any way. It¡¯s great that I don¡¯t have to pay for the cases, but if they have beencharged , it would have been discounted by thirty percent anyway. But they were given to me for free, so it¡¯s even better.


    After returning home, I hand the two their necklaces and take them to Palmasque next. When we reached the Labyrinth of Zabir, we made a short stop there so that I could put the necklaces on their necks as well as handle them one silver coin meant to pay the City Entrance tax.


    ¡¸You¡¯re not coming with us again?¡¹


    Sherry asks nervously, and she was also looking awfully uneasy. Is she still that hung up on me not going to Palmasque with them, even though I have already told them that I have my own reasons for choosing not to go there? Or maybe it¡¯s about something else entirely?


    Wait, could it possibly be that¡­.. yeah, that has to be it.


    I told Roxanne and Sherry to sell the Amber Necklace to the wife of the craftsman if they¡¯re going to be able to do so, and now that I think about it, twenty-five gold coins is also exactly the price that I have paid in order to buy Sherry from Alan-san¡¯s Slave Shop, so if they do end up selling that Amber Necklace, it¡¯s going to be as if Sherry herself sold something as expensive as her. But then again, it¡¯s actually going to be more than the price that I paid for Sherry, because the price that I¡¯ve paid for her was already the one to which the discount of thirty percent has been incorporated.


    In that case, I guess it would make perfect sense for her to be nervous about carrying and then selling the item that is more expensive than she herself was at the moment of her purchase. And to top it all off, she is wearing that very necklace herself right now, so if she ever decided to run away from me with it, then she wouldn¡¯t have to worry about the money to pay for her living expenses for¡­.. I wanted to say for the rest of her life, but looking at it more realistically, I guess it would last her a solid few months, maybe half a year, or an entire year at best.


    ¡¸It¡¯s alright, Sherry. Master trusts us to handle that task, and he doesn¡¯t have to go with us precisely because he trusts us to handle it in the best way possible. Isn¡¯t that right, master?¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yes, of course it¡¯s exactly like that.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh. Okay then, If master trusts us to do it, then we cannot betray the trust that he has decided to put in us now, can we?¡¹


    Once again, Roxanne knew exactly what to say in order to dissuade Sherry¡¯s worries. That being said, she still seems to have an unnecessarily high opinion on me as their master, and honestly, I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s a good thing or a bad thing. But let¡¯s not think about that for now. The important thing here is that thanks to her Sherry has regained her courage and good spirits, so we can go on with proceeding with Gozer¡¯s request without any further interruptions.


    Now that everything that needed to be said has been said, I took Roxanne and Sherry to Palmasque¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild and saw the two of them off until they disappeared from my line of sight when they walked out of the Guild¡¯s building and into the city proper.


    When they¡¯re going to come back carrying two more Palmasque Mirrors, the mission of procuring ten of them for Gozer so that he could use them as a Gift Item is finally going to be over, and I will not have to make any long, MP-draining travels from Quratar to Palmasque ever again¡­. Or for the forseeable future at the very least.


    Whatever the case is going to be, I am finally going to be free when all is going to be said and done, and I cannot help it but to fell this unspeakably pleasant feeling of competition and fulfillment welling up inside of my chest when I think about it, and no matter how hard I try to keep those feelings in check, they just refuse to go away and keep on tugging at my heartstrings, and it was precisely because of those feelings that I have failed to notice something.


    That in the meantime while I was on cloud nine absorbed in my own thoughts, there was quite a big commotion currently taking place in the Palmasque¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild.

 Volume 6 - CH 3.01

    Chapter 29: Miria


    ¡ºSherry¡»


    Current Levels & Equipment:


    Master Smith Lv.23


    Equipment:


    Steel Spear


    Chainmail


    Leather Helmet


    Leather Gloves


    Leather Boots


    ¡¸A dragon¡­you say ?¡¹


    I unconsciously muttered after being welcomed by the two who just came back from their shopping duties.


    I arrived at Palmasque¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild after passing time at home and then going to the Labyrinth to do a little bit of solo levelling. When we reunited at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild building, Roxanne reported to me that supposedly a Dragon has been sighted near the city, which shook me up quite a bit.


    ¡¸Yes, it seems that it attacked the coast this morning. Unfortunately, it was already intercepted when we arrived, so there was no way for us to join in on the battle against it.¡¹


    Though I don¡¯t know what¡¯s unfortunate about that, it has become abundantly clear that this Dragon¡¯s appearance was definitely the cause of all that ruckus in the Adventurer¡¯s Guild that I have noticed when Roxanne and Sherry went to go sell the Amber Necklaces and buy Palmasque Mirrors. What a frightening situation. So, dragons do seem to exist in this world. And not only that, but they¡¯re also actively attacking the cities! That must be the reason for why the cities tend to have such high walls, just like the castles within them.


    I thought that this dragon attack might hinder our plans, but thankfully both of them had a mirror with them when they returned, and that alone makes this trip a one that was well worth making. If they didn¡¯t obtain them, then this would¡¯ve been one giant waste of my time, energy and resources.


    ¡¸Is it common for this place to be attacked by dragons?¡¹


    After making the last warp from Palmasque and recovering MP in Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth, I tried asking Sherry about the frequency of the dragon attacks on the cities.


    ¡¸To be more accurate, it was actually a Drive Dragon. Palmasque, being on an island can¡¯t usually be attacked by normal demons, but Drive Dragons can fly in the sky, so their attacks are something that happens quite often I think.¡¹


    ¡¸Quite often, you say?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, but its not that big of a deal because there¡¯s also a lot of people that have anti-dragon equipment because of this, so when an attack actually happens, they¡¯re always ready to defend themselves.¡¹


    Sherry replied to me calmly. It seems dragon raids aren¡¯t a cause of concern, despite just being a potentially catastrophic occurrence. Still, is it really that normal to be brushing it off just like that? Well, It¡¯s probably the same concept as how Japanese people can tolerate small-scale earthquakes without even batting an eye.


    This world is scarier than I thought.


    ¡¸I see.¡¹


    ¡¸More importantly, the Amber Necklace was sold for twenty five gold coins.¡¹


    More importantly, huh? So, dragons are treated like that here? It¡¯s a dragon, you know? a dragon!


    ¡¸Are Drive Dragons actually weak?¡¹


    ¡¸It is the strongest kind of monster that appears outside of the Labyrinth.¡¹


    So it is by no means weak, but they still treat it as if it was nothing major. I don¡¯t like it. I feel that people here wouldn¡¯t even be surprised even if a catastrophic earthquake happened right now. These people could definitely live in the world of the future and fit in just fine.


    ¡¸I-is that so?¡¹


    I received gold coins from Sherry. The gold coins seem to occupy two rows of slots in my Item Box now. Because of the several different rows of items, the Item Box is going to be Filled up pretty soon, since it can¡¯t stack different kinds of similar items together, which limits its overall capacity.


    If it¡¯s not going to be enough, then I¡¯ll just have to use my Cook Job, but I feel like that might also be difficult.


    Since I have the money, I should make sure to use them. It isn¡¯t necessary for me to put coins and items in different lines to save space.


    ¡¸The Amber Necklace that the craftsman¡¯s wife had bought was a considerably good item. I asked if twenty five gold coins were really a good price for it, and she confirmed it many times over.¡¹


    I listened to the story while receiving the gold coins. I expected the market price of amber in Palmasque to be five times greater than the market price in Bode. Was it a little more than that after all? I feel a bit embarrassed since I did not know the proper market price.


    ¡¸Was it considered too cheap? Well, it can¡¯t be helped. It¡¯s not really a loss for us, so there¡¯s no need to be thinking about it too hard.¡¹


    ¡¸She said it was a special service for being acquaintances. I also asked her to recommend us to other people since our prices are cheap.¡¹


    ¡¸Well done!¡¹


    Sherry¡¯s a surprisingly good talker.


    ¡¸I was able to sell the case for ten silver coins. Since it was originally two hundred Nars, I think it was a good price to get.¡¹


    ¡¸As expected of Sherry.¡¹


    ¡¸The Amber was sold for thirty five silver coins. We could also buy the mirror from them for twenty silver coins.¡¹


    To be able to sell the small case which I got for free, as well as to ensure future deals with them. Such a silver-tongued smooth talker.


    ¡¸It was the right thing to entrust it to Sherry after all. J


    ¡¸Thank you very much, master!¡¹


    Is that what this might be about? Does she hate brokers because they are similar to her? Hatred of the same thing, huh? They really are birds of a feather.


    When I was returning from the Labyrinth, I was contacted by Luke whom Sherry hates so much. He seemed to have made a successful bid for a Kobold Skill Crystal for fifty-four hundred Nars, but is that really the correct price?


    ¡¸I want to fuse the Kobold Skill Crystal and the Goat Skill Crystal card, that we just obtained to my Rod. Otherwise, we might have trouble fighting the enemies on the twelfth floor.¡¹


    I told them during dinner.


    ¡¸Ye¡­Yes! I¡¯ll  try to do my best!¡¹


    ¡¸There¡¯s going to be no problem if it¡¯s you,  Sherry , though it would be bad if you were anxious about it all the time.¡¹


    ¡¸No, I¡¯ m not anxious at all!¡¹


    ¡¸The monsters in the twelfth floor are going to be much stronger than the other ones that we faced so far. Therefore, increasing our fighting potential is necessary. Perhaps it¡¯s time to add another Party Member in our midst?¡¹


    I was able to connect the two topics together.


    A new Party Member is essential to increase our fighting potential, or that¡¯s the excuse that I gave them¡­. No, that¡¯s not it!  That¡¯s not what you¡¯re thinking at all! It is definitely necessary to increase our fighting potential if we want to advance forward in the Labyrinths.


    ¡¸Yes, definitely.¡¹


    ¡¸I already received a letter of introduction from Alan the Slave Merchant from Vale. We only have two more mirrors to deliver, so I would like to go to Imperial City at one point in order to look for a new Party Member the day after we finish selling all of them.¡¹


    I made sure that the two of them nod after hearing my proposed schedule for the coming days. I have forty gold coins left in reserve, so it should be sufficient enough as funds for the purchase of a new slave.


    ¡¸So the number of Party Members is going to increase then.¡¹


    ¡¸No matter who it is going to be, I believe that master will choose a most suitable person to join us.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, of course. After all, it is something that¡¯s going to be necessary for the purpose of increasing our battle potential.¡¹


    Roxanne and Sherry¡¯s acknowledgement to increase the ranks of my harem has been obtained, or at the very least they didn¡¯t outright object to my plans of obtaining more slaves for myself, so all is fine with the world for now.


    ¡¸With all of that being said, I think it would actually be a good idea if we took a break from the exploration of the Labyrinths tomorrow and made tomorrow another day of for ourselves. After all, we can¡¯t have another member joining the ranks of our Party when we are all going to be tired and beat up from the battles and exploration. We want to make the best impression possible, and for that, we have to look our very best.¡¹


    This time, I gave Roxanne and Sherry something that they could look forward to.

 Volume 6 - CH 3.02

    What I am utilizing on them right now is the so-called carrot and a stick method, according to which you should always alternate between giving people the good news and the bad news. If I was only using the stick on them the entire time, they would have ended up hating me for sure.


    ¡¸So we¡¯re going to have another day off?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. After all, I think we all earned it for ourselves with our recent exploits. And since I don¡¯t see you being against it, then what would you like to do, Roxanne? In Sherry¡¯s case, I assume you¡¯d like to go to the library?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, that is perfectly fine with me.¡¹


    When I looked in Sherry¡¯s direction, she nodded and confirmed my suspicions. As I thought, she decided to go the library.


    ¡¸Since I have nothing that I would like to do tomorrow either, I could very well accompany you to the Labyrinth if you want.¡¹


    I tell that to Roxanne, who seemed as if she was at a loss at what to do with her second day off.


    When they had a day off last time, Roxanne wanted to spent it pretty admirably: by entering the Labyrinth by herself so that she could train more in solitude. And even though I stopped her back then because I was scared to allow her to go there alone, the situation is entirely different now.


    ¡¸Would¡­. Would that really be okay, master?¡¹


    ¡¸Probably, since I am free  tomorrow as well.¡¹


    This time I do not have anything in particular planned for today, so if Roxanne is going to be fine with it, then I have nothing against going to the Labyrinth together with her for a private EXP grinding session, or anything else that she would have been up for. It does not have to be strictly related to the Labyrinths: be it sightseeing, going on a walk or even doing something like information gathering, as long as it is something the she herself wants to do, then I am going to be more than willing to accompany her along with it, and since we have so much options to choose from and nothing else to do in the meantime, then we are free to do whatever we want. After all, this is going to be our day off, and no one else is going to be telling us what we are supposed to be doing with it.


    But of course, the main people who are going to decide what we are going to be doing with this vacation time are Roxanne and Sherry, since these days off are primarily for them, because as far as I am concerned, I do not need all that much of it and could continue going to the Labyrinth in order to explore them for most of the day, seven days a week.


    ¡¸Well then, please take care of me, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood. Also, if it is not too much of a problem to ask, then would you mind cutting my hair for me tomorrow? Because it seem that they have grown quite a bit already, and I would not want them to be getting in the way.¡¹


    I had intended to cut my hair when we would buy ourselves a legitimate mirror, but with all the things that were happening throughout the last few days, I did not have any chance to do so just yet, so if it has already been decided that we are having ourselves a day off, then I might as well use that chance to do it now.


    ¡¸Yes, master. As you wish.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you and please do so. What about you girls? Do you want to get your hair cut as well? Because the way that I am looking at you, it does not look like you need a haircut all that much.¡¹


    ¡¸Eh? Really? But I think that my hair have grown out quite a bit since the last time when I was cutting them.¡¹


    Sherry says so while fiddling with her own hair. Well, after having a closer look at her, I do have to say that right now her hair have begun to reach her shoulders, so maybe she does need to have them cut for a bit after all. But while we are on that subject, there is something that I have been wondering about: do Dwarves¡¯ hair grow up faster than the hair of regular Humans? Because when I look at sherry and compare the length of her hair ever since she joined my Party to how much my own hair have grown since I started living here, then her¡¯s have definitely grown much more than mine. That being said:


    ¡¸I think it would be fine for you to grow your hair even more, Sherry.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, master is most certainly right. At their current length, they do not look like they are going to be that much of a problem for you if you just allow them to grow just a little bit longer.¡¹


    ¡¸Do you really think so, master, Miss Roxanne? Before, my hair were always becoming stiff and unpleasant to the touch whenever I was growing them out even for a little bit. Although I noticed that it is not the case right now, most probably because washes them out for me very well.¡¹


    Yeah, what Sherry says is absolutely true. Before, when they were not taking regular baths and did not have anyone to wash their hair for them they would grow rough, prickly to the touch and quite possibly a little bit greasy as well, but now that I am regularly taking care of their hair for them, they do not have to worry about it anymore, so if they want, they can grow their hair out a little bit more for all that I care, but I definitely think that it is a bit too early for them to be cutting their hair short. With how good they look in their current hairstyles, it would feel like a real waste.


    On the morning of the next day, we entered the Labyrinth even though we agreed to make this day our day off. Our reasoning for that was pretty simple: even though we might be taking the entire day off, going to the Labyrinth in the morning should not do us any harm, and such a morning exercise will help keep our minds as sharp as they always are without dulling them too much because of all the rest and relaxation that we would be doing for the reminder of the day.


    Think of it as your usual routine of morning stretches to keep yourself in shape, only taken to a bit of an extreme, because I do not think that any sane person would go and start their day from a battle with bloodthirsty monsters that were actively out to get you. Of course, the same mindset was applied to Roxanne and Sherry¡¯s nightly duties, oh no, these had to be kept as they were¡­¡­ ah, but wait, since Sherry wants to go to the library again tomorrow, then I might just be forced to let her have her rest for today. Oh well, I guess that just means that Roxanne is going to have to do her best then.


    On the morning of the next day, after we finished our little exercise in the Labyrinth and selling the mirrors to Gozer and returning back home so that we could have ourselves some breakfast, I first had Sherry do another round of her usual smithing exercises, and then I gave her one gold coin for the deposit and five silver coins, after which I used ¡¸Warp¡¹on the wall in our house in order to get her to the library. Because the price for the entry to the library is fixed no matter what time of day it is, it is much more efficient to go and enter in in the early morning if you want to spend as much time there as possible, and after I gave Sherry a lift, I returned back home, where I sat on a chair and waited for Roxanne to start cutting my hair for me.


    ¡¸Now then, master, how would you like me to cut your hair for you? Just a fair bit of advice though: I might not be able to do as good of a job with cutting your hair as you are probably expecting me to do, because I have always tended to be a little bit clumsy around the scissors.


    ¡¸For me, as long as it is a hairstyle liked by Roxanne, it would be more than enough. In fact, pretty much anything is going to be okay in my book, just as long as it will not make you openly dislike me.¡¹

 Volume 6 - CH 3.03

    ¡¸Do not worry, master. I could never dislike you!¡¹


    ¡¸Well, thank you then. And please, you can go on ahead.¡¹


    In this world, it seems to be the usual and perfectly normal thing for family members to cut each other¡¯s hair, and it would seem that the people of their world are not especially picky about the hairstyles that they are going to have as a result of it, so it was a perfect deal for me, someone who did not care that much about my ow hair even while I was still living in Japan. I am glad to see that literally nothing is going to change for me in this regard.


    Roxanne took the scissors into her hands, and slowly began to cut my hair.


    I thought that scissors of this world might be looking or working a little bit differently from what I have been used to seeing back on earth, but upon their closer inspection I was very glad to notice that they actually look and function much in the same fashion as the regular scissors that I know, so thankfully there is going to be no surprises and question marks popping up above my head for me.


    Roxanne said that she was clumsy with the scissors, but looking at the job that she was doing so far, I cannot say that there was anything in particular that I could possibly nitpick about.


    ¡¸Is this fine, Master?J


    ¡¸That Depends. Do you think I look a bit cooler now?¡¹


    ¡¸To me, master is always looking cooler than anyone else. The coolest, even.¡¹


    Honestly, it is more than a little embarrassing to be called the coolest like that, even though Roxanne might just feel inclined to be saying such words purely because she is my slave.


    ¡¸Okay, now that I had my new haircut, which Labyrinth would you like to go today?¡¹


    ¡¸Right, it would be problematic if we were to go somewhere where there are a lot of people, so I think that just for today it would be good for us to focus on Floor Boss battles alone. I think that the ideal candidate for that would be Rapid Rabbit, since its fast movement would be good for me to keep on practicing and honing my evasive capabilities, if I can ask this of master, then I would like us to go to Vale¡¯s Labyrinth today, please.¡¹


    When I asked Roxanne about where did she want to go, I have received an immediate reply from her. So, this time she wants to go to Vale¡¯s Labyrinth in order to fight against some Rapid Rabbits, huh? Rapid Rabbit is the Floor Boss of the Vale Labyrinth¡¯s ninth floor, the one where Slow Rabbits were the main enemy.


    Because it appears on the ninth floor, it is more difficult to deal with than the on in Quratar that appears on the seventh floor, which makes me not want to fight against it at all, but not only it would be exceptionally difficult to convince Roxanne to change her mind about going to Vale¡¯s Labyrinth, but I also promised her that I am going to go with her wherever she might have wanted to go today, so I cannot just go back on my word and let her down like some kind of douchebag¡­.. but nevertheless, I have to at least try to find out if she would not be up for any other activity today.


    ¡¸Uhm.. do you not want to go shopping in the Imperial City today? Since it is going to be just the two of us and all?¡¹


    Yeah, I have to beat around the bush like that in order not to outright say that I do not want to be fighting Rapid Rabbits. We have already challenged the ninth floor¡¯s Floor Boss in Vale¡¯s Labyrinth countless times. We fought there so much, in fact, that I have already lost count of how many times exactly we have been fighting in there. That is exactly why I would rather do literally anything else rather than going there again.


    ¡¸A shopping trip to the Imperial City? Would that really be okay with you, master?¡¹


    Yeah, you bet. At this point, anything is going to be not only better, but also more exciting than repeatedly going through the literal hell of going back and forth between the Floor Boss¡¯ Boss Room and the Waiting Room outside of it and then doing the same thing over and over again every time .


    it would be defeated in just a few blows, even though it is arguably just as hard to accompany Roxanne to do shopping while she is entering her serious customer mode where she literally has to go and check every single item for more than ten minutes in order to examine it from every possible direction before she is simply going to move onto the next item before she makes the final decision on what she would like to buy. But if I have to choose between that and the Rapid Rabbit looping hell, then I am going to choose shopping with Roxanne every chance I get.


    ¡¸Yeah, it is okay with me. After all, I did promise that I will take you wherever you are going to want to go, did I not?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes! Thank you, master. ¡¹


    ¡¸Do not mention it, and be sure to tell me if you see anything that you would like at any point in time, okay?¡¹


    Now that Roxanne has been gaslighted by me into going to the Imperial City to do shopping, I took us there immediately before she even had the chance to change her mind. While we were there, we went to see what kind of things they were selling at the shops that we never had the chance to go, threating this outing as a combination of shopping and information gathering, essentially killing two birds with one stone here, continuing to just walk down the roads of the capital aimlessly, without any specific target in mind.


    ¡¸Hmm¡­. I think this outfit is going to look especially good on you, master.¡¹


    Roxanne said while putting one of the shirts inside one of the clothing stores against my chest to see how I was going to look in it. Walking around with her, having her pick clothes for me¡­. This, this really feels like we are on a date right now. Or rather, it definitely is a date, since there are only the two of us here after all.


    Now that I think about it, when the number of my Party Members increase, the bed in our house will definitely become smaller, so we might be in need of buying ourselves a new one. If at all possible, it might be a good idea to go look for today since we are already in the Imperial City and all¡­.. but yeah, I think that I am going to actually pass on that, since there is no way in hell that I am suggesting something like that with this kind of blissful atmosphere. Doing that would do nothing but invite unnecessary trouble, and that is the last thing that I need at the current moment.


    Just as I have expected, it would be best for me to go and buy the new bed when I will be alone in here. That is the best solution that I can possibly think of to keep this date with Roxanne from being ruined.


    When Roxanne was done with looking at various shirts that she thought would look good on me, she then swiftly moved on to the children¡¯s section of the clothing store. Was she going to pick up something for Sherry as well? Apparently so, because after looking at a few articles of clothing she nodded her head and muttered ¡¸This should be good¡¹to herself.


    ¡¸Are you not going to be picking up anything for yourself, Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸No, I do not think I will. After all, that shirt for master costs three hundred Nars, and that piece of clothing for Sherry here costs two hundred Nars, so together, these two pieces of clothing already cost five hundred Nars, or in other words, five silver coins.¡¹


    Five hundred Nars for the two pieces of clothing, huh?


    The pocket money that I gave her this time is exactly the same as last time, five silver coins. So she is so diligent with the allowance that she was given that she is not going to try going even a bit over the limit of that five silver coins, eh? Talk about dedication, even though she should be perfectly aware of the fact that she does not have to be so strict with the money as long as I am here with her?

 Volume 6 - CH 3.04

    ¡¸Ah, Roxanne, since I am here with you now, you do not have to worry about buying these things from your allowance. This time, I am going to buy all of them and just take the necessary amount of money from our usual expenses.¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm, While I am glad that master is willing to do so, then I am afraid that then it could no longer be classified as a present from me for Sherry, so¡­.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, I see.¡¹


    ¡¸This is also a gift¡­.. from me to master.¡¹


    Roxanne said while handing me the shirt that she chose for me earlier.


    I see now. She does not want me to be the one buying the clothes, because even if they were bought for Sherry, al long as I was the one paying for them, it would be considered as my property, and that is not what she is aiming for here.


    Roxanne wants to buy the gift for Sherry with her own money and then give it to her herself so that Sherry could become the officially recognized owner of the clothing that she would receive from Roxanne, because the way it would normally go off, it would be something like that:


    If I would be the one to buy the thing that Roxanne wants to give to Sherry with my own money, then even if I then gave that thing to Roxanne and she handed it down to Sherry, the game¡¯s system would still recognize me, the master of my two slaves, as the official owner of these clothes, because the slave system it programmed in such a way that no matter what I might be buying for my slaves or if it was done with the intention of giving it to them, as long as I am the one doing the buying, the game is going to have me designated as the owner of the thing that was bought.


    That is because in this world, just like in my old one, slaves are technically not allowed to have their own material possessions, so even the weapons that they¡¯re using I the Labyrinths or the clothes they¡¯re wearing on their backs are not considered to be their own things, but rather the ones that I am graciously lending to them out of the goodness of my heart.


    But if Roxanne were to buy that gift with her own money, that would make her the owner of the gift instead of me, so once she gives the gift to Sherry, the right of ownership of said gift should be transferred from Roxanne to Sherry without any issues, thus accomplishing Roxanne¡¯s aim of buying Sherry a present that she could truly call her own.


    Now that I think about it, the same rules that I have listed above apply to this shirt that I have just received from Roxanne. This is not something that she bought with my own money, but her gift to me that she paid for with her own allowance.


    ¡¸Thank you for always being so kind and thoughtful towards us, Roxanne. It might not be much in the way of saying thank you for all that you¡¯ve done for us, but allow me to buy you some clothes today as well.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you master, but are you sure that it is really going to be all right? After all, it was not my intention to get anything back for giving you this gift.¡¹


    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry about it. You may choose whatever you like.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you, master. I am going to do exactly as you say.¡¹


    Because Roxanne is my slave, all her belongings are considered my possessions until the moment of my death, and that is why I have decided to alter Sherry¡¯s will so that it wouldn¡¯t have to be like that with her as well.


    After Roxanne finally chooses the clothes that she wanted to buy, which took her a good chunk of time again, we walked to the counter with three articles of clothing in total, and because my thirty percent discount worked due to us buying more than one thing, when everything was said and done Roxanne still had a bit of her allowance available to her.


    When we went out of the clothing store, I tried holding Roxanne¡¯s hand.


    ¡¸Shall we go to the next shop over there?¡¹


    ¡¸¡­Y-Yes, with pleasure, master.¡¹


    Holding a girl¡¯s hands outdoors in broad daylight somehow seems embarrassing, even though we weren¡¯t doing anything scandalous.


    Is this how people on dates feel like all the time?


    Both Roxanne and I were carrying swords so there seems to be a sense of incompatibility somehow. Nevertheless, I still grasped Roxanne¡¯s hands to feel their softness. Hers are smooth hands of the highest value.


    Roxanne also grabs my hand back as I invite her inside a nearby general store. Turns out it was a Woodworks Shop that deals primarily with wood products, many of which were placed on display.


    We looked around the shop while holding hands.


    ¡¸What is that?¡¹


    ¡¸It¡¯s probably a Wooden Basket.¡¹


    I stop in front of a certain product. Just like Roxanne said, it was a basket, but its bottom was ridden with holes like in a grid so that water would come out when poured into it, and its sides were firmly enclosed with boards.


    ¡¸So they even have something like this here, huh?¡¹


    ¡¸I¡¯ve never seen it before in Quratar, but it¡¯s probably something unnecessary to us.¡¹


    It¡¯s an instrument for draining water, so I guess it really isn¡¯t necessary for us? Is it more like a luxury item only used by rich people?


    A drainer made from wood, huh?Appearance wise, it is looking something like a basket made out of bamboo. If you were to slap a dragon brand onto it, then I wouldn¡¯t be surprised at all if this would be something that you could see in one of the many Chinese restaurants that were present all around in my old world.


    If it¡¯s made reliably enough, then I am pretty sure that it could be used as a steaming device with just a little bit of proper preparation. All that you¡¯d have to do in order to pull it off would be to join the two lids together, put a piece of cloth in between them and then cover the lid properly so that none of the water or steam would be escaping outside, preventing the food from being properly cooked. After that, all that you¡¯d have to do is to boil the water in the bottom lid and voila, you¡¯d have yourself a perfectly functional steamer!


    ¡¸This is  going to be a good purchase, I can already feel it. All right, it¡¯s decided! We¡¯ll buy it and then its back to the home with us!¡¹


    Since I never expected to find something like this world¡¯s equivalent of a bamboo steamer in such a shop in Imperial City, I was feeling very excited about this stroke of luck that has found its way to me by sheer coincidence. Even though this thing seems to be intended as just a colander and not a steamer, then I am sure that with just a little bit of creativity and ingenuity I should be able to make it work as a steaming device as well.


    ¡¸Ah, yes, of course!¡¹


    ¡¸Now that we have our hands on it, let¡¯s make some dessert with it today.¡¹


    ¡¸Desserts? What kind of dessert are you going to make, master?¡¹


    ¡¸I would like it to remain a secret for the time being, but trust me when I say this: you can definitely look forward to it trying it.¡¹


    When it comes to desserts or other kinds of sweet, sugar-based treats, this world really doesn¡¯t seem to have all that much going for it in that department. The best things that I can think of off the top of my head are most probably dried fruits at worst and hard biscuits at best, so as you can see, that¡¯s not what I would call an awful lot of variety, right?


    Though people like the Duke & Cassia, that is to say nobles, royalty and the members of this world¡¯s ruling class are probably going to have access to something unique to just them, us commoners are probably going to have no choice but to suck it up and make do with what we have available to us.


    Roxanne really enjoyed that caramel candy that I bought for her when we were in the Imperial City sometime earlier, and she also did not seem to have anything against the makeshift honeycomb toffee that I prepared back home, even though it was my first time making something like that without the tools and cooking appliances offered by the technology of the modern times.


    That is why I would like to allow her to try and experience even more things when it comes to sweets.

 Volume 6 - CH 3.05

    And quite understandably, if the nobles have some kind of desserts that they exclusively get to enjoy, then there is no way that they would ever get to share that dessert with some lowly commoners, but when I remember how pleased Roxanne was when I bought that honeycomb toffee for her, I think that making something like that once more would be well and truly worth it.


    First we went back home to leave all of the things that we managed to buy there, and the we went out to do some grocery shopping, mainly to buy milk, eggs and some sugar. Thankfully, sugar itself is reasonably priced in this world, most likely because it is being made form a rare Drop Items form the Kobold enemies: Kobold Sucrose.


    The only thing that I am slightly worried about is the fact that I have never made more advanced desserts before, so I have absolutely no idea how the thing that I want to try making is going to turn out. Theoretically, I could try making crepes with the usage of milk, flour, eggs and sugar, but I never tried making them back in Japan, so naturally I was hesitant about trying to make them here as well. But now that I bought this pseudo steamer, I should be able to whip out something really nice, or at least nicer than the honeycomb toffee.


    Also, just like wit crepes, I have never tried making pudding before in my life, but right now, I suddenly find myself developing quite a craving for it. In order to make pudding, I am going to need milk, eggs and sugar. While it would be a nice addition to it, I think that it would be impossible to get my hand on some vanilla essence or extract, but I might as well try substituting it with caramel, which can be obtained by boiling down the sugar and being careful not to accidentally burn it, so I think that I should be able to somehow manage without the vanilla extract, so the only things that I have to be mindful of now would be the quantity of the ingredients and the actual steaming time.


    Perhaps I will have to try it several times before I actually succeed, or perhaps I am going to succeed immediately? Whatever the case is going to be, this is going to be a good learning experience for me nonetheless. And in the worst-case scenario, I could always go for some steamed bread. I have made it in Home Economics classes before, so if I managed to prepare it properly back then, then I am sure that I could do so here as well, since the entire process of making steamed bread is not actually as difficult as it might initially sound.


    The raw ingredients that I would need in order to make such a bread are flour, sugar, milk, eggs and baking soda respectively. In order to actually get baking soda, I can use the very same shell powder that I used in order to make soap. If I add this to the steamed bread, it will ensure that the whole thing is going to turn out soft and fluffy instead of being hardened and difficult to chew, and since this would be my very first time making something like this here in this world, then I am going to start with the smaller portions for today, just to be on the safe side.


    First thing¡¯s first, I have to make the dough and then let it like down for a while. In the meantime, I used the occasion that Sherry was not around in order to have some fun with Roxanne.


    When the dough lied down enough, it was time to start preparing the steamed bread properly, and as I was getting about doing it, Roxanne was watching me work in the kitchen through every step of the way.


    I boiled the water in one of the woks that we had in the kitchen, and then placed the steamer over the boiling water itself. I then wrapped the dough up in a cloth and put it in a cup, placed another cover on it upside down and closed the entire thing with wooden boards. When the steam began to show up, I reduced the flame under the wok with water to the low one, and then had Roxanne watch over it it in order to make sure that the temperature was going to be properly maintained. While she was doing that for me, I went and warped myself to the Imperial City so that I could go and fetch Sherry from the Library.


    ¡¸*Sniff Sniff* This smell¡­. It is so sweet and nice.¡¹


    Roxanne commented on the fact that apparently Sherry was giving off the sweet smell alcohol around her entire person. As for me, it was something that I was unable to smell, but apparently alcohol has a sweet smell, so maybe that is something worth remembering for the future. That, and I guess that just proves exactly how sensitive Roxanne¡¯s sense of smell is, not only in the Labyrinths but also outside of them.


    I guess members of the Wolfkin race are really something else when it comes to their noses.


    When I took off the lid and looked inside of the steamer later, it looked like the steamed bread was coming along quite nicely. However, since this one was just the prototype to see how the things done in this makeshift steamer would turn out, but when I will be attempting making it in earnest, the entire process is going to be quite different. Well, the most important issues for me right now were whether I would be able to mix the dough properly and if it would get steamed the way it was supposed to be steamed, so now that I had these questions answered quite nicely, the next thing that I am going to make by using this should turn out fine.


    After finishing dinner that was made mostly by Roxanne and Sherry, I took the bread out of the steamer and tasted it.


    When I took it out of the cup it was soft and fluffy, while the inside of it was arguably stull a little bit moist, which probably means that I managed to steam it rather well.


    ¡¸All right then¡­.. Let us eat.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes!¡¹


    ¡¸Time to dig in!¡¹


    When I have bitten into it after grabbing it, I felt that it had a chewy, yet springy texture. Honestly, for something that was done as my first ever attempt at steaming something in this world, this is really not bad. The only complain that I have it that it is probably a little bit too sweet for my liking, which means that I might have used a little bit too much sugar in the process of making it.


    ¡¸Ohhhhh, it is delicious, master!¡¹


    ¡¸This is great! I have never eaten something like that!¡¹


    It seems to me like the final product of this steamer test run has managed to score high notes from both Sherry and Roxanne. They smile widely and just continued to do so as they were putting more and more pieces of the steamed bread into their mouths.


    I will increase the number of my harem members, and not just by one or two, but many more, so this might just prove to be the thing that is going to allow me appease Roxanne, Sherry and all of the harem members that I have yet to meet, making it possible for me to atone for the sin of lying to them about getting more and more Party Members just for the purpose of increasing our battle potential.


    Yes, if doing something so relatively simple as that means being able to do that and make them happy at the same time, then maybe I should continue to make things like that on a regular basis from now on? However, the only drawback to this steamed bread is that its calorie count is relatively high, so maybe it would do me better to just stay silent about this particular detail and allow the girls to continue to live in blissful ignorance?


    ¡¸Well then, master, once again, this is a gift from me. Please continue to look after me in the future, and thank you for your support and everything that you have done for me up until now.¡¹


    After our meal has ended, Roxanne handed me the clothes that she bought for me today during our shopping trip, so I stood up and received them with gratitude.


    ¡¸Thank you. Please continue to look after me as well.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I most definitely will.  Next, this is a present for you from me as well, Sherry.¡¹


    ¡¸Ahh, thank you very much, Miss Roxanne. I promise to always treasure it no matter what!¡¹

 Volume 6 - CH 3.06

    Sherry stands and receives some clothes that Roxanne bought for her with her expression filled with gratefulness towards her.


    It also makes me happy to see that apparently Sherry decided to reduce the amount of alcohol that she drank at while being at the library this time, because she was able to handle all of the work related to cleaning after the dinner was finished without awkwardness or drunken clumsiness to her movements.


    However, when we were having our fun later that night, her kiss still had that peculiar alcoholic aftertaste to it.


    The next morning, after doing a bit of exploration and monster hunting in Haruba¡¯s Labyrinths, I went to deliver another batch of Palmasque Mirrors to the Duke of Hartz, and while I was there, he shared the following information with me:


    ¡¸We should be able to complete some frames for the mirrors that you brought soon.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. That¡¯s good to hear.¡¹


    ¡¸By the way Lord Michio, I hope you¡¯ll not hold it against me for asking you something a bit more personal¡­.. but if I may ask, have you known a broker working for the Merchant¡¯s Guild by the name of Luke Acid for long?¡¹


    When I put the gold coin that I received as payment for the mirror delivery away in my Item Box, Gozer asked me such a question.


    ¡¸Have I known him for long? Well, he¡¯s been my personal broker for a while now, but I cannot say that it has really been that long since we established our partnership.¡¹


    ¡¸He seems to be quite an excellent broker, which isn¡¯t really a surprise to me, since  I employed the services of his father who was also a broker back in the day.¡¹


    ¡¸You did? Well, that is the first time when I¡¯m hearing about it.¡¹


    So Luke¡¯s father was a broker? That would mean that he actually continues a family tradition of working in the broker¡¯s profession. And since his father was the one serving as the Duke of Hartz¡¯s personal broker, then that¡¯s some pretty powerful connection and quite a lifeline for him, even more so since it technically gives him access to doing business with both the noble family of Bode and the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy, and he probably inherited a lot, if not all of the connections that his father must¡¯ve established. Talk about having a nice and easy start in the business.


    ¡¸He¡¯s definitely a broker whom I know that I can absolutely trust, so if I happen to have any kind of work that might require your assistance in the future, then would you mind if the details of any such work would be delegated to you through Luke?¡¹


    In other words, he wants Luke to act not only as a broker, but also as a middleman between the two of us.


    ¡¸Contacting me through Luke about any future work, you say?¡¹


    ¡¸I hear that you live in Quratar, Lord Michio. To tell you the truth, going there to see you anytime when something requiring your attention would come up would be quite difficult for me, but since Luke often comes here due to carrying various messages and errands, it would be easier for me if he were the one passing the details to you on my behalf instead.¡¹


    It might be that the ten mirrors that I bought for them might not be enough after all. If they use them as gifts, then they might need to replenish them at some point, and that might be one of those times when they¡¯d like to contact me with business that they¡¯d want to take care off, and that¡¯s why they want to use Luke for that purpose?


    ¡¸If that¡¯s what you think would be best thing to do here, then that¡¯s fine with me as well.¡¹


    I okayed the Duke¡¯s idea of making Luke our middlemen and then left Bode. Now that the matter of the mirrors was over, I killed some time in the Labyrinths until after noon, when it was finally time to visit the Slave Merchant in the Imperial City.


    ¡¸Just as I mentioned earlier, I¡¯m going to go the Imperial Capital. Do the two of you want to come with me as well?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. I¡¯ll come.¡¹


    ¡¸Um, is it alright for us to come with you, master?¡¹


    Sherry seemed to be a little hesitant.


    ¡¸It will be a new companion for the two of you, so I want to hear your opinions about them to make sure that I¡¯ll buy someone with whom you¡¯ll be able to get along.¡¹


    ¡¸It¡¯s going to be all right, Sherry.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, right, now that I think about it, Miss Roxanne was there with master when you came to buy me. In that case, please let me come with you as well then.¡¹


    It has been decided that Roxanne and Sherry will come along with me, so the three of us go to the Adventurers Guild in the Imperial City, and from there, we made our way towards the location of the Imperial City Slave Shop, since Alan-san was kind enough to give me the directions on how to reach it.


    It was a place surrounded by a high wall, with an amazing-looking building situated right behind it at the far end of my field of view.


    The gate is beautiful, looking like it was made out of some pretty expensive materials. If they have something like that here, then I guess that means that this establishment must be quite profitable.


    ¡¸This must be the place.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, it definitely looks like it.¡¹


    Is the wall so high in order to prevent people from getting in, or from getting out though? Whatever the case may be, we opened it and proceeded to go towards the building. When we reached the main door, a man that looked like a servant came out to meet us straight away.


    ¡¸I have come here today bearing a letter of introduction, and I would like to speak to the owner of this place about purchasing a slave. Would that be possible?¡¹


    ¡¸I understand. This way please.¡¹


    I passed the letter of introduction over to the servant and allowed him to guide us into the building, staying closely behind him the entire time. We stopped when we reached the room near the entrance, after which he turned back towards us and went to fetch his master while telling us to wait here for a bit.


    ¡¸Welcome, I am the master of this establishment. I heard that you¡¯re interested in the purchase of a slave, right, Sir?¡¹


    After waiting a while, a different man came to us and introduced himself. His Job is a Slave Merchant Lv.6.


    ¡¸Yes, that¡¯s right, I am indeed looking to purchase a slave. I look forward to doing business with you.¡¹


    ¡¸Likewise, now, if you could come with me, that would be appreciated.¡¹


    Upon the Slave trader¡¯s indication, we followed after him, and he guided us to one of the room that were located at the back of the building, where we were invited to sit on the sofa and partake of the herbal tea that was prepared for us.


    Now, notice how I said that ¡¸we¡¹were invited to sit on the sofa and that there were ¡¸three¡¹herbal teas prepared for us instead of just one? Yeah, exactly. Normally those would be nothing but small details unworthy attention, but to me that was actually a huge deal, since it shows that this Slave Merchant actually recognizes Roxanne and Sherry as my fellow companions and not just some objects or accessories to my own person, which raised my opinion of him to some extent.


    As I was sitting on the sofa, I took a sip of the herbal tea. As expected of Imperial City, its taste was exquisitely delicious.


    Since I gave him a letter of introduction, in which the purpose of my visit here today should be exquisitely stated, then there shouldn¡¯t be any misunderstandings about me coming here today in order to sell Roxanne or Sherry, and that is going to save us a lot of time that would otherwise have to be wasted on needless explanations.


    ¡¸Thank you very much.¡¹


    I said after taking another sip of the tea so that he would be aware that I am actually grateful to him for ordering his servants to go out of their way in order to prepare this refreshing beverage for us. That being said, considering that this guy is the owner of a business where he sells people to other people in order to make a living for himself, then I cannot bring myself to give him my unconditional trust.

 Volume 6 - CH 3.07

    No matter how much he might try to win me over with seemingly trivial pleasantries of how far he is willing to go with them, I am not going to fall for such an obvious tactic. Then again, I guess I am not that much better than him by the standards of my old world, since I actually bought slaves myself not once, but twice in a relatively short span of time.


    ¡¸I saw the letter of introduction from Alan the Slave Merchant in Vale, and that you¡¯re looking for a slave who¡¯s also a Master Smith. Is that correct?¡¹


    ¡¸No, I no longer need a Master Smith.¡¹


    I it makes sense for him to be thinking that I am still looking for a Master Smith slave, since that is probably what Alan-san has written in his letter of introduction, and that¡¯s perfectly logical, since he told me himself that Sherry has failed to become a Master Smith, and when he was selling her to me that was very much the case, since Sherry was only able to become Master Smith thanks to my guidance.


    Still, her obtaining tha Master Smith Job wouldn¡¯t have been possible if I wasn¡¯t aware of this world being the one that¡¯s based on a game and if I didn¡¯t figure out how its mechanics regarding the acquisition of new Jobs worked. Without those pieces of information, I would be no better than the native residents of this world, and I¡¯d probably believed that there¡¯s no way for Sherry to obtain the Job of a Master Smith now. But thanks to me being transported here from the real world, I was able to utilize the knowledge that I¡¯ve obtained to my advantage and make the seemingly impossible thing possible.


    Thanks to my efforts, Sherry didn¡¯t have to give up on her dream of becoming a Master Smith, and I don¡¯t have to look for one anymore, and so I made sure that this Slave Merchant was aware of that fact.


    ¡¸Okay, I understand.¡¹


    The Slave Merchant acknowledged my words and then looked at Sherry for but a brief moment. That stare he gave her just now¡­. Was he able to figure out that she was a Dwarf just by looking at her once? Because if so, then I have to admit that he possesses some truly terrifying cognitive abilities.


    Most of the people who would see Sherry for the first time without possessing any kind of prior knowledge of her would¡¯ve probably assumed that she was just a child based on her height alone, since other than that the Dwarves are pretty much indistinguishable from Humans, but I guess those who work in the slave trading business must have their perception trained to such a degree that they¡¯re able to pick up the differences immediately. Maybe he even put it together that she¡¯s a Master Smith, but even if he did, then tough luck, buddy, because I am not going to sell her!


    ¡¸Sir, since you¡¯re not looking for a Master Smith slave as it was stated in the letter of introduction, then may I ask exactly what kind of slave are you looking for here today? That way we¡¯ll be able to narrow down the possible candidates and make sure that you¡¯re going to choose the one that¡¯s going to best suit your needs and preferences.¡¹


    ¡¸You may ask. Today, I¡¯m actually looking for a female slave who would fight in the Labyrinths together with me and the members of my Party.¡¹


    ¡¸A female slave capable of fighting in the Labyrinths? I see. To elaborate on that subject further, are you looking for the one that is a Combat Slave, an Adventurer, or perhaps an Explorer?¡¹


    I know what¡¯s the difference between an Adventurer and an Explorer, but how exactly does a Combat Slave differ from those other two? As curious as I am about it and as much as I want to know, I think it would be best for me to keep my curiosity to myself and just ask Sherry about it later whenever we¡¯ll have the chance.


    ¡¸I¡¯m going to be fine with anyone fitting into these three categories. And also, I would¡¯ve liked it if it was someone capable of speaking Brahim fluently.¡¹


    It would also be nice if that female slave was young and beautiful, but there¡¯s no way in hell that I¡¯m going to say that out loud, because then the cat would¡¯ve been out of the bag and everyone here, including Roxanne and Sherry would¡¯ve figured out that I am not looking for someone who would bolster our ranks and increased our combat potential, but rather for someone who would make for a lovely bedroom companion first and a comrade on the battlefield second, and that would probably make the girls revoke their support of my decision to buy a new slave immediately.


    ¡¸Here in the Imperial City, a beautiful Combat Slaves who¡¯re also female are always in exceedingly high demand due to there being a lot of people here in the capital who¡¯re also engaged in foraging into the Labyrinths. That is also why this establishment has a lot of them in stock so surely we can find the one that is going to be to your satisfaction.¡¹


    ¡¸I certainly hope so.¡¹


    ¡¸Lets go to the room where they¡¯re kept so that you could have a look then. If there is any you are interested in, then you can interview them if you wish.¡¹


    He seems to have realized what my goal was even without me outright saying it. Also, are the female slaves here sorted by their looks?


    ¡¸I understand.¡¹


    I follow the Slave Merchant to the third floor. Roxanne and Sherry can come along with me since it¡¯s the room for females only.


    ¡¸The second floor has women who are older, as well as the ones who are not suited for combat. If you are interested, then we can have a look at them afterwords when we finish here.¡¹


    ¡¸I appreciate the offer, but that probably won¡¯t be necessary.¡¹


    I came here today to buy myself a beautiful female slave that would also be capable of fighting in the Labyrinths with us in order to increase our battle potential and make the exploration of the higher floors easier on all of us, so I don¡¯t need the ones that are going to be incapable of fighting. That, and I have a feeling that if I¡¯ve chosen to go along with him to the second floor then this guy might¡¯ve tried to sell me someone strange.


    Anyway, the Slave Merchant went into yet another room, and I followed up after him after quickly glancing at Sherry and receiving an affirmative nod from her.


    ¡¸This Explorer right here is looking for Combat Slaves who could join his Party. All of you who know Brahim, please line up in front of the rest in an orderly line.¡¹


    The Slave Merchant explains the situation to the slaves and orders them to arrange themselves in a neat line before us.


    All in all, that line consisted of about ten people, which is really not that much. Among those ten people, there are various ones: some of them have a blatantly unmotivated looks on their faces, some appear to be moderately interested, and some seem to be curious about me as they¡¯re eyeing me with different sets of expressions on their faces.


    At the very least I can say with absolute certainty that all of the slaves present here right now seem to be looking better than the unmotivated ones that I saw in Alan-san¡¯s Slave Shop in Vale.


    I guess it must be true that there is a lot of demand for Combat Slaves in the Imperial Capital after all. But even so, because there is only a few of them that actually know Brahim, the process of selection should be over rather quickly for me, and it was, since none of them felt like the appropriate candidates for a new Party Member for me.


    I feel like the most important question that I have to ask myself now is this: should I be looking for a female slave with a beautiful face, or should I look for the one who looks like she¡¯s motivated?


    After inspecting all of the slaves in the room thoroughly and not finding anyone suitable to join us, we left the room and were guided to the next room.


    Thankfully, there was more than ten slaves who knew Brahim available here, so it looks like the owner here decided to spread them out across a number of rooms instead of keeping them all cooped up in a single room.


    Unfortunately though, none of the female slaves in this second room were extremely beautiful, and when we went to look at the ones in the other rooms, there wasn¡¯t anyone with a beautiful physique either, which ended up undermining my mood quite a bit.

 Volume 6 - CH 3.08

    Is it impossible for me to expect to find someone who is going to be on the same level of beauty as Roxanne and Sherry? Am I really going to have to lower my own standards and expectations in order to compromise on it so that this trip here would not turn out to be one huge waste of my time?


    ¡¸What about that room over here?¡¹


    I asked the Slave Shop owner when we reached the room at the far end of the corridor.


    ¡¸The following room contains the slaves without any experience with men. They are a bit expensive for a Combat Slaves, but if it is your wish to browse though them as well, then by all means, we can go ahead and do it.¡¹


    ¡¸That is all right with me. I do not mind if they are going to be a bit inexperienced, so you can go ahead and take me to see them as well.¡¹


    ¡¸Very well, as you wish.¡¹


    So they evenhad a category for slaves like that, huh? Well, since there are all kinds of people out there with various tastes, then I guess there are people who enjoy inexperienced slaves as well, and hence the market for them, even if they might be a little niche. I just hope that one of them turn out to be too muscular, because while I do like women to be fit, I am not too big of a fan of them having too much muscle mass than strictly necessary.


    Anyway, once we entered the room, the female slaves who know Brahim arranged themselves in a row in front of all the others, just like the owner had told them to do all those times before. There was one woman whom I could describe as beautiful here, but she was so blatantly unmotivated and did not even try to look at me that I knew that I am not going to be able t find what I am looking for in here.


    I see, so that is how it is going to be, huh?


    It might be because this is the Slave Shop in the Imperial City, so the standards and the expectations of its slaves might be a bit heightened, but this is probably what Sherry described to me before: the case where the female slaves are going to be aiming to snatch the most wealthy client possible for themselves, and because of that they are not even going to be giving a passing glance to those whom they deem to be not wealthy enough.


    The biggest issue with these types of women is that they are perfectly aware that they are beautiful, and because of that they can allow themselves to be selective as hell when choosing to which client they want to appeal, and that beauty is also going to allow them to completely lead their potential masters by the nose, having them on their every beck and call.


    They are probably going to think that it is going to be too bothersome and dangerous to be entering the Labyrinths only to have their beauty endangered, and would likely search for every possible excuse to not go there as much as possible, so in a way, I guess it can be said that it is the same as back in my old world, right?


    There are women who want nothing more from life than to strike it rich and live a comfortable life where they would not have to do absolutely anything for the rest of their lives, relying on their husband/boyfriend/partner to continue to provide for their comfy lifestyle. If such women are here in this world as well, then it is pretty much self-explanatory that they would not want to have anything to do with the typical activities of a Combat Slave, even if they have been purchased for that exact reason. Such women are truly the worst. In contrast, take a look at Roxanne and Sherry. They are both beautiful, but even so, they have still decided that they want to accompany me on my trips to the Labyrinths so that we could continue to explore them and grow stronger together.


    So I guess now I have yet another thing to consider before I make my purchase here: if I still decide to aim for a beautiful slave, are they even going to be willing to go to the Labyrinth along with the three of us? Would they be willing to risk their life for their master and fellow slaves, or would they just laze around in the house while claiming that battling in the Labyrinth is too much of a hussle for them? I have no way of knowing that for sure, but as far as my intuition goes, pretty much everything is possible at the moment, so I have to be even more careful in order not to make a choice that I am just going to end up regretting later.


    I need someone who would be brave enough to jump head-first into danger with us if need be, someone who would make a meaningful contribution to our battle potential. If that someone is going to turn out to be a coward, then I have no use of such people.


    ¡¸Let us just move on to the next room.¡¹


    ¡¸All right, as you wish.¡¹


    I do not know if the owner caught on to the fact that I was beginning to get just a little bit annoyed by the lack of any slave candidates that would suit my needs, but I am not going to go out of my way to inform him about it. Let him figure it out and fix it himself.


    We enter the next room, and once more, the female slaves received the command to line up after sorting which ones among them knew Brahim and which ones did not and followed it up without complaining about it out loud. Out of all of them, the one that immediately caught my attention was the cat girl that was standing at the very end of the line in the back


    Ah, looking at her now, she is quite the cutie.


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X .¡¹


    I do not know why, but when she stood up as the last one, she was told something by the shop¡¯s owner and then sent away. Aww man, what a shame! I really thought that she was genuinely cute!


    Miria   Female, 15 years old


    Job: Diver Lv.2


    According to my ¡¸Identify¡¹ Bonus Skill, the cat-girl¡¯s name was Miria. I see, Miria, huh? I wonder why did she stand up as the very last one? Did she do it because she was not willing to? Or maybe because out of all the slaves in that room she was the one that was the least suited for combat in the Labyrinth? I am going to ask about it and see what I can learn.


    ¡¸Why was that girl sent away?¡¹


    ¡¸Because what she spoke just now was the Bana language.¡¹


    Roxanne explained when I asked her about it in hushed whisper.


    ¡¸Bana language?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. It is the language spoken by Beastkin tribes inhabiting middle- eastern parts of the Empire.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. So she was driven away because she does not understand the Brahim language?¡¹


    ¡¸Most likely.¡¹


    Yeah, I guess that would make sense. After all, I told the Slave Merchant that I was looking for a female slave that would accompany me in the Labyrinths and knew how to speak Brahim, so that is what he was doing this entire time: he was telling the females slaves who know Brahim to line up in front of all the others so that I could pick from among them, because the Slave Merchant assumed that I am not going to be interested in the female slaves that either cannot engage in combat or do not know Brahim. Because of that, Miria, who apparently cannot speak Brahim and does not understand it stood up and went into the front row simply because she saw other people doing so, so she just copied what the others were doing. She might have not understood the words that the Slave Merchant has spoken, but if nothing else, she managed to read the mood in the room perfectly.


    As a Japanese, I believe that being able to read the mood in the room and react to the changes in it accordingly is one of the most important skills that a person should possess, but up until now there was no need for Alan-san to segregate the slaves in his Slave Shop in such a way.

 Volume 6 - CH 3.09

    That is why I never saw them being sent away due to some kind of mistake that they might have committed, but that was probably only because every time when I was buying slaves from Alan-san¡¯s shop, they were all pretty well-educated ones who were able to understand the words spoken in Brahim, so there was never any situation like this one that I have just witnessed.


    That is why I cannot really understand why Miria was sent away, when she essentially did nothing wrong. If it were up to me, I would never have punished my slave for doing something like that, because in my eyes not understanding Brahim and not following the orders given in Brahim because of it are not the reasons to subject the slave to heavy punishment. If I were to do something like that, that would only result in the slave following my orders and other people not out of trust or respect, but out of fear of getting punished again.


    Yeah¡­. I think it can be safe to say that this Slave Merchant and I are nothing alike.


    Apparently, according to him, a slave is not supposed to be so close to their master that they act on their own discretion, and any order that the master gives to the slave has to be issued in clear words and followed down to every last word with absolute obedience. However¡­.


    I wonder if I should start issuing more clear orders to Roxanne and Sherry instead of vague suggestions as well? Would that serve to improve my standing as their master? Or would it just achieve the opposite effect of them not respecting me as much as they did before because I stopped being so friendly with them? Anyway, I have to make sure to thank Roxanne for doing it in my stead later.


    Whenever I visit the Slave Shops I am always reminded of how lacking I am when it comes to the knowledge of the laws and common sense of this world, and every time, it is leaving a more and more of a bitter taste in my mouth.


    ¡¸My humblest apologies, dear customer. She should not have stood up so needlessly.¡¹


    ¡¸It is all right. I do not think she did anything wrong anyway.¡¹


    ¡¸Then please, have a look at the rest of the slaves here now.¡¹


    I follow the slave merchant and check the rest of the slaves out, but unfortunately, none of them managed to appeal to me. I just could not find a single outstanding thing about them, even though I was trying to do so with all my might, and I kept going back to that one thought at the back of my mind¡­.. a thought that Miria was the cutest one of all the female slaves that I have seen here so far. And by saying that, I do not mean ¡¸the cutest one in this particular room.


    No, when I say that, I mean ¡¸the cutest one in this entire goddamn building¡¹¡­¡­ well, if I really were to choose, then I would have to say that the second female slave in the previous room, the beautiful one who did not even glance my way and acted as if she was waiting for a rich customer to snag her away was arguably the most beautiful one as far as pure looks were concerned¡­. But ultimately the rest is just a matter tastes and personal opinion.


    ¡¸Roxanne, can you speak this Bana language?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I can. Bana was actually one of the languages that were spoken beside Brahim in the place where I was growing up.¡¹


    ¡¸And what about you, Sherry? Can you speak that language as well?¡¹


    ¡¸No, unfortunately I cannot.¡¹


    So Roxanne can speak Bana, most likely because she is a member of one of the Beastkin tribes, the Wolfkin. This is a good news in and out of itself, but I have towonder¡­.. is it even going to be possible for a Wolfkin to live peacefully under one roof with a Catkin (I assume that is how the entire race of the people with cat-features is called id those with the traits of a wolf are called Wolfkin)? I mean, wolves are essentially wild dogs that have not been domesticated, and I think we all know the exact meaning of the saying¡¸Like Cats and Dogs¡¹, right?


    If I have seen them correctly, the ears on Miria¡¯s head were triangular in shape, and that was exactly the shape of the ears that the cat-eared amber merchant and his female clerk had. And since those two were the members of the Catkin race, then that has to mean that Miria is a member of the Catkin race as well! Okay Mr. Shop Owner, time for you to make yourself useful by answering my question.


    ¡¸That girl who stood up the last is from a Catkin tribe, right?¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    When I voiced my question, Roxanne said something to Miria, who said something back to her in return. I do not know what they were talking about because I do not understand a word from the Bana language, but whatever it was, it must have been pretty peculiar, because, because it left Roxanne with quite a perplexed and somewhat confused expression on her face.


    ¡¸Well, what did she say?¡¹


    I asked, urging Roxanne to give me an answer.


    ¡¸Yes, uhm, she said¡­. She said¡­..¡¹


    ¡¸She said what?¡¹


    ¡¸She said that she¡­.. that she wants to eat fish.¡¹


    ¡¸Eat¡­.. fish?¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X? X X X X X X X X X X X?¡¹


    When I simply repeated what Roxanne told me, she asked Miria other questions, most likely because she wanted to affirm whether what she heard her say or not was one hundred percent correct.


    In my honest opinion, as long as her needs and preferences will not differ too much from our own, then we should have no problem with adopting a Catgirl into my Party, especially if we are talking about such a cute one as Miria. And since she said that she wants to eat fish¡­. Then I guess the members of the Catkin tribe must enjoy that type of food in particular? I have to admit that it sounds a little cliched (or racist, depending on how you look at it), but if that is simply how the members of the catkin Tribe are, then there is nothing that can do about is, same like with us Japanese people loving our rice and miso soup. That is simply how we are, and nobody is questioning whether it is right or wrong, so I should not be doing that in this case as well.


    ¡¸Can you ask her for me if she really loves fish that much?¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X?¡¹


    ¡¸ X X X! X X X X X X X X X X X! X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X!¡¹


    ¡¸She says that fish is her absolutely most favorite food in the entire world, and if we allow her to eat it, she would be willing to join master¡¯s Party.¡¹


    ¡¸Becoming a Party Member in exchange for the ability to eat fish, huh? I have to admit that it does not sound all that bad at all.¡¹


    Does she really like fish that much? Because I am beginning to wonder if that love of eating fish is really a trait that can be attributed to the entire Catkin tribe or just to Miria herself? If it is the latter, then I have to say that I really do admire her dedication in the pursuit of the food that she loves the most in the world. We Humans are also said to be enthusiasts of eating tasty food, so I can definitely say that I understand where she is coming from with it, because if I can help it, I also want to eat tasty dishes as frequently as possible, but Miria¡¯s dedication to her cause of eating fish is so great that she even acquired herself a Diver Job. This is my very first time even seeing such a Job.

 Volume 6 - CH 3.10

    Either it is that rare or it is something specific to the inhabitants of the fishing hamlets and the villages by the sea who are often going out to fish on the open waters.


    ¡¸Would you like to buy this particular slave, sir?¡¹


    ¡¸I have not made any decisions just yet. If at all possible, could I have an interview with her first?¡¹


    ¡¸It is possible, but allow me to give you a fair bit of warning, sir. That girl, not only she does not understand the words that are spoken in Brahim, but she was also found guilty of a crime, and was therefore judged and sentenced to become a slave as a punishment for the transgression that she committed.¡¹


    ¡¸So does that mean that I cannot buy her because she is technically a former criminal?¡¹


    ¡¸No, that is not the case here. If you want to buy her, then you can absolutely do it.¡¹


    While the Slave Shop owner was saying that, his expression changed into an annoyed one for a very short moment and I did not let it go unnoticed. Could it be¡­.. could it be that maybe I will be able to buy her for myself at a truly bargain price? Or maybe this is all the Slave Merchant¡¯s act, a clever ruse by him and the slaves that he owns that is meant to deceive me and trick me into buying a slave that is absolutely not going to be worth the money spent on her? Whatever the case may be, I have apparently saw all of the female slaves that are capable of understanding the words spoken in the Brahim Language and could be taken to the Labyrinths with me, so now the time has finally come to go through the interviews with the best possible candidates.


    Ultimately, I have selected three female slaves for that purpose.


    The first one is the female slave from the very first room, the one that had quite a decent face and decently motivated eyes, so maybe she is going to be motivated enough to be just as willing to be going to the Labyrinths on a daily basis as Roxanne and Sherry are. I asked her all the questions that I wanted to ask, and after hearing her responses to all of them, I have to conclude that overall that first female slave was neither good nor bad, situated exactly in the middle of the scales that I was using to measure up if she is going to be a good addition to my Party. She is not a perfect candidate by any means, but trust me when I say this: it could have been much worse, so I should be happy about finding myself such a fifty-fifty opener. Form here on out, things with the other two can go either way.


    The second one that I interviewed was the extremely beautiful female slave that seemed like she was out to catch herself some wealthy customer, and just like I was expecting, she was apparently not interested in joining my Party at all, because while she was answering all of the questions that I was asking her, she was doing so without showing even a shred of interest in any of them, not to mention that she was avoiding having to loo directly at me whenever she could. Very well then, if she is going me such obvious signals that she does not want to have anything to do with me, then goodbye and have fun waiting for your wealthy prince charming!


    And besides, I feel like someone like her would not be of much help to us anyway, because let me be completely honest with you: if I am to take her attitude right now and those dead-fish looking eyes of hers as any indication, then I have a feeling that she would just be one of those people who would not only not be of any help in the Labyrinths, but she would probably wait for an occasion to stab me in the back while exploring so that she could be done with me and move on with her gold digging, if in the off chance that she agreed to join my Party, I would specifically have to keep her will in such a way that she would die when I was killed, just to show the big, fat middle finger to her plans.


    The third person that I have decided to interview was Miria, who entered the room when the Slave Merchant called her over from outside of it.


    Her height is more than Sherry¡¯s, but lower than Roxanne¡¯s. If I had to guess without measuring her properly, then my guess would have to be that she is around one hundred and fifty centimeters. She also has a pretty slim figure and a moderately sized chest that was neither too small or too big. When I saw her earlier I thought that the color of her hair was black, but now that I look at her in a slightly different lighting, I can see that her hair is actually kinda bluish.


    It is a dark blue¡­.. no, dark navy blue, and it looks pretty nice when put together with her slightly round face, which is looking incredibly cute, just like her big, round eyes. And of course, who could ever forget the ever-lovable cat ears atop her head? Hair on the outside of her ears is blackish blue, just like the hair on her head. Hair on the inner side of her ears, however, is white.


    Soft ears covered in delicate hair¡­.. ahhh, I so wanna play with her ears right now! But now is not the time for that. Now is the time for an interview!


    ¡¸Roxanne, can I ask you to be my interpreter for this interview?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course. Please, leave it to me, master.¡¹


    I then start her interview with Roxanne as my personal interpreter.


    ¡¸All right, so first thing¡¯s first, let us talk about fish. How frequently would you like to eat it?¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X?¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X¡­¡­. X X X X X X X!  X X X XX X X X X X X X X X X X X X  X X!¡¹


    ¡¸She says that she would like to eat fish at least once every three¡­. No, once every five days.¡¹


    Only once every three or five days? Damn, from her earlier phrasing, I was under the impression that she would want to eat fish pretty much every day, but knowing that this is not actually the case is something of a relief for me.


    I have no idea how much fish is eaten normally in this world, but at the very least we have a fishmonger shop available in Quratar, so getting a hold of the fish every few days should not technically be a problem. What might be a little problem though, is the fact that so far I have never seen Sherry or Roxanne cook fish, so I have no idea how any fish-based dishes would turn out if they were the ones responsible for preparing them. And you know how they say that the Japanese people of the modern age have stopped eating as much fish as they were eating in the past? That might be true to a degree, but considering how much of them is still being sold at the fish markets and in stores, then I guess the fish-consumption not only in Japan but in the entire world as well is not as bad as everyone seems to be thinking that it is.


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸What did she say just now?¡¹


    ¡¸She said that in order to not be too much of a burden on us, she would be willing to hold out and eat fish only once every ten days if need be.¡¹


    Oh, so she actually went down on her demands, huh? Well, she probably did so to make herself appeal to me just a little bit better, but still, that is a very welcome thing, and not only that, but now Miria is also looking at me with expectant eyes


    ¡¸Would you be fine with eating fish every ten days, Roxanne, Sherry?¡¹


    ¡¸I do not dislike fish, so I would not have any problems with it.¡¹


    ¡¸I would be fine with that as well.¡¹


    Well, I guess that means that I will just have to try making meuniere sometime, I guess.

 Volume 6 - CH 3.11

    Besides, if things have gotten so far already then It¡¯s too late for me to say that I don¡¯t like fish all that much now.


    ¡¸There¡¯s no issue with  eating fish. Every ten days.¡¹


    I nod to Miria in affirmation, and Roxanne translates my words to her.


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸As for the methods of preparing the fish, we could sprinkle a little oil on top of it and the grill it exactly as it is, or we can make meuniere by dredging it in flour and then frying it with butter, lemon juice and a little bit of parsley in order to make sure that its moisture doesn¡¯t escape and its going to be crisp on the outside but soft and juicy on the inside, or perhaps we could go and just saute it in olive oil or just go for something a little bit simpler and just fry the entire thing in a mixture of olive oil and red wine or simply boil it with the addition of a little bit of salt and fish sauce. I know that it all might sound relatively simple, but trust me, when it comes down to the taste, all of the option that I¡¯ve just described taste great.¡¹


    Oh my God! I didn¡¯t realize it until after I finished listing all of the possible ways of preparing fish, but all of them sound so tempting that I think I actually started drooling for a bit just now myself!


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X , X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X , X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X  X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X, X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X, X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    When Roxanne finished translating my rather long and elaborative explanation, Miria leans forward with her eyes shining like little stars. Looks like my words got her pretty fired up.


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X!¡¹


    ¡¸She says that she definitely wants master to be her master now.¡¹


    Wow, that was literally all it took to convince her to the idea of becoming my slave? Either she¡¯s that easy to please as long as fish are going to be involved or I possess some incredible gaslighting skills that I was unaware of my entire life. Most probably it¡¯s going to be the first option though.


    Anyway¡­.


    ¡¸That was incredibly nice of her to say. Could you ask her if she herself is able to cook next?¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X?¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X!¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, apparently she can.¡¸Just leave it to me!¡¹she said.¡¹


    ¡¸Just leave it to me!¡¹, huh? Well, I have to admit that she seems to be incredibly eager when it comes to cooking.


    Since the world of this game is based upon the one that heavily resembles medieval Europe, that means that the things like restaurants and convenience store are not only long ways from being invented and implemented into the daily lives of the populace, but it also probably means that the concepts of going out to eat or having food delivered to you is not going to be invented for a long time, the only exception to that rule being the dining lounges at the inns where you have to be renting a room if you want to make use of those facilities.


    Because of that, if you want to enjoy some quality food, you don¡¯t have any other choice but to prepare that quality food yourself, and not everyone might have the willingness or the skills required to prepare good food on a daily basis. This is one of those things that were available in Japan that I¡¯m really missing here: the ability to just go out and eat whatever you had a craving for on that particular day without having to prepare that thing yourself.


    ¡¸It¡¯s great that she¡¯s so eager to prepare fish based dishes entirely on her own, but that¡¯s not what this is about here. My main concern here is that cooking fish every day is going to be troublesome for us money-wise since fish can probably get very expensive depending on what kind of it you¡¯d want to eat, and after eating them too often we would probably get too used to eating them and they would not taste as good anymore. Can you tell her that so that we could see how she¡¯s going to react?¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.  X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X, X X X X X X X X X .¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X . X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸She says that she understands where master is coming from and that she¡¯d try to adjust accordingly.¡¹


    Okay, that¡¯s another potential issue resolved. On the flipside, there is a very simple solution that we can employ to remedy it, and that solution is to simply not have Miria cook everyday by herself.


    ¡¸Does she have any issues with fighting in the Labyrinths together with us?¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X?¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X  X X X!¡¹


    ¡¸She says that she doesn¡¯t, and that she also has experience with fighting against the Fishkin monsters in the Labyrinths.¡¹


    Is this girl capable of talking about anything else that does not involve the word ¡¸fish¡¹with it?


    ¡¸I feel like the fact that she doesn¡¯t know Brahim can be quite detrimental for her. Well, we cam always try to make her learn it¡­.. because eif she doesn¡¯t, there will be no fish for her at all.¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    Roxanne, no, what the fuck girl!? That was one thing that I didn¡¯t want you to translate! Bloody hell!


    When Roxanne translated it, Miria glared at me as if I just killed her parents. Well, she seems ready for the Labyrinths at least.


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X .¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm¡­ I have convinced her that master is not a bad person.¡¹


    Roxanne seems to have salvaged the situation.


    ¡¸So, have you decided?¡¹


    After Miria regains her calm, the Slave Merchant gestures me to wrap it up. After I nod at him, he takes Miria and leaves the room. It was considerate of him.


    There are only three of us in the room now, so I ask Roxanne and Sherry for their opinion.


    ¡¸So, what do you think about those three female slaves that I have interviewed?¡¹


    ¡¸The one that you interviewed as the second one is an absolute no-go in my opinion. Everything around her screams that she¡¯s utterly unreliable, so if we took her in she would only drag us down in the Labyrinths, assuming that she¡¯d be willing to go there with us in the first place.¡¹


    ¡¸I know, right? I totally understand what you mean, Miss Roxanne! I also feel the exact same way about her! Nothing good is going come from her joining us!¡¹


    Roxanne was talking about that woman who was very beautiful but seemed to be unwilling to do anything at the same time, with Sherry seconding her words along with enthusiastic nods of her head.

 Volume 6 - CH 3.12

    Honestly, I agree with everything that they were saying.


    ¡¸Yeah, also¡­. You know¡­.. if she became a member of master¡¯s Party, then I would have dropped even further down in the chest ranking, so¡­¡­¡¹


    Whoa there Sherry, hold your horses! I know that you are self-conscious about the size of your chest, but have you never heard the ever-famous saying that ¡¸Flat is Justice¡¹?! So yeah, there you have it, and you should not compare yourself to your fellow Party Members, because at the end of the day we are all friends aiming for a common goal here, so there is absolutely no need for us to divide ourselves by something as silly as the size of your chests!


    I believe that I might have said it a few times before, but you should definitely have more confidence in yourself!


    And besides, while the boobs are one of the things that determine a woman¡¯s attractiveness factor, you should not get too fixated on them and instead focus on your own strong points instead of the weak points that have little to no chance of improvement¡­¡­ is what I think on the matter, but I am too afraid of how she would have reacted if I said that out loud, so I chose the wise thing that was to do in this situation: stay silent and keep my voice on the matter strictly to myself.


    ¡¸All right, so how about that second one then? What do you think about her?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, that first slave definitely was not bad.¡¹


    ¡¸But on the other hand, she did not seem especially good to me either.¡¹


    Roxanne ignored the entirety of Sherry¡¯s breasts-related remarks and then asked me:


    ¡¸Umm¡­ master, which one of those three did you like?¡¹


    ¡¸This time it is not about ¡¸liking¡¹or ¡¸not liking¡¹. Roxanne and Sherry are beautiful enough for me, so with this next slave, I want to have a one that is going to help us in the Labyrinths and will not be too troublesome outside of them.¡¹


    ¡¸T-Thank you very much, master, that is everything that I wanted to hear. In that case, I think that the best choice here would be the third slave that you have interviewed, the one from the Catkin tribe.¡¹


    ¡¸You think that the Catkin tribe one would be the best one? May I ask why you think like that?¡¹


    Why does Roxanne think that Miria would be the best choice here? I am honestly quite curious to know her motivation behind such a recommendation, therefore I asked her to reveal what her reasoning was to me. However, when she heard my demand, Roxanne turned her face away from me for a moment while also blushing a little.


    ¡¸W-Well¡­. T-Those of the Catkin tribe do not tend stick to their partners all the time. Therefore, it would be enough if you played with her for a short period of time everyday, and then¡­.. and then you would be able to devote the rest of your time to us, like you always do right now.¡¹


    Ahhh, in other words, even if Miria becomes my slave, I will not have to spend nearly as much time with her, because due to her cat nature she is not going to crave my attention all the time, which is going to provide Roxanne with further opportunities for monopolizing me for herself? I have to say, for someone like her, that is certainly one hell of an¡­.. odd way of thinking.


    ¡¸In any case, no matter who I am going to end up choosing, I can definitely promise you one thing, Roxanne. No matter what happens, I am never going to ignore you in favor of the newer slaves.¡¹


    ¡¸Th-Thank you very much, master. I-If you are going to be getting her after all, then I just want to bring it to your attention that since she is only knowledgeable about fighting the Fishkin, and probably all the other things related to fish, then we are going to have to devote a little bit more time than usual in order to properly train her how to fight all of the other regular enemies in the Labyrinths.¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, that goes without saying. So, can I take it as a declaration that both of you are fine with the Catkin girl becoming the newest member of our Party?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. I have no problem with master choosing her. You can feel free to leave the interpretation of everything that she is going to be saying up to me.¡¹


    If Roxanne and Sherry both say that they have no problems with Miria becoming the newest addition to my Party as well as my harem, then that is everything that I could have ever ask for.


    If it turned out that I would have made the choice that they would not have agreed with and it would have resulted arguments between us, then that would have been a total disaster, but since that worst-case scenario has been swiftly avoided and I have reached a conclusion where my choice has been met with Sherry¡¯s and Roxanne¡¯s unanimous approval, then I can proceed to purchase Miria without having to worry about anything!


    Now that we have managed to reach an understanding, all that was left for us to do was to wait for the Slave Merchant to come back to the room and then engage in the arguably more difficult thing: the process of negotiating the actual price for Miria¡¯a purchase.


    ¡¸So, I trust that you have finally made your decision?¡¹


    ¡¸I have, but before we get to that, can you tell me how much each of the slaves whom I have interviewed is worth?¡¹


    Thanks to that, I am going to know how much I should be expecting to pay, and if the price ends up being too big for my lining, then I am going to be able start thinking about what to do or what else to buy from this guy in order to activate my thirty percent discount Bonus Skill.


    ¡¸First slave that sir has interviewed is worth two hundred thousand Nars. If you were to ask about my personal opinion, then I would have to tell that it is truly a bargain price.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, is it that so? Yeah, that really sounds like a pretty preferable price.¡¹


    Two hundred thousand Nars for the first slave is a much cheaper price than I have initially expected. Although she does not look like someone who is capable of achieving the things that can be fully said to be exceptional, just this price alone would have been a thing that would make her purchase worth it from the financial standpoint.


    That being said, maybe I should not be so fast to claim that someone is or is not exceptional, because as far as I know, that first female slave whom I have interviewed might be perfectly normal by this world¡¯s standards and I am the one who has them set unreasonably high due to how much of a jackpots the purchases of Roxanne and Sherry turned out to be.


    ¡¸Is there anything in which that first girl excels at?¡¹


    ¡¸There is nothing of the sort as far as I am aware, and it is because of that lack of specialty in anything that the price for her is so low.¡¹


    ¡¸All right, what about the second girl that I have interviewed? What can you tell me about her?¡¹


    ¡¸The second slave that sir has interviewed is priced at five hundred thousand Nars, but since you have come here after receiving a letter of introduction written personally by one of my business collegues, then I would be willing to drop that price to four hundred and fifty thousand Nars as a special discount. I can also assure that the outstanding beauty of that girl is something that no man would be able to refuse.¡¹


    Yeah, I can definitely agree with what he said about her beauty, now, if only her motivation was on the same level as her good looks.


    That, and also the price for her is actually sky high, a whole three hundred thousand Nars more than the first one, and while the Slave merchant did say that he would be willing to cut that price down by fifty thousand Nars, then I am sure that even after that discount guaranteed to be thanks to Alan-san¡¯s letter of introduction, that price would still be way above the usual market price of a regular slave.


    If he would be willing to cut that price down some more, and if the girl did not have a serious ego and attitude problems, then I would have probably considered that, but under these current circumstances¡­..

 Volume 6 - CH 3.13

    That second female slave was undoubtedly beautiful, but precisely because she was so beautiful, her price has been ramped up sky-high, and even though the Slave Merchant was willing to drop her total price by fifty thousand Nars, it still doesn¡¯t change the fact that even after the deduction it was still way too expensive for my tastes. Not to mention that me not being knowledgeable enough to know if that price was in line with the regular market price for similar slaves didn¡¯t help anything either.


    ¡¸As much as I agree that she is indeed beautiful, that price of hers is simply too much for me.¡¹


    ¡¸Of course, I understand. Lastly, the third slave that you interviewed could easily be sold for six hundred thousand or seven hundred thousand Nars at an auction if only she knew how to speak Brahim language properly, but since she cannot do that, her actual price has been set at four hundred and fifty thousand Nars.¡¹


    Sold at an auction, he said? So, there is such a thing as the auctions for slaves? Is that the reason for why he appeared to be so annoyed back then? Was it because he knows that he could¡¯ve sold her for much more money at an auction if only she knew Brahim, but since she doesn¡¯t, he has to contend himself with selling her at a lowered price?


    ¡¸I see what you¡¯re getting at here, but still, there is no guarantee at all that she¡¯s going to fetch a high price at an auction, an on top of that, there are still her food expenses.¡¹


    ¡¸These things have already been included in the price.¡¹


    ¡¸Well¡­b-but it¡¯ll take time and effort to teach her Brahim, and even if we do, then how can we know if she even has the aptitude to learn it in the first place?¡¹


    ¡¸This is exactly why her price has been lowered to just four hundred and fifty thousand Nars.¡¹


    The Slave Merchant says while shaking his head.


    ¡¸All right. Then how about this: is she in her first year of slavery?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course she is.¡¹


    He nods with confidence this time. Good. If she¡¯s in her first year of slavery, then there is a pretty high probability that she¡¯s still a virgin. It was a very important piece of information for me, because if there is one thing that I do not want to be buying, it¡¯s the leftover goods that someone has already used before me. So it seems like the discount that he¡¯s offering on Miria is not the one born of the need to get rid of the obsolete or defective stock from his shop, but the fact that he is putting that big of a discount on her anyway brings another question to mind:


    Would he really offer to place that much of a discount on Miria¡¯s price simply because she doesn¡¯t know how to speak Brahim? No, the answer here is obviously no. Sure, her not knowing how to speak one of the most common languages of this world is most definitely a hindrance and an inconvenience, but definitely not to such a degree to guarantee a drop of one hundred and fifty thousand or two hundred and fifty thousand Nars because of it.


    But if her not being knowledgeable with the language was not the reason for the discount, then what was it, exactly?


    Hmm¡­.. maybe it was actually¡­.. yeah, that has to be it. Now that I think about it, the Slave Merchant did mention that Miria has become a Slave because she committed a crime and becoming a slave was her punishment for it, so I think it¡¯s high time to actually go and probe the Slave Merchant about what kind of crime it was, and is it going to have any lasting consequences for me if I end up becoming Miria¡¯s owner.


    ¡¸You mentioned earlier that she was found guilty of a crime. If it isn¡¯t too much trouble, may I ask what kind of a crime it was and what were the repercussions of it?¡¹


    ¡¸Certainly, since it was not my intention to be hiding such important details from you, sir. The crime that this girl have committed was the one of illegal fishing on the territory belonging to a temple. After he was caught and apprehended, the elders of her village have been summoned by the temple in order to debate on what should be done with her, and after much deliberation, it has been decided that the most fitting punishment for her transgression is going to be to turn her into a slave, which has been handled by the temple she trespassed on with the approval of her village. In addition to that, she also had a Divine Punishment placed upon her, and it is believed that this Divine Punishment is going to remain placed upon her until the moment when she will become a rightful property of someone else.¡¹


    Upon my request, the Slave Merchant recounted the story of how Miria became a slave and the details of the punishment for the crime that she has committed. So she intruded upon some God¡¯s sanctuary? If that is true, then I guess that would make her pretty similar to that one greedy fisherman who was fishing at the Grand Ise Shrine?


    A greedy person, huh? I have no way of knowing if Miria trespassed onto the closed-off temple grounds out of greed, necessity or if it was perhaps by nothing but sheer accident, but it remains a fact that just like the fisherman from the story she was captured and branded as a criminal, which led to her being abandoned by her village to become a slave, but apparently that was not enough for them, so they also felt that it was necessary to place a divine punishment on her.


    Even though right now the modern-day Japan doesn¡¯t believe in such things as much as it used to do in the past, Divine Punishment is feared even in this world, it seems, and a person who has committed a crime so severe as to have a Divine Punishment placed upon them as a result is probably going to be considered as a social outcast who no longer has any place for them in the world of those who uphold the law.


    I guess I can kind of understand why they would do such a thing, but still, wasn¡¯t turning Miria into a slave enough of a punishment for her already? Because I definitely feel like placing a Divine Punishment on her on top of that was just so that the temple officials could rub salt into her wounds.


    So anyway, this is supposed to be Miria¡¯s demerit that is responsible for such a high drop in her price?


    ¡¸Divine Punishment, huh?¡¹


    ¡¸I know what you¡¯re probably thinking, Sir. However, let me tell you this: the girl was probably not aware that the area where she was fishing was the one belonging to the temple, thus making it inaccessible to anyone not affiliated with said temple. What I am trying to say here is that her crime was the one that stemmed out of ignorance and her lack of knowledge, and I don¡¯t want you to think that she¡¯s someone with a habit of stealing things and purposefully breaking the law.¡¹


    ¡¸Well, okay, I understand that much¡­.. but still, paying four hundred and fifty thousand Nars just to share the Divine Punishment with her? No matter how you look at it, it¡¯s a little too much, don¡¯t you think?¡¹


    Now that I know about the Divine Punishment that has been placed upon Miria, that is my main concern with her. If I were to buy her and she would officially become my slave, then to my understanding, I would have to share that Divine Punishment of hers since I bought her while being fully aware that she had it placed upon her, which means that there would be no way for me to weasel my way out if it by claiming that I didn¡¯t know anything about it, because I just asked the Slave Merchant to explain everything to me in detail.

 Volume 6 - CH 3.14

    Is there a way in which I could avoid sharing Miria¡¯s punishment? Or is it going to be something that I will simply have to endure while gritting my teeth and hoping that her Divine Punishment is not going to have that big of an impact on the lifestyle that I¡¯ve managed to secure for myself thus far?


    ¡¸Sharing her Divine Punishment? Oh, I see, so you though that that¡¯s how it was going to work? In that case, allow me to ease your worries, sir. If you decide to buy that girl, then you won¡¯t have to share in her Divine Punishment, not at all. After all, Sir is not the one who committed the crime that resulted in the placing of the Divine Punishment on her in the first place, so why would he be forced to endure it together with her? Doing something like that would be highly illogical, since Sir would be punished for a crime that you didn¡¯t commit. However, I can definitely see why you¡¯d be worried about that, so as a sign of goodwill from me, I¡¯ll lower the girl¡¯s price from four hundred and fifty thousand Nars to four hundred thousand Nars. Do bear in mind though that this is going to be my last offer, and I will not be lowering the price any more than this.¡¹


    The Slave Merchant lowered the price that I would have to pay for Miria by another fifty thousand Nars. Is this going to be the final price that he thinks I¡¯m going to be paying? Because if so, then it makes me question some of the things that he was previously saying. If he were so confident about being able to sell Miria for seven hundred thousand or six hundred thousand Nars at an auction, then he wouldn¡¯t have lowered her price so many times in such a relatively rapid succession.


    Actually, now that I think about it, if we consider all of the factors that make up her background, there¡¯s absolutely no guarantee that he would be able to sell her at a slave auction at all, because I am fairly sure that if I myself thought that parts of her background were more than a little shady, then the regular inhabitants of this world would surely think like that as well.


    He must¡¯ve realized that as well, and so now that the opportunity for him to sell such a troublesome piece of merchandise has finally presented itself, I¡¯m sure that he¡¯ll do everything that he possibly can to seal the deal so that he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about her dragging his business down anymore.


    ¡¸Okay, I have made my decision. I¡¯m going to be buying Miria.¡¹


    ¡¸You will? Understood. Thank you for doing business with us, Sir.¡¹


    ¡¸Also, if it¡¯s not going to be too much of a problem, then I would like to make changes to her will. This girl right here, Sherry, is going to be freed upon my death, so I want the changes in Miria¡¯s will to state that upon my death, she is to be inherited by Sherry instead of dying together with me.¡¹


    In a world such as this where death appears to be not as heavy of a subject as it is in the modern world where I¡¯m coming from, killing others must be relatively easy for people, and that¡¯s why I have no doubt that this world probably has a myriad of inventive ways of killing to rival even the most creative ones from the Japan of the Edo period.


    Disembowelment, crucifixion, beheading, being cut in half, leaving the victim to die in the scorching sun or drowned by the waves of the upcoming tide, boiling them to death, hanging, you name it, the people of Edo period most probably tried it. And I think it goes without saying that neither of the execution methods that I just listed were the ones granting an easy, non-painful death.


    By default, if a master were to die, their slave would die as well. However, if a slave murders their master, they would not be able to receive the death penalty because of how that system works. But with the alterations that I have ordered, even if Miria kills me, she will not die by default. She will be inherited by Sherry, and she¡¯ll keep on living in order to receive the death penalty. However, this solution is only a contingency plan, but hopefully I will not need to come up with something more foolproof in the future.


    ¡¸As you wish. The fee for making adjustments to the slave¡¯s will are going to cost three hundred Nars, so are you absolutely sure that this is what you want to do?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I am already well aware of how this process works, and the price doesn¡¯t matter to me, so go ahead and make the necessary changes.¡¹


    ¡¸As you wish. In that case, the total amount that you¡¯re going to have to pay is going to be two hundred eighty thousand two hundred ten Nars.¡¹


    Well, so much for your talk about not dropping the price any lower than four hundred thousand Nars, huh? Although this time the drop was pretty much understood, since by ordering him to make the changes to Miria¡¯s will along with the price of her purchase, I was able to trigger my thirty percent discount. However, be that as it may, this entire exchange revolving around Miria¡¯s purchase has indeed shown me that Sherry was very much right in that one regard:


    Merchants are not the sort that can be trusted.


    ¡¸That was splendidly negotiated, master!¡¹


    Sherry compliments me when we left the room. After I paid the money for Miria¡¯s purchase, I was asked by the Slave Merchant to wait outside.


    She doesn¡¯t seem to mind using underhanded methods against brokers. Sherry is pretty nasty when it comes to negotiation.


    ¡¸It was? Well, thank you then.¡¹


    ¡¸However, I still don¡¯t understand why the Slave Merchant lowered the price further without any apparent reason after he explicitly stated that he won¡¯t do it anymore.¡¹


    Erm¡­. That was because of my thirty percent discount, but I definitely cannot tell them that.


    ¡¸As you would expect from master. He definitely did that because he could see master¡¯s virtue.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you for the kind words, Roxanne, but I¡¯m not exactly a man of virtue.¡¹


    No, really, I¡¯m not a virtuous man at all. For example, I wouldn¡¯t have any problem at all doing it with Roxanne right here and now.


    If skill could be considered the same as virtue, then I might be a virtuous man after all. From a third person¡¯s viewpoint, I may be a skilled Merchant to be able to get the price down by thirty percent with just my words alone.


    ¡¸Not at all. It was really splendid.¡¹


    ¡¸She seemed to have violated God¡¯s sanctuary, but I don¡¯t think that this is going to be that much of a problem for us.¡¹


    ¡¸If master says so, then that¡¯s how it¡¯s definitely going to be.¡¹


    ¡¸Divine Punishment is only a superstition. Had it existed, she would have received it immediately when she was fishing in the restricted area.¡¹


    Sherry is rational as always, and Roxanne nods as well upon hearing it.


    After a while, the slave merchant comes back with Miria.


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you very much for fish, she says.¡¹


    Really? But I have yet to give her fish, so why¡¯s she saying that already? Or maybe she thinks that the contents of tonight¡¯s dinner have already been decided? Is she thinking that she¡¯s skilled at negotiation or something?


    ¡¸Not now.¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X!¡¹


    She glared at me when Roxanne translated it. Did I ever, at any point said that I won¡¯t give her fish?


    ¡¸Then I¡¯ll rewrite the Intelligence Cards right now.¡¹


    I extend my hand out upon the Slave Merchant¡¯s instruction. Miria is told something as well and she reluctantly extends her hand out. Finally, after Sherry extends her hand out, the Slave Merchant rewrites the Intelligence Cards.


    Kaga Michio | Male | 17 years old | Explorer | Freeman


    Owned Slaves : Roxanne | Sherry (to be free upon death) | Miria (to be inherited upon death)


    After our Intelligence Cards get rewritten, Miria appears in the list of my owned slaves.


    After my death, she will be inherited, but the Card doesn¡¯t mention who she¡¯ll be inherited by.

 Volume 6 - CH 3.15

    Now that the formalities have been completed, we left the room with Miria. As I expected, Miria is barefoot, so when we come out of the building, I give her a pair of Leather Boots to her.


    ¡¸Well then, put these on, Miria.¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸She says that she¡¯s sorry for receiving these shoes in addition to fish.¡¹


    In other words, she still wants fish above all else.


    ¡¸It¡¯s also for use as her equipment in the Labyrinth, so she doesn¡¯t need to thank me.¡¹


    When Roxanne translates it, she accepts the shoes and puts them on. I add her to my Party and then we returned home via the Imperial City¡¯s Adventurers Guild. Immediately upon arriving at home, Roxanne explains something to Miria.


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X?! X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X!¡¹


    ¡¸She says that it¡¯s unbelievable for an Explorer to do that.¡¹


    Were they talking about ¡¸Warp¡¹?


    ¡¸Explain it to her and tell her that it needs to be kept secret.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood.¡¹


    Because it¡¯s bothersome, I leave it to Roxanne. When Miria listens to Roxanne¡¯s explanation, her expression turns respectful. However, exactly what Roxanne explained to her remains unknown.


    Whatever, it¡¯s not like I mind being respected, because I know how scary she can be at times.


    ¡¸Once again, I am your master, Michio. I¡¯ll be in your care from now on.¡¹


    I put my hand on Miria¡¯s head. After confirming that there was no resistance, I start to caress it and play with her cat-ears for a bit. They¡¯re so soft!I was of the idea that they would be a little bit stiffer, but they¡¯re not. There¡¯s a cushion of soft, white hair inside her ears, andthis fluffy feeling of touching it is what true bliss feels like.


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸She says that it felt good.¡¹


    ¡¸Tell her to say ¡¸Yes¡¹ in Brahim language.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes.¡¹


    When Roxanne translates it, Miria tries to say it herself.


    ¡¸Oh, you said it properly. See, you can do it if you try!¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X!¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s great, Miria!¡¹


    Roxanne, Sherry and I appreciate her effort.


    ¡¸People don¡¯t do things unless you perform it, tell them how to do it, get them to do it, and praise them for it¡¹.Those are the wise words of wisdom once spoken by Isoroku Yamamoto that have nowadays become the motto of many a businessman in Japan. I don¡¯t know how much of these words is actually true and how much of them is a total load of bullcrap, but I guess we¡¯ll find that out once Miria starts learning.


    ¡¸Yes!¡¹


    Miria looks somewhat bashful, but otherwise she seemed to be pretty happy at being praised. Hopefully, we can teach her Brahim words one by one so that she wouldn¡¯t get overwhelmed, and that way maybe she¡¯ll remember them and start using them on a daily basis.


    ¡¸She¡¯s Roxanne. She will take care of the process of Interpretation for you, so make sure to treat her like your Big Sister.¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes.¡¹


    When Roxanne translated it, Miria bowed her head to Roxanne respectfully. I wonder if she managed to translate it exactly as I intended her to do it?


    ¡¸Okay then Miria, I want you to try to say ¡¸Big Sister¡¹in Brahim next.¡¹


    I try to teach Miria one more word in Brahim that might come in handy whenever she¡¯s going to be addressing Roxanne from now on.


    Big Sister.


    If she successfully manages to say those words, then next ones that I am going to teach her are going to be¡­¡­¡­Fu. Fufufu¡­..!!!


    The excitement stemming from the possibility of having a cute catgirl calling you ¡¸Big Brother¡¹is something else entirely, and I absolutely cannot wait for her to start calling me like that! I mean, what can even come close to the thrill of being called like that? That¡¯s right, nothing can even come close to it!


    ¡¸¡­ ¡¸Big Sister¡¹.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, Miria, very good.¡¹


    Alright, that was good enough. So now that I taught her how to say ¡¸Big Sister¡¹in Brahim, the next words that I am going to teach her how to say are going to be¡­.


    I was about to teach Miria how to say the words ¡¸Big Brother¡¹in Brahim and tell her to start calling me like that, but then in the corner of my eye I saw that Sherry was looking at me as if she just saw something that she wanted to scrape off the sole of her shoe, or as if I was the absolute worst kind of trash alive. That is how intense her glare was right now.


    What¡¯s wrong, Sherry? Why¡¯re you looking at me like that? Did I do something wrong? No, it must be my imagination. Her looking at me in this condescending way has to be just my imagination playing tricks on me. It absolutely, definitely, one hundred percent had to be my imagination. Either that, or I have finally gone off the deep and became too paranoid to properly discern what is real and what is not real.


    ¡¸A-And this girl right here is Sherry. Including you, the four of us are the only members of my Party for the time being, but as the time goes on, we are going to be adding more of them.¡¹


    Damn it! What¡¯s wrong with me? Why am I acting so scared and stressed, as if I had done something bad that I am supposed to feel regretful for?!


    Well, at the very least, I¡¯ve made it crystal clear that I¡¯ll be expanding my harem in the future, and I didn¡¯t hear any voices of objection so far, which means that the girls must be on board with that course of action for now.


    And if they didn¡¯t support it anymore¡­. Well, my work with creating my own harem has already begun, and it would be foolish to stop halfway now, so I have to make sure to strike that iron while it¡¯s still hot, and that is why I made sure to inform Miria about this right now at the beginning of her new life as my third slave: so that she was perfectly aware of my intentions and didn¡¯t end up too attached to me due to her own misconceptions.


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸She says that she had a younger brother, so she¡¯ll do just fine.¡¹


    Miria sticks her chest out proudly. Well, I understand that you feel like this is something of an accomplishment, but really, there¡¯s no need to be dragging your younger brother into it.


    ¡¸All right Miria, let¡¯s talk about your Job next. Since you¡¯re going to be entering the Labyrinths together with us from now on, is there any particular Job that you would like to have equipped?¡¹


    While asking that of Miria, I open my Party Job Settings and scroll all the way down to the screen that had all of Miria¡¯s possible Jobs listed out. They were the following:


    Diver Lv.2, Villager Lv.5, Merchant Lv.1, Explorer Lv.1 Warrior Lv.1, Pirate Lv.1


    Six possible Jobs in total, but none of them were high-level ones. As for the Pirate Job, she most likely acquired it as a result of fishing in a restricted area, similar to how I obtained my Thief Job after I took the Sandals that didn¡¯t belong to be from the barn in Somara village when I was first transported to this world.

 Volume 6 - CH 3.16

    Do the members of the Beastkin tribes become Pirates instead of Thieves or Bandits? Or perhaps that Pirate Job only has something to do with the fact that the crime that Miria committed has been related to water?


    ¡¸She says that she is good enough as she is and that she does not need any adjustments.¡¹


    ¡¸Really? So you want to keep the Diver Job?¡¹


    Well, I guess I should have expected as much. After all, no one who still has their wits about them would willingly go up to you and said yes, make me a Pirate, master, because then if I level that Job up enough I might just become a Pirate King!


    ¡¸X X X. X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸She is saying that it is not a matter of whether she wants to change the Job that she has or not, but rather that she cannot change it.¡¹


    ¡¸She cannot change it? How so?¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X. X X X X X X X X X X X X X  X X X X .  X X X X X X X X X X X X .¡¹


    ¡¸She says that it is because of the contract that she signed when she went to the Divers Guild in order to receive the Diver¡¯s Job. According to Miria, it was the one that was specifically forbidding her from changing her Job from a Diver to any different one for at least ten years after she has become a Diver.¡¹


    ¡¸Really? Not gonna lie¡­. That sounds kinda messed up.  What was supposed to happen when if she broke that contract?¡¹


    Is that one of those cases where changing your Job to a different one is either incredibly difficult or virtually impossible? Because being stuck with a single Job without the option to change it even if you wanted to sounds incredibly rough to me, I am not gonna lie. I wonder what were the repercussions for breaking that contract were supposed to be?


    While I was mulling over those things, I navigated the Party Job Settings Menu in an attempt to change Miria¡¯s current Job from Diver Lv.2 to Villager Lv.5, and I was able to do it just fine¡­¡­¡­


    Ah.


    Hey! What the fuck?! Why did Miria¡¯s Job got changed to Pirate Lv.1 when it was not the Job that I chose for her?!


    Ah, I see. This is what the repercussion for breaking the contract has to be!


    ¡¸She says that if she ever tried changing her Job to something other than a Diver, then it was supposed to be automatically changed into Pirate.¡¹


    When I close the Party Job Settings interface and use Identify, I saw that Miria was now a Pirate Lv.1, so I opened Party Job Settings interface again in a hurry and fiddled with it for a moment¡­. Oh thank goodness! I was able to change her job back to Diver Lv.2 successfully. I closed the Party Job Settings interface and checked her Job again. It was back to Diver Lv2.


    As an experiment, I try to change her Job to Warrior Lv.1, and it was a success. Miria became a Warrior Lv.1 without getting automatically change to Pirate Lv.1.


    ¡¸Apparently, the contract is no longer in place and she can get the other Jobs if she wants to.¡¹


    Miria¡¯s Job was changed, so it was most likely treated as a contract cancellation. It would seem that without the contract in place, the need to stay a Diver for ten years is now gone as well.


    Roxanne translates that I Miria¡¯s Job  got changed and that the contract no longer exists, but she does notget that I can change Jobs by using Party Job Settings option.


    If I say that it is something normal, will they really believe that it was something normal? No, of course not. They are obviously not going to buy it.


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X  X X X X?¡¹


    ¡¸Is it Divine Punishment?¡¹


    Miria says something anxiously to Roxanne and she translates it to me. No Miria, it is not Divine Punishment. I was the one who did it.


    ¡¸N-No, it is not Divine Punishment. I-It is something that I did.¡¹


    ¡¸Can you do something like that?¡¹


    When I denied it in a hurry, Roxanne looked at me with eyes full of respect. When Roxanne translates it, even Miria looks at me with the same kind of respect as Roxanne. They seem to have totally misunderstood it.


    Well, I have done it now, and I cannot undo it, so it just cannot be helped. The best thing that I can do now is to feign ignorance.


    ¡¸Sherry, what kind of job this Diver is?¡¹


    ¡¸It is a Race-specific Job for the females of the Catkin tribe. Tit gives the user y strong offensive abilities against aquatic monsters.¡¹


    Diver Lv.2


    Effects: STA Increase (Medium), HP Increase (Small), STR Increase (Small)


    Skill: Anti-Aquatic Enhancement


    Diver Job has a Skill called ¡¸Anti-Aquatic Enhancement¡¹. Is this the reason why those who have it display strong offensive ability against aquatic monsters? If so, then this has to be a Passive Skill. Should I leave her Job as a Diver then? Who knows, maybe it is going to come in handy against aquatic monsters we might encounter further down the road?


    ¡¸What type of weapon do you use, Miria?¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸She says that she uses a spear because it is the easiest weapon to catch fish with.¡¹


    A spear, huh?


    Is it perhaps harpoon, not spear?


    ¡¸Can she use spear in the Labyrinth? Also, is it alright for two members of the vanguard to use spears, Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X?¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X .¡¹


    ¡¸She says that if master wants he to be more attack-oriented then she can also use a two-handed sword. If you want her to be defense-oriented, she can use a one-handed sword and a shield as well.¡¹


    Roxanne says after discussing it with Miria. Should I have her use both a sword and a shield? I am the main damage dealer anyway, so we do not really need another one.


    ¡¸Then let us go with a one-handed sword and a shield. Can she make do with a dagger for now? Or if she wants, we can get her something better.¡¹


    ¡¸She says that Dagger is going to suffice for now.¡¹


    Because Roxanne has approved of the idea, I go to get a Dagger for Miria, but instead of taking one from my Item Box, I gave her one of the ones with an Empty Skill Slot that Sherry made earlier and which I have been keeping in a storage room.


    My thirty percent discount is not effective on the purchases of single item, so unless I am going to be buying more than one weapon, it is not going to be worth it to be spending the money on a new weapon for Miria due to overpaying, so for the time being, this Dagger that she has right now is going to have to be enough for her to do the job.


    I come back from the storeroom with the Dagger and hand it to Miria. Miria simply received if from me with a short¡¸Yes.¡¹ .


    ¡¸What about armor? I think that  Leather Helmet and Leather Gloves should be enough for you right now, but I am not  so sure about Leather Armor.¡¹


    Simple Leather Armor was not enough to fight effectively against Green Caterpillars Lv.11, and that is why we had to upgrade it to something new in order to be able to take more hits from the enemies from the eleventh floor of the Labyrinths onwards without having to resort to healing ourselves after every single encounter, and for Miria, who have very low levels in all of her Jobs, such a weak piece of armor is going to be absolutely out of the question.


    ¡¸I think that Leather Jacket should be more than enough for her in order to make it.¡¹


    Yes, Roxanne, having just a Leather Jacket is definitely a valid option, but just for you. All of us mortals who do not have the same Godly dodging abilities that you do need to have better equipment or else we are just not going to make it.

 Volume 6 - CH 3.17

    ¡¸She is definitely going to need a few of the more advanced pieces of equipment in order to make up for the fact that she is just going to be starting her adventuring together with us, so first things first we are going to go to the Armor Shop to get her some protective equipment. Miria, if there is anything else that you think you might need, be sure to tell us and we are going to get it for you.


    ¡¸Understood, master!¡¹


    With that said, I warped to Quratar¡¯s Adventurers Guild. Miria is still surprised, so I leave her in Roxanne¡¯s care. I did not use any incantation when I was warping us all here and from Imperial City¡¯s Slave Shop back home, but Miria was not making any kind of fuss about it outside, most likely because she was already doing that I instructed her to: keeping that thing, and many more others besides it, a secret. We head to the Armor Shop in the center of the town. On the way there, Miria stares fixedly at a fishmonger¡¯s store. She really does have a one-track mind, huh? Well I guess she just cannot help herself since she was unable to eat her beloved fish for God knows how long.


    Even though I said that the shop was a fishmonger, not many fish can be seen there. There seem to be only three or four kinds, including carp and salmon. They are all fresh-water fish, so they must be from somewhere nearby, and since Quratar is far away from sea, there are no sea-water fish here.


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X .¡¹


    When we were passing directly by the fishmonger, the wind carried Miria¡¯s quiet murmurs to my ears.


    I thought that once she sees and smells the fish then I would not be able to make her budge from there for even a centimeter, but thankfully she did not stop walking and followed me quite obediently.


    ¡¸Roxanne, can you ask her what was she saying just now?¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X ?¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸Snakehead, Rock Sole, Baiji. I believe these are the names of the fish that were being displayed at the fishmonger.¡¹


    Roxanne says after confirming it with Miria.


    Names of the fish? As expected from Miria, she really knows her stuff when it comes to fish and everything else related to them.


    ¡¸Once we are done with our business at the Armor Shop, we are going to buy some of them.¡¹


    When Roxanne translates it, Miria looks at me with wide, round eyes.  These are the eyes filled with surprise, joy and hope.


    ¡¸Yes!¡¹


    She replies vigorously.


    Does she even realize where we are going and for what purpose? Or is it that now when she heard the word fish, they were literally the only thing that she is capable of thinking about? Thankfully, Roxanne must have been of the same opinion as me, because she reprimanded Miria for getting too distracted and too loud, thus bothering everyone around us who jut wanted to quietly go about their daily business, and that reprimand from Roxanne was enough to make her go back to her more reserved self. *Sigh* so it would seem that she did not know where we are going after all. Just how short of an attention span does this girl have? Thankfully, it looks like Roxanne was ready and eager to discipline this frisky catgirl of ours, because she told Miria to walk side by side with her, and as we were walking towards the Armor shop, she was explaining something to her for quite an extensive period of time.


    ¡¸I wonder what they are talking about, or to be more specific, what is Roxanne explaining to her?¡¹


    ¡¸About formation and never breaking it, if I were to hazard a guess.¡¹


    Because it looked like there was going to be no end to Roxanne¡¯s  explanations in sight, I asked Sherry about it instead.


    ¡¸Formation?¡¹


    However, her answer only added to my confusion.


    ¡¸Yes. Until now, Roxanne and I used to take front-back or left-right position in order to guard you. But we have one more person with us now, and because of that our usual formation is going to have to be changed in order to be more effective.¡¹


    Ahhh, so this why they never used to rush out towards the enemies in the Labyrinth even when they had perfect occasions to do so and always stuck close to their positions without straying too far away from them? Because that was the formation that the two of them have agreed upon? I never even noticed it before. To me, it always looked like they were occupying the positions that they were occupying simply because that was how they were standing at any given moment, but apparently there was much more to it than meets the eye, but I, being the blockheaded idiot that I am failed to realize something so important. Way to go, me!


    ¡¸Really? I am so pathetic then, because I have never noticed that about the two of you. I am sorry for being so ignorant, and thank you for your continued hard work, Sherry, Roxanne. Honestly, what would I have ever done without the two of you around to support me?¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you very much, master, but that is not something that you have to thank us for. You are our precious master, and keeping you safe from harm at all times was, is and always will be our duty.¡¹


    Of course, I should have known as much. I am their master and they are my slaves, so of course they are going to be guarding me with their lives on the line unless I explicitly am going to tell them not to do that. And since I was being pretty laid back with giving them instructions related to battle or how they are supposed to be behaving themselves while we are in the Labyrinths, then Roxanne must have come up with her own set of rules and instructions and implemented them to ensure that our sailing through the dangerous, monster infested corridors was going to go as smoothly as possible.


    This just proves to me once more exactly how much of an incompetent master I am. Coming up with such things as formations and strategies should be something that I, the master should be taking care of, and what was I doing instead? Always taking the easy way out, allowing my slaves, my Party Members, my companions to do pretty much everything else for me. This is my biggest fault up to date, and I am going to have to work extra hard to ensure that this fault of mine is going to be corrected as soon as possible. The sooner I start taking charge of our actions for real, the better, both for my Party as a whole and for my own reputation in the eyes of Roxanne, Sherry and Miria.


    When we finally arrived at the Armor Shop, the first order of business was to go and find a shield for Miria and Roxanne. When it comes to her, up until now she was using a small Wooden Shield because she did not want to have anything bigger and heavier that could affect her movement in a negative way, but now that we are heading to the higher floors in the Labyrinths we cannot compromise on it anymore, and so I ended up choosing an Iron Shield for her. It should be a tier above the Wooden Shield, which means that it is going to provide her with better protection while still being small enough not to hinder her movements too much. Also, the one that I ended up choosing comes with two Empty Skill Slots in it. When Roxanne tried holding it in her hand, she nodded at me approvingly.


    ¡¸You were right, master! It is still small and thin, and only slightly heavier than my old shield, but defense-wise it is definitely going to be a big improvement.¡¹


    ¡¸Glad to hear it. So Miria, tell me, what do you want for yourself? A reinforced Leather Jacket or a Chainmail?¡¹


    After choosing Iron Shield for Roxanne, I ask Miria what kind of protective armor for her torso does she want.


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹

 Volume 6 - CH 3.18

    As long as I don¡¯t have to catch fish, I¡¯m fine with chainmail, she says.¡¹


    She wouldn¡¯t be able to swim properly with a heavy chainmail weighting her down, so that¡¯s pretty obvious.


    I pick some chainmails with Empty Skill Slots.


    The moment I ask Miria to choose, she immediately points her finger at one of them.


    ¡¸Is this one that good?¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸The quicker we are done with this, the sooner I can get fish, she says.¡¹


    So fish is more important to her than armor that¡¯s going to be the primary source of her safety on the battlefield? Well, all these chainmails are essentially the same, so I guess it doesn¡¯t really matter all that much, so you don¡¯t have to scold her for this, Roxanne.


    After buying the Iron Shield and the Chainmail, we leave the Armor Shop.


    Miria picks her clothes and other items of her use without wasting any moment.


    Shopping with her is so easy, definitely much faster than shopping with Roxanne. However, I¡¯m not too sure if it is going to be the same when we will finally go to the fishmonger.


    ¡¸Is roasted white fish alright with you, Miria?¡¹


    I ask her before deciding on what to take. When Roxanne translated it to her, Miria nodded to me happily.


    ¡¸It seems roasted white fish is going to be alright with her.¡¹


    ¡¸Roxanne, Sherry, since we¡¯re already here, I want you to choose one item each beside roasted fish for today¡¯s dinner.¡¹


    ¡¸In that case, I am going to prepare some soup.¡¹


    ¡¸And I think that I¡¯m going to stir-fry something.¡¹


    It has been decided that Roxanne will make soup and Sherry will make stir-fried food. It¡¯s Miria¡¯s first day with us, after all, so we have to make sure that it is going to be a  memorable one.


    Miria looks at me with eyes burning up with fiery feelings. Has she fallen in love with me already? Because if so, then damn girl, that was a little bit too fast even for my standards.


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸She wants to thank you for the fish.¡¹


    I was able to figure that much myself, but thanks for informing me about it anyway, Roxanne.


    After buying clothes, items of daily use and a Magic Crystal, we finally go buy fish from the fishmonger. Throughout the entire way over there, Miria sticks close to me and doesn¡¯t let go for even a second, almost as if she was worried that I might actually change my mind and decide to go somewhere else, and she continued to stick to me like glue up until the moment when I received the white roasted fish from the old man Explorer behind the counter.


    Oh, and by the way, I have finally found out why there¡¯s a fishmonger in Quratar even though this place doesn¡¯t have access to the sea at all. Supposedly, it¡¯s because the White Fish is a Drop Item from one of the monsters that inhabit the Labyrinths that drops from some monster from the higher floors after you kill it, and because it is treated as a Drop Item from a monster instead of a regular item, it is possible for it to be carried in the Item Box. So taking that into consideration, I think that running a fishmonger, or any kind of store that sells food materials from monsters for that matter is a pretty good part-time or retirement fork for retired Explorers and Adventurers.


    Because the man at counter of the shop is also a merchant, my thirty percent discount is going to be effective on him as well. That also means that rather than selling, sourcing seems to be the main part of the fishmonger¡¯s business.


    ¡¸Miria, can I ask you to fillet the fish?¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X!¡¹


    ¡¸¡®Leave it to me,¡¯ she says.¡¹


    Uh-huh, sure.


    Because she stuck her chest out proudly, I knew the answer before Roxanne translated it this time as well.


    I only ever bought fish from the supermarkets, so I don¡¯t know how to fillet it. Well, I don¡¯t have to worry about procuring fish at least, for there¡¯s a fishmonger right here in Quratar, saving me the trouble of going out of my way just to find it.


    After buying ingredients for dinner, we return home where I start heating the bath, and as I was filling it up, I began to think about something.


    Miria became a slave as punishment for violating a God¡¯s sanctuary. As a result, she didn¡¯t explicitly consent to becoming a sex slave like Sherry did. In this respect, she¡¯s different from Roxanne and Sherry, and this bath is going to be our make-or-break moment.


    If the worst comes to the worst, I¡¯ll just use fish as bait for her. Forcing her into it, however, is the last resort that I would rather not employ. If possible, I want her to consent to it of her  own volition. And in order to do that, we¡¯ll first have to take bath together, one step at a time.


    Taking a bath together won¡¯t be a problem for she can¡¯t deny her master¡¯s order to wash his back. After that, we¡¯ll have all the time in the world for ourselves.


    It¡¯s going to be fine, right? Yes, as long as I don¡¯t force her to do it, everything should be a-okay. Now that the bed has been laid, there¡¯s no turning back! Oh how I cannot wait  unravel that buttons of hers¡­. I can¡¯t endure it anymore! It¡¯s going to be fine, right? Yes, yes it is!


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X  X X X X X X X X !¡¹


    Miria starts making a fuss all of a sudden. I shrug in confusion and go out to see what the matter is.


    Roxanne is apparently explaining something to her. Was she surprised because I was using Water Magic to fill the tub? Is that what the ruckus was all about? Was she surprised that I could do it? Or did she hear what I was thinking in the bathroom, by any chance?


    ¡¸She says that it¡¯s really amazing that you can also use magic.¡¹


    Miria looks at me with respect. *Phew¡­!* Thank God, she really didn¡¯t hear my thoughts. Talk about a relief!


    Miria has been making a fuss for a while but she seems to be convinced now, and the matter has been resolved without my intervention.


    I¡¯m grateful to whomever came up with the idea of delegating work to others.


    After having used magic several times, I head to the kitchen. Miria was there together with Roxanne.


    ¡¸This is a pot. Pot.¡¹


    ¡¸Pot.¡¹


    She seems to be learning Brahim language at her own pace, with Roxanne acting as she teacher. I am quite impressed.


    ¡¸Roxanne, are you having any difficulties teaching Miria the Brahim Language?¡¹


    ¡¸No, not at all, master.¡¹


    ¡¸You are doing great. Keep it up, Miria!¡¹


    I pat the heads of the two and incidentally stroke their ears. Roxanne¡¯s doggy ears and Miria¡¯s cat ears.


    Roxanne¡¯s droopy ears are lovely, but Miria¡¯s erect cat ears, have a certain type of irresistible cuteness to them as well.


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸She says that she Will not eat a single fish if she does not learn at least one new Brahim word each day.¡¹


    Now that is curious, especially since I dis not intend to employ any such rules, but oh well, it is not like this is a bad thing, so I think I am going to let it stay like that if that is what is going to be motivating her to work that much harder to Learn Brahim.


    ¡¸She is not going to eat fish unless she learns at least one new Brahim word each day? Talk about self-sacrifice. Anyway, Roxanne, can I ask you to help me replenish my MP in the Labyrinth like usual?¡¹


    ¡¸Certainly.¡¹


    ¡¸Would you like to go with us as well, Miria?¡¹


    ¡¸That is a very good idea.¡¹


    Roxanne says something to Miria, and Miria nods in return at her. She seems to be willing to go with us after all.


    Let us go then.


    ¡¸I will stay here to keep watch over the house then.¡¹

 Volume 6 - CH 3.19

    Because Sherry intends to stay at home, I pass equipment to Roxanne and Miria: Chainmail, Leather Helmet, Leather Gloves, Iron Shield and Wooden shield.  Although there is only one Iron Shield and one Wooden Shield, they are occupying two separate slots in my Item Box. Was buying Iron Shield not a good decision after all?


    Should I discard the Wooden Shield and buy one more Iron Shield for Miria to use as well? Because I have used gold coins to purchase Miria, one slot in the Item Box has been freed up, so that might not be such a bad idea.


    ¡¸Miria, for the time being you can just observe and learn how we do things. You do not have to take part in the battles if you do not want to.¡¹


    After telling that to Miria, I take them to Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth.


    ¡¸I can smell Minos from over there. The smell is dense, however, which means there is more than one. About three, to be specific, so you should be careful master.¡¹


    ¡¸All right, got it. Let us head over there.¡¹


    Under Roxanne¡¯s guidance, we proceed to go through the eleventh floor of Haruba¡¯s


    Labyrinth. Because it takes time to find monsters, it is inefficient to look for lone monsters, so we are targeting groups of them instead. Since Sherry is not here this time and Miria is only observing, a group of four monsters is out of the question, however.


    NT Ants are not an option either because Sherry has Antidote Pills with her.


    It might seem selfish of me to make so many demands, but this is all for the purpose of maintaining our safety at all times. That is why in our current circumstances, a group made out of Minos or Escape Goats in groups of up to two would be perfect.


    It is a vague and selfish request, but I cannot help it. I am really grateful to Roxanne for putting up with me despite all of that though.


    Next, we hunt a group of three Minos.


    I start off with a ¡¸Rush¡¹ attack on the first Mino. After I dodge second Mino¡¯s body slam, I take first one out with another attack. Roxanne is holding down the third Mino, dodging its attacks by a hair¡¯s breadth, attacking it all the while whenever an opening for a counterattack presents itself to her.


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X .¡¹


    After we take all three monsters out, Miria says something to Roxanne. From her expression, she looks excited.


    She is most probably impressed by Roxanne¡¯s godly dodging abilities, and honestly, I do not blame her for it. Watching her as she literally dances between the attacks of everything that wants to inflict harm upon her but cannot do so is always a sight to behold, so I can understand that she feels like that from the respectful expression she has on her face toward Roxanne.


    Well, I dodged a Mino¡¯s attack as well, but she did not praise me for it. Well, if you get to see Roxanne dodges, however, you cannot help but to feel in awe, so I kinda get it. That said, you need to be apt at fighting to be able to appreciate Roxanne¡¯s prowess. And so I look forward to see what Miria is going to have to offer on the battlefield.


    It is I, however, who takes the monsters out. But it is also true that I have no power of my own. Everything that I have achieved is thanks to Durandal. However, I am not going to admit defeat that easily!


    ¡¸Can I ask of you to find one more group of monsters?


    ¡¸Certainly.¡¹


    My MP is not fully recovered yet, so I decided to hunt some more until it gets replenished in one hundred percent.


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    On our way to next monster, Miria says something, and then she points to a place ahead of us after we turned the corner. Is there something there?


    Oh, it is a Magic Crystal.


    When I used ¡¸Identify¡¹in the direction where Miria was pointing, I found out that there was a Magic Crystal there.


    ¡¸Fish savings?¡¹


    ¡¸It is a Magic Crystal. Well done spotting it, Miria.¡¹


    Empty Magic Crystal are black, so they are often neglected for ordinary pebbles in the darkness of the Labyrinth. This is the first one that I found after a long while.According to what Sherry said, Magic Crystals are found much more frequently on higher floors, so technically, there was no need for me to buy one earlier.


    ¡¸Her parents told her that she can eat fish if she collects them from the Labyrinths, and that is why she calls them fish savings.¡¹


    Roxanne translates what Miria said just now. So her whole family is genuine fish-lovers? Who would have ever guessed?


    ¡¸I see. So you are skilled at finding them. That is great, Miria.¡¹


    ¡¸Miria can also see perfectly in the dark!¡¹


    Miria proudly sticks her chest out after Roxanne translated yet another thing that she said.


    Cats have a reflective layer in their eyes which reflects light back through retinas, and this is the reason why their eyes are sharp and glow in the dark. I wonder if people of the Catkin tribe possess Tapetum in their eyes too? And if so, then maybe the reason I was unable to find any Magic Crystals in the Labyrinths at all is because her kind have swept them all clean? Without ¡¸Identify¡¹it would be impossible for me to find a Black Magic Crystal in the dark Labyrinths.


    Miria, on the other hand, found one before even turning around the corner, so I am no match for her in that regard. If other Parties have Catkin people with them, it makes sense that we would not find Magic Crystals too often ourselves.


    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹


    I feel like I have discovered a surprising truth about the Labyrinths today.


    I receive the Magic Crystal from Miria, recover my MP and return home.


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X .¡¹


    When we arrive at home, Roxanne and Miria start talking about something. Roxanne moves her body in an exaggerated manner as she explains something to her. She waves her body several times in different directions while explaining, so she is probably teaching her how to dodge properly, but I do not think Roxanne¡¯s lecture will help her in any way at all.


    Roxanne moves in an exaggerated manner as she explains something. She waves her body several times as well. She¡¯s probably teaching Miria how to dodge, but I don¡¯t think Roxanne¡¯s lecture will help her to improve in any way however. As a fellow ordinary person, I empathize with Miria in that regard.


    Eh? But wait, what¡¯s this now? This is strange. Miria is listening to her explanation eagerly, and she even imitates Roxanne and waves her body around exactly like she does. Roxanne¡¯s lecture seems to be effective on her?


    ¡¸Miria is suited to be a warrior.¡¹


    Roxanne seems satisfied with Miria¡¯s effort.


    ¡¸S-She is?¡¹


    Is Miria perhaps not a fellow ordinary person but more of a Roxanne¡¯s fellow?


    All Beastkin tribes seem to be like that.


    But they can¡¯t express themselves fully because they don¡¯t speak Brahim. I divert my eyes from them and look at Sherry. She has same look on her face as me, which is to say, she¡¯s clearly puzzled.


    She is a fellow ordinary person like me after all.


    For the time being, I entrust the two of them to Sherry and head back to the bathroom to heat the water again.


    Now that the bath has been properly heated, it¡¯s time for lemon to do its job. I toss them in there and leave them to float in the bath, grab two more and move to the kitchen. While there, I take a peek at the soup that Roxanne is making.


    ¡¸Yes? What is it, master?¡¹


    ¡¸It doesn¡¯t seem to be seasoned yet. Would you mind if I had a little?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course. Please, go right ahead.¡¹


    Roxanne¡¯s soup is in the stage of boiling meat and vegetables together. At this point, it looks similar to bouillon.


    ¡¸I want you to tell Miria to squeeze these lemons. Is it alright?¡¹


    ¡¸Certainly.¡¹


    Roxanne then translates my request to Miria.

 Volume 6 - CH 3.20

    There doesn¡¯t seem to be any instrument here to squeeze lemons, so you have to do it with bare hands, and my hands feel sore by just imagining it.


    ¡¸Squeeze fish apply tasty, okay?¡¹


    I hand the lemons to Miria and tell her in broken Brahim.


    ¡¸Okay.¡¹


    ¡¸S-q-u-e-e-z-e.¡¹


    ¡¸Squeeze.¡¹


    Roxanne translates, and Miria repeats.


    ¡¸F-i-s-h.¡¹


    ¡¸Fish.¡¹


    Shouldn¡¯t she already be familiar with how to say fish?


    ¡¸A-p-p-l-y.¡¹


    ¡¸Apply.¡¹


    ¡¸T-a-s-t-y.¡¹


    ¡¸Tasty.¡¹


    She seems to be learning quickly, so I¡¯ll let her taste what tasty is. This way, she will learn what tasty really means that much faster. Because my words get automatically translated into Brahim, I don¡¯t know how difficult it is, so I have to pick them carefully to avoid saying anything too difficult.


    I add the lemon juice, which I received from Miria, and wine to the bouillon, which I received from Roxanne, and leave it to simmer after sprinkling some salt and pepper onto it. Afterwards, I apply flour to white fish meat and roast it in olive oil, and present it with lemon sauce.


    Miria was staring fixedly while I was roasting the fish th entire time, so intensely in fact that I was afraid that she might stare a hole in what I was preparing.


    ¡¸Roast fish.¡¹


    ¡¸Roast fish.¡¹


    ¡¸Eat fish.¡¹


    ¡¸Eat fish.¡¹


    I take the opportunity and teach her more Brahim words, since the words related to fish must be easier to remember for her.


    ¡¸I want to eat fish.¡¹


    ¡¸I want to eat fish.¡¹


    ¡¸When I eat fish, I¡¯m happy.¡¹


    ¡¸When I eat fish, I¡¯m happy.¡¹


    I feel like I¡¯m learning Brahim myself in the process as well, but was the sentence structure really okay? I glanced at Sherry to check her reaction, but the look that she gave me back was not saying anything in particular.


    After dinner preparation was ready, I line the dishes up on the table.


    Miria sits by Roxanne¡¯s side. It¡¯s natural because she does interpretation for her, and Sherry sits on Roxanne¡¯s other side. The three of them sit on one side of the table while I¡¯m all alone on the other side. Even though we have one more person now, I¡¯m still lonely.


    ¡¸W-What?¡¹


    When I was sulking, Miria stared at me expectantly


    ¡¸She probably wants to eat right away.¡¹


    ¡¸She does?¡¹


    I distribute the soup upon Roxanne¡¯s indication. When I ask Miria as to what she would like to eat, she jumps at meuniere. She¡¯s not good at using knife, and immediately stuffs it into her mouth using her hands


    ¡¸Tasty!¡¹


    I appreciate her using the Brahim word which I taught her earlier. I¡¯m glad to see that she¡¯s learning so quickly. However, when she said the word ¡¸tasty¡¹, I wonder if she was referring to the fish alone, or to the dish in general?


    I mean, Miria looks like that kind of person who would find just about any fish tasty, so I was really curious to hear what she thinks about the entire dish. Knowing her, she might¡¯ve indeed praised only the fish for being tasty and we¡¯re the ones who failed to catch up on that because she¡¯s only now learning Brahim, so she can¡¯t communicate any nuances of her words in it properly just yet.


    I take some meuniere to try it out myself. Hmm¡­ it tastes great, just as I expected it to. It seems to be a success, so I think that it is fairly safe to assume that Miria called the entire dish tasty, and not just the fish component of it. But while we¡¯re on the subject of the fish, there¡¯s something that¡¯s been going on my mind.


    ¡¸Now that I think about it, did you use to eat raw fish before, Miria?¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm, master? I know that our appearance might be suggestive in some regards, but I want you to know that even though we are called Beastkin, we are different from ordinary unintelligent beasts.¡¹


    What I was intending to ask about was whether or not there are things like sashimi in this world, but instead of receiving an answer I got myself reprimanded by Roxanne for saying something that was insensitive and apparently quite racist as well?


    It was a needless thing of me to ask, but I¡¯m only now realizing that I shouldn¡¯t have done that.


    I mean, when you think about it, it should be really obvious to anyone with more than two braincells in their head would be able to put it together that only beasts would eat things when they are raw and uncooked, and that just because they possess beast-like features doesn¡¯t necessarily mean that they are the same as beasts.


    ¡¸My bad. I didn¡¯t mean it that way. I realize my mistake and I¡¯m sorry for making it in the first place!¡¹


    ¡¸Not at all, master. I should apologize to you as well, because I jumped into conclusions without allowing you to finish saying what you wanted to say properly, so I¡¯m sorry for that.¡¹


    The main reason for why I even asked about if Miria ever happened to eat raw fish is because I was worried about her, since there¡¯s a risk of contracting parasites if you eat raw fish. However, that is how it is for the raw fish from my own world, but I have no idea if the same principles would apply to it here in the game¡¯s world, or if the fish meat that has been obtained as a Drop Item even counts for that at all.


    Ultimately, I guess that topic of sashimi is not that important, because as far as I¡¯m aware there are no things like wasabi or soy sauce I this world and let¡¯s be honest, what is even a good sashimi without those.


    Not paying any kind of attention to all of my internal struggles, Miria is stuffing meuniere into her mouth like crazy, but when she was done with it shortly afterwards, she had her shoulders drooped and her head hung low, as if all air has been drained out of her body.


    It doesn¡¯t seem to be a compliment. Did she not find the dish to her liking after all? Or perhaps she only now found some kind of flaw in it that ruined her enjoyment of the meal? Or maybe she simply wants more? In that case


    ¡¸Do you want to eat more, Miria?¡¹


    ¡¸Eat! I want to eat more!¡¹


    ¡¸Thought as much. Well then, here, you can have some of mine as well.¡¹


    When I hold my platter out to her, she snatches half of its contents immediately.


    Looks like when it comes to the fish and eating it, she¡¯s not someone who would think of being modest or restrained.


    She just stuffs the fish in her mouth with a joyful expression and eats wit without a care in the world.


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸She says that she¡¯s happy that master was the one that bought her.¡¹


    Ah, so it was about that. Well, I am flattered that she thinks like that, and  also hope that I will be able to live up to her expectations of me.


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸She  also says that she is going to serve master for the rest of her life.¡¹


    All right, okay! Now see, this right here is what is making me think that what she is feeling towards me is not genuine gratitude but something more akin to a debt that she is going to have to pay to properly thank me for providing her with a place to live and food (fish) to eat, and I cannot say that I like that all that much, so we¡¯re definitely going to need to do some work on some of those aspects of her.


    After that, Miria receives some fish from Roxanne and Sherry as well. And although I used the word ¡¸receives¡¹, it was more like she actually¡¸snatched¡¹ if from their plates just like she did with the fish that gave to her, and I cansee that the desire for more fish is still burning in her eyes even as she munches on the one that we have given to her.


    Roxanne reprimands her for it initially, but gives her the fish in the end nonetheless, because honestly, there is something about her that makes it hard to be mad at her.

 Volume 6 - CH 3.21

    ¡¸Have you eaten enough now, Miria?¡¹


    When the fish was all gone, I ask that of Miria.


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸She says that she had never thought she would be able to eat this much fish in her entire life, and she¡¯s happy that it was made possible for her.¡¹


    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹


    She really ate a lot of fish by herself for this one meal. Four pieces, to be specific.


    ¡¸Miria says that she will do the dishes. In that case, I¡¯ll do maintenance of our equipment then.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay. When all of you are done, we will take bath.¡¹


    I take Beeswax out of my Item Box and pass it to Roxanne. I also casually take a look at Miria.


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay, Big Sister.¡¹


    When Roxanne says something to Miria, she immediately gets on her feet with a plate in her hands and starts to pick other plates up from the table.


    What about a bath? Does she want to go together with us or not? Which is it? Yes or no?


    ¡¸Plate.¡¹


    ¡¸Plate.¡¹


    ¡¸Knife.¡¹


    ¡¸Knife.¡¹


    While handing Miria the tableware, I teach her more Brahim words.


    I don¡¯t understand.Did Roxanne tell her that we will take a bath together or not? Since they were talking to each other for so long, then I just assumed that they must¡¯ve talked about the bath, among other things. But now that I look at them, maybe she was just explaining the ins and outs of  proper dishwashing to her?


    ¡¸Wash.¡¹


    ¡¸Wash.¡¹


    ¡¸Dishwash.¡¹


    ¡¸Dishwash.¡¹


    ¡¸Later, Miria wash the dishes.¡¹


    Did the message got through to her, or did it not go through after all? Did she not understand the intentions behind it, or did she just flat-out refused to take a bath with us?


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    When Roxanne translated another thing to her, Miria immediately stood up and left the dining table in a hurry. No? Yes? Which is it? What is her final answer going to be?!


    While I was having Sherry perform more smithing, my mind was restless the entire time Miria was gone.


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    Miria comes back shortly after, says something to Roxanne and looks towards me. So taking a bath together with us is no good after all?


    ¡¸Soap seems to be something new to her.¡¹


    Roxanne says after Miria leaves for the kitchen.


    Huh? Soap? Is that what it was about?! Roxanne, don¡¯t ever scare me like that again!


    Miria comes back to us after another while, completely naked. Wait, naked? Where did that come from?!


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸She thinks bath will be fun.¡¹


    Did she take her clothes off after she was done with dishwashing? So, she actually okay with taking a bath together with us?


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸She says that she¡¯s good at playing in the water.¡¹


    That¡¯s¡­ good to know, I guess?


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X .¡¹


    ¡¸If there¡¯s a fish in the water, she says that she can catch it.¡¹


    I see. There will be no fish in the bath however, so I hope that she¡¯s not going to have any misunderstandings about it.


    Miria looks at me with clear eyes. One hundred percent pure eyes. Ah! It pains my heart to be looked at in such a way! Although I¡¯m not being directly accused of anything, I still feel guilty! I¡¯m feeling guilty for my nefarious thoughts! I¡¯m feeling guilty for my devious motives! I¡¯m feeling guilty for my lustful eyes!


    Miria exposes her slender body without any reservation. Like I thought, there¡¯s not plenty on her chest¡­.. No! Don¡¯t look at her with lecherous eyes! At least, Sherry shouldn¡¯t be envious of Miria¡¯s chest, I think. Her body is drawn with beautiful curves. From above her lovely ass, a cute tail is extending out. Does she have it because she¡¯s a Beastkin like Roxanne?


    ¡¸Ah, tail.¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸Unlike us Wolfkin, they can move their tail on their own.¡¹


    Unlike Roxanne¡¯s brush-like fluffy tail, Miria¡¯s tail has same thickness across it, all the way to the tip.Apparently, she can move it on her own as well.


    ¡¸Tail.¡¹


    ¡¸Tail.¡¹


    ¡¸Move.¡¹


    ¡¸Move.¡¹


    Miria shakes her tail.


    While wagging it, she shakes her ass right in front of my eyes. T-This is¡­ !!!


    Because it was right in front my eyes, I grab her tail. When I did that, it became hard and strained all the way down to its core. Can I shake it, just like people did it with their hands at Korakuen Amusement Park?


    ¡¸Sorry for keeping you waiting.¡¹


    ¡¸No worries. Are we all ready to take a bath then?¡¹


    Roxanne seems to be done with maintenance of equipment, so we move on to the second floor. Roxanne and Sherry start to take their clothes off immediately upon reaching the top of the stairs. It looks very much like my own private strip show. I take my clothes off as well as I look at Roxanne. Her melons spring forth the moment she sets them free from the prison of her clothes. They literally gush out like a geyser of water. As you would expect from Roxanne. Miria is undoubtedly beautiful but she falls short of Roxanne¡¯s appeal. When it comes to boobs, no one can come close to beating Roxanne. There¡¯s no need to compare or fight over it, however. We are all friends here.


    The four of us then enter the bathroom.One man and his three beautiful women. Sherry checks the water temperature before entering the bath, and upon her suggestion, I add I add a little more hot water to it and then stir it.


    While waiting for it to cool off a bit, I wash Roxanne¡¯s body.


    I recall the moment from earlier when her melons spilled out from beneath her clothes¡­. N-No, i-it¡¯s not like that! It¡¯s not what you think it is! Order comes first. Yes, order! All for the sake of keeping the order to uphold the harmony in my harem!


    ¡¸Wash.¡¹


    ¡¸Wash.¡¹


    While washing, I teach Miria one more Brahim word, and she repeats it after me. I wonder, are body wash and dish washing two different sets of phrases in Brahim? Could it be that this iswhy it didn¡¯t go through to her earlier?


    ¡¸Wash firmly.¡¹


    ¡¸Wash firmly.¡¹


    ¡¸Wash thoroughly.¡¹


    ¡¸Wash thoroughly.¡¹


    I keep washing Roxanne while teaching Miria more Brahim words. Roxanne¡¯s body is always so soft and supple to the touch that I want to wash it firmly and thoroughly, so naturally these were the words that I wanted Miria to learn right now.


    Next, it was Sherry¡¯s turn to get her body washed. Since she is smaller and more delicate than Roxanne, I make sure to wash gently and softly in order to not hurt her with any sudden or rough movements.


    ¡¸Alright, next is Miria¡¯s turn.¡¹


    When I say that, Miria comes in front of me and takes her position obediently. Finally, at long last, the moment that I¡¯ve been waiting for has finally arrived! A quick glance at Miria¡¯s face showed me that there was no hint of reluctance or uneasiness in her eyes, so whatever I am going to do to her now, she should probably be fine with it.


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸She says that she¡¯s ready.¡¹


    ¡¸Is she now?¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸P-Please take care of me.¡¹


    Miria lowers her head and says in Brahim. Did she learn it beforehand in preparation for this moment?  Oh, don¡¯t worry about anything, Miria. I¡¯m going to take an extra special, full care of you, you¡¯ll see.

 Volume 6 - CH 4.1

    Chapter 29: Fish Fry


    ¡ºMiria¡»


    ¡ºCurrent Character Levels & Equipment¡»:


    ¡ºJobs¡»:


    Diver Lv.2


    ¡ºEquipment¡»:


    Dagger


    Steel Spear


    Chainmail


    Leather Gloves


    Leather Boots


    Leather Helmet


    I awoke hugging Roxanne, like usual. Sherry was hugging me from behind, and Miria was on the other side of Roxanne. Both of them are so close to me that I could reach out around them with my arms I only I wanted to. If only I move around slightly, I will be able to touch all three of them. The population density in the bed went up because there are more people, and it honestly feels quite nice.


    Roxanne kisses me. How does she know I woke up? It¡¯s a mystery. Nevertheless, I responded to her quietly. I massaged her smooth tongue, wet with saliva, with my own as Roxanne¡¯s tongue wriggles with passion. After thoroughly twirling our tongues with each other, I released her mouth.


    Next in kissing order is Sherry¡­¡­. or so I thought, but she seems reluctant. Things have changed for us, so she¡¯s thinking about something.


    ¡¸Is the order going to remain the same?¡¹


    Sherry whispered as I held her, and drew her close to myself. I see. So she is worried about the change in the order? In the corner of my eye ,I could see that Roxanne also stiffened a little.


    Now that Miria is here, there is a chance to change the order in such as way that Miria, as the newest slave, might get a more favored position. Is that what Sherry is afraid of?


    ¡¸Do not worry.  There won¡¯t be any changes to our order so soon.¡¹


    I answered quietly, and searched for Sherry¡¯s lips.


    I won¡¯t deny that things will never change, because things might get too relaxed, but for now, I want things to stay as they were. The kiss order last night was Miria, then Sherry, then Roxanne, and then I held them in the order of Roxanne, then Sherry, then Miria. However, I didn¡¯t use Sex Maniac last night. It was Miria¡¯s first day with us, so I shouldn¡¯t go all out on her on the very first day.


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸Good morning, master, desu.¡¹


    When I release Sherry¡¯s mouth, Miria greets me through Roxanne. Did she teach her that she should be addressing me like that? Well, If that is what she did then there is no helping it.


    Finally, I exchange a kiss with Miria, but just a light one. There will be plenty more chances for us to use our tongues in the future. After poking her lightly with my tongue, she pulled herself back anxiously, so I separated our lips for now.


    ¡¸Good morning Miria. Everyone, get changed and we¡¯ll go to the Labyrinth, okay?¡¹


    ¡¸Understood.¡¹


    ¡¸Of course.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes!¡¹


    I get up and change my clothes.


    ¡¸Where exactly should we go? Somewhere where we will be able to see how goo we are going to be fighting as a team of four?¡¹


    ¡¸Let¡¯s see¡­. Even if it might be dangerous to go onto the twelfth floor together with Miria right now, we should be fine just as long as that trip is going to be a short one so that she could observe how the three of us are fighting right now.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I think that it¡¯ll be a good idea as well. First we should let Miria observe us and learn our fighting styles so that we could later incorporate her into them.¡¹


    While changing our clothes, we talked about how exactly we should be training Miria.


    ¡¸But it might be really dangerous with the Grass Bees and heir ability to shoot their stingers at us.¡¹


    We are currently exploring the twelfth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth. The monster native to that floor, Grass Bee, has the ability to shoot its stinger from afar, poisoning that target that it hits. Just like the girls are saying, touring that floor with Miria might be good for her to see how we are fighting, but at the same time we will not be able to keep her safe other than having her stay behind us, which would defeat the purpose of her being in the vanguard together with Roxanne and Sherry. Roxanne can avoid the stinger attack without any issues, but it will not be that simple for me and Sherry, and having to keep Miria safe at all times would only add to the difficulty.


    ¡¸Yes, Grass Bee and its poison might be quite the problem.¡¹


    ¡¸In that case, maybe we should go to the twelfth floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth? This is also going to be a good place for us to get good Drop Items that we would then be able to sell.¡¹


    I thought that Roxanne was going to be all Spartan, saying that Grass Bee¡¯s poison will not be a problem, but this time she agreed with Sherry¡¯s rational suggestion. That being said, I do not think that we need to worry ourselves with money while trying to get Miria used to our fighting styles in the Labyrinths.


    ¡¸I see. Well, it is close by, so I have no objections to it, but what about you, Miria? Are you fine with it?¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X?¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸She is fine with it, and she says that she would rather not fight against Grass Bees.¡¹


    Roxanne translated what Miria said when I asked her if she was fine with Quratar¡¯s twelfth floor. Could it be that she is not good around insects? After all, when it comes to translation, conveying the subtle nuances is rather difficult (TL Note: Yeah, tell me about it.)


    ¡¸Okay, then the twelfth floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth it is. Miria, it is fine for you to just observe from the back like yesterday, but the enemies might be using ranged attacks as well, so even in the back you might not be completely safe, so make sure to be on your guard at all times, okay?¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X .¡¹


    ¡¸Yes!¡¹


    Miria replied vigorously when Roxanne translated my words to her.


    Was Roxanne the one who told her that she can finish her sentences with ¡¸desu¡¹? Anyway, after changing our clothes, I opened the pitch-black portal of ¡¸Warp¡¹that was going to take us to the Labyrinth and then we all walked through it.


    ¡¸Good. Miria come along with me.¡¹


    She said that she can see perfectly in the dark, so she should have no problems with how dimly lit the Labyrinths are, correct?


    ¡¸Yes, desu¡¹


    Miria replied, but for some reason she dropped her shoulders immediately after. It was clear to see for all of us that she has become depressed for some reason.


    ¡¸What¡¯s wrong, Miria?¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X?¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X .¡¹


    ¡¸She said that it¡¯s not fish.¡¹


    Roxanne translated something that sounded a little strange to me.


    ¡¸Sherry, can you explain to me what is she going on about?¡¹


    ¡¸Some of the monsters that appear on the twelfth floors of the Labyrinths can be aquatic monsters. She is probably disappointed that we are not going to be fighting any of them here.¡¹


    Sherry explained after I looked at her for an explanation. I see, so she is not fired up if the enemies are not fish or other types of aquatic monsters?


    Just as the types of monsters that appear from the first floor to the eleventh floor are the same even if the order is different between the Labyrinth of Vale and the Labyrinth of Quratar, the monsters that appear from the twelfth floor to the twenty-second floor should also be fixed, and there may be a fish monsters on some of it.


    The monster native to the twelfth floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth is Sarracenia, not any type of fish monster. The same thing applies to the twelfth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth and the twelfth and thirteenth floors of the Tare¡¯s Labyrinth. Well, at the very least we probably will not be fighting against any Grass Bees anytime soon, so at least Miria can rest assured that she is not going to have to deal with bugs.


    ¡¸Good work figuring that out though? Was it through the smell?¡¹

 Volume 6 - CH 4.2

    ¡¸Well, it does indeed smell as if there was Sarracenia out there.¡¹


    ¡¸¡­¡­¡­¡­¡¹


    Could it be that Miria also possesses a good sense of smell because she¡¯s a member of the Beastkin tribe, just like Roxanne? I exchanged glances with Sherry, who possessed a normal sense of smell just like I did, but all that I got out of her was a shrug of her shoulders. Well that was to be expected of someone who cannot detect monsters by their smell, so we have no choice but to accept Roxanne and Miria¡¯s words at face value.


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X?¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸Miria said that she was is not able to detect fish monsters by their smell, but rather that she¡¯s able to locate their presence.¡¹


    She¡¯a able to detect monsters by their presence instead of by their smell, but it is limited to (who would¡¯ve guessed) fish monsters? I feel like it is something to be amazed by, but at the same time that it¡¯s not really worth it.


    ¡¸Well, if Miria continues to do her best in the Labyrinths, then I¡¯m sure that we¡¯re going to reach the floors where the fish monsters are dwelling in no time.


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, desu!¡¹


    ¡¸All right then, pleased to be working with you from now on.¡¹


    Even though I feel that this motivation of hers is kinda cheap, it is definitely better compared to if she didn¡¯t have any kind of motivation at all, but there is also a possibility that once we reach the floors with fish monsters in them and then move on from them to the places where there¡¯ll be no more fish monsters, Miria might lose her motivation to help us continue to push ourselves to the very top since her own goal is already going to be achieved.


    Well, I guess we shall worry about something like that happening when it happens, but no sooner than that. For the time being, we proceeded through the Labyrinth under Roxanne¡¯s careful guidance.


    The first group of monsters that we happened upon was a mixed one consisting of Sarracenias and Green Caterpillars.


    Since this is going to be our first fight of the day, I instructed Roxanne that there¡¯s no need for her to be taking us to a place with a lot of monsters, since this first bout is mainly going to be the one that we¡¯ll use to demonstrate to Miria how the three of us: Roxanne, Sherry and I are fighting together so that she could observe us and adapt to our fighting style properly.


    Because the threads that the Green Caterpillars are spitting might still pose a threat to us, I¡¯m keeping Miria in the back of our formation. As long as she stays behind me, then the threads shouldn¡¯t be able to reach her even if the Green Caterpillars do end up targeting me instead of Sherry and Roxanne.


    And then there¡¯s also the possibility of Sarracenias trying to shoot their digestive fluids at us, but since we are on the twelfth level of the Labyrinth, then I guess it is inevitable that the enemies here would be using their ranged attacks more often than their counterparts on the lower floors. The only saving grace here is that unlike Grass Bees and their stingers that can leave us poisoned if we let ourselves be hit by them, Sarracenia¡¯s digestive juices don¡¯t seem to possess that peculiar property, but it doesn¡¯t mean that we don¡¯t have to be extremely careful while engaging them.


    Since Sarracenia is a plant-like monster, its weakness is Fire Magic, so when attacking them, I was doing so through the use of my fire Spells: ¡¸Fire Ball¡¹and ¡¸Fire Storm¡¹. While spamming those Spells whenever I had the chance to do so, we managed to defeat the entire group of monsters rather quickly, and throughout this entire encounter there was no cause for us to be concerned, and apparently none of my Party Members sustained any kind of injuries.


    Just as I was expecting, with our current Party and its strength, fighting on the twelfth floors of the Labyrinths shouldn¡¯t be posing any kind of threat to us.


    ¡¸Here you go, desu.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, thank you.¡¹


    Miria also participated in the process of collecting the Drop Items from the defeated monsters and handed what she managed to gather to me with a smile. It is so nice to see that she was doing that on her own, without the need for me or Roxanne to order her to do that. This goes to show that she can be pretty observant and mindful of her surroundings, and adapt to the situation quickly.


    Now that Miria has picked up the Sumac Gallnut that was left by Sarracenia upon its defeat, she should¡¯ve obtained the Job of a Herbalist, so I opened up my Party Job Settings to see if I was right about that, and sure enough, when I scrolled down to the list of Miria¡¯s available Jobs, I saw that Herbalist Lv.1 has just been added to them, so I guess it means that just like the leaves that are left behind by Udowood, the Floor Boss of the floors where the Needlewoods are the native enemies, Sumac Gallnut left behind by Sarracenias is also considered to be a type of medicinal herb.


    Since I have acquired a number of Sumac Gallnuts from the defeated Sarracenias, I decided that now would be a good time to make some Nourishing Pills from them with the use of my ¡¸Medicine Creation¡¹Skill.


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X! X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X!¡¹


    Since I¡¯ve created those Nourishing Pills right in front of Miria¡¯s eyes, she could witness the entire process from beginning to the end and so she commented upon it, but this time I didn¡¯t even need Roxanne to translate her words for me, because I was pretty sure that I understood what she was saying: she was probably amazed that someone like me, an Explorer, was able to do something like that and she said: ¡¸Oh my Gawd what is this, this guy is so amazing!!!¡¹or something along those lines.


    In any case, it looks like the process of Miria¡¯s acclimatization in our Party is going rather smoothly, and so far she doesn¡¯t seem to have any problems with keeping up with us despite the rather fast pace at which we were going, so we went and dealt with several more groups of monsters on the twelfth floor of the Labyrinth of Quratar.


    ¡¸Sherry, do you think Collagen Coral is an aquatic monster?¡¹


    I asked Sherry about it after we finished a few more encounters and made a short break, during which I asked Sherry about her opinion on the elemental nature of the Collagen Coral monster, because due to Sarracenia¡¯s being potentially too dangerous for Miria to handle right now, I was thinking about where should we go next so that she could have her chance to fight alongside us as well.


    One of the Skills granted to Miria by her Diver Job is called ¡¸Anti-Aquatic Enhancement¡¹. Judging by its name alone, it should be a Skill that strengthens Miria¡¯s capabilities of fighting against the monsters dwelling in the water, which would make perfect sense considering the nature and the purpose of a Job such as Diver. As for the Skill itself, I think it might be a Passive Skill and not an Active one.


    ¡¸Hmm¡­. I never really thought about it that much, but I think you might be right. I think it is an aquatic monster.¡¹


    Sherry agrees with my notion of Collagen Coral being an aquatic monster. If it really is such a monster, then Miria should have no trouble fighting against them.


    ¡¸Have you heard about a Skill called ¡¸Anti-Aquatic Enhancement¡¹?¡¹


    ¡¸I¡¯m afraid I haven¡¯t.¡¹


    ¡¸And how about Miria?¡¹


    ¡¸She says that she doesn¡¯t know about it either.¡¹


    She doesn¡¯t know about the Skill that she had? Well, it might be because it¡¯s a Passive Skill that she had with her all this time and that¡¯s why she didn¡¯t notice anything.

 Volume 6 - CH 4.3

    To her, it must¡¯ve simply been so strong against aquatic monsters by default.


    ¡¸Miria, which is the highest floor you have ever visited?¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X?¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸She says that when it comes to the Labyrinths, she has only ever been on the first floor, not counting the ones she entered with us.¡¹


    ¡¸In that case, I think that the eighth floor might still be a little bit too much for her, but she should probably be fine on the fifth floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth since the main monsters there are Collagen Corals, so she should be able to fight against them just fine with her Diver Job.¡¹


    Now that we all agreed that Collagen Corals are aquatic monsters that should be vulnerable to Miria¡¯s ¡¸Anti-Aquatic Enhancement¡¹Skill, we decided to move down to the fifth floor where Collagen Corals were the main enemies so that Miria Could try her hand at fighting with them.


    While once again being guided by Roxanne¡¯s nose, I told Miria to move to the frontlines and give fighting the monsters of the fifth floor a try. Since we went down to the fifth floor with our current levels and equipment, the battles here were not taking that much of our time anymore. Or rather, we could be ending all of the battles in the blink of an eye, but the three of us have decided against it in order to give Miria a genuine chance at fighting on her own.


    Miria was able to fight against Collagen Corals without any major difficulties, but still, she was taking a surprisingly large amount of hits from the counterattacks that they were launching towards her when sh was attacking them. Just as I expected, it doesn¡¯t seem like Miria is able to dodge the enemy attacks with the same kind of prowess as Roxanne does, and honestly, that makes me more than a little relieved. If it turned out that every member of the Beastkin race is secretly a god of dodging like Roxanne, then I think I would¡¯ve just broke down and started crying on the spot.


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, desu!¡¹


    ¡¸Miria says that she¡¯s perfectly fine and that she can still keep on going.¡¹


    Roxanne asked Miria how she was doing in the middle of the battle, but if Miria¡¯s words are to be believed, then she is still fine and can keep going. Roxanne, you¡¯re such a kind soul, worrying about others rather than yourself even in the middle of a battle against the monsters of the Labyrinths.


    But it was to be expected that no harm came to Miria at all. After all, when she was not looking, I used ¡¸Plating¡¹, the Skill of my Alchemist Job, to keep her out of harm¡¯s way, and once she receives enough blows for ¡¸Plating¡¹to disappear, I can always heal her wounds with ¡¸Medical Treatment¡¹ and then apply ¡¸Plating¡¹onto her again.


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X?¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X .¡¹


    Seemingly surprised by something, Miria had another short conversation with Roxanne. Girls, we are still in the middle of a battle, you know? I realize that the enemies are considerably weaker in comparison to what we are used to dealing with, but still, it doesn¡¯t mean that we can just relax and let our guards down completely, you know? We need to stay vigilant!


    Well as I was saying, Roxanne is used to dodging the attacks of the monsters from the thirteenth and twelfth floors, so it is understandable that she would be thinking nothing of the attacks of the monsters from the fifth floor, which have to be slow as shit for her right now, but stull, I would very much like it if she wasn¡¯t lulling Miria into a false sense of security.


    Oh, Miria is looking at me. Was I the topic of her conversation with Roxanne just now? Or maybe she looked so surprised by the sudden sensation of ¡¸Medical Treatment¡¹ being used on her when she wasn¡¯t looking? Whatever the case might be, I am glad that she managed to survive yet another battle without getting herself into big trouble that would result in her scoring a fatal injury.


    ¡¸Miria, how were the monster¡¯s attacks just now?¡¹


    After the battle was over and the monsters defeated and their Drop Items gathered by us, I decided to check up on Miria personally.


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸She says that she¡¯s doing okay.¡¹


    ¡¸Good. Now, can you ask her if she¡¯d be okay with moving to the eighth floor next? The main monster of that floor in the Labyrinth of Vale is Collagen Coral as well, and if she¡¯s managed to do so good against them here on the fifth floor, then I don¡¯t think that the eighth floor should be too difficult for her as well.¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X?¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸She says that as long as Collagen Corals are going to be the main enemies, then she¡¯s okay with fighting them no matter which floor they might be on.¡¹


    ¡¸Are you sure? You¡¯re not saying this just to make sure that you¡¯re not dragging us down, right?¡¹


    ¡¸Right, desu!¡¹


    Miria replied with a confidently cheerful voice. If she¡¯s so sure that she¡¯s going to be able to handle stronger enemies, then it is time for us to move from the fifth floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth to the eighth floor of Vale¡¯s Labyrinth. This is the floor where I originally wanted to begin our morning exploration routine, but the demonstration of our fighting tactics on the twelfth floor took precedence over that.


    Thankfully, the Labyrinth of Vale was as empty and void of people as usual, probably because it was still a relatively early morning. Of course, we should still exercise caution in order to not let any accidental passers-by see me using my magic or swinging Durandal around, but other than that, we should be able to do pretty much whatever we want in here.


    We start our trek through the eighth floor of Vale¡¯s Labyrinth. Normally, it takes three Spells in order to defeat a single Collagen Coral Lv.8, so I performed a ¡¸Character Reset¡¹and increased the amount of Bonus Points added to my INT stat in order to reduce the necessary amount of Spells needed to almost kill a single Collagen Coral from three to two, but whenever we are happening upon Collagen Corals, I generally tend to leave them up to Miria to finish them off.


    Across the next few battles, I had her defeat the opponents by using different weapons, including the Steel Spear, a Scimitar and with her bare hands, since hen I was going through the list of Miria¡¯s Jobs I noticed that she didn¡¯t have neither Swordsman nor Monk Jobs. The bonuses from their passives are pretty handy to have, so I wanted Miria to have access to them as well in order to make her that much stronger.


    While she was holding the Steel Spear in her hands, she was able to defeat the enemies with ease, but whenever she was fighting them with just a sword, she was prone to getting herself caught in the monster¡¯s counterattacks, but strangely enough, when she was fighting with bare hands, she was the one doing lots of counterattacking, and that¡¯s why I was always there for her, with my ¡¸Plating¡¹ and ¡¸Medical Treatment¡¹at the ready to patch her up whenever she needed it. And once these battles were over, I opened up the Party Job settings again, confirming that Miria indeed managed to unlock the Swordsman Lv.1 and Monk.Lv.1 Jobs, so with them and their passive bonuses to her stats, I think she should have more than enough strength to be okay from this point onward.


    ¡¸Okay Miria, are you ready to challenge some of the enemies that are not aquatic monsters?¡¹

 Volume 6 - CH 4.4

    ¡¸Yes, desu!¡¹


    Miria looks pretty motivated about it.


    ¡¸Roxanne, look for a place where Na?ve Olives are for us, alright?¡¹


    ¡¸Understood, master!¡¹


    The monster native to the seventh floor of Vale¡¯s Labyrinth is Escape Goat, so there is a possibility that they might also appear on the eighth floor, and if they do, then fighting against them is going to be pretty difficult since they do tend to run away as soon as their HP drops below fifty percent of its total value. That is why I thought that the better idea here would be to go and search for the monsters that were native to the sixth floor, Na?ve Olives.


    The group that Roxanne managed to find for us consisted of a single Collagen Coral and a single Na?ve Olive. Against these monsters, Roxanne and Miria darted forward so that each of them could take care of one opponent, and Sherry slowly followed after them to offer her support. It wasn¡¯t all that long since Miria started fighting together with us, but I could already see that the girls managed to adjust to one another in such a way that they could fight and help each other without the need for me to be giving direct orders to them.


    Oh, and I think that it goes without saying, but Roxanne was fighting against the Collagen Coral while Miria took on Na?ve Olive. It would be pretty meaningless if it was the other way around, since that¡¯s not what I want to test right now.


    Initially, I thought about supporting them from the rear with my Spells, but it became pretty clear that my help won¡¯t be needed against these trash-tier mobs, so I just hanged around in the back waiting for them to be done, only applying ¡¸Plating¡¹and ¡¸Medical Treatment¡¹to Miria when it was truly necessary.


    ¡¸How was it, Miria?¡¹


    ¡¸She says that it was definitely harder than the battles against the Collagen Corals, but she can fight them no problem.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay, so it seems like Miria is going to be fine for the time being. However, the question now is: what are we going to do next, or to be even more precise: where are we going to go next? Would it be better if we advanced through the ninth, tenth and eleventh floors in order until we¡¯d naturally come back to the twelfth floor while being wary of the constantly increasing number of attacks required to defeat the enemies on each floor, or do we go back straight to the twelfth floor right now and continue on through it as we did before while keeping Miria safe in the back?¡¹


    I was not sure what would be the best course of action myself, so I asked the other three for their opinions on the matter.


    It will be much safer for us if we continue to fight the monsters that can be taken out in one or two hits. Not to mention that receiving attacks from them is something that I desire the least. Above all else, since Miria just joined us, I don¡¯t want her to suffer any pain.


    However, even if we enter lower floors, we won¡¯t have any kind of guarantee that we¡¯re going to be one hundred percent safe, and if Miria were to receive a mortal wound during this experiment and died because of it, the I¡¯d never be able to forgive myself for what my short-sightedness has caused.


    Now, let¡¯s say that we decide to take a gamble and move onto the twelfth floor. Since this is a Labyrinth, then even if Miria stayed in the rear the entire time, she wouldn¡¯t be entirely safe, since there is always a possibility that she might get hit by a stray long-distance Skill or Spells coming our way, but on the flipside, if she gets to observe us fighting on the twelfth floor some more, then she¡¯s definitely going to grow up and learn as a fighter much faster


    ¡¸In my opinion, we should go and advance through the floors in order, and as for the possibility of receiving attacks, we should not be paying too much mind to it, since here in the Labyrinths getting attacked is something obvious and expected and the risk is always going to be here no matter the precautions we¡¯re going to take to avoid them.¡¹


    Roxanne gives her opinion while explaining the advantages and disadvantages of the approaches that I¡¯ve proposed. Well, to someone like Roxanne, taking damage from enemies really might not be such a big deal, since she¡¯ll just avoid all of it altogether, but the rest of us cannot do it, and so we always need to be careful.


    ¡¸Advancing through the floors in order does indeed seem to be a better option as far as our safety is concerned, even more so since we¡¯re not doing any of this so that we could receive the attacks from the enemies on purpose.¡¹


    Sherry¡¯s judgement is as rational as ever.


    It will be nice if Miria was as rational as her as well, so that we could take things easy for a little bit more.


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸Miria says: ¡¸I agree with what Big Sister said. We should do as she says¡¹. ¡¹


    Are you sure that this is your own opinion and not something that Roxanne forced you to say, Miria? Oh well, if she says that she¡¯s fine with it, then she really must be fine with it, so that¡¯s what we¡¯re going to be doing.


    And just like that, after having a majority of us vote in favor of going through the Labyrinth floors one by one, we decided to trek through all of them in order.


    We move to the ninth floor of Quratar¡¯s labyrinth and then proceed to its tenth floor. Along the way, we take out all of the monsters that happened upon us, but we always make sure to leave at least one of them for Miria to finish off, but whenever she was receiving too many hits and was taking damage, I would jump in and finish the job myself to not place her in too much danger. After all, she already acquired Swordsman and Monk Jobs, so there¡¯s no need for her to be overdoing things by herself.


    ¡¸Are you okay?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I¡¯m okay, desu.¡¹


    Miria answers when I ask her about her condition while casting another¡¸Medical Treatment¡¹on her.


    She seems to have learned how to speak the word¡¸okay¡¹in Brahim, which means that she took yet another small step towards learning how to speak it properly. Also, through the process of observing her in battle, I learned that she could handle fighting against the monsters up to Spi Spiders Lv.11


    ¡¸The monsters inhabiting the twelfth floor will be even more difficult than the ones here. Do you still want us to proceed further?¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay, desu.¡¹


    When Roxanne translates, Miria replies with a determined expression.


    I¡¯m glad to see that Miria seems to be brave person by nature. Being brave is a necessary trait to have if you want to keep going to the Labyrinths and fight in them, but I wonder if it¡¯s a natural thing for people to be so in a world filled with Labyrinths such as this one, or is it something that is still person-to-person dependent?


    No, I think it¡¯s actually the exact opposite: it¡¯s the brave people of this world who chose to fight in the Labyrinths while the rest of them stay in the comforts of their houses, perfectly content with not contributing anything to the cause.


    Had I chosen to buy a beautiful female slave instead of Miria, I think it might¡¯ve been the same with me, and there is also a possibility that Miria is saying so superficially because she¡¯s our Party Member and doesn¡¯t want to be the one dragging us down.


    ¡¸Well then, we¡¯ll now move on to 12th floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth. You will not actively take part in fighting, Miria. For the time being, just stay behind me and observe to try and get a hang of it some more. If you can, you can try to poke the enemies with your spear from the distance if you find an opportunity. Anyway, you will be in the rear while Sherry will take your place in the front for the time being.¡¹

 Volume 6 - CH 4.5

    Having advanced all the way through the previous floors, Miria has now leveled up her Job to Diver Lv.5, so battles on the twelfth floor shouldn¡¯t be a problem for her just as long as she¡¯s not going to get herself killed in one hit by anything.


    We move to the twelfth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth and start hunting monsters in our usual manner while Miria is observing us from the rear. Like I thought, there¡¯s no problem in having her observe from the back, and because I can take monsters out in four Wind Magic spells, battles don¡¯t take long to end.


    Ranged attacks appear sporadically but Roxanne takes care of those by focusing them all on herself and then dodging them. Over the course of morning, Miria¡¯s Diver job has increased even further. Because she¡¯s low level, the pace of her leveling up is that much quicker due to the floor we¡¯re currently at. If this keeps up, she¡¯ll soon be able to hold up entirely on her own.


    We finish hunting and head to Quratar¡¯s Adventurers Guild and then go to the town to buy ingredients for breakfast.


    I was afraid as to what would happen at the fishmonger, but Miria passes it by normally, ignoring it. Is she no longer going to be insisting on eating fish? Or maybe it¡¯s because she said earlier that she wants fish every ten days?


    ¡¸It¡¯s probably because the fish doesn¡¯t seem to be fresh today.¡¹


    While I was pondering over it, Roxanne whispers an answer into my ear. I see, so the shop¡¯s most likely leftover stock was at fault here, huh? Did the owner really put unsold fish from yesterday on sale here hoping that somebody¡¯s going to buy it?That¡¯s really bad for business, but if she doesn¡¯t realize that, then that¡¯s his problem, not mine.


    ¡¸Do you want to make something, Miria?¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸She says that she wants to make roasted meat. I¡¯ll help her out with it, so it should be alright.¡¹


    So there really won¡¯t be any fish today, huh? Well, if Roxanne is going to be cooking together with Miria, then everything should really be fine.


    ¡¸Then I¡¯ll make some soup to it.¡¹


    ¡¸Would it be okay if we added eggs to the soup?¡¹


    ¡¸Egg? Okay, sure. This seems a little unorthodox, but if master thinks that it¡¯ll improve the soup then why not?¡¹


    Just like Sherry said, it seems to be her turn to make soup today.


    After buying eggs, bread and other ingredients necessary for the preparation of the food, we then return home. If that is the case, then I¡¯ll be making something else then.


    I first take egg yolk from all the eggs and add some vinegar into it, mixing and blending it together with a makeshift whisk that I made myself by bending a couple of steel wires. After that, I add some olive oil to the mixture that I have received.


    Because I don¡¯t know the exact quantity of the oil to be added, I add it little by little while keeping in mind that in cooking, it is generally agreed upon that it¡¯s better to add too much of an ingredient than too little of it.


    I keep whipping everything up until it thickens nicely, and then whip it some more and more and more for good measure until the thing that I wanted to make is ready. Mayonnaise, that is.


    ¡¸Here.¡¹


    I said while passing the egg whites to Sherry.


    ¡¸I understand that this is  made from egg whites, but what is that thing, exactly?¡¹


    ¡¸It¡¯s a type of seasoning from my homeland.Since we will be making fish for Miria in the evening on the day after tomorrow, it¡¯s something that is going to make it even more delicious.¡¹


    ¡¸Ooooh!¡¹


    Miria looks at me with shocked, widely-opened eyes. She seems to have understood that we are talking about fish even without Roxanne translating it directly to her.


    ¡¸You seem to be doing well in Labyrinth, so this is your reward for keeping up with us despite all of the difficulties.¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸Tasty, desu!¡¹


    She hasn¡¯t eaten it yet, and yet she¡¯s already calling it¡¸tasty¡¹.Either she loves food that much or she¡¯s just assuming that everything that I¡¯ll prepare is automatically going to be tasing good.


    ¡¸It¡¯s a reward. Reward.¡¹


    ¡¸Reward, desu.¡¹


    Miria repeats the word after me.


    As for the exact meaning of the word ¡¸reward¡¹, I¡¯ll make sure to teach her all about it later tonight. I¡¯ll make sure to teach her so thoroughly that she¡¯ll embed the essence of this word onto her very soul.


    For the time being, I put the lid on mayonnaise.


    ¡¸Don¡¯t eat it just yet or it¡¯ll upset your stomach. Also, don¡¯t take it out with bare hands if you know what¡¯s good for you.¡¹


    I leave it with that note, making sure that all three of them will take it to heart. There¡¯s a chance for raw eggs to contain Salmonella, so therefore it is strongly suggested that eating raw eggs is not something that you¡¯re supposed to be doing.


    Because there¡¯s vinegar and olive oil in mayonnaise, however, any germs and bacteria that might¡¯ve been in there should die out if you leave it to its own devices for about a about a day or two.


    Apparently, Miria can make dishes other than the ones that are fish-based, and I have to say that it is frickin¡¯ delicious.


    After eating the finger-licking good breakfast, we the continued to hunt the monsters in the Labyrinths until the evening, when we headed to one of the Imperial City¡¯s clothing stores. Our target there today? To buy a negligee for Miria.


    In this world, negligees are made out of a thin, translucent fabric that leaves very little to the imagination when a girl is wearing it. I wasn¡¯t able to buy one yesterday, so now should be as good of a time to buy it as any. And since we have already spent the night together where I saw pretty much everything that Miria had to offer, then she shouldn¡¯t be shy about wearing something like that at all.


    Miria is choosing her negligee with Roxanne and Sherry, and while I am happy that shopping for clothes is an activity in which the three of them can happily engage together, then I have to admit that they¡¯re making too much noise while sorting through all of the options that the shop had available for purchase.


    It immediately became obvious to me that this is going to take much more time than I have initially anticipated, and that by allowing Roxanne and Sherry to help Miria make her decision I might¡¯ve made a grave mistake.


    We definitely should¡¯ve done it before buying fish. If only we have done that this way, then Miria would¡¯ve immediately chosen pretty much anything just so that we could go to the fishmonger that much faster.


    ¡¸Excuse me, do you also sell clothes based on the uniforms worn by the palace maids?¡¹


    Because there was no end to waiting for them to make a final choice in sight, I decided to kill some time by striking up a conversation with one of the shop¡¯s male clerks. When it comes to buying such specific clothing, it is always better to ask a male clerk about it rather than a female one, because a female one would probably look am like I was some kinda degenerate if I went and asked her about the maid outfits for my slaves, even more so since I have to buy Miria her own maid outfit since she doesn¡¯t have one while Roxanne and Sherry do.


    ¡¸We do not have them on sale here per se, but you can always have it tailored made for you if you want. All that you have to do is to pick which fabric you want the clothes to be made of, and we¡¯re going to prepare them and get them ready for you in ten days.¡¹


    ¡¸Really? Just ten days is going to be enough? Wow, that¡¯s truly impressive.¡¹


    That¡¯s great news. Almost too great, if I am to be honest, but I guess it just goes to show how much clothes like that are actually in demand here in the capital.

 Volume 6 - CH 4.6

    ¡¸So, what choices of fabric do I have and how much would each of them cost?¡¹


    ¡¸Ordinary fabric will cost you five thousand Nars. The fabric that uses a blend primarily made out of silk is going to cost you six thousand Nars, and if you would like to instead opt for a pure-silk fabric, then that is going to cost you up to ten thousand Nars. The third option is the priciest one of them all, but on the other hand it is far superior to the other two with how incredibly soft to the touch its texture is.¡¹


    He then led me down to the section of the store where all of the fabrics were being kept, and when we reached the place where the fabric made out of pure silk was, he urged me to touch it so that I could see for myself how incredible it was.


    I have to say¡­. He was definitely right. It is so soft and smooth to the touch unlike anything else I had touched since I came to this world. I tried to imagine how holding Roxanne, Sherry and Miria would feel if they were all wearing the clothes made for this pure silk fabric and God damn, it would definitely feel awesome! But also, God damn this man knows exactly why I want maid outfit, and he¡¯s not afraid to capitalize on my desires in the slightest! It was definitely a mistake to have asked a male clerk about the maid outfits, and I see that pretty clearly now.


    ¡¸This time I¡¯m looking for just one maid outfit so that she could have the same one as the other two, so I would like it to be tailored with just an ordinary fabric without anything too fancy added to it.¡¹


    I can¡¯t have only Miria wearing a maid outfit made of pure silk while Roxanne and Sherry have their own made from regular materials, so picking a the one that is going to match theirs for Miria seemed like the most logical thing to do, and that¡¯s why I¡¯m going to ask for a uniform made out of ordinary fabric that is going to cost five thousand Nars.


    But wait a minute. Now that I think about it¡­.. the maid outfit which I bought from Alan the Slave Merchant in Vale¡¯s Slave Shop costed me four thousand Nars, so if I eliminate the profit margin for the sale of the clothes, their price should be pretty much the same as for the ordinary one. In other words¡­..


    ¡­.. in other words, this guy right here charged a profit of one thousand Nars! I could understand lifting the price up for a few hundred Nars at best, but one thousand of them?! No matter how you¡¯d look at it, that¡¯s simply too much!


    But it¡¯s too late to change anything now, so I have no choice but to go through with it.


    While I was agonizing over my poor choice just now, Miria finished choosing her negligee. She ended up choosing the one that was blue, with the shade that closely resembled the color of her hair.


    ¡¸Well then, I can take the measurements required for the outfit to be made. Which of the ladies is going to be wearing it?¡¹


    ¡¸This one right here. You can go right ahead.¡¹


    ¡¸Very well, as you wish, Mr. Customer.¡¹


    I send Miria to a female shop clerk who came up to us to take her measurements.


    ¡¸You both received your outfits from the Slave Merchant in Vale, but there¡¯s no outfit for Miria, so I requested to have one made for her right now.¡¹


    I explained to Roxanne and Sherry while enjoying the spectacle of Miria having her


    measurements taken.


    They may think that Miria is receiving special treatment, which is totally not the case here, so I have to make sure that I will explain it to them properly so as to not invite any misunderstandings.


    ¡¸Oh, that¡¯s right. Now that I think about it, since Miria was bought only yesterday, she really does not have her own maid outfit, so she does need one to be made for her.¡¹


    Roxanne gave her reply after pondering the matter for a second. So¡­. Can I take it for her being totally okay with Miria getting her own maid outfit? She¡¯s not going to start throwing tantrums about it all of a sudden after the deed is going to be done? Good. That honestly made me breathe a sigh of relief.If you have a harem, you need to take care of everyone in in in order to make sure that every member is going to be equally happy, but the thing that is just as important as this is the members getting along with each other just fine not to cause unnecessary conflicts.


    ¡¸Thank you very much, desu.¡¹


    Miria comes back after having her measurements taken and expresses her gratitude after hearing about everything that we just talked about from Roxanne. I could see that she was not as fired up about getting new clothes for herself as she was when getting fish for dinner was on the line, or perhaps it might be that she is not happy about getting a maid outfit specifically? However, those are the things that we are going to have to work out at a later time. For now, I have to pay for the clothes to be made, and then we¡¯re going to have to wait for ten days for the clothes to actually be made, so we¡¯re going to have more than enough time to work things out properly.


    ¡¸How would you like to pay? You can make advance payment either in full or half, whichever option you prefer.¡¹


    So, if the clothes have to be tailored first, there is an option of only paying half the required price in advance. That sounds like an information that I can definitely make use of in the future.


    Also, this way, I feel like even if I bought just that one outfit, it would be possible for my discount Bonus Skill to be effective, but just in the off chance that it might not proc it after all, I think that I am still going to pay the full amount together with Miria¡¯s negligee. Thanks to that, I will be sure that the discount is going to proc without fail, because I bought two separate items from someone who has a ¡¸Calculate¡¹ Skill.


    ¡¸I¡¯m going to pay in full, together with this thing right here.¡¹


    I pay for the maid outfit fully in advance along with Miria¡¯s negligee. Later, when we were back home from the shopping and were having dinner, I even earned myself a praise from Sherry for the response that I made to this situation. She even said something along the lines of:


    ¡¸I heard from grandfather that when you do shopping at these kinds of shops, only stingy people choose the option to pay half the price up front and pay the rest of it later.¡¹


    ¡¸That so?¡¹


    I never thought about it in such a way. I just wanted my discount to kick in properly, so I guess in a sense you can say that I am even more stingy than those who only pay half of the price up front.


    ¡¸What else have you heard from your grandfather?¡¹


    ¡¸That to pay the full sum of money in advance is the sign of trust that the client has in the store where he is buying and in the people that run it.¡¹


    ¡¸Ah, I see. I guess that makes sense.¡¹


    There¡¯s always a risk of merchants running away with your money if you pay a large sum of it in advance, so I guess paying them up anyway really can be considered as a sign of trust from the customer. But there¡¯s no such risk here for the store is in prime location of the Imperial City. On the contrary though, I might die at any moment while in the Labyrinths, so my paying of the full sum in advance can be taken as an expression of my trust in the shop.


    ¡¸As expected of master, X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    When Roxanne translated what we were talking about to Miria, her expression turns respectful, and she even praised me. What did Roxanne told her just now? What did she translate my words to?


    For some reason, I feel it¡¯s not going to be the right thing to leave the matter of Miria¡¯s education to Roxanne. But of course, having her feel the feelings of respect towards me is the most desireable thing for me right now.

 Volume 6 - CH 4.7

    Considering the kind of things that we are going to be doing after dinner from now on, because I am never going to let go of doing naughty things to my girls.


    No, what I am doing to them every night is not a naughty act at all. It is my expression of love towards them. And one of the proofs that they love me back, is that Miria greeted me when I woke up the next morning.


    After I did it with them yesterday, I somehow feel unusually refreshed upon waking up just now. Going to sleep after getting pleasurably tired the day before is the best feeling ever, no two ways about it. But that should be understandable. Once you¡¯ve got a good night¡¯s sleep, it should be a give that you would feel pleasantly refreshed on the next day.


    Actually, I never felt tired when I was doing it with just Roxanne and Sherry, but now that the number of my slaves have increased to three, with the addition of Miria, I  have to admit that I do feel slightly fatigued after the fact. However, this doesn¡¯t mean in any way that I have expended all of my stamina. If push comes to shove, I can always resort to using Sex Maniac. I¡¯m quite surprised at how high my own vigor had risen.


    After kissing Roxanne, Sherry and Miria good morning, I got up from the bed. Miria is still a little bit clumsy at kissing, but it feels good in its own way.


    The way Roxanne aggressively squirms her tongue in my mouth feels better, and so does the way Sherry gently entwines her tongue with mine. I¡¯m lucky to be able to enjoy such a degree of variety every single day when it comes to kissing.


    After changing into our equipment, we move to the twelfth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth.


    ¡¸Because we have already advanced through the floors in order, Miria should be familiar with how we fight and how to deal with the most of the monsters now, so I want you to try fighting in the frontlines now. However, make sure that you don¡¯t overdo it, okay?¡¹


    I pull a Steel Spear out and hand it over to Miria.  Yes, from today, she is going to be fighting in the front together with Roxanne and Sherry. She has already reached Lv.10 as a Diver, so it is about time for her to try out some new things now that her level jumped to the one with double digits.


    Three of them line up in the front of me, ready to take on any monster that might come our way. Roxanne positions herself in the center, with Sherry and Miria on her left and right respectively. With this formation, we start our daily dosage of hunting and looting.


    Right now, with my current level and stats I am capable of defeating all of the monsters that are roaming around the twelfth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth in about four Spells. Thanks to that, all of the battles that we are currently waging here are not the lengthiest ones, and I am capable of killing all of the opponent¡¯s way before they manage to come even remotely closer to us and even think about attacking Miria directly.


    And speaking of Miria, as we continue to trek through the corridors of the twelfth floor and slay more monsters, I continue to observe Miria and monitor the state that she¡¯s in. Right now, she seems to be doing just fine on her own, and she has yet to receive a single direct hit. Ironically speaking, the one who received a first direct attack from the monsters in the Labyrinth was actually me.


    It happened when I was swinging Durandal at a Grass Bee when it came close enough to me to find itself within my melee range. It took a step back right before Durandal¡¯s blade managed to reach it, and once it successfully dodged my attack, it then counterattacked by slamming its body into me.


    It was regrettable, but unfortunately, this is the risk of using Durandal to fight. Whenever I¡¯m using it to fight, it¡¯s inevitable that I¡¯ll have to allow the enemies to come closer to me and engage in an increasingly lengthy dogfights where I cannot help it but to receive some of the blows aimed at me.


    Or at least that is the excuse that I have come up with in order to justify the times when I was hit in case if Roxanne, Miria or Sherry ever started to question why is it happening to me so often.


    As for the Jobs that I am currently using, Miria is still in the process of levelling her Diver Job up so she still needs ¡¸Plating¡¹ to protect her from the occasional damage that she might receive, which means that I cannot get rid of the Alchemist¡¯s Job just yet.


    Judging by the other Skills that I currently possess, I decided that the most obsolete Job that I can probably make do without is Warrior. Its ¡¸Rush¡¹Skill was definitely helpful in dispatching the enemies a little bit faster, but without it defeating the monsters on the twelfth floor takes about four normal strikes of Durandal, which takes a little bit of time, but not enough to say that it actually takes too long.


    It took a while to get the proper rhythm and movements down, but eventually I managed to find a way to effectively dispatch the Grass Bees with four attacks from Durandal. I also think that one of the reasons for why it is so relatively easy for me to do so is also the fact that Miria continues to Level Up and grow stronger.


    In the beginning, every time I fought against the enemies on this floor while using Durandal, the amount of strikes that were actually needed for me to kill one enemy was five strikes, sometimes a little bit more if one of my attacks actually ended up missing its mark, but right now, after we¡¯ve already been here for some time, the number of needed strikes has been reduced to just four, and that allowed my battles to be that much faster and more consistent.


    As much as I would¡¯ve liked it to be otherwise, even in the game world there is no method that would allow me to become the strongest being in this entire game overnight. If I want that to happen, then I have to work hard in order to make that happen, as well as accept that fact that this process is going to take a while, and that the best and safest approach is to take it one small step at a time instead of trying to force it while making big leaps.


    Now that Miria has become a member of my Party, the more she¡¯s going to be levelling up and the stronger she¡¯s going to be getting, it¡¯s going to translate directly to my own self becoming that much stronger along with her, all because of the Skill that Miria¡¯s Diver Job possesses: ¡¸Increase STR (Small)¡¹, and the fact that the passive effects of the Jobs possessed by the individual members of the Party seem to be shared among all of the Party Members, resulting in not only Miria, but also myself, Roxanne and Sherry getting slightly stronger because of it.


    I cannot feel it physically, but if all of my observations are to be believed, this is precisely what¡¯s happening. The effect of Miria¡¯s Passive Skill is shared between all four of us, and the exact extent of the increase to the STR stat that it is providing seems to be dependent on Miria¡¯s level. Thanks to that, even though Miria¡¯s level is much smaller than the effects of my, Roxanne and Sherry¡¯s Jobs, the bonus effects from our own Passive Skills, the Skills of relatively high-levelled characters are allowing Miria, a low-levelled character, to fight on more or less equal ground as us without any trouble.


    With that, I think it is safe to say that the first experiment that I¡¯ve managed to conduct has been concluded successfully, and I think its time to move on to the second experiment that I want to carry out.


    I have my fair share of doubts and worries about this one, but now is as good of a time to be doing it as any, so I open the Party Job Settings menu and change Miria¡¯s Job from Diver to Villager Lv.5 and promptly ordered her to go back to the rear of the formation behind me for a bit. And just as I¡¯ve expected, after changing her Job, the number of strikes needed to bring down a Grass Bee on this floor went back to five instead of four, meaning that it was Miria¡¯s Job that made it possible to defeat monsters in four strikes after all.

 Volume 6 - CH 4.8

    Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist Editor: Weasalopes


    By the way, whenever I decide to switch from fighting with the magic from my Rod of Offerings to fighting with Durandal, I¡¯m joining Roxanne on the frontlines while having Miria support us by occasionally attacking the enemies with her Steel Spear whenever an opportunity for doing so presents itself to her, and depending on the number of monsters and their types, Sherry is switching between going to the frontlines and falling towards the backlines as needed.


    When I¡¯m fighting on the frontlines along with Roxanne, the battles that we¡¯re fighting take that much longer to finish when compared to the times when Miria is in the front and I¡¯m providing support with my magic, but that is to be expected and it cannot be helped due to the inevitable thing that comes into play when fighting on the frontlines: receiving damage from enemies.


    Before, I never even thought about it that much, but now I realize that Roxanne needs to deal with this much pressure all the time since I always order her to fight in the frontlines all the time.


    And today was also the day when Roxanne received an attack from an enemy as well. I guess this moment was bound to happen sooner or later since whenever you¡¯re fighting on the frontlines at the key figure of an entire formation in the Party, it should be obvious that you¡¯re going to get hurt eventually just from the sheer number of attacks that you¡¯re going to be forced to endure.


    However, this is a good lesson for me, or perhaps a good reminder, I should say: that whenever I¡¯m fighting with Durandal in my hand, the centered position on the frontlines is definitely not a place for someone like me, who just cannot help being attacked by the monsters due to my inability to dodge the attacks that are coming towards me even if my life would depend on it.


    I just cannot help it, no matter how hard Id try to improve myself, but it¡¯s like the harder I¡¯m trying to get better, the harder I get bodied by the harsh reality around me.


    It wasn¡¯t long after that when Miria ended up getting attacked by a Grass Bee as well. Once again, it was totally to be expected, since we happened upon a group of enemies consisting of four Grass Bees and the battle got quite hectic. Since Grass Bees are capable of using ranged attacks, then even when we were trying to be careful not to let them reach us with them, it still ended up happening anyway.


    Roxanne was in the front battling two Grass Bees at once so she had her hands full with them, and even though Sherry and I managed to defeat the third grass Bee without it attacking anyone, we ended up being too late to come to Miria¡¯s aid when the fourth Grass Bee suddenly came up to her after moving around between the four of us rather frantically.


    That is exactly the thing that I hate the most when we battle groups of four enemies, because it¡¯s exactly like that one time when I was attacked by the one NT Ant that managed to poison me because it was moving out of my line of sight and managed to flank me because of it. The only saving grace here was that apparently that Grass Bee didn¡¯t use its poison-inflicting attack against Miria, but just a regular body slam instead, which made me breathe a sigh of relief in my heart.


    I defeated the final Grass Bee with a shot of ¡¸Breeze Storm¡¹, and then I immediately went over to Miria and used ¡¸Medical Treatment¡¹and ¡¸Plating on her.¡¹


    ¡¸Are you okay, Miria?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, desu. I¡¯m okay, desu.¡¹


    That so? Well then, I guess she¡¯s gotten tough enough that even the attacks from a Grass Bee Lv.12 are not enough cause serious problems for her? That¡¯s good to hear. As long as I continue to cast ¡¸Plating¡¹ on her whenever it gets broken or its duration runs out, then as long as we¡¯ll not fight against an opponent that can kill her with a single attack, then I¡¯ll always have the means to bring her back to full health whenever she¡¯d need it.


    It¡¯s also great to see that being attacked by an enemy didn¡¯t do anything to decrease the amount of Miria¡¯s motivation. I was afraid that after sustaining damage Miria might start saying that she doesn¡¯t want to be fighting in the Labyrinths anymore, but thankfully nothing like that ended up happening, and she was just as raring to continue exploring with us as she was when we just entered the Labyrinth today, and I¡¯m grateful to her for her willingness to continue fighting alongside us. If It was not for her, then we would¡¯ve gone back to the state of affairs from before when I bought her, taking us back to the square one I terms of battle potential and the speed of clearing the floors of the Labyrinths up.


    But with Miria being the way she is, I felt quite reassured. Not only she is capable of fighting on her own in the frontlines already, but once she gains just a few more levels, it might be possible for her to start fighting without me using ¡¸Plating¡¹to support her all the time.


    I just cannot wait to see how much of a capable fighter she¡¯s going to become once she gets completely accustomed to fighting in various roles and positions within our Party, because my gut feeling is telling me that it¡¯s going to be quite a sight to see.


    After that troublesome encounter where she got hurt, Miria was able to participate in the battles that came after that without any more issues or incidents happening, and after finishing today¡¯s round if hunting on a positive note, we then warped to the sixth floor of the Vale Labyrinth, where we ended up staying until the evening defeating Na?ve Olives and collecting their Drop Item: Olive Oil.


    ¡¸Uhm, master? This might sound like a strange thing to ask, but¡­. Why are we gathering so much Olive Oil? Do you need it in order to make some kinda dish or something?¡¹


    Roxanne asked me those questions when we were in the middle of the Olive Oil gathering after the most recent battle against the group of Na?ve Olives.


    I guess it would make sense for her to be asking about it, since I told them to gather the Olive Oil from every single enemy that¡¯s going to drop it, and we already managed to get quite a large number of them. I guess she might be thinking that I wanted to replenish our Olive Oil reserves to have mor of it for the purposes of cooking and then sell the rest of it at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, but if she really thinks like that then she¡¯s only half-correct, because we¡¯re going to be using all of the Olive Oil gathered today for the purposes of cooking. All of them.


    ¡¸Yes, that¡¯s right. I do need it to make a certain dish, but as to exactly what kind of dish I¡¯ll be making, I want that to remain a surprise for now.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay master, I understand.¡¹


    And just like that, we continued to hunt Na?ve Olives some more after I satisfied Roxanne¡¯s curiosity. The hunt continued until one slot of my Item Box was completely filled to the brim with nothing but Olive Oil, and that was a signal for me that we managed to obtain enough of them to last for my culinary needs for the next few days, so I gave everyone a signal that it¡¯s time to finally call it a day and go back to our house by warping from the Labyrinth to Quratar¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild.


    When we got back and emerged from the warp portal, Miria jumped in front of us and walked forward with quite a spring to her step, and I cannot blame her for it, because she obviously hasn¡¯t forgotten what day it is today.


    That¡¯s right. Today is the day when Miria will be able to eat her promised fish.


    ¡¸Fish~~fish~~ fish~~desu! Tasty~~ tasty~~ fish desu!¡¹


    Yeah, that little song of hers couldn¡¯t have been more of an obvious indication that she hasn¡¯t forgotten about what we¡¯ll be eating for dinner today even if she tried, so without any delays along the way we made a beeline for the fishmonger¡¯s store.


    Of course, there are other things I want to buy in order to prepare today¡¯s dinner, but as long as Miria is acting the way she is, I really don¡¯t think that she¡¯d allow us to go anywhere else that wasn¡¯t the fishmongers. In Miria¡¯s eyes, the fish is of the highest priority today and everything else can wait.

 Volume 6 - CH 4.9

    ¡¸Are there any good fish?¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X!¡¹


    ¡¸Miria says that apparently they have a Rock Sole available.¡¹


    The moment Roxanne translates my question, Miria immediately points her finger at one of the fish that has been put on display.


    ¡¸You have a keen eye for fish, missy. This Pseudo-trout was caught just recently so it is at its freshest and its meat is excellent. It tastes best when roasted or stewed, so be sure to remember that when preparing it.¡¹


    So Rock Sole is called Pseudo-trout in the is world? Well, you learn something new everyday.


    Well, it does kinda resemble a trout, so I can definitely see where the comparison is coming from. Its size is about twenty centimeters, so its just about the right size for this kind of fish.


    ¡¸Four Pseudo-trouts then, please.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you for your patronage. Coming right up! Here are four Pseudo-trouts for a special price of twenty eight Nars.¡¹


    Twenty eight Nars for four Pseudo-trouts? So one of them is priced at just ten Nars? It¡¯s not that expensive.


    I pay the amount to the merchant while Miria receives the fish from him. The Old man explorer wraps the fish in papyrus and hands it to Miria. How nice of him to pack it up for her so that carrying of the four fishes was not that difficult for her.


    Well, if she wants to do it, there¡¯s no reason to refuse her.


    ¡¸I¡¯ll be making fish for Miria. Is there something you want to make, Roxanne, Sherry?¡¹


    ¡¸Very well. Sherry, would you like to make soup?¡¹


    ¡¸Alright, I¡¯ll make soup then.¡¹


    We buy other ingredients like bread, eggs and vegetables, and then visit the hardware store owned by our landlady and buy a pot.


    ¡¸Miria, is there any utensil for cooking that you want me to buy for you?¡¹


    ¡¸This pan looks good.¡¹


    Roxanne translates Miria¡¯s words to me.


    Miria points to a pan with a shallow base. It looks just like a paella pan. Handles are attached to both sides of it as well. We indeed don¡¯t have such a pan in our house, so purchasing it might be a good idea.


    ¡¸You sure you want this one?¡¹


    ¡¸She says that she¡¯ll be able to make lots of delicious fish dishes with this pan.¡¹


    Again with the fish as the main focus, huh? Well, I need another thing for my discount to proc, so this pan should do the job nicely.


    After buying the pot with a lid which I chose, and the pan with shallow  base which Miria chose, we return home.


    ¡¸Miria, can you fillet the fish for me?¡¹


    I ask her in the kitchen, and Miria gets down to it without needing Roxanne to translate what I said. I knew it. She understands all those Brahim words which have even slightest relation with fish.


    I leave the eggs to boil and wait for Miria to bring the filleted fish to me, which she does shortly while carrying them on a chopping board.


    ¡¸Here, desu.¡¹


    ¡¸Already? Man, that sure was fast.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, done, desu.¡¹


    I receive filleted fish from Miria. There are eight slices of it in total. They have all been carefully skinned, and look mighty tasty already, and I haven¡¯t even begun to prepare them yet.


    ¡¸Can you please squeeze these lemons for me?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, desu.¡¹


    Once again, she gets down to it without needing Roxanne to translate while I add chopped vegetables, mayonnaise and lemon juice to the pot, and then crush the boiled eggs. It¡¯s ready. Tartar sauce, that is.


    ¡¸Now finely crush this bread. Like that.¡¹


    I pick the bread up in front of Miria and Roxanne who¡¯s translating and show them how to brush the bread into fine crumbs.


    ¡¸It¡¯s called bread crumbs.¡¹


    ¡¸Bread crumbs?¡¹


    ¡¸We¡¯re using them because we don¡¯t have cheese, so I¡¯ll use this as substitute.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay, I¡­ I¡¯ll translate it to Miria.¡¹


    Why is she making such a sad face? Roxanne translates my words to Miria and then goes away. In the meantime, I add some olive oil to the newly bought pan and heat it up. I dredge the slices which I had already seasoned with salt and pepper in flour, beaten eggs and bread crumbs, and fry them all in the pan.


    And just like that, after pouring some tartar sauce over it, fish fry is ready to be served.


    Now that it¡¯s ready, I¡¯ll have the girls know that it wasn¡¯t a substitute for cheese. Also, this recipe involves very few steps, so the chance of failure is very low, meaning that pretty much everyone should be able to do it. Judging from the looks of it, there doesn¡¯t seem to be any problems in that area too.


    Miria is staring at it with her mouth watering like crazy. Her expectations seem to be through the roof, so for her sake I hope that today¡¯s dish is going to be a success.


    The moment the dinner starts, Miria digs into the fish fry right away as soon as the food found its way to her plate. When she stuffs her mouth with the fish, her eyes open wide and she became quite shocked.


    ¡¸T-T-T-Tasty, desu!¡¹


    She seems to really like it. If that reaction of hers is any indication, then I guess I don¡¯t have to worry about the result anymore, so I try to eat mine portion of food as well.


    It¡¯s indeed delicious. Much more than what I expected, actually. The sour taste of tartar sauce is mingling quite well with the taste of the fish, elevating its already exquisite taste to completely new heights.


    ¡¸It¡¯s delicious. I have never eaten such an exquisitely-tasting dish in my life!¡¹


    ¡¸Neither have I. Eating something so delicious is a completely new experience for me!¡¹


    ¡¸I¡¯m glad to hear that all of you seem to be enjoying it. This is one of the recipes from my homeland and it was quite some time since I last had a chance to make it, but if your reactions are anything to go by, then it looks like I still managed to replicate it quite well.¡¹


    ¡¸So it¡¯s a dish from master¡¯s homeland? And it tastes so good even if you haven¡¯t had a chance to make it in a while you say? As expected of master! Whenever you¡¯re cooking something, it always turns out exceedingly good!¡¹


    Roxanne and Sherry seem to like the fish fry that I made just as much as Miria, which brings a smile onto my face. It¡¯s always nice to see that people are genuinely enjoying a dish that you poured your time and effort into making, and it makes me even more eager to try replicating even more recipes from my old world just to see how they would react to them.


    On the other hand, Miria is looking quite depressed after only being able to down two slices of fish, even though the portions were supposed to be big enough so that a single slice should¡¯ve been enough for one person to make them feel filled up.


    ¡¸Here, you can have  some of mine as well.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you very much, desu!¡¹


    The moment I divide my own slice in half, Miria snatches it from my plate without waiting for me to finish, but she doesn¡¯t stop at just that: she moves on to snatch Roxanne¡¯s and Sherry¡¯s slices as well, since the girls followed my example and divided their own slices of fish in half like I did. It might seem a little unfair towards us, but we have nothing against it, since sharing delicious food like that is one of the important methods of developing relationships between people.


    It looks like something like fish fry doesn¡¯t normally exist in this world, but thankfully it looks like I can make it quite easily with just a little bit of preparation.


    Maybe it was because I was still somewhat caught up in the creative mood from successfully making fish fry, but on the morning of the next day I tried my hand at making tonkatsu cutlet. I¡¯m pretty sure that if other people were to see me right now then they¡¯d undoubtedly say that eating meat for breakfast is a bad habit to have, but to that I say that it¡¯s not a problem at all since in this world I only get to eat two meals per day instead of one, so I think it¡¯s perfectly okay to treat myself like that every once in a while, even more so since it¡¯s going to provide me with the energy for the rest of the day.


    And besides, it has been quite a while since I last had a chance to eat tonkatsu cutlet, which makes this occasion all the more special to me.


    I know that pork meat can easily be acquired from the Pig Hogs in Tare¡¯s Labyrinth, which means that I could technically eat tonkatsu cutlet more often if only I wanted to, but still, that doesn¡¯t change the fact that it is delicious, even without the tonkatsu sauce to go along with it.


    It¡­. It kind of reminds me of Japan, if I am to be honest.

 Volume 6 - CH 5.1

    Chapter 35: ¡­..Times the charm


    ¡ºPlayer Name: Kaga Michio¡»


    ¡ºCurrent Character Levels & Equipment¡»:


    ¡ºJobs¡»:


    Explorer Lv.37


    Hero Lv.35


    Mage Lv.37


    Monk Lv.37


    Alchemist Lv.33


    ¡ºEquipment¡»:


    Rod of Offerings


    Leather Helmet


    Leather Armor


    Leather Gloves


    Leather Shoes


    Sacrificial Misanga


    ¡¸Isn¡¯t it strange?¡¹


    Roxanne says when we resume our morning hunting routine.


    ¡¸What is strange, exactly?¡¹


    ¡¸There¡¯s a person ahead. At such a time as this no less. This person was there yesterday at the same location and the day before yesterday as well.¡¹


    It¡¯s indeed strange for someone to be at the same location in the Labyrinth everyday. Well, we too hunt at the same location for quite an extended period of time as well, so I guess we¡¯re not the ones to talk about it so casually, huh?


    ¡¸Is it perhaps a monster that smells like human?¡¹


    ¡¸I haven¡¯t heard of such a monster, and if it really existed, then it would have been pretty scary. So far, I have been avoiding that location because of master¡¯s orders to stay out of the places that are frequented by humans, but at this point I think that it might be unavoidable for us to go there if we want to proceed any further on this floor.¡¹


    Because I use magic, I instructed Roxanne to avoid crowded places so that no one would see me using that magic in order not to attract unnecessary attention to myself. When there are people waiting in the Waiting Rooms to have their turn to fight the Floor Boss rooms, we¡¯re avoid boss battles as well, because waiting near the crowds who can possibly recognize Durandal is a bad idea.


    Few days have passed since we advanced to twelfth floor. Since I can take out the monsters here with four spells, hunting has been smooth thus far. Because we can¡¯t see anyone around, that person must be on the far end of the cave.


    ¡¸Now that I think about it, there is this one thing that I happened to hear.¡¹


    ¡¸What is it, Sherry? Do you know something that might shed some light onto this situation?¡¹


    ¡¸Bandits set up ambushes in those Labyrinths where not many people are found, like this one. I¡¯m sorry for only mentioning it just now, but I forgot about it because I heard it way back when I was a little child.¡¹


    Bandits do something like that? Is that really so?


    ¡¸With not many people around, you say?¡¹


    ¡¸Many people enter Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth, so it¡¯s not a place best to set up an ambush there. An ambush will be effective in Labyrinths such as this one, where not many people are found at any given time of the day.¡¹


    There are currently three Labyrinths in the Harz Duchy. I was asked of by the Duke to go and explore some of them because they were short of capable people. Knights and Explorers in the territory must have been divided in three groups in order to cover more ground, but that division clearly wasn¡¯t enough, and with their forces already spread thin, the number of people per Labyrinth is naturally quite small.


    ¡¸But why here, on the twelfth floor of all places?¡¹


    ¡¸Monsters on the twelfth floor are a lot stronger than monsters on first eleven floors, so people upgrade their equipment in order to fight them.¡¹


    ¡¸So they¡¯re doing that to rob them of their equipment?¡¹


    ¡¸Indeed. Those who advance to the twelfth floor, albeit barely, can be classified as intermediate Adventurers, and Bandits can overpower them with enough numbers. Even if they possess better equipment themselves, intermediate equipment can be sold for good money as long as you¡¯ll find a buyer for it.¡¹


    So, is this why they set up ambush on the twelfth floor? Sherry¡¯s explanation sounds rational as always.


    So there¡¯s a possibility of getting ambushed by thieves on the twelfth floor? In that case, I wonder what should we do here in order to avoid getting ourselves into unnecessary trouble.


    ¡¸Should we wait until he¡¯s gone then?¡¹


    ¡¸If he¡¯s here at this time, you can safely assume that he¡¯ll be here all day. And there are less people at this time because it¡¯s quite early in the morning. It¡¯s a good opportunity to break through.¡¹


    Roxanne is as brave as ever.


    Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth is in the north of Quratar¡¯s labyrinth. It must already be day here, but I opt to remain silent about that, because if I say that I¡¯ll have to explain that the world is spherical and not flat, and I have a feeling that this would take quite a while.


    ¡¸We should ask the Knight Order for help then.¡¹


    Yes, thankfully we have another option available. Reporting it to Gozer, that is. Then again, we don¡¯t have any evidence, and I can¡¯t say that there is someone who seems to be a Bandit based on my hunch alone.


    That Bandit must have entered through the entrance but he was not caught there. Even if I use Identify, I can¡¯t present that fact as evidence, and if I kill this Bandit and collect the bounty on his head, his companions might come looking for me to exact revenge, and that¡¯d be all sorts of bad, so killing him is absolutely no good.


    Also, if I try to claim bounty, I¡¯ll need to have my Intelligence Card verified, and Gozer and the Knight Order believe that I¡¯m an Adventurer. I can¡¯t have them see my Intelligence Card, because then they¡¯ll see that I¡¯m actually an Explorer, which means that going to see Gozer about it is no good either.


    ¡¸I don¡¯t think the Knight Order will help anyone other than the Duke and his family, even if they asked for help.¡¹


    Sherry advises against asking the Knight Order for help.


    ¡¸They won¡¯t help? Why¡¯s that?¡¹


    ¡¸Because protecting people like master is not their duty.¡¹


    ¡¸Because Master is a Freeman.¡¹


    Roxanne supports Sherry with her words.


    ¡¸I see. So they have no obligation to help the Freemen?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, because Freemen are supposed to protect themselves. That way, they can preserve their privileges as the Freemen. If a Freeman requests protection from someone, they lose their rights as a Freeman. For them, asking for protection is not the best idea, because it would be the same as selling yourself into slavery.¡¹


    Sherry explains further. I don¡¯t quite understand this but it seems to be a bad idea. What I do understand though is that there¡¯s no such thing as police in this world, so I am forced to protect myself if anything happened to me.


    Protect myself? I have to protect myself, without counting for anyone to come to my aid? But, Isn¡¯t that my right? Isn¡¯t that the Knights¡¯ duty to protect anyone equally?!


    Well, It¡¯s not like I actually need protection, but having them on my side would certainly help. However, help from anyone is never free. If I want help, then I¡¯d have to pay for getting that help. So instead of asking for protection, can¡¯t I just have them listen to me? Even though I am a Freeman, even though I am supposed to protect myself, if I say something in this regard, then maybe they¡¯ll at least listen to me?


    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹


    ¡¸Therefore, I think it would be best if we broke through on our own.¡¹


    So Sherry is in favor of doing something brave as well? Is such an attitude considered rational in this world?


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸Miria says that she¡¯s in favor of breaking through as well.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay then.¡¹


    When Roxanne translates our discussion to Miria, she nods as well. I¡¯m not sure anymore what¡¯s right and what¡¯s not, but if that¡¯s what they want, then that¡¯s what we¡¯ll do.


    ¡¸It¡¯ll be alright, master. There¡¯s only one Bandit. And we are not that weak either.¡¹


    ¡¸I think so too. Bandits set up ambushes with the strength of normal Parties in mind. On the twelfth floor, Parties normally take considerable time to take even one monster out. We, on the other hand, take monsters out a lot quicker. Miria and I may be weak links of the Party but against Bandits we should be able to hold our own against them just fine.¡¹


    When Sherry says the same thing as Roxanne, it really begins to sound rational to me.


    Should we break through on our own then?


    It seems normal course of action in this world, at least. I killed Bandits in the very first village I appeared in.

 Volume 6 - CH 5.2

    I also killed Bandits when I was gathering money for Roxanne¡¯s purchase, so it¡¯s not like I am not familiar with killing other humans, but this doesn¡¯t mean that I want to make it my profession.


    Besides, I don¡¯t want to put Roxanne, Sherry and Miria in any kind of danger. If it¡¯s one-on-one, however, I can¡¯t imagine Roxanne finding herself in trouble. Sherry has also leveled up quite a bit, so she can probably hold her own against low level Bandits. My biggest concern here is Miria, who has only recently joined our Party.


    Well, we don¡¯t even know yet if he¡¯s actually a Bandit or not. He may be someone who happened to be at the same location for three days straight, so we have to confirm it first. I can use Identify for that. I can Identify immediately if he¡¯s a Bandit or not.


    With Roxanne¡¯s nose, Miria¡¯s eyes and my Identify, we don¡¯t have to be worried about him catching us by surprise, and if his level is going to turn out to be too high for us, we¡¯ll just run away.


    ¡¸Miria, are you really fine with it?¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, desu.¡¹


    When Roxanne translates, Miria nods.


    Is it really alright to confront this Bandit? These three seem to be brave enough to do it, at least.


    ¡¸Okay then. I¡¯ll go ahead. If I raise my right hand with sword, it¡¯s the signal to attack. If I raise my left hand, it¡¯s the signal to retreat.¡¹


    I decide on the signal to retreat if something goes wrong, pull Durandal out and head to the location of the Bandit. It would have been easy if I could just use Meteor Crash on him. However, for better or worse area of effect attacks seem to inflict damage only upon monsters, and not humans.


    I prowl through the cave cautiously so as not to alert him of our presence.


    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry, master, but there seems to be a hidden room ahead. Earlier, I thought that there was just one person there, however, if the smell is from the other side of the door, then there may be more than just one enemy waiting for us ahead.¡¹


    Roxanne apologizes to me. She¡¯s right, at first glance, there¡¯s no one visible all the way to the end of the cave.


    The thief seems to be on the other side. And not just one, if Roxanne¡¯s words are to be believed.


    I can¡¯t use ¡¸Identify¡¹ from where I currently am because it¡¯s too far. But without it, I won¡¯t even be able to go to Gozer like this. If nothing else, I at least need to confirm whether or not we are really dealing with Bandits here or not. Because of that, It¡¯d be better if they¡¯d be located some distance away from the door, instead of standing right next to it.


    ¡¸Everyone, get behind me. Roxanne, you take the rearmost position.¡¹


    With Durandal in my hands, I lead from the front. In Labyrinth, it¡¯s not unusual to hold a  weapon at the ready due to the possibility of monsters attacking you at any moment, so I don¡¯t think that we¡¯re going to be looking all that strange. I walk to the end of the cave, and the door slides with a rumbling sound, and when it finally settled down, it revealed a way into a small room¡­..


    ¡­¡­. Where there weresix Bandits inside.


    In the small room off to the side of the main cave where we currently are, six Bandits were lying in wait. Thankfully, upon closer inspection I noticed that their levels were actually not that high.


    Four of them had their levels above Lv.10, and the last two had their levels somewhere above Lv.20, so I think that we should be able to handle them if a battle breaks up, but now that I know what their levels actually are, then this begs the question:


    Can a Party consisting entirely of Bandits at such levels really make it to the twelfth floor without being killed by monsters in the process, and even if they do, can they really hope to defeat other Parties that come to the twelfth floor? Because if I were to be completely honest with you, then I don¡¯t think so at all.


    The maximum Party size is six people, so it would be six vs six it there were six opponents in the other Party that they¡¯d have to face. It would work to their advantage if they¡¯d only have to deal with one-on-one fights, but not against entire groups of enemies.


    Even if they managed to catch us by surprise, we should still be able to slaughter them all without any major difficulties.


    If we counter-attacked them desperately enough, then the difference of two people shouldn¡¯t even matter, because if they¡¯d have sustained heavy losses and the battle took too long, they wouldn¡¯t even have the time to loot anything off of us, and if they cornered us, we could probably get out of it if we resorted to simplistic, reckless violence.


    However, these Bandits seem like a coolheaded bunch, even more so since they can lay in wait with an ambush for an entire day in the Labyrinth, but even then, I doubt that just these six people could rob entire Parties on their own. Maybe they actually have more people on standby and they¡¯ve simply divided themselves into few smaller groups in order to prepare a more successful ambush? Or perhaps they¡¯re still not ready with it since its still a relatively early morning?


    But because of that, they¡¯ve already lost their chance of launching a surprise attack against us.


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    When we approached them, one of the Bandits said something to me, but since it was not in Brahim language, I couldn¡¯t understand what he was talking about at all.


    When I gave him a confused look, a Lv.28 Bandit approached me instead.


    ¡¸Good morning. The Boss Room is through there. We are going in after we take a little rest first.¡¹


    He gestures for us to pass on his left. He is the one with the highest level among the six Bandits, and he seems to be able to speak Brahim fluently. For the time being we¡¯re doing like he told us to, and entered the room while watching them all carefully.


    As soon as we entered, the remaining Bandits split up.


    Oh crap! That move that they did just now, it didn¡¯t look like anything spontaneous. It looked like a move they¡¯ve trained countless times before!


    The Bandits move quickly, and spread through the room. We weren¡¯t really surrounded by them, but rather, it was as if they¡¯ve formed a cautious, distant cycle around us. This is actually working to our advantage, since they cannot hold it against us if we¡¯re going to be cautious of them if they¡¯re being cautious of us this entire time.


    That being said, killing all of those Bandits quickly without raising any kind of alarm might prove to be rather difficult, because due to their numbers and how they are so spread out, I wouldn¡¯t be able to reach all of them with Durandal in time to dispose of them all quickly enough.


    If a battle started right now, right in this moment, how would it proceed?


    Their levels is low, so I could probably kill two of them straight away. I¡¯m not sure about a third person though. By the fourth person slain, it would be impossible to catch the rest of them off guard.


    Also, if we were to fight them in this room, it is more than likely that Sherry, Roxanne and Miria would end up drawn into a one-on-one battles with the Bandits, and while I am sure that none of those three would lose, I cannot say with absolute certainty that we would win without any casualties on our side.


    First and foremost, I should avoid dragging those three into unnecessary danger as much as possible, and in order to do that, maybe I should start with trying to hear what the Bandits are saying to each other? They¡¯re speaking awfully quietly, but if I just strain my ears I should be able to hear them.


    ¡¸Thank you for the information. We¡¯ll be going on ahead then.¡¹


    We moved to the left where the Bandit gestured us to go, and that is when I noticed that Bandits were actually standing in the positions that would allow them to block the other passageways, but other than that, nothing about their behavior was indicating that they were about to attack us.


    I see. I think I understand the strategy that the Bandits have adapted here.

 Volume 6 - CH 5.3

    In total, there are three passageways here aside from the one that we used to enter this room, so one of those three naturally has to lead to the Boss Room, just like the Bandits were saying. If it was not like that, then there would be absolutely no point in them setting up such an elaborate trap in this particular location.


    There are probably more Bandits waiting in one of the directions. It¡¯s a good strategy. Even if there are six Bandits waiting in this room, without¡¸Identify¡¹  you would just think it was a regular party taking a rest. If strong people come, and they don¡¯t think they can win, they just have to let them past to the boss room. If someone who seems weak comes, they guide them into the trap.


    Did they decide that I was strong? Or an easy prey? Should I have let Sherryand Miria wear their Sacrificial Misanga¡¯s in a flashy way?


    When I pass by the Bandits at a distance, I look behind me. They are smiling in a vulgar way. Are they aiming for my girls? I want to punish them, but I shouldn¡¯t make my move here, in case that  I don¡¯t seem like an easy mark.


    The door opened, and we went into the cave to the left. There¡¯s nobody there. The cave just continues forwards.


    ¡¸¡­They should die.¡¹


    Were the Bandits only looking at Roxanne and Miria¡¯s chests?  Nevertheless, I agree with Sherry.


    ¡¸There are three or four people around the corner.¡¹


    Roxanne catches up to me with quick steps and reports in a whisper. Sherry, be pleased. Looks like I get to destroy them after all.


    Is it a pincer attack from the back and the front? It¡¯s a good strategy for Bandits. They seem to have decided that we are an easy mark, or maybe they were just blinded with greed looking at Roxanne¡¯s chest.


    ¡¸They are Bandits. Fighting them is inevitable. Roxanne, go to the front. Sherry, the back. Cover Miria, and keep her behind Roxanne. I will fight the Bandits while you give priority to defense. I¡¯ll move around freely, so don¡¯t try and keep up with me.¡¹


    I take the Copper Spear from the Item Box, and exchange it with Miria¡¯s wooden shield. The spear should be good against Bandits. I¡¯m glad I kept it just in case it could  be useful again.


    We moved on to the intersection, where Roxanne shakes her head a little. The Bandits seem to be a little further on. I went around the corner, and saw that there are four people at the edge of the cave.


    Bandit Lv.24, Pirate Lv.67, Thief Lv.48 and Explorer Lv.42. All of them are very high level. Especially the pirate, he¡¯s amazing. It¡¯s also the first time where I saw a Thief.


    Is he their main fighting force? It would be annoying if we are caught up to from behind, so we advance rapidly.


    Four people spread to block the cave. Three in the front, and the bandit Lv.24 behind them. Is the Bandit their leader?


    ¡¸Did you think there was a Boss Room here?¡¹


    ¡¸Sorry, but it¡¯s us Bandits!¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X!¡¹


    The men ahead make jokes. One person doesn¡¯t speak Brahim, so I¡¯m not sure what he said, but Because Roxanne doesn¡¯t react, it probably doesn¡¯t matter anyway.


    As for the Explorer, was he threatened, or joined them willingly? He might just be corrupt as well.


    Their behavior speaks for itself. Even without  ¡¸Identify¡¹, you could probably tell they are Bandits.


    If I try and time a surprise attack, it would probably be advantageous.


    From the back, the six people from before have caught up to us. The Bandits surround our back and front with a total of ten people.


    ¡¸If you leave the women, we will spare your life.¡¹


    I see. It¡¯s not a surprise attack, so they think there is room for negotiation. They¡¯ll certainly take less damage if they don¡¯t have to fight. When sandwiched from the back and front, some Parties will definitely give up and yield to their demands. But the possibility of Bandits letting someone live and leave¡­.. is basically zero, and I understand that.


    It must have been difficult to find this place, and it would be impossible to use again if they let someone go. But a decision like that is hard to make when you¡¯re surrounded by Bandits.


    ¡¸All of you, drop your weapons.¡¹


    ¡¸¡­you can at least save your own life.¡¹


    There are ten enemies, and four of them have a considerably high level.


    Under normal circumstances, a single Party might¡¯ve been an easy victory for them.


    Under normal circumstances.


    ¡¸Illuminate a brave hero¡¯s path through a dark Labyrinth¡­¡¹


    I ignore the Bandits, and utter an incantation.


    ¡¸It¡¯s impossible to escape! This entire cave has been coated with Shield Cement!¡¹


    The explorer thinks I¡¯m a fool. Of course they¡¯d think that.


    When they finally got someone in their pincer attack, the Party could simply escape if only they had an Explorer with them. If they used Shield Cement, ¡¸Field Walker¡¹is going to be useless. The same thing goes for ¡¸Dungeon Walker¡¹. But¡­


    ¡¸¡¸Dungeon Walker¡¹.¡¹


    I ignore their words, and say the Skill¡¯s name anyway.


    Even though I said ¡¸Dungeon Walker], I thought about ¡¸Warp¡¹ in my head.


    A black portal appears on the wall beside me, since it is possible to use¡¸Warp¡¹ even on a space covered with Shield Cement.


    I rushed into the wall.


    ¡¸Shit, I thought that ¡¸Dungeon Walker¡¹ was supposed to be unusable!¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X! X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X !¡¹


    ¡¸He just ran away by himself and left the women here, what a stupid bastard!¡¹


    ¡¸Who¡¯s a stupid bastard?!¡¹


    While hearing Roxanne¡¯s voice, I thrust in with Durandal.


    I was at the back, and stabbed into the Bandit Lv.24¡¯s neck. I moved right behind him with¡¸ Warp¡¹. From the place where I appeared, I had a perfect shot, and Durandal struck right where I wanted it.


    In a single blow, the Bandit Lv.24 falls to the ground. Because of the falling sound, the other Bandits notice the situation.


    ¡¸Shit, what happened?!¡¹


    ¡¸Kill them all!¡¹


    It will be hard to fight against everyone at once. Between Sherry and the six Bandits at the back, I made a ¡¸Fire Wall¡¹to give s some space.


    ¡¸There¡¯s another one! A Mage is hiding himself somewhere!¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X!¡¹


    The Bandits began to panic like a bunch of headless chickens.


    I can¡¯t block the whole cave with the ¡¸Fire Wall¡¹, but it certainly helps as Sherry¡¯s spear is waiting to thrust into them.


    The main force of three people with high levels head to me. It¡¯s a good decision. Because I moved, these three are in a position sandwiched between us now. This brings the advantage to us. It¡¯s also convenient. If they come to me, Miria¡¯s danger decreases.


    How should I defeat these three now? AoE magic isn¡¯t going to work on people. I can use single target magic on them though, but I can¡¯t use other magic until the ¡¸Fire Wall¡¹ burns out.


    Still, it seems I can use Bonus Spells. The ones from the Mage job are  out, but the Bonus Spells are another matter entirely. If I make some distance, I can use them safely. If possible, I don¡¯t want to use them, but I don¡¯t have that luxury.


    When the Bandits approached me, I use¡¸Equivalent Exchange¡¹ on the man in the center. The Pirate Lv.67 explodes in a bloody fountain suddenly. His equipment is left behind, but he literally exploded, and there was nothing left of him


    ¡¸Wha¡­?!¡¹


    The movement of the men to either side stopped for a second. It was to be expected. The Pirate next to them had disappeared after all, so they can¡¯t help but stop.


    I hold back the negative feelings that well up within me and desperately continue. I can¡¯t miss this chance.


    I don¡¯t want to do anything, my mind is a mess, but I still wield Durandal. The neck of the Thief Lv.48 who had stopped for a moment was cut without difficulty, and I can feel my MP getting recovered. It seems I can absorb MP from people as well.


    I hold back the feelings of wanting to run away, and continue on. The Explorer who was next to the Pirate had also stopped moving. There¡¯s a spray of blood from the Pirates body sticking to him.


    He needs a little time to recover his thoughts.


    The recovered MP is suppressing my emotions, and I continue moving my arm.  My sword flies towards the Explorers neck as even more MP is recovered. It¡¯s enough for another luxury.


    I used ¡¸Warp¡¹again, and came out behind the six Bandits.


    ¡¸You can¡¯t escape.¡¹


    I called out to the Bandits from the back.


    I open my item box, and take out a Strengthening Pill and a Nourishment Pill and tossed them into my mouth as I took off. You can¡¯t go through a long battle without recovery after all.

 Volume 6 - CH 5.4

    Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist Editor: jturtle136


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X!¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X!¡¹


    The six people argued with one another and then charged towards me at all at once.


    Though the ¡¸Fire Wall¡¹ just disappeared, there are three people over there including Roxanne, and I am over here by my lonesome.


    Naturally they will try for the exit on this side. But, it¡¯s not a good idea for them, and they probably haven¡¯t thought it through. There was a¡¸ Fire Wall¡¹ between the six Bandits and Sherry until just now, but it¡¯s gone now, so I use the ¡¸Fire Wall¡¹again without incantation as the six outlaws approach her.


    The first Bandit took some serious damage, and was beheaded by me as he was startled by the fire that appeared behind him. The second and third Bandits ran directly into the ¡¸Fire Wall¡¹, burning on the spot. I¡¯ve recovered some MP off of them, but not nearly enough because the fire killed them almost instantly. The fourth Bandit stepped into the fire for a bit, and then jumped away in a panic, ending up getting cut down by me. The fifth Bandit only touches it a little, and then jumps backwards immediately, falling down on his ass. Is he the one person that got off safely?


    ¡¸I¡¯ll be taking you down now!¡¹


    Roxanne and the others are also here with me, so he¡¯s outnumbered. He turns back and tries to make some distance between us, but I advance forward towards the Bandit who fell on his ass.


    I¡¯m nearly in melee range, so I take a great step forward and aim for his neck¡­. But then the standing Bandit rushed towards me, trying to stab me. It was a good idea for a lowly Bandit¡­..


    If my weapon wasn¡¯t Durandal, that is.


    A normal sword can¡¯t cut off someone¡¯s head so easily, and if I tried to do it with a normal weapon, I might¡¯ve gotten stabbed to death. But the sword I am using is a Holy Sword Durandal.


    I easily cut off the head of the man who fell on his ass and continue the swing into the side of the man who was trying to attack me. He loses his momentum, and I avoid the attack. I draw the sword back, and then push it into his stomach at full force, and then I slowly pull it out.


    The Bandit collapses, dead on the spot.


    ¡¸Master!¡¹


    Roxanne rushes up to me.


    ¡¸Is everyone alright?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, we are.¡¹


    ¡¸Good. Roxanne and Miria, please confirm that there are no Bandits who ran away. Sherry, please help me collect the Intelligence Cards, I¡¯ll need something to wrap the hands up so you can cut some pieces of fabric off the Bandit¡¯s clothes.¡¹


    It might not be over yet, so I gave instructions to the girls immediately. That being said, all the Bandits we were able to confirm should have already been defeated. In addition to me using magic with no incantation, I also used ¡¸Warp¡¹and ¡¸Equivalent Exchange¡¹. If someone saw me doing all that, I have to dispose of them.


    Roxanne and Miria head towards the small room that had the six Bandits in it.


    ¡¸It was a wonderful fight.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you, Sherry.¡¹


    ¡¸That being said, you should collect the hands quickly before they disappear.¡¹


    Sherry started working with indifference, and I cut off the Bandits hands along with her, piling them up on the clothes that Sherry had cut off.


    It seems I did it just in time.


    When I cut off the hand of the Bandit, his equipment was left, and the body got absorbed by the Labyrinth.


    The body of the Bandit sank into the floor in an instant. The other Bandit¡¯s bodies disappear as well, one after the other. This is how the Labyrinth digests people, right?


    ¡¸I don¡¯t think that there was anyone who managed to escape.¡¹


    Roxanne and Miria reported when they came back.


    ¡¸I see.¡¹


    ¡¸It was an amazing fight. As expected of master.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you. I¡¯m glad that Roxanne and the others are safe an uninjured though.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, we¡¯re all safe and sound.¡¹


    None of the three seem to have been injured, which is good, because I was most worried about them being hurt. This is the best possible result for this battle.


    ¡¸The Bandits weren¡¯t able to do much because of the ¡¸Fire Wall¡¹that master made.¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X!¡¹


    ¡¸Miria also says that it was amazing.¡¹


    Even though I¡¯ve just hacked up the Bandits like a butcher, these three don¡¯t seem to be avoiding me because of it, probably because these three were the ones who instigated this in the first place.


    When I count the hands, there are eight of them. The Explorers hand will not have a bounty on it, so I don¡¯t take it, and the hand of the Pirate who exploded because of ¡¸Equivalent Exchange¡¹ was not possible to be collected, since it blew up into bloody bits along with the rest of the pirate.


    I finally breathe a sigh of relief, and collect the treasures that were left behind by the defeated Bandits. Whatever items they might¡¯ve had on them, we¡¯ll be taking possession of them now. I¡¯m also reasonably sure I don¡¯t need to strip search every last one of them, just like it was with the previous group of Bandits that dared to attack us.


    ¡¸I¡¯ve let you experience something horrible today. Will you forgive me for it?¡¹


    ¡¸What are you talking about, master? You defeated all of those Bandits, so there is nothing that you¡¯d need to be forgiven for.¡¹


    While picking up the equipment, I looked at Roxanne¡¯s expression and listened to her words. Was it really all right for me to kill those Bandits like I did?


    ¡¸This could have happened to anyone at any time, but what¡¯s the most important is that we managed to survive.¡¹


    Sherry also had something reasonable to say to me.


    These three have been growing up in this world where the Bandits attacking people is a commonplace happening that no one really pays any mind to anymore, and killing those Bandits is something that they¡¯ve come to expect.


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X XX X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸It seems that Miria was quite surprised, and thinks it seemed easy for master despite it being a place like this. She also says that she¡¯s going to keep the amazing way that master fought against those Bandits a secret so that master wouldn¡¯t get in trouble because of it.¡¹


    It would seem that every member of my Party had different assumptions after they have witnessed my battle against the Bandits, but I don¡¯t think that I should be praised for getting us int such a situation to begin with, and Miria should also be taught that this situation was a bad one to be in, and even though we managed to get out of it unscratched, things might¡¯ve ended up very differently if only a few things went differently, but if Roxanne told her that she should always praise me no matter what I do or how badly I might fuck up, then I think that I¡¯ve really chosen a wrong person for handling her education, so maybe I should be doing that from now on?


    I don¡¯t comment on that anymore, and devote myself to collecting equipment in order to keep my mind off of it.


    The Leather equipment that the Bandits left behind has some pieces of Hardened Leather equipment mixed in with it.


    A Hardened Leather Helmet, Hardened Leather Gloves and Hardened Leather Boots. These pieces of equipment would certainly make for a nice upgrade of the gear for us, but only one of them comes with an actual Empty Skill Slot.


    After I¡¯ve checked them, I put them in the Item Box. Hardened Leather Armor, huh? Judging by the glare that Sherry was giving me when I was inspecting it, I am probably going to be the only member of my Party who¡¯ll be able to use it. After all, all of the girls in my Party have a very distinctly shaped breasts, so none of them could wear it, which naturally leaves me as the only possible candidate.


    There isn¡¯t enough room in my Item Box to hold it, so I give it to Sherry instead. Should I remove Alchemist, and use Cook instead so that I could make use of its increased Item Box Space?


    Miria has leveled up quite a bit, so she should be fine without ¡¸Plating¡¹from now on, so I might as well just go and do that.

 Volume 6 - CH 5.5

    ¡¸Master, look, there was a Ring of Determination among one of the Bandit¡¯s possessions.¡¹


    There was a Ring of Determination in the Bandit¡¯s equipment.  It¡¯s an accessory with Skills that one of the Bandits had equipped on them. It might have some useful effects on it, but since it¡¯s classified as an accessory, then does that not mean that it is going to be conflicting with our Sacrificial Misangas? It¡¯s a good thing that none of the enemies we fought against was wearing these, because then the battle might have ended very differently than how it did today.


    ¡¸I think it might be ne of the legendary items.¡¹


    Sherry informs me. A legendary item, she says? In that case this is definitely going to be a good accessory.


    As for weapons, there are two Steel Swords, and an Iron Sword. None of them had any Empty Skill Slots on it, so I immediately lost my interest with them, but I might keep the Steel Sword for now to have a spare just in case if we ever needed one.


    Next is one Rapier, and one Steel Shield. This is the equipment that belonged to the Pirate Lv.67.


    ¡¸A Rapier, huh?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, it¡¯s a thrusting sword. It¡¯s a higher-level sword meant for stabbing instead of slashing. It uses a different combat style too.¡¹


    ¡¸Would it be good for Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸It would be. The rapiers also have a blade, so it can be used for slashing as well, if need arises.¡¹


    Is the attack style for a rapier something akin to fencing? In that case, It should really be alright for Roxanne to use it.


    ¡¸Then the rapier goes to Roxanne, and the Scimitar with Iron Shield go to Miria.¡¹


    I pass the Steel Shield and Rapier to Roxanne. She tells Miria something, and passes her the Iron Shield and Scimitar. Sherry receives the Dagger and a Wooden Shield from Miria, and puts it in her Item Box.


    Next were the ten Magic Crystals. The Bandits seem to have had one each. When you sell Magic Crystals in the Guild, they don¡¯t check your Intelligence Card, and they must¡¯ve known that.


    There was one yellow Magic Crystal. A Yellow Magic Crystal is quite precious, since more than one hundred thousand monsters need to be defeated to make it like that, so it might be more valuable than the reward money for the Bandits.


    ¡¸Uhm¡­. Even though it¡¯s still early we should return to the house. You should wipe your body, and your clothes should be washed. The equipment needs to be given maintenance as well.¡¹


    After we¡¯ve picked up everything, Roxanne makes a suggestion. There is blood on my clothes indeed, and it possibly may also be on my face.


    Should I return straight away? I can¡¯t fight with this bundle of hands. I don¡¯t need to take any Recovery Medicine anymore since I absorbed MP from the Bandits, so I have enough MP to do it.


    We returned to the house. The eastern sky is getting brighter, meaning that the sun will rise soon. I take my clothes off at once, and wipe my body in the bathroom while Roxanne washed my clothes for me.


    ¡¸Roxanne, sorry for what happened today.¡¹


    I was able to defeat the Bandits, but it was careless to have fought with them in the first place. I should¡¯ve never fallen into their trap in the first place. I don¡¯t know how things would have gone if there were other strong Bandits as our opponents. I¡¯ll have to be more careful next time.


    It would have been traumatic if I had just come to this world and went through something like this. I would have withdrawn from everything, and not spent all my time in the Labyrinths at all anymore. So why aren¡¯t I doing that now? It¡¯s because of my past experiences.


    I have grown quite used to fighting for a while now. It is not a foreign concept for me anymore, and since I know that fighting in the Labyrinths is pretty much the only thing that I can do right now in order to earn good money out of it, I¡¯m willing to fight to continue living they way that I am living now, and I can handle everything that come with fighting, be it physical pain from getting myself hurt by the monsters from the Labyrinths or the mental strain that comes with the realization that when you¡¯re fighting against Bandits, Thieves or other kinds of outlaws, you¡¯re not slaying just some random monsters generated by the Labyrinths, but actual human beings much like myself, Roxanne or Sherry.


    It all boils down to pretty simple facts: these Bandits fought with me because they wanted to kill me so that they could sell my possessions and turn my female slaves into their own personal playthings, and I fought against them because I wanted to prevent them from doing all of that. In the end I was the one who emerged victorious from that battle in which the odds were all stacked heavily against me, so it means that I was in the right here, an they were the ones who were in the wrong.


    Besides, ever since I first came to this new world, I¡¯ve made a decision that I am going to live in it now, and since I¡¯ve already decided that, it would not be bad to get myself as accustomed to combat and fighting as possible, since fighting seems be an integral part of the lives of pretty much anyone inhabiting the world of this game.


    But still, getting myself accustomed to combat doesn¡¯t change the fact that fighting against Bandits or monsters with my life on the line in each and every encounter is still a frightening experience.


    And while we are on the subject of fighting, it remains a fact that not everyone is going to be equally skilled at it. Different people are going to possess different kinds and degrees of battle potential, and it is my duty as the Party leader to judge that potential carefully in order to decide if the battle that we might get ourselves into is actually worth fighting or not. If I¡¯m not going to be capable of doing at least that, then at some point we¡¯re definitely going to be caught off guard and pay the heavy price for my own ignorance.


    The most important thing is that I won and that we all managed to survive that encounter without any losses on our side, so I might as well treat what happened today as a pretty harsh, but otherwise a very useful lesson for the future.


    ¡¸What do you mean? It was a splendid fight, and killing Bandits, Thieves and all the other kinds of lawless scum is the perfectly natural thing to be doing, so there is nothing for you to feel sorry about. If anything, you should be proud that you managed to defeat so many of them on your own!¡¹


    What Roxanne said just now only proves that fighting is such a common element of the lives of even the ordinary people of this world that no one really sees it as something strange or out of place, and even though at the beginning it was a little hard for me to get used to it, then I think that enough time has passed that I slowly started assimilating the same mindset for myself.


    After wiping my body thoroughly to ensure that not even a speck of the Bandit¡¯s blood was going to be left on me, I left the bathroom and grabbed myself a change of fresh clothing.


    Since I have a moment of spare time on my hands right now, I think it is going to be a good idea to go and reorganize my Item Box a little bit. I wouldn¡¯t exactly call it doing its spring cleaning, but I need to free some of its space up in order not to run out of it pretty soon.


    Roxanne, Sherry and Miria are sitting together as they¡¯re performing the maintenance work on their equipment, so I sat myself a little bit to the side of them and proceeded to see what exactly I can do in order for my Item Box to be less cluttered so that I could go on for a little while longer without the need to switch any of my current Jobs with Cook to increase the overall amount of the free space in it.


    First thing¡¯s first, I am going to merge all of the Magic Crystals that the Bandits had on them into a single one so that it would only occupy a single space of my inventory.


    Out of all the Magic Crystals that can be obtained by those delving into the Labyrinths, White Magic Crystal is the most valuable one of them all.

 Volume 6 - CH 5.6

    That is because it has a one million monster¡¯s worth of magic power stored within it, which also means that it is going to fetch the best possible price if I were to sell it at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. I already have a Green Magic Crystal on me ¨C which has ten thousand monsters¡¯ worth of magic power stored inside of it.


    Now, one of the things I could do is to fuse the Yellow Magic Crystal that the Bandits had on them, but if I assume that their Yellow Magic Crystal has around nine hundred thousand magic power units and my own Green Magic Crystal has close to one hundred thousand units of magic power in it, then that would lead to some waste of potential magic power if I merged these two together.


    So instead of doing that, I decided to merge just the Magic Crystals that Bandits had on them together. However, when I finished doing that, the Yellow Magic Crystal did not turn into White Magic Crystal. This is a bit of a shame, but nothing worth wailing over for too long. I¡¯ll just keep the Green Magic Crystal in my Item Box and I¡¯ll fight while having the Yellow Magic Crystal on me to turn it into a White Magic Crystal as soon as possible.


    The one in my Item Box is the one that I¡¯m going to be using; and any ready to sell ones are going to be kept in Sherry¡¯s Item Box. As for any of the extras of the items that we have, like this old Copper Spear that Sherry used at one point ¨C it¡¯s off to the storeroom with them.


    While being alone in the storeroom, I performed a ¡¸Character Reset¡¹on myself, allocating some of my Bonus Points into¡¸Bonus Equipment¡¹, and¡¸Second Accessory¡¹. Then I equipped the Ring of Determination on myself. It¡¯s the first accessory I saw when I came to this world; but now that I think about it, I never actually bothered to check what it does.


    When I finished the¡¸Character Reset¡¹, the ring appeared on the forefinger of my left hand.


    Accessory: Ring of Determination


    Skills:¡¸Attack Power Increase¡¹,¡¸Personal Enhancement¡¹


    And there it is: The Ring of Determination.


    I had been curious since I used¡¸Identify¡¹ on the one that I got from one of the defeated Bandits, and looking at it now, the accessory granted to me by the ¡¸Bonus Equipment¡¹Bonus Skill and the one that Sherry was wearing on her hand are one and the same thing. The same name, the same look, and most likely the same two Skills. Now it just makes me wonder, are there people other than me that can use¡¸Character Reset¡¹in this world?


    The Ring of Determination I made is brand new, while that other one was dull and filled with scratches. Those are the key differences between them that I can tell from having just a single glance at it.


    I used¡¸Character Reset¡¹ again, putting away the Ring of Determination that I got from my ¡¸Bonus Equipment¡¹and then I put on the ring from the Bandit. Sadly, the¡¸Second Accessory] Skill didn¡¯t light up. If it had, I could have gotten my hands on five whole Bonus Points, but since that¡¯s impossible then let¡¯s just leave it at that. Now, on to a different experiment.


    I used¡¸Character Reset] to activate¡¸Second Accessory] Bonus Skill and then swap my own Ring of Determination with the Ring of Determination left behind by the Bandit. It seems I can disable it, so I did it without any kind of hesitation or second guessing.


    The Ring of Determination disappears, and there¡¯s no abnormalities showing in my Bonus Points. When I activate¡¸Second Accessory¡¹ again, the ring re-appears, but this time, it looks brand new as well. All of the traces of any wear and tear that it once bore are gone. It¡¯s almost as if ¡¸Character Reset¡¹just took the old one and replaced it with an entirely new item, essentially giving me another copy of The Ring of Determination that is pretty much indistinguishable from the one that I gave to Sherry.


    Happy with how this experiment turned out, I cancel¡¸Second Accessory¡¹ and return to the lounge with the new ring in tow.


    ¡¸Sherry, do you know if Master Smiths can make something like this? And if so, does it require any kind of special Skills or rare materials?¡¹


    I asked Sherry about the Ring of Determination.


    ¡¸It¡¯s the Ring of Determination from earlier?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, the very same one.¡¹


    ¡¸Then it needs to be obtained through a Fixation.¡¹


    ¡¸A¡­. Fixation?¡¹


    So there seems to be a method of obtaining it after all.


    ¡¸That¡¯s right, but you¡¯ll not be able to do it if you¡¯re not a part of a Guild.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh.¡¹


    Well, shit.


    ¡¸The blessing of Fixation can be received at the Guild temple, but if you receive the blessing, you won¡¯t be able to change your Job anymore. But even so, it is believed that you become stronger thanks to it because the blessing that you receive comes directly from the guardian deity of the Guild.¡¹


    So that¡¯s what a Fixation is. Also, thereare guardian deities in the Guild temples?


    ¡¸Are there really guardian deities in the Guild temples?¡¹


    ¡¸Nobody has actually met one before, so I don¡¯t know if they¡¯re real or not.¡¹


    As usual, Sherry maintained her rational view of the world.


    ¡¸So, Fixation is essentially the same  as locking in a Job for yourself?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. When going through that process, an accessory might appear on the person, and it¡¯s assumed to be a gift from the Guilds guardian deity.¡¹


    ¡¸Like this ring here?¡¹


    ¡¸I¡¯m not certain, but I think it is highly likely that it came from a Fixation.¡¹


    I don¡¯t know what Sherry thinks when I take out Durandal the way I usually do it. Maybe she thinks that I¡¯m taking it out from my Item Box every time? That would make sense since I can use the Item Box without the incantation, meaning that I can take things out of it pretty much instantaneously.


    Is there anyone else in this world that can take out their items like I do? Or maybe it¡¯s actually that Fixation might be related to¡¸Character Reset¡¹and Bonus Points?


    There is already a connection that points to that.


    When you take out an accessory and put it on, it becomes impossible to change your Job.


    And since you get Bonus Points from each level up, it becomes impossible to switch to a lower-level Job while you¡¯re using that particular accessory. But that¡¯s not all.


    Supposedly, you become stronger with Fixation, and Bonus Points can also be used to increase the value of your Stats.


    ¡¸Do you know what kind of equipment appears when Fixation occurs?¡¹


    ¡¸It seems to vary for each person. There are Mages and Wizards who get swords, and sword users who get canes. Fixation always creates equipment with a Skill added to it, but very rarely something amazing appears.¡¹


    It¡¯s a little different from me then. I only use Durandal as a Bonus Weapon.


    ¡¸What kind of people can perform Fixation?¡¹


    ¡¸It¡¯s quite easy to get the blessing if you¡¯ve been doing the Job for a number of years, and the increased strength and bonus equipment are always good to have. But since you can¡¯t change your Job after Fixation, it¡¯s normally done by people who are already thinking about retirement. If a good piece of equipment comes out it can be passed down to your descendants as a family heirloom though.¡¹


    It¡¯s not quite what I was asking, but it doesn¡¯t matter. So the process is random? Is there no rules to it at all?


    The armor that I get from ¡¸Bonus Equipment¡¹ is equipment meant for men. If a woman gets ¡¸Bonus Equipment¡¹, it would not be strange if something different appeared for them.


    If the Ring of Determination came from Fixation, then I guess you could really think of it as something related to the Bonus Equipment, and since the total amount of Bonus Points that you can have on you is based on your level, then it is going to be much more profitable for you if you raise your level as far as you can to have as much of them as possible, and that leads me to the following hypothesis: that if a person who has been actively using their Job for many years is going to get the access to the Fixation¡¯s blessing more easily, then that seems like enough evidence that Fixation really requires Bonus Points to me.


    However, these are just my own thoughts on the matter, and in order to truly determine whether or not Fixation and Bonus Points are truly related to one another, some additional investigation will have to be carried out.


    After hearing the story about Fixation from Sherry, I checked the Intelligence Cards again. There were eight of them in total. For now, even though they are taking some of the space in my Item Box, I think that I¡¯ll hold onto them for just a little while longer.


    ¡´To be continued in¡ºA Harem in the Fantasy World Dungeon Volume 7¡».¡µ

 Volume 7 - CH 1.01

    Chapter 31: Mixed Blessing


    ¡ºPlayer Name: Kaga Michio¡»


    ¡ºCurrent Character Levels & Equipment¡»:


    ¡ºJobs¡»:


    Explorer Lv.37


    Hero Lv.35


    Mage Lv.37


    Monk Lv.37


    ¡ºEquipment¡»:


    Rod of Offerings


    Hardened Leather Helmet


    Hardened Leather Armor


    Hardened Leather Gloves


    Hardened Leather Shoes


    Sacrificial Misanga


    I feel like luck hasn¡¯t been on my side that much lately.


    Why is that, you might ask? Well, probably because across the span of the few recent days me and my Party have become a target of Bandit attacks not once, but twice in a row when we entered the Labyrinths in order to explore them and grind our levels, so if that is not being unlucky, then I don¡¯t know what is.


    I don¡¯t know what I did to deserve being afflicted with such a string of bad luck. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that ever since I have arrived in this new world and began my new life here, I have rarely experienced what might be call true misfortune; and even if I did happen upon some bumps on my road I always managed to get out of them more or less unscratched?


    But if I were so lucky up until now, then this begs another question: why have I suddenly become so unlucky ¨C now of all times? Is it because the alignment of the stars in the sky that have been in my favor so far, shifted? Or maybe some kind of deity went and decided that since I had relatively good luck thus far in my life here, then I needed to have some misfortune in it as well in order to keep things balanced out?


    The twelfth and thirteenth floors of the Labyrinths ¨C the floors which we are currently exploring ¨C are known as one of the spots in which Bandits, Thieves and other kinds of outlaws appear in order to prey on the weaker Parties that have just come from the lower floors. Their aim is to trap them when they¡¯re least expecting it; then steal the possessions of others, kill the male Party Members, and kidnap and enslave the female Party Members. That is exactly what happened to us these two times: the Bandits took us for a weak Party worthy of targeting; and each time it was the same scenario of them wanting to lay their filthy hands on my girls while having me killed. Sherry warned me that the higher we are going to go in the Labyrinths, the more frequent such happenings are going to be; but still, I think that this was just too much! If that is how things are on just the twelfth and thirteenth levels of the Labyrinths, then how can I know that it¡¯s not going to only get progressively worse the higher we are going to go?


    There is this one famous saying that says: ¡¸What happened two times is going to happen for the third time¡¹, or its variant that says ¡¸Whatever happened twice is going to happen again¡¹, but personally I think that yet another saying: ¡¸Third time¡¯s the charm¡¹would actually work better here. And if we assume that there is truth in that saying, then that would mean that in the future we¡¯re going to suffer yet another Bandit attack? Now, if that really were to happen then it would be the absolute pinnacle of a bad time, so I guess one of the only ways in which I can counteract that is to be even more vigilant in the Labyrinths than I was before, and quite literally have eyes all around my head the entire time.


    The first ambush of the Bandits that we walked into was relatively simple, and I was able to get out of it with just the help of Roxanne and Sherry. We managed to defeat the ten Bandits who prepared the second ambush as well; but that second one was much more difficult than the first one. There were a multitude of ways in which  things could have gone south very quickly if they played out slightly differently, or if I didn¡¯t have access to Durandal or my Bonus Spells. Now, just the thought that the potential third ambush might be even worse than that is filling me with worry and dread, so I really hope for all our sakes that we are not going to be attacked by Bandits for the third time after all.


    Well, even though it was pretty bad that we got attacked by the Bandits twice, I cannot say that it was all bad. Sure, the battles with high-level humanoid enemies are always scary, but now that I managed to defeat those strong Bandits and claim their Intelligence Cards for myself, all I have to do is to wait for an opportune moment so that I can sell them for a profit.


    In that sense, I guess even the bruises or scars of battle can be the bringers of good fortune ¨C not that I have any bruises or scars on me, thanks to the healing from Durandal¡¯s ¡¸HP absorption¡¹Skill. It also closes small wounds, mirror cuts and lacerations as if they were never there, so that might be considered a stroke of luck.


    Yeah, let¡¯s think of it that way and keep that positivity going.


    I am not an unlucky man. I am lucky; but it seems that luck has simply not made its way towards me just yet, is taking its sweet time. However, it will get to me eventually ¨C of that I have no doubt. And it might as well start with the money that I am going to get from the bounties I will get for the Intelligence Cards of the Bandits that I have slain¡­. although it has to be noted that quite some time may come to pass before I gather up my courage to bring them to the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy. So any ¡¸What ifs¡¹connected to the money from their bounties are going to be like counting my chickens before they are hatched and¡­.. wait! We got some Magic Crystals from them, right? Yeah, we totally did, so we can always sell those for money at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. So, all¡¯s right with the world for now.


    ¡¸All right then, I guess it¡¯s time for us to go and buy the ingredients for breakfast. I also used our MP Recovery Medicine And Nourishment Pills, so if at all possible, then I would like to restock on those as well.¡¹I said.


    ¡¸The raw material used in the creation of the Nourishment Pill is a Drop Item left behind  by a Fly Trap ¨C the monster native to the thirteenth floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth. So I would rather recommend hunting for it in Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth than buying it from the Guild. That is going to be better for us money-wise.¡¹


    Sherry informs me about the raw materials used in the creation of Nourishment Pills, and thanks to her words of explanation I finally understand why the prices of the Strengthening Pills and Nourishment Pills are identical. It is because both of these medicinal items are made from raw ingredients that can be found on similar floors of the Labyrinths.


    ¡¸By the way, what about the raw ingredients that are used in making Strengthening Pills?¡¹ I asked.


    ¡¸That material should be dropped by the Floor Boss of the floors where Animal Traps are the native enemies.¡¹


    Oh. In other words, they are also made from something that could be obtained from something as simple as grinding; so if we could repeat it consistently, we¡¯d be able to save up that much more money, since it would be another thing I could obtain on my own instead of having to buy it from the Adventurer¡¯s Guild all the time.


    At the current moment, the highest floor that we can explore relatively safely is the twelfth floor of each Labyrinth, which means that if we want to start farming those materials, then we will have to advance onto the thirteenth floor ¨C one floor above our current limit. However, we have been to the thirteenth floor before, during our visit to the Labyrinth of Tare where we learned more or less how tough the enemies there can possibly be. So when it comes the time for us to go there and explore that floor for real, we are going to need to be that much more ready.


    Reaching the thirteenth floor shouldn¡¯t take us that long, since the small hidden room where we found the Bandits was probably very close to the Boss Room. That closeness must¡¯ve been the reason why they had set up their ambush there, so I think it is safe to say that we¡¯ve probably cleared most of the twelfth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth.

 Volume 7 - CH 1.02

    Therefore, an excursion to the thirteenth floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth shouldn¡¯t be too much of a big deal. The only downside is that we¡¯re going to have to make do without Strengthening Pills and Nourishment Pills for the time being, and they were our only restorative backup aside from the ¡¸Medical Treatment¡¹Skill of my Monk Job.


    The same thing can be said for the MP Recovery Pills that I downed in order to regain all of my MP at the end of the battle against the Bandits; but thankfully these medicines are mostly just our emergency recovery items meant to be used only during the especially tough Floor Boss encounters. Most times we are capable of going through the battles with regular monsters on the Labyrinth¡¯s floors without sustaining any kind of serious injuries that would be too much for my Skills to heal.


    We also have a map of most of the floors of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth, so with the path to the Boss Room clearly indicated from the very beginning, we¡¯ll be able to clear the thirteenth floor in no time. If it¡¯s only for a short while, then I think that we can allow ourselves to take that small bit of risk by going without MP Recovery Pills.


    The most important thing is that we don¡¯t have to worry about encountering any Bandits at all in the Labyrinth of Quratar, since this is an especially busy place that is always crowded with people no matter what floor or time of day it is; and crowded places are what Bandits tend to avoid due to the risk of them getting discovered and their plans getting foiled. Thus, on the thirteenth floor of Quratar we¡¯ll be able to fight the monsters at a slower, more relaxed pace, and we¡¯ll be able to replenish our items as needed if need be.


    Usually the lack of MP Recovery Pills would¡¯ve been a problem, especially when it comes to the Floor Boss encounters, but in our case this type of medicine is not that much of a necessity ¨C and it is all thanks to the fact that I have Durandal. With the ¡¸MP Recovery Skill¡¹it has, if we really want to maximize our efficiency and minimize the time that we¡¯d have to spend on the thirteenth floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth, then we can always use it to go along with a plan of storming through the thirteenth floor with as few rests as possible in order to clear the floor and defeat its Floor Boss in the shortest amount of time possible.


    ¡¸All right, so I assume that everyone¡¯s in favor of us going to the Labyrinth of Quratar this time? If so, then we¡¯re going to head there at noon.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood!¡¹Roxanne said.


    ¡¸I do not think that the Labyrinth of Quratar is going to be as crowded on its upper levels as on the lower ones.¡¹said Sherry.


    ¡¸I hope so. Plus, it is still relatively dark outside.¡¹


    We had our encounter with the Bandits after we entered the Labyrinth early in the morning, and since not that much time has passed, it should still be relatively early.


    ¡¸Miria, I want you to take the map. Can you do that for me?¡¹said Roxanne.


    ¡¸Yes, desu!¡¹Miria nodded her head in response to Roxanne¡¯s remarks.


    Since Miria is a member of the Catkin tribe, a humanoid race that possesses cat-like features similar to how Roxanne¡¯s Wolfkin tribe possesses characteristics of the wolves, she has the ability to see perfectly clearly even in the deepest darkness. If she¡¯s going to be the one who¡¯s going to be holding onto the map for us, then she¡¯ll be able to guide us forward without the need for having a light even in the dimly lit corners and caves of the Labyrinth ¨C which feels kind of like a cheat, if I am to be honest.


    ¡¸Well, since we have the activities for later all planned out, then I think we can take it easy and rest for a while. But even so we have to make sure to enter the Labyrinth of Quratar at noon no matter what. Thank you in advance for agreeing to go with me.¡¹


    It might be because we just ended the battle with the ten Bandits, but I feel as if the tension running through my body is even bigger than usual, so I need to have some rest so that I won¡¯t be feeling groggy and out of it when the time comes to go to the Labyrinth again. But for the time being, I think I am just going to lie down and close my eyes for a few minutes. Hooray for Miria¡¯s cheat-like night-vision that made it all possible.


    After breakfast, we entered the Labyrinth of Quratar. I turned to Sherry and said,¡¸Sherry, I want you to put this Ring of Determination on.¡¹


    ¡¸Are you sure that it is alright for me to be wearing such a rare and precious item, master?¡¹she asked.


    ¡¸Yeah, definitely. It would be a waste if I were to use it, so giving it to someone who is going to benefit from it the most seems like the perfectly reasonable choice.¡¹


    With my encouragement, Sherry equips the Ring of Determination, one of the rare and supposedly legendary items that was left behind by one of the Bandits after I killed them all. And just like I told Sherry, this item would have been wasted on Roxanne or myself since we are already wearing Sacrificial Misangas on us, and they are, without a shadow of a doubt one of the most useful pieces of equipment that I have seen ever since I came to this world.


    Even though I have received countless attacks from monsters by this point, none of those attacks managed to inflict enough damage upon me to guarantee the Sacrificial Misanga¡¯s Skill: ¡¸Sacrifice¡¹, which is going to allow me to survive an otherwise fatal blow at the cost of the Sacrificial Misanga breaking and getting destroyed, and I can only be thankful that so far none of the monsters we have encountered, no matter how big or tough they seem to be, inflicted the kind of damage that would be critical enough to bring me to the point of actually needing that Skill to activate.


    On the contrary, if I receive critical damage and on the off chance it fails to activate, I don¡¯t even want to imagine the consequences; but since it is always better to have such a lifesaver around than not have it, I have already decided that as long as I am going to be going down to the Labyrinths, there is absolutely no way for me to ever take the Sacrificial Misanga off.


    ¡¸Thank you very much, master. I thought that this item would be all worn out since that Bandit had been using it, but thankfully it looks like it is almost brand new, which is a nice and welcome surprise.¡¹said Sherry.


    Okay, I will pretend that I didn¡¯t hear that. Instead¡­. ¡¸Roxanne, what¡¯s the situation? Are there any people around?¡¹


    ¡¸There are, but thankfully only a few of them, exactly like you would expect from the twelfth floor during the daytime, so we should be fine even if we decide to stay here for a while longer.¡¹


    According to what Roxanne said, it doesn¡¯t look like the twelfth floor of Quratar is as crowded with people as its first few floors, so it checks itself out with the general rule that ¡¸the higher in the Labyrinths you go, the less people you¡¯re going to be dealing with¡¹. That is all the better for us. In that case, we should be able to do what Roxanne said and stay here on the twelfth floor grinding, hunting, and exploring for an entire day without running into pretty much anyone. Right now it should be the time where most of the people in my old world would either be having or finishing their breakfasts; but in this world people are all pretty much early risers because they all go to sleep pretty early since there is not much in particular that they can do at night.


    ¡¸All right then. Sorry to put you on the spot like that, but could you guide us around this floor in the usual way? Small groups of monsters without coming into contact with other people as much as possible?¡¹I asked Roxanne after having confirmed that there are not many people around. Except for the Labyrinths in the Harz Duchy, people always take special notice of Magic, and that is the last thing that I need right now.¡¹

 Volume 7 - CH 1.03

    That is why I want to avoid them as much as possible.


    ¡¸The Boss Room should be just up ahead. I¡¯m not sure if there are people inside of it or not, because while I did manage to catch on to some kind of smell, it vanished pretty quickly. Therefore, if people really were ahead of us, they have either died or already moved on.¡¹ said Roxanne.


    ¡¸Thank you for the info, Roxanne. As expected of you, your nose is as reliable as always. Thanks to your smart guidance we were able to reach the Boss Room without encountering even a single soul!¡¹ I complimented Roxanne.


    ¡¸Not at all, master. If anything, I should be the one thanking you for allowing me to be so useful all the time, as well as apologize for not being able to discern what happened with the source of that smell more accurately.¡¹


    So even Roxanne can¡¯t tell if the people are still in the Waiting Room or Boss Room or if they have already gone to the next floor or have been killed, huh? Well, as good as her sense of smell is, no one ever said that it was all-powerful, so such a thing was bound to happen sooner or later, so it¡¯s not that big of a deal.


    There is another door separating the Boss Room from the Waiting Room. When the Party that is currently challenging the Floor Boss inside of the Boss Room is either done fighting with it or has been killed by it, only then will the next Party waiting in the Waiting Room be allowed entry to the Boss Room. Because of that, and the fact that we cannot normally peek through the doors or see through any cracks in them, it is exceedingly difficult to properly tell from the outside whether the other Party is in the Waiting Room or has advanced to the Boss Room already.


    There¡¯s always some degree of risk that can¡¯t be completely avoided, and all we can do is to pretty much minimize the amount of risk that we as a Party are going to be subjecting ourselves to.


    Other Parties might come to the Waiting Room while we are still going to be in it, and we cannot forbid them from doing so ¨C because the Labyrinths are technically public spaces where pretty much anyone can enter at their own leisure. The only countermeasure that we can utilize at such a time would be for me to hide my Durandal so that nobody would recognize it even by accident, and not talk about anything related to magic or my abilities.


    For the last dozen days, I have been frequently visiting the Labyrinths of the Hartz Duchy, just like the Duke of Hartz requested of me; but even if I didn¡¯t do it, I highly doubt that the Duke or Gozer, the leader of the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy would blame me for it or hold that against me like I committed some kinda crime.


    Even so, I cannot tell them that I¡¯ve made a slight detour to visit the Labyrinth of Quratar just so that I could gather the materials that I would need for the purpose of replenishing the reserves of my recovery items. Something like that might not pass with them as a valid excuse ¨C and if at all possible, I would like to avoid getting on their bad side.


    ¡¸Miria, can you go and see if there are people inside of the waiting room? If there aren¡¯t, give us a signal. If there are, then just come back.¡¹ I say as I ask Miria to go and have a look on our behalf in order to mitigate the risk. With her eyes, this should be a piece of cake. Also, now that I think about it, Gozer and the Duke have yet to meet Miria, right? Yeah, they definitely didn¡¯t meet her, because I only bought her a few days ago; and since that time I have not paid any visits to Bode and its castle, or run into Gozer in any of the Hartz Duchy¡¯s Labyrinths.


    ¡¸Roger, Desu!¡¹


    When Roxanne translated my request to Miria, she nodded her head and immediately proceeded to carry out my orders. She walked to the door leading to the Waiting Room and opened them up ever so slightly, peeking her head inside.


    After a brief moment, she turned back towards us and gave us a signal to come to her. Good, it seems that no other Party is currently in the Waiting Room, which means that we can enter it without any reservations.


    The three of us then rushed inside. All the while, Miria sticks her chest out proudly as if she has accomplished some kind of an important mission. Well, she did what I asked her to do, so I guess a praise for her is indeed in order.


    ¡¸Thank you and well done. You did well, Miria.¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸Great job, Miria!¡¹ said Sherry as she jumped in on the ¡®Miria praising bandwagon¡¯.


    That being said, I really don¡¯t think that what she did can be considered as some kind of grand accomplishment; but as long as she¡¯s happy¡­


    ¡¸Yes, desu!¡¹


    Is Miria delighted because she was able to be of use to us?


    We entered the Waiting Room, and just like Miria reported, there was no one there.


    ¡¸Sherry, what can you tell us about the Floor Boss of this floor? What can we expect?¡¹


    ¡¸The Floor Boss of the floors where Sarracenia is the main monster is called Nephentes. Basically, it is just a bigger, stronger Sarracenia. However, there is one thing that you should be wary of, master. Starting from the twelfth floor of the Labyrinths onwards, other monsters will begin to appear alongside the Floor Boss; so you have to be careful not to allow them to overwhelm you or catch you off guard.¡¹


    Sherry shares the information on the Floor Boss of the twelfth floor with all of us. Up until now, our tried and true strategy when it came to Floor Boss battles was to basically leave the handling of the Floor Boss¡¯s aggro to Roxanne, who would position herself right in front of it and then bait all of its attacks; avoiding them with her dodges. However, it would seem that we are not going to be able to employ that same strategy anymore ¨C or at the very least it¡¯s not going to be as effective as it was up until now.


    Well, I knew that eventually things were going to stop being easy, and that we would have to start putting some actual effort into our Floor Boss battles. That is just how things are. You cannot expect them to always be the same, no matter how convenient they were.


    When we enter the Waiting Room properly, the door to the Boss Room immediately slides open, inviting us to go ahead inside.


    All four of us entered the room. As soon as we did that, clouds of smoke began to gather in the center of the room; and moments later, monsters appeared from within them. One Nephentes and one Sarracenia.


    ¡¸Roxanne, hold the Nephentes back from the front like usual. Sherry, Miria, keep the Boss occupied along with Roxanne. I¡¯ll wipe out the small fry first.¡¹


    I give instructions to the three and charge toward the small Sarracenia and hit it with ¡¸Rush¡¹attacks in quick succession, silencing it for good. Now that it will not be able to get in the way of our fight against the main Boss, I immediately join the battle against the Nephtenes.


    Nepenthes was a plant monster very similar to Sarracenia, except for the part of it that looked like its head ¨C from which it would most likely spit its digestive fluids at us if we allowed it to. Its head was larger than that of Sarracenia. Overall, when it comes to the size, Nephtenes was twice the regular size of Sarracenia. I wonder if the fact that it is bigger is proportionate to how powerful it is, or if it is just a purely cosmetic thing meant to allow people to differentiate between the two?


    Unlike Sarracenia, the brown, pitcher-like head of Nepenthes looks much creepier. I can tell at just a glance that it gets its nutrients not from photosynthesis like any other normal plants, but from eating other creatures.


    Actually, even Sarracenia doesn¡¯t get its food from photosynthesis. Both are carnivorous plants; and on top of that, monsters dwelling in the Labyrinths ¨C so they¡¯re probably getting everything they need to function properly from devouring Explorers and Adventurers who were unlucky enough to meet them on their way, and failed to defeat them.

 Volume 7 - CH 1.04

    (Insectivorous plants need nitrogenous compounds for amino acids, which they obtain from the insects. They produce starch normally through photosynthesis.)


    We need to be on alert and pay attention the entire time when we are fighting the Nephtenes, seeing as it¡¯s arms that are made out of leaves are long enough to enable it to launch an attack on us from behind; and something tells me that being slashed with those leaves is going to hurt more than we might suspect.


    Damn it! This might be more troublesome than I originally anticipated. If only I knew that things would end up this way, then I would¡¯ve asked Miria to use the Steel Spear instead so that she could at least poke this Floor Boss from a safer distance. Well, her level has risen quite a lot in comparison to how it was before I bought her, so she should be fine.


    In the end, it turns out that we managed to score ourselves another easy victory ¨C most likely because it was the four of us against the one Nephtenes. Our easy winning streak remains uninterrupted for the time being. The Nepenthes finally collapses, changes into a cloud of smoke, and disappears, leaving behind its Drop Item¡­.


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X!!!¡¹cried out Miria.


    But before I could see what that Drop Item actually was, Miria shouted something out with a pretty excited voice.


    ¡¸Roxanne, care to translate what she said just now?¡¹ I asked.


    ¡¸She said ¡®fish savings¡¯; so based on what she told us about this before, I would guess that the Drop Item that dropped from Nephtenes has to be a Magic Crystal.¡¹


    ¡¸Magic Crystal, you say?¡¹


    ¡¸She also says that there wasn¡¯t any before the battle, so it must¡¯ve appeared just now.¡¹ While Roxanne translated what Miria was saying, Miria herself picked the Magic Crystal up.


    Amazing! She really was able to spot it in a place where I wouldn¡¯t even dare to look! So she can identify the location of the Magic Crystal the moment it appears? The members of the Catkin tribe really are incredible with their eyes! With Miria by our side, we will never miss any more Magic Crystals from now on!


    ¡¸As expected of Miria. Amazing work!¡¹


    ¡¸She says that she immediately noticed it because it started glowing in the dark, so it was pretty easy to spot.¡¹said Roxanne.


    Pretty easy to spot, huh? I highly doubt it, because from what I am seeing, the Magic Crystal that appeared here is a Black Magic Crystal ¨C so there is no way for it to glow.


    ¡¸It¡¯s a ¡®Magic Crystal¡¯. Repeat after me, Miria. Magic Crystal. Magic. Crystal.¡¹


    ¡¸Magic Crystal, desu.¡¹


    I should have taught her the right words for it before, not while in the middle of the Labyrinth after we just went through a battle; but whatever. As long as she remembers it, it doesn¡¯t really matter where, when, or how she learned it.


    After teaching Miria two more Brahim words, I receive the Magic Crystal from her, followed by the Nephtenes¡¯s Drop Item that Sherry went and picked up for me. I looked at it with my ¡¸Identify¡¹ and saw that it was apparently called Crow Dipper (TL Note: This is a plant that is native to China, Japan, and Korea, and known as the herb effective in removing dampness-phlegm ¨C one of the causes of obesity in traditional Chinese medicine.


    This plant is toxic in raw form and must be processed first before using it for medical purposes.) I removed my Warrior Job and switched it with Herbalist, and tried to make medicine with it as a base. The plant in the palm of my hand shone brightly, and when the light subsided, instead of a Crow Dipper I had three Nourishment Pills. This means that the Crow Dipper must be classified as a medicinal plant after all.


    ¡¸You really did it, master.¡¹ For some inexplicable reason, Sherry was very surprised at my achievement just now.


    ¡¸Well, Isn¡¯t that a given?¡¹Roxanne asked.


    ¡¸No. I have heard that most of the Herbalists are unable to beat Nephtenes during their first ever encounter with it, or to successfully create Nourishment Pills out of Crow Dipper on their very first attempt; so they simply sell the plant itself to get at least some money out of it.¡¹


    Eh? Really? No, wait a minute. Wasn¡¯t Sherry the one who told me that I can make Nourishment Pills from the items dropped by the Floor Boss of the thirteenth floor? But if I can do it, and the Nourishment Pills can successfully be made from the items dropped by the Floor Boss of the thirteenth floor, then can¡¯t they also be made from the items dropped by the Floor Boss of the twelfth floor?


    ¡¸S-So, usually Herbalists are not able to successfully create the Nourishment Pills on their first try, you say?¡¹I asked.


    ¡¸Yes, that is usually the case; but I knew that you would be able to do it, master. After all, you¡¯ve shown time and time again that if there is anyone who can do such a thing, then it is going to be you, master.¡¹ said Sherry.


    ¡¸As expected of Master. You¡¯re amazing!¡¹ said Roxanne.


    ¡¸As expected, desu!¡¹


    Even though Sherry, Miria and Roxanne were giving me compliments, I don¡¯t really feel like I did anything worthy of their praise. With that successful creation of the Nourishment Pills, the level of my Herbalist Job jumped up to Lv.4, so it means that it kept leveling up when I was making Nourishment Pills the other day.


    An Herbalist Lv.4 is not supposed to be able to defeat Nepenthes, according to Sherry¡¯s information, and so even though an Herbalist Lv.4 can make Nourishment Pills just fine, there must have been no Herbalist known to the world who would¡¯ve been able to ascertain that fact.


    There¡¯s also another possibility here: that a list of the things that an Herbalist can make depends on his or her total MP. Because I have the Wizard Job (Lv.37) supported by Hero and Monk Jobs, I definitely should have enough MP at my disposal to create such a medicine.


    ¡¸Come on girls, this is not that big of a deal.¡¹ I said. I stuff the Nourishment Pills and the Black Magic Crystal in my Item Box, and then we leave the Boss Room.


    ¡¸The monster native to the thirteenth floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth is Fly Trap. It¡¯s similar to Sarracenia with the exception that it uses ranged attacks based on Water Magic; and on top of that its regular attacks have a chance to inflict poison upon those hit by it. Naturally, since it is using Water Magic itself, it is highly resistant to it as a result; and its weakness is Fire Magic.¡¹said Sherry.


    As usual, Sherry shares the information about the monster native to the new floor that we have arrived on, and then I asked Roxanne to guide us towards the nearest Fly Trap so that we could try our hands at fighting it and see how smoothly it is going to go.


    We encountered the Fly Trap shortly upon arriving at the thirteenth floor. Sherry¡¯s info about it was definitely correct, because it really was similar to Sarracenia in many aspects. Even its size and shape are very similar to it, albeit with some small differences. The biggest difference is related to its head: whereas Sarracenia¡¯s head looked like a pitcher plant, Fly Trap¡¯s head looks like a giant¡­. well, fly trap. It splits open in half in order to trap and then devour any objects or organisms that are going to be stupid enough to find themselves sitting on top of the head, or getting anywhere near it. Is it carnivorous, just like Sarracenia?


    Throughout the entire duration of the battle, I made sure to pay especially close attention to the movements of the Fly Trap¡¯s head, just in case it ever tried to attack us with it or do something unexpected while we were too focused on dealing with its body and its regular attacks. Thankfully, because I already know what its weakness is, I can easily exploit it to my advantage, and it falls dead after five spells


    ¡¸So in the end, it didn¡¯t attack us with its head even once.¡¹I said.


    ¡¸That¡¯s right; but just because it didn¡¯t attack us with it this time doesn¡¯t mean that one won¡¯t attempt to do so next time ¨C or the time after that. That is why it is so important for us to stay vigilant and not get careless. In the Labyrinths, carelessness can be lethal.¡¹


    Roxanne said.


    ¡¸Once we advance onto the even higher floors, we might start seeing Fly Traps that are going to start attacking with their heads or use Skills that involve their heads.¡¹said Sherry.

 Volume 7 - CH 1.05

    According to Sherry, high level Fly Traps may attack using their head. However, just like Roxanne said just now, we absolutely cannot allow ourselves to become careless, because the moment when we start being like that is going to be a moment where our doom is pretty much going to be sealed.


    However, for the time being I think it is safe to say that as long as we¡¯ll keep a watchful eye on our opponents and do not let ourselves fall for the tricky attacks like Saracenia¡¯s digestive fluid spill, then the four of us can fight the enemies on the thirteenth floors of the Labyrinths without any kind of major issues.


    Before we move on further, Miria walks up to me and gives me the Drop Item from the Fly Trap: Polygala Tenuifolia root. Because my Herbalist Job is still active, I immediately tried to make another medicine with it as the base¡­.. and with them, I was able to create three Strengthening Pills, much in the same way as the Nourishment Pills before.


    ¡¸Since we can fight against Fly Traps without much trouble, I think its time to search for groups of monsters and start hunting them in earnest, so could you do that for me, Roxanne?¡¹


    When the creation of the medicine was completed, I asked Roxanne to search for a group of monsters this time. Now that I know that both Sarracenia and Fly Trap are weak against Fire Magic, fighting against either of them is not going to pose us any kind of trouble ¨C since all that it takes to kill them is five shots from either ¡¸Fire Ball¡¹or ¡¸Fire Storm¡¹. As long as I know that, I feel like I could fight a bunch of those enemies at once. After all, what good are their numbers going to do to them if they won¡¯t even be able to reach any of us before they drop dead on the ground, huh?


    However, dealing with them would¡¯ve been much more difficult if I still had only my old Wand with me instead of my current Rod of Offerings. But now that I have it in my possession, my Spells are much stronger in comparison to how they were before, and that is why I am capable of dispatching the enemies on the twelfth and thirteenth floors so quickly and rather efficiently.


    ¡¸Here they come, master!¡¹


    Roxanne shouted her warning out to me in the middle of our next fight. And what she was warning me about was actually an incoming ranged attack from the Fly Trap that we were currently engaged in battle with. Thankfully, she was there in order to take it on, and by take it on, I of course mean that she baited the Fly Trap into focusing solely on her so that she could dodge it.


    The Fly Trap conjured a magic circle below its body, reared its plant-like head backwards and then thrust it forward, unleashing a bullet of high-speed water that must¡¯ve been its own version of the ¡¸Water Ball¡¹spell. It flew forward and splashed against the ground right in the place where Roxanne was standing just moments ago.


    ¡¸Ah, that was a rather close one!¡¹


    I also somehow managed to evade the next ranged attack when it flew right past Roxanne and almost hit me directly in the chest. I knew it. It is exactly like I suspected: when it comes to the ranged attacks of the enemies from the higher floors, I am definitely not going to be safe if I just mindlessly stay behind Roxanne. Without thinking through what I am doing, I am just going to get hit with whatever Roxanne avoided.


    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry for putting you in danger like that, master! I should¡¯ve deflected those ranged attacks with my shield.¡¹


    ¡¸Deflect the ranged attacks with your shield? You can actually do that?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. You can deflect most of the force behind the attack if you decide to do that, but you¡¯re going to receive some of the damage as a result.¡¹


    If it is really like that, then you should¡¯ve informed me about it earlier, because that is some pretty important information; and you should¡¯ve taught me how to do it, because I cannot imagine that deflecting could be any more difficult than dodging.


    Now that I know that something like that can be done, I position myself slightly diagonally from where Roxanne was currently standing. Since she is the one person who is the center of our frontline, it¡¯s obvious that Roxanne is going to be receiving the most attacks out of all of us¡­


    Or at least she is supposed to, because so far she managed to dodge her way out of everything that the enemies were throwing at her, but that is beside the point right now. What is the most important here is that I should not be standing directly behind her when she is fighting monsters who can use ranged attacks or Skills.


    Dealing with the Water Magic used by the enemies can be a little bit troublesome, but other than that it¡¯s nothing that we cannot handle; so we continue on with our hunting and exploration of the thirteenth floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth. As one might expect, the monsters in here also seem to be a little bit stronger in comparison to the ones on the twelfth floor, but there is nothing that we can do about that.


    Over the next few battles I tried fighting against the monsters with Durandal; and because of that I borrowed the Ring of Determination from Sherry in order to see how big of an effect it was going to have on my overall performance in battle. Regrettably, there seemed to be no effects at all ¨C or at the very least, no effects that were immediately apparent. Maybe it¡¯s because Durandal already has its own damage increasing Skill, ¡¸5x Damage Increase¡¹; and that is what is actually interfering with the Skills from the Ring of Determination and preventing them from activating properly?


    Next, I also made a number of Strengthening Pills from the Drop Items that were being left by all of the Fly Traps that we have encountered, and when they were finished, I passed some of them to Sherry.


    ¡¸We have already acquired Strengthening Pills, so should we go for Nourishing Pills next or not?¡¹ I asked.


    ¡¸I don¡¯t think that getting more of either is going to be a bad decision in the slightest.¡¹said Roxanne.


    ¡¸Keeping some additional medicines and other types of medicaments to be used in the case of emergencies is the most rational thing to do.¡¹said Sherry as she and Roxanne gave me their approval in making additional preparations ¨C as well as their go-ahead to go and challenge the Floor Boss of the thirteenth floor.


    Because I have been exploring for quite some time now, I believe that for someone who is an outsider in this world, I¡¯ve obtained a pretty good understanding of how things work here.


    Just like it was with floors one to eleven, the types of monsters that are appearing between floors twelve and twenty-two are generally the same, but in different Labyrinths they¡¯re going to be showing up in different orders. For example, the monster that appears on the twelfth floor of the Labyrinth of Quratar may appear on the twenty-second floor of the Labyrinth of Haruba or the sixteenth floor of the Labyrinth of Tare, and so forth.


    Because of the Floor Boss being a variant of the floor¡¯s main monster, the very same thing can naturally be said about the Floor Bosses for each floor. Thus, if we manage to defeat the Floor Boss of the twelfth or thirteenth floors here in Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth, then we are going to have one less thing to worry about when exploring the other Labyrinth. We¡¯re already going to know how to fight that type of Floor Boss, meaning that they¡¯ll not take us by surprise when we go visit the other Labyrinths.


    That being said, we cannot allow ourselves to grow complacent just because we know how to fight a Floor Boss and what its strengths and weaknesses are. Monsters and Floor Bosses are going to continue to grow stronger with each floor we¡¯re going to advance to, and that remains an indisputable fact. Just look at a Green Caterpillar, for instance.

 Volume 7 - CH 1.06

    On the first few levels of the Labyrinths it was a relatively harmless monster. That being said, there is no rule saying that something that is weak on the lower floors of the Labyrinths cannot grow stronger on the higher floors. As far as we know, then logically when we advance further, there¡¯s always a possibility that it might grow unexpectedly strong. This means that dealing with it at one point might turn from something simple to quite a headache for us. On the plus side, it probably won¡¯t grow unexpectedly strong in a span of just a single floor; so at the very least, I don¡¯t think that we¡¯re going to have to worry about it surprising us with anything there.


    If anything, then I think that we don¡¯t need to be all that vigilant until we actually reach the twenty second floor; but after that ¨C meaning from the twenty third floor and above¡­. That is probably where the difficulty is going to make a sudden spike. Thus, from that point onward we¡¯re going to have to constantly keep our guards up and be on the lookout for potential attacks from a distance.


    At least when it comes to the exploration itself it should be a relatively smooth sailing, since we have the maps of all of the currently discovered and cleared floors of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth ¨C unlike with the rest of the Labyrinths, where we actually have to go and search every nook and cranny just to find a way to the Floor Boss Room.


    ¡¸Okay Roxanne, would you please guide us forward then?¡¹


    ¡¸Certainly. Please follow me, master.¡¹


    Guided by Roxanne (along with the map), we proceeded through the thirteenth floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth all the way to its Boss Room. We then sent Miria to go and take a peek to see if there was anyone in the Waiting Room; and once she came back and reported that there was apparently no one inside, we decided there was no point in dilly-dallying around and proceeded to enter the Boss Room proper, where we faced off against the Floor Boss of the thirteenth floor ¨C Animal Trap and the Sarracenia that was accompanying it.


    ¡¸Why was Sarracenia accompanying the Floor Boss this time instead of a Fly Trap?¡¹


    ¡¸Because starting from this higher floor and onwards, there is always a possibility that any type of a monster that makes its appearance on the given floor might appear alongside the Floor Boss as its support.¡¹


    Oh, so it¡¯s actually that any monster that appears on a given floor might start accompanying the Floor Boss once you advance high enough, huh? And here I was under the impression that the only ones that were going to make an appearance would be the monsters that are native to the given floor. Hence my astonishment when a Sarracenia showed up instead of a Fly Trap.


    According to what Sherry taught me, Animal Traps are the enhanced versions of the Fly Trap enemies and serve as a Floor Boss on the floors where the Fly Traps are the regular enemies. Also, she told me that starting from the twelfth floor onwards, the Floor Bosses are going to have additional enemies in the Boss Room and they would fight together. That little gimmick might be more than a bit troublesome; but only under the assumption that we will not be able to defeat those additional enemies quickly enough. As long as we defeat them with all due haste, all we¡¯ll have to worry about is going to be the Floor Boss itself, as per usual.


    After that, we have returned to our usual tried and true formula for winning the battles against the Floor Bosses: we left Roxanne so that she could stay in front of it and bait all of its fiercest attacks while dodging all of them without any kind of harm coming to her, while Sherry, Miria and I surrounded the Boss from the sides and the back ¨C where I just went to town on it with my Durandal.


    When the battle was over, it was time to collect the Animal Trap¡¯s Drop Item, which turned out to be a Dried Orange Peel. Sherry was the one who collected it and brought it over to me. What kind of logic dictated that an oversized Fly Trap was going to have a Dried Orange Peel as its Drop Item I don¡¯t know and I honestly don¡¯t care. The only thing that I want to see right now is what kind of item I¡¯m going to be able to create once I use this Drop Item as a catalyst in my ¡¸Crude Medicine Creation¡¹Skill.


    I launched the Skill with the item in my hand, and when the procedure was done, what was left in my hand instead of a Dried Orange Peel were three Tonics.


    As soon as we left the Boss Room, I told Sherry to give me the rundown of the new enemy that we¡¯re going to be encountering on the fourteenth floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth. ¡¸All right Sherry, the usual question now: what kind of monster can we expect on the fourteenth floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth?¡¹


    ¡¸The monster native to the fourteenth floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth is the Hat Bat. It¡¯s quite small in size, which makes hitting it with physical attacks a hard task; and due to the fact that it is capable of flight it can completely bypass the Party Members and go straight for the members placed in the backline. Therefore, Master is going to have to be especially cautious whenever we encounter it. When it comes to its strengths and weaknesses, it is generally weak against all forms of magical attacks, but the ones made with Water Magic, Wind Magic and Earth Magic seem to be especially effective against it.¡¹


    A Hat Bat, huh? From the way that Sherry described it, it seems like it¡¯s going to be a nasty enemy to fight against ¨C especially for someone like me who got quite used to fighting in the rearguard position, which became my safe haven. From there I didn¡¯t have to engage the enemies directly, and could make do with simply supporting Roxanne, Miria and Sherry with my magic.


    Then again, just because we have reached the fourteenth floor doesn¡¯t necessarily mean that we have to force ourselves to fight on this floor immediately.


    ¡¸What do you want us to do, master? Shall we go and explore the fourteenth floor?¡¹


    ¡¸No. For the time being we¡¯re not going to do that. We¡¯re going to go to Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth instead.¡¹


    My main goal of replenishing the amount of recovery medicines, after I used so many of them during the Bandit ambush, has been achieved; so there¡¯s no need for us to continue exploring the Labyrinth of Quratar. Instead, we can go back to the exploration of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth. Recovery medicines are my emergency method of healing in case something ever went wrong, and I was prevented from healing through the usual means of using the Monk Job¡¯s ¡¸Medical Treatment¡¹Skill. If the circumstances didn¡¯t force me to use them back when the Bandits attacked us, I would¡¯ve just left them intact and not touched them at all. Alas, that was not how it was meant to be.


    For the time being, three Tonics and three Nourishing Pills should be more than enough for our emergency healing needs.


    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹said Sherry.


    ¡¸If that is what Master wishes to do, then we¡¯re going to do exactly what you want.¡¹said Roxanne.


    ¡¸Yes, desu!¡¹


    Even though Roxanne, Miria and Sherry agreed with my intentions to go to Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth instead of going to explore Quratar Labyrinth¡¯s fourteenth floor, it was immediately obvious that the three of them were dissatisfied with the approach that I decided to take.


    I could understand that Roxanne was feeling let down, but who would¡¯ve ever guessed that even Sherry was going to be in a more warlike mood today? Or maybe it¡¯s that she thought that it was the most rational thing to do to go and continue to explore the fourteenth floor after defeating the Floor Boss of the thirteenth floor?


    Well, whatever the case may actually be with them, I just thought that it would be best for us to have a short break from Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth after we just went through both its twelfth and thirteenth floors in a row without stopping. Apparently my intentions here ended up backfiring against me, however.


    Out of all three of my slaves, Miria was the only one who accepted my plans obediently without looking or sounding dissatisfied. Ahh, her cat ears were so cute when she was saying ¡¸Yes, desu!¡¹.

 Volume 7 - CH 1.07

    It was also good to see that she was so obedient to my words. Cat ears are also good, and it¡¯s good that she was so honest about her own feelings without trying to conceal them.


    ¡¸Listen up Miria. You don¡¯t have to force yourself to fight now if you don¡¯t want to, okay?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, desu! Not a fish, desu!¡¹


    What she probably wanted to say by that is that she won¡¯t force herself to do battle against the Hat Bat, because it¡¯s a bat and not a fish. It¡¯s great that Miria understands that she doesn¡¯t have to do the things that she doesn¡¯t really want to do, but I would¡¯ve been even more glad if it stemmed from her own common sense and her caring about her own safety rather than from the fact if the enemy was a fish or something related to fish or not.


    We then went and moved from the fourteenth floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth to the twelfth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth, emerging in the small hidden room, the very same one where the Bandits were hiding themselves before they attacked us. The reason foe why I decided to take us there instead of going from the starting room of the twelfth floor is simple: I don¡¯t want to risk getting seen by the Duke, Gozer or any of their men. For all intents and purposes, they¡¯re all thinking that I¡¯m an Adventurer, and it would be strange if they seen me using ¡¸Dungeon Walker¡¹instead of ¡¸Field Walker¡¹, because ¡¸Dungeon Walker¡¹is a Skill exclusive to Explorers only, meaning that it cannot be used by someone who claims to be an Adventurer.


    Since right now I¡¯m doing a sort of a favor for the Duke of Hartz where I promised him that I¡¯ll be entering the Labyrinths on the territory of Hartz Duchy in order to make their exploration conquest easier for him and the Knights from the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy, the precaution of not being seen doing all of my usual multiple Jobs shenanigans is even more important than ever before. Well, if we were ever so unlucky as to get ourselves found out, I guess I could always weasel my way out of any uncomfortable questions by changing Sherry¡¯s Job to Explorer and telling everyone that she is my Party¡¯s Explorer responsible for getting us between the floors of the Labyrinth, and the people would be none the wiser because none of my slaves had their Intelligence Cards checked by the members of the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy before.


    We searched around the room for a bit in order to check where the paths that we didn¡¯t take before were leading, and when we passed through a short corridor into the right-hand room, we emerged directly next to the twelfth floor¡¯s Waiting Room. I guess that means that the Bandits were telling the truth after all, because the Boss Room was just beyond the small room where they were camping indeed.


    So it must¡¯ve been exactly like I was thinking after all: the strategy that the Bandits came up with involved directing the weak Parties towards the corridor on the left where they would then ambush them, just like they¡¯ve done it with us, and whenever a strong-looking Party would come along, they would be directed towards the right where they could go challenge the Floor Boss of this floor right away.


    We were judged to be a weak Party, but that was the first, and also the last mistake that the Bandits have committed in their crime-filled lives, and all of that because they have been blinded by their own greed and lust after seeing Roxanne and Miria¡¯s chests.


    When we walked into the Waiting Room, we saw that there was no one else in there besides us. From the small room where we emerged all the way to this Waiting Room, it seemed that the entirety of the twelfth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth was so quiet as if another bunch of Bandits made another ambush somewhere, but thankfully Roxanne didn¡¯t catch anything up with her sense of smell, so I guess that for the time being we are in the clear to proceed forward without being bothered by anyone else along the way. Part of me was curious to see if there were any traces of blood left in the places where I cut the Bandits down, but since it was as dim in here as it always is in the Labyrinths, and I do not possess Miria¡¯s ability to see in the dark like a cat, then I had no way of telling if there were any traces of it left here or not.


    ¡¸I remember that the main monster of this floor is a Grass Bee, but what about the Floor Boss? Sherry?¡¹


    ¡¸The Floor Boss of the twelfth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth is called Killer Bee. We have to be careful because it can poison us with its regular attacks, and the Skill that it can unleash also possess the same quality.¡¹


    So it can still use poisonous Skills, and it can also inflict it with its regular attacks? Yup, this is definitely a type of enemy that fully deserves to have the word ¡¸Killer¡¹in its name, because that combination is certainly going to be murderous.


    Nevertheless, we had no other choice but to enter the Boss Room if we wanted to proceed.


    The enemies that have appeared before our eyes were the Floor Boss, Killer Bee along with its lesser version, Grass Bee. Due to the poor lightning and the fact that both the enemies were essentially oversized bees that kept on moving from place to place in a rather frantic manner it was hard to keep my eyes on their movements all the time, but that is something that simply cannot be helped right now.


    I cannot say if this is another example of luck not being on my side lately as I mentioned before, but even if that was the case here, then now is not the time to be thinking about such trivial matters. The only thing that I have to focus on right now is defeating the Boss so that we could advance, and the first step towards doing that is taking care of the Grass Bee.


    I have to keep in mind that Grass Bee also can poison me with its regular attacks, but the probability of that happening should be much lower than in the case of the Killer Bee, but still, in order to be on the safe side as much as possible, I opted for the approach of using the Warrior Job¡¯s ¡¸Rush¡¹Skill over and over again until the Grass Bee was finally defeated, and in the meantime, it didn¡¯t look like the Killer Bee tried to use any of its poison-inducing Skills against the girls as they were circling around it.


    As usual, Roxanne was the one standing in front of the Floor Boss, focusing her attention on herself and serving as the pillar of our frontline offensive. Even though she was in the position that was the most vulnerable for being hit by the enemy attacks, none of them actually managed to reach her. The enemy was the one who could poison us with its every attacks, but for someone like her, who is literally a Goddess of Dodging, that didn¡¯t hold any meaning, since she simply moved out of harms way every time when it would seem that the attack or Skill were about to score a solid hit on her.


    I brandished my Durandal once more and then swiftly moved in to join in on the offensive against the Killer Bee, and with my addition, the Boss collapsed onto the ground in a matter of few minutes.


    Looks like our winning formula for the fights against the Floor Bosses is still pretty much applicable even against the Floor Boss of the thirteenth floor.


    Although I have to admit that having to deal with another monster in addition to the Floor Boss itself can be quite a hindrance, then as long as I have Roxanne with me, then even the Bosses encountered on the higher floors should pose no threat to us.


    ¡¸What monster can we expect to encounter on the thirteenth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth?¡¹


    ¡¸The monster native to the thirteenth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth is the Pig Hog.¡¹


    ¡¸Pig Hog, huh? If I remember correctly, these guys happen to be weak to Water Magic, correct?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, that is correct, master.¡¹


    When I asked Sherry for the information on the enemies on the thirteenth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth, she told me that they were Pig Hogs and nodded affirmatively when I remarked that their weakness is Water Magic.


    The thirteenth floor is next.

 Volume 7 - CH 1.08

    However, before we proceed there, there is still a certain problem that we need to take care of. The problem with the Intelligence Cards of the Bandits that I have defeated and now have in my possession.


    I fully intend to redeem those Intelligence Cards in exchange for the bounties that have been placed on the Bandit¡¯s heads, but when I¡¯m finally going to do that, there is a possibility that I might be asked about the place where I managed to obtain those Intelligence Cards, or to put it in another way, I¡¯m going to be asked where exactly have I defeated the Bandits. And even if I¡¯m not going to be asked about this matter directly, then as long as I¡¯m going to be handling the Intelligence Cards over to Gozer and his Knight Order of Hartz Duchy, then I don¡¯t think that the matter of where I have defeated the Bandits could be avoided altogether, even if I wanted to.


    The Bandits attacked me two times so far, once on the twelfth floor of the Labyrinth and the second time on the thirteenth floor of the Labyrinth. Even if I keep quiet about the fact that I have been attacked twice in a quick succession, then it¡¯s going to be in my best interests to answer truthfully that the attack itself happened on the twelfth or thirteenth floor.


    This got me thinking that maybe it¡¯s not a good idea for us to be progressing to the thirteenth of fourteenth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth, and it might be even worse for us if we were to be caught fighting on the fifteenth or sixteenth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth, because if we were seen on any of these floors, then there¡¯s always a possibility that one of the Knights might start asking questions about it.


    That, or he might openly call it strange that someone who was just recently seen on the fifteenth or sixteenth floor got attacked on twelfth or thirteenth floor. That is why I think that the safest areas to which we might be going without attracting any kind of suspicion would be the thirteenth or fourteenth floor of Haruba¡¯s Laburinth, but the fifteenth, sixteenth or seventeenth floors should be a no-go for us for the time being, or at least until this situation with the Bandit¡¯s Intelligence Cards doesn¡¯t get resolved in our favor.


    If anyone sees us on these floors and reports it, then it¡¯s only going to get more convoluted and confusing for me to explain it later, so if we can avoid bringing such needless fears upon ourselves, then we should do everything in our power to ensure that something like that does not happen.


    Normally advancing to the next floor would be a definite cause for celebration, since that is a testament of how far we managed to get as a Party, but this time I do not feel all that good about it due to those external circumstances.


    That is also why I need to increase the Level of my Explorer Job to Lv.50 as soon as possible. When that happens and I will reach that magical number, then I¡¯ll finally be able to become a legitimate Adventurer and there¡¯ll be no more need for the ruses and trickery whenever I¡¯m going to be handling the Bandit Intelligence Cards over to the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy.


    That being said¡­. Explorer Lv.50 is my current goal, but also my biggest limitation until I¡¯ll be able to reach that point. Without it, we won¡¯t be able to advance much further in the Labyrinths, or at least the ones that fall under the jurisdiction of the Hartz Duchy, so maybe I should start thinking about the possibility of going back to the other Labyrinths such as the Labyrinth of Quratar in case of an emergency?


    Honestly, I don¡¯t want to go back to the other Labyrinths just yet because of the promise that I¡¯ve made with the Duke of Hartz to keep on entering the Labyrinths of the Hartz Duchy, but on the other hand, purposefully staying at the thirteenth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth just so that I could avoid the potential trouble with the Intelligence Card checks would be just as bad, or at least I have a feeling that it would be bad to limit ourselves like that. After all, the higher we¡¯re going to go in the Labyrinths, the faster I¡¯ll be able to reach Explorer Lv.50 and then switch my Job to Adventurer.


    In fact, after making so many Nourishing Pills and Tonics on the thirteenth floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth, my Herbalist Job has leveled up to Lv.6 since I didn¡¯t remove it from the time when I set it up in place of the Alchemist Job, and Miria already has her Diver Job at Lv.20, so it is clear as day that the speed at which I¡¯m gaining my levels is definitely increasing.


    It may be due to the fact that on the higher floors of the Labyrinths the value of EXP obtained for slaying monsters that you¡¯re facing for the very first time is getting higher as well, or perhaps the value of gained experience increased only after passing through the twelfth floor? Whichever of these two the case may be, we are gaining experience quicker than before, and that is most certainly a good thing and quite a profitable turn of events for us.


    Deciding that I should do everything in my power to advance the level of my Explorer Job to Lv.50 as fast as possible, I performed a Character Reset where I set up two Skills to be the main ones that I¡¯m going to be currently using:¡¸Required EXP 1/20th¡¹ and ¡¸20x Gained EXP¡¹because I have to place an emphasis on gaining as much EXP as possible as fast as possible.


    Currently my Level as an Explorer is Lv.37, so that means that I have a total of one hundred and thirty five Bonus Points to use. The ¡¸Required EXP 1/20th¡¹Skill has a value of sixty three Bonus Points and ¡¸20x Gained EXP¡¹Skill also requires sixty three Bonus Points. Since I can¡¯t deselect ¡¸Character Reset¡¹for obvious reasons, I need to keep it as well, and after allocating seven Bonus Points towards the Fourth Job, which leaves me with only one Bonus Point left to use, so maybe I should settle with just three Jobs instead of four? Now, the only question on my mind is: which ones I should be keeping, exactly?


    Explorer and Mage absolutely cannot be removed because they are the bread and butter of my every build. I need to have the Explorer Job because I need to grind it all the way to Lv.50 to become and Adventurer, and I need the Mage Job in order to continue to be able to use magic. As for the Third Job, it¡¯s probably going to be either Hero or a Monk.


    Monk would be a good Job to continue to have available due to its ¡¸Medical Treatment¡¹Skill since having a method of healing either myself or the girls other than the medicines that can always run out if we end up using more of them on one occasion than we should have cannot be a bad thing, even more so since the battles that we¡¯re going to be fighting in the Labyrinths are only going to get tougher and the enemies are going to get stronger and hit harder.


    Well, I could always switch up to Monk for the healing purposes between battles, but there is a risk of this kind of approach backfiring against me in case if I ever needed to heal us in the middle of a battle where the speed of healing could very well mean the difference between having a full HP bar or having it drop to zero.


    The other choice that I have is the Hero Job, one of the first ones that I unlocked after slaying that group of Bandits back at Somara Village. Its Skills are very effective and give a nice boost to my stats, not to mention that its ¡¸Overwhelming¡¹Skill saved my ass with its usefulness and versatility on more than one occasion.


    Both of these two Jobs have their uses for me, so much so in fact that I find it difficult to pick just one of them, so¡­.. so I guess I will just keep both of them? Yeah, if I cannot make a choice whether to discard onr Job or the other, then keeping both of them on me seems like the most logical thing to do. That¡¯s why I pick the Fourth Job Skill and set both Hero and Monk Jobs in addition to Explorer and Mage, and that one Bonus Point that I have remaining is going to be spend on getting the ¡¸Incantation Shortening¡¹Skill.

 Volume 7 - CH 1.09

    ¡¸We¡¯ve already fought against Pig Hogs before, so I don¡¯t think there¡¯s going to be anything that they¡¯re going to be able to surprise us with, so you can go ahead and take us to them, Roxanne.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood, master!¡¹


    I had Roxanne take us to the nearest group of monsters where Pig Hogs were also present. When it comes to the enemies in Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth, then I have to say that so far the game is pretty generous with pitting us against the monsters that have elemental weaknesses that I am actually capable of exploiting. On the twelfth floor these were the Grass Bees that are weak against Wind Magic, and now we¡¯re going to be fighting against Pig Hogs that are weak to Water Magic.


    But on the other hand, that is only going to be convenient if we happen upon a group of monsters that consists of only that one type of enemy. If we get stuck in a fight where there are going to be multiple types of enemies, each and every one with their own, different elemental weakness, then that¡¯s going to be making it that much harder for me since I¡¯ll be forced to juggle several different types of magic around just to keep up with the enemies and continue to dispatch them in a speedy fashion, but even though I don¡¯t find it convenient at all, it¡¯s not like there¡¯s anything that I can do to really counteract that.


    ¡¸Water Storm!¡¹


    As soon as the next battle commenced, I unleashed ¡¸Water Storm in order to reduce the number o Pig Hogs that we¡¯re going to have to deal with as much as possible. The two pigs fallen to the ground after being exposed to a series of torrential water explosions¡­. Or are these guys actually boars and not pigs? Well, no matter. What really matters here is that after I took the Pig Hogs out, the same fate has befallen a Grass Bee that has been hit with a shot of my ¡¸Breeze Ball¡¹. Since I wasn¡¯t hitting its weakness right from the get go due to the need of dispatching the Pig Hogs first, taking it out took some more time than usual.


    Is this kind of thing going to be inevitable for as long as we continue to advance to the higher floors? Because if so, then it¡¯s definitely going to be tough on us, but once again, what can you do, right? That¡¯s right, pretty much nothing except accepting that it¡¯s just how things are going to be and moving on.


    In the meantime, the girls in the frontlines finished their own portion of the battle, and gathered themselves around me again.


    ¡¸Uhm, master? I hope you won¡¯t mind me asking you this¡­. But why did you yell the names of the Spells that you were using out loud?¡¹


    Roxanne asked me that question out of the blue. Why¡¯re you asking that, Roxanne? Is yelling the names of the Skills or Spells that you¡¯re going to be using a bad thing to do? Or perhaps it¡¯s just something that no one else besides me is doing, so she wanted to know the reason behind one mor of my peculiar behaviors?


    Well Roxanne, if you must know, then I did that because I don¡¯t have enough Bonus Points to select ¡¸Chant Omission¡¹along with the EXP boosting Skills that I have chosen for my current build, but as you have probably guessed I can¡¯t say that to Roxanne like that, so I¡¯ll have to come up with some other, acceptable excuse for why I did that. One thing¡¯s for sure, however: I definitely can¡¯t tell her that it¡¯s because I still have some lingering symptoms of my Chuunibyou sticking with me since middle school so I thought it would be infinitely more cool if I yelled the names of the Spells out loud, because if I did that, then next I would have to explain to the girls what Chuunibyou is in the first place, since there¡¯s no way for something so inherently Japanese to exist in the world of this game.


    ¡¸Because I wanted to check something out. Hitting enemies is inly going to get more difficult the higher we¡¯re going to be advancing, so I thought it might be a good opportunity for us to practice coordinated attacks.¡¹


    ¡¸Ahh, I see, so that¡¯s what this was about. I understand.¡¹


    ¡¸You do? Th-Then I¡¯ll have to ask of you to search for the next group of enemies, please.¡¹


    I¡¯m not completely at ease with this, but I guess Roxanne bought my half-assed explanation for the time being. ¡¸Wanted to check something out¡¹? What would I even be checking out at this point? I don¡¯t know, but that was the first thing that always worked before that came to my mind, so I just blurted it out without really thinking it through.


    ¡¸As you wish, master. I am currently sensing a group of either Pig Hogs or Grass Bees up ahead. Now that we know what their weaknesses are thanks to Sherry information, it would be best if it was a group that consisted entirely of only the Pig Hogs or the Grass Bees so that you could have an easier time dealing with them.¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, sure, it would definitely be great if thing could line up in our favor like that, but come on, let¡¯s be realistic here. There¡¯s no way that such a stroke of luck is going to happen to us, especially now that you have stated how great it would be if it did.¡¹


    ¡¸If it¡¯s not going to work with four enemies, then isn¡¯t the group of three of the same kind and one the next best thing for us to pursue? That way, even if one of the enemies ends up surviving due to not being weak against the element that you¡¯re going to use to defeat the other three, we¡¯ll still be able to defeat it relatively quickly if it¡¯s going to be the only one left.¡¹


    What Roxanne said just now makes a lot of sense. If we aimed for groups of enemies where three out of four of them are the same, meaning that they¡¯re going to possess the same elemental weakness, the I could exterminate them easily with my magic from a distance, and all that would be left for Roxanne, Sherry and Miria to take care of would be to finish off the remaining one enemy that would still be wounded from taking damage from the AoE Spells launched against the other three.


    As expected of Roxanne. She¡¯s as reliable as ever, not only on the battlefield itself, but also when it comes to solving the problems related to it.


    ¡¸I think we might do just like you say, Roxanne. And since we¡¯re going to be focusing on the groups of monsters where three of them have to be of a kind, then I think it would be better for us to focus on the Grass Bees.¡¹


    ¡¸Grass Bees, you say?¡¹


    ¡¸That way it¡¯s going to be possible for master to take care of all the enemies that might try to poison us first.¡¹


    It is exactly like Sherry said just now. However, that plan of action might sound good on paper, but it¡¯s actually going to be very hard to pull off, since here on the thirteenth floor the main enemy is not a Grass Bee, but a Pig Hog, which automatically means that we¡¯re going to be seeing much more of them than any other enemies.


    ¡¸Obviously, we¡¯re going to have fewer chances to do this here in comparison to the twelfth floor, but that doesn¡¯t mean that there won¡¯t be any chances for us to do it at all. There are going to be chances, it¡¯s just that there¡¯s going to be a fewer of them than normally.¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s right. And in the end, everything should be all right just as long as we¡¯ll be able to properly defeat the enemies that are using poison first.¡¹


    Even though I¡¯m still somewhat reluctant about this, it was admittedly pretty hard not to share Roxanne and Sherry¡¯s enthusiasm. I¡¯m still afraid of getting myself poisoned, but nevertheless, I tried to keep my fear of that status ailment under control as we continued our search for the monsters under Roxanne¡¯s guidance.


    Just like Roxanne declared, right now we are going to try and focus our efforts on searching the enemies that appear in a configuration of three to one, just three or two to one enemies, all for the sake of dispatching them as soon as possible while taking advantage of their elemental weaknesses, but as with everything in life, everything is going to boil down to sheer luck.

 Volume 7 - CH 1.10

    On the thirteenth floor a maximum of monsters that can appear in a single battle is four, so it that four included tow or more Grass Bees, we would be able to defeat them quite easily, and if we happened to happen upon just one Grass Bee, then at the very least we wouldn¡¯t have to worry about being careful of their poisonous needles, and not having to worry about being poisoned is always a good thing in my book, and you can be sure that I¡¯ll always accept that opportunity gratefully.


    As we continued to advance through the thirteenth floor, I had to switch from magic to using Durandal a few times for the purposes of recovering my MP, an even though you might think that fighting in a purely physical fashion while only having ¡¸Fourth Job¡¹instead of ¡¸Fifth Job¡¹would be quite troublesome for me now, there was actually no problems with it for me as long as I remembered to switch the fourth Job from Mage to Warrior. I also considered if maybe I should go and remove the Monk Job as well, but I¡¯ve ultimately chosen against it.


    Whenever we were fighting the monsters while moving forward, I was almost always exclusively the one who got hit by their attacks, so I needed its ¡¸Medical Treatment¡¹Skill. Occasionally Sherry was switching in with me, and whenever that was happening,


    I always made it a point to prioritize protecting Miria whenever too much of the pressure was being concentrated on her. And as for how Roxanne was doing, well¡­. Being in the centered position of the frontlines was naturally putting her in the biggest danger since the brunt of the enemy¡¯s attacks was always focused on her, but since it¡¯s Roxanne we¡¯re talking about here, she always dodged out of the harm¡¯s way.


    Besides, if I¡¯m the only one who¡¯s getting injured from the enemie¡¯s attacks, then I can always recover my HP fully just by swinging Durandal around. With that said, it should be okay for me to remove both Warrior and Monk Jobs in order to replace them with some other Jobs, right? Well, you see, I wouldn¡¯t exactly go that far.


    When fighting with Durandal, the attributes and elemental strengths and weaknesses of the enemies that we¡¯re facing become largely irrelevant, so I can clear all of the Grass Bees and other opponents that come our way to face us just by hacking and slashing at them without carrying about any of the complicated stuff.


    And while the fact that there are more Pig Hogs than the Grass Bees here on the thirteenth floor Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth is certainly disadvantageous to us from the standpoint of the strategy of fighting groups of three or more of the same enemies that Roxanne devised, then it is certainly more advantageous to me whenever I¡¯m fighting with just Durandal. Other than that, I save to day that the process of the exploration of the thirteenth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth has been proceeding according to our plans and estimations for the time being, and that so far we didn¡¯t happen upon anything that could be described as serious problems.


    Well, no, I cannot say exactly that we don¡¯t have any problems. The fact that I as still not an Adventurer is a great problem in and out of itself, and while I know that I have to restrain myself from getting into any trouble when I¡¯ll finally go to exchange the Bandit¡¯s Intelligence Cards for the bounties that have been placed on their heads, I also don¡¯t want to spend too much time on the same floor on purpose, because that¡¯s not what this is about here


    We¡¯re coming to the Labyrinths every day to progress through them and move forward, but if we stay on the current floors because of my fear of being found out, then that¡¯s going to be like the opposite of progress.


    It¡¯s kind of the same as with eating the Fugu fish: sure, there is a possibility that you might get yourself poisoned and die if the chef that was responsible for preparing it messed up the job and didn¡¯t remove all of the poisoned parts correctly, but if you decide not to eat it only because of that fear, then you¡¯ll be intentionally missing out on something truly delicious.


    I don¡¯t know if having such a mindset was the thing that was responsible for what happened to us a few days later of if it was just a matter of luck was not being on our side again, but it remains a fact that a few days later when we were traversing through the corridors of the thirteenth floor, Miria got herself poisoned by a Grass Bee.


    It was a result of the unfortunate happening when we were fighting against a group consisting of Pig Hogs and Grass Bees, where the both of the Grass Bees just so happened to be targeting Miria at the same time.


    Like I was saying, I don¡¯t know if it was just a matter of a really shitty luck or if fate has conspired against us, but it remained a fact that it happened, and we had to deal with it as soon as possible.


    What added more salt onto my wounds was also the fact that this disastrous happening occurred when I was literally seconds away from Miria to help her fight against the Grass Bees, and she must¡¯ve been more relaxed since she saw that I was coming towards her, which resulted in her dropping her guard down at the worst possible time.


    They way they were coming towards her, there was no way she would ever be acle to defeat them both in time to not get harmed, and she only managed to deflect one or two of their simultaneous attacks before the third one has finally hit her and apparently done the deed of poisoning her.


    ¡¸Ah¡­. Ah¡­. Ah¡­.. Ah¡­..!¡¹


    Milia moaned and gasped for air after being attacked by Grass Bee. Yes, there¡¯s no doubt about it. Those are most definitely the symptoms of getting herself poisoned. I am able to tell that with absolute certainty because I have been poisoned once before as well, so I experienced what that feels like first-hand.


    My first reaction was to immediately buts out the Anti-Poison Medicine so that I could administer it to Miria immediately, but then I realized that doing that would be pointless, because for as long as the Grass Bees are still around, there¡¯s always going to be a possibility that Miria might just get attacked and inflicted with another dosage of poison all over again, causing even more harm to her.


    ¡¸Medical Treatment¡¹! ¡¸Breeze Storm!¡¹Roxanne, come here and protect Miria while I deal with them! ¡¹


    ¡¸Roger!¡¹


    Fortunately, I was able to defeat the two Grass Bees right away because I already had Wind Magic equipped on me. I fired the last ¡¸Breeze Storm¡¹at them, and when I saw with my own eyes that they fallen onto the ground and turned into the green smoke, only then did I put the medicine into my mouth and took Miria into my arms, hugging her tightly.


    And then I brought our lips together in order to administer the medicine in a mouth-to-mouth fashion.


    Even though she was having her mouth closed pretty tightly due to all of the convulsions that were ravaging her right now, I charged forward with my tongued and pried her mouth wide open and while they remained opened, I sent the contents of the Anti-Poison Medicine down her throat, making sure to spread it all over the inside of her mouth to make sure that she¡¯s going to swallow every last bit of it properly. And while her tongue was quivering all over the place, I entwined it gently with my own tongue in order to calm it down and tell it that everything¡¯s going to be all right.


    Despite the dire circumstances that we were currently in, her response was a passionate one as she reciprocated my kiss. It was also the first time when Miria was moving her tongue entirely of her own volition instead of doing that only because I told her to do it.


    It felt so good that I wanted to continue doing this to her forever, but unfortunately that was neither the time nor the place to be doing things like that, because while I was administering the medicine to Miria, Roxanne and Sherry were doing everything they could in order to keep the Pig Hogs in check.


    ¡¸¡¸Water Storm¡¹!¡¹


    For a brief moment, I took my mouth off of Miria¡¯s mouth in order to cast a Spell that would help speed up the process of the Pig Hogs extermination. I had no choice but to do it in such a way.

 Volume 7 - CH 1.11

    With my current set of Bonus Skills I no longer have ¡¸Chant Omission¡¹, which would otherwise allow me to cast my Spells just by thinking about their names instead of saying them out loud, and if I continued to kiss Miria, the magic wouldn¡¯t have activated properly. I also chose ¡¸Water Storm¡¹over ¡¸Water Ball¡¹because with the AoE Spell, all I had to do was to cast it and its range would do the rest of the work for me, whereas if I used a single-target variant, I would have to aim every shot manually to make sure that it would reach its intended targets.


    Maybe I should perform another quick Character Reset to optimize myself better for the combat with magic again?


    ¡¸Allow me to help as well!¡¹


    While I was thinking about whether or not I should go and support the girls with more of my magic or continue to kiss Miria to help the medicine start working faster, Miria suddenly jumped back on her feet and immediately started rushing towards the Pig Hogs that Roxanne and Sherry were fighting.


    I expected her to make a speedy recovery, because I knew that the Anti-Poison Medicine would restore her to her optimal condition from before she was poisoned, but still, she went and jumped back into the action incredibly fast! Shouldn¡¯t she take it just a little bit easier and just sit the rest of the battle out?


    Well, if that id what Miria herself wanted, and judging by how eagerly she was fighting against the Pig Hogs right, this must¡¯ve been what she wanted, then I see no problems with allowing her to do what she wants since there are no more enemies who can poison her so she can go to town against them as much as she wants. The important thing here is that she managed to make a full recovery and that she directed her anger against the rest of the monsters. And since I didn¡¯t want to feel useless, I joined in on the beatdown with my magic as well, and destroyed the Pig Hogs with my Water Magic.


    ¡¸So I guess it doesn¡¯t matter who ends up getting poisoned, the reactions are always more or less the same: shakes, difficulty breathing and a complete inability to move on your own which is definitely going to throw you in a pinch if you¡¯re traversing the Labyrinths alone. ¡¸Medical Treatment¡¹. Other than that, are you girls okay? ¡¸Medical Treatment¡¹.¡¹


    In addition to Sherry, Roxanne was also attacked by monsters this time. Probably because she was protecting Miria due to the order that I gave her, so I was casting ¡¸Medical Treatment¡¹on them in order to heal the wounds that they have sustained.


    ¡¸Other than taking some minor damage, nothing serious happened. I feel fine, and you don¡¯t have to worry about me, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Uh-huh, yeah, okay. ¡¸Medical Treatment¡¹.¡¹


    ¡¸I¡¯ve been hit a few times, but I don¡¯t think that any of the attacks that hit me were too serious or life-threatening, so for the current moment my life is definitely not in danger.¡¹


    ¡¸I¡¯m okay now, desu!¡¹


    Each and every one of the girls is so strong. Even though we had such a serious situation on our hands, they still managed to hold the frontline without it falling apart even though we were effectively two members short for a while. I¡¯m also impressed that none of them feel unmotivated by what happened to Miria.


    ¡¸And once more for good measure. ¡¸Medical Treatment¡¹.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you very much, master. We should be okay now.¡¹


    Roxanne and Sherry don¡¯t seem to need much more¡¸Medical Treatment¡¹since the wounds that they have sustained were indeed light and non-life-threatening, exactly like they were telling me. Well, that was to be expected since they were only attacked once or twice by regular attacks.


    ¡¸Okay Miria, you¡¯re next. ¡¸Medical Treatment¡¹. It must¡¯ve been tough for you to get poisoned like that, huh? ¡¸Medical Treatment¡¹.¡¹


    ¡¸I was surprised by it, desu.¡¹


    ¡¸Is that so? ¡¸Medical Treatment¡¹. We¡¯re lucky that this time this incident wasn¡¯t as serious as it could¡¯ve been if we didn¡¯t have any Anti-Poison Medicine on us, but you have to remember that this is the Labyrinth and that you absolutely cannot be letting your guard down for even a moment and always be prepared for everything or else the scenario from today is just going to repeat itself. Well, that being said, maybe you shouldn¡¯t be getting used to always being on your guard, since its going to negatively affect your regular life outside of the Labyrinth. You understand what I am trying to say here? ¡¸Medical Treatment¡¹.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, desu.¡¹


    ¡¸Great. As long as you understand that you have to exercise caution whenever we come to the Labyrinths, then that¡¯s all that I ask for. ¡¸Medical Treatment¡¹.¡¹


    Without ¡¸Chant Omission¡¹, I¡¯m pretty sure that I have to be looking like some kinda weirdo with a penchant for repeating the same words over and over again, but I don¡¯t care about that at the current moment. I What I do care about is getting my Explorer level to Lv.50 as soon as possible so that I could get enough Bonus Points to get ¡¸Chant Omission¡¹back onto the list of my active Bonus Skills, but since getting that Explorer Lv.50 in order to become an Adventurer is still ways off from me, I feel like getting ¡¸Chant Omission¡¹back is a good enough of a small goal to start.


    However, the only way to increase my level is to fight against the monsters and continue to explore the Labyrinths so that we can face more stronger opponents that are going to be worth even more EXP, but even if I¡¯m all itching up to go to the higher floors as soon as possible to continue to explore these more profitable EXP hunting grounds, I just can¡¯t do it yet, and it cannot be helped.


    So far however, our trip to the Labyrinth today has been successfully completed, except for the fact that pretty much nothing noteworthy happened as well. We couldn¡¯t move up to the next floor and none of my Jobs got enough EXP to Level Up, so at the very least, I want to go back home and take a nice, relaxing bath.


    We went back home a little bit earlier than usual so that I could start boiling the water for out bath. Since Miria went through the unpleasant experience of being poisoned today, I also want to do something for her so that she could just kick back, relax and forget all about it. Because of that, we ate dinner as quickly as possible without trying to prepare anything too extraordinary, and as soon as we were done, it was off to the bathroom with us, where a nice bath of hot water was already waiting for us.


    As soon as we got in, Miria began to float on the water¡¯s surface while laying on her back with her face staring at the ceiling. She wasn¡¯t doing anything in particular; she just allowed her body to float as it was. Looking at her like that was quite relaxing, in the same way as was knowing that Roxanne and Sherry were at my sides.


    Ahh, yes. This is truly a blissful feeling that washes all of my fatigue and stress away.


    ¡¸It was hard today, but the bath feels good, even more so after all of the events that transpired today.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, it¡¯s definitely the best.¡¹


    I agree with them, but with one exception. The best thing in this bathtub right now is most certainly Roxanne¡¯s tail. While we all lay in the hot water, I put my arm under Roxanne¡¯s body. I like the feeling of her tail brushing against me so much. When I lightly hold her body and pull it closer to me, I can feel the rich swellings of hers pressing themselves against my chest.


    ¡¸Miria, are you feeling comfortable enough?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, desu.¡¹


    Miria gives me a reply, and it was a happy and carefree one, which made me feel relieved, because I was worried that what happened to her today might¡¯ve actually affected her mood. I¡¯m glad to see that I was mistaken about that.


    Right now, she just floats around in the bathtub freely, without being bound or contained by anything. And since the bathtub that we have here at home is not all that wide, then her tails is touching my feet as she floats around like that¡­.

 Volume 7 - CH 1.12

    Her two mountains are also floating above the water¡¯s surface.


    ¡¸Miria, when we finish taking a bath, can you make the fish dish with the pan we bought the other day?¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X?¡¹


    When Roxanne translated that on my behalf, I could feel something flying towards me with great force behind it, and it ended up being right on top of me. It¡¯s a face. Miria¡¯s face is near me. So close to me in fact, that our noses were practically touching one another.


    ¡¸I could do it, desu!¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s great to hear, but you said it a little bit wrong. What you should¡¯ve said here is ¡¸I can do it, desu!¡¹. Repeat after me: I can do it.¡¹


    ¡¸I can do it, desu!¡¹


    While Miria is repeating my words to properly say that she can help prepare the fish for dinner, my little buddy downstairs was rubbing itself against the smooth skin of her stomach, but she either didn¡¯t notice it at all due to the excitement of me asking her to prepare the fish, or she doesn¡¯t seem to be bothered by it at all. All that she is focused on is looking at my face intently with her eyes shining like starts in the sky.


    ¡¸Then how about also doing it for dinner the day after tomorrow, desu?¡¹


    ¡¸Well, I can certainly do it, and I don¡¯t see why not.¡¹


    After she got the answer that she wanted to hear out of me, Miria promptly moved away from me. I am the master here and I hold all of the money, so if she wanted to have fish for dinner again, it was pretty obvious that she¡¯d be gunning for me, and now that the promise to serve fish has been established, I could see that Miria was quite pleased with herself, and I also think that having fish for dinner two days from now is going to be optimal, since having it tomorrow would definitely be a little too soon since the last time, and waiting four to five days would be too long and Miria could get agitated if she had to wait for so long. As long as the wait for her beloved fish is only going to be two days long, then she should be able to hold out for that long.


    As for the ritual of our goodnight kiss, we returned to having just a regular light one instead of a deep one with tongue.


    Was the passion with which she engaged me when I was giving her mouth-to-mouth when she got poisoned and I had to give her the antidote that way only a one-time thing? Well, even if it is, then that¡¯s okay, because even if Miria doesn¡¯t want to engage in passionate kisses with me, I still have Roxanne to count on that for. Unfortunately for me it was the same thing next morning, so I


    I don¡¯t think I can expect passionate kisses from Miria anytime soon.


    As for Miria herself, she remained as carefree as ever.


    After receiving good morning kisses from all three of the girls, we promptly got up and proceeded to go to the thirteenth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth. Even though my level is not going up as fast as I would¡¯ve liked it to go, the exploration of the Labyrinths is still our duty and something that we cannot shy away from. If we¡¯re going to continue the exploration at the pace with which we¡¯re currently going, then I think it¡¯s quite possible that we should be able to reach the fourteenth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth in the near future: tomorrow at best or the day after tomorrow at worst. I realize that it kinda sounds like a slogan used in the earthquake warnings, but that¡¯s actually how it is.


    By the time I¡¯m going to amass enough EXP to finally become an Adventurer, I think I might be able to reach the fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth or perhaps even higher floors in the Labyrinths.


    But then, what am I going to say if somebody starts questioning why somebody who is already on the eighteenth or so floor got attacked by Bandits on the twelfth floor, or why was I waiting for so long with reporting about it and claiming the bounty on their Intelligence Cards? Should we rethink our policy in regards to them and choose an entirely different approach? Maybe it would be better to take the Intelligence Cards to the Knight Order stationed in Quratar? Who knows, ultimately it might prove to be our safest option, despite all of the potential drawbacks associated with that decision.


    And like that, we finished our round of morning exploration for today with me still being indecisive about what to do about this Intelligence Card matter. As a result of our morning exploration, my Level as an Explorer has risen to Lv.38, so I should be able to get myself back my ¡¸Chant Omission¡¹Bonus Skill if I increase it by just one more.


    When we came back home while I was thinking about what I can possibly do to shorten the time needed to get more levels as soon as possible, we saw that Luke the broker has left us a message.


    ¡¸What does the message says, Roxanne?¡¹


    ¡¸It says that Mr. Luke managed to win a bid for a Kobold Skill Crystal for fifty four hundred Nars. Also, it mentions that he wishes for you to go see him as soon as possible.¡¹


    Roxanne read the contents of the memo that has been left stuck to our door. So he won a bid for the Kobold Skill Crystal, huh? Well, that¡¯s certainly nice, but I wonder what¡¯s the deal with me coming to see him as soon as possible is supposed to be? Does he mean ¡¸Come see me as soon as you read this memo¡¹, meaning that he wants to see me right now, or is it perhaps going to be fine if I go see him tomorrow? Because if the urgency of the matter that he wants to talk about with me is going to be about some kind of quest or commission that I¡¯m going to end up not liking, then I¡¯d definitely like to postpone it at least until tomorrow¡­ is what I¡¯d ideally want to do, but so far Luke has proven to be a man who would not waste his own and my time if it wasn¡¯t something truly important, so although I am not too stoked about this, then I think I¡¯m going to go see him after all.


    ¡¸Ok, I¡¯ll be gone for a bit then. Can the three of you take care of preparing dinner while I¡¯m gone?¡¹


    ¡¸Certainly. Have a safe trip, master.¡¹


    ¡¸And no matter what happens, please remember to be careful of that broker at all times!¡¹


    With Sherry¡¯s usual warning ringing in my ears, I went to the Quratar¡¯s Merchants Guild. When I asked for Luke at the reception, they took me to him right away, so I guess he must¡¯ve instructed them to take me to him at once when I¡¯m going to arrive in the guild asking about him.


    After following the guild¡¯s staff, I finally met up with Luke in one of the rooms meant for business discussions.


    ¡¸Sorry for calling you out to meet me so abruptly. First of all, here¡¯s the Kobold Skill Crystal that I got on your behalf.¡¹


    ¡¸Sure, thanks for your hard work as always.¡¹


    Luke takes out the Kobold Skill Crystal, and as always, I scanned it with my ¡¸Identify¡¹to see whether the thing that he was offering me was a real deal or not. After confirming that it was real after all, I paid him fifty nine silver coins, an amount that includes the price of the next commission in it.


    So far, Luke has never once tried to deceive or double-cross me with the goods from auctions that he was offering, so I think I can actually trust him as my broker, contrary to what Sherry is always saying.


    ¡¸The previous successful bid on the Kobold Skill Crystal was fifty four hundred Nars as well. Unfortunately, it was previously taken by people who had been watching me bid, so if I keep making successful bids at the same price, then obtaining the items might prove to be somewhat troublesome.


    ¡¸I see. So there are problems like that here too?¡¹


    It seems that being a broker comes with its own share of troublesome things to deal with.


    If you know another group will put up a fight until fifty four hundred Nars, then you obviously wouldn¡¯t want to make your bid at just fifty three hundred Nars.

 Volume 7 - CH 1.13

    Instead, you would have to go higher for fifty five hundred Nars. There also seem to be some difficult bargaining involved here.


    ¡¸Therefore, I had to bid the maximum authorized price this time in order to be successful.¡¹


    I don¡¯t know if I should be pleased about it or not because I don¡¯t know exactly how bidding on the auctions works, but I do know that now that the other parties that participate in the auctions know that our pre-authorized price is at least fifty four hundred Nars, it is going to be very unlikely that we¡¯ll be able to keep that price as it is. I think that from now on we¡¯ll have to bid at least fifty five hundred Nars if not more in order to be successful, but that is something that we¡¯re going to be worried about in the future.


    ¡¸Well, that price might do just fine for the Kobold Skill Crystal, al least for the time being.¡¹


    ¡¸All right, I¡¯ll make sure to make a note of that. As for the other reason for why I wanted to see you today, it is because I have received a message from the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy. It would seem that their leader, Gozer, would like you to come to Bode to speak to him immediately.¡¹


    The leader of the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy wants me to come to Bode immediately? I wonder what¡¯s that going to be about? Is it going to be something related to the process of the selling of the Palmasque Mirrors that I bought for them, or is it going to be something else entirely?


    ¡¸The leader of the Knight Order of Harz Duchy wants to see me, huh? All right, I understand. Is there anything else that you wanted to tell me?¡¹


    ¡¸No that was all. I¡¯ve finished passing the message on to you like it was asked of me, and for the time being I have no other matters to discuss with you.¡¹


    Since Luke the broker had nothing else to discuss with me, I received the Kobold Skill Crystal from him and then immediately left the Merchants Guild building and went back home, where I told Sherry that if she finished doing her part of the breakfast preparation, then I want her to fuse that Skill Crystal right now.


    Now that I have both the Kobold Skill Crystal and the Rabbit Skill Crystal in my possession, that means that I can add another useful Skill to one of our weapons, so I ended up choosing Sherry¡¯s Steel Spear to add the ¡¸Chant Interruption¡¹ onto it. That Skill is going to be of use to us, if not immediately, then definitely somewhere further down the road.


    In fact, I don¡¯t think that there are any places or floors where ¡¸Chant Interruption¡¹ could come into play because so far there are no enemies that tend to spam their Skills with such frequency for it to become a genuine nuisance, or at the very least we shouldn¡¯t be coming to any such places immediately or when we¡¯ll go to the Labyrinths on the next morning, but there is no doubt in my mind that there will definitely come a time when that Skill is going to be of use to us, or perhaps even save our asses in a pinch.


    In the morning of the next day, I asked the girls to prepare breakfast, while in the meantime I went to Bode on my own, appearing inside of the Bode¡¯s castle from the wall of its lobby.


    ¡¸Are the Duke of Hartz or the leader of the Knight Order here?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I think that the Duke should be in his study right now.¡¹


    I asked for the Duke¡¯s whereabouts from the Knight who was stationed in the lobby, and then enter the Bode¡¯s castle proper, since one of the last times when I was here the Duke himself told me that it might be better for me to navigate the castle myself rather than having the Knights from the lobby guide me to the Duke¡¯s study every single time.


    And thinking about it, it should be rather obvious that the Duke should be in his study right now. After all, this castle is his house, and since it was still relatively early in the morning, then of course he would be here rather than anywhere else, so I headed down the path that I¡¯m already quite familiar with and then arrive in front of the door to his study and knock on them a few time in order to announce my arrival.


    ¡¸Enter.¡¹


    When I knocked at the door, a voice gave me the clearance to enter the study, but it was not the Duke¡¯s voice. It was the voice that belonged to Gozer, the leader of the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy.


    ¡¸It¡¯s Michio, I heard you wanted to see me as soon as possible?¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, Lord Michio? It¡¯s good that you came as soon as you could indeed.¡¹


    When I entered the study, the Duke speaks as well while sitting in the chair.


    ¡¸No, forgive me for not arriving any sooner than I did. So, may I ask why you wanted to see me so urgently?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, of course. Actually, we called you here because there might be some trouble brewing on the horizon.¡¹


    ¡¸Trouble? What kind of trouble, exactly?¡¹


    ¡¸We¡¯re going to fill you in on the specifics, but first of all, please, sit down.¡¹


    As usual, the Duke appeared to be pretty hasty to get to the heart of the matter as soon as possible. Following Gozer¡¯s instructions, I sat on the sofa and waited to hear what they had to say.


    ¡¸Now we can tell you about the kind of a troublesome thing that has emerged recently.¡¹


    ¡¸A troublesome thing?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, exactly. Tell me, Lord Michio, do know about an outlaw that goes by the name Heinz the Bandit?¡¹


    Gozer sits in front of me and asks me if I know the man whose name he just revealed to me.


    ¡¸No, I can¡¯t say that I know anyone like that.¡¹


    ¡¸Just like his name implies, he is a Bandit, and one of the more dangerous and brutal ones at that, since he revels in the sight of the spilled blood of his victims. I heard that he obtained the Job of a Bandit by praying at the Temple of Ellen, but we have no way of conforming whether that information is true or false at the current moment. In any case, our intel tells us that he is an extremely dangerous individual, one that is better to steer clear of if you have the chance to do so.¡¹


    Is he perhaps talking about one of the Bandits that I have defeated during the latest ambush that we ended up being roped into? I cannot be exactly sure if the name of one of the defeated bandits was Heinz or not, but there is a very high probability that he was indeed one of the ones that I have wasted. Is that what it¡¯s really all about?


    ¡¸So there are even Bandits like that, huh?¡¹


    ¡¸Originally, Heinz the Bandit was a Bandit hailing from the territory of Selmar, where he gained notoriety after he killed a number of the members of Selmar¡¯s Knight Order. He also has a right-hand man who¡¯s a Pirate by the name of Simon who uses a one-handed sword in combat, and just like Heinz, he caused no small amount of headaches for the members of Selmar¡¯s Knight Order. These two are the kind of dangerous outlaws who¡¯re capable of opposing the Knight Order without the use of magic or other underhanded tricks.¡¹


    The man named Simon who also had a Job of a Pirate? Then I guess that would be the Pirate Lv.67 whom I have killed by turning him into bloody paste with my ¡¸Equivalent Exchange¡¹. Yup, now that I¡¯m recalling the details of the ambush, everything checks itself out. Job of a Pirate, check. Used a sword, check. So dangerous that even I could tell that by simply glancing at him, definite check.


    ¡¸So what you¡¯re trying to say is that such dangerous outlaws have now entered your territory?¡¹


    ¡¸It has not been confirmed yet, but the information provided to us by our sources do seem to be indicating that there is a pretty high possibility of that being the case, and now that they¡¯re here, they might end attacking a village or trying to ambush unsuspecting Parties in the Labyrinths. After all, no corpses remain in the Labyrinths, so murderers like Heinz and Simon favor them as their hunting grounds.¡¹

 Volume 7 - CH 1.14

    Yeah, judging by our previous experiences with Bandits and their ambushes, I can definitely say that they went for the ¡¸ambush the unsuspecting Parties in the Labyrinths¡¹ option.


    ¡¸Assuming that they are hiding in the Labyrinths, do you have any idea in which of the Labyrinth they might be hiding?¡¹


    ¡¸Right now we don¡¯t have any leads, but since there are only three Labyrinths in the territories belonging to Hartz Duchy, so we have to consider the possibility of them hiding in any of them.¡¹


    ¡¸And what about the casualties? Have there been any damages done so far?¡¹


    ¡¸No obvious damages have been done thus far, but given their notoriety, it is just a matter of time before they start appearing.¡¹


    So it seems that no damage done by these two Bandits has been confirmed yet. Good. This probably means that we must¡¯ve encountered Heinz and Simon shortly after they arrived in the Hartz Duchy and only had the time to prepare that trap in Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth. If they have tried to attack some village, then the Duke or Gozer would definitely caught wind of such a plot brewing in their territory, but the question here is: would they be able to react in time if something like that really happened?


    But nevertheless, if they know so much about these two already, then I guess this just goes to show that the information network of the Duke of Hartz and his Knight Order of Hartz Duchy is not to be underestimated. Either that, or perhaps they managed to hear something from observing the movements of the remnants of these Bandit¡¯s band after they were scattered to the four wind once their leaders have been overthrown?


    ¡¸And that is basically what¡¯s going on right now. With that being the case, we¡¯d like you to remain cautious while exploring the Labyrinths of the Hartz Duchy, Lord Michio.¡¹


    ¡¸And you went out of your way to contact me just so that you could let me know about it? Thank you for that.¡¹


    It is indeed nice of them to let me know about the danger lurking in the Labyrinths of the Hartz Duchy¡­. But their information are slow and outdated, because the danger that they¡¯re speaking off is no more because I already took care of it and defeated those Bandits all on my own.


    However, even if I wanted to, cannot reveal to them that I have already defeated them. If I do that, they might want me to show their Intelligence Cards as proof of the deed being actually done, and once they request me to show their Intelligence Cards, it¡¯s only going to be a matter of time before they request me to show my own intelligence Card, and until I become an Adventurer, that is something that I absolutely cannot allow myself to do.


    Whether I like it or not, I simply have no choice but to withhold that information from them for a little while longer. Normally I would say that staying vigilant all the time is the commendable thing to do, but in this particular case I wouldn¡¯t really mind it if the guys from the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy were just a teensy-weensy little bit less vigilant.


    ¡¸If we might offer you another piece of advice, then we would advise you to be especially careful when going to the Labyrinth of Bode.¡¹


    ¡¸Labyrinth of Bode, huh? I see. I will make sure to take your advice to heart.¡¹


    ¡¸Also, here¡¯s something that might help you identify Heinz should you ever ran into Bandits during your travels through the Labyrinths after all: Although Heinz himself is an Elf, he seems to have many human subordinates on his side, but that¡¯s all the information that we have on him right now.¡¹


    ¡¸Any idea for why Bode¡¯s Labyrinth might be the place where he¡¯s most likely to be?¡¹


    ¡¸Because if he were to go to the Labyrinths of Tare or Haruba, he would end up drawing too much unwanted attention to himself because there are not as many Elves there, so he would definitely stand out, but in Bode, where there are relatively many Elves, he wouldn¡¯t be anything unusual to anyone who doesn¡¯t know his name or face, and that is why we think the he might¡¯ve chosen Bode as his hiding spot.¡¹


    Yeah, that sounds like a pretty sound and probable logic¡­. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that Heinz the Bandit was hiding in Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth, which means that he somehow managed to outsmart both the Duke and his Knight Order.


    ¡¸So if you think he¡¯s in Bode, then what is the course of action that you recommend in response to it?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, since we think that there is a high possibility of Heinz being in Bode¡¯s Labyrinth, then we recommend entering the Labyrinths located elsewhere for a while if you wish.¡¹


    ¡¸We will also be conducting our own search through all of the Labyrinths in the Duchy¡¯s territories, so there might be a possibility that some of the Knights from the Knight Order are going to be conducting spontaneous Intelligence Card checks, so if one of these checks happens to be conducted on Lord Michio and the members of his Party, so if that happens, then I ask you for your full cooperation and patience.¡¹


    They¡¯re going to be conducting Intelligence Card checks? Oh boy, that¡¯s definitely bad. If that is how things are going to be developing, then maybe I shouldn¡¯t be keeping quiet about me defeating the Bandits after all?


    Then again, the Duke and Gozer said that they recommend me going to other Labyrinths for a while, so maybe I should do exactly what they are suggesting and avoid the Labyrinths of the Hartz Duchy for the time being and focus on advancing through the Labyrinths of Vale and Quratar? At this point, I feel like everything is going to be better than risking having my Intelligence Card randomly checked.


    ¡¸All right, I understand. If you think that avoiding the Labyrinths of Hartz Duchy is the best possible thing to do here, then that is what I¡¯m going to do.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you for your understanding, and sorry for all the trouble that this unforeseen development might cause you.¡¹


    Even though I said the words that I said, it wasn¡¯t like I had that much of a choice here, so I just agreed with the Duke and Gozer and then left the Duke¡¯s office. After that, since I had no other business here in Bode, all that was left for me to do was to go back home and eat breakfast, during which I explained the situation to the girls.


    ¡¸The Duke wanted to talk to me about the Bandits that have recently appeared in the Labyrinths of Hartz Duchy. He said that it would be pretty dangerous to be going to the Bandit-infested Labyrinths for the time being, so until the situation calms down, we have been given a green light to go to the other Labyrinths for a while, and since we cannot inform him that we have defeated the Bandits that he¡¯s so worried about just yet, I think we might take this opportunity to do exactly what he suggested and advance our progress in other Labyrinths, especially in the one here in Quratar.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood!¡¹


    ¡¸So we¡¯re going to be going to Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth for now instead of the Labyrinths of the Hartz Duchy?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, that¡¯s exactly what we¡¯re going to be doing.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, desu!¡¹


    All three of the girls gave me simple replies that expressed their support of my decision to make more progress in the Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth. Well, it¡¯s not like I expected any of them to actually go against my decision, because let¡¯s be honest, do they even have any reason to not want to go to Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth? But regardless of whether they agree with me or not, I might as well give them a small justification of my decision, just in case.


    ¡¸You might be wondering why do I want to go to Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth of all places. Well, it¡¯s because Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth is the one to which we happen to be possessing a map for, and because we have the maps of all of its currently available floors, we¡¯ll be able to progress through the Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth¡¯s floors at a much faster rate than with other Labyrinths.


    ¡¸I think the thirteenth floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth is going to be a relatively good floor for us to keep earning good Drop Items that can be then sold for money and grow stronger by fighting the monsters there.¡¹


    Oh, do you now? Well, it is good to know that you realize that.

 Volume 7 - CH 1.15

    Essentially, the thirteenth floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth really is a good place for us to earn money, because even if we don¡¯t sell all of the Drop Items obtained from the monsters that inhabit that floor, then we can always go for the second best money-making option that this floor offers us, and that is the option of selling the medicines made from the raw materials that I then change to healing items with the use of Herbalist¡¯s ¡¸Crude Medicine Creation¡¹ Skill.


    And just like I told to Roxanne and the other two, there is also an issue of possessing maps. Unlike with all of the other Labyrinths that we have visited up until this point, we have the map of all of the currently discovered and cleared floors in the Labyrinth of Quratar that I bought in bulk, so if only we wanted to, we could go as far as we want in the Labyrinth of Quratar just as long as we¡¯ll be able to defeat the Floor Boss on each floor after reaching it, but I think that with our current numbers as well as our levels and abilities, we should be able to advance a little bit further up without the need of grinding or increasing the ranks of my Party even further.


    The question, however, is how far exactly should we be going? Even with the steady progress made possible by having a map and the right way pointing us towards the Boss Rooms right from the get-go, we are still bound to band our heads against the wall at one point or another. That, and there is also a matter of a natural limiter that¡¯s present in pretty much every Labyrinth: the possibility of death on every new floor that we are going to be arriving on.


    Yes, with every new floor the enemies are only going to grow stronger, and as they are going to increase in strength, the possibility of some of them being able to kill either me or my Party Members is also going to increase, and that possibility of being wiped out is something that we have to avoid at all costs.


    In the case of the Labyrinths for which you don¡¯t have a map, the optimal strategy that can always be used is the tried and true one of of exploring the entire floor until you eventually stumble upon the Boss Room, then defeat the Floor Boss and move up to another floor, and since you¡¯re naturally going to wind up fighting a lot of monsters on your way to the Boss Room, you¡¯re going to have to fight them whether you like it or not, meaning that you¡¯re still going to become stronger along the way, so the further explorations should be proceeding rather smoothly.


    However, this time this rather handy approach cannot be utilized by us. Right now, I need to make a conscious decision of whether or not we¡¯re going to be moving up to another floor, and my only wish he is that I could judge it properly without making a decision that¡¯s going to backfire horribly against us, but that risk is exactly what makes that choice so difficult to make. If it was not difficult, the Labyrinths wouldn¡¯t be hailed as the dangerous places that they truly are.


    If only everyone could just go and easily determine what floor of the Labyrinth would be good for them based on their abilities alone, then that would make traversing them a hell of a lot easier experience than it actually is. For example, because I have my Durandal that can heal all of the wounds that I sustain and recover both my HP and MP from the fallen enemies, then I have never truly felt like my life was in danger while I was in the Labyrinths aside from the moments when my MP was almost drained and thus affecting my thinking processes, but that is exactly why I might just go and make a bad decision in regards to how safe its going to be for us on any given floor.


    No one wants to die, that much should be obvious to pretty much anyone, and as always, the safety of both myself and my Party Members should be my biggest and most important priority when planning anything Labyrinth-related. But still, I feel like at times this desire to stay safe above all else might actually be blunting my judgement regarding that fact that as long as I continue to climb up, I will be able to increase my level and get stronger that much faster, and also that fighting tougher opponents means better Drop Items falling from them, which directly translates into us getting more money to spend on our daily needs and/or increasing the ranks of my Party with the new members of my harem. In light of all of that, I think we should still be perfectly safe if we only advance one floor for now¡­..


    Yeah, right. Such a na?ve way of thinking is exactly why people tend to get too confident in their own abilities which then leads them into making careless mistakes that can ultimately lead to them losing their lives because they thought they were ready for anything that the Labyrinth might be throwing their way, while they were in fact not ready in the slightest.


    That is why Labyrinths are such dangerous places that cannot be underestimated no matter what. While going into them, you have to be careful at all times, or else you¡¯ll be finding yourself dead and absorbed by the Labyrinths to become their nourishment before you know it.


    After finishing the breakfast that the girls prepared while I was talking to the Duke and Gozer in Bode, we then entered the Labyrinth of Quratar, starting off from the fourteenth floor this time, where the native enemy was a Hat Bat, whom we have encountered shortly after when I asked Roxanne to guise us to the place that only had one of it.


    Just as you might¡¯ve expected from its name, Hat Bat was actually a giant black bat, so black in fact that it was genuinely difficult for me to see it in the dim lights of the Labyrinth¡¯s corridors. And by the way, if it could just hover in the air with its wings all folded, then it would be looking like a black bowler hat.


    ¡¸¡¸Water Ball¡¹!¡¹


    Since according to Sherry¡¯s information Hat Bat was weak against Water Magic, I decided to shoot a single ¡¸Water Ball¡¹ at it for the time being to see if it¡¯s going to do any kind of good damage, but¡­.


    ¡¸Ugh, damn it.¡¹


    Although I specifically closed the distance between me and the Hat Bat a little bit more than usual and shot a single-target Spell at it for the maximum amount of accuracy possible, the Hat Bat still managed to dodge my Spell and emerge from it completely unscratched, and then it suddenly changed its altitude and began to get closer to me, so I switched to Wind Magic and shoot two consecutive ¡¸Breeze Balls¡¹ at it, but just like the first time, it also managed to avoid the Spells that I launched at it this time. Damn, I thought that Wind Magic was supposed to be effective against flying creatures, but no one told me that they¡¯re going to be so good a dodging it!


    The movements of the Hat Bat are fast. Much faster than I could have ever expected. And if that¡¯s the case, then maybe I should try to actually come even closer to it in order to not allow it to have any space where it could move away from my Spells flying towards it?


    The third Spell that I tried hitting it with was ¡¸Earth Ball¡¹, and thankfully, this time the attack was a success. Now that I know what I have to do and how to fight this enemy, I ordered Roxanne, Sherry and Miria to switch their positions. Roxanne stood in the front of the Hat Bat while Miria and Sherry surrounded it from both of its sides. In the meantime, I position myself diagonally to the side of Roxanne so that I can keep my allies out of the harm¡¯s way in case that my magic attacks missed again. Since my spells are all pretty powerful, hitting Sherry or Miria with them, even if done unintentionally, would definitely have catastrophic results.


    Oh, and by the way, I have still yet to acquire the ¡¸Chant Omission¡¹ Skill back for myself, so every time that I want to use magic I have to shout its name out loud with all my might, and I think that might be what¡¯s making it easier for the Hat Bat to avoid my attacks towards it. After all, even if bats are blind or mostly blind, their hearing is excellent as a result.

 Volume 7 - CH 2.01

    Chapter 32: Bounty


    ¡ºRoxanne¡»


    ¡ºCurrent Character Levels & Equipment¡»:


    ¡ºJobs¡»:


    Beast Warrior Lv.29


    ¡ºEquipment¡»:


    Rapier


    Hardened Leather Helmet


    Hardened Leather Jacket


    Hardened Leather Gloves


    ¡¸Here it comes!¡¹


    Roxanne¡¯s voice resounds in my ears.


    Orange magic circle appears under a Grass Bee in the second row of enemies, indicating that it was about to launch one of its Skills, and since it is too far from any of us to reach it in time, even Sherry won¡¯t be able to cancel the activation of that Skill with the ¡¸Chant Interruption¡¹ that has been recently added to her Steel Spear.


    The Grass Bee finished the activation of its Skill and launched its poisonous needles towards us from a distance, but Roxanne stood in their way and blocked all of them with her Steel Shield, preventing them from hurting and poisoning any of us.


    Almost at the same time, a Hat Bat and a Bitch Butterfly launched their attacks on Roxanne from two different sides.


    Roxanne gets on her left foot and maneuvers her upper half of her body to dodge a body slam of the Bitch Butterfly, simultaneously swaying her head to dodge the surging sweep from a Hat Bat. So there is also such an elaborate way to dodge the attacks of more than one enemy at once, huh? For me, doing something like that would be impossible, no matter how hard I would¡¯ve tried or trained to emulate even the simplest of Roxanne¡¯s movements.


    What I can do, however, is launching a ¡¸Breeze Ball¡¹ towards the enemies from behind Roxanne¡¯s back. That¡¯s the fifth one that I launched throughout the duration of this battle. The bodies of the monsters that got hit by it stumble under the violent gusts of wind. When the Bitch Butterfly regains its balance, it launches another attack on Roxanne, and she parries it with her shield and twists her body to dodge the Hat Bat and its continued onrush of direct attacks.


    While dodging, she hits it with her rapier while I cast a sixth Spell. In the meantime, an orange magic circle appears under the Bitch Butterfly which Sherry was currently confronting. Sherry pokes it with her Steel Spear in response, interrupting the chanting process.


    Miria receives the attack of a Grass Bee with her own Steel Shield and slashes it with her Scimitar. Roxanne side steps another attack of the Bitch Butterfly, and after she successfully evaded another one of the Hat Bat¡¯s attacks with ease, I invoked a ¡¸Breeze Storm¡¹, the seventh Spell used by me in this one battle.


    Two Bitch Butterflies, two Grass Bees and a Hat Bat drop down onto the ground where they all turn into puffs of green smoke and disappear.


    ¡¸Ugh, I knew that the sixteenth floor was going to be a tough one, but I never expected that it¡¯s going to be that tough.¡¹


    Although I have obtained the Duke¡¯s permission to stay in the Labyrinth¡¯s other than the ones on the territory of Hartz Duchy for the time being, it doesn¡¯t change the fact that the battles on the sixteenth floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth are definitely getting more difficult than the battles on the previous floors.


    Roxanne is able to, as always, dodge pretty much every attack that is coming her way perfectly without breaking as much as a sweat, but for the other three of us who cannot hope to be as good at dodging as she is, the difficulty spike was rather harsh, but I guess this cannot be helped since we have already cleared the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth floors and left them behind. Right now, this is where we¡¯re going to be hunting, so we have to get used to and adapt to the monsters that are prowling the halls of this floor and their strength if we want to survive and reap as much of the rewards that this floor might be having in store for us.


    One thing that I do have to admit, is that if it weren¡¯t for Roxanne holding the frontline by dodging the attacks of every monster that was coming to get her, then Sherry, Miria and I would¡¯ve been wiped out long ago for sure.


    ¡¸Not at all, master. I feel like this is not that difficult just yet.¡¹


    Uhm, Roxanne, excuse me? That was not all that difficult for you? Well, I do understand where she¡¯s coming from with this, but still, to be claiming that the sixteenth floor is not all that difficult after witnessing how the rest of the Party struggled against the mobs here, Roxanne is truly something else, and she¡¯s as terrifying as ever to boot!


    If there is one saving grace in our current situation, it would have to be the fact that the majority of the monsters that appear here on the sixteenth floor are the ones that are weak to Wind Magic, so at the very least I don¡¯t have to switch between different types of magic all that much if I want to be consistently hitting their weaknesses. But once again, that is thanks to Roxanne and her amazing sense of smell enabling us to search only for the types of monsters that are weak to Wind Magic so that we wouldn¡¯t have to worry about the ones who are weak to anything else besides Wind Magic.


    ¡¸I¡¯m not getting myself exposed to successive attacks all that much, which means that I can hold pretty well on my own for quite a long while. Compared to the usual standards of the Labyrinths, the battles that we are going through right now are not quite as heated as they could be getting. If I had to describe how they feel to me right now, then I guess I would have to say warm at best.¡¹


    If even Sherry says so, then I guess that has to be true after all, and it just proves how powerful of a person Sherry actually is. Like I thought, people of this world are just not the ones who would go and act cautiously if it meant doing anything for longer than it has to be done, but at the same time, when Roxanne is aggroing all of the monsters that we¡¯re fighting from the front and center, it really means that Miria and Sherry can take things just a little bit easier on the sides of the formation.


    ¡¸We¡¯re going to be fine, master. Because we have Big Sister here with us.¡¹


    See, even Miria is aware of how important to our well-being and the ease of fighting Roxanne really is.


    ¡¸Yes, it¡¯s all thanks to Roxanne indeed.¡¹


    ¡¸Not at all. It¡¯s because master takes all the monsters out with his magic.¡¹


    Roxanne still tried to redirect most of the praise towards me, which was incredibly sweet of her, but she shouldn¡¯t be underestimating her own role in making that battles easier for the rest of the Party.


    ¡¸Alright then, because I¡¯ll be using my sword next, I want you to go and find us a group that¡¯ll have fewer enemies in it, okay?¡¹


    After hunting on 16th floor, my Explorer job has leveled up to Lv.39, and because I have one more Bonus Point to spend, I can finally use it to get rid of the ¡¸Chant Shortening¡¹ Bonus Skill that I needed to have equipped for the time being and replace it with its superior version, ¡¸Chant Omission¡¹. I can also select a Fourth Job Bonus Skill, which will finally allow me to come back to some of my previous settings. Oh ¡¸Chant Omission¡¹, oh ¡¸Fourth Job¡¹, how I missed you. It feels truly great to be having the both of you back with me. You being back with me means that I will no longer have to shout the names of the Spells every time I¡¯ll be using them, finally stopping Roxanne, Sherry and Miria to look at me like I am a hopeless middle schooler afflicted with incurable Chuunibyo.


    For the next few battles, I was fighting the monsters with Durandal in order to get back all of the MP that I¡¯ve spent on casting Spells thanks to Durandal¡¯s ¡¸MP Recovery¡¹ Skill. Along the way, we encountered a group made out of four Bitch Butterflies and a Grass Bees.


    That combination of monsters is the most difficult on the entire sixteenth floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth to fight against¡­. Nope.


    Nope. The most difficult combination would be that of monsters which are weak against Wind Magic and carnivorous plants which are weak against Fire Magic, but we¡¯re managing to stay on top of them because no matter who we¡¯re fighting against, Roxanne is always capable of dodging their attacks with ease.

 Volume 7 - CH 2.02

    In fact, I think that thanks to Roxanne¡¯s efforts, I have yet to receive a single attack from these enemies. The reason why I said that four Bitch Butterflies are difficult to fight against is that there is a chance that just Sherry¡¯s Steel Spear may not be enough to deal with them when they¡¯ll start activating their Skills at the same time.


    Bitch Butterfly¡¯s Skill is the one capable of inflicting paralysis upon the person who¡¯s going to be unfortunate enough to be hit by it, so if Roxanne were to become paralyzed because of such a Skill, it would lead to total collapse of any of our strategies, but if they are only two Bitch Butterflies in a group of monsters that we have to fight, then there would be no problems at all. I think that it would even be manageable for us if there were three Bitch Butterflies because that number seems like just the right one for us to easily deal with, but four are just too much and beyond our current capabilities.


    As for the Grass Bees, their biggest cause for annoyance are their ranged attacks that they tend to launch quite from a distance where even hitting them with my magic becomes potentially problematic instead of coming close enough for us to deal with them without having to sweat the entire time.


    When there are in a group of four monsters, they often form two rows.


    If there are five, one of them does go to the second row, and when they appear in the group of five monsters, then it is pretty much guaranteed that at least one of them is going to move to the second row where the difficulty of hitting it will increase even further since its going to be shielded by its other companions, and then it¡¯s just going to start shooting its poisoned needles towards us like there¡¯s no tomorrow.


    And that is why the groups of four Bitch Butterflies and four Grass Bees are the scariest and most difficult to fight against here on the sixteenth floor.


    Thankfully, even after encountering quite a lot of Bitch Butterflies today during our hunting expedition, there was no need for us to be using any Anti-Paralysis Pills, and we finished it without any kind of unfortunate incidents occurring.


    On the next day, we entered the sixteenth floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth once more from the early morning.


    ¡¸Here it comes!¡¹


    Roxanne gave us a warning, and immediately after she shouted it, she blocked an incoming Poison Needle shot by a Grass Bee from the second row of enemies with her shield. Her sense of balance and stability are truly exceptional as well.


    She then swiftly proceeds to stabbing the Grass Bee with her Rapier while dodging body slam of a Bitch Butterfly at the same time! Dodging the butterfly like a butterfly. Stabbing the bee like a bee. If that is not how being terrifyingly strong looks like, then I have no idea how being terrifyingly strong should look anymore.


    Sherry also evades the Bitch Butterfly¡¯s attacks, albeit not as gratefully and easily as Roxanne did, and Miria blocks the attacks from the Grass Bees with her shield. While we are all busy fighting the monsters that are the closest to us, the Grass Bee in the second row activated its Skill again, as it was evident by the orange magic circle lighting up beneath its body. Roxanne, however, parries its attack with ease.


    The Bitch Butterfly launches another attack. Roxanne sways her body lightly to the sides and dodges it without sustaining any kind of damage or coming even remotely close to sustaining it.


    Faced with her vehement resistance, the Grass Bee decides to change its intended target from Roxanne to Miria. But much to its displeasure (if monsters could even feel displeasure in the first place, that is), Miria also managed to dodge it.


    However, the attack of the Grass Bee, which Miria managed to dodge was received by me who was standing directly behind her instead when she moved out of the Poison Needle¡¯s intended trajectory. Thankfully, even though I have been hit by it directly, it doesn¡¯t seem like I have been poisoned, which must mean that this time the Gods of RNG must have been on my side, so I continued to fire my Spells at the monsters in front of me.


    Since Sherry has ¡¸Chant Interruption¡¹ on her Steel Spear, she¡¯s responsible for keeping the Bitch Butterflies from using their paralysis Skills on any of us, so she has to stay near them and keep a watchful eye on them in case if an orange magic circle lit up under any of them, and as for Miria, she needs to watch out for the Grass Bee and block any of the projectiles that it¡¯s going to be firing towards us, and if she suffers a hit from the other monsters, I first heal her wounds and then continue to attack the monsters with my magic.


    Thankfully, all four of us grew up to such a level where we can afford to take two or three hits from the monsters without worrying about our health, but suffering any more than that is still going to be risky, so whenever it is needed, I have to alternate the focus of my actions between healing and casting offensive magic until all of the monsters have finally been slaughtered with my Wind Magic.


    ¡¸I¡¯m fine, desu!¡¹


    Miria raises her hand and stops me from using any more ¡¸Medical Treatments¡¹ on her, saying that she feels fine already, so I did exactly like she asked and stopped healing her, and then I ask Roxanne to continue searching for more enemies for us to fight, and once she finds them, we resume our march through the sixteenth floor until we find them.


    There are two Bitch Butterflies and two Grass Bees in the next group we encounter. Sherry comes under a Bitch Butterfly¡¯s attack almost as soon as the battle begins, but she manages to get rid of it swiftly before it could do any kind of damage to us.


    After healing her, I pull Durandal out and fight a portion of my next battles with it. After killing two more groups of monsters, I fully recover my MP again. I could have recovered my MP much faster by using the appropriate Pill from among the ones that I have on me right now, but in this situation I feel like doing that would be nothing but a waste.


    Next group of enemies that we encountered was comprised of two Bitch Butterflies, two Grass Bees and a Hat Bat.


    The Hat Bat flies past Roxanne and is heading straight towards me, but luckily for me I managed to ward it off with my Rod of Offerings.


    After several uses of ¡¸Breeze Storm¡¹, all of the monsters have been swiftly defeated and dropped down to the ground. I believe that I have mentioned this before, but Hat Bats are a real nuisance to fight against, especially for someone like me who fights in the rearguard, because unlike any other monster, Hat Bat oftentimes just disregards the members of the vanguard completely and goes straight for the members of the rearguard, just like it was doing with me right now.


    The next group is made up of a single Grass Bee and four Bitch Butterflies. Although it¡¯s one of the most difficult combinations of monsters possible, I feel rather relieved that there¡¯s no Hat Bats among them, because it means that I won¡¯t have to on the lookout for anything that¡¯s going to just make a beeline towards me, allowing me to focus entirely on supporting the girls with my magic.


    The Grass Bee launches its ranged attack, and Roxanne receives it with her shield. Her defense is impregnable, just like that of an insurmountable iron wall, and there¡¯s no way that such a wall is going to be destroyed by something so weak as Grass Bee¡¯s ranged attack.


    Bitch Butterflies also close in on us. All four of them are lined up in one row, side by side. Roxanne lightly dodges body slam of one of the butterflies, and then she blocks the attack of the second one with her shield. Third one was trying to activate its Skill but Sherry interrupted it with a poke of her spear.


    Can we keep this up?

 Volume 7 - CH 2.03

    While I was sighing in relief, orange magic circle appears under the fourth Bitch Butterfly. Sherry thrusts her spear forward, but she¡¯s too far from it to be able to stop it in time. Even if she were to jump up to the Bitch Butterfly that was preparing the Skill, she still wouldn¡¯t make it, and I cannot cast another one of my Spells just yet because the cooldown from the previous one that I used is still active.


    Sherry was able to successfully interrupt third butterfly¡¯s Skill when it also started casting it because it was a little bit closer to her and within her Steel Spear¡¯s range, but the fourth one managed to activate it.


    The Bitch Butterfly raised its wings upwards and started releasing clouds of powdery smoke out of them, and since the Bitch Butterfly that activated the Skill is closer to Miria rather than Sherry, then she became the target of the Skill¡¯s attack.


    The cloud of powder envelops Miria completely, hiding her from our view for a brief moment, and when Miria emerged back from it, she was not moving and looked like she was frozen solid in an unnaturally stiffened position. I thought that this was just her being shocked at receiving the Bitch Butterfly¡¯s Skill head on, but even after I observed her for a few seconds after I used another Wind Magic Spell, I noticed that she wasn¡¯t moving in the slightest.


    Is that Paralysis? Has Miria been afflicted by it when she breathed in that cloud of smoke conjured by the Bitch Butterfly?


    ¡¸Should I give her the Anti-Paralysis Pill?¡¹


    ¡¸You can, but we really should focus on exterminating the monsters first before we do anything else.¡¹


    Prompted by Sherry¡¯s down-to-earth advice, I prepare and then cast another Breeze Storm while the Bitch Butterfly approaches Miria with the obvious intention of attacking her.


    This is exactly one of the scenarios that I was afraid of. Now that Miria is paralyzed and cannot move, she¡¯s like a sitting duck for any enemy who¡¯s going to be close enough to her to reach her with their attacks, so before anything else, I cast ¡¸Medical Treatment¡¹ on Miria, and then I cast another Wind Magic Spell to kill the monsters that were encroaching onto Miria when they took notice of her being paralyzed, and when they get hit by it, they drop down onto the floor.


    ¡¸How much time needs to pass for the effects of paralysis to wear off?¡¹


    I ask that of Sherry while looking at Miria with concerned eyes since even now that the battle was already over, she was stull unable to move. Should I really bust out the Anti-Paralysis Pills from my Item Box and give them to Miria right away, or should I wait for a while longer hoping that the effects of the paralysis are going to wear off on their own soon?


    ¡¸The duration of status effects such as paralysis is not a fixed one, but usually it doesn¡¯t take all that long for the effects to wear off on their own, and normally the effects should end throughout the duration of the battle, and if it does not finish until then, then you can move to a safe location and administer the Anti-Paralysis Pill.¡¹


    ¡¸Thankfully there doesn¡¯t seem to be any monsters nearby, so it should be fine for master to administer the medicine now.¡¹


    Aside from Sherry, Roxanne also gives me her input on the situation. Am I going to have to administer the medicine to her via mouth-to-mouth again or should I wait some more?


    N-No, it-it¡¯s not like I want to do it or anything, even though I have to admit that feeding her mouth-to mouth last time when she was poisoned felt amazing. But now that she¡¯s poisoned and cannot move a muscle in her body, there¡¯s no way that she¡¯ll be able to return my mouth-to-mouth with a passionate kiss like the one she shared with me when she got poisoned.


    And besides, forcing yourself on people who are deprived of their ability to move around freely is not a good habit to have, and definitely not a one that I want to develop.


    For a brief moment I tried to imagine myself embracing Miria while she was completely motionless, joining my lips together with hers and then shoving my tongue all the way inside of her mouth and ravaging every little corner of it, and yeah¡­.. doing something like that without her consent would definitely feel like I¡¯m abusing her, and to be frank, just imagining it made me feel like the worst kind of a piece of shit under the sun, because even if she didn¡¯t want me to do it, in her current state there¡¯s no way that she could ever hope to¡­. resist me, meaning that I could do¡­. whatever I want to her¡­.


    Th-This is¡­.


    This is something that I should definitely try out sometimes!


    Oh, but don¡¯t get the wrong idea. I would never have done this to Miria if she wasn¡¯t okay with me doing it, so we would only engage in this kind of play if both Parties gave their consent for it! Only then, and under no other circumstances!


    While I was losing myself in my degenerate fantasies, Miria gradually regained her ability to move. She slowly blinks, then begins to move her eyes around all over her surroundings trying to assess her situation and then she slowly tries to get back up.


    ¡¸Ah, are you okay, Miria? You don¡¯t have to force yourself to stand up just yet. Just try to lie down and recover as much of your strength as possible.¡¹


    ¡¸I feel fine, desu. I¡¯m sorry for getting master worried, desu.¡¹


    ¡¸It¡¯s okay, you don¡¯t have to apologize. There was nothing that you could¡¯ve done about it after all.¡¹


    I was indulged in my fantasy for too long, it seems. During that time, Miria managed to completely recover from her paralysis. I¡¯m sorry for putting you through this, Miria. I promise to try to keep this from happening to you as much as possible, but if this does end up happening to you again after all, then I promise to give you the medicine via mouth-to-mouth. In fact, I feel immense regret at allowing such a splendid opportunity pass me by.


    While Miria was resting for a while and recovering from her daze, I examined and observed her to see if there were any aftereffects to her getting paralyzed, but the longer I look at her, the more I realize that apparently there are none, and when paralysis has finally worn off completely, Miria managed to stand up, although she was doing so on incredibly wobbly legs.


    After that little incident happened, we carried on fighting the monsters like usual, and thankfully, no one got themselves paralyzed throughout the rest of the day, so there was no need for me to bust out the Anti-Paralysis Pills.


    ¡¸Fish, desu! Quick, desu!¡¹


    After we were done with hunting, we head to the fishmonger, and of course, Miria is the one leading the way there with a serious spring in her step, but that was to be expected, because I promised her that today we will be making fish by using the new pan that we bought recently.


    ¡¸What kind of fish should we make today?¡¹


    ¡¸White fish, desu!¡¹


    Miria says after closely examining every fish at the fishmonger, presumably in search of the freshest of the fresh fish that have been placed on display. So she¡¯s fine with using and eating the fish that has been caught as a Drop Item from a monster and not caught through the employment of the usual methods?


    Anyway, there doesn¡¯t seem to be any better fish available here right now, so we might as well do exactly what Miria is suggesting and take the white fish. Or maybe she was planning on using it from the start?


    ¡¸Is there anything else you need?¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X?¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X, desu.¡¹


    ¡¸Miria says that she¡¯s also going to need some Slime Starch.¡¹


    After we bought the fish, I asked Miria if she was going to need anything else, and this is what she answered when Roxanne translated my words for her. I bought two white fish from the fishmonger, but contrary to what you might be thinking, I didn¡¯t do it so that the thirty percent discount would proc, but rather because now I know that Miria possesses quite the appetite and buying just one white fish would definitely not be enough for her.


    Anyway, Slime Starch is the Drop Item dropped by Gummy Slime when it is defeated.

 Volume 7 - CH 2.04

    I buy it from the Adventurers Guild and then we return home.


    Miria begins her dinner preparations by pouring some water and wine in the pan first, after which she adds fish sauce and olive oil onto the mixture. Next, she leaves the white fish to boil together with the other ingredients that have been procured by us ahead of time. All in all, this is shaping up to be a pretty ordinary, by-the-book recipe for making boiled fish.


    ¡¸What exactly do you need this Slime Starch for?¡¹


    I asked while Miria was carrying on with the preparations.


    ¡¸This right here, desu.¡¹


    Miria then shaves some of the Slime Starch, dissolves it in water and adds a small quantity of the solution into the pan. Is she going to be using it as some kind of seasoning? That may be, because from the way she¡¯s handling it, it seems to me like she¡¯s going to make this Slime Starch into her secret ingredient for the entire dish¡­¡­ but no, wait a minute.


    Now that I look at it more closely when she served the finished dish, that was not the case at all. What she did with it was something else entirely.


    She was actually making Ankake! And since she made Ankake using Slime Starch, then does that mean that Slime starch possesses the same kinds of properties as the potato starch from my old world?


    Back on earth there was this peculiar method of preparing some types of food where you had to add potato starch to the saucy mixture in order to make it all nice and thick, and it was usually done by dissolving the starch in a small quantity of water right at the very end of the cooking process, and that is exactly what Miria did here, so I feel like my hunch might be right on the money.


    Now that everything was ready, I gave one entire white fish to Miria and cut the other one into three equal slices for me, Roxanne and Sherry. For people like us, why are not exactly fish fanatics, I feel like one third of an entire fish is going to be more than enough to fill our stomachs up, even more so since one whole white fish is supposed to be enough for four people in total, according to what I heard. And even if we don¡¯t end up eating the entirety of our slices of fish, then I¡¯m sure that Miria is going to be all too eager to eat the leftovers for us and she¡¯s going to clean them us so thoroughly that there won¡¯t be even a piece of it left on the plates.


    Without further ado, we thanked for the food and proceeded to eat the Ankake boiled fish that Miria prepared for us.


    ¡¸I have to say, this is pretty delicious.¡¹


    I really meant the words that I said just now. Although the recipe itself was as simple as could be, the end result turned put to be much tastier than you would have normally expected it to be. It was probably thanks to the fish sauce and starch sauce that Miria incorporated into the dish, which added a rustic, kinda wild taste to the entire dish, and I am willing to bet that it would have tasted even better if she went and diluted it with a little bit of sugar and vinegar. Or maybe she should¡¯ve gone even further and just go and make a sweet and sour ankake? Yes, that would¡¯ve been great as well for sure.


    ¡¸I have eaten it all, desu.¡¹


    Miria seems to be pretty happy and satisfied. Well, who can blame her for it? This time it looks like she must have already eaten her fill, because she wasn¡¯t trying to snatch mine, Roxanne¡¯s or Sherry¡¯s fishes from our plates.


    Now that Miria¡¯s desire for fish has been satisfied, I guess we should be able to make due without eating fish for a while, or at least I certainly hope so.


    On the morning of the next day, I trued to make the sweet and sour ankake myself. I tried to add wine and sugar to Miria¡¯s starch sauce, and then I boil some water, add sugar, wine, fish sauce and more Slime Starch. I also made some I make stir-fried vegetables, and served it all with sweet and sour ankake of my own making.


    Oh yes! What I created just now can be called a true porkless sweet and sour pork! Had I added pork to it, it would have been just like the real sweet and sour pork, much in the same vein that you cannot really have the genuine sweet green pea paste bun without adding sweet green pea paste to it. I didn¡¯t go with pork and added stir-fried vegetables instead because I was afraid that it might mess something up and ruin the entire dish beyond the point of recovery, and it looks like it was still a good call on my part.


    Well, I feel like the story would be more or less the same even if I didn¡¯t go for the sweet and sour pork and decided to do something totally different instead, like champon or tenshinhan I feel like all of these dishes would still turn out pretty good as long as I would have prepared them with stir-fried vegetables.


    Oh, and by the way, even if tenshinhan is written with kanji for Tianjin, China, you have to remember that it is just a name of a Chinese food born in Japan, and it has literally nothing to do with the Tianjin in China. And while we are on the subject, there seem to the kind of sweet chestnuts that are called Tianjin Broiled Sweet Chestnuts that are not Chinese in origin despite having Tianjin in their name as well, which I feel might cause Tianjin and China itself quite a bit of damage because of rumors.


    However, I seem to vaguely recall that the name Tianjin Broiled Sweet Chestnut has been invented in the first place because Tianjin was a shipping port to which chestnuts were being shipped in the past, just like it was with Mocha, the port to which mainly coffee was shipped too, and the port of Imari where the Arita porcelain was being shipped to the rest of the world, hence giving rise to the Imari porcelain.


    ¡¸It¡¯s really tasty. Master.¡¹


    ¡¸It¡¯s sweet and sour at the same time. I haven¡¯t eaten anything like it. It¡¯s delicious!¡¹


    ¡¸Tasty, so tasty, desu!¡¹


    I receive compliments from the girls, most likely because they never has sweet and sour pork before, so they don¡¯t even realize that this dish is not really complete, but even though they say that they find it tasty, I still think that it is lacking. But even so, I¡¯m not going to allow this small, minor setback to discourage me! After all, every failure is just another opportunity to learn and improve so that you can do better next time.


    Now that I know that Slime Starch can be used as a cooking ingredient, I¡¯ll use it in even more dishes, because now that I understand how to make starch sauce and I have tried making it myself already, I could always try to modify it for a bit whenever I¡¯ll grow tired of having it the usual way, so now I decided to test one of the alternatives out by soaking the Goat Meat that I obtained from defeating Pan, the Boss of the seventh floor of the Labyrinth of Vale in the fish sauce and then I leave it there to marinate for half a day.


    ¡¸Miria, can you please shave some Slime Starch for me?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course, desu!¡¹


    Now that the Goat Meat is marinating itself in the fish sauce, I asked Miria to prepare some more Slime Starch for me one we returned home in the evening after our afternoon forage into the Labyrinths.

 Volume 7 - CH 2.05

    ¡¸Master, we have received another message from Luke the broker. He says that he managed to win a successful bid for a Green Caterpillar Skill Crystal.¡¹


    When we return home, there was a note stuck to our door, as per the usual custom when one of Luke¡¯s men was delivering the messages from him to us.


    With Green Caterpillar Skill Crystal, Sherry is finally going to be able to make yet another Sacrificial Misanga for us. I believe that it¡¯s going to be a third one. And if we count the Ring of Determination along with it, we will have four accessories total, one for each member of my Party.


    Well, as good as that sounds, it¡¯s nothing urgent that would require my immediate attention, so I think it¡¯s going to be perfectly fine to leave the dealing with that matter until tomorrow, since today I don¡¯t feel like going to meet with Luke at all.


    Now that the marinated Goat Meat should be all nice and ready, I dredged it in some of the Slime Starch and then proceeded to deep-fry it. What I want to prepare now is a Hokkaido cuisine dish called zangi1, otherwise known tatsutaage, but the variant that I¡¯m preparing is not as red as the original is supposed to be. Mine is more crimson rather than red, and because of the fish sauce it became a little dark, which made it look not as visually pleasing, but when I actually tried it, it turned out that it tasted pretty well.


    Well, not that the result could have been any different here, with the recipe for the entire dish being a rather simple one that does not leave too much space for things to actually go wrong, so I have to say that the end result proved to be maybe not ideal, but definitely satisfactory, even more so since even while still living back in Japan I cannot say that I had all that many opportunities to prepare tatsutaage all that often, and I¡¯m sure that even the Gods have not seen such splendid crimson2, so this should definitely do for now.


    On the morning of the next day, I made my way to the Quratar¡¯s Merchants Guild to pick up the Green Caterpillar Skill Crystal after having breakfast while asking the girls to handle the dishes and cleaning duties while I¡¯m gone. I also told Sherry to hold on with her usual morning smithing session, since after I obtain the Skill crystal she will fuse an item with a Skill in it instead of wasting time on doing just regular items. I could have taken Sherry with me for this, but I¡¯m not going to do that because I don¡¯t want people at the Merchants Guild to find out that Sherry is a Master Smith and that I¡¯m having her fuse me the items with Skills in them with a guaranteed success rate practically free of charge.


    ¡¸Here, a Green Caterpillar Skill Crystal.¡¹


    ¡¸Indeed.¡¹


    I had already confirmed that the Green Caterpillar Skill Crystal that Luke handed me was not a fake one before I received it from him. So far he hasn¡¯t tried to do anything funny with the things that I ordered him to get through auctions, but a part of me still cannot help it but get worried what is going to happen when he finally decides to try and to do me dirty and sell me something that¡¯s going to turn out fake. If it ever comes to that, I wonder what I am going to do and how exactly I am going to react?


    However, since there is also the thing that he has established relations with the Duke of Hartz and the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy, I don¡¯t think that he might actually try to do something like that, or not openly at least, because if I ever decided to go public with the reveal that he was trying to scam me with fake items, that would certainly be quite a heavy blow to his reputation.


    That, and he probably wants to avoid a situation where I would try to accuse him of trying to scam me and trying to get a compensation for the potential damage he might have caused out of him.


    Well, considering the entire procedure and the lengths that he would have to go to in order to avoid being detected with such a scam, I say that producing fake items so that he could sell them to people would be highly inefficient for him, both from the financial and reputational standpoint, but I think that it might be a good idea to go and verify some of the items that he¡¯s handing me in the Merchant Guild¡¯s temple so that he wouldn¡¯t start getting any strange ideas about me or the reason for why am I so adamant in my refusal to use the identification services that the Merchants Guild is providing.


    That, and I would also like to see how exactly does a temple associated with a Guild looks like from the inside at least once.


    ¡¸I also have something else for you. Here, these are the wanted posters prepared by the members of the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy that depict the Bandits that are rumored to have made their way into the Duchy¡¯s Labyrinths. The Knight Order has entrusted me with their distribution on their behalf so that the news would reach as many people as possible. The Duke and Lord Gozer also wished me to tell you that they advise you to maintain the highest degree of caution if you do decide to go to the Hartz Duchy¡¯s Labyrinths anyway.¡¹


    With that said, Luke handed me a papyrus where the information about the Bandits was supposed to be written.


    Although these were supposed to be wanted posters, the first thing that I noticed about them was that there was no drawings of how the Bandits in question looked like, which should be the main focus of a wanted poster taking up the majority of its space. Instead, the only thing that was placed on the Papyrus was what I assumed to be a description of the Bandits written in the Brahim language. So these are the wanted posters prepared by the members of the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy, huh? It¡¯s nice of them to have prepared them in order to warn people about the danger¡­. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that these wanted posters are now pretty much useless since the people described in them have already been slain by me.


    Somehow this situation makes me feel bad for these guys, because essentially this means that because of me the Knights ended up wasting both money and precious resources on these posters¡­..


    No, now that I think about it, these wanted posters might not be wasted after all, because even if the main Bandits that the wanted posters have been pertaining to have been dealt with, there might still be some remnants of their group roaming about, plotting to get revenge for the demise of their comrades.


    Anyway, I grabbed the Green Caterpillar Skill Crystal along with the wanted posters and then swiftly headed home, where


    I pass the Misanga and the Skill Crystal to Sherry and tell her to fuse them together for me.


    ¡¸And what is that, master?¡¹


    ¡¸From what Luke told me, these are supposed to be the wanted posters for the Bandits that are now holed in the Labyrinths of Hartz Duchy that the members of the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy are distributing to warn people about the danger of going to the Duchy¡¯s Labyrinths now.¡¹


    I explain to them as I take out the wanted posters. Sherry glances at the posters from the side and reads their contents.


    ¡¸Oh. It says here that these wanted posters are for Heinz the Bandit and Simon the Mad Dog.¡¹


    ¡¸Did you just say Simon the Mad Dog?!¡¹


    Suddenly, Roxanne cried out in surprise.


    ¡¸Well, yes, that is certainly what is written in here? Why do you ask? Do you know him?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. He is a famous Pirate known widely to all of the members of the Wolfkin tribe. I heard he is supposed to be quite strong and second to none when it comes to the usage of a one-handed sword. However, I also heard that he suffered a defeat at someone¡¯s hands in the time when I was still a little child, so at the very least he¡¯s not someone who could go around bragging how invincible he was. Actually, I would really like to fight against him sometimes if we ever got the chance to do so.¡¹

 Volume 7 - CH 2.06

    Actually, Roxanne, you have already fought against him, but it¡¯s just that you don¡¯t realize it.


    Still, it terrifies me how she can say such scary thing like wanting to fight powerful Bandits with a smile on her face and without a hint of fear in her voice!


    ¡¸Well, I appreciate your enthusiasm, but it is impossible now. They are the same Bandits we defeated in Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth a few days ago, so you won¡¯t be able to fight against them anymore.¡¹


    ¡¸Huh? The Bandits from the other day?¡¹


    ¡¸Most likely. I think. Probably.¡¹


    ¡¸That reminds me, one of the Bandits that we fought against was a Wolfkin. So according to what master is saying, was he Simon the Mad Dog? Then, this Rapier¡­¡¹


    Roxanne looks at the Rapier in her hand with a complicated expression.


    In comparison to the infamy of the name that he made for himself, the weapon that he was using was actually in a pretty beat-up state. Is this really supposed to be a weapon that belonged to a notorious Bandit that Roxanne is now using after I gave it to her when our battle when we were ambushed by them was over? Or maybe he is actually hiding his better weapons somewhere else, and that was just a spare that he was using? Or maybe, contrary to what everyone was saying about him, he is just an ordinary Pirate with nothing special going on about him? Well, if even Kobo Daishi can make mistakes with his brush, then I guess it would be unavoidable for the people of the Hartz Duchy to make a mistake while judging the level of threat possessed by every Bandit, huh?


    ¡¸It¡¯s okay, Roxanne, there¡¯s no need for you to be worrying yourself about it too much.¡¹


    ¡¸I know. But still, to defeat someone as notorious and dangerous as Simon the Mad Dog¡­. as expected of Master, your amazingness never stops to surprise me!¡¹


    Well, that¡¯s definitely nice to hear, however¡­


    If we assume that the Pirate whom I have defeated was indeed Simon the Mad Dog, then I guess that all of the credit for defeating him should go to my ¡¸Equivalent Exchange¡¹ Bonus Spell, since it was that magic that defeated him and not my swordsmanship, so a part of me feels like counting this as my own victory is a kind of a foul play that does not do justice to the events that really transpired.


    If anything, I guess I should count myself lucky that I managed to kill him with magic without the need of going against him with my sword alone.


    In the meantime, Sherry fuses the Skill Crystals while I had this conversation with Roxanne. Just as I was expecting of her, she managed to successfully create yet another Sacrificial Misanga.


    ¡¸Ahh, you did it, Sherry. Just like I expected of you.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you for your praise, master.¡¹


    Sherry says while handling the Sacrificial Misanga over to me, and I receive it from her gratefully.


    ¡¸This Sacrificial Misanga is going to be yours to wear, Sherry. Now, where do you want to be wearing it?¡¹


    ¡¸I think I will put it on my foot, if that is okay with master.¡¹


    ¡¸Of course, go for it. Or you know what, allow me to put it on for you. Here, show me your foot.¡¹


    I tie the Sacrificial Misanga around Sherry¡¯s ankle, just like she wanted me to do. Her feet are so small and delicate, and cute, just like Sherry herself.


    Even after I finished binding it, there was still a good amount of the thread left, probably exactly because her feet are so small. As I was trying the Misanga for her, looking at her feet made me want to rub my cheek against them to feel how soft and smooth they are.


    ¡¸The Knight Order of Hartz Duchy seems to be in quite the trouble because of these Bandits. They are even going to stop checking the Intelligence Cards of the people who will come to them in order to claim the bounty for the Bandits because of it.¡¹


    When I was tying the Sacrificial Misanga over Sherry¡¯s ankle for a second time to make sure that it¡¯s going to be fitting just right without the risk of falling off, Sherry said something interesting that immediately caught my attention.


    ¡¸You really think that they¡¯ll not do that?¡¹


    ¡¸Well, it is written as such on the wanted posters, so I guess that means that this is what they¡¯re intending to do?¡¹


    Sherry said while pointing to the part of the wanted posters that apparently listed that information. Well, since I cannot read the letters of the Brahim language at all, they¡¯re just some unintelligible mumbo-jumbo for me, so I have no choice but to take Sherry¡¯s words at face value.


    So they¡¯re not going to be checking the Intelligence Cards of the people who¡¯d want to claim the bounty for killing Bandits? If that¡¯s the case, then that¡¯s great news to me, since if my Intelligence Card is not going to be verified, that means that I can go and turn in the Bandit¡¯s Intelligence Cards in exchange for the prize money right away!


    That being said, I wonder why did they decide to handle it in such a way? Is it really okay for them to be doing something like that?


    ¡¸You really think they are not gonna do the verifications of the Intelligence Cards?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I think they really mean it if they wrote it on the posters. If they do that, then other Bandits will not bring the Intelligence Cards with them next time.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, so this is a kind of a trick in order to make other Bandits bring the Intelligence Cards to them?¡¹


    ¡¸Precisely. After all, the one who knows best where a Bandit is and what he is doing is a fellow Bandit of his. If you pay them enough money, then just like mercenaries, they will kill anyone without asking questions, even if the target was a fellow Bandit of theirs. It is a technique that has been used in the past already each time when a particularly strong Bandits and Thieves were making their appearance in the Empire.¡¹


    So this is a strategy where they want to force a snake to bite another snake so that they would kill each other without them having to intervene?


    Well, I guess it¡¯s true that the only people who¡¯d know how outlaws are operating would be other outlaws. They¡¯re the ones who know their own ways the best, and letting the Bandits kill other Bandits is the most efficient approach to the problem here, because no matter what happens, the numbers of Bandits are going to be reduced one way or another.


    In other words, the current bounty system, which doesn¡¯t allow rewarding Bandits, will conversely protect Bandits from betrayal of or by their fellow Bandits, because if a fellow Bandit¡¯s Intelligence Card can be sold to the authorities for cash without them asking questions about it, then this will prevent Bandits from forming groups.


    With the way things are now, the Duke and the nights are going to encourage Bandits to kill each other off quietly just so that they could get their hand s on a reward, which is going to make betrayals among their ranks more frequent.


    ¡¸Okay, I get that much, but uhm¡­ but if that¡¯s the case, then why do they normally conduct the checks of the Intelligence Cards and not resort to this method more often instead?¡¹


    ¡¸Certainly, I think it is better to hand over the prize money regardless of who brings the Intelligence Card. But the Empire¡¯s laws prevent rewarding outlaws since it will financially benefit them, and that is not what the Empire¡¯s rulers and law enforcement want to achieve.¡¹


    Sherry seems to be in favor of rewarding Bandits with the bounty for killing other Bandits. Well, it does seem like the most rational thing to do, especially if you take into consideration the current security standards of this game¡¯s world.


    Maybe this world¡¯s administration does not want to resort to this method because of their own pride? If so, then I can understand that, because there¡¯s no telling if that system would work in the long term or not. For all intents and purposes, it might only work in the short term.

 Volume 7 - CH 2.07

    Even in Japan, back in its Edo period there was a thing where the Bakuto were authorized by the law enforcement to carry Jitte which allowed the rulers during the Edo period to have many irons in the fire at once, but as history later proved, that decision didn¡¯t turn out too well in the grand scheme of things, because the historian say that it was that kind of special treatment that led to the creation of gangs that later grew up to become Yakuza.


    I also heard that the origin of the western mafia was an autonomous assistance organization in Sicily that was dominated by the influence from the foreign countries.


    Even if the knights don¡¯t have enough power to deal with the Bandits right now, then what is going to happen in the future when they finally do?


    This may lead to undesired custom where the authority is going to rely too much on Bandits defeating other Bandits


    and other problems related to it, so I guess in that case not paying the Bandits the money from the bounties is actually a proof of insight and the correct thing to do.


    In any case, the most important think to know here is that the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy is not going to be conducting the check of my Intelligence Card if I come to claim the bounty for the Bandits, so I don¡¯t have to wait with it anymore.


    On the morning of the next day, I headed to Bode with the Bandits Intelligence Cards to exchange them.


    The Bandits from the wanted posters have already been defeated. The more the time passes, the more the inconsistent information may start to spread around, and that¡¯s only going to work to my disadvantage. The sooner I get this done, the more difficult it will be for inconsistencies to arise. I can only hope that nobody is going to get too suspicious of the fact that I have come to claim the bounty for the Bandits only a day after the wanted posters were distributed to the public.


    Alternatively, I could have waited for a few more days before coming to make the exchange, but I feel like there¡¯s no time to lose for me. Either I do this now, or never.


    My Explorer Job has just risen to Lv.41, so it means that I still have a little bit left to go before I reach Explorer Lv.50, which is a necessary requirement for unlocking the Adventurer Job, and the more I wait, the more dangerous its going to be for me with the possibility of getting caught, so it¡¯s better to cash the money in early than to be sorry later.


    Most likely, the higher the level goes up, the more EXP is going to be needed for me to level my Jobs up. In terms of the Jobs of the Girls, Sherry and Roxanne have their Jobs: Beast Warrior and Master Smith at Lv.31, and Miria is catching up to them with her Diver Job being at Lv.30. However, I don¡¯t believe the EXP points needed to level from Lv.1 to Lv.30 are the same as the EXP points needed to level from Lv.30 to Lv.31, unless there is a range of levels?


    Even if I defeat a number of Lv.l6 monsters on sixteenth floor of the Labyrinths, I probably won¡¯t even receive half as much EXP as for defeating a single Lv.40 monster.


    And it certainly doesn¡¯t help that I don¡¯t completely understand the mechanics of leveling up. For example, even though I have selected the Hero job, it is still at Lv.37, which is starting to look a little sloppy in comparison to others, so I am almost certain that the pace of leveling up differs for each Job individually.


    In any case, it seems It will take quite some time to get the Explorer Job to Lv.50, and before that happens it¡¯s going to be of no use to me to bring the Intelligence Card of Heinz the Bandit to anyone else than the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy.


    First thing¡¯s first, I want to hear from the Duke of Hartz directly as to why the bounty was assigned to Heinz the Bandit. If there is a story behind it, then I feel it might be in my best interest to hear it.


    For the time being I warped to Bode¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild¡¯s wall while having the possibility of the worst possible scenario coming true at the back of my mind. I then enter the city of Bode and head straight towards the Duke¡¯s castle. If they ask to check my Intelligence Card, I can always make an excuse that I am still searching through the Labyrinths of the Hartz Duchy.


    I hand the Intelligence Cards of the Bandits to a Knight whose face I have grown to know quite well lately and awaited how things were going to proceed from this point onward.


    ¡¸Please wait here for a moment. I will go and call the Leader.¡¹


    With that said, the Knight heads to the back of the castle. Ugh, I would have been much happier and much calmer if he didn¡¯t decide to go look for him. I mean come on, I¡¯m just here to get the reward from the bounties on the Bandit¡¯s heads, and as soon as I get said money I¡¯m outta here. Is it really that much to ask for the things to go smoothly just this once?


    Now I¡¯m beginning to think that it might¡¯ve been better for me to actually go and aim for a time when the Duke and Gozer would not be around, but I decided against it after concluding that such an approach would only lead to more trouble further down the road. If any of the Knights asked me to check my Intelligence Cards and I would refuse or started avoiding the subject, I would¡¯ve only gotten myself wound up in an unpleasant incident that might just get me arrested. But if I appear at usual time, take usual attitude and behave as if there was a scheduled appointment with me to be had, wouldn¡¯t it look like there is nothing special going on? Yeah, exactly.


    After a while, Gozer finally appears.


    ¡¸Lord Michio, are you the one who perhaps brought the Bandits Intelligence Cards just now?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, from the ones that attacked when I was in the Labyrinths the other day.¡¹


    ¡¸Was it by any chance on the twelfth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth? Because during our investigation there yesterday we found that one of the caverns walls have been completely covered with Shield Cement.¡¹


    Ahh, so apparently they have already found the location where the Bandits have set


    Up their ambush. What a lucky coincidence, and just in time when I needed something like that to happen. Now, this makes me glad that I only decided to bring the Intelligence Cards today instead of either waiting or bringing them in later or handing them over sooner.


    Now that they found a suspicious place in Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth they will likely focus on investigating it, they would¡¯ve probably grilled me about the time and the place where I got the Intelligence Cards from even harder if I brought them to them later, so it was also a correct decision to come here at usual time. If I brought the Cards at an inappropriate time, they would have thought that I came here immediately after defeating the Bandits.


    ¡¸Is that so? I have indeed found it strange when we found the location of the ambush point but there were no Bandits around, but who would have thought that it was because they have already been defeated?¡¹


    Gozer explains to me. Yeah, that was exactly what happened, and that¡¯s great, because now I have also provided Gozer with the evidence that I have been visiting the Labyrinths of the Hartz Duchy, just like I promised the Duke that I would do.


    ¡¸Sir!¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, what is it?¡¹


    ¡¸These Intelligence Cards belong to the members of Heinz¡¯s crew.¡¹


    The Knight to whom I have given the Intelligence Cards comes back and immediately reports to Gozer. So we were right, and the Bandits that attacked us belonged to Heinz the Bandit¡¯s gang.


    ¡¸There is no mistake about it?¡¹


    ¡¸No Sir, certainly not!¡¹


    ¡¸Well then, Lord Michio, please, come with me.¡¹


    After having confirmed who did the Cards belonged to with the Knight, Gozer invites me to go to the castle with him.


    ¡¸Okay, I understand.¡¹


    I nod at him and follow him inside the castle.

 Volume 7 - CH 2.08

    I would¡¯ve like to not do so if I could help it, but apparently this is one of those situations where I don¡¯t really have that much of a choice, and so I was escorted to a location I had never visited before.


    ¡¸Are you alright after fighting against Heinz the Bandit and his gang?¡¹


    ¡¸Well, I guess I am. Thankfully, somehow I managed to do it.¡¹


    ¡¸Nevertheless, to be able to defeat Heinz the Bandit and his gang, I am really surprised that you managed to do it. It really is a great accomplishment that you can definitely be proud of.¡¹


    ¡¸Well, like I said, I managed to defeat them somehow, and frankly, I¡¯m just happy that we made it through without losing anyone.¡¹


    Gozer and I continued to talk as we walked through the castle¡¯s corridors. The only unfortunate thing here is that I didn¡¯t manage to obtain the Intelligence Card from the Pirate, because my Spell caused him to explode so there was no wrist for the Intelligence Card to emerge from. My guess is that


    That Pirate must have been the strongest member in Heinz¡¯s gang, and I think it would¡¯ve been better if his Card remained intact, because I have a feeling that I would¡¯ve definitely gotten quite a large sum of money for it. If it only wasn¡¯t for the way in which I¡¯ve defeated him, then I might¡¯ve told him exactly how I defeated him, but my magic has to stay a secret from everyone, so I need to keep quiet about it.


    ¡¸Lord Michio was the one who defeated Heinz?¡¹


    Gozer brings me to a room where the Duke of Harz was already waiting for us.


    ¡¸That appears to be the case here.¡¹


    ¡¸Hou, as expected of the person I have taken notice of. Are you alright? You didn¡¯t get hurt during battle with him, did you?¡¹


    ¡¸No, neither I nor the comrades from my Party were injured.¡¹


    For a person who comes across as someone pretty light-hearted, he Duke was already thinking pretty highly of me, seeing me as a very capable person, and it seems that now when I managed to vanquish such a formidable foe, his impression of me improved even more.


    ¡¸The last Intelligence Card belongs to Elmer. There is no Card that belongs to Simon the Mad Dog.¡¹


    Inside of the room where we currently were was something that looked like a white box, and once the Knight who was reading what the contents of each Intelligence Card were finished doing that, each Intelligence Card was then placed inside of the box.


    As for the contents of the Intelligence Cards themselves, there was nothing written on them in regards to how the people to whom they belonged to died or when exactly did they die. Is this device something that is supposed to make it possible for people to read the information that the Intelligence Cards contain?


    ¡¸Simon the Mad Dog¡¯s Intelligence Card is not among them, you say? But Heinz the Bandit¡¯s Card is, right? Great Job, Lord Michio, I really have to applaud your efforts. By the way, has Heinz the Bandit¡¯s Job really was changed to Bandit?¡¹


    ¡¸Heinz the Bandit¡¯s Intelligence Card is among the ones that Lord Michio brought to us with him today, right?¡¹


    Gozer repeats the question about Heinz the Bandit¡¯s Card right after the Duke. Well, looks like one of the Bandits that tried to ambush us on that day whose Intelligence Card is now among all of the other ones belonging to the Bandits whom I have defeated really did belong to Heinz the Bandit. In turn, that would also have to mean that the Pirate Lv.67 really was Simon the Mad Dog.


    ¡¸Yes, Leader. Heinz the Bandit¡¯s Intelligence Card is indeed among the ones that have been brought by your guest today.¡¹


    ¡¸And there really is no Intelligence Card belonging to Simon the Mad Dog there?¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s right. His Intelligence Card is missing.¡¹


    Gozer continues to shower the Knight with questions one after another.


    ¡¸Do you have any idea where he could be, Lord Michio? It¡¯ll be fine if you don¡¯t, but every information on him that we can get our hands on is going to prove invaluable.¡¹


    ¡¸There was one outlaw whose Card I was unable to collect among the ones that attacked me and my Party. Was he really someone that strong?¡¹


    I can¡¯t just go out and say that I killed him, because me admitting to it may lead to them asking a question of how exactly did I manage to slay such a formidable opponent as a Pirate Lv.67, and since I killed him with my magic so thoroughly that there was literally nothing left of him to collect after the fact, then I don¡¯t have any evidence to use as proof that I was really the one who killed him.


    ¡¸So Lord Michio didn¡¯t kill Simon? In that case, why wasn¡¯t he with the rest of the band? Was he perhaps sent on an errand somewhere else? Or maybe he and Heinz finally split up, with each of them going their own way? And we mustn¡¯t forget the possibility that he¡¯s just hiding and laying low somewhere else after the news of their arrival in the Hartz Duchy were spreading around.¡¹


    Gozer was clearly worried about the lack of Simon the Mad Dog¡¯s Intelligence Card and the implications of what that could mean. Well, it¡¯s understandable why he¡¯s acting like that. As the leader of the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy and the person who¡¯s responsible for maintaining security throughout the entirety of the Duchy¡¯s territory, of course he would be worried about the whereabouts of a dangerous Bandit, but in that case I¡¯m afraid that he¡¯s going to be worried about it for quite some time, even though he no longer has any reason to be worried.


    ¡¸If Simon the Mad Dog was the only Bandit that escaped annihilation at Lord Michio¡¯s hands, then he¡¯s no longer going to be as big of a threat as he was when he and the rest of Heinz¡¯s crew were active in the Selmar region. That, and you can be sure that I¡¯m not going to let him do as he pleases while he¡¯s somewhere in the territory that has been entrusted to me.¡¹


    ¡¸That might be true, but¡­.¡¹


    Gozer is still deeply worried, but even if I wanted to say something to reassure him, I just can¡¯t or else my entire cover is going to get blown. Gozer, I¡¯m sorry, but this is just how it has to be, you know? The best thing that you can do here is just stop worrying and trust in the words of the Duke.


    ¡¸In any case, here is the prize money from the bounties that were placed on the Bandit¡¯s heads, Lord Michio.¡¹


    ¡¸Is this your first time seeing where the Guild Temple¡¯s money comes from, Lord Michio?¡¹


    The Duke asks me that question, most likely because he saw me looking at the box curiously and saw how I had my puzzlement written all over my face.


    ¡¸Well, yes, it is indeed my first time seeing it.¡¹


    ¡¸The one that you see right here belongs to the Temple of the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy, and it can only be operated by the Knights who are part of it. It is also possible to conduct a ceremony of changing one¡¯s Job to a Knight, so if Lord Michio would wish to become a Knight and join the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy, then we could by all means carry it right now. Care to give it a try, Lord Michio?¡¹


    I went and used ¡¸Identify¡¹ on the box to see if the Duke was telling the truth, and most certainly, the box-like device does belong to the Temple of the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy. Does that mean that the place where we are currently at is where their Guild Temple is physically located?


    For me, changing my Jobs is as easy as resetting my character or fiddling around with the Party Job Settings for a bit, but normally, the Job Change ceremony can only be carried out in the temples belonging to the Guild of the Job that you wish to acquire.


    To become a Knight, it is probably necessary to visit the temple of the Knights Guild like this one right here.

 Volume 7 - CH 2.09

    ¡¸Thank you for the generous offer, but I think I¡¯m gonna pass.¡¹


    ¡¸Well, that¡¯s perfectly understandable, since you rarely find an Adventurer who would ever bother to turn themselves into a Knight, not to mention that the process itself is not as easy as most people tend to think it is, since praying at the Guild Temple is not the only requirement for the procedure of Job switching. In order to become a Knight, you¡¯d first need years of extensive training as a Warrior first, and as we all know, there is no substitute for hard work and training or shortcuts to make it any easier. And besides, if people like Lord Michio could become Knights so easily, then honestly, that would put us in quite a bind.¡¹


    Finishing his explanation, the Duke laughs. It seems that he was only joking when he was offering me to become a member of the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy, but unfortunately, that little joke of his has completely gone over my head since humor has never been a strong point of mine.


    The fact that in order to become a Knight you need years of training as a Warrior most likely means that the requirement for obtaining that Job is to reach a certain level as a Warrior, and if I had to guess then I would say that it would most likely have to be Warrior Lv.30. Due to how much I am using the Warrior Job¡¯s Skill, ¡¸Rush¡¹, my level as a Warrior is currently at Lv.29, so as you can see I don¡¯t have that much further to go before I reach Lv.30 with it.


    ¡¸Here, my lord.¡¹


    The Knight who operated the box presented the Duke with a drawstring bag that contained the prize money from all the bounties on the Bandits that I have defeated.


    ¡¸You can exchange Intelligence Cards for a reward in any of the knights Guild¡¯s temple, not just this one. This really is a convenient device, so if you ever end up obtaining more Intelligence Cards, don¡¯t hesitate to come exchange them.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. I will make sure to do that next time I have a chance then.¡¹


    ¡¸However, hmm¡­. This is actually less than I thought it would be.¡¹


    The Duke says that to himself with a frown as he checks the bag he received from the Knight.


    ¡¸Yes, this might indeed not be enough. And while it is true that Heinz the Bandit was rampaging pretty badly throughout the Selmar territory, Simon the Mad Dog has yet to be taken care of and so the cut for dealing with him is not included here.¡¹


    ¡¸It does seem to be not nearly enough. I heard that some members of the Knight Order in Selmar have been killed by Simon the Mad Dog alone, so they probably increased the amount of the bounty placed on his head even more since the last time they updated it, Lord Michio.¡¹


    Convinced by Gozer¡¯s explanation, the Duke passed the drawstring bag with the money to me. Just like Sherry said that it was announced in the wanted posters, there was no verification of my own Intelligence Card at all.


    I have to admit though, now that I heard that the amount of money placed on Simon the Mad Dog¡¯s head might¡¯ve been increased even further, I start regretting that I was unable to collect his Intelligence Card due to how I killed him.


    Anyway, I respectfully receive the reward money from him.


    ¡¸Although I arranged for a special case with the Emperor¡¯s council to not check the Intelligence Cards, I guess it was a vain effort on my part after all.¡¹


    The Duke says, more to himself rather than to anyone else in the room in particular. Oh trust me, I don¡¯t believe that what you did was in vain. In fact, I do believe that it was a great decision on your part! Or don¡¯t tell me that you¡¯re going to have my Intelligence Card inspected anyway?! Quick, change the subject to something else!


    ¡¸Did you really go to negotiate that directly with the Emperor or the members of his council?¡¹


    ¡¸I did, and I have to say that it was pretty hard to persuade them to approve my proposal, but after much deliberation I finally managed to convince them that using the outlaws to catch and kill other outlaws is the best possible thing that could have been done here. Don¡¯t you think so as well, Lord Michio?¡¹


    Looks like the Duke and Sherry actually share the same viewpoint on the matter of Intelligence Card checks. I have to admit that it fits the nature of someone like him to a T, but as we have already seen, it turns out that this time he was just a little bit too hasty with that idea of his.


    ¡¸Well, I can certainly see the benefits of such a solution, in the short term at least.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, in the short term, you say? In other words, you think that this solution is not going to be as effective in the long run?¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm, not exactly. I just think that when you decide to use the method where the ruler of a territory or a nation decides to hire outlaws so that they could deal with other outlaws on his behalf, then sooner or later the clear distinction between the controlling side and the controlled side that was there at the beginning is slowly going to fade out. That¡¯s why I said that it might not be as effective in the long run as you might think it is.¡¹


    Oh fuck, now I¡¯ve done it! It might¡¯ve not been intentionally, but I have expressed disagreement with one of the Duke¡¯s opinions! Damn it!


    ¡¸In other words, you believe that having the Knights take care of the outlaws is a better option still? Hmm¡­. Actually, you might be right about that.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh¡­? Well, well, well, so you¡¯re not as inflexible in your thinking as I thought you were, Gozer.


    ¡¸B-But you have to remember that I only said that it¡¯s going to be effective in the short term!¡¹


    I hurriedly rushed in with a follow-up in an attempt to somehow defuse the situation before it gets out of hand. But at the same time, I was also wondering: was it really okay for me to express an opinion that differed from the one that the Duke had so much? I can only hope now that he¡¯s not going to have me purged because of it.


    ¡¸Did you call for me, my lord?¡¹


    At the same time, a voice came I from outside of the room. Looks like we can finally wrap this rather uncomfortable topic up and put it behind us! Now, who is this God that bailed me out of it?


    ¡¸Is that you, Cassia? Please, come in.¡¹


    ¡¸As you wish.¡¹


    So it was not a God, but a Goddess who saved me!


    The door to the room opens and Cassia walks in, looking as beautiful as ever. She is dressed in a light blue gothic-style dress with only a slight amount of her fair skin exposed, but even so, she was still brimming with the same grace and serene elegance as the last time when I saw her.


    She looks just like one of the noble ladies that you might often find in paintings, except for the fact that she is unmistakably real. And look, she even brought a young woman dressed in a maid outfit along with her! She didn¡¯t say anything, and simply stood a few steps behind Cassia, as was probably customary for the servants who accompanied their lords. And since the voice that called out from the other side of the door before did not belong to Cassia, then I guess it must have belonged to this maid girl.


    Just like Cassia herself, she was an elven girl of unprecedented beauty. That being said, she cannot possibly hold a candle to Cassia herself, whose beauty is a few steps above hers.


    ¡¸Cassia, I just heard a most amusing thing. Lord Michio here is of the same opinion as you when it comes to the issue of hiring outlaws to dispose of other outlaws. He believes that it is a bad idea to use Bandits to hunt down other Bandits since there needs to be a clear distinction between those hunting and those being hunted, and dependency on the outlaws in that matter might lead to the disappearance of that clear-cut distinction in the long run.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh my, is that so?¡¹


    Cassia looked at me raised the corners of her lips in a light smile.

 Volume 7 - CH 2.10

    Ahh, that smile of hers! That is truly a smile of a Goddess!


    ¡¸Because there is a possibility of developing a dependency on the outlaws in the matters related to the termination of the Bandits in the territories of those who hired them?¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s right. After all, a part of the noble¡¯s duties is to protect the people living in the territories that have been entrusted to them, and it truly does not seem to be appropriate for the noble¡¯s part to be played by anyone other than nobles, lest they want their authority to be damaged and their right to lead their people to be questioned.¡¹


    ¡¸Even if this method has been implemented as an emergency one, you always have to carefully consider when it is going to be profitable to hire Bandits to hunt and kill other Bandits for you, and when the demerits of this method might far outweigh the possible merits.¡¹


    I was truly impressed by Cassia¡¯s words towards the Duke, but even though I felt amazed by her and wanted to stare at her in admiration, I know that I cannot do that if I want to avoid accidentally incurring the Duke¡¯s wrath at having his wife ogled by someone like me. Those eyes of his¡­. Are those the eyes of someone who¡¯s looking at me thinking whether he should have me purged for looking at his wife with lustful eyes? Earlier, I was concerned about disagreeing with the Duke, but now I¡¯m worrying if I¡¯m not going to get punished for something much more serious. However¡­.


    ¡¸Well, in that case I guess you¡¯re going to have much reasons to rejoice, Cassia, because it is no longer necessary for us to be employing that method, because Lord Michio and his Party managed to defeat Heinz the Bandit and his gang.¡¹


    Looks like the things have gone well, and I¡¯m not going to have my ass purged anytime soon.


    ¡¸Good heavens. Is that true?¡¹


    Cassia¡¯ eyes opened widely when the Duke relayed the news to her, and then she looked at me with an expression that looked like a mixture joy and delight. Oh my God, these blue eyes of hers look like they¡¯re so deep that I might end up drowning in them completely if I keep on staring at them any longer! I never felt more as if I was being absorbed by someone¡¯s eyes than how I am feeling right now in this very moment.


    Actually, you know what? If I was to be absorbed by Cassia¡¯s beautiful eyes, then I think that I wouldn¡¯t have anything against it at all. Moreover, I would love to be absorbed by her eyes if it would mean that I would get to stay a part of her forever!


    ¡¸Out of all the Bandits who appeared in our territories, Simon the Mad Dog was the only one who managed to flee with his life, but without other people who would do his bidding for him, I highly doubt that he¡¯s going to be able to sow as much chaos as he did before in Selmar. In fact, it wouldn¡¯t even surprise me if he has already been killed by other Bandits aiming to exchange his Intelligence Card for money.¡¹


    Well, to be honest, that is indeed the case. Simon the Mad Dog is already dead, but it¡¯s just that I cannot tell them about it in order to avoid further questions in regards to how exactly did he die.


    ¡¸Thank you very much. Before they came here to the Hartz Duchy, Heinz the Bandit and his band of outlaws were very active in the territories of the Earl of Selmar, which are also my parent¡¯s homeland, and a few of my good acquaintances and friends had been murdered by him, so I am very thankful to you, Lord Michio, for taking revenge for them on my behalf, even if you have done so unknowingly.¡¹


    Cassia then bowed her head to me respectfully, as a result of which her beautiful, golden hair fall down like a cascade of golden water or the rays of sunshine.


    ¡¸No, no, no, there¡¯s no need to thank me for it at all! I am simply grateful for hearing your kind words, Lady Cassia.¡¹


    ¡¸Just between all of us here, when I heard that Heinz the Bandit and his band moved I here from the Earl of Selmar¡¯s territories, I was extremely worried about how the situation with them was going to develop, but now that we know that the majority of Heinz¡¯s crew has been dealt with, the citizens of both Selmar and Hartz will be able to feel relieved and sleep without worrying about their immediate future.¡¹


    ¡¸To tell you the truth, I¡¯m just honored that I could be of use to you and that my actions were able to help someone other than myself.¡¹


    I don¡¯t really care all that much about the people of the territories belonging to that Earl of Selmar, but if the situation with those Bandits was enough to make Cassia worried like that, then I can say that I¡¯m really glad that I got to kill those Bandits if it means that Cassia is going to feel relieved now.


    ¡¸By the way Lord Michio, if you don¡¯t mind me asking, then could you tell me if any of the members of Heinz the Bandit¡¯s gang was perhaps equipped with a ring.¡¹


    The Duke asked me that all of a sudden.


    Speaking of rings, I guess there is this one Ring of Determination that the girls found lying on the ground when we were searching the battlefield for the Bandit equipment when our battle with them was finally over.


    I take out the Ring of Determination from my Item Box, and pass it to the Duke. There should be no problems with me showing this ring to him, since it can also serve as a definitive proof that I was truly the one who defeated the Bandits.


    ¡¸By a ring, do you perhaps mean this ring?¡¹


    ¡¸Oh¡­.. No, unfortunately, this ring is not the one I was thinking off, because it is too new to be the one that I remember.¡¹


    Well, in that case I guess there¡¯s nothing that we can really do about it, since this particular Ring of Determination has been restored to its peak condition from the beat-up state it was in the moment when I performed a Character Reset while having it equipped on me, so there is no way that it¡¯s going to go back to its previous state now that it has been reborn.


    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry to hear it, but unfortunately this is the only ring that I found after my battle with the Bandits was over.¡¹


    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry about it then, we¡¯re not going to doubt your words, Lord Michio. What do you think, Gozer?¡¹


    ¡¸Hmm, when I look at this ring, I think that the one that belonged to you had more scratches on it, but who can say if the ring has not been polished multiple times ever since you lost it?¡¹


    When I had a puzzled look on my face in regards to the situation that was transpiring right now, I was promptly offered an explanation by the Duke.


    ¡¸Heinz the Bandit stole the Ring of Determination from the Earl of Selmar a number of years back. You see, Lord Michio, that ring was originally a family heirloom that belonged to my house, and when me and Cassia got married, I presented it to her as my betrothal gift.¡¹


    That is what the Duke said. So originally, this Ring of Determination was an accessory that belonged to him? And it was something that he presented to Cassia as a betrothal gift when they were going to get married¡­. Wait a minute¡­


    ¡¸Betrothal gift¡­?¡¹


    ¡¸It¡¯s a custom that¡¯s in direct contrast to the one that the members of the common folk have. In case of commoners, the role that males have is to fight against monsters. But because of that and the danger that fighting the monsters brings with itself, the numbers of the male population tend to be decreasing, while the population of the females increases. It is for this exact reason that at the time of marriage bride has to offer a dowry in order to be accepted into the groom¡¯s family, and if the dowry is considered to not be enough, then the marriage can either be called off entirely in the worst-case scenario, while in the best-case scenario it might lead to the development of polygamy. However, that is not the case among the people who count themselves among the ranks of the nobility. Since a very small percentage of nobles takes it upon themselves to actually go fight against the monsters, the numbers of male and female nobles are more or less equal. It is for that exact reason while in the case of nobility, it is a male¡¯s duty to provide the bride with a betrothal gift at the time of marriage.¡¹

 Volume 7 - CH 2.11

    7-9 minutes


    The Duke explained to me how betrothal gifts worked in this world, most likely because he was thinking that I won¡¯t be able to understand the customs of the nobles since I¡¯m not a noble myself. And, well, he was essentially right in regards to that, since I didn¡¯t even knew about that bride¡¯s dowry thingy that the commoners of this world have, since I¡¯m someone completely new to this world. But saying that I didn¡¯t even knew about the commoners customs would¡¯ve probably been bad to mention, so I just kept my mouth shut.


    The gist of the system that they seem to have implemented here is that in case of commoners, the bride is the one who needs to pay the groom and his family with money and goods in order to be accepted into the family. I guess that you could probably call it a safety deposit of sorts if you were to dumb it down enough.


    Back in my old world there was a lot of wars going on across the entire world in the past, so you could probably liken what the Duke said about men of this world dying in the fights against the monsters to how the men in my old world were dying en masse whenever there was a war going on. I even heard some stories of how the Islamic religion allowed the Islamic men to legally engage in polygamy precisely because of that reason.


    If a war was ever to break out in this world, then I wonder if it would have been the same here, seeing how this game¡¯s world and my old world seem to be similar to each other in great many things?


    ¡¸I see, so that¡¯s how it is with nobles, huh?¡¹


    ¡¸If this Ring of Determination that Heinz had is indeed the very same one that he has stolen back then, then I would definitely like to buy it from you by all means, Lord Michio. Would that be all right with you?¡¹


    ¡¸Does this ring have some kind of deeper history behind it?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. I mentioned that this is a family heirloom, right? Well, to elaborate on that, it is something that my ancestor from over five generations back received when he went through the process of Fixation.¡¹


    It really seems that the Ring of Determination came out during Fixation, just like Sherry explained it to me before.


    ¡¸So that¡¯s the history behind it, huh?¡¹


    It cannot be helped then. If that¡¯s the case, then I don¡¯t see any reason to refuse the Duke¡¯s offer.


    ¡¸Then I will receive the ring and have it appraised right away.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay.¡¹


    And just like that, the Ring of Determination has been taken from me. What about the price for it? I wonder how much the Duke is going to offer me for it? Is he going to give me the same price as the one dictated by the nobles?


    However, since it concerns the Duke and Cassia, I don¡¯t think the price will be low. It feels like receiving a blank cheque: they¡¯re going to give me whatever amount that I¡¯m going to write on it, and depending on the amount that I¡¯m going to write, this may or may not turn into a problematic situation.


    ¡¸I was also thinking of taking Lord Michio to visit the Earl of Selmar, but what do you think about such an idea, Cassia?¡¹


    Suddenly, without any kind of warning whatsoever, the Duke threw a truly frightening suggestion into the air. Going to visit the Earl of Selmar? That is a very kind and thoughtful idea, but I assure you, there¡¯s no need to be going that far for me. I am going to be perfectly fine with just receiving the financial compensation for getting your Ring of Determination back to you, so you don¡¯t have to worry about doing anything else for me, really!


    ¡¸Yes, I think that this is going to be a good idea as well. After all, Heinz the Bandit and Simon the Mad Dog and their lackeys have been a thorn in the Earl of Selmar¡¯s side for quite a long time, so I¡¯m sure that he¡¯s going to want to offer the words of his gratitude to the person who contributed so much towards the extinction of the band of Bandits that have been plaguing his territories for such a long time.¡¹


    Cassia agrees with the Duke. Damn, now that she expressed her opinion that it would be good of me to go meet the Earl, I guess I have no choice but to go. After all, if that is what Cassia wishes, then I don¡¯t want to do anything that would cause me to lose her favor.


    ¡¸Yes, that is definitely the best thing that can be dine here. Are you fine with such a course of action, Lord Michio? Oh, judging by your expression you must be quite worried, but trust me, there is no need for you to be. All you¡¯d have to do is to bow your head before the Earl and listen to what he¡¯s going to have to say that that would be it. It won¡¯t even have to be too formal and it won¡¯t cause any sort of trouble for you, so you can relax and not thing about the whole thing too hard. Technically I could go and pass the news to the Earl on your behalf, but I think it¡¯s going to be better if you¡¯re going to go and relay the news to him in person.¡¹


    ¡¸Huh. I see.¡¹


    ¡¸The Bandits plaguing Selmar and Hartz were taken care of thanks to Lord Michio¡¯s valiant efforts. I know that we have no right to impose anything upon you, but I would really appreciate it if you could give the Earl of Selmar the opportunity to express his gratitude as to you as well.¡¹


    ¡¸Very well. I understand.¡¹


    Since Cassia is the one asking me to do it, I can¡¯t refuse her.


    I would like to decline it if possible, but I can¡¯t find any reason that would justify my refusal properly.


    ¡¸If I killed the Bandits which even the Earl of Selmar couldn¡¯t get rid of, It would be something I could take pride in and bragged about every chance I got, so you might use that opportunity to do just that, Lord Michio.¡¹


    Maybe that is the true intention of the Duke with me going to visit the Earl of Selmar? I have no idea what is the relationship between the Duke of Hartz and his in-laws that rule over the Selmar territory, but could it be that they are actually not getting along all that well because they think that he stole their beautiful daughter away from them? Because if so, then could you please not involve me in your petty personal squabbles?


    ¡¸I will arrange a day for a meeting with the Earl of Selmar, but it definitely won¡¯t be right away, so can I ask you to come back to Bode in the morning three days from now, Lord Michio? By that time, I think the date for the meeting should already be decided.¡¹


    ¡¸In three days? Okay, I understand. Then I will come here again in three days, just like you¡¯re asking.¡¹


    I bow to Cassia and the Duke, and then take my leave from the room, since I think this whole conversation has gone on for long enough and it is about time to go and end it.


    I don¡¯t mind being near Cassia forever, but I cannot say that, and I cannot stay here longer than it is necessary for me, since there is also a possibility that I would be roped into more unreasonable demands.


    Also, I should withdraw before I am going to be asked to show my Intelligence Card after all.


    ¡¸Lord Michio, this way please.¡¹


    Gozer sees me off to the castle¡¯s lobby.


    ¡¸Lord Gozer, is there perhaps a village or a port or maybe a place where I can acquire a lot of fish around these parts?¡¹


    ¡¸When you speak about fishing villages, Hafen comes to my mind. It is famous for the quality of their fish. If you want to, I can ask one of our Adventurers to take you there.¡¹


    As I thought, there really seems to be a good fishing village in the territory of Hartz Duchy. I suspected as much when I figured out that the Hartz Duchy must be close to the sea when I heard that amber is mined there. I guess that the sea will be somewhere to the north then.


    ¡¸This is Hafen.¡¹


    The Adventurer brings me to what seems to be the fishing market of the village.

 Volume 7 - CH 2.12

    The air is filled with smell of the sea and fish mingled together. The sellers are displaying the fish and interacting with the buyers.


    ¡¸You are not a member of the Knight Order. How can I help you?¡¹


    As soon as we arrive, an Elf approaches us. He appears to be from this fishing village, and his Job is Village Chief Lv.5


    ¡¸I want you to listen to what this person has to say. With that, my work here is done, so if you¡¯ll excuse me¡­.¡¹


    The Adventurer who brought me heads back immediately after leaving me with the Village Chief.


    ¡¸So, how can I be of help?¡¹


    ¡¸Is it possible to buy fish from here?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. There are no particular restrictions on it.¡¹


    Since the Adventurer went home, I speak directly with the Village Chief. He¡¯s polite to me, probably because a Knight brought me here with them. Anyway, this much info should be fine for now. That¡¯s all I needed to hear.


    ¡¸Is it always busy like this?¡¹


    ¡¸Every morning, we drop the nets in different location, so the quality and quantity of the fish caught is purely based on luck. The fish we catch are all sold here then. Today, It was quite a good catch.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay. From now on, I will be coming here to buy fish then.¡¹


    ¡¸Of course. We will be waiting for you.¡¹


    After making a new acquaintance, I decided to head back. After returning back home, I confirm the amount of the prize money.


    Fifty nine gold coins and fifty two silver coins.


    Five hundred and ninety five thousand and two hundred Nars total.


    Although the Duke said it might not be enough of a compensation, is that really the case here? Because I feel like it¡¯s more than enough.


    Among the eight Intelligence Cards I had, six of the Bandits were low-levelled ones, but they must¡¯ve been worth ten to twenty thousand Nars each, totaling at about one hundred thousand Nars.


    There was also one high-levelled Thief. The bounty for that one should most likely be around one hundred thousand Nars. And Heinz the Bandit¡¯s bounty would be at about two hundred thousand Nars.


    Thinking about it that way, it does seem that the reward for all of them is kinda small, but am I even allowed to point that out now? No, I think it¡¯s already too late to be saying anything in regards to this matter.


    Even if I complained, there is no reason for them to increase the reward now that I have already accepted it.


    ¡¸Now that I have turned in the Intelligence Cards, I can go back to Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth.¡¹


    I tell the girls while we were having breakfast.


    Also, since the Bandits were killed, I don¡¯t think their companions will return to any Labyrinth in the territory of Hartz Duchy, but if it¡¯ll ever come to that, then I can simply insist that the exact whereabouts of Simon the Mad Dog remain unknown and just leave it at that. That is of course if they decide to keep digging into that matter, which they¡¯re probably not going to do, if I am to be honest with you.


    With those things finally out of the way, it was time for us to go back to the thirteenth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth to resume our trek throughout it.


    It would be more efficient to go to sixteenth floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth, but I can¡¯t help it at this point, since I can¡¯t afford to act out of convenience now. Well, there is also the possibility of us using a guide in order to reach the sixteenth floor of Haruba¡¯s and Tare¡¯s Labyrinths, but doing that is going to be highly inefficient and meaningless if the lineup of the monsters is going to be different from the one that we have gotten so used to by now. In which case, the better and most importantly, safer option for us right now is going to be the exploration of the floors in order.


    The ideal course of action here would be if I could get my hands on the Adventurer Job as soon as possible, but I highly doubt that I will be able to get enough levels to increase my Explorer Job all the way to Lv.50 in two days or faster.


    ¡¸Also, since we got so much money from the bounties that have been placed on the Bandit¡¯s heads, then I think we could start thinking about bolstering our ranks with new members again.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, that is certainly something that we can do.¡¹


    ¡¸I don¡¯t mean right now, of course. We should do that only when Miria has gotten more familiar with the Brahim language.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, desu!¡¹


    I once again let them know about my intentions of expanding my harem even further, but I think it might be a good idea to wait with it until Miria is not going to need Roxanne to be her interpreter anymore. Not to mention that it¡¯s going to take quite a while before she masters the Brahim Language enough to be capable of holding conversations in it on her own.


    ¡¸Also, I sold the Ring of Determination to the Duke of Hartz. Apparently, it was obtained by the Duke¡¯s ancestor during Fixation, so there wasn¡¯t much that I could do about it. I am sorry, Miria.¡¹


    ¡¸So it was like I thought.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, desu.¡¹


    Sherry and Miria nod together. After all, when Sherry got her own Sacrificial Misanga, Miria was supposed to receive that Ring of Determination, and she did get it, but just for one day.


    But even so, Miria doesn¡¯t show any sign of disappointment at all, even though I promise her that this was going to be her very own piece of equipment. Is she really okay with it, or is she just putting up a front for my sake?


    ¡¸As compensation, the leader of the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy introduced me to a fishing village in his territory, so what do you say to the four of us going there to do some fishing the day after tomorrow?¡¹


    I follow up with a suggestion that is sure to get Miria interested.


    ¡¸Wow! Yes, desu! We have to go, desu!¡¹


    Miria¡¯s eyes immediately shone with a bright light when Roxanne finished translating my words to her. As I expected, she¡¯s carrying more about the fish and the possibility of getting them than about anything else like getting better equipment for herself.


    ¡¸The territory of Hartz Duchy is to the north, so there is bound to be lot of good-quality seafood in that fishing village, so we might as well¡­..¡¹


    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹


    For some reason, Sherry decided to cut in the middle of my speech without allowing me to say everything that I wanted to say.


    Oh crap, is it going to be about something that I¡¯ve said just now? Oh no, this is bad! Could it actually be that the lands that are located to the north are not like a treasure trove of natural resources just waiting for people to take some of them for themselves?!


    Fuck, I have done it yet again after promising myself that there is going to be no more screw-ups like that from me! And yet, for some bizarre reason I thought that the geography of this world is going to be roughly the same as the geography of Earth, and that by extension the quality and the resourcefulness of the regions of this world is going to be the same as Earth¡¯s!


    Michio, you idiot! Of course this game¡¯s world is not going to be the same as the world that you knew before! There are bound to be differences in comparison to Earth, so who¡¯s to say that instead of the North Sea, the South Sea is going to be the one that contains a bountiful amount of fish in it?!


    ¡¸No. I really think that it is more likely that there is plenty of fish in the waters of the North Sea, or at least I don¡¯t think that anyone who I know ever mentioned it being the other way around.¡¹


    ¡¸I think I recall hearing that there are more animals and plants in the lands and territories located to the south because the winds that blow in the south are naturally warmer in comparison to the ones that blow in the north, which are said to be universally cold.¡¹


    ¡¸That is what I¡¯ve heard as well, but I was always under the impression that those statements applied only to the animals and plants that are land-based, and the sea-based ones were not included in that.¡¹

 Volume 7 - CH 2.13

    ¡¸Miria heard that supposedly more fish can be caught in the seas to the north, but as for the reason why is that, she says that unfortunately she doesn¡¯t know.¡¹


    More fish can be caught in the North Sea than in the South Sea. Okay, duly noted. If Miria, our residual expert on all things fish-related, says so, then that has to most likely be the case, and I see no reason to doubt her words in regards to that.


    *Phew*, what a relief! And here I thought that I ended up blabbering something that I¡¯ll not be able to talk my way out of. So the conditions of this world do seem to be similar to the ones that were present on Earth after all.


    ¡¸While we are on the subject of fishing and the sea¡­. I wonder why is it that there seems to be more fish in the waters to the north than there are in the waters to the south. As much as I would like to know, it is a complete mystery to me.¡¹


    ¡¸Mystery, desu!¡¹


    Sherry and Miria are getting along pretty well, much better than I thought they would be based on their personalities and differences in characters. Maybe it has something to do with the positions in which they are seated, with the two of them sandwiching Roxanne between themselves? Anyway, it¡¯s quite strange, but if that arrangement works out for them just fine and Roxanne herself does not seem to have anything to say against it, then everything¡¯s good in my book.


    The two of them looked at each other and shook their heads at one another from across Roxanne.


    ¡¸That might be because the seas are primarily made out of water without much else being in there, so basically the fish that live in it don¡¯t get enough nutrition that they need in order to function and reproduce properly.¡¹


    ¡¸A lack of proper nutrition? Is that really the case?¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s right. Now, you might be wondering where exactly the nourishment in the sea is coming from, so allow me to explain it to you. Usually, when the fish die, their corpses sink all the way to the bottom of the sea, where they are then slowly getting disassembled bit by bit by small aquatic insects that live at the bottom of the sea. Then, the small insects that ate the fish are getting eaten by bigger insects, and these are getting eaten by small fish. As the next step, the small fish are getting consumed by the medium-sized fish, and once the big fish that eat the medium fish die, they sink to the bottom of the ocean again so that the cycle of life and death can repeat itself all over again. And that is basically how the circulation of the nourishment in the environment of the sea works, more or less. That is also why it can be said that the entirety of the nourishment in the sea comes from the bottom of it. But at the same time, while the bottom of the sea is relatively rich in nourishment, others parts of the sea have it that much less, and without proper nutrition in the entire sea, the number of fish in it is not going to increase. There, did that explanation of the life cycle in the sea helped you understand?¡¹


    I teach them what I learned in biology class, but I decided to drop the bits about bacteria, organic matter and the food chain, because even if I did try explaining it to them, I don¡¯t they would have understand it.


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸The nutrient-rich water at the bottom of the sea is always cold. In the case of the Southern Sea, the temperature of its waters that are closer to the surface is increased in comparison to the temperatures at the bottom of it, owing it to the fact that the surface of the water heats up by having the rays of the sun shine down on it throughout the entire day. However, as a result of that, it is pretty hard for the warm water from near the surface and the cold water from the bottom of the sea to mix with one another properly, and as a result of that, the nourishment-rich water from the bottom of the sea cannot be spread all the way to the surface of the sea in equal measures. On the other hand though, in the Northern Sea where the water at the bottom of the sea and near the surface is always cold, the nutrients get the chance to mix up relatively well across all depths, therefore, the nutrition at the bottom of the sea tends to spread around the sea instead of staying at the bottom of it all the time. And this is the reason why the North Sea has plenty more fish in it than the South Sea.¡¹


    After I finished my explanations, I waited patiently for Roxanne to translate my words to Miria.


    ¡¸As expected of master. Miria says it is her first time hearing this, and she says that it¡¯ll definitely come in useful.¡¹


    ¡¸Hmm¡­ I, on the other hand, smell a lie in here.¡¹


    ¡¸Amazing, desu!¡¹


    The reactions that I got from Sherry and Miria were mixed.


    Miria believed my words and accepted them as truth right away, but Sherry proved to be unusually skeptical this time. Well, I guess I should have expected as much, since when you get down to it, Miria is a rather straightforward person who doesn¡¯t seem to care that much about thinking about things too hard, but Sherry is an intellectual who always tends to think about things way too much, which makes her critical towards most of the things that I tend to say. That, and Miria¡¯s response is probably a result of the education that she received from Roxanne thus far.


    I wonder why Sherry is always like that? Does that mean that she doesn¡¯t trust me at all?


    ¡¸Sherry, what do you mean by ¡¸I smell a lie¡¹?¡¹


    ¡¸Exactly what I said.¡¹


    ¡¸But I¡¯m telling the truth here.¡¹


    ¡¸Hmm, I wonder about that. Are you sure that you¡¯re not just trying to pull the wool over my eyes.¡¹


    ¡¸No, I am most certainly not trying to pull the wool over your or anyone¡¯s eyes.¡¹


    I swear to God, this girl can be such a handful sometimes. Why would I ever lie to her about something like that? What would that achieve if I did that? And besides, I don¡¯t remember ever lying to any of them about anything.


    ¡¸Have you found something wrong with what I just said?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I did.¡¹


    Hoo boy, here we go again.


    ¡¸The surface of the South Sea is warm, and the surface of the North Sea is cold. Up to this point I understand everything perfectly and it all makes logical sense. But if we assume that what you said is indeed correct, then wouldn¡¯t that actually make the bottom of the North Sea colder than the bottom of the South Sea? It would, wouldn¡¯t it? But according to what you said just now, the temperature would not change at all!¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, you certainly raise a good point. But let me tell you why you¡¯re wrong by assuming that what I said is incorrect: it¡¯s because when the water becomes colder, it¡¯s going to freeze up and turn to ice.¡¹


    ¡¸Then that makes what you said even more suspicious! With all that ice forming at the bottom, why would the bottom of the North Sea not be completely cold and frozen?¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm, hello? Because the resulting ice is going to float from the bottom of the sea all the way to its surface?¡¹


    ¡¸Ice will float¡­ to the surface?¡¹


    Huh? Now wait just a goddamn minute. Does¡­ does Sherry not know about the properties of ice? Well, I guess that makes sense, since this world lacks the appliances such as freezers and refrigerators and such.


    ¡¸Yes, ice will float on the water¡¯s surface. Have you not heard any stories of how the surfaces of rivers and lakes tend to be frozen solid in winter?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, of course I have heard about that.¡¹


    ¡¸Well, this is basically the very same thing. When the temperatures in the North Sea become excessively cold, even its surface is going to be covered by a layer of ice, and as a result, this phenomenon is going to prevent the water at the bottom of the sea from getting any colder. For this reason, the water temperature at the bottom of the both seas stays more or less the same without any noticeable differences, and the only thing that does differ is their surface temperatures.¡¹


    ¡¸Hmm¡­ I see. While I still don¡¯t buy that explanation as a whole, I feel that some of what you just said does sound quite logical.¡¹


    Oh? Have I finally managed to convince Sherry that what I was saying was right after all? Because if so, then this victory of science over the lack of proper scientific knowledge that could only be obtained after the years, nay centuries of research conducted by countless scientists is truly a case to rejoice! Long live science!


    Although this might seem like something that¡¯s not too significant for me as a person, this small step for me is actually the beginning of a series of great leaps for Humans of this world as a whole!

 Volume 7 - CH 3.1

    Chapter 33: Interview


    ¡ºSherry¡»


    Current Levels & Equipment:


    Master Smith Lv.31


    Equipment:


    Steel Spear


    Chainmail


    Hardened Leather Helmet


    Hardened Leather Gloves


    Hardened Leather Boots


    Sacrificial Misanga


    After finally convincing Sherry that what I was talking about was not a lie but the genuine truth and only the truth, we could finally go enter the Labyrinth again.


    Our destination is the thirteenth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth, and while there, we are facing off against Pig Hogs and Grass Bees. On the sixteenth floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth the going was rather easy, owing it to the fact that the majority of the enemies that we encountered there consisted mostly of Bitch Butterflies, Grass Bees and Hat Bats, all of which were weak against Wind Magic. Thanks to that, I could always go out and clear the mobs rather quickly without juggling my spells too much.


    Unfortunately, that is no longer going to be the case on the thirteenth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth. We¡¯re still going to have Grass Bees that are weak to Wind Magic, but Pig Hogs are weak only against Water Magic, meaning that I¡¯ll have to do the very thing that I despise so much here: juggle the different types of magic in order to continue dealing consistent damage to the enemies. And you know what that means, right?


    ¡¸Ugh, so it¡¯s going to be like that after all?¡¹


    Just like I¡¯ve expected, the duration of the battles on the thirteenth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth is almost the same as the duration of the battles on the higher floors of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth, which is to say, longer than I would¡¯ve liked.


    I think we can clear this floor and the ones that¡¯re going to come after it without much any difficulties, but we won¡¯t be able to save as much time doing so.


    ¡¸It¡¯ s going to be fine, master. We already fought against much tougher enemies on the sixteenth floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth, so the ones over here are not going to be any sort of challenge for us!¡¹


    In Roxanne¡¯s opinion, we¡¯re going to be safe here and breeze through these floors, which I don¡¯t doubt that we will, but it doesn¡¯t change the fact that the efficiency of us doing so is going to be quite bad.


    Even if battles are long, at least we haven¡¯t suffered any damage, which shouldn¡¯t be a surprise, since going back from the sixteenth floor to the thirteenth is going to be quite a drop in the difficulty of the encounters, but the time needed for us to do battles is still the same, and even though it is something that largely cannot be helped, I still feel somewhat bitter about it.


    And then to top it all off, there¡¯s also a matter of the Duke¡¯s request as well. I cannot say that I have any problems with exploring the thirteenth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth, but exploring the sixteenth floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth would allow me to become an Adventurer that much faster, since the monsters from the sixteenth floor are going to give me much more EXP than the ones from the thirteenth floor.


    From that day onwards, my time was divided between the exploration of the thirteenth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth and then getting some household chores done when we were going back home.


    First thing¡¯s first, I went to grab the maid clothes for Miria from the clothing store in the Imperial City. It has already been ten days since Miria joined us, so according to the words of the clerk at the shop, they should be ready today. Ten days since she joined us, huh? It feel like much ore time has passed, but I think it¡¯s going to be to my advantage to get to know her better before I go and declare that it is time to increased the number of the members of my harem once more.


    When I returned home with Miria¡¯s maid clothes in tow, it was already evening. When they saw that I¡¯ve come back, Roxanne and Sherry also brought their maid uniforms to the living room with them.


    ¡¸All right. Now that master brought Miria¡¯s maid clothes, we¡¯re going to teach her how to put them on properly.¡¹


    Roxanne says as she starts to take off her clothes. Right in front of me, without showing any signs of embarrassment at all. As soon as she took her clothes off, her rich, bountiful breasts showed themselves to me in their full, unrestrained glory. Even though I have already seen them countless times before, I cannot get enough of their sight, since this is that kind of magical view that you cannot possibly get tired off. This familiar sight is also the best one in my opinion, and nothing is ever going to be able to top it off, even if her big, fascinating chest is going to hide behind the thin fabric of her maid clothes.


    They sway, they shake, they get squeezed together, all the while remaining hidden from me. This is outrageous! Erotically outrageous indeed!


    The maid clothes are trying to hold them down so that they wouldn¡¯t move as much, but their suppleness is too much for them to handle, and they cannot contain them completely. As expected of their exquisite, one-of-a-kind elasticity.


    As for Miria¡¯s maid clothes, they are similar to Roxanne¡¯s and Sherry¡¯s maid clothes, except for the slight difference in the design of the apron. The combination of her small cat ears on top of the maid uniform also looks positively great.


    ¡¸Okay, I understand that you want to teach Miria how to put on her new uniform¡­. But what I don¡¯t get is why do you have to do it here of all places?¡¹


    If they were changing their clothes in the bedroom, I would have been able to push you them down on the bed and have some steamy maid uniform sexual play. Or perhaps¡­. Perhaps they don¡¯t want me to do that to them now?


    ¡¸Well, if we changed there, then master would push us down onto the bed.¡¹


    So it was like that, huh? Well, of course I would do that to you. I mean, why wouldn¡¯t I do that, especially considering what happened the last time when Sherry got her maid outfit?


    I pick Roxanne up and put one arm on her back and the other one under her knees. I hold her smooth body in my arms while I slowly and gently carried her to the bedroom. As I do that, I continue to stare at her jiggling breasts like a little baby. I can feel her softness and suppleness in my arms, and it all feels to great to be described with something as simple as words.


    Sherry¡¯s body is much more petite than Roxanne¡¯s and not as curvaceous, but it also feels great.


    I place my arm above her delicate feet, and hold her closely to my body so that no harm would come to her when I was carrying her. That being said, carrying her from the living room to the bedroom is quite easy, exactly because she is so small.


    And finally, it is time to carry Miria to the bedroom as well. When I picked her from the ground, her cute cat ears began to twitch while Miria herself became unusually quiet, but on the flipside that made carrying her that much easier than if she was talking or moving around in my arms in surprise.


    Now that I have carried all three of them to the bed, it¡¯s time to eat them up. Of course I will eat them up. Whoever thought that I will not be eating them up after carrying them to the bedroom was gravely mistaken.


    It was indeed quite a feast that made me feel so sated that I wouldn¡¯t be able to take another bite out of them even if I wanted to.


    On the morning of the next day, the four of us went on a trip to Hafen, the fishing village that Gozer told me about when I was leaving Bode yesterday. Our destination is the village¡¯s fish market.


    As I suspected, the scent of the salted water coming from the tide and the strong smell of fish were mixing with one another.


    ¡¸Oh, oh, oh, ooohhhh!!!!¡¹


    Miria¡¯s eyes were shining brightly and she tried to say something to me, but her emotion must¡¯ve get the better of her, because the only things that were getting squeezed out of her throat were enthusiastic, moaning-like sounds that didn¡¯t resemble words at all, so even if she wanted to communicate something to me, I have no way of discerning what exactly that something was.


    Maybe she was trying to say whether she wants the fish from here for breakfast or for dinner? Let¡¯s try to go along with that line of reasoning and see if my guess was on the mark or not.

 Volume 7 - CH 3.10

    ¡¸It is alright. It will work out somehow.¡¹


    ¡¸Will I use medicine to become a Knight then?¡¹


    ¡¸Can you even become a Knight by using medicine? Cause that¡¯s the first time that I¡¯m hearing about it.¡¹


    ¡¸There is a medicine called Dope Medicine. It¡¯s believed that if you use that medicine in small quantities, it is going to make you a little stronger with each ingestion. If taken in large quantities, it is even possible to acquire a superior Job thanks to it. However, it is said that the person who uses this method is going to be weaker in comparison to the person who acquired the Job through years of hard work and gaining experience.¡¹


    Is there such a convenient item? If it is possible to change Jobs thanks to that medicine, then I guess that must be some kind of Level Up item. And regarding that drawback that Sherry mentioned, the one that the person who gets a new Job thanks to the Dope Medicine, I guess that is something to be expected. After all, since it is something that only increases your level, than it should be obvious that it¡¯ll only increase that and nothing else, leaving your stats exactly how they were.


    In that case, it would be better for us to not use such a method. With the alternatives available to us via my Bonus Skills, there¡¯s no need for us to be taking such a shortcut.


    ¡¸I see. It certainly sounds helpful, but we¡¯re not going to be using that medicine.¡¹


    ¡¸We are not going to use it after all?¡¹


    ¡¸If she is willing to help, Miria might be suitable for using it.¡¹


    Roxanne also said that she would be willing to become the Knight if it would prove helpful to me.


    ¡¸Well, using it might be the option of last resort for us, but for the time being, there is something else that I would like to try. Could we start with you, Roxanne?¡¹


    I already have the Job of a Knight unlocked, and I myself should be plenty enough as a Knight. Then again, it would also be good if at least one other member of my Party would become a Knight so that they could use the ¡¸Appointment¡¹ Skill to make me a Village Chief. When that happens, I will go to the Duke and inform him that I¡¯ve become a Village Chief.


    Honestly, I don¡¯t think that Roxanne is in a dire need to have the ¡¸Defense¡¹ Skill, but it would be better to have it than to not have it as an emergency measure during the Floor Boss fights, especially since there are definitely going to be monsters whose attacks she won¡¯t be able to dodge at some point, and when such enemies are going to make their appearance, she¡¯s going to need all the defense that she¡¯ll be able to get in order to not get herself killed in just one shot.


    She told that to us herself before: that she¡¯s only so good at dodging because she had to get good at it to avoid being killed by the monsters with whom she was fighting ever since she was a little kid. If she didn¡¯t develop that insane ability to dodge of hers, then she would¡¯ve probably been dead since long ago, so I¡¯m glad that it didn¡¯t come to pass.


    Right now she should be able to withstand a few direct blows to her body, but still, having something like ¡¸Defense¡¹ to increase her chances of survival as much as possible cannot be a bad thing.


    ¡¸Of course.¡¹


    ¡¸If only one person changes their Job, we won¡¯t need to change the floor where we are currently hunting because of it. And since it is not possible and also not needed for multiple Party Members to acquire the Knight Job because they would just overlap with one another, I think that it¡¯s going to be a good idea for only Roxanne to acquire that Job for the time being.¡¹


    I used Party Job Settings and changed Miria¡¯s Job from Village Chief Lv.1 back to Diver Lv.30, and then I proceeded with changing Roxanne¡¯s Job from Beast Warrior to Warrior Lv.1. Now, following after the advice that Sherry gave us, we will try coming to the thirteenth floor.


    There shouldn¡¯t be anything that we should be worried about there, because we have the ¡¸Increase STR (Intermediate)¡¹ and ¡¸Increase HP (Intermediate)¡¹ effects from my Hero Job, and these two should stack together with the effects granted to us by Miria¡¯s Diver Job, so even without us retreating to the lower floors, she should be fine and not get herself killed in just one blow if any of the monsters managed to hit her.


    ¡­.Oh, who am I kidding here? Forget about getting killed in one blow, the monster¡¯s attacks can¡¯t even graze her. Even though her Job has been changed to an inferior one, Roxanne still showed no signs of getting hit at all, and she¡¯s only a Warrior Lv.1. In other words, what tat means is that Roxanne¡¯s insane ability to dodge the enemy attacks is not because of the stats she got from her Beast Warrior Job, but from her own innate abilities.


    If someone lost something because of the change of her Job, then it was undoubtedly me, because when I lost the bonus granted to me from the ¡¸Increase AGI (Small)¡¹ Skill of Roxanne¡¯s Beast Warrior Job, I noticed that it once again took more hits than usual to defeat the enemies that we were fighting against, even while equipping Durandal, as a result of which the battles were taking a little bit longer, leaving me that much more open to getting hit, but that might just be my imagination.


    ¡¸Miria!¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, desu!¡¹


    During battle, Roxanne issues the orders to the frontline, and as soon as she heard her name being called out, Miria returned to her side in a hurry.


    She seems concerned about Miria¡¯s tendency to act alone, and that is a concern that I share with her as well, because based on my personal observations, Miria does have that dangerous tendency to go too far away from the rest of the group during battles. Whether she does that on purpose or not is unclear to me, but something needs to be done about it before it ends up getting either Miria herself or us hurt or worse.


    Are the people of the Catkin tribe not good at fighting as part of group? Is that how similar to real cats they are? She didn¡¯t show such behavior at first, but nowadays she occasionally starts heading to the front alone, almost as if she didn¡¯t care about what¡¯s going to happen to the Party Members that she¡¯s going to be leaving behind.


    This can be viewed as a bad thing, because in the Labyrinths there is no place for being selfish while not only your own life, but also the lives of your comrades are on the line here, but on the other hand this shows how much Miria has grown accustomed to fighting in such a short time.


    Level-wise, hers is hardly different from Sherry¡¯s. And with Roxanne being in the front, it is more than guaranteed that if we happen upon the Grass Bees, then their long-ranged attacks are going to be focused entirely on Roxanne.


    If they try to use their Skills, we could always cancel them with the ¡¸Chant Interruption¡¹ Skill from Sherry¡¯s spear, but in order to utilize it, we have to keep proper formation, and by proper formation, I mean the one where we will be sure that no one is going to break it when we¡¯re going to expect it the least.


    But even so, hearing just one word from Warrior Lv.1 Roxanne, was enough to cause Miria to obey her unconditionally. She even replied to her in a polite manner as well, even though I have already told her that while we are in the Labyrinths there is no need for her to be speaking while adding desu at the end of her every sentence.


    In the end, Roxanne was not exposed to any attacks from the enemies all the way until the evening, when we finally decided to stop hunting and call it a day for today. After going back to Quratar, we then went on a walk around the town to collect the ingredients for dinner.


    While shopping, I was called out to by the old lady from the hardware store, the one who¡¯s the landlady for the house that we¡¯re renting.


    ¡¸Ah, good thing that I happened upon you here. I was about to go to your house.¡¹


    ¡¸To our house? Did something happen?¡¹

 Volume 7 - CH 3.11

    ¡¸Due to the heavy rain from the other day, a part of the drainage broke, so it needs to be fixed immediately.¡¹


    ¡¸Heavy rain, huh?¡¹


    I haven¡¯t heard about it at all before. Does it rain heavily often in these parts? If so, the I wish that someone had informed me about it sooner. Then again, I always use ¡¸Warp¡¹to get myself and the girls to the Labyrinths, even the one here in Quratar, so the weather outside of our house doesn¡¯t really matter to us all that much.


    Also, the landlady said that this heavy rain was from the other day, so it might have been yesterday or the day before yesterday and I just didn¡¯t notice that at all. But anyway, since it is raining these days, then does that mean that this world¡¯s equivalent of the rainy season in Japan has finally arrived?


    ¡¸I have already obtained permission from the town¡¯s lord to perform the renovation work, and they are going to be carried out the day after tomorrow, and they¡¯re most likely going to last from the early afternoon all the way until the evening, so it is strongly advised that you should refrain from flushing anything down the sewage pipes throughout that time. In addition to the renovation work, we are also planning to carry out the dredging and the planting of the licorice, so if it¡¯s going to be possible, we would like you to send one person from your residence in order to help with that, since it is customary that in this town, the residents are expected to help with that kind of labor.¡¹


    In other words, this is a kind of a regional activity, huh? In that case, I guess that means that even though it might not be known under such a name here, we do have something similar to a neighborhood association.


    Talk about something truly bothersome.


    ¡¸So, what are we going to do about it? Because if you asked me, then as much as I would like to avoid it, it looks like we won¡¯t be able to if we want to stay on good terms with everyone, so whether we like it or not, we have to claim our share of responsibility here.¡¹


    I said what I was thinking about the matter of the regional activities and then asked the other three about their own opinions while we were having dinner.


    ¡¸You don¡¯t have to worry about it, master. I will go and do it.¡¹


    ¡¸It would be pretty bad for our reputation if no one attended at all, so I can go with Miss Roxanne as well.¡¹


    Roxanne and Sherry gave me their replies. As I thought, skipping out on helping with it is not really an option, huh? This reminds me of how things tend to work back in my old world, where the Japanese people, especially the ones in the more rural parts of the country were really serious about those kinds of activities performed by the organizations such as neighborhood associations, fire brigade drills or the festivals dedicated to the village guardians.


    These were exactly the kinds of activities that the young people wanted to skip on and leave it all to the old folks to handle, which was perfectly understandable, especially in Tokyo, where doing something like that was still giving off the feeling of a countryside so unfit to the usual hustle and bustle of the big city.


    And now, I am getting the same vibes here. Quratar might be a relatively big city where most of the Explorers gather, but as I was saying, knowing that we have someone who engages in such regional activities makes me feel like I am in the countryside.


    ¡¸Anyway, since there¡¯s no way for us to avoid helping with it, then I might go lend a hand with that as well. The sooner we get this done and over with, the sooner we¡¯ll be able to come back home and resume our regular activities, correct?¡¹


    ¡¸Please Master, there¡¯s no need for you to participate in this. Or rather please, don¡¯t participate in this.¡¹


    When I expressed my desire to go and help out with the repair work, I was stopped by Roxanne.


    ¡¸Okay, but¡­. Why shouldn¡¯t I participate in this? Is it going to be bad for me if I participate in it?¡¹


    ¡¸I know that you are concerned about your reputation with the neighbors, but nonetheless, most of the repairs is going to be concerned around the cleaning of the pipes and the sewage, so if you work with those, the rest of the people involved might start looking down on you.¡¹


    ¡¸They might do that? I see.¡¹


    I don¡¯t really get why would my participation in this community event would be a bad thing, but then again, I guess that Roxanne is right about one thing: most of the work is going to be centered around the gutter, and that is one hell of a dirty place indeed. I¡¯m just wondering if this kind of work is something that the Freeman are generally not supposed to be doing themselves, instead leaving it all for their slaves to take care of?


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X!¡¹


    ¡¸Miria also says that she is definitely going to participate in this at any cost.¡¹


    ¡¸I am going, desu!¡¹


    She wants to participate in that as well? I wonder why. I don¡¯t know if my guess is going to be one hundred percent correct, but I think she might be having the wrong idea about the nature of the work that is going to be conducted here.


    ¡¸Miria? I don¡¯t know how to break it to you¡­. But they¡¯re not going to be fishing tomorrow.¡¹


    Although I want to believe that there would be no fish in the sewers under Quratar and the pipes that extend to the sewers from each and every house in the city¡­ then I cannot say with all certainty that something like that would be impossible. After all, if the fish are capable of swimming upriver without being stopped by the river¡¯s flow and its currents, then I guess pretty much everything is possible when it comes to them.


    But even if fishing in the sewers was a possibility, then I am one hundred percent sure that I wouldn¡¯t want her to try fishing there, what with all the bacteria and¡­ and certain other things floating in there.


    ¡¸Yes, desu.¡¹


    ¡¸And even if there were fish in the sewers, then I don¡¯t want you catching any of them, and God forbid you from eating any of them if you do manage to find them there, okay?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, desu.¡¹


    Even though she was answering to my words with assurances that she wouldn¡¯t dare trying anything weird, I can already see it in her eyes that she was thinking of how best she could swim in the sewers in order to try and catch the highest amount of the sewer fish possible.


    ¡¸With all due respect, master. I think that instead of telling Miria not to eat the fish that she might find in the sewage, it would be better to buy her a fish that she could eat in order to keep her attention entirely on that fish instead of on the other ones. Or at least I think it should be fine then, although I have no guarantee.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I think that if you don¡¯t give her some fish to eat for dinner, then she really might try fishing for one in the sewage.¡¹


    Roxanne and Sherry seem to have exactly the same concerns.


    ¡¸I will go, desu!¡¹


    And yet, Miria keeps insisting on going no matter what.


    ¡¸All right then, if she wants to do it so badly, then Miria is going to participate, but is that going to be all right?¡¹


    ¡¸There are definitely bound to be other people from the Beastkin tribe among the participants, so I think it should be all right.¡¹


    ¡¸Do you think that there might be someone there whom you might know?¡¹


    ¡¸The woman who is the servant at the hardware store is a member of the Beastkin tribe, and I am pretty sure that she is most likely going to be participating in this event as well, so I will try asking her to take care of Miria in our place for the duration of it.¡¹


    Was there even such a person working in the hardware store? Because I honestly don¡¯t remember. Also, Roxanne knows that much about our neighbors¡­¡­ huh?

 Volume 7 - CH 3.12

    But wait a second, when did she even had the time to interact with them?


    Oh well. If she says that it¡¯s going to be all right, then I am pretty sure that everything is going to be all right indeed.


    ¡¸The work that they¡¯re going to be doing there is also not the most difficult, so there should be absolutely nothing for you to be worrying yourself about, master.¡¹


    Sherry also reassured me, so now that I have the words of both her and Roxanne to count on, I guess I really should stop worrying about it.


    ¡¸It will be okay, desu. And then it is going to be fish for dinner, desu.¡¹


    Miria also tried to sound confident, but because she put a much stronger emphasis on the second sentence that she spoke, I highly doubt if she even meant what she was saying before it at this point.


    I feel anxious about letting Miria go on her own because of her dubious motives. I wish I could trust her mor eon this, but as long as I won¡¯t be sure that she¡¯s not going to forsake her work in favor of chasing the fish in the sewage or the river to which the sewage is connected to, I won¡¯t be able to calm down at all.


    On the morning of the next day, I decided to join Miria as we went to the village of Hafen¡¯s fish market in order to pick up the fish for today¡¯s dinner for her. I also intend to show her that there¡¯s no need for her to be catching fish from whatever dubious place is going to pop up in her mind at any given moment. Instead of doing something like that which can get her in trouble just like that one time when she got Divine Punishment placed upon her, she can just go and buy herself one whenever she feels like it.


    For that exact purpose, I also brought a bucket we got during our previous visit here with us.


    ¡¸We will be having fish for today¡¯s dinner. For that end, could you please go and find some small fish like the ones that you did before?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, desu.¡¹


    Prompted by my words, Miria proceeds to look around the entire fish market with a serious expression in search of a fish that would best fit my description. It didn¡¯t take us all that long to arrive back where we bought the fish from yesterday. So in the end Miria¡¯s fish-seeking instincts told her to go seek out the cat-eared fish saleswoman since she gave us good-tasting fish yesterday as well? I wonder why was that? Does this lady have a certain way of preparing fish, or perhaps she is adding some kind of secret ingredient that makes them taste that much better to them?


    ¡¸Eight Mackerels, just like the last time, right?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, desu.¡¹


    Miria even ended up making exactly the same kind of purchase as the last time. After placing the order and receiving it from the old lady, Miria carefully placed all of the fish in the backet that I placed next to her, almost as if she was afraid that if she¡¯s not going to be delicate with them, they¡¯re going to end up getting damaged.


    While I was looking at what kind of fish id she have on display besides the Mackerels, I also noticed that there were shrimps available as well, and many kinds of them at that, starting from the ones that looked like ordinary prawns all the way to Kuruma Shrimps and Baname Shrimps. Well, no matter what kind of shrimps they¡¯re going to turn out to be, because I think that shrimps are so versatile that you might cook them in the same way no matter what type of them are you going to get.


    ¡¸Is it possible for shrimps to be baked?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I think it is possible for them to be prepared in such a way.¡¹


    ¡¸And could you ask this lady if they are going to stay fresh all the way until dinner if we buy them in the morning?¡¹


    I ask Roxanne to ask this of the old lady, and she proceeded to quickly translate my words to her. In response, the Catkin tribe lady looked at us with a smile and then she poked one of the shrimps, causing it to jump up and jerk vigorously.


    ¡¸She says that the way they are, they should be able to last for about two to three days.¡¹


    Two to three days, huh? Well, I mean, they are still alive, so I guess it would be pretty strange if they were getting spoiled quickly.


    ¡¸Then add eight shrimps to our order, please.¡¹


    Roxanne translates my additional order to the cat-eared shopkeeper. The old lady wraps the shrimp in leaves and puts them into the bucket for us.


    After putting the shrimps in bucket, she counts all of the fish that are inside of it before she proceeds to tell us the final price that I am going to have to pay for all of them.


    ¡¸Two Shrimps cost one Nar, so the total is going to be twelve Nars.¡¹


    Even though I didn¡¯t understand the words that she was saying, from her actions alone I knew that she was counting the fish and how much Nars I am going to have to pay her, so I gave her twelve Nars and then we went to the Labyrinth


    When we got back home it was already afternoon, so now that our quick trip to the Labyrinth was over, it was high time to go and send Miria on her mission of helping with the fixing of the broken sewage.


    As a good and upstanding master that I am, I did not allow her to go perform such a dirty job with her regular clothing, but instead I have given her the full farming getup, or to put it in other words, the clothes that can easily get dirty: long boot that reach out almost below her knees, a straw hat and a pair of long gloves. Overall, that getup has a completely different feel to it in comparison to the one usually used for fishing purposes.


    Whether or not such a difference makes sense or not, well¡­ that¡¯s another story entirely. And even if it really wasn¡¯t, then I would probably just ignored it entirely.


    When we got to the place where the repair were to be carried out, I noticed that much more people than I initially expected have gathered near the sewage and the gutter. I only saw them from a distance, but there were definitely more than just a few of them. Also, every one of the people that have been gathered there has been dressed quite shabbily and their clothes were in much worse condition than the rest of them, so I guess that has to mean that a number of slaves have been roped into helping with the cleaning of the sewage, and most of those slaves were the young men and women.


    In a sense, I guess doing something like that should be considered the natural thing to do, right?


    Even though the well is located only a little distance away from all of the houses in the neighborhood, going to it and back while carrying the buckets of water around is already hard enough of a Job as it is, which is exactly why I am thankful for my magic and the ability to use such Spells as ¡¸Water Ball¡¹ or ¡¸Water Wall¡¹, which make it infinitely easier for me to do anything even remotely water related.


    The society of this world seems to be largely affected by the restrictions placed upon pretty much every aspect of their lives by the limitations of technology. So if you really want to live your life on a bit of a more luxurious side, I guess that having slaves, and the ones who re either young men or young women, is something of a necessity.


    As a result, the hierarchical differences in the positions of those who enjoy living the good life and those who are forced to toil tirelessly under their heels the entire time in order to make that happen are all too apparent and clear as day to see. To give you the most obvious example, even in this neighborhood, there are those who order others to go and fetch the water for them, and there are those who need to go fetch said water whether they like it or not.


    That clear division also means that there is nothing in between of these two hierarchies, that this world is only divided into shades of black and white, with no color grey to set these two apart.

 Volume 7 - CH 3.13

    There are definitely many more houses whose owners keep slaves in them than I initially thought, but aside from that, there is also one more thing that heavily limits the society of this world when it comes to science: the fact that there is no such thing as forensic science in this world at all.


    DNA testing, the system of taking people¡¯s fingerprints, those useful things have not been invented just yet, and they probably won¡¯t be for a long time if this world is going to be stuck in the middle-ages forever. With how things are here technologically, there is even no way for people to know their own blood types.


    But if this world does not possess such things, then how are the criminal cases handled here, and how can people who have been charged wit committing a crime attempt to prove their own innocence in case if they happened to be convicted for a crime they didn¡¯t really commit.


    So what happens in such a case? The ¡¸investigations¡¹that the Knights from the Knight Orders can carry out cannot really be called genuine investigations, not with the limited tools and methods that they have available for them. If they start doubting someone just because they won¡¯t find the answers to their questions that the suspect would be giving them to their liking, then that means that such a suspect is pretty much done for, because he¡¯d be proclaimed a criminal based on that alone without the Knights even trying to get down to the heart of the matter.


    But why am I even talking about such things as trying to prove your innocence to the Knights if in this world devoid of forensic science there is not even such a thing as evidence to begin with. Since there is also no such things as luminol and luminol reaction in this world, it will not be possible to determine if the weapon that¡¯s been used for murder really belongs to the suspect or perhaps to someone who was trying to frame them.


    The only thing that could be possibly used as evidence would be the confessions and testimonies from the eyewitnesses, and as we all know these cannot always be relied on, because witnesses can always be either bribed or silenced to stop them from spilling information.


    Not to mention that if there was ever a person who is a completely new arrival in town or the city where no one knows him, that would automatically make him the target of the accusations for everything strange or out of the ordinary happening in the area recently.


    Also, the way that society is structured in the world of this game seems to be based on the assumption that when it comes to the neighborhoods like the one where we currently live in, all of the neighbors seem to be pretty close with one another and everyone knows everyone, or at the very least most of the people next to whom they are living.


    That is exactly why I feel that establishing a society in which people from different backgrounds, races, culture and customs can live harmoniously with each other without getting in each other¡¯s way is impossible in this world, where apparently privacy means very little. I myself lived in a society where it was fine if you didn¡¯t interact much with the people around you or knew your neighbors faces, so suddenly switching to a way of life that¡¯s going to be like a total one hundred eighty degrees turn is going to be rather difficult for me.


    But even if an environment like that could somehow be established in this world, then I have a lingering feeling that it would not be able to last very long and would collapse upon itself when trouble with its structure started appearing one after the other.


    Quratar is a city where a lot of Explorers have gathered in order to explore the Labyrinth in the city¡¯s center, so I guess it must have originally been a city where a lot of strangers used to live since many of them were probably coming and going however they saw fit, so in that sense, I guess you could say that the companionship between the neighbors isn¡¯t as much as I was giving it credit for after all, a notion reinforced by the fact that I literally don¡¯t know the faces and identities of the people who live in the houses next to ours.


    However, Roxanne seems to have a fairly good understanding of that. And once again, how is that possible? When did she have the time to get acquainted with the people who live around us when she spends practically the entirety of the day at my side?


    Well, I guess that matter is not all that important right now. What¡¯s important is the fact that now that we have neighbors around us, we need to attend the bare minimum of the required regional activities together with them if we don¡¯t want them to start thinking that we are a suspicious bunch.


    Thinking about it now, this is probably going to be super weird and awkward for the new people in town or the weird ones that try to stay away from the contact with others as much as possible, especially if something unpleasant ever happened in the area.


    What would have happened if a robbery or murder occurred in here?


    If there was someone who did not attend any of the regional activities in order to better integrate himself with other people in his area, then he would naturally be branded a culprit for any crime that would occur in that area. And after that, the only thing that would await him would be unspeakable tortures until he would be broken beyond repair, just to have him confess to committing a crime that he actually didn¡¯t commit.


    If you look at that matter from such a perspective, then attending the regional activities whenever you are being asked to do so is the necessary thing to do if you don¡¯t want to end up with false charges on your head, or at least that is what I understood from the brief explanation that Sherry has given me.


    As such, that is enough of a reason for me not to skip out on these activities after all. If this is what is going to be required of me so that I could go and enjoy my life in this world in relative peace, then I say that we¡¯re going to be doing it so that everyone could see that we are in the clear and we have nothing to hide.


    Cleaning the sewage might be a dirty job, but if Miria¡¯s attendance in it is going to directly translate into us scoring some points with the others for being good neighbors, then having her work in sewage water for a bit is a small price to pay, and she herself doesn¡¯t look like she particularly minds it.


    Of course, one can try to refute in case of being accused of being a criminal, but I highly doubt if just their, or mine, words were enough to shake the accusation off. If anyone accuses any of us of being a criminal, it is more than likely that a trial is going to be held against us, and if I were to guess, then the possibilities would be either trial by ordeal or trial by combat.


    Now for those of you who might be unaware, when I say trial by ordeal, I mean the kind of trial where the outcome is ¡¸determined by God¡¯s will¡¹. It might sound all pompous, but usually it all boils down to subjecting the accused to some kind of painful or unpleasant experience in order to have them prove to the judge and the jury that they are innocent.


    When it comes to the actual ordeals that the accused can be subjected to, they can vary from throwing a small pebble into a barrel of boiling-hot water and forcing the accused to get the pebble out, having them walk on burning rocks and the like. To follow the pebble in boiling water analogy for a bit, it would usually go something like this:


    If the accused gets the pebble out of the water then he¡¯s going to be declared innocent, and if he fails, he is proclaimed guilty. There was also the kind of trial by ordeal where the accused had to pick up burning-hot metal rods or other kind of metal objects and they would only be deemed innocent if there was no burn marks left on their bodies, or one of the trials by ordeal used during the Salem Witch Hunts, where the women accused of being witches were being thrown into the water with their limbs tied, and they would only be cleared of all the charges if they floated above the water¡¯s surface despite being bound, because that would be a sign of their innocence send from the God on high himself.

 Volume 7 - CH 3.14

    I think that there was also a method where the accused had to drink a bottle of poison, and would be deemed innocent only if they managed to survive it. And as for being considered guilty¡­. Well, since the poison was involved, then I think you can put two and two together to figure out what was happening to those who were apparently ¡¸guilty¡¹.


    The trial by combat is a little bit simpler. In that trial, the accused has to face the accuser, the witnesses and everyone else who has testified against him. Alternatively, the accuser and the accused can both select their champions who would conduct the trial by combat in their name.


    Winning is going to prove that the accused has been innocent all along, whereas losing is going to mean that the accusers were right and the accused was indeed guilty of the things that he has been charged with. This method is also cost-efficient in such a way that it is going to save the authorities the trouble of executing those who are indeed found guilty, so in a sense its like killing two birds with one stone.


    As for me, I would never want to be a part of such a trial, ever, but I do understand that this is the only way for the people of this world to deal with such cases because their technology meant to be used for the purpose of investigating crimes is still way too underdeveloped in comparison to modern-day Japan, so they do not know any other way of determining who is innocent and who is actually a criminal.


    Even an alibis can be uncertain in this world, all because of the existence of¡¸Field Walker¡¹, which makes me think that oftentimes the most common thing to do here is to decide who is the culprit and who is innocent by means of a lottery.


    Suppose for a second that a person was killed in a certain residence, and there are no traces of anyone breaking into said residence from the outside whatsoever, and the list of the potential suspects responsible for the murder includes all six people who lived in the residence together with the victim.


    If this was a modern-world TV crime drama, then that would be the perfect moment for the genius detective who would then proceed to crack the case to appear, but in the case of this world, instead of a detective we would have a dice appearing instead of a detective.


    On the outside it might look like a perfectly ordinary dice, literally indistinguishable from the other dices used in boardgames or for gambling purposes, but on the inside that dice would turn out to be a representative of the Gods themselves!


    Then, after making its appearance, that dice would then proceed to determine which of the six suspects is the real culprit while acting in accordance with the intentions of the Gods themselves.


    Of course, if the testimonies of the other five suspects are going to match in designating the one remaining suspect as the culprit responsible for the murder, then he is going to be rightfully branded as the criminal behind the crime here.


    At that moment, it all would have devolved into nothing more but a five-against one battle for the five innocent suspects to prove that the sixth one is guilty, and a one-against-five battle of the sixth suspect to prove his innocence and that the other five are trying to frame him.


    I have three female slaves who are all unquestionable beauties, so it is more than likely that I have already caught other people¡¯s attention because of that. And yet, every single day I am trying to do my very best to live my new life in a prime and proper manner while being as discreet about it as possible, all for the sake of blending in with the rest of this world¡¯s society so that they would think that I am just another regular guy like all of them.


    For someone like me, who¡¯s a new arrival in this world, I feel like such a Skill is even more important to have than the ones that grant me godlike abilities or uber OP weapons.


    ¡¸Master, a message sent by Mr. Luke has arrived. It says that he has managed to successfully win another bid and get a hold of a Slime Skill Crystal.¡¹


    Immediately after having Miria sent off to work with the other people on fixing the sewage, we noticed that a messenger with a note from Luke the Broker must have come to visit our house again, because we found another note pinned to our door. I guess he must have come by when we were out bringing Miria to the area where the repair works are being held.


    ¡¸What kind of Skill can be acquired from the Slime Skill Card, Sherry?¡¹


    ¡¸When you apply the Slime Skill Crystal to armor and other kinds of protective gear, you are going to get ¡¸Physical Damage Reduction¡¹Skill. It is also possible to fuse that Skill Crystal with the Kobold Skill Crystal to increase the Slime Skill Crystal¡¯s effects, but to be honest, it is not necessary to go that far with it.¡¹


    So it¡¯s possible to reduce physical damage taken thanks to a Slime Skill Crystal, huh? Well, that sounds like a pretty useful Skill to have around if you ask me. I guess that just means that no matter the genre of a game or its setting, Slimes are always going to be Slimes: hard to kill with physical attacks, with magic attacks being their only weakness.


    ¡¸If we were to acquire it, then what would be the best piece of equipment to put this Skill on? Something that we have on us or in the house? Or should we go to the Armor Shop in order to do some shopping for the gear that¡¯s going to be the best suite for it?¡¹


    ¡¸If that is what you want, then we might do it, master.¡¹


    And so, since Sherry approved of the idea to go look at the equipment in the Armor Shop, we headed to the center of Quratar to do just that while also doing some vegetable shopping for later and going to the Merchants Guild in order to buy the Slime Skill Crystal from Luke.


    As for the Slime Skill Crystal and what kind of equipment to put it into, if we were to fuse it together with the Hardened Leather Armor, then it would become something that would be for my own, personal use. But since I already have Waterproof Leather Mittens on me, then maybe I should put in on my legwear instead?


    On second thought, maybe I should not be the one to wear the equipment with Physical Damage Reduction on it. After all, since I now mainly sit in the backline where I support Roxanne and the others with my Spells, I am in not that big of a need to have the physical damage that I am going to be sustaining reduced. If anything, then one of the girls is going to benefit from that Skill much more than I would.


    Things would be much simpler with it if parts of the armor could be switched on the fly like in the real video games, but unfortunately that is not the case here. And honestly, I do not really see myself, or any other person for that matter, taking out a new pair of shoes or boots and trying to change them from the ones that they are currently wearing in the middle of heated combat. If anybody tried to do something like that, then something would have to be wrong with their brains.


    The only piece of equipment that would possibly be able to be switched on the fly would be the gloves, but even they could not be handled without going through some difficulties first, so I guess that leaves only the helmet/hat as the piece of equipment that could be changed to another rather easily, and since the Hardened Leather Helmet which I bought at the Armor Shop comes along with two Empty Skill Slots, that is all the more reason for me to be using it.


    Finally deciding on which piece of equipment I would like to infuse, I handed the Hardened Leather Helmet and the Slime Skill Crystal to Sherry, and as soon as she receives the items, she performs the Item Fusion without hesitation.

 Volume 7 - CH 3.15

    ¡¸I did it, master.¡¹


    Sherry said excitedly as she presented me with the finished product of the fusion.


    ¡¸As expected of Sherry. I knew you could do it.¡¹


    ¡¸Well done, Sherry. Great job as always.¡¹


    This time, not only did Sherry managed to fuse the Monster Skill Crystal with a piece of equipment successfully, but she also didn¡¯t sound as worried about it as she was before. Maybe she¡¯s starting to get used to the fact that all of the fusions that she¡¯s doing are turning up successful and she doesn¡¯t find anything strange about it anymore?


    Okay now, let¡¯s look at the finished piece of armor with ¡¸Identify¡¹now to see what exactly has Sherry created.


    Sturdy Hardened Leather Helmet


    All right, everything is exactly as I expected it to be, so I immediately equipped it and then we entered the Labyrinth. Miria is out there helping with the cleaning of the sewage, but that does not mean that there is any reason for us to be waiting for her until all of the repair works are going to be finished, since we have no idea when that is going to be, so instead of waiting for her at home while doing nothing at all, we might as well make sure that our time is going to be spend in a productive manner. And since there is a number of things that I want to test out, that was all the more reason for us to go.


    ¡¸All right, let¡¯s take things a little bit more slowly this time and start the exploration from the first floor. Roxanne, can you please look for the monsters for us?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course, master.¡¹


    It has been a really long time since we entered the Labyrinths with the Party of just the three of us: Sherry, Roxanne and myself, so in order to get back into the swing of things with a Party of just three we are going to start today¡¯s exploration from the first floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth. As long as we do that, then we shouldn¡¯t have any problems whatsoever with clearing the floors here without our fourth member.


    First thing that I wanted to try was to see how the Bounty Hunter Job¡¯s Skill, ¡¸Ignore Life and Death¡¹was going to work against the Lv.1 monsters. But just to be on the safe side, I took out Durandal and only then decided to go and confront the monsters.


    Since we are on the first level, I allowed the monsters here to purposefully attack me to see if maybe that was going to do something, but nothing happened even after I have received quite a lot of blows from them, so that assumption is probably a bust.


    Also, for the purpose of this test, I had to tell Roxanne to take a backseat for a while, because if I allowed her to do all the fighting for me, then I wouldn¡¯t be able to do literally anything else because she would just cause the battles to end in literally no time flat.


    One major issue that I have with the test of the ¡¸Ignore Life and Death¡¹is the fact that it still consumes my MP whenever I am trying to cast it regardless of whether it ends up activating properly or not, but there¡¯s nothing I can do to help it at this point. And besides, since I am using Durandal, I get a portion of my MP back every time when I kill a monster with it, so it¡¯s not like I¡¯m wasting my MP for nothing here.


    Well, since the experiment with allowing myself to be attacked by the enemies failed, then I guess that really means that ¡¸Ignore Life and Death¡¹must be a Skill that is meant to be used to attack the enemy.


    ¡¸All right, looks like we are not having any problems fighting the enemies here, so how about we move on to the thirteenth floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth first?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course, master!¡¹


    The other reason for the lack of the Skill activating might be related to the low level of my Bounty Hunter Job. And even if its not, it¡¯s just going to mean that it¡¯s another possibility that we have to rule out.


    Then again, even if my Bounty Hunter Job were to level up, it would still be a problem if I was unable to defeat even the small fry enemies. But then again, if the ¡¸Ignore Life and Death¡¹Skill was the one that would allow the user to defeat every monster regardless of the level of said monster, then I guess that nobody would be using any other Job besides Bounty Hunter.


    It should therefore be pretty reasonable that the activation of the ¡¸Ignore Life and Death¡¹Skill probably depends on a level difference between the monster that you are fighting and the level of the Bounty Hunter Job carried by the individual that has that Skill equipped. That is exactly why my current plan is to go to the thirteenth floor and increase the level of Bounty Hunter as much as possible and then try using ¡¸Ignore Life and Death¡¹again.


    The first milestone should be raising Bounty Hunter to Lv.5, and once that is achieved, I will be able to move on to increasing it to Lv.10, and with all of my Bonus Skills increasing the amount of EXP gained from combat and decreasing the amount of EXP needed to level up, this shouldn¡¯t take all that long.


    ¡¸Roxanne, this time around I would like you to go and look for single monsters as much as possible, preferably Sarracenias. I will be the one doing the fighting, while you and Sherry stay back and observe.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood, master!¡¹


    And so we moved on from the thirteenth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth to the thirteenth floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth. Moving between Labyrinths like that is more than a little annoying, but if I want to increase the level of the Bounty Hunter Job as fast as possible then that is the best possible thing that I can do right now, even though such a trip with three people is going to consume a good chunk of my MP.


    At the thirteenth floor of Quartar¡¯s Labyrinth, Roxanne was guiding us towards Sarracenias, exactly like I told her to do. Right now, this can also be a good opportunity to truly test out my new equipment, so I don¡¯t really mind it when a number of monsters ends up hitting me. As for the rest, I take them out by hitting them with ¡¸Fire Balls¡¹from a safe distance away. As long as I continue to do that, almost no opponent will be a threat to me.


    Efficiency-wise, I think it would be better if Sherry was not with us so that I could get my hands on more EXP so that I could level the Bounty Hunter Job that much faster, but on the other hand, it is always better to have her around with us in case of emergencies.


    I continued to try to use ¡¸Ignore Life and Death¡¹Skill, and whenever my MP was dropping into the low zone I was pulling out Durandal so that I could recover my MP, after which I handed the Sturdy Hardened Leather Helmet to Roxanne so that she could also try it out and then we moved forward.


    However, now that I have confirmed that being hit by monsters has nothing to do with that Skill, I guess I can stop allowing myself to be hit by every monsters and focus on hitting them more times in order to bring my MP back to its full value after the continuous tests have depleted it quite a bit. Normally I wouldn¡¯t even consider spending so much of it for something as simple as a test, but this time I made an exception since ¡¸Ignore Life and Death¡¹might prove to be a very useful Skill if used correctly, so it could not be helped this time.


    One good thing that came out of this situation was my test of the Sturdy Hardened Leather Helmet and its ¡¸Physical Damage Reduction¡¹Skill, because if not anything else, then I was at least able to confirm that the damage that I have been sustaining from the attack while I did have that helmet on was really reduced. However, now that I think about it, the comparison here might not be all that fair, since the numbers here were not that large when I wore the helmet on the first floor. The enemies there were weak, and that¡¯s why I had to allow them to hit me multiple times.

 Volume 7 - CH 3.16

    Therefore, the real test here would be to allow myself to be hit directly by the monsters on the higher floors, but I won¡¯t deny that doing that carries the risk of either being inflicted with a status ailment or being hit too hard and dying because of it. So, what can I do to carry out the right experiment here that would show me proper results?


    ¡¸How is the helmet doing, master?¡¹


    ¡¸It works just fine. Now that I have a piece of gear with ¡¸Physical Damage Reduction¡¹ on, the attacks of the enemies certainly have less of an impact to them.¡¹


    That being said, further verification against stronger enemies might be needed here, but that would mean continuously exposing ourselves to attacks just so that I could compare their damage with and without the Skill being active, so Roxanne is not going to be an ideal test subject for it, because she would never allow herself to get hit even on purpose, since that would be against her instincts.


    Am I going to have to be the one to verify it after all?


    ¡¸Is that so? That¡¯s good then.¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, I got my hands on a really good piece of equipment, and its all thanks to you, Sherry.¡¹


    ¡¸No, not at all, master.¡¹


    I already managed to acquire Lv.5 as a Bounty Hunter, so let¡¯s try and raise it to Lv.10 as well.


    Then, we went to the first floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth again. However, even when the Bounty Hunter reached Lv.10, it was still difficult to activate its Skill.


    Ugh, this is getting annoying. Is it really correct to think that ¡¸Ignore Life and Death¡¹is a Skill that deals a death blow to monsters?


    There is a possibility that it is a different Skill after all.


    But then¡­.


    ¡¸Ah!¡¹


    ¡¸Eh?¡¹


    ¡¸The monster¡­!¡¹


    When I was beginning to slowly lose hope, the monster fell after being hit only once by me.


    ¡¸Well, I guess that¡¯s it when it comes to the test.¡¹


    ¡¸Amazing. The monster collapsed without master doing anything!¡¹


    ¡¸I see. So this is ¡¸Ignore Life and Death¡¹.¡¹


    That would be a perfect Skill for Sherry to use.


    ¡¸However, its gimmick is definitely going to make it potentially hard to use.¡¹


    ¡¸Ignore Life and Death¡¹ is a Skill that allows you to kill a monster instantly. However, it is not easy to use, as the chance of activation seems to be pretty low. It hardly activates with a level difference of about ten levels. If the level difference is twenty or thirty, it will be even more difficult, but the ever increasing level difference is something that we cannot do much about.


    The higher the level, the harder it is going to be to to raise this level, but the level of the monster will definitely rise as you climb to the next floors, so al long as we won¡¯t power-level too much, we should be able to keep the level difference between us and the monsters at reasonable levels.


    Even if our opponents are going to be Grass Bees that are capable of using poison or other status inflicting monstrosities, we are still going to be fighting against them. With that mindset, we decided to go to the thirteenth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth.


    Because the vanguard role was usually left to the girls, including Miria, the burden on me this time around is that much greater, which makes me feel really glad that Sherry created the Sturdy Hardened Leather Helmet.


    Because they appear before I can employ Durandal, I wasn¡¯t able to weaken any of the monsters properly first, but strangely enough, I remember being able to fight against such enemies without any issues even before Miria came to our Party.


    I barely manage to dodge the rush of a Pig Hog. Once my evasive manuever is completed, I stare it in the eyes and cast ¡¸Water Storm¡¹.


    Two Pig Hogs fall to the ground before me, disappearing in front of my eyes. For now I was safe, but the one remaining Grass Bee was still being kept occupied by Roxanne, so in order to keep some of the pressure off of her, I shot the ¡¸Breeze Ball¡¹at the Grass Bee next to Roxanne when a moment where she stopped avoiding its attacks for a brief second finally presented itself to me.


    That one shot was all that it took to kill it without any difficulties. With that battle done, I ordered Roxanne to guide us towards the next group of enemies which consisted of a Pig Hog and two Grass Bees.


    Sherry hits the Grass Bee that tried to cast its Skill from the get-go with her spear that has the ¡¸Chant Interruption¡¹ Skill embedded into it, while I confronted the Pig Hog.


    The Grass Bees started emitting clouds of poison mist, so without any other way to proceed until they¡¯d be dealt with, I decided to leave the Pig Hog for later and take care of them first by shooting them with a ¡¸Breeze Storm¡¹.


    It was a long and arduous battle, but throughout the entirety of it I was somehow able to receive only one attack, so I guess I can count myself lucky.


    The following group of enemies consisted of one Pig Hog together with three Grass Bees. Even though we were dealing with the three enemies capable of long-range attacks, it was okay because Roxanne was taking care of all of them by blocking them with her shield.


    While keeping an eye on the Grass Bees that came out to the front, I cast ¡¸Breeze Storm¡¹.


    I dodge the charge attack of the Grass Bee which attacked from the front and then I smacked it with my Rod of Offerings. The ones in the back had their skills delayed and so they were also forced to fight in the front.


    It¡¯s also necessary to take caution of the movements of the Grass Bee that Roxanne¡¯s fighting with her Rapier. I glanced at it from the side and confirmed that it wasn¡¯t aiming at me. I should be fine for now.


    Then, at that brief moment when I took my eyes off of them, one of the Grass Bees saw me shifting my vision and took it as a chance to attack. I twisted my body in a panic, but was still hit by its charge. In returned, I made the two of them eat one more ¡¸Breeze Storm¡¹after I made sure that the one that Roxanne is fighting is also going to be caught in its range.


    Three Grass Bees fall to the ground, defeated, but at the same time my body has become incredibly hot and I started feeling as if a number of sharp needles was being forcefully driven into every single muscle in my body.


    This sensation¡­ I know it all too well.


    It¡¯s poison. I have been poisoned by the Grass Bees. I guess one of them must have succeeded in inflicting it on me when they performed those charged attacks earlier.


    Is this some kind of punishment for me because I got too greedy and careless even though Miria was not together with us? But even if it is a punishment for me, then I feel incredibly calm. Most likely because it is actually my second time being inflicted with poison, so I more or less knew what I was supposed to be expecting.


    Still, it doesn¡¯t change the fact that it physically hurts me.


    My chest felt tightened as if someone was squeezing down on it with an invisible hand. But even so, my number one priority here was to defeat the monsters that were right in front of me, so I mustered up my strength and fired a ¡¸Fire Ball¡¹ at it.


    No, wait, I shouldn¡¯t have done that.


    The opponent against whom I am fighting right now is a Pig Hog, so there¡¯s no use using Fire Magic against it because it is not weak to it. At least I am still focused enough to realize that I have made a mistake, so all that I need to do right now is to correct it.


    Even though it was causing me great pain, I still managed to throw a ¡¸Water Ball¡¹towards the Pig Hog. Just how much more am I going to have to throw at it in order to finally kill it?


    I threw yet another ¡¸Water Ball¡¹at it. Good. I can still count down how many Spells I have used without my mind getting all tangled up in my own thoughts. Calm down. I have to keep calm, and as long as I¡¯ll be able to do that, then everything is going to be just fine.


    And then, Sherry appeared right in front of me. Oh yeah, she¡¯s carrying an antidote, Anti-Poison Pill with her. As long as she administers it to me via mouth-to-mouth, then everything should end up just fine for me.


    Until that happens, I have to make sure that my head remains as clear as possible so that I could still comprehend what is happening around me.


    Giving in to my desires, I embraced Sherry tightly, almost as if I was afraid that she¡¯s going to run off somewhere far away if I won¡¯t hold her in my arms, and then I pressed myself into Sherry¡¯s lips.

 Volume 7 - CH 3.17

    Sucking on them strongly, I completely indulged myself in the sensation of their overwhelming softness. Since this is already happening, then I have to make sure that I¡¯m going to enjoy this opportunity to the fullest. At the same time, I still have to assess the situation in which I am in calmly.


    I swallowed the Anti-Poison Pill that has been sent down my throat from Sherry¡¯s mouth, and once that was done, I started to chase after Sherry¡¯s tongue while sticking my own tongue into her mouth.


    Our tongues were continuously intertwining with one another as Sherry¡¯s tongue was moving in a slow and gentle manner as she was responding to the advances of my own tongue. And the more she did that, the calmer I was becoming, the symptoms of my panic attack disappearing as if they were never there in the first place. I also gradually felt as if the pain that I have been feeling was subsiding, and the feeling of having heavy weights attached all over my body was gone as well.


    Now that Sherry administered the medicine directly for me, I guess its effects are probably kicking in, and that is also why my mind is getting clearer with every passing second.


    Ugh¡­ what was I even doing just now? And more importantly, what am I doing right now? In order to give me the medicine, Sherry was kissing me pretty aggressively, so I should probably just lie down and enjoy this as much as I can, because a second occasion like that might not present itself to me in the nearest future¡­¡­


    No. First and foremost I have to assume what has become of the monsters, so as soon as Sherry has freed my mouth from hers with a flustered expression, I hurriedly had a look around our immediate vicinity, but so no traces of the monster¡¯s presence left. Good. That probably means that the enemies have been completely annihilated already.


    Great. I am pleased to see that Roxanne managed to deal with this situation somehow, but I think that even if my head had become clouded and my thoughts became strange, if there was no other choice for me, I still would be able to push through my condition in order to ensure that the girls are safe if Roxanne failed to exterminate the monsters in time.


    ¡¸Thank you, Sherry. I should be fine now.¡¹


    ¡¸Of course. I, I am glad to be of help, master.¡¹


    I took a number of deep breaths in order to fully calm myself down. Maybe I should also drink a glass of water in order to be absolutely sure that everything¡¯s going to be fine with me?


    Preparing a glass, I poured water inside of it using ¡¸Water Wall¡¹, but I¡¯m definitely not going to be drinking it by myself.


    ¡¸Roxanne, can I ask you to give me a hand with this?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course, master! Right away!¡¹


    I ask Roxanne for mouth-to-mouth feeding of the water while showing he my best pleading eyes, and as soon as she saw them she was unable to resist my request. And so, after spending ample time being feed water by her through her mouth, I was finally able to say that I have completely calmed down and think straight.


    The labyrinth is still as dangerous of a place as ever. With just one of our Party Members missing, our situation has become so drastically different from how we usually managed to perform that it was almost unbelievable.


    That was clear enough of a signal for me that we shouldn¡¯t try to overwork ourselves for no reason, so today we decided to call it a day and leave the Labyrinth earlier than usual.


    We¡¯ve already done a lot of things today anyway, so no one should be holding it against us for wanting to have a rest after a series of tough battles against even tougher opponents.


    First and foremost, I went to the bathroom and started heating up the water so that we could all take a bath to relax.


    I poured the water in carefully as not to spill any of it because we wouldn¡¯t be able to flush it today, or probably not for a while longer at least.


    I took a bucketful of water from the bath tub that was filled using ¡¸Water Wall¡¹ and set it aside. That way, we could still use some of the water later, even when the water from the bath is going to be flushed down the drain when the repair works will be finished.


    Since there might be a little more time before Miria comes back, I heated the water some more to keep it at a higher temperature than usual. After all, when Miria comes back she¡¯s probably going to be dirty as hell from all the work that she¡¯s doing right now, so the least I can do for her is to welcome her with a nice, steaming bath so that she could wash all of that dirt away.


    It will be just us three of us while we wait for Miria to come back, so what should we do in order to keep ourselves from dying out of boredom for such a long period of time? Well, the answer to that should be pretty obvious I think.


    * * *


    ¡¸I¡¯m back, desu!¡¹


    By the time it was over, Miria has already came back¡­.. and she was covered with mud literally from top to bottom.


    I know that the clothes that I have given her were the ones that I got as a bargain from Alan the Slave Merchant, they have become so sloppy that I almost wanted to scream when I saw it.


    ¡¸Miria, you can take all of your dirty clothes off and jump into the bath right away since the water is hot and ready. I will wash you off first, and Roxanne is going to take care of your clothes later.¡¹


    ¡¸Is it really okay for me to be taking a bath when I¡¯m this dirty?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, that is going to be fine, Miria. Besides, Sherry and I have already received some of master¡¯s affection today, and it wouldn¡¯t be fair for you to be the only one who¡¯s left out.¡¹


    Miria was making a fuss over whether or not it would be okay for her to take the bath, but in the end she obtained Roxanne¡¯s approval to do so.


    ¡¸Miria, I¡¯m sorry for putting you through all that trouble today. I have already heated up the water in the bath, so if you want, we can enter it together right away.¡¹


    ¡¸Bath, bath, desu!¡¹


    Miria then entered the bathroom together with me, but before we would enter the bathtub, I


    I washed her whole body for her to clean it from the mud and any impurities that could still be left on her. I washed all her important places thoroughly, without exception, covering her entire body from top to bottom with a mixture of foam and bubbles. While it was all happening to her, she was obediently sitting there, entrusting her body to me, which was both arousing and cute at the same time.


    After rinsing her with water, her hair were the next in line to be washed, and once I took care of that, I washed her entire body once more, just to be safe and sure that there was not a spot that I missed with my cleaning. Now she should be one hundred percent fine and clean.


    ¡¸Listen, Miria, I¡¯m really sorry for putting you through so much dirty work today.¡¹


    ¡¸Fish for dinner, desu!¡¹


    ¡¸Seriously, that¡¯s all that you care about? Well aren¡¯t you quite a handful.¡¹


    ¡¸Want fish, desu! No fish bad, desu!¡¹


    ¡¸Were there any fish where you were working?¡¹


    ¡¸Sadly, no fish, desu.¡¹


    Although I tried to engage in some light conversation with Miria while I was washing her, it proved to be an exceptionally difficult task because without Roxanne, my personal Miria interpreter, around, the topics were all over the place without any of them really connecting with one another.


    In any case, it seems that there really was no fish neither in the sewage or in the Dobu river itself, which was a good thing to hear that made me feel relieved. If there were and Miria tried to catch them in front of all these other people, I don¡¯t know what I would do.


    Roxanne and Sherry came to join us a little bit later, but when they finally did, I made sure to wash their bodies completely as well before they entered the bath.


    ¡¸Did you also plant some plants while you were at it?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes we did, desu!¡¹

 Volume 7 - CH 3.18

    ¡¸I think that the plant that they were planting was Licorice, since it is a plant that is often planted near the river banks. It is a plant that has poison in its roots, flowers and leaves, and because of that peculiar quality the majority of animals usually don¡¯t come near it, which in turn prevents the riverbank from collapsing upon itself due to the burrowing of the ground performed by the smaller animals. And besides, even if the plant itself is poisonous, the poison itself can be easily removed by rinsing the Licorice plants in water, which makes it possible to use its plants as food in case of emergencies.¡¹


    Sherry explains to me about the so-called Licorice plant. Is this what they call the wisdom of life? Or perhaps I could call it lifehack? Whatever the case may be, I am glad to know that a convenient plant like that actually exists in this world. Also, let me check the list of Miria¡¯s Jobs real quick:


    Diver Lv.31, Village Chief Lv.1, Pirate Lv.1, Villager Lv.5, Merchant Lv. 1, Explorer Lv.1, Warrior Lv.1, Herbalist Lv.1, Swordsman Lv.1, Monk Lv.1


    Hmm, so even though Miria was helping with the planting of the Licorice plants, she was still unable to obtain the Job of a Farmer, huh? And here I thought that we would be able to use it for our own purposes if we ever needed to plant those plants for ourselves. But it¡¯s actually strange, you know? She has a Herbalist Job due to picking up medicinal herbs in the Labyrinth and helping with the harvest of the herbs in our garden, so why does she not have a Farmer Job as well?


    Maybe it¡¯s because Licorice is classified as a poisonous plant? If you plant plants like that, does that mean that the Farmer Job is not going to be unlocked for you? Or maybe it¡¯s not about the planting? Maybe in order to unlock that Job for yourself, you actually need to be the one to harvest it with your own hands?


    Well, it is a shame that Miria doesn¡¯t have that Job, but it¡¯s not like she¡¯s missing a lot because of it. I mean, a Job like a Farmer surely wouldn¡¯t be giving you any good Skills or powerful passive benefits, right? So aside from gaining EXP for it, having her equip such a Job would probably not benefit our Party all that much.


    ¡¸Sherry, please go to the kitchen with Roxanne and prepare soup. I¡¯ll be handling the preparation of the other dish, so you don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡¹


    ¡¸Of course, master.¡¹


    Sherry left the bath with Roxanne, while Miria and I remained in it for a little while longer, because there was still something that I had to do with her now that we had the chance to be alone with just the two of us.


    After that, I asked Miria to help me with the preparation of the food. I told Sherry and Roxanne that I will take care of the second dish, but I never said that I was going to do that all by myself.


    The preparation of the dish that I want to make today might be different from how I used to make it back in Japan, but ultimately it shouldn¡¯t matter all that much.


    Upon my request, Miria proceeded to cut the fish into equal slices, and then she cut off the shrimps heads and removed their tales and shells from their bodies. All right, thank God that the method of preparing shrimps is the same here as it was on earth. That is going to make the process of cooking them, both right now and in the future, that much easier, and it doesn¡¯t matter if the shrimps are alive or dead. As long as I¡¯ll be able to prepare delicious dishes out of them, then I¡¯m not going to be holding anything back.


    ¡¸Please tell me if there is anything specific that you would like to eat. Are all of you okay with shrimps being the main dish today? Roxanne, what would you like to eat?¡¹


    While making the preparations for dinner, I asked Roxanne about her food preferences for today.


    I placed the pan on the earthenware stove that¡¯s like a charcoal stove and I poured olive oil onto it and heated it up for long enough for it to get warmed up, and then I placed all the other ingredients on the table.


    For today¡¯s dish, I have prepared fish, shrimp, sausage, ham as well as various vegetables. As a next step, I mixed Slime Starch and Shell Powder together and then mixed it in with flour, after which I lightly melted it in water and then thickened the mixture up by adding eggs whites and yolks.


    With that out of the way, all that I need to do now is to bathe the ingredients in the mixture so that I could then deep-fry all of them. And the first things that are going to be deep fried by me are going to be these shrimps right here!


    ¡¸If Master is going to be eating shrimps, then that is also what I would like to eat.¡¹


    ¡¸I would like some of the ham in that case.¡¹


    ¡¸Fish for me, desu!¡¹


    Now that the girls have placed their orders, I added some additional shrimps and their coating, sliced the ham into thick slices and thrown them onto the pan in order to deep-fry them together with the fish until it all started sizzling and the bubbles began to form on the surface of the oil.


    You might have figured this out already, but essentially what I made here was tempura. When all of the ingredients have been deep-fried in it enough, I took them all out, sprinkled them with some vinegar and lemon juice, making it all ready to finally be consumed.


    ¡¸Well, how is it? Is it good?¡¹


    ¡¸The food that master makes is always the best!¡¹


    ¡¸It¡¯s delicious!¡¹


    ¡¸Amazing, desu!¡¹


    The girls praise my cooking as always, but I noticed that out of the four of us, I was the only one to eat my share of the food by using chopsticks.


    After that, I continued the process of deep-frying.


    This shrimp tempura can be said to be the same with the tempura from my world, down to its crispy texture with chewy insides.


    ¡¸Would you like to try some of the leafy vegetables next?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, gladly.¡¹


    ¡¸I think I¡¯m going to try the mushrooms next.¡¹


    ¡¸More fish for me, desu!¡¹


    I used a mushrooms which seems to be the same as my world¡¯s shiitake mushrooms, but as for whether or not they¡¯re going to taste the same, I unfortunately have no idea about that. I also never tried to deep-fry mushrooms before, but I think that everything should be just fine as long as I stick to doing everything exactly the way that I have been doing it until now.


    It is the same with the leafy vegetables, but if the deep-fried mushrooms are going to turn out okay, then I don¡¯t think I¡¯m going to have anything to worry about when it comes to the other vegetables as well.


    All of the things that I have prepared to this point have turned out wonderfully crispy, so I have to admit that for my first attempt at making a tempura in this world, it went pretty good. As did the deep-frying of everything that I have tried out today.


    If gluten had formed in the tempura, the food wouldn¡¯t be this crispy and crunchy, becoming unpleasantly sticky instead.


    Good thing I used the Slime Starch to reduce the amount of gluten in it. Furthermore, Shell Powder that was the equivalent of this world¡¯s baking soda was also used, and I think that it had just as big of an impact on the final result as the Slime Starch. So if you want to make sure that your tempura is going to turn out as good as mine, make sure to follow my footsteps and do exactly what I did and you shall not know failure.


    ¡¸How about trying out the sausages next?¡¹


    ¡¸Oh yes, definitely. If master recommends them, then I am more than glad to try them.¡¹


    ¡¸I¡¯ll have some more shrimp.¡¹


    ¡¸Fish, fish desu!¡¹


    ¡¸You guys should also eat the fish before it completely runs out.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, we are definitely going to do that. Thank you, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Then I would like one fish as well.¡¹


    ¡¸Fish, desu!¡¹


    Before Miria could finish all the fish by herself, I took one and tasted the deep-fried fish, which also tasted amazing, even better than the vegetables.


    And that essentially is how I managed to obtain the art of deep-frying things for our culinary usage.

 Volume 7 - CH 3.2

    ¡¸When would you like to eat those fish? For breakfast? Or for dinner?¡¹


    ¡¸I would like it for dinner, desu! Even though I would have to wait for a little bit, that¡¯s only going to make it more delicious, desu!¡¹


    Roxanne translates Miria¡¯s answer for me. This seems to be the only thing that she¡¯s being fixated on at the moment.


    ¡¸All right. Then choose the one that you like the most and we¡¯ll pick that one.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, desu!¡¹


    We went and had a look around the entire fish market under Miria¡¯s cheerful leadership. As one would have expected of a fish market of such a big size, the variety of the fish that were available for sale there was outstanding. They even had things like crabs, shrimps and lobsters available there, although in smaller quantities in comparison to other fish.


    I have to admit that I have underestimated this place because it was located in such a rural village. Or maybe the selection here is so good precisely because this place is located in such a rural village.


    Before long, Miria started up a deep conversation with an old lady who was running one of the shops at the market.


    ¡¸Are they really able to communicate with one another?¡¹


    ¡¸Hmm¡­ I¡¯m not really sure. The Bana language she is using sounds a little different from the one that Miria is using, but I think that as long as they¡¯re going to speak slowly, they should be able to understand one another.¡¹


    The Bana language spoken by Roxanne and Sherry is the same one, thanks to which they are able to communicate smoothly with one another without any misunderstandings. However, that is not how it is in the case of our catgirl and this lady whom she is speaking to, even though this lady also seems to have cat-ears on her, upon closer inspection.


    The languages that Miria and the old lady speak seem to be as different as Spanish language differs from Portuguese, or how a dialect from Kyoto differs from the dialect from Osaka. I also heard that when it comes to Japan, people who speak Kagoshima dialect will not be able to communicate with the people speaking with Aomori dialect due to how different these two are from one another.


    ¡¸This one, desu.¡¹


    Miria looks back toward me while pointing towards a certain, small fish that kinda looks like a Mackerel. I this the fish that she wants me to buy? A Mackerel?


    ¡¸Eight of this one, desu.¡¹


    ¡¸Eight, huh? Well, I would¡¯ve gladly bought that many, but I¡¯m afraid that we don¡¯t have anything to put that much fish in.¡¹


    Just like I said, we didn¡¯t bring anything to carry larger quantities of fish with us, not even a simple shopping basket, since we usually carry bread in our hands due to its size while the vegetables are being placed in our backpacks for the ease of transportation until we return home with them. This Mackerel has a particularly strong smell, so if at all possible I want to avoid putting it inside of the backpack so that its stench would not linger on in any more than it is absolutely necessary.


    However, if Miria¡¯s reaction s anything to go by, then she seems to be quite fond of it though.


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    ¡¸She is saying we can have a bucket for 20 Nars.¡¹


    Roxanne said after asking the old lady who ran the store something in the Bana language.


    ¡¸Really? That¡¯s great to hear. A bucket and eight pieces of Mackerel, please.¡¹


    When Roxanne translated my words and placed the order, the old lady left the shop and went somewhere else, most likely to fetch the bucket for us.


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.¡¹


    While pointing at the fish, Miria explains more about it to us.


    ¡¸Internal organs of this fish need to be cleaned carefully, so that it doesn¡¯t bleed and contaminate everything around it. For that reason, before it gets properly cleaned, it should be kept away from other food.¡¹


    ¡¸I see, I¡¯ll be sure to keep it away from all the other ingredients during the preparation stage then.¡¹


    So you need to handle it extremely carefully so that its scent, blood and juices from the internal organs wouldn¡¯t affect the rest of the dish that you¡¯re going to be preparing in a negative way, huh? I guess this means that even if the fishing in their world is vastly inferior to the fishing from the world that I know, there are still some similarities between the two.


    As expected of Miria. When it comes to anything that is even remotely fish-related, she proves time and time again that her knowledge of that subject is like no other.


    The old lady was back with our bucket soon after that. The bucket itself was actually a flat tub with handles added on either side, which made it look similar to what you would get when ordering a delivery from a sushi bar.


    Miria wastes no time putting the eight fish into the bucket.


    ¡¸X X X X X X X X X X X X .¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s going to be twenty eight Nars.¡¹


    Roxanne translates the price of the fish and the bucket for me. Just twenty-eight Nars for all of that? Now that¡¯s what I call cheap. Is it one Nar for every Mackerel then? And that¡¯s without my ¡¸Thirty Percent Discount¡¹ Bonus Skill, which doesn¡¯t work on the old lady because when I inspected her with ¡¸Identify¡¹, I saw that her Job was not a Merchant, but rather a Villager.


    To be honest, I also thought that we¡¯re going to have to pay much more for that shopping: around one hundred Nars, to be exact, but I guess that¡¯s not the case, since the most pricey item of the bunch proved to be the bucket that costs twenty Nars. Now I don¡¯t know what we ended up buying: the fish with the addition of a bucket, or a bucket with the fish thrown in as a bonus.


    ¡¸That going to be all?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, desu.¡¹


    Since Miria nods in agreement, we all decided that our business here is done and we could go back home.


    ¡¸They are really small, you know. Are you really fine with them?¡¹


    ¡¸It seems that these fish have been caught in a long-haul dragnet, and the fisherman who caught it apparently said that that can also catch the fish of different sizes, even the ones that are no bigger than their own palm. Also, it¡¯s true that small fish are cheaper than the bigger fish, but it does not mean that their taste is worse in comparison to them. As long as they are prepared carefully and with the right ingredients, they can also be made very delicious.¡¹


    ¡¸I see, that is definitely good to hear. As expected of Miria.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, desu.¡¹


    Miria sticks her chest out proudly, and I pat her head. Thanks to her knowledge about the fish, I feel like we¡¯ll be able to utilize even the smallest and the most unassuming of them to their fullest potential.


    If my guess is right, then probably out of all the fish that are being caught in this village, the biggest, best-looking and tasting ones are probably reserved for the heads of the group of fishermen who went out to the sea to catch them, and quite possibly to the most important personages in the entire village.


    On the other hand, the smaller fish are probably distributed among all the other fishermen, and that¡¯s why they probably learned to treat them all very carefully, because they know that this is all that they¡¯re going to get, so they have to make each and every fish count.


    For the time being, it would be best for us to keep the fish that we bought in the kitchen until the dinner in the evening, and that¡¯s exactly what we did.


    In the evening, Miria cuts all of the fish down into even pieces and saut¨¦s them. When she was done, the Mackerels were crunchy and crispy on the outside, but their insides were still perfectly soft and even chewy.


    Just as I would have expected of our fish expert, the dish that she prepared came out delicious.


    ¡¸It is delicious, Miria.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, desu!¡¹

 Volume 7 - CH 3.3

    Miria finishes eating her fill of the dish quickly, and starts staring at the pieces that


    When the dish moves to left, Miria¡¯s eyes follow it to the left. When it returns to right, Miria¡¯s eyes return to the right, and she kept that up until I gave both Roxanne and Sherry their own portions of the sauted fish.


    ¡¸¡­I don¡¯t think I can eat any more fish even if I wanted to.¡¹


    ¡¸I think I have eaten enough as well. I won¡¯t take even a single bite more.¡¹


    ¡¸Me too.¡¹


    I knew it would eventually come down to this, and so, I had already prepared the perfect thing to say.


    ¡¸Miria, if you want, then you can go ahead and eat the rest of the fish for us, since we¡¯re all pretty much stuffed.¡¹


    ¡¸Of course, desu!¡¹


    We were forced to concede to the fish dish once again today again.


    The morning of the next day, that is to say, the morning of the day when I agreed to meet up with Cassia in Bode after giving her enough time to schedule an appointment with the Earl of Selmar. Once again assuming that what might happen once I¡¯m going to make my way there is going to the worst-case scenario, I warped to Bode¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild and made my way towards Bode¡¯s castle from there.


    Both Cassia and the Duke said that they wanted make this appointment happen so that the Earl of Selmar could personally thank me for taking care of Heinz the Bandit and his gang, but honestly, I have my fair share of worries about this meeting, since I doubt that introducing someone like me, a commoner of pretty much unknown origin to someone as important as the Earl of an entire region.


    Since they don¡¯t know pretty much anything about me, they might ask to inspect my Intelligence Card, and once that happens, then everything is going to be over, but no matter how hard I try, I just cannot come up with a decisive yet tactful way of declining the request to meet the Earl, especially since not only the Duke, but also Cassia were so insistent on me going through with this.


    What would some good excuses be? Maybe I should say that my grandfather suddenly died and the entire family is being summoned for the reading of his last will and testament? But then I would probably also have to come up with what were the contents of his last will in case if they¡¯d be grilling me about it the next time when we meet.


    Then maybe so other formal occasion? Nah, that¡¯s probably out of the question as well, because what occasion can be more formal and important than the meeting with a big shot of an entire region?


    Okay, let¡¯s not panic just yet. What else is there on the list of the potential excuses that I might use? If I cannot say that one of my Party Members died, then maybe I can go with something a little bit different, like perhaps that during those three days of waiting I have suffered a critical injury while fighting against the monsters in the Labyrinth, and as a result I have been stricken with a rare affliction that can only be cured by using special Recovery Medicine that can only be found in my hometown, and I have to make a lengthy journey back to obtain it and go through treatment?


    Or if that won¡¯t fly as well, then maybe I can use the variation of the first idea and say that my parents died and I have to go attend the funeral? But if I went with that, it would be pretty bad if they somehow found out that I was still going to the Labyrinth of Quratar, and since I already know that the information network of the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy is not to be underestimated, I am well and truly aware that the possibility of something like that happening is higher than zero, which is plenty enough of a case for concern for me.


    In that case, I think that the only thing left for me is to inform them that I have come down with a sudden illness, but that is going to only buy me a few days at best, but while we¡¯re on that subject already, then I guess I have been feeling these kinda weird pains in my stomach for a few days now, so maybe I am actually getting sick but I just didn¡¯t realize it yet?


    Well, if everything else fails, then I guess there is always an option for me to run away without saying anything to anyone, that might be the option of last resort, the one that I don¡¯t even want to consider using, because if I do end up using it, then I think that it¡¯s going to spell the end of my adventuring days.


    If I run away and be branded as a fugitive, the only option left to me will be to become an outlaw, but like I said, that is going to be the last resort thing for me to consider, but for now, nothing seems to be pointing towards the situation being so serious that I would have to flee and go undercover.


    But I have already come this far, so it would be a real waste to just lose everything that I have managed to achieve thus far, so I guess there¡¯s no helping it now. I just have to grit my teeth and go through with it while hoping for the best to happen instead of the worst.


    If the worst really does come to pass, then I guess I can quit it later if need be, but for now I sort out my thoughts and enter the Bode¡¯s castle while trying to maintain as positive of an attitude as possible.


    When I got inside, I saw that the Duke and Cassia were already waiting for me in the lobby, and both of them were dressed up to the nines.


    Cassia is wearing an elegant light purple dress with a hair accessory resembling a tiara. She really is beautiful no matter what she is wearing. The Duke is wearing formal clothes that are even flashier than the ones that he¡¯s usually wearing, but that is about everything that I can say about him because I don¡¯t pay to much attention to how guys are dressing. Since they¡¯re both dressed like that, then I guess that means that we¡¯re doing this thing after all, huh?


    ¡¸Oh, if it isn¡¯t Lord Michio. We have been waiting for you. But if I may be so bold as to ask, why did you come from outside?¡¹


    ¡¸Err¡­ no, I was just, you know¡­.¡¹


    ¡¸Well, it doesn¡¯t matter now that you¡¯re here. Well then, shall we get going now?¡¹


    How can you say it doesn¡¯t matter? So there is no longer a need to hear anything that I have to say as long as I follow your orders around?


    ¡¸Get going? Where?¡¹


    ¡¸We are going to go to the Earl of Selmar¡¯s territory of course.¡¹


    ¡¸Right now?!¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. After all, That¡¯s what we talked about three days ago, remember?¡¹


    No, no, no, didn¡¯t you said that in three days time you will be informing me about the date of the meeting that you¡¯d try to set? Because I remember it exactly like that! Nobody was saying anything about going to meet with the Earl of Selmar right away!


    ¡¸I am terribly sorry for the inconvenience, Lord Michio. I tried to arrange a more suitable date that wouldn¡¯t be as abrupt, but unfortunately, the Earl of Selmar is a very busy person, and it just so happened that today is the only time where he could spare a moment out of his busy schedule in order to meet up with you.¡¹


    Cassia bows to me apologetically. And when she did, a faint fragrance drifted towards me. It definitely comes from her hair!

 Volume 7 - CH 3.4

    Could this be the scent of this world¡¯s perfume? Did Cassia wear it because she is visiting the Earl of Selmar? Yes, that has to be it, right? If not for that occasion, then why would she even bother with it?


    It is an unbelievably sweet fragrance, the one that goes perfectly with Cassia¡¯s regal appearance and how elegant and pretty she is, and the gorgeous dress and the tiara-like head accessory that she¡¯s wearing make her even more beautiful, even though it was something that I never thought was going to be possible.


    If I am going to be visiting the Earl of Selmar along with Cassia, then I don¡¯t care about how that meeting is going to go, just as long as I get to spend more time with her.


    ¡¸You don¡¯t have to worry about anything, Lord Michio, this is not going to take long. And if you end up liking that place, then you¡¯ll be free to visit it again anytime you want.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. I will be in your care then.¡¹


    ¡¸Very well. I¡¯m glad to see that you¡¯re so cooperative.¡¹


    I bow to Cassia in return while doing my best to ignore the Duke, who was right next to her the entire time. Ignore him, Michio, just ignore him.


    I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s just my own imagination or not, but the Duke seems to me much more impatient today than usual. Then again, if it¡¯s him that we¡¯re talking about, then I guess I should have expected that something like that was going to happen.


    ¡¸Well then, are you ready to go, Lord Michio?¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm, y-yeah, sure¡­. But wait! What about my clothes?¡¹


    ¡¸What about them? I don¡¯t mind if you stay just the way you are if that getup is what you feel the most comfortable with.¡¹


    ¡¸A-And my sword?¡¹


    ¡¸There should be no problems with it as long as you put it in your Item Box.¡¹


    I try to come up with various excuses that would prevent me from going to meet with the Earl, but all of them have been swiftly and utterly rejected by the Duke who provided me with perfect solutions to each and every one of them.


    And so, while having no choice on the matter whatsoever, we were soon joined by an Adventurer form the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy who was added to the Duke¡¯s Party so that he could take us to the territory of Selmar, where the earl of Selmar was residing, all via the use of the Adventurer Knight¡¯s ¡¸Field Walker¡¹ Skill of course. Mere seconds later, after the warping was initiated, we have arrived in a place that looked similar to the Bode castle¡¯s lobby, which makes me wonder: does the castle of the Earl of Selmar have exactly the same construction as the one belonging to the Duke of Bode?


    ¡¸The Duke of Hartz, accompanied by five people, has arrived!¡¹


    The Knight Adventurer from our Party announced our arrival quite loudly to the Knight who was standing at the other side of the lobby.


    ¡¸I have been waiting for your arrival. Please, allow me to be your guide today.¡¹


    The knight from the other side responds respectfully and with an unusual amount of politeness for a Knight. At least his response seems to be hinting that the arrangement for us to arrive here has already been made, so at the very least its not like we¡¯re coming here unannounced.


    Well, of course it must have been announced to the Earl and the people at the castle beforehand. If it wasn¡¯t, we would have quite a problem otherwise.


    It¡¯s great that the one who set up this meeting was Cassia, not the Duke. If he and the Earl of Selmar really don¡¯t get along all that well, then who knows what might¡¯ve happened if he tried to arrange for the meeting to be held, or if the meeting would be allowed to be held at all.


    ¡¸We¡¯re going to be in your care then.¡¹


    ¡¸The five people, except the Adventurer, please follow me. As for the Adventurer, please wait here.¡¹


    The guiding Knight then heads inside of the castle. Huh? Why do I have to go along with everyone else? Am I not an Adventurer (at least in their understanding) as well?


    ¡¸Let¡¯s go then.¡¹


    The Duke nods at me and goes inside. Should I be taking that nod of his as a signal that there is no problems and I don¡¯t have to be afraid of anything? I mean, Cassia followed behind the Duke quite readily, so if she thinks that there is nothing to be wary off, then I guess there¡¯s nothing left for me to do but to follow them along since I cannot afford to let myself fall behind them or I might just get lost in this place.


    After walking for a while and then going up stairs, we finally arrive in front of a big door to what I assume is the Earl¡¯s throne room?


    ¡¸The Earl is awaiting you inside.¡¹


    ¡¸Of course. The two of you wait here.¡¹


    The Duke says while entrusting one of the Knights in our Party with his Orichalcum Sword. With the current arrangement, only three people are going to go inside of the throne room: the Duke, Cassia and myself. Also, it seems that even someone like the Duke is not allowed to carry a weapon beyond this point, which makes sense considering that he¡¯s no longer in his own territory, but somebody else¡¯s.


    I have already put my weapon inside my Item Box, and it seems Cassia didn¡¯t bring any weapon with her, so the two of us are in the clear. As such, the Knight that was guiding us here opened the door for us.


    The room ahead was, just like I thought it was going to be, a throne room, although it was not the one on the big side of things. Actually, it was rather small, completely unlike what I was expecting to see, just like the person sitting on the throne in the middle of the chamber.


    The one who was sitting there was a fat Elf. So, this guy is the Earl of Selmar? I checked him out with ¡¸Identify¡¹ out of curiosity and saw that he was a forty years old Elf with Knight Lv.21 as his Job.


    I have to admit: considering his age, that level of his is not particularly impressive. Also, why is he so fat? Can Elves even get so fat? Well, since he is so fat, then they apparently can, but it doesn¡¯t make this any less of a surprise. And what¡¯s also surprising yet annoying at the same time is the fact that even though he¡¯s fat, he¡¯s still somehow good looking, which is something that I never thought was going to be possible.


    Fucking good-looking fatso. Just go blow yourself up, will you?!


    A huge curtain is hanging behind the throne that the Earl of Selmar is sitting on, and I recognized the pattern that has been embroidered on the left part of it, since I have seen it a number of times before.


    It is the emblem of the Hartz Duchy, and as soon as we walked into the throne room, the Duke walked towards it with a step that I could only describe as arrogant.


    ¡¸Come inside, Lord Michio.¡¹


    Cassia called out to me, urging me to walk forward with them as well.


    I thought the order in which we¡¯ll be entering would be the Duke > Cassia > me, but it seems it is actually going to be the Duke, then me and Cassia at the very end.


    I bow, and follow after the Duke. I did that since I was instructed before hand to bow my head when entering the throne room, so I probably didn¡¯t offend anyone quite yet. The Duke doesn¡¯t bow to the Earl, but I didn¡¯t expect him to do it anyway. Cassia follows from behind me and lines up next to the Duke. I could smell her perfume when she passed by my side.


    Anyway, the current setup is quite a relief for me, since being hidden behind Cassia and the Duke is much better than standing in front of the Earl with those two behind me.


    ¡¸Your excellency, I am glad you came. It¡¯s been a long time, Cassia.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. I am glad to see you in good health above all else as well, uncle.¡¹


    Cassia replies to the Earl of Selmar. Earlier, Cassia said that this place was her home, but it was apparently her uncle¡¯s. I just hope that we can continue the conversation without touching any sentimental topics.


    ¡¸And who might that person be?¡¹

 Volume 7 - CH 3.5

    ¡¸This person is Lord Michio. He is the one responsible for the splendid defeat of Heinz the Bandit and his band of outlaws.¡¹


    The Duke introduced me to the Earl of Selmar proudly, shifting the topic into the heart of the matter in an instant.


    ¡¸Oh, that is a fortunate thing indeed.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, most definitely. I¡¯ll also have you know that this person not only defeated Heinz the Bandit and his company without any trouble, but he is also currently assisting us in the operation that aims to clear the Bandits from all of the Labyrinths in our territory.¡¹


    ¡¸Well, that¡¯s good for you. I am quite envious of that since my territory only has the Knight Order to rely on with such matters and I don¡¯t have such capable individuals as you under my command.¡¹


    The longer I was listening to the exchange between the Duke of Hartz and the Earl of Selmar, the colder and more severe the chills running down my spine were growing. For people who were supposed to be a family, their entire conversation ever since we entered the throne room was strangely hostile, almost as if these two actually hated one another with a burning passion.


    Seeing it unfold in front of me right now, I can confidently say that I am really lucky to have the Duke on my side instead of against me. If someone like him were to become my enemy, then I don¡¯t think that I¡¯d be able to win against him if her were to ever turn against me.


    At first I thought that this was going to be a simple formality for which I won¡¯t need any support here, but now I think that I¡¯m going to need literally all the support that I¡¯ll be able to get.


    In the first place, can someone explain to me if this meeting that we¡¯re having right now is the appropriate place for having such a conversation that¡¯s starting to get deeply personal? And more importantly, is it really all right for these two people, who are the leaders of their respective territories to behave like this? By which I mean, like a bunch of kids who are arguing over some silly thing that¡¯s not even worth arguing over? Because seriously, I thought that this was supposed to be a serious meeting, but if what I¡¯m seeing right now is going to keep up, then this is going to not be a meeting, but a kid¡¯s quarrel.


    And who¡¯s going to stop these brats in adult¡¯s clothing from arguing further, or perhaps they¡¯re going to go and one-up my expectations by breaking out into a full-on shouting match and fist fight?


    Since I know what their actual physical age is I know that the se two are adults, but if I had only this conversation between them as a hint without any additional knowledge, then I would definitely say that their mental age does not match their physical one.


    ¡¸Oh, of course I noticed that. But don¡¯t you worry, you have every right to be envious, and given your situation, nobody would blame you for it. After all, the members of your Knight Order have proven to be completely useless and incompetent when it came to capturing Heinz the Bandit or even doing something so simple as clearing the Labyrinths of your territories from the Bandits that were infesting them.¡¹


    ¡¸Well, if you needed to rely on an outsider¡¯s help, then that means that the members of your Knight Order were no better than mine, right? They were just as useless and incompetent!¡¹


    ¡¸But we did ask for help, and as result, we don¡¯t have to worry about them anymore. So how about it, Earl of Selmar? Maybe you should consider enlisting the help of Lord Michio with clearing your Labyrinths for you as well?¡¹


    ¡¸If I had to rely on strangers to the work that my Knights are supposed to be doing, then what¡¯s the point of me having Knights in my Knight Order at all?¡¹


    And their conversation is reaching new lows with every passing moment, which is something that I never thought was going to be possible, and yet here we are.


    ¡¸Come to think of it, one of the members of Heinz¡¯s gang was equipped with a certain ring. Isn¡¯t that right, Lord Michio?¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, y-yes, that¡¯s right.¡¹


    I answer the Duke while bowing my head. I wish that he didn¡¯t talk about it at all, but there he goes doing so anyway.


    ¡¸When Lord Michio handed said ring over to me and I took it to the Armor Shop to get it appraised, it turned out that it was a Ring of Determination. And you know about which Ring of Determination I am talking about, right, Earl of Selmar?¡¹


    ¡¸N-No. I¡¯m afraid that I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about in the slightest.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh really? Well, that¡¯s all right since I thought as much. In that case I shall keep the Ring of Determination to myself. Unless you¡¯re going to say that you need it after all, in which case I will be more than happy to sell it back to you. For an appropriate compensation, of course.¡¹


    I heard from the Duke that a number of years ago Heinz the Bandit has stolen the Ring of Determination from the Duke of Selmar, but if their current exchange is anything for me to go by, then I guess that the fact that the ring has been stolen has not been made public just yet. I wonder what would have happened to the Earl of Selmar if his subjects ever found out that he allowed such an important item to be stolen from him just like that?


    Well, if the public ever learned of the stealing of the Ring of Determination, then I guess that would make him look like an old fool. If an item which was presented as a betrothal gift got stolen from you and then got recovered by the very same person who presented it to you as his betrothal gift in the first place, wouldn¡¯t that make you lose face all the more in the eyes of your subjects?


    That¡¯s why the Earl of Selmar didn¡¯t know what to do. The Duke knows that as well, and that¡¯s why he chose the words that he did when talking about it just now.


    Could it be that this is exactly the reason for why the Duke brought me along with him today because he wanted to humiliate the Earl of Selmar that much more along with the testimony that Heinz the Bandit really was in possession of his Ring of Determination?


    ¡¸By the way, I heard that Heinz the Bandit was defeated by an Adventurer, but such a thing should be impossible.¡¹


    Suddenly, the direction of the conversation did an unexpected one hundred eighty turn.


    ¡¸W-Well, that is¡­¡¹


    ¡¸Maybe it was an Adventurer, or maybe it was not. It is quite possible that there was probably some kind of mistake in the report that I have received.¡¹


    ¡¸O-Of course! That must have surely been something like that!¡¹


    The Duke began to panic. Is the Adventurer Job really that useless that it seems impossible for an Adventurer to defeat a Bandit? I mean, that would certainly explain why he ordered the Adventurer from the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy who brought us here stay in the castle¡¯s lobby.


    Since Adventurers possess the ¡¸Field Walker¡¹ Skill, it means that they can move pretty much anywhere they want with, provided that they have visited the place of their destination at least once, so I guess it is a preventive measure that is supposed to stop them from wondering around the castle without being supervised by anyone.


    Did the Duke know about it and just chose to ignore it?


    ¡¸If you brought an Adventurer to the throne room inside the castle, there would be suspicion of you harboring ill-intentions toward the territory of Selmar, possibly even planning on invading it.¡¹


    ¡¸Y-Yes, it could have definitely been seen as something like that.¡¹


    ¡¸It would have been easy to check his Intelligence Card, but I don¡¯t want to doubt this person, since he is someone whom you have brought here with you.¡¹


    The Earl of Selmar continuous to push the Duke rather hard. Is her trying to set him up or something? I also wonder from where did he hear that I was an Adventurer.


    The Earl of Selmar is Cassia¡¯s relative, and the territory of Selmar is her home, so here is a possibility that he might have heard that from one of the maids who are attending to Cassia, though I have no way of confirming that.

 Volume 7 - CH 3.6

    For all I know, that might have been the case, but a the same time, I might be completely wrong with that speculation of mine.


    Right now, the Earl of Selmar was waiting for what the Duke¡¯s response to his words was going to be.


    ¡¸I-I guess you do have a point there. ¡¹


    ¡¸Right? So with that being said, I think it would be perfectly reasonable of you to show me that your intentions are sincere and that you¡¯re not trying to fool me. Just for a little bit.¡¹


    ¡¸And what exactly would you have me do in order to prove my sincerity?¡¹


    Uhm, Duke? I think the answer to that question is actually quite simple. If you really want to show to the Earl of Selmar that your intentions are sincere, there is no simpler way to do it than to prostrate yourself before him somewhere on the ground here. In Japan, this is a method that usually yields the best results¡­. But then again, I guess a noble like the Duke is not going to prostrate himself and grovel on the ground before just about anyone since his pride will probably not allow him to do it.


    But if he cannot show his sincerity in such a way, then how can he do it, exactly? Ugh, why do things always have to be so needlessly difficult whenever the nobles are involved?!


    ¡¸You don¡¯t have to prove anything, but it would be I lie if I told you that there is still not a little bit of doubt in my mind. That being said, I am willing to give you the benefit of the doubt on this one.¡¹


    ¡¸In that case, does that mean¡­?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, exactly.¡¹


    A satisfied voice of the Earl of Selmar echoed throughout the throne room.


    It was most likely thanks to the Duke¡¯s attitude, but it looks like the Earl of Selmar is confident that I am an Adventurer.


    Most likely, the Earl of Selmar is confident that I am an Adventurer because of the Duke¡¯s attitude. The question now is: does he intended to press this matter on for some sort of concession between him and the Duke?


    The Duke made me testify that Heinz had the Ring of Determination, and he Earl of Selmar pointed out that I was an Adventurer and I shouldn¡¯t have been brought along to the throne room. Are both of them going to pull out and declare a draw, or is there perhaps something that I can do here to improve the Duke¡¯s situation?


    I mean, I don¡¯t really care about their petty squabble or whether or not both of them have their own reasons for not backing down, but at this rate, their pointless bickering is only going to cause trouble for Cassia, and seeing her bothered after she went through such great lengths to organize this entire meeting in the first place is the last thing that I want to witness.


    Therefore, I raised my head and spoke out.


    ¡¸All right, I understand. I¡¯ll have my Intelligence Card checked if it will help clear your doubts, your lordship.¡¹


    With that said, I slowly walked to the Knight who was standing at the back of the throne room.


    ¡¸You don¡¯t have to do as he says, Lord Michio! I won¡¯t allow you to be insulted like that!¡¹


    ¡¸It¡¯s okay, I don¡¯t mind.¡¹


    ¡¸You might be fine with it, but I¡¯m certainly not! Because forcing you to do that is not only going to be an insult towards you, but also towards the Adventurer¡¯s who came here with us and towards Cassia who only invited you here with the best of intentions in her mind as well!¡¹


    Even though it is not possible for the Duke to know that I am actually not an Adventurer and that¡¯s why I think nothing of it, he was clearly enraged by this whole situation, and that is the first time that I have ever seen him act in such a way before. However, that would have to mean that the Duke¡¯s speech that he delivered to the Earl of Selmar was a bluff.


    With how the situation has escalated, I won¡¯t be troubled even if I¡¯m going to have my Intelligence Card checked by the Earl of Selmar, but it is definitely going to place the Earl in the troubled position. Well, since he has already taken the bait, so all that is left for us to do is to make sure that he won¡¯t let go of it so that we could pull him out of the water together with the line and the float, thus causing him to drop out of this absurd little game that he and the Duke have been playing with one another ever since we came to the throne room.


    I wonder what is he going to do now? Is he going to prove that he¡¯s as much of a political personality accustomed to negotiations as the Duke and is going to proceed with the checking of my Intelligence Card, or is he going to try and weasel his way out of the proceedings now that I have expressed the desire to have my Intelligence Card checked myself.


    ¡¸No, there¡¯s no need to go that far. The Duke and Cassia need to bow to me and apologize. That is all that I¡¯m asking for.¡¹


    ¡¸I don¡¯t want to offend your Lordship with my words, but with all due respect, I won¡¯t allow the Duke and Lady Cassia to bow their heads because of me. I am the suspicious one here, so please, go on ahead and check my Intelligence Card.¡¹


    My bold declaration cause the Earl of Selmar to be stunned speechless for a brief moment, and I don¡¯t know if that is a good thing or a bad thing. I certainly hope that it¡¯s not going to lead to anything bad happening, because I don¡¯t want to be remembered as someone who caused a war between the two neighboring territories because he couldn¡¯t keep his big mouth shut.


    ¡¸Lord Michio, nobody here wishes for you to be subjecting yourself to such discrimination. Unless that was your intention here all along, Earl of Selmar?¡¹


    ¡¸N-No, but¡­..¡¹


    The Duke and the Earl were apparently having a battle of bluffs with one another in order to see who¡¯s going to have a more advantageous position during this meeting, but unfortunately for them, I am not bluffing.


    I simply extend my left arm to the Knight in front of me.


    ¡¸Like I said just now: I cannot have the Duke and Cassia bow their heads for me. Now please, go ahead and check it.¡¹


    Cassia stares at me with the eyes filled with anxiety, and the Duke watches me in silence while maintaining a poker face.


    ¡¸¡­ Do it.¡¹


    Did the Earl of Selmar see through Cassia¡¯s and the Duke¡¯s bluff from the change in their expressions? Did they lose the chance to go on the offensive? Or does that mean that the Earl lost his ability to pull back when he still had the chance?


    Whatever the case here might be, the Earl gave the order for his Knight to proceed with the checking of my Intelligence Card while the Duke looked up to the heavens above. If he thought that this little game between him and the Earl was a lost cause, he would have definitely done something more besides that, like holding his head in his hands, but that reaction of his showed me that he still must have some hope for a positive outcome. Whether this little gamble of his is going to be of advantage to him or something that¡¯s going to be his undoing, I guess we are about to find out.


    The Knight then proceeds to read my Intelligence Card.


    ¡¸Michio Kaga, a Freeman. He is an Explorer.¡¹


    The Knight announces the result of the check loudly so that everyone gathered here could hear him clearly.


    Of course it¡¯s going to say that I¡¯m an Explorer. There is no way it will show me as an Adventurer, because I am not an Adventurer.


    The Duke and Cassia have turned around towards me with surprised looks on their faces, and the Earl of Selmar was literally frozen solid.


    ¡¸I will inquire with you further regarding this matter some other day. But for today, allow us to excuse ourselves.¡¹


    The Duke turns on his heel and goes toward the exit in large, springy steps, and Cassia chases right after him.


    The Knight who read my Intelligence Card, hurriedly runs to open the door for them, and then the Duke¡¯s two Knights who were waiting outside of the throne room immediately rushed to his and Cassia¡¯s side to escort them back.

 Volume 7 - CH 3.7

    ¡¸Your sword, my lord.¡¹


    The knight holds out the Duke¡¯s Orichalcum sword to him, and the Duke takes it back and places it at his hip where it rightfully belongs. He then continues to walk forward in a hurry. I follow after them too.


    The Duke doesn¡¯t say any word until we return to Bode¡¯s castle from the from the lobby of the Earl of Selmar¡¯s castle thanks to the ¡¸Field Walker¡¹ used by one of the Duke¡¯s Adventurers, which worries me quite a bit.


    ¡¸Lord Michio, first and foremost, allow me to apologize to you. There is an old-fashioned tradition that the Earl of Selmar is upholding: a tradition that the castle of the Earls of Selmar has been build with Shield Cement in order to prevent Adventurers from being allowed inside of it. I have completely forgot about it, and I had no idea that he is going to bring that up in the first place.¡¹


    After arriving back in Bode, that was the first thing that the Duke complained about to me.


    ¡¸As for the story about Lord Michio being an Adventurer, I think that it is most likely that he heard about it from one of the maids that have been delegated to come here to Hartz Duchy from my home. Thinking about it now, I should have forbidden them from ever talking about this to anyone.¡¹


    ¡¸It is a little late for being remorseful now that the deed has been done, but I was definitely careless as well.¡¹


    ¡¸That might be true, but still, never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that the Earl of Selmar, my own uncle, would come up with this kind of harassment and discrimination towards someone whom he only just met.¡¹


    Cassia shares the same opinion as the Duke, and while I do agree with them wholeheartedly, then there¡¯s still something that I fail to understand no matter how hard I¡¯m thinking about it: what was even the point of this sudden accusation towards the Duke and Cassia? Everything started going south from that point onward, but I fail to grasp why would he do something like that to his own family? Even if they don¡¯t like each other all that much, then shouldn¡¯t family members support one another?


    ¡¸Still, I was surprised that Lord Michio changed his job to Explorer. I have to admit, when you suddenly offered to have your Intelligence Card checked just like that, I have broken into a cold sweat like I haven¡¯t done in quite a while.¡¹


    You and me both, man. You and me both.


    ¡¸I thought something like that might happen, so that¡¯s why I decided to do that.¡¹


    ¡¸It is not impossible to change your Job from Adventurer to Explorer, and honestly, that might not be such a bad idea when you consider the fact that there are still some places and the aristocratic clans, families and houses that still abide by the old custom of not allowing Adventurers into their aristocratic homes to the Adventurers being considered as ¡¸unworthy¡¹ of being in the same place as the nobles. Nevertheless, if you have truly foreseen that such a thing might happen, then I feel that I must congratulate you all the more. Well done, Lord Michio, as expected of someone as excellent as yourself. If I may ask this of you, was that the reason for why you didn¡¯t come straight to the castle¡¯s lobby, but came here from the outside? Because you lost the ability to use ¡¸Field Walker¡¹?¡¹


    The Duke is making his own assumptions and drawing his own conclusions, which honestly works out perfectly for me. You see, this is one of those times when my worrying does actually pay off, because thanks to that and me worrying about the worst-case scenario, I ended up coming to the Bode¡¯s castle from the outside.


    If I did arrive in the castle¡¯s lobby, that would¡¯ve caused the Duke and Cassia to think that I was still an Adventurer, which would only worsen my situation during the Intelligence Card check. But thankfully, the worst possible outcome has been swiftly avoided.


    ¡¸While it might¡¯ve been by chance, ultimately things did turn out all right in the end.¡¹


    ¡¸That it did, and once again, we have you to thank for it. By the way, since you no longer have the means of travelling anywhere you want by yourself, then how are you going to go back home? Should it be necessary, I can send one of my Adventurers to take you back to Quratar if you want.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you for the generous offer, but that won¡¯t really be necessary. My friends from my Party are already waiting for me outside, and they¡¯re going to take me back.¡¹


    I properly decline the Duke¡¯s offer to turn one of his Knight Adventurers into my personal taxi.


    Normally in this world, the process of changing Jobs needs to be carried out by visiting the temple of the Guild that focuses around the Job that you want to acquire and praying at the temple¡¯s altar. So if I changed my Job from Adventurer to Explorer and wanted to change it back to Adventurer, then I would have to do it at the temple belonging to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. I am still unsure about the most crucial thing: whether I can visit any temple in order to change my Job or do I have to visit a specific one in order to make that happen, but for the time being, it would probably be a good thing to not let the Duke and Cassia know that worries like that are what¡¯s currently being on my mind.


    ¡¸Now, as for the ring that you have retrieved from Heinz the Bandit the other day, then it is just like I told the earl of Selmar: I took it to the Armor Shop in order to get it appraised, and after the process was finished, it turned out that the ring was indeed a Ring of Determination. We never agreed on the price that I would offer you for selling it to me, right? So what do you say for twenty gold coins for it? Would that price be okay with you?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, definitely. I am grateful for your consideration.¡¹


    Twenty gold coins? If he willing to offer me such a price so readily, then I guess this ring must be more valuable than I was giving it credit for.


    Putting aside the possibility of the Duke feeling extra generous due to how we were able to wipe that smug smirk off of the Earl of Selmar¡¯s face, I tried to recall the prices of other accessories that I know about and calculate the possible market value of the Ring of Determination, an all of my calculations are leading me to believe that its regular market price should be around one hundred thousand Nars, so that means that the Duke is offering me twice its price!


    We didn¡¯t have to wait too long for a Knight with a drawstring bag to arrive, almost as if the Duke predicted that I am going to accept the price that he was offering to me. The Duke took the bag from the Knight and handed it over to me after he inspected the contents of the bag to make sure that not even a coin was missing from it.


    ¡¸Well then Lord Michio, thank you for taking the time to go visit the Earl of Selmar with us today. It didn¡¯t exactly go as planned, but the most important thing is that it didn¡¯t end up in a complete disaster.¡¹


    When I receive the drawstring bag from the Duke, Cassia expressed her gratitude to me as well as she headed back inside to the castle. I am glad that I got to smell the sweet fragrance of her perfume until the end.


    ¡¸In that case, I am going to be taking my leave as well.¡¹


    ¡¸Of course, and thank you for your help today. I hope to see you again soon, Lord Michio.¡¹


    Now that Cassia has left and returned to the castle, there is literally nothing left holding me down here anymore, so I was also on my way, walking until I left the castle premises, but I didn¡¯t stop there. Just in case if I was being followed by someone, I decided to continue walking until I left the city of Bode and then made my way all the way to Bode¡¯s Labyrinth.


    ¡¸How far has the exploration of this Labyrinth progressed?¡¹


    ¡¸Up to the tenth floor.¡¹


    I talked to the Explorer stationed at the entrance to the Labyrinth to gain intel on how far did the Exploration progressed and then headed inside.

 Volume 7 - CH 3.8

    That way, since I didn¡¯t use the services of the Explorer to get transported to the floor of my choice, then even if someone was indeed following me, they won¡¯t be able to immediately go after me. Thankfully, I don¡¯t have to go anywhere in particular, this first floor is all that I need.


    Once I found myself in the proper Labyrinth, I immediately used ¡¸Warp¡¹ in order to get myself out of there and head right back home.


    ¡¸Sorry for being so late, girls. Did I make you wait long?¡¹


    ¡¸No, it is quite all right, master. You¡¯re just in time.¡¹


    When I arrived back home, the preparations for us to have breakfast have already been completed thanks to the joint effort of Roxanne, Miria and Sherry. Initially, I wanted to simply go to Bode to hear about at what day did the meeting with the Earl of Selmar has been agreed to and then come back right afterwards, but I certainly didn¡¯t think that the things would develop so fast and that I am going to be meeting the Earl today of all days, but I guess that¡¯s just how life is for you. Even though you have things planned out, your carefully laid plans might be thrown into disarray when you least expect them to.


    That, and also the Duke is the kind of person who evidently likes to play tricks on people to force them to go at his pace instead of their own.


    I sat on the chair and breathed out a long, heavy sigh. Even though it is only morning, I have to say that I feel incredibly tired, much more than I was expecting to feel. It¡¯s just that this whole situation with the earl made me feel as if I had a good chunk of my lifespan shaved away from me.


    However, even though I feel tired, it¡¯s not that kind of tired that would cause me to crave a rest, so when we finish eating breakfast, I still decided to go to the Labyrinth to do some hunting and exploring. And while we were in the middle of doing exactly that, at one point when I opened the Party Job Settings menu I noticed that the total count of the Jobs available to me has been upped by two entirely new Jobs that have been added to the list most likely because the level of my Warrior Job has increased to Lv.30.


    Bounty Hunter Lv.1


    Effects: Increase DEX (Small), Increase STR (Small), Increase MP (Small)


    Skill: ¡¸Ignore Life and Death¡¹


    Knight Lv.1


    Effects: Increase END (Small), Increase INT (Small), Increase SPI (Small)


    Skills: ¡¸Defense¡¹,¡¸Appointment¡¹, ¡¸Intelligence Card Operation¡¹


    The Jobs that I managed to unlock were Bounty Hunter and Knight respectively. Both of these Jobs required getting the Warrior Job up to Lv.30? If I knew about that earlier, I might¡¯ve done some more grinding to increase the Warrior¡¯s level that much faster so that I could equip it instead of the Explorer when I was heading to the Earl of Selmar¡¯s place. I bet that if I pulled such a prank on them, then both the Duke and the Earl would have jumped out of their boots in surprise.


    Well, it would¡¯ve been a pretty petty prank, so I guess the potential risks involved with carrying it out and the possible repercussions of the Earl thinking that I am actually a Knight would not have been worth it at all.


    The condition to acquiring the Job of an Adventurer is to have your Explorer Job at Lv.50, so naturally that means that all the Adventurers already possess the Explorer Job, since getting it is a prerequisite for getting Adventurer. The reason for why the Duke didn¡¯t object or interrogate me about why I was an Explorer and not an Adventurer was exactly because of that.


    On the other hand, if I had a different Job on me at the time of the checking of my Intelligence Card, like a Knight for example, then that would give the Duke plenty of reasons to be suspicious of me, so leaving Explorer as my First Job instead of switching it to a Knight turned out to be the best decision possible.


    All right, since I have already gotten my hands on these two new Jobs, then I say it might be a good idea to take them for a test drive, wouldn¡¯t you agree? Yes, definitely, so we brandished our weapons and were on our way to the nearest group of monsters.


    The first thing that I noticed almost immediately after I switched to a new Job was that my battle effectiveness has apparently went down by quite a lot, since the number of the Spells that I had to use in order to defeat a single monster has increased.


    I am not getting worried about it too much, however, because that was to be expected, since I have replaced Monk Lv.39 with Bounty Hunter Lv.1, so the drop in my performance when it comes to the power of my Spells was pretty much inevitable.


    At least now I know that in order to be more effective with my magic, I¡¯m going to have to equip myself with a Fourth Job and set Monk as that Fourth Job. This just goes to show how much of a boost to my INT stat I am getting from a Job that is almost Lv.40 in comparison to a Job that also has Increase INT effect but is at Lv.1. Just like in every game, it¡¯s all about the numbers advantage.


    I performed a Character Reset, redistributed Bonus Points and changed my Bonus Skills in such a way so that I could add more Jobs to my list of Active ones, and when I have chosen both Monk and Knight Jobs, I immediately noticed that the number of Spells I needed in order to defeat monsters has returned to what I was accustomed to at this point.


    Are the Monk Job¡¯s effects effective even when it is being set as a Sixth Job? Even though there are some differences, I think that the general rule with multiple Jobs is that the First Job is always going to be twice as influential as the Second Job and so on and so forth.


    But then again, I didn¡¯t notice any tangible changes when I tried to also attach the Job of an Alchemist that had lower level than the Monk Job, but on the flipside it was offering a bigger increase to the INT stat than the Monk Job, and keeping both of these Jobs at the same time would not benefit me in any way, because according to what Sherry once told me that having two Jobs with the effect that Increases a single Stat does not give you double the benefits


    If that¡¯s the case, then maybe I should get myself a Seventh Job with an increase to a different Stat than INT. But that¡¯s going to be a story for another time. Now, the next thing that I want to check is¡­.


    ¡¸Sherry, do you know anything about Bounty Hunter Job¡¯s Skill ¡¸Ignore Life and Death¡¹?¡¹


    I ask that of Sherry.


    ¡¸If I remember correctly, then I read about it once in the past, and the book where I read about it stated that it is supposed to be an offensive Skill meant to inflict death blows to monsters and Bandits whose HP has been reduced to a certain level.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. That¡¯s good to know.¡¹


    Nope, that¡¯s not exactly it, because that is what I have thought about t as well, since this is essentially what I have been doing since a while ago.


    And speaking of Bounty Hunters, I guess that the name of the Skill is really fitting here, since they literally can ignore life and death in their line of work, because it does not matter if their target is alive or dead, they¡¯re going to receive their reward money either way as long as they¡¯re going to bring the proof of a completed job in to the authorities.


    With all that said, what does this Skill do? Is it really what Sherry said that it is, or perhaps something else entirely?


    There is no doubt in my mind that ¡¸Ignore Life and Death¡¹ Skill is a single target attack Skill, because when I thought about it in my mind and invoked the Skill¡¯s name, a dialogue window has popped up, asking me to select a target for the Skill.


    Maybe it really does damage to the enemies, but since the battle time has remained largely the same, I am beginning to be skeptical about that. I attacked Grass Bees many times before taking them out with the usage of eight Spells in total.

 Volume 7 - CH 3.9

    So if it did any damage, it was insignificant.


    There is also a possibility that it might rely on the type of weapon that you are currently using. If that¡¯s the case here, then the one that I am using right now is going to be completely useless, because there¡¯s no way that a Rod of Offerings is going to do more damage than a regular sword, so I can¡¯t expect much of it in terms of attack power.


    Alternatively, it might be possible that ¡¸Ignore Life and Death¡¹ doubles the amount of the money that I would receive at the moment of claiming the bounty, but if it really worked in such a way, then why would it have such ominously-sounding name? Or the one that doubles the amount of the EXP points that I receive in exchange for not giving me Drop Items after the battle?


    However, after a batch of the next few fights during which the time of the battles was extended again, I started to think that ¡¸Ignore Life and Death¡¹ might actually not be an offensive Skill, but rather a recovery Skill, because of how it now took as much as eight Spells to defeat a single monster.


    Regardless of the Skill¡¯s target¡¯s health, it remained alive after using the Skill, so I thought that the result might be different if I attack the monsters normally without using the Skill, but no, the result remained unchanged with or without me using the Skill.


    However, the skill belongs to Bounty Hunter Job which is definitely an offensive-oriented Job and not a not a healing-oriented Job, which makes it all the weirder, so maybe I should ask Sherry if she can give me any additional information about it.


    ¡¸Sherry, is there anything else that you can tell me about the ¡¸Ignore Life and Death Skill?¡¹


    ¡¸Hmm, let me think¡­ I¡¯ve already told you that it is used to inflict death blows onto monsters, but now recalled that it has one additional quality to it. Apparently it is easier to inflict said death blows onto monsters on the lower levels of the Labyrinths in comparison to their higher levels, and also that the more experience you get with using it, the easier it gets to trigger it and the stronger the Skill itself is going to get.¡¹


    Sherry gave me further explanations. I guess all of what she just said makes sense. After all, if ¡¸Ignore Life and Death¡¹ could deliver a one hundred percent guaranteed death blows to my enemies every time when it was being used without any risk of failure or backfiring, then it would definitely be one of the strongest and most broken Skills in this entire game. It also probably means that the chance of triggering that Skill must also be affected by other parameters such as level.


    For example, it might always activate when used against a Lv.1 monster or activate more frequently when the level of the Bounty Hunter Job increases. If we follow those rules, then that means that it will probably not activate against the monsters on this floor, since they are above Lv.10 and my Bounty Hunter Job is only at Lv.1. From what I could tell it also uses up my MP like any other normal Spell, so I at least know that this is not a cost-free Spell.


    It would not be categorized as Skill if only strength was needed to use it, and it¡¯s probably not a Skill that I can just force myself to use.


    I take a look at the Skills of a Knight Job next.


    There is no prompt to select a target in case of the ¡¸Defense¡¹ Skill, but there are no other options related to it either, so judging by that fact and the name of the Skill alone, I¡¯m guessing that it has to be exactly what the name implies: a Skill focused only on increasing the user¡¯s defense.


    That being said, I wonder if it is just going to be a flat numbers increase, or is it going to be doing anything else beside it, because when I tried using it with Durandal, I didn¡¯t notice anything being especially different from the usual, and it would be quite bad if ¡¸Defense¡¹ was a Skill that only activates after the caster got severely damaged. Maybe in order to check it out we should go to the lower floors to fight some weaker monsters whose attacks against me right now are going to be no more dangerous than the bites of mosquitos?


    On the other hand, ¡¸Intelligence Card Operation¡¹ seems to work normally. Since the name itself is a little bit unclear on the specifics, I am interested in what kind of operation is possible with it, but since it involves messing around with the Intelligence Card, I guess fiddling around with it in the middle of a Labyrinth might not be a good idea, so I think it¡¯ll be better for me to check it out only after we¡¯ll go back home today after finishing our exploration for the day.


    The only Skill that was left for me to check out is ¡¸Appointment¡¹. what does it do, exactly? When I activated it, I was greeted by a prompt that asked me to specify a target on which the Skill was going to be used. Since nothing so far has even remotely suggested that it is going to be an offensive Skill, so I tried to select Roxanne with it, and immediately afterwards I used ¡¸Identify¡¹ on her to see if my action caused some change to her status.


    Uh-huh, whoops! It looks like this Skill changed something in her status indeed. ¡¸Indentify¡¹ revealed that Roxanne¡¯s Job has now apparently been changed from Beast Warrior Lv.32 to Village Chief Lv.1.


    So¡­ does that mean that the purpose of the ¡¸Appointment¡¹ Skill is to appoint the targeted person as a Village Chief? That is¡­. some very specific Skill indeed. I tried to use it on Sherry and Miria to see if they could be appointed as Village Chiefs as well, but from among the two of them, it could be done only to Miria. I also tried using it on myself, but I couldn¡¯t do that either, which means that ¡¸Appointment¡¹ is a Skill that can be used on others, but not yourself.


    Maybe I couldn¡¯t appoint Sherry as a Village Chief because she was still carrying some of the Recovery Medicine in her Item Box, much in the same vein as it was when I couldn¡¯t change my Explorer Job when I still had some Job-specific items in there, so maybe the reason why I couldn¡¯t switch Sherry¡¯s Job from Master Smith to Village Chief is because she had similar items in her own Item Box?


    Since ¡¸Appointment¡¹ switches the assigned First Job to Village Chief, then her Master Smith Job needs to be removed first, so I took a look at the Party Job Settings to take care of that, but then I noticed that Sherry doesn¡¯t even have a Village Chief Job unlocked yet.


    ¡¸Sherry, do you know anything about ¡¸Defense¡¹, one of the Skills of the Knight Job?¡¹


    ¡¸¡¸Defense¡¹? Well, just like its name implies, it¡¯s a Skill that¡¯s meant to increase the user¡¯s defenses by a small amount for a while after casting it. Because of that, it is usually a Skill that most people tend to keep in reserve for Floor Boss Battles or for use against particularly strong monsters.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. So it¡¯s good for Floor Boss battles, huh?¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s right.¡¹


    So my guess was right on the money then. This is indeed a Skill that raises defense. Well, it¡¯s not like I am going to need it at the current moment since with the setup that I am using now I am capable of finishing even the Floor Boss battles pretty quickly, but I am sure that it is definitely going to become pretty useful in the future.


    ¡¸It is a really useful Skill then, all the more so since we¡¯re probably going to need a Knight in our midst. That being said, would any of you like to become a Knight?¡¹


    ¡¸If it is going to be of use to Master, then I would like to do it.¡¹


    ¡¸It will require a long period of training as a Warrior to become a Knight though.¡¹


    Roxanne immediately raises her hand while Sherry shows her concern. Well, of course she would be concerned. In order to become a Knight, you need to reach Lv.30 as a Warrior first. Miria¡¯s Diver is Lv.30 already though, so it¡¯s not going to be much of a hindrance.

 Volume 7 - CH 4.01

    Chapter 34: Information Gathering


    ¡ºMiria¡»


    Current Levels & Equipment:


    Diver Lv.37


    Equipment:


    Scimitar


    Steel Shield


    Chainmail


    Hardened Leather Gloves


    Hardened Leather Boots


    We have found the Boss Room of the thirteenth floor of Haruba¡¯s labyrinth rather quickly.


    Now that Miria was done helping the neighbors with the regional activities, we could once again focus fully on the exploration of the Labyrinths, which directly translated itself into us finding the waiting room before the Floor Boss exceedingly quickly.


    At first, I thought that this was going to be just another small room like many others, but as soon as the door opened and we walked inside I immediately understood that this was the Waiting Room, because instead of multiple branching paths there were only two waiting for us: the one through which we came here from, and the one leading forward straight to the Boss Room.


    ¡¸The Floor Boss should be right ahead of us. Sherry, what is the Floor Boss of the thirteenth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth?¡¹


    ¡¸The Floor Boss of this floor where the Pig Hogs are the main enemy is called Pick Hog, and generally speaking, Pick Hogs are just like upgraded versions of Pig Hogs, which means that they are a really tough monsters that mainly attack their prey by using their front hooves. I think that with her dodging abilities Miss Roxanne should still be okay while fighting it, but just to be on the safe side, you should make sure to remain as careful as possible.¡¹


    After Sherry finished her explanations, the door in the back opened, so I brandished Durandal and gave the order to rush inside.


    ¡¸The three of you handle Pick Hog, I will take care of Grass Bee.¡¹


    ¡¸¡¸¡¸Okay, master!¡¹¡¹¡¹


    The monster accompanying the Floor Boss was a Grass Bee, so I need to finish it off as quickly as possible to ensure that none of us is going to get poisoned like I did before.


    I finished it off as quickly as I could, and then I joined in on the attack on Pick Hog.


    Pick Hog is the Floor Boss of the thirteenth floor. As such, it is at least one size bigger than the regular Pig Hog, with one major difference: its front hooves were very reminiscent of drills or cones, which makes sense of what Sherry was saying about its primary method of attack. If a regular human were to receive a strike from those things, then surely they would inflict quite a lot if damage upon them.


    And so, the Pick Hog stood on its hind hooves while raising the front ones into the air and it started to move forward while aiming its strikes towards Roxanne. That strategy of attack is awfully similar to what boars in my old world used to be doing to compensate for their short legs. But that makes me wonder: if that is its primary method of attack, then is it really okay for me not to lend the girls a hand in fighting it?


    Such thoughts were rushing through my head right now.


    The Pick Hog made another attack towards Roxanne, but she easily avoided it without any difficulties whatsoever.


    As expected of Roxanne. There¡¯s no way that a simple attack like that would ever be able to cause any kind of harm to her. On the other hand, if I was the one standing in her place, then I surely would have been hit by that attack even if I tried to dodge out of its way.


    Well, there is still a possibility that one or two attacks might be directed my way, because just because I am standing in the backline casting my magic, there¡¯s no guarantee that I will never be attacked simply because I am standing a little bit farther away from the enemies than the rest of my Party.


    That is why even though I am holding Durandal in my hands, I still make sure to slash at the Pick Hog extremely cautiously. A careful observation revealed that only the front hooves of the Pick Hog were sharp, so al long as we make sure that the brunt of its attention is focused on Roxanne and Roxanne only, then we shouldn¡¯t have any trouble bringing it down with our coordinated assault.


    Perhaps it was exactly because of those careful attacks and the maximum amount of caution that we maintained, but we managed to wrap the battle against the Pick Hog up without any of us getting injured and without any unfortunate accidents occurring along the way.


    Well, we have already managed to defeat the Floor Bosses up to the fifteenth floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth, so I guess that would explain why a Floor Boss of the thirteenth floor here in Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth would pose no threat for us.


    ¡¸Sherry, what kind of monster can we expect on the fourteenth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth?¡¹


    ¡¸It is going to be Sarracenia.¡¹


    Sarracenia, huh?


    The weakness of Sarracenia, which is basically a carnivorous plant-type monster, is Fire Magic.


    We then proceeded further to the fourteenth floor under Roxanne¡¯s careful guidance.


    After killing Sarracenia with five ¡¸Fire Storms¡¹, I then killed the remaining Pig Hogs with five more ¡¸Water Balls¡¹.


    Next, we fight against a group of three different types of monsters. First of all, I killed the two Sarracenias using five ¡¸Fire Storms¡¹.


    After that, I finish one Grass Bee using five ¡¸Breeze Storms¡¹, and then I slaughter the remaining Pig Hog with a single ¡¸Water Ball¡¹. Nine attacks in total to defeat a group of four enemies, huh?


    ¡¸Hmm¡­ Even though there were three types of monsters, I needed one extra spell in order to finish them off, assuming that I didn¡¯t make any mistakes in my calculations. All right then. Roxanne, try to guide us towards a group consisting of three different types of monsters next.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood, master.¡¹


    I instructed Roxanne with specific set of guidelines, and she did exactly like I told her. Although the duration of the battles got slightly longer once more, it¡¯s not something that¡¯s going to hinder our plans of fighting on the fourteenth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth.


    Whenever we¡¯re fighting against a group of monsters consisting of only one enemy, I can deal with that group by using the AoE magic of the type that said monsters are weak against and it usually takes me about five Spells to do so. And even if some enemies manage to survive my attacks, Roxanne and the others should be more than enough to dispatch any stragglers that are going to be left.


    That is the most efficient strategy for clearing the floors of the Labyrinths: whenever we¡¯re fighting a group of monsters, you always go first and foremost for those monsters whose numbers are highest, and then you move on to clear out the ones that remain. And as a rule of thumb, whenever we¡¯re facing Grass Bees or other enemies that have access to either long-ranged Skills or status ailments-inflicting attacks, these ones need to be defeated ASAP.


    It all sounds difficult and complicated, but as long as we approach these battles carefully and with attention, we will be able to fight these enemies properly. And besides, it¡¯s not like we can avoid it entirely, so the best thing that we can do is to grit our teeth and just get it over with as fast as possible.


    Now that we were able to successfully clear the fourteenth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth, we decided to go to Bode¡¯s Labyrinth in the afternoon in order to switch things up a little bit and keep them from becoming repetitive.


    Ever since I gotten permission from the Duke to help them Explore and clear out the Labyrinths of the Hartz Duchy, I have made sure to go to Tare and Bode¡¯s Labyrinths in order to check out if their exploration progress has changed. Even if I¡¯m not going to those Labyrinths, keeping the tabs on their progress is definitely a good thing to do. That way, I won¡¯t be caught out of the loop in case if some substantial progress is going to be made in one of them.


    And who knows, it might as well turn out that one of the floors that I have yet to explore is going to be unexpectedly easy to conquer, much in the same vein as the sixteenth floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth.


    ¡¸How far has the exploration progressed?¡¹


    ¡¸Up to the eleventh floor.¡¹


    The Explorer at the entrance informed me thusly when I asked him about the progress of the exploration of the Labyrinth. So what I can see from that is that the progress of the exploration of the Labyrinth of Tare is much slower in comparison to the progress of the exploration in the Labyrinth of Quratar.

 Volume 7 - CH 4.02

    That is probably because the forces of the Knights of the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy are currently spread too thin because the Hartz Duchy has three Labyrinths that need to be cleared instead of just one.


    Or perhaps, they decided to focus on the exploration of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth? Well, Gozer looks like a hard worker, so I wish him good luck in that endeavor, but as for the Duke of Hartz¡­ then yeah, I don¡¯t really care about him all that much.


    The Party led by the Duke and Cassia and also the Party led by Gozer and his Knights of the Hartz Duchy were also responsible for the exploration of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth, and since all the three of them seem to be exceptionally powerful individuals with high-level Jobs, then I am pretty sure that they would be more than capable of blazing through the eleventh floor of Bode¡¯s Labyrinth in no time flat.


    On the other hand, however, I guess it would ultimately be pretty wasteful for the Parties as powerful as Gozer¡¯s, Duke¡¯s and Cassia¡¯s to explore such a low-levelled floor as the eleventh floor of Bode¡¯s Labyrinth when they could be exploring much higher floors. Yeah, something like that would definitely be more worth their time and resources instead of wasting them all here.


    Moreover, it is a more rational thing to do to break through the floors of a single Labyrinth one by one instead of continuously diverting your attention to the other Labyrinths. In that sense, I guess it can be said that I have yet to directly contribute to the exploration of the Labyrinths of Hartz Duchy, since instead of heading to the upper, the most recently discovered floors I am taking my sweet time with my own Party on the lower floors.


    However, I don¡¯t think that this is going to be the source of any problems whatsoever, since it was the Duke himself who said that it would be perfectly fine for me to just enter that Labyrinths in the territory of Hartz Duchy. He didn¡¯t specify at all that I should also be heading to the higher floors to contribute to the exploration of the Labyrinths in any meaningful way.


    That, and there is also the matter of me defeating Heinz the Bandit and his cronies. In a grand scheme of things that might have been nothing all that major, but if my deed caused the Knights of the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy to reduce the number of patrols that that had to make in the Labyrinths, th3n I guess it can be argued that I have helped them at least that much, which is definitely better than not helping at all.


    ¡¸Before we head home for the day, I want to make a quick stop at the furniture store.¡¹


    ¡¸Furniture store? Why do you want to do that, master?¡¹


    ¡¸Because the bed that we are currently using us starting to get just a little bit too small for all of us to use, so we cannot keep on using it. We need to get ourselves a bigger one.¡¹


    That was a thought that suddenly popped into my mind when we entered the entrance room on the first floor of Bode¡¯s Labyrinth, which was admittedly quite small, even by the standards of the other Labyrinth¡¯s entrance rooms that I have seen before.


    Whenever I am expressing the desire to add another member to my harem, there is always this fear at the back of my head: the fear that some of the current members of my harem might start objecting the idea. That is exactly why I want to do something that would allow the uneasiness in my heart to be remedied, even if it would be for only just a little bit.


    No, I don¡¯t want to do this because I plan to increase the number of my slaves yet again. I think that it is still too early after Miria¡¯s purchase to be going for another one.


    I just want to do it as a kind of¡­ let¡¯s call it preparation. A preparation for when I will really have to expand my harem again.


    So as you can see, even if the harem¡¯s further expansion is not my ultimate goal here, it is still one of the reasons behind it, which is making me feel just a tad bit guilty about it.


    ¡¸I see. It would certainly be a great thing to do, since just like you mentioned just now, the bed is starting to feel a little bit cramped. Thank you for caring about us and always thinking about our needs, master.¡¹


    Ugh, now that makes me feel all the more guilty, since I don¡¯t want the new bed because of any noble reasons like that. The only thing that motivates me to get ourselves a bigger bed are actually my own selfish desires and my need to quench them.


    Anyway, for the time being, I warped us all to Quratar¡¯s Adventurers Guild, and from there, we all headed to the furniture store to take a look at the beds tha they have available there.


    ¡¸Now, I know that I said that we are going to need a bigger bed, but I don¡¯t necessarily think that we have to buy an extra large one just yet. Instead, I think it might be a good idea to go and by the one that¡¯s going to be just a little bit larger than the one that we are currently using right now. And then, after we buy that second one, we might just put the two beds right next to each other to create the bigger one. What do you girls think?¡¹


    While checking out the beds carefully, I made such a proposal to the girls, since like I said just now, the bed that we currently have in our bedroom is already quite large, so I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any need for us to get too overboard with the purchase of the next one.


    The current one is capable of having up to four people in it at once, so once we add the second one, it should be able to accommodate five or more people quite easily. That being said, I do not know if what I have in mind is going to be easily achievable, since I never tried to put tow beds side by side before. In the worst-case scenario, I think we might be dealing with a huge gap in the middle between the two of them, which would make it pretty uncomfortable if any of the girls were to roll into it in the middle of the night or even fall to the ground as a result.


    But since I am the one who usually sleeps in the center of the bed with the girls hugging onto my arms, that would also pose the danger of something like that happening to me as well, and I definitely don¡¯t want that.


    Then again, I guess it¡¯s all in how we¡¯re going to arrange it in the end. There shouldn¡¯t be any problems with it just as long as I will arrange it in such a way that the gap is not going to be directly below my ass, but we¡¯re going to cross that bridge when we get to it, and not a minute too soon.


    ¡¸If we¡¯re going to set them up the way that master wants it, then I think the bed might end up being too big for us, actually.¡¹


    ¡¸For the four of us right now? Oh, it¡¯s definitely going to be too big. But once more Party Members join us, then such a big bed is going to be a necessity, so I think there¡¯s nothing wrong in getting a little bit ahead of ourselves like that.¡¹


    My appearance was calm and composed while I was saying that, but to tell you the truth, in my head I was all tensed up and sweating bullets. For my own sake and for the sake of fulfilling my harem dream, I have to keep telling them that I am going to be increasing the numbers of our members over and over again just in case if any of them ever forgot about it. If any of the girls did forget and oppose to me getting more slaves as a result, then hoo boy would that be hella awkward and then some.


    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹


    ¡¸A-Also, it would be a real waste to just go and throw the bed that we currently have away just because we¡¯re buying a new one.¡¹


    My anxiety started skyrocketing, so I hurriedly gave them some completely made-up reason for not to turn down my proposal. This is what I was being afraid of the entire time: that things may not go as smoothly as I thought because of a single comment that one of the girls makes.

 Volume 7 - CH 4.03

    ¡¸I understand. Let¡¯s go with what you said, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Also, would it be okay for us to buy a shelf as well?¡¹


    ¡¸A shelf? Yes, I see nothing wrong in buying one.¡¹


    With this, we are going to have two items instead of just one, which means that the conditions for the procking of my ¡¸Thirty Percent Discount¡¹Skill are going to be met. And since the owner of the furniture store has the Job of a Merchant, then it means that the discount should be effective without any issues.


    As the number of the members of my Party is going to increase, then the same will go for their luggage and eventually, their personal belongings, so buying ourselves a shelf is really going to serve as a preparation for having a place where my slaves could keep them all.


    We could buy it the next time we would be out shopping for furniture, but then I wouldn¡¯t be able to get my discount, which goes against my personal policy of always trying to get the discount whenever it is going to be possible.


    Ideally, we should have gotten our hands on the shelf and then worry about getting ourselves a bigger bed, but it¡¯s done now so there¡¯s no pint worrying about the things that we cannot change. It¡¯s too late now, so that¡¯s done.


    Men play it fair, always being open and honest about everything. And whenever trouble or setbacks occur, they are always going to be breaking through the front to confront those setbacks head-on, same as they do with doing their women! They caress them and shove it in from the front! Only cowards do it from the back! But there is nothing to be envious about here, oh no. That¡¯s something that you just have to do yourself in your own way.


    In the end, the matter of picking up the right shelf for us to buy has been completely relegated to the girls.


    They are going to be the ones who will be using that shelf anyway, so leaving the choosing process up to them seemed like the most logical thing to do.


    While being surrounded by Sherry from the left and Miria from the right, Roxanne¡¯s group started looking over the shelves while trying to decide which one they are going to be taking with them. As for myself, I was more than content with just watching them from the sidelines without throwing my own opinion in. If I did that, my words would probably influence their final choice, making it my purchase instead of theirs.


    As it was always the case whenever Roxanne was involved in buying anything, making their final decision took them a considerably long time, but once they have finally made up their minds, we purchased both the bed and the shelf and then we returned home. I was hoping that maybe Roxanne would gradually stop taking so long to make each and every purchase, but it seems that it still cannot be helped.


    ¡¸Girls, I want you to stay here until the furniture arrives. And since we¡¯re done with the exploration of the Labyrinths for today, then you may focus entirely on preparing dinner. In the meantime, I am going to head to Vale.¡¹


    ¡¸To Vale? As in¡­. to the Vale¡¯ Slave Shop?¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s right, but this time I¡¯m not going to do that because I want to add another member to our Party already. Rather, I want to go there today in order to gather the information that are going to help us prepare for the next purchase. That, and I also want to thank Alan-san for giving me a letter of introduction to the Slave Shop in the Imperial City. Without it, Miria¡¯s purchase would have been impossible.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. That certainly seems like a proper thing to do.¡¹


    Roxanne gave me her consent.


    As for the number of Party Members, it is like I always said: the more, the better, especially now when we are progressing through the Labyrinths at a decently fast pace. The higher we are going to proceed, the stronger the enemies are going to be getting, so the expansion of our Party and the increase of our effective battle strength is more important right now than ever before.


    Thankfully, Roxanne and Sherry are both perfectly aware of this. However, when I think about it, then it hasn¡¯t really been all that long since Sherry came to us from the Vale¡¯s Slave Merchant Shop, and surely I cannot expect to find beauties like Roxanne or Sherry literally every time when I go to that particular Slave Shop. That is exactly why I said that this time, I am only going to be heading there for the purpose of doing some information gathering.


    The maximum amount of people that can be in a single Party is six. Because that is a limit that cannot be surpassed in any way, I cannot just go around buying myself more slaves left and right without really thinking such purchases true.


    Yes, whoever I am going to choose as the next Party Member, I have to make sure that this is going to be a choice that I am going to make very carefully.


    Well, I guess I could go visit th Slave Merchant in the Imperial City once again, but if I did that, then I am pretty sure that the only slaves that he would have had for sale would be the ones that are unmotivated, and even if they would be beautiful, the beautiful slaves that would be unwilling to risk their lives together with us in the Labyrinths are of no use to me at all. But if I go to Alan-san, then there is always the possibility that he might introduce me to the other Slave Shops in the cities other than the ones in Vale and the Imperial City.


    Besides, there are also other things that I want ask him about. Like, for example, the slave auctions that the Slave Merchant in the Imperial City mentioned to me when we went there to buy Miria.


    Alternatively, I could always try asking Sherry about it, but something is telling me that asking her about something like that would not make me score any positive points with her, so that¡¯s what I want to ask Alan-san about it instead.


    ¡¸Well then. I¡¯m heading off.¡¹


    ¡¸Alright. Take care, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Take care and safe travel, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Take care, desu!¡¹


    After having the girls sent me off with encouraging words, I left the house and headed off towards my destination: Vale and its Slave Shop. I opened up the ¡¸Warp¡¹ portal on the wall and jumped to the Vale¡¯s Adventurers Guild and headed off towards Alan-san¡¯s Slave Shop.


    While I was walking there, I noticed that neither the townscape nor the townspeople have changed since the last time when I was here.


    ¡¸Is the owner in?¡¹


    I asked the servant who came to greet me when I knocked on the front door of the Slave Shop.


    ¡¸Yes, he¡¯s going to see you shortly. Please wait here.¡¹


    As per the usual, he told me to come inside and wait for Alan-san¡¯s arrival in the usual waiting room with which I was pretty well acquainted by now.


    ¡¸Oh, if it isn¡¯t one of my dear customers. I hope life continues to treat you well?¡¹


    Before long, Alan-san finally made his appearance. He looked exactly the same as the last time when I saw him as well. There was literally no change in him at all. When he signaled me with his hand, I followed after him to the back room.


    ¡¸The other day, I went and visited the Slave Shop in the Imperial City to which you have written me a letter of recommendation. I wanted to express my thanks to you for doing that for me, since thanks to that I was able to obtain a new valuable slave for myself.¡¹


    ¡¸Ah, yes, I think that I have heard from him that he managed to make a successful transaction with you and that in the end both parties of the deal emerged from it it thoroughly satisfied.¡¹


    Oh, so the Slave Merchant from the Imperial City was satisfied with the result of our deal, even though he was forced to give me so many discounts thanks to my Bonus Skills? If it really is like that, then I guess the inhabitants of this world have no way of knowing that I have used a Skill that caused them to give me a more beneficial offer thanks to which they lost a portion of the money they would normally get, it seems.


    Well, if that is how it is, then that¡¯s better for me.

 Volume 7 - CH 4.04

    However, it would seem that the Slave Merchants in this world are so close with one another that they are discussing the transactions that they have made between themselves. I am glad that I came to thank Alan-san for that letter of introduction, because if I didn¡¯t do that, then I probably would have never learned about it.


    ¡¸So, did you also come here today in order to buy another slave for yourself?¡¹


    ¡¸No, I am fine for the time being. However, I do intend to add another member to my Party in the near future.¡¹


    ¡¸Is that so? Well, I guess that means that the exploration of the Labyrinths must be going exceptionally well for you. I am glad to hear it.¡¹


    ¡¸It is going pretty well indeed, but that is mainly thanks to the contribution that both Roxanne and Sherry are putting in.¡¹


    When I bought Roxanne from here, it was out of necessity and my desire to not be alone in the new, strange and unfamiliar world, but since I didn¡¯t have enough money to make the purchase right away, I had no choice but to do anything that I could do to scramble enough money in a few short days that Alan-san was gracious enough to give me.


    But look at me now. At the beginning, I could barely scrape by enough funds to buy myself one slave, and here I am, making preparations for the purchase of a fourth one already, so it shouldn¡¯t be all that surprising that from the point of view of this Slave Merchant I must be doing quite well for myself.


    ¡¸But as long as I intend on continuing the exploration of the Labyrinths, buying new slaves for myself is going to be a necessity.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, that is very well said.¡¹


    ¡¸I know, right? And that is why I decided that what I should be aiming for in not the quantity of the slaves, but their quality. Therefore, rather than increasing the number of my Party Members in a rush without really looking at their abilities, I should be looking for powerful combat-oriented slaves who¡¯re actually going to aid me in my explorations.¡¹


    ¡¸That is indeed a correct way of thinking about it.¡¹


    Actually, since the size of a single Party is limited to six people at max, there is no other way for me but to limit that number of the slaves that I want to add to my Party.


    That, and there is also the matter of my Vigor, but that particular problem can be remedied if I continue to use the Sex Maniac Job for our nightly activities. As long as I am going to have that equipped as my main Job, I will never have to worry about not being able to go another round with the girls anymore.


    ¡¸Just like you said yourself, if you want to challenge the higher floors of the Labyrinths, then you¡¯re going to need strong Party Members. And if you want to obtain said strong Party Members, then your best bet would be to try your luck at slave auctions.¡¹


    ¡¸Slave auctions, huh?¡¹


    Fortunately, the conversation moved towards the topic of the slave auctions naturally, without me having to steer it in that direction myself.


    ¡¸The slave auctions are usually held four times a year, typically during the holiday of each season, and they are held at the Quratar Merchants Guild. On the days when the slave auctions are held, all the other, normal auctions are called off, and the entire Guild building is reserved for slave auctions only for the entire day. During those auctions, many types of different slaves are being put on display, including the combat-oriented slaves who are well-suited to being Adventurers or Explorers, since those seem to be the ones that you are interested in the most.¡¹


    ¡¸And you¡¯re sure that I¡¯ll be able to find some really strong ones among all of them?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, most certainly. As for the fees associated with the auctions, the entrance fee for a single person is thousand Nars, and the price is so high because it is a kind of a precaution meant to filter out all of the people who would only attend the slave auctions out of sheer curiosity, without actually aiming to buy slaves for themselves as well as those who would try to manipulate the prices to turn the tide of the auctions for their own benefits. However, if the bid that you made is going to turn out to be a successful and winning one, the entrance fee that you paid can be appropriated towards the bid itself.¡¹


    Well, I have to admit that a fee of one thousand Nars would indeed be quite high if you wanted to be nothing more but a spectator. Then again, I guess that thousand Nars is not really all that much for the people who are willing to pay hundreds of thousands of Nars in order to obtain the slaves that they desire.


    Furthermore, if it turns out that my bid is going to be a successful one, then my entrance fee that I had to pay is basically going to be refunded to me. And if all of the participants attending the current auction are going to place a bid in hopes of having their entrance refunded, the amount of the final price is going to go up significantly, so I would consider that very good. Ingenious, even.


    ¡¸So that¡¯s how bidding at the slave auctions work? But wouldn¡¯t doing that drive up the price to such a degree that no one would be able to afford the slaves anymore?¡¹


    ¡¸It certainly might do that, but that way, at least we can all be sure that the prices cannot be manipulated by anyone, so I believe that this is a risk well worth taking.¡¹


    The slave merchant grinned after saying that.


    ¡¸Are you also exhibiting your slaves in these auctions, Alan-san?¡¹


    I asked him, but I think I already know the answer to that question.


    ¡¸Of course I am doing that. After all, the slave auctions are the stage where we the Slave Merchants can shine the brightest, so it would be foolish of me not to take such an opportunity and allow it to pass me by. Unfortunately though, it would seem that due to certain circumstances I will have to resign myself to lesser earnings than usual, seeing as I had to let go of the centerpiece of my merchandise that was supposed to be my main attraction.¡¹


    The way he phrased that sentence just now¡­ he must be talking about Roxanne. I do not know what those circumstances that he¡¯s talking about are, and to be completely honest, I do not care about them all that much, at least not right now. If there ever comes the time where I will feel the need to know about them, I will ask Roxanne to tell me about them in greater details.


    If Roxanne had been sold at a slave auction, then I am pretty sure that she wouldn¡¯t have been sold by a measly four hundred and twenty thousand Nars, because an auction is a place where my thirty percent discount would not be effective.


    Yes, that¡¯s right. This is an obvious drawback to using slave auctions that I haven¡¯t really considered before: a drawback of not being able to utilize one of my most useful Bonus Skills. But if that is how it is, then should I just limit my search of the strong combat-oriented slaves to just Slave Shops and forget about buying them at an auction altogether?


    Normally that would be the most reasonable thing to do, but if I remember correctly, then the next holiday of this world should be just a month or so away from now, which means that the owners of the Slave Shops might be preparing themselves for the auctions, and thus they would keep their best slaves for the auctions, preventing them from being bought by the ordinary clientele.


    Yeah, from the business standpoint, that is the perfectly logical thing to do. After all, why would you be selling your slaves at a lowered prices to regular people, when there is a possibility that you might be able to sell them for much, much more money if you just wait around for a little while longer?


    I feel like if I went to the Slave Shops now, the only products that I would find there would be the leftovers that no one really wanted to buy, and buying such slaves is an absolute no-go for me¡­


    Does that mean that my only option of obtaining good combat-oriented slaves now is to wait and try my luck at an auction, even if it ends up costing me more money than I actually would have liked?

 Volume 7 - CH 4.05

    Well, I think that it actually might be my only option available here. So it looks like the moment has finally come for me to graduate from the stage of wanting to obtain everything that I want while being as stingy with my money as possible. That time is over. From now on, if I want to obtain the things that I want, I will have to cough up the dough.


    That being said, even if it ends up costing me a lot more money than usual, the undisputed appeal of the auctions is that there should be, at least theoretically, a lot more slaves to choose from in comparison to the regular Slave Shops.


    ¡¸I guess I can try finding a good member for my party at the auction.¡¹


    ¡¸Indeed you can. So now that you have decided to participate after all, I will be looking forward to meeting you at the auction venue when the day of the auction finally arrives.¡¹


    With the conversation about the slave auctions sufficiently wrapped up, there was nothing more for me to discuss with Alan-san, so I decided to go back home.


    ¡¸It would seem that there is going to be a slave auction on the upcoming holiday, so we are going to go attend it in order to search for the newest member of our Party, since it is important to keep expanding our ranks and increase our fighting potential.¡¹


    After I returned back home, I talked to the girls about my plans for the near future, since I concluded that it¡¯s going to be better for me to inform them about my intentions ahead of time to allow them to make up their own minds about it instead of forcing it upon them a day or two before the auction itself.


    That, and once more, I absolutely need to keep hammering the idea of increasing the ranks of my slaves to them so that they wouldn¡¯t try to say no to it out of the blue.


    ¡¸Understood, master.¡¹


    ¡¸Since you decided to go to the auction, then we will definitely be able to find some good candidates for the potential members of our Party.¡¹


    ¡¸Miria wants to be elder sister now, desu!¡¹


    Just like I thought, Sherry seems to know her fair share of information about slave auctions, but as for Miria¡¯s request¡­. That is really not something that I can promise her, since I have no way of knowing whether the slave that I am potentially going to choose as the next member of my Party is going to be younger than her or not. Well, she might not be an elder sister, but at the very least she¡¯s going to be the new slave¡¯s senior in slavery, so that should be good enough for her, or at least I hope so.


    ¡¸Miria, you cannot ask master to make you an elder sister, because he cannot do anything about the age of the new Party Member.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay, desu!¡¹


    After that, all of us lied down on the new bed that has just arrived in order to see how it would feel.


    ¡¸Master, promise that you¡¯re going to cherish us a lot until the new members of our Party arrive, okay?¡¹


    Roxanne, my dear, how could you say something like that?! What made you think that I would stop loving you and the others when the new members of our Party are going to arrive? You can be sure that even after we get more members, my love for you won¡¯t change in the slightest!


    *          *          *


    The next day, we continued the exploration of the fourteenth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth. With the pace at which our exploration was currently progressing, I think we are currently halfway through it.


    When the battles are short, the hunting goes smoothly and without many issues, but when we occasionally wound up in the longer ones, I can feel the tension and stress levels of my entire Party increasing slightly. We all understand that they key to a safe and fast exploration is finishing the battles we end up engaging in quickly, and while the monsters here on the fourteenth floor are not as easy to defeat as to make the battles be over in a flash, they are also not strong enough to trigger our real sense of danger that would make us all fired up.


    While not a direct threat to us, such a state of affairs can definitely become a concern.


    Because the battles here on this floor are longer than the ones on the lower floors, there is always a possibility that we might end up getting exposed to consecutive attacks from the enemies, and if we lose our focus because of it, then we might end up getting ourselves thrown into some truly precarious situations.


    However, even though I am aware of it, I keep losing my focus.


    And then, all of a sudden¡­.


    ¡¸Miria!¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, desu!¡¹


    When I heard Roxanne shouting towards Miria, my senses and my thoughts have been brought back to me in an instant.


    That shout just now sounded as if Roxanne was really mad at Miria. Looks like she was going solo too much yet again, just like it happened last time. Even though Miria tends to be staying withing the designated formation most of the time, occasionally she just happens to attempt to go ahead on her own or to engage the enemy by herself even though we always tell her that she has to stay close to us if she wants to avoid getting herself poisoned or being stricken with some other status ailment.


    Well, I can empathize with her to some degree, because I tend to lose my focus more and more often too.


    My overall thoughts on the fourteenth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth? This floor is boring and slow, and nothing that happens here gives me that spark of positive excitement that would usually compel me to continue going forward despite all of the dangers that continue to lurk around every corner.


    Finally, there was only one opponent left from the group that we were currently fighting, and Roxanne was its opponent, so there was no need to be worried about her at all, because throughout the entire fight she has yet to receive a single attack from it.


    Surprising nobody, her performance on the battlefield is as spectacular as ever, no matter which floor we are currently on. And since she continues to excel in that field of combat, then I guess I have no choice but to give it my everything as well with supporting her, Sherry and Miria from the backline with my magic.


    At the end of the day though, we didn¡¯t decide to go so far as to break through the fourteenth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth, and instead, we chose to go to the Bode¡¯s Labyrinth to check how much its exploration has progressed since the last time when we were here.


    ¡¸How far has the exploration progressed?¡¹


    ¡¸The twelfth floor has just been reached recently.¡¹


    We drop by Bode¡¯s Labyrinth around noon, and asked the Explorer at


    the entrance to give us a status update.


    ¡¸And what kind of monsters can we expect to encounter on the twelfth floor?¡¹


    ¡¸Mabream.¡¹


    ¡¸Mabream, desu?!¡¹


    I have no idea why she did that, but for some inexplicable reason, Miria went and repeated the words that the Explorer has spoken just now and she looked at me with incredibly serious eyes.


    However, those very same eyes of hers that were looking so serious just a second ago¡­ have now began sparkling with excitement, and she looked as if she desperately wanted to tell us something.


    I wonder what that might be? Something important, perhaps?


    ¡¸Mabream is a fish-type monster. The Drop Item that it leaves behind when it dies is White Fish.¡¹


    Sherry explained to me the reason why Miria was feeling so excited. So once again it¡¯s all about fish with her, huh?


    Miria is still staring at me with those giant eyes of hers, but right now, rather than sparkling, I think it would be more appropriate to say that her eyes are burning with appetite.


    ¡¸W-Well, in that case¡­ can I ask you to take all of us to the twelfth floor?¡¹


    Now thar Miria has gotten fired up like that, there is nothing that I will be able to do about her aside from satiating her appetite for the fish, so I sighed heavily and took the emblem of Hartz Duchy out of my backpack, showing it to the Explorer and adding him to my Party so that he could teleport all of us to our new destination.


    ¡¸All right then. Follow after me, please.¡¹

 Volume 7 - CH 4.06

    Following after the Explorer, we entered Bode¡¯s Labyrinth.


    We have arrived in a small room with an ordinary door. It is the same room you can find on any floor of any given Labyrinth. As soon as we got there, the Explorer left our Party and headed back to the entrance immediately.


    ¡¸Okay, so now that are alone, what else can you tell me about Mabreams, Sherry?¡¹


    ¡¸Mabream is a monster that specializes in long-range Water Magic attacks. As such, it is also resistant to Water Magic. Earth Magic is its weakness.¡¹


    ¡¸Earth Magic, huh? All right then. Roxanne, can I ask of you to find us a small group of monsters, or preferably a single one since it is going to be our first time fighting against this monster?¡¹


    ¡¸As you wish, master.¡¹


    After Sherry briefed us on what Mabreams are and their strengths and weaknesses, I asked Roxanne to guide us to a small group so that we could get a feel on how to fight this monster, exactly.


    Mabream is a fish-type monster that looks like a fish that has two long legs growing out formthe lower parts of its body. Actually, looking only at its head, it looks more like a fish than a fish-type monster¡­. Nope, the longer I get to look at it, the less I am sure if it is actually just a head or its entire body.


    To top it off, there are two long and skinny legs stretching out. It is truly creepy and disgusting, as if I was looking at some kind of abomination that shouldn¡¯t even be allowed to exist. If the circumstances were any different and it wasn¡¯t an enemy that we are going to have to defeat in order to proceed, then I would just turn back on my heels and noped the hell out of here as fast as I could, all so that I wouldn¡¯t have to look at that freakish thing again. Whoever decided that this thing is a fish-type monster must¡¯ve had something seriously wrong with their head.


    Whatever. If they say it¡¯s fish-type monster, then it must be a fish-type monster, and that¡¯s what we¡¯re going to go with, even though it looks like a badly designed Martian, in all honesty.


    Since this monster is supposed to be weak to Earth Magic, I tried shooting a ¡¸Sand Ball¡¹at it. Since it was hit with the element that it is supposed to be weak to, the damage that it received was that much greater. After four shots of ¡¸Sand Ball¡¹fired at it in rapid succession, it finally collapsed onto the ground and disappeared in a cloud of green smoke.


    Mabream might look unpleasant as hell, but at the moment of its death, it is no different from any other monsters from the Labyrinths since it dies in exactly the same way. And precisely because of that, there is no reason for me to feel bad in any sort of way about killing it. It is a monster, and therefore it needs to die, just like the rest of them.


    Anyway, now that Mabream was dead and not coming back, the only thing that remained of it was its Drop Item: White Fish, just like Sherry said. It makes sense, you know? Mabream is a fish-type monster, so it leaves a White Fish behind when it dies, and White Fish is where White Fish Meat comes from.


    ¡¸Yes, desu!¡¹


    When Miria saw the Drop Item with her own eyes, she immediately started jumping up and down in joy. I don¡¯t know if this single White Fish drop is anything to get excited about, but she once again looked me directly in the eyes when she stopped hopping up and down.


    What does she want to say to me? I don¡¯t know¡­ except that I know very well, and so I already have my answer for her ready.


    ¡¸Yes, Miria. This is going to be our dinner for tonight, I guess.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, desu!¡¹


    Miria bows her head to me respectfully while her entire body practically radiated with joy. I said that we¡¯re going to be having it as tonight¡¯s dinner because we already have some fish and because I thought that it would be unnecessarily cruel to torture Miria by having her wait another full day so that she could eat her beloved fish, but now that I look at her, I think that she could have waited for another day to eat the fish and she would have still been fine.


    ¡¸All right then, we¡¯re going to do some hunting around these parts for the time being. Roxanne, show us the way please.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood!¡¹


    For a while, we hunted the Mabreams and other monsters in the near vicinity of the twelfth floor¡¯s entrance. After all, since the exploration of Bode¡¯s twelfth floor has only just started, it¡¯s going to be best to stay as close to the entrance as possible without going too far inside the floor itself. As long as the majority of this floor remains an uncharted territory, we are going to have to restrain ourselves if we don¡¯t want to accidentally stumble upon a trap room with a large number of monsters inside.


    If we ended up getting ourselves locked up in such a trap room like the one that I got trapped before, but with much stronger monsters inside, then I am not sure if I would be able to guarantee my Party¡¯s safety.


    No, this time it should be better, because now I can use powerful Bonus Spells that will be able to vaporize my enemies off the face of the earth in an instant.


    In order to test out how effective my Bonus Spells are going to be against the monsters of the twelfth floor, I used ¡¸Meteor Crash¡¹.


    As soon as I did that, a red-hot meteorite has decended from the sky above and crashed into the group of monsters we were currently fighting against, leaving none of them alive.


    So just like always, a one-shot victory for me, huh? Yeah, when the dust finally settled down, I saw that this one ¡¸Meteor Crash¡¹really was enough to kill the group of Mabreams, which would mean that aside from the Earth Magic, Mabreams seem to be weak against Fire Magic as well, which is good, since I honestly believed that I would need at least two uses of ¡¸Meteor Crash¡¹to bring them down since this is the twelfth floor and all, but at the same time, this is not as good as it sounds.


    Why would that be? Because it leaves me quite confused, because I have no idea how can I discern which monsters can be killed in one shot, and which ones are going to require more than one attack with my magic.


    I can defeat Rub Shrub with one magic attack, but against Pig Hogs, one Spell is not enough. Initially I thought that maybe it was because the Rub Shrubs were also weak against Fire Magic, but to be honest, I am not so sure about it anymore.


    Well, it¡¯s not like it is an urgent issue that requires solving it right this instant, so as long as I can defeat groups of Mabreams with a single ¡¸Meteor Crash¡¹, I am going to be more than happy about it.


    ¡¸Amazing, desu.¡¹


    That was Miria¡¯s first time seeing me using such a powerful magic, so she was obviously quite impressed with what she saw¡­.. is what I thought at first, but once I followed her line of sight, which was aimed suspiciously low towards the ground, I understood that it was not my magic that she was impressed with¡­ but the amount of the White Fish that was left on the ground when the Mabreams were defeated.


    I, uhm¡­. Maybe it¡¯s going to be better if I just let this go without saying anything. Yeah. Let¡¯s just leave that matter and move on.


    ¡¸Since ¡¸Meteor Crash¡¹ seems to be effective, I think it should be okay for us to proceed a little bit further inside.¡¹


    ¡¸I guess so.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I don¡¯t think we¡¯re going to have any particular problems they way we are now, master.¡¹


    ¡¸All right. Roxanne, for the time being, let¡¯s focus on exploring this floor instesd of searching for monsters, so you can stop looking for them for now.¡¹


    I instructed Roxanne to stop searching for monsters and switch into the exploration mode.


    I felt bored while we were on Haruba¡¯s fourteenth floor, like there was nothing there for us to do.


    But here on the twelfth floor of Bode¡¯s Labyrinth, I might be able to set off some proverbial fireworks if I get the chance.

 Volume 7 - CH 4.07

    ¡¸Meteor Crash¡¹ is an area of effect magic attack, which means that instead of attacking just a single enemy, it targets all of the enemies that are going to be standing within its effective range, so if I were to use it in a trap room that would be filled to the brim with monsters, they all would probably end up getting massacred in a matter of seconds. This is going to be especially good for me since I want to let out all of the frustrations that I have build up while trekking through the fourteenth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth while getting myself bored to death.


    While heading deeper inside the twelfth floor of Bode¡¯s Labyrinth, I fight against the monsters that we were encountering by casting ¡¸Meteor Crash¡¹at them. Even though I told Roxanne that we are going to be focusing on the exploration rather than fighting monsters, we were encountering large groups of monsters is big rooms anyway, but ¡¸Meteor Crash¡¹was making a remarkably short work of them. Even though using ¡¸Sand Storm¡¹was also a valid option of fighting against the Mabreams, I didn¡¯t do that. In fact, right now I am not using ordinary magic at all, killing everything within my line of sight with my Bonus Spell instead. And when my MP is dropping dangerously low, I jut go and switch back to Durandal so that I could get back all of the MP that I have lost in a matter of just a few battles.


    This is the Labyrinth, a place where pretty much anything can happen if you¡¯re not going to be careful enough with your own actions. I might never know if one of the enemies that¡¯s going to pop up sooner or later is not going to be resistant to my ¡¸Meteor Crash¡¹, meaning that I will not be able to kill them with one or two ¡¸Meteor Crashes¡¹. In case of such an emergency, I should have enough MP saved up to be able to use other types of magic and Spells.


    As it is always is with the world, it turns out that when you start actively searching for something, you¡¯ll not be able to find it. That is the case with the entrance to the room with an especially large amount of monsters in it on this floor. We switched ourselves into exploration mode for the express purpose of finding it as soon as possible, but for a good while it just continued to elude us.


    But nevertheless, we never allowed it to get us down, and so we continued our search, until we have eventually found it.


    The door to the next room before us opened, and once we set foot in the small room, we noticed a large amount of fish-type monsters right there in the middle of it.


    It¡¯s a big catch. It¡¯s a great catch. Just thinking about how much EXP and Drop Items we are going to get from those guys is enough to make me excited.


    Oh yeah, it¡¯s fishing time, baby, so let us dive right into this school of fish in order to catch them all!


    Unfortunately, there are no seagulls here to set up the proper mood of fishing at the seaside, but it¡¯s nothing that we can do anything about, so there¡¯s no use complaining about it at all. And besides, if there were seagulls here, then I think their cries would be distracting us from focusing on the battle properly.


    Just as I planned, I will try to take all of the monsters out with a single Spell, so as soon as we got close enough to the monsters, and then I invoked ¡¸Meteor Crash¡¹¡­..


    But when I did that, I immediately felt as if something was horribly, horribly wrong.


    All of a sudden, I felt as if all of my MP has gone up and disappeared without a trace. But that was not all. Along with my MP, it also felt as if something else has left my body, leaving me in a state in which I felt as if my entire being has been engulfed by a deep, heavy, sticky darkness.


    I-I¡¯m sorry! How could I have been this stupid? How could I have been this foolish to think that I could dispose of so many enemies with a single Spell alone?!


    I had no idea that I was this incompetent! I had no idea my abilities were so lacking that I would fail to predict that trying to invoke ¡¸Meteor Crash¡¹right now would result in me draining all of my MP for naught?!


    I was stupid enough to forget one crucial detail about area of effect magic: that the amount of MP that the Spell is going to consume increases proportionally to the number of monsters that it is being used against. Or¡­. Is it really like that? I don¡¯t know. Right now I am in a state in which I might have as well believed that what was happening to me right now was just this world purposefully screwing with me because of how good things have been going for me recently.


    Maybe it¡¯s because I have been using Bonus Spells much more often than the regular Spells lately? Maybe this is the world¡¯s way of showing me that Bonus Spells and Bonus Skills are something that is not natural in this world, and that is why the world is not going to tolerate anyone who uses them to further their own, selfish ends?


    Yes, this world must be set against me precisely because of that. I tried to cheat like Hayashi Shiro, and as a punishment for that, I now feel down and depressed because I have made a mistake.


    Who is Hayashi Shiro and what does he have to do with anything that is currently happening to me, you ask? Well, it¡¯s actually a Japanese trick of sorts, to be exact. A trick that states that when a person doesn¡¯t know how they should write the kanji for depression, they should just write the kanji for Hayashi Shiro, because they supposedly look the same. Not that I know if that is actually true or not, because I never had to actually use that trick before.


    ¡¸As expected of master, you were amazing as always!¡¹


    ¡¸All those monsters were wiped out in one attack!¡¹


    ¡¸Amazing, desu!¡¹


    The monsters all seem to be dead, but honestly,  I can¡¯t even hear what the girls are saying all that clearly, because all of that stress that I have managed to get rid off while we were powertripping through the Mabreams has now come back to hit me like a truck.


    This is just my goddamn luck. All that I wanted to do was to release the stress and get rid of the boredom that I was feeling, but my plans have backfired against me spectacularly, and now I only feel depressed as shit.


    In order to fix my sorry state of being, I opened my Item Box, took out a handful of Strengthening Pills and swallowed them all at once.


    With them, my MP has now been sufficiently recovered, allowing me to get back on my feet.


    Who would have thought that there was going to be such a tremendous drawback to using area of effect magic against too many opponents? I feel like I have just learned a valuable but pretty painful lesson. Up until now I was only fighting against groups of up to four monsters, so I just didn¡¯t notice the increasing amount of MP consumption when there was more than four enemies, and I honestly feel like I cannot even be held accountable for that, since I have been trying to avoid trap rooms at all costs ever since I stumbled onto that one when I was still only by myself.


    If there was just one or two more monsters than usual, then I feel like it would also not make that much of a difference, but in this room here, there was not just one or two more enemies. This room was literally brimming with them, but on the flipside, so many enemies means that the potential amount of Drop Items that they have left behind was going to be huge as well, and when I gazed at the ground, I saw that it totally was.


    However, it wasn¡¯t only drops from Mabreams. Since the enemies native to the eleventh floor of Bode¡¯s Labyrinth were Needlewoods, the Drop Items that were now on the floor and for the taking included some branches and leaves as well.


    And there was also a crapton of White fish from the defeated Mabreams as well. And that wasn¡¯t the end of the surprises, because when I wanted to start collecting all of that, Miria suddenly came up to me with something in tow.

 Volume 7 - CH 4.08

    ¡¸What do you have there, Miria?¡¹


    ¡¸A Whole Fish, desu!¡¹


    ¡¸A Whole Fish?¡¹


    ¡¸It is a rare item dropped by Mabream, master.¡¹


    Sherry explained that to me while I looked at the fish that Miria was carrying in her hands with a puzzled expression.


    So it¡¯s a Mabream¡¯s rare drop, huh? When Miria passed the Whole Fish to me, I had the time to look at it more closely, and upon closer examination, I saw that it was really a whole fish, as in, the one complete with its head and tails still intact. When I looked at it and used ¡¸Identify¡¹on it, it even told me the exact same thing: that it is indeed a Whole Fish.


    Once again, as soon as I received the fish from Miria, she began to look at me with those pleading, expecting eyes of hers that very clearly transcribed what she was expecting of me.


    ¡¸Okay, okay, I get it. This thing too shall become a part of our dinner today.¡¹


    ¡¸Eat tasty fish, desu!¡¹


    Once more, I have caved in to Miria¡¯s request of eating the fish that we found for dinner. I mean, what else was I supposed to do? If you were the one on the receiving end of such a cute, earnest pleading, you would have probably caved in exactly like how I did just now.


    ¡¸Since the Whole Fish is Mabreams rare drop, then we could definitely sell it at the Guild for a pretty high price, so are you sure that you want to keep it, master?¡¹


    ¡¸As Miss Roxanne said. This is a pretty precious item that is usually only eaten on special occasions.¡¹


    Roxanne and Sherry gave me some additional bits of information about the Whole Fish, urging me to reconsider my decision of keeping it for ourselves.


    So it would seem that in this world, Whole Fish is eaten on special occasions, similar to how it was with Rabbit Meat when we were collecting it for that one shop clerk at the Imperial City. I can also see that there was truth in what they were saying about it being pretty rare, because when I swept all those monsters out with ¡¸Meteor Crash¡¹just now, there was a lot of White Fish that was left behind as their Drop Items, but among all of them, there was only one of the Whole Fish, so that statistic should speak for itself.


    In that case, should I really keep such a rare delicacy for ourselves? Maybe it is really going to be better to go and sell it, just like Roxanne and Sherry suggested?


    ¡¸Oh well, it is too much for one person to eat anyway.¡¹


    The Whole Fish in its entirety is bigger than even my hands combined. It is also about twenty¡­ thirty¡­ fourty centimeters in length, so even a single piece or slice of it would probably be more than enough to fully satiate the hunger of a single person.


    However, when I say ¡¸a single person¡¹, I actually mean a single ¡¸normal¡¹person. Miria, however, is a far cry from being classified as a normal person, and as such, I am more than sure that she would be more than capable of eating more than one slice of the Whole Fish by herself.


    ¡¸If you want to keep it so that we could all eat it, then Sherry and I would be fine with just small slices if it. Miria also says that she would be fine with a small portion if it meant that we could all enjoy it.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, and when it comes to the distribution of such a fish, it is usually generally agreed upon that the head of the household should get the first and the biggest slice of the Whole Fish, and then the rest should be distributed among the other residents of the house equally.¡¹


    Oh, so it¡¯s actually like that, huh? I thought that it¡¯s going to be one fish per person again, but it seems that in case of something as big as the Whole Fish, it is actually one fish for the entire household kind of thing. All right then.


    Even though we obtained only one Whole Fish, we decided that it should be enough when it comes to the exploration of the twelfth floor of Bode¡¯s Labyrinth. I still can¡¯t say that I was able to blow enough steam to make all of my accumulated stress and frustrations completely go away, but even so we decided to go back to the fourteenth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth. I might not like that place personally, but my dislike of it doesn¡¯t change the fact that we have to continue its exploration if we want to move on to its fifteenth floor.


    We stayed there until the evening, and then we went back home.


    ¡¸Master, it seems like yet another message from Luke the Broker has arrived. He seemed to have made a successful bid for the Bat Skill Crystal.¡¹


    When we arrived at home, there was yet another note at our door left by Luke¡¯s messenger, and after reading through its contents, Roxanne has related them to me. A Bat Skill Crystal, huh? Well what do you know, it looks like the process of upgrading our equipment is going to be able to continue on going smoothly. But first, the usual thing.


    ¡¸Sherry, what does a Bat Skill Crystal do, exactly?¡¹


    ¡¸If you fuse that Skill Crystal with a piece of armor, then it is going to increase the rate of your evasion. And if you¡¯re going to fuse it together with a Kobold Skill Crystal, then the effect that you¡¯re going to receive is going to get doubled.¡¹


    Sherry game me the detailed explanation almost immediately after I finished asking my question, which makes me think that she would have done that even if I only so much as looked at her. Well, The same pattern has repeated itself over and over again now for quite a while, so I guess she must have gotten used to and quite good at predicting the things that I was going to ask of her, which makes me quite proud of her and her ability to embrace the role that she has been assigned in the Party.


    We should definitely go to the Merchants Guild to pay Luke a visit and get the Skill Crystal from him, but I think we can do it all tomorrow.


    For the time being, my immediate concern lies with preparing dinner for us. Since we¡¯re going to be making the Whole Fish, I told Miria to simmer it with wine and the fish sauce, without adding sauce for the time being.


    The dish that we are going to be making out of it today is going to be similar to a dish from the Mediterranean quisine of my old world, Aqua Pazza.


    ¡¸Oh wow! This is really delicious!¡¹


    Since we¡¯re going to be eating it today, I decided that now is as good of a time as any to show them how to use chopsticks. Although this Whole Fish had its fair share of fat to it, its texture was still incredibly firm, making it all so delicious that it was literally melting in my mouth after a single bite.


    Delicious! Divine! Exquisite! As expected of a rare drop food item, its taste is a cut above any ordinary food that we could buy from the shop in the city. And I don¡¯t think that I have to point out the obvious here, but it is also miles better than the White Fish Meat. In fact, I feel like the White Fish Meat cannot even begin to compare to the Whole Fish Meat.


    Now that I had my first portion of the food, it was Roxanne and Sherry¡¯s turn to try the boiled fish that Miria prepared.


    ¡¸It is delicious.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, this is tastier than any fish that you have made before!¡¹


    The both of them are digging into the boiled Whole Fish with the expression of absolute delight all over their faces. Their smiles are an absolute delight to watch. I am glad that I have decided to keep this Whole Fish instead of selling it, because if I did that, then I might have missed such a heartwarming sight.


    ¡¸Can I have a little more?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, desu.¡¹


    Throughout the entire meal, Miria was distributing the fish to whoever wanted to have some more of it.


    I wonder if it was a bad call on my part to prepare the White Fish along with the Whole Fish for this dinner? Because We are all so engrossed in eating the whole fish that I feel like we might not even get to eating the White Fish.

 Volume 7 - CH 4.09

    And so, because of our neglect of it, its going to be unnecessarily wasted. Also, things would be even better if Miria could do something with that displeased look that she had on her face every time when she had to distribute the fish to anyone who was not her. Look Miria, I know you¡¯re not happy that you won¡¯t be able to gobble any more of the fish up, but that is no reason to be throwing the childish temper tantrums like that, because it was giving me the kind of vibes that something about this situation was really off and that she might try to snatch the fish away form us if she gets desperate enough.


    The next morning, I went to the Quratar Merchants Guild in order to pick up the bat Skill Crystal from Luke. After I picked it up I returned home and immediately handed it off to Sherry so that she could start the fusion process.


    ¡¸Roxanne, take off your shoes and pass them on to me.¡¹


    ¡¸What? Oh, o-okay. As you wish, master.¡¹


    When she heard my request, Roxanne took off the Hardened Leather Shoes that she was wearing and placed them on the table before us.


    It will be a good idea to enhance Roxanne¡¯s equipment this time.


    Apart from her having a Sacrificial Misanga, the need to enhance her equipment is greater than anyone else¡¯s. It has to be done in order to compensate for her weaknesses that might start showing up once I decide to start messing around with her Jobs to increase their levels so that the stat bonuses for the entire Party would be that much greater. And besides, since Roxanne can already dodge pretty much any attack that might be coming her way, I feel like there¡¯s no need for us to enhance her armor per se.


    The ideal path that we should be taking here, is to infuse Roxanne¡¯s existing armor with such a set of Skills that would compliment her fighting style in the best way possible, and what would be a better way to do it than to infuse her armor with a Skill that would increase her evasion, directly improving her best quality as a warrior.


    The Bat Skill Crystal and the effect it grants therefore seem to be the ideal things that were practically made for her.


    Sherry and Miria usually do not receive that many attacks even though they are fighting on the front lines together with Roxanne, so I think that for the time being there is no need to upgrade their evasive abilities. Someday for sure, but not right now.


    As for me, I guess I technically could be wearing the piece of armor with Bat Skill Crystal added onto it to increase my own evasion, but the more I think about it, the more I think that I do not need it as well, because whenever I am heading out to do some battling on the frontlines, I do not need to evade enemy attacks since I have Durandal with its ¡¸HP Absorption Skill¡¹, and that more than makes up for my lack of the ability to avoid.


    And so, going by the process of elimination, I have concluded that Roxanne is going to be the most ideal person to make the full usage of the Bat Skill Crystal¡¯s ability.


    Even though I might not need the ability to evade the enemy attacks better¡­. No. The higher we are going to go, the stronger not only the Floor Bosses, but also the regular enemies are going to become. And since we rely mainly on Roxanne¡¯s godly dodging abilities during the Floor Boss fights, then making Roxanne¡¯s evasion stronger is going to be directly linked to our safety in the Labyrinths. And since Kobold Skill Crystals is only going to double the effectiveness of the Bat Skill Crystal, then I don¡¯t see the need to use it right now at this very moment.


    I am thankful for that as well. Since Kobold Skill Crystals are one of the most useful ones in this world, obtaining them is definitely going to require more time, and most importantly, more money, so before we move on to using the strengthened Bat Skill Crystals, it might actually be a good idea to use a regular Bat Skill Crystal to see how much better Roxanne is going to be performing with it.


    And besides, even if Sherry claimed that using the Kobold Skill Crystal together with the Bat Skill Crystal supposedly doubles the user¡¯s ability to evade, we have no guarantee that it¡¯s actually going to get doubled. If we want to invest more of our money in it, then first we would have to confirm the exact amount of the increase in evasion.


    However, if we assume that the value of Roxanne¡¯s evasion is already unnaturally high, then using the Kobold Skill Crystal on the Bat Skill Crystal should result in an even bigger increase to it. Even just a ten percent increase should produce some good results, but I won¡¯t lie, it would be ideal for us if the actual increase would be around thirty to fifty percent. Then, Roxanne¡¯s evasion capabilities would probably ascend from just Godly to beyond Godly, making her even more amazing than she already is!


    ¡¸All right then, could you please fuse the Bat Skill Crystal with these Hardened Leather Boots, Sherry?¡¹


    ¡¸Certainly, master.¡¹


    Sherry picks up the Hardened Leather Shoes with one Empty Skill Slot that we have looted from the Bandit attacks before, and then she performs the Item Fusion process in the same casual way like she was doing before. At the beginning she was always anxious with every fusion she was performing, but right now she looks like she is completely used to it.


    ¡¸As expected of Sherry. Great job as always.¡¹


    ¡¸Brilliant as always.¡¹


    ¡¸I did it! Master, Miss Roxanne!¡¹


    ¡¸Amazing, desu.¡¹


    Everyone offered Sherry the words of praise, letting her know how amazing she was for completing yet another Item Fusion. When I used ¡¸Identify¡¹on the item that she got as a result, it showed it as Hardened Leather Boots of Willow. Initially I found that name to be quite strange and cryptic, but then I remembered how willows behave when they are influenced by even the strongest of winds, so maybe the name is supposed to draw a direct comparison to precisely that: indicate that when the user is going to wear these boots, the are going to be evading the attacks of the enemies just like a willow on the wind?


    ¡¸I plan on having everyone try these boots on to see how they are going to work,  but Roxanne is going to have a go at it first.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay.¡¹


    I pass the Hardened Leather Boots of Willow to Roxanne, and after she has equipped them, we then moved on to the fourteenth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth so that I could observe if there were any noticeable changes in Roxanne¡¯s evasion, but from what I could tell, there was no apparent change present in her, but that should hardly come as a surprise to me, since even before Roxanne wore the Hardened Leather Boots of Willow, the monsters were barely even able to touch her, so I don¡¯t know how any change from that would have even been represented.


    As such, at least when it comes to Roxanne, I can say with absolute certainty that as long as just evading the attacks of the monsters is concerned, things are the same for her as they were before, so next, I borrowed the boots from her so that I could try them on myself, but I also wasn¡¯t able to feel any kind of noticeable difference in my evasive abilities, or at least there are no big changes like when I am using ¡¸Character Reset¡¹to redistribute the Bonus Points to my other stats, or when I change my Jobs or when I am Leveling Up.


    I even tried to launch a pretty reckless direct attack at one of the monsters while wielding Durandal, but even then I failed to notice any kind of significant difference. However, I think that when I equipped the Hardened Leather Boots of Willow, it kinda did become a little easier for me to evade the incoming attacks, if only just to some marginal extent.


    If the difference was a considerable one instead, then I guess I wouldn¡¯t have hated it this much, but if I look at the total number of attacks that I have received from the enemies, then it has probably decreased, so there¡¯s no use in me continuing to wear those boots, so I just hand them off to either Sherry or Miria. Once they try them on, I will decide who¡¯s going to keep it.

 Volume 7 - CH 4.10

    My conclusion after they both wore it is that albeit slightly, the number of attacks received by both of them when they were wearing the boots has definitely decreased.


    Well, they hardly receive attacks to begin with, and the boost to the evasion from just one item does not seem to be all that great, so it¡¯s actually not that big of a loss.


    Still, Hardened Leather Shoes of Willow could prove to be a good equipment for Roxanne.


    At some point, it may be a good idea to decrease the attacks received by Sherry and Miria as it will increase the efficiency of our hunting. The reduction of hits means the reduction of the times healing Spells and items


    But it is not a matter to consider for now, only in the future.


    ¡¸Okay, after all the testing that we did, I decided that this equipment is going to go to Roxanne. Are you fine with it, Sherry, Miria?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I think it¡¯s the best possible idea.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay, desu.¡¹


    I confirm my choice with Sherry and Miria. None of them objected to it, which means that I can give it to Roxanne without any remorse.


    ¡¸So Roxanne, it¡¯s yours from now on.¡¹


    ¡¸But it is better than Master¡¯s equipment. Master should be the one to use it.¡¹


    ¡¸I have tried it already and didn¡¯t find it all that effective. It will be far more useful if Roxanne uses it.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay, thank you.¡¹


    Roxanne bowed her head to me.


    To make her stronger, the Hard Leather Shoes of Willow were hence passed to Roxanne. Now, in order to check how powerful her evasive abilities are going to be, it would be best to find a powerful monster that would be perfect to showcase how truly untouchable Roxanne is.


    *          *          *


    After that, we have finally cleared the fourteenth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth. Perhaps it was due to all the new equipment that we have gotten for ourselves, but the speed of our exploration has increased tremendously.


    When it comes to Labyrinths, Haruba¡¯s and Quratars are both big ones, so it is very unlikely that that the entrance of the floor and the entrance to the Floor Boss¡¯s waiting room are going to be located right next to each other.


    Unfortunately, exploring a floor takes time. While there are instances of finding the Boss Room in the left having started the exploration from the left, there are also instances of finding the Boss Room on the right having started the exploration from the left, too, so the time required to clear a floor depends mainly on luck and nothing can be done about it.


    In case of the fourteenth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth, the time required was short.


    The objective of our Party is not just exploration. Because we have Roxanne in our Party, we can hunt efficiently as well. For this reason, we keep moving from here to there to somewhere else, which increases the time required to clear a floor. But there¡¯s no knowing when you may find yourself at a dead end, so gaining EXP in the meantime is efficient.


    There¡¯s also a possibility that we can¡¯t take out monsters on a floor. Therefore, efficiency aside, you have to keep leveling up or the floors may become too difficult to clear, stalling our progress.


    Even though we are stronger by the standards of this world, the difficulty keeps on increasing with every floor. That said, there¡¯s no such thing as safety margin. Even if you¡¯re adequately leveled, one wrong step in the Labyrinth may prove to be your undoing.


    It is also said that you can be surrounded by multiple groups of monsters if you take too long to exterminate a group of monsters.


    If you laugh at incompetence of others, others will soon laugh at you. That¡¯s just how it works. In a Labyrinth, survival should always be your top priority. After all, a horse that can return its rider to safety from the battlefield is always going to be worth more than a horse that cannot do that.


    ¡¸Can we perform well on higher floors with the current level of our strength?¡¹


    ¡¸Umm¡­ well, that¡¯s¡­¡¹


    Sherry finds it difficult to answer my question.


    ¡¸Forget about it then. What about other Parties?¡¹


    ¡¸If there are combat slaves in the other Party, they go for higher floors as much as possible.¡¹


    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes.¡¹


    Roxanne answers in Sherry¡¯s stead.


    ¡¸Umm¡­ usually, they try to go for higher floors as much as possible. The higher you go, the more experience yo¡¯re going to gain, and the quicker you become strong. Although the danger on higher floors is considerably greater than on the lower floors it doesn¡¯t mean that total annihilation is the only outcome of a failure. Leaders of the Parties normally have access to Recovery Magic and Recovery Medicines, so the danger to the Leader of the Party is not that big anyway.¡¹


    Sherry explains. In other words, slaves are sacrificed in emergency situations?


    Although the danger is great on higher floors, combat slaves are subjected to most of that danger while the risk to the owner is minimal.


    Now I know why sherry was hesitating. If the owner doesn¡¯t know that, it¡¯s better for the slaves, Combat slaves have it tough after all.


    ¡¸But there will be no such thing in our Party. It will be troublesome for me if Roxanne, Sherry and Miria are were not here with me.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you very much. Still, it¡¯s better to go for higher floors.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay, thank you very much.¡¹


    ¡¸Party Members are irreplaceable.¡¹


    ¡¸¡­Thank you, desu.¡¹


    Miria was the last to express her gratitude because she was waiting for Roxanne to translate my words.


    The Floor Boss of Haruba¡¯s 14th floor was Nepenthes which we had already defeated on the twelfth floor of Quaratar¡¯s Labyrinth. The Nepenthes couldn¡¯t land an attack on Roxanne, the dodging ability of whom had increased even more due to Hardened Leather Boots of Willow, while the rest of us attacked it directly under my orders.


    ¡¸Which monster appears on fifteenth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth?¡¹


    ¡¸Bitch Butterfly.¡¹


    ¡¸Its weakness is Wind Magic, right?¡¹


    After defeating the boss of 14th floor, I ask Sherry the usual questions.


    ¡¸It is.¡¹


    ¡¸Because we have already fought against Bitch Butterflies on the sixteenth floor of Quratar¡¯s Labyrinth we can afford to skip the trial stage, Roxanne.¡¹


    ¡¸Try to search for groups with more Bitch Butterflies than Sarracenias, Miss Roxanne.¡¹


    Sherry interrupts.


    ¡¸Why?¡¹


    ¡¸Have you forgotten that Bitch Butterflies are resistant to Fire Magic?¡¹


    They are? I don¡¯t remember hearing such a thing before, even though she always briefs about the attribute of magic which the monsters are weak against. Or perhaps I didn¡¯t pay attention to any information more than that?


    If I use ¡¸Fire Storm¡¹ against a group of Sarracenias and Bitch Butterflies, I may be able to take out Sarracenias but Bitch Butterflies will still be standing.


    I need to be more careful regarding composition of monster groups, it seems. I¡¯m a Mage, so by definition I should be able to make the best use possible out of my head.


    ¡¸I see. As expected of Sherry. From now on, I will ask for your input before issuing instructions.¡¹


    ¡¸Okay.¡¹


    ¡¸Well then¡­ Roxanne.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood.¡¹


    The first group Roxanne guides us to is comprised of two Bitch Butterflies and a single Sarracenia.


    I first take the Bitch Butterflies out in six ¡¸Breeze Storms¡¹. With three more¡¸Fire Balls¡¹, the remaining Sarracenia drops down. The monsters seem to be becoming stronger again, but that is something which is within my expectations.


    ¡¸Sherry, if an enemy has resistance to a given type of magic, then does that mean that the magic he is resistant to will work on it at all?¡¹


    ¡¸I don¡¯t think that¡¯s exactly how it works. But I don¡¯t know exactly how effective it is either. And it also differs from monster to monster. I¡¯m sorry for not knowing anything more useful than that.¡¹


    ¡¸Should we test it out then? Roxanne, search for a group of monsters with more Sarracenias than Bitch Butterflies.¡¹


    ¡¸Understood.¡¹


    I ask Roxanne for a very specific search this time, and then we find a group of one Bitch Butterfly and two Sarracenias. The Sarracenias drop down in six Fire Magic Spells. The Bitch Butterfly collapses in four more Wind Magic Spells.


    Four spells huh? Not as much as I thought.


    ¡¸Guide us to groups with more Sarracenias, Roxanne.¡¹


    ¡¸I see. Understood!¡¹


    There are a maximum of four monsters in a group on the fifteenth floor. If there is more Sarracenias in a group, then there can be no more than one Bitch Butterfly.

 Volume 7 - CH 4.11

    If there are two of each, we first take the Bitch Butterflies out, or rather, let Roxanne do it while the rest of us is going to support her. This strategy should be fine on the fifteenth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth, however, the higher the floor, the more difficult the battles are going to get.


    With the number of attacks required to defeat the monsters increasing by one,


    the duration of battles increases accordingly as well. It may become quicker if I managed to properly use¡¸Ignore Life and Death¡¹ , but for the time being I have yet to crack how exactly does it work, and therefore I will not be using it since that would only result in me wasting my MP.


    ¡¸Thank you. Sherry. Had I not tested it, I probably wouldn¡¯t have understood it properly.¡¹


    ¡¸No problem at all, master.¡¹


    However, these Bitch Butterflies have not been seriously damaged by a single usage of a Fire Magic. Six Fire Magic Spells inflict damage to Bitch Butterflies equivalent to that of two Wind Magic Spells, and the further up we go, the bigger the time delay between the battles due to the resistance of the enemies to certain attributes is going to be.


    Given that, t¡¯s quite a big difference now that I think about it, so in the future, we should carefully consider the magic resistances of the enemies and take them into account along with listing and remembering all of the possible combinations of monsters.


    I try to use ¡¸Meteor Crash¡¹next. I was able to take out Sarracenias in one shot but Bitch Butterfly was still standing. As a result, I have understood one thing.


    To confirm it, I undertake another experiment.


    We moved to the twelfth floor of Haruba¡¯s labyrinth and I used ¡¸Meteor Crash¡¹ on the Grass Bees there. Grass Bees turned into smoke in just one usage of ¡¸Meteor Crash¡¹.


    Because I have leveled up, I was able to take out Grass Bees in one shot. Is that why I was able to take out Mabream Lv.12 in one shot as well?


    So it wasn¡¯t due to attribute of the magic that I used. To confirm my notion, I have to try a floor where I can take out Sarracenias or Fly Traps, but not Bitch Butterflies or Grass Bees, in one shot.


    ¡¸By the way, I once fried the Goat Meat dropped by Pan after marinating it in fish sauce, and it turned out quite well.¡¹


    I talked to Miria about one of the dishes that I have made in the past. More specifically, the Goat Meat Tatsuta-age.


    ¡¸Yes, desu?¡¹


    ¡¸So I was thinking¡­ If I do the same with the Whole Fish, it should come out pretty delicious, don¡¯t you think?¡¹


    It¡¯s believed that bream tempura was so delicious that Tokugawa leyasu died because he ate too much of it and has fallen ill as a result. Whether that is true or not is another matter, but that¡¯s not important right now.


    This dish is going to be a similar one, but with one key difference to it: it will be the one made with the usage of Whole Fish, so this is definitely going to turn out into something truly delicious.


    ¡¸Eat Whole Fish, desu!¡¹


    It was an expected reply from Miria. However, I have to cull her enthusiasm down a little bit here.


    ¡¸Yes, we are going to eat it for sure, but we cannot eat it tonight. The fish that we are preparing tonight is going to have to be tomorrow¡¯s supper, because in order to be at the peak of its deliciousness, the fish needs to soak in the fish sauce after it has been applied to it, but I promise you that it is going to be well worth the wait. We are going to eat it tomorrow, and it is going to be our meal to commemorate our breakthrough through the fourteenth floor of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth. Roxanne, Sherry, are the two of you going to be fine with that?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, master. Thank you very much for taking our opinions into consideration.¡¹


    ¡¸I master is saying that it is going to be delicious, then I think that it is going to be well worth the wait.¡¹


    Now that I managed to obtain the consent from these two, it was time for us to move to the twelfth floor of Bode¡¯s Labyrinth in order to hunt down some Mabreams, but this time I¡¯m not going to be doing that with ¡¸Meteor Crash¡¹, since I have already learned my lesson. This time, the Spell that I am going to use for the purposes of our hunting is going to be ¡¸Sand Storm¡¹. It might not be as effective as ¡¸Meteor Crash¡¹, but with it, I will at the very least be sure that I am not going to be running out of my MP out of the blue.


    Without the Monk Job equipped, defeating a single Mabream was taking me four shots of ¡¸Sandstorm¡¹. After the most recent encounter that we went through, the monsters have all been defeated and then dissipated into green smoke, and when the dust finally settled, we have discovered that one of the defeated Mabreams has left behind yet another Whole Fish! This round of hunting has already proven itself to be quite a fruitful one. Now that we managed to score ourselves yet another rare item of an ingredient, I already know what is going to be our tomorrow¡¯s dinner.


    ¡¸Amazing, desu!¡¹


    As soon as Miria saw it, she immediately jumped at it and brought it to me as quickly as she could.


    ¡¸It is quite rare for Mabream to drop a Whole Fish. As expected of Master, only you could have such an amazing luck to obtain a rare drop from a Mabream so fast.¡¹


    When it comes to that, the reason behind such a fast drop of a Whole Fish might be because prior to coming to this Labyrinth, I have already switched my Monk Job for a Cook Job, and Cook has a Passive Skill that increases the drop rate of rare items.


    But even so, I have to admit that it was indeed quite lucky of me to obtain the Whole Fish literally after the first battle of the current Labyrinth outing.


    I don¡¯t mind it, however, since Miria respects me even more now because of it, and if I can do anything to increase her respect for me, you can be damn sure that I am going to do it.


    I receive the Whole Fish from Miria.


    Although it¡¯s a Whole Fish, it doesn¡¯t seem to be having any bones or internal organs left in it.


    Also, how can the head of a monster, Mabream in this case, remain after it¡¯s dead. How can this be possible?


    ¡¸It is believed that every Mabream has a bream in its body. Therefore, it¡¯s also called Bream¡¯s Bream sometimes.¡¹


    Sherry tells me when she sees my puzzled expression.


    Is that why it looks the same as the monster? But¡­ aren¡¯t they supposed to be something entirely different? Well, as long as we can cook it and eat it, I guess it doesn¡¯t matter all that much. After all, sometimes it is best to not know what the things that we put on our plated actually are or what they are made from.


    We carry on with our hunting for a bit more. After going through more than ten additional encounters with more Mabreams, we have collected the second Whole Fish.


    ¡¸Whole Fish, desu!¡¹


    Miria brings the Whole Fish over to me.


    She seems to have learned this Brahim word properly, which is honestly not a surprise to me at all, since this is a part of a vocabulary associated with her favorite food in the world, fish. I¡¯d honestly be more surprised if she didn¡¯t remember it.


    Anyway, I take the Whole Fish from Miria and put it in my Item Box.


    ¡¸I have heard that Whole Fish doesn¡¯t stay good to eat for too long, so it is generally advised to eat it as soon after obtaining it as possible to avoid it getting spoiled and having to throw it out.¡¹


    ¡¸Miria was saying basically the same thing. As expected of Master, you¡¯re so knowledgeable!¡¹


    ¡¸Ah, but I have also heard that Whole Fish, as well as all the other ingredients used in cooking can stay good for much longer without getting spoiled if you obtain the Job of a Cook.¡¹


    Even though Sherry seemed to be somewhat worried, she eventually managed to arrive at a correct answer. As expected of someone as knowledgeable as her. After I nodded at her, I decided that it would be best if we were to leave the Labyrinth for now.


    We have two Whole Fish as the best spoils of war from our exploration, and as long as she¡¯s going to get to eat such a rare drop, Miria is guaranteed to be satisfied no matter how we ultimately decide to cook these bad boys.

 Volume 7 - CH 5.1

    Chapter 35: Duel


    ¡ºRoxanne¡»


    Current Levels & Equipment:


    Beast Warrior Lv.32


    Equipment:


    Rapier


    Hardened Leather Jacket


    Hardened Leather Helmet


    Hardened Leather Gloves


    Hardened Leather Boots of Willow


    Sacrificial Misanga


    ¡¸Umm¡­ Master, I¡¯m sorry.¡¹


    When we were about to leave the Labyrinth and go back home after obtaining more Whole Fishes, Roxanne apologized to me all of a sudden. Why did she do that? What is this going to be about?


    ¡¸What is it, Roxanne? What happened?¡¹


    ¡¸It¡¯s nothing major, it¡¯s just that¡­ it¡¯s just that I can smell an acquaintance of mine. It looks like they¡¯re coming this way from the entrance.¡¹


    ¡¸An acquaintance of yours, you say?¡¹


    Being able to detect the people that she knows with just her sense of smell alone is such a convenient ability she has.


    ¡¸Yes, but I think it might be better for us if we leave this place post-haste, because if I was able to smell them, then that means they must also be in close enough proximity to have smelled me as well. If we run away now only to bump into them later, then there is a possibility that they might get suspicious of me.¡¹


    ¡¸Suspicious of you? And why would that be? Are the two of you not on friendly terms if you call her an acquaintance?¡¹


    ¡¸Well, I¡­ I guess you could say that¡­ sort of.¡¹


    ¡¸Is that so? I see.¡¹


    Whoever this acquaintance of Roxanne¡¯s is, it is very clear that it is someone whom Roxanne does not want me to meet. We could get away from here immediately right now if we used ¡¸Warp¡¹, but that doesn¡¯t seem like the wisest of decision right now. It is just like Roxanne said: if she could smell her acquaintance from here, then it is more than likely that her acquaintance has also smelled us already, so if we try to run away now, there is no way that they are not going to connect the dots together to realize that we have done this on purpose.


    In that sense, I guess the ability to detect people by their smell alone can also be pretty inconvenient at times.


    What I want to know right now is whether such an encounter is going to be only a one-time occurrence, or are we going to be risking running into them again if we continue coming to the twelfth floor of Bode¡¯s Labyrinth, because there is no way in hell that we won¡¯t be coming here again now that Miria knows that this is such a good spot to get her hands on the fish.


    Not to mention that If that acquaintance of Roxanne¡¯s was able to smell us on the twelfth floor of Bode¡¯s Labyrinth, they we might not even be safe when we relocate ourselves to the higher floors of Haruba¡¯s Labyrinth.


    ¡¸Is there a possibility that she might¡¯ve not smelled you?¡¹


    ¡¸No, I don¡¯t think we can count on that¡­ the smell is getting closer to us. They must know where I am for sure.¡¹


    ¡¸In that case, there is nothing we can do, so let¡¯s just wait for their arrival here.¡¹


    ¡¸Once again, I am so sorry about this, master. My acquaintance might end up satying some strange, or perhaps even rude things to you, but please, I want you to not pay them any mind, okay?¡¹


    ¡¸Is that acquaintance of yours really that despicable of a person?¡¹


    Whoever that person is, Roxanne seems to really detest them. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that she would hate to meet any of her former acquaintances or friends now that she has become my slave? Or maybe she really hates that particular individual, and meeting them now that she has become a slave would make their already strained relationship even worse, and that¡¯s why she wanted to avoid meeting them altogether?


    ¡¸Roxanne¡­ I don¡¯t want to be pushy¡­ but would you mind telling me about this acquaintance of yours in a bit more detail?¡¹


    ¡¸They¡­ I guess you could say that they are my sworn enemy from way back in the day.¡¹


    A sworn enemy, huh? Talk  about some big vocabulary.


    ¡¸Well, no matter what¡¯s going to happen, I want you to know that you¡¯re not going to be left alone with this, Roxanne. You have us as your trusted allies now, and we¡¯re here for you.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you very much, master. You have no idea how happy I am to hear that.¡¹


    I tried to provide some emotional support to Roxanne by offering some warm words and gently putting my hand around her shoulder. She is my slave after all, and as a good master I don¡¯t want her to think that I don¡¯t care about her personal problems and struggles and that I would leave her alone with them.


    I put the Rod of Offerings back in my Item Box and wait for this acquaintance of Roxanne¡¯s to appear. And after a short wait¡­.


    ¡¸O~~hohohoho~~!!! (TL Note: insert Ojou-sama laughter) Well, well, well, if it isn¡¯t Roxanne?!¡¹


    Roxanne¡¯s acquaintance did not come here alone. She has arrived together with five other people, making a full Party of six: four Beast Warriors, one Adventurer and one Monk. Also, it looks like their levels are all pretty high. Let me see¡­ the Beast Warriors are¡­ all Lv.99?!


    ¡¸It¡¯s been a while.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, it has been quite a long time since we¡¯ve last seen each other indeed, and even so, you still seem to be the same stupid, incompetent hussy like you were back in the day.¡¹


    The one having conversation with Roxanne is a female Beast Warrior Lv.29, and my ¡¸Identify¡¹showed me that she was a female who¡¯s nineteen years old, which makes her three years older than Roxanne.


    Is this woman the acquaintance that Roxanne was speaking of?


    As for her appearance, I don¡¯t really have anything to say or any comments to give, aside from maybe one: that she cannot even begin to start holding a candle to Roxanne, because for me, Roxanne is always going to be the ideal picture of female beauty.


    ¡¸And I see that you haven¡¯t changed  a bit either.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, quiet, you! Don¡¯t you dare comparing me from right now to the me from the past! I¡¯ll have you know that for the past six months I have been doing nothing but gaining strength!¡¹


    ¡¸Is that so? Well, if you say so¡­¡¹


    This woman seems to be of a higher social status then Roxanne currently is, because whenever Roxanne was talking to her, it looked to me like she was lowering herself ever-so slightly. Whoever that woman is, she also seems to have her own family name, and from what I have been told, possessing not only a given name but also a surname, or family name, as it is sometimes called here, is supposed to be a very rare thing in this world.


    Not only that, but she also seems to have some hellishly inflated ego, because the way she looks around every single one of  us is filled with the sense of boundless pride, almost as if she was deeming us all unfit to even be in her presence or breathe the same air as she does.


    She has pretty long hair, and its ends have been styled into drills. They are also shiny, like that of a high quality porcelain doll¡¯s, which somehow remind me of the Doolittle Raid, the first-ever air-raid carried by the USA against Japan on the 18th of April, 1942, but that¡¯s a digression that¡¯s best to not delve into too deep. (TN: Supposedly romaji for ¡¸shiny like a Doll¡¹ looks like romaji for ¡¸Doolittle¡¹, but personally that seems like a too big of a stretch for me.)


    Another piece of evidence that she must be of high social position is the fact that she has such a long hair. Like it was told to me before, women of low social status do not have long hair, because they are keeping them short due to hygiene reasons. After all, in this world, only women belonging to nobility can afford to take proper care of their own hair, which in consequence allows them to keep it longer. Without proper ways of protecting their hair, the longer ones would sooner or later become damaged by the sun, becoming hard and stiff instead of soft and fluffy.


    If she has hers so long, then that means that she has the money to take care of them properly and that she¡¯s not afraid to spend that money on hair care. If there was ever a way of showing and proclaiming ¡¸Look at me! Look at how wealthy I am!¡¹, then she¡¯s utilizing it right now.

 Volume 7 - CH 5.2

    ¡¸Even though it was pretty faint, I still managed to catch that unpleasant stench you dare to call body odor of yours all the way from the entrance to this floor of the Labyrinth. I know you probably hoped that I am not going to notice you, but trust me, smelling someone like you is a child¡¯s play for me.¡¹


    Didn¡¯t Roxanne say that they were at the entrance? And just now she said that she could smell her all the way from there to our current location? Looks like the nose of this lady is every bit as amazing as Roxanne¡¯s own nose.


    ¡¸That is very interesting to hear, but what kind of business do you have in here, exactly?¡¹


    ¡¸Oh pitiful, illiterate Roxanne who knows nothing about the world and its ways. I can clearly see that you have failed to improve yourself even one bit throughout the time when we didn¡¯t see each other, and I feel such a big pity for you because of it that I think I am going to answer that question of yours without asking anything in return, just to show you how benevolent and magnanimous I am. For you see, Simon the Mad Dog has resumed his criminal activities in this region. He¡¯s become such a menace to the authorities that his wanted posters have been circulating all around the Duchy¡¯s cities and villages almost non-stop. My family doesn¡¯t want to have anything to do with the likes of him, but if he¡¯s a criminal with a bounty placed on his head, then the possibility of obtaining it for themselves is something that they just cannot ignore.¡¹


    ¡¸Simon the Mad Dog, you say?¡¹


    ¡¸Simon the Mad Dog was one of the two members of the Wolfkin tribe who have been given the moniker of a genius, a prodigy. He might have defeated Sabo once in the past, but this time, we are going to find him, and we are going to prove once and for all that we, the Baradam family are the strongest members of the entire Wolfkin tribe!¡¹


    Sabo Baradam is the male Beast Warrior Lv.99 who is standing beside Roxanne¡¯s acquaintance. Looking at him from the side, he does look like quite a strong warrior indeed. I mean, what else have I expected from someone with a whooping Lv.99? If there is anyone in this world who can be described as strong, then that¡¯s definitely going to be the individuals who have managed to achieve such a high level.


    ¡¸Uhm¡­ err¡­.¡¹


    Roxanne appears to be too troubled to actually say something meaningful in response to her acquaintance¡¯s words, but I cannot blame her for it, because of one thing.


    Simon the Mad Dog is already dead. I have killed him when we were ambushed by his Bandit group, so it is now impossible for this Sabo guy to defeat him and prove any of the things that he or Roxanne¡¯s acquaintance wanted to prove.


    But the thing is¡­. me and my Party are the only people who know that Simon the Mad Dog is dead, and since I have killed him by using ¡¸Equivalent Exchange¡¹on him, causing him to explode into a giant puddle of blood from which not even the Intelligence Card could not be recovered, that means that there is no evidence that we could possibly present as proof of us actually killing him.


    ¡¸I see that you¡¯re still  as uncultured and undisciplined of a woman as ever. Even though you seemed to have learned the Brahim language to some extent, I can see that you have yet to become fluent at using it, which is admittedly pretty pathetic.¡¹


    I don¡¯t know if she did that intentionally or not, but for whatever reason, this woman seemed to have misunderstood the reason as to why Roxanne could not say anything coherent to her just now, thinking that she could not say even a single sentence to her because she¡¯s not good at speaking Brahim just yet, but I know very well that this is not the case here.


    ¡¸Ehm, uhm¡­. N-no, not all. Actually, I¡­¡¹


    ¡¸You know what? I have to say that you turning into a slave turned out for the better. It was helpful, even, so I must thank you for going along with it and throwing your freedom away. However, it is quite regretful that even though your family went through all the trouble of selling you into slavery, they were still unable to get the decent amount of money for you.¡¹


    ¡¸You¡­. Why would you do such a thing?!¡¹


    When she heard the shocking revelation from her acquaintance¡¯s mouth, that was all that Roxanne was able to mutter under her breath. If I didn¡¯t know about it already, I would have probably been in a similar state as her right now.


    From what Roxanne herself has told me before, her family had to sell her into slavery because if they didn¡¯t do that, they would be unable to pay the yearly tax that all citizens of the empire need to pay once a year. So that incident was plotted by this woman in front of us?


    ¡¸With the influence that that the Baradam family has, setting that up was all too easy. And if you¡¯re curious as to why I went and done something like that in the first place, then I did that in order to punish you, Roxanne. Because you are nothing more but a conniving bitch who seduces men that belong to others!¡¹


    ¡¸I have never done something like that in my life before!¡¹


    ¡¸You might be trying to deny what I¡¯m saying, but your actions speak louder than your words! Just fess up already! How many men have you seduced with that whore-like body of yours? And don¡¯t even try to deny it and lie that you have never seduced anyone, because I know that you did! And you know why I know that? It¡¯s because of the way that men always looked at you! The way that was always so different from when they were looking at me! From how my fianc¨¦e was looking at me! And you had the nerve to steal him from me!¡¹


    ¡¸I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about. I have never stolen any men from anyone!¡¹


    I see. I think I know what the root cause of the problems between those two is. Essentially, the men of the Wolfkin tribe were drawn to Roxanne¡¯s chest in the same way like I was ever since I first laid my eyes upon her.


    Roxanne¡¯s chest is big, round, soft and very alluring, of that there can be no doubt. Therefore, I think it was inevitable that she would be stealing male glances and hearts wherever she went, for better or worse.


    ¡¸And look at you now. Even after you¡¯ve been reduced to nothing but a lowly slave, you still went and got that weak-looking human wrapped around your little finger. I should have predicted that you were going to do something despicable like that, since such lowly trickery is the only thing that a seductress like you is capable off. You have nothing else going on for you but that body of yours, so you go around and flaunt it in front of everyone until you always get what you want.¡¹


    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind you saying all those horrible things about me, but I want you to stop bad-mouthing my master!¡¹


    All of a sudden, Roxanne also raised her voice.


    ¡¸My oh my, what is it now? Is little pathetic Roxanne trying to order me around now?¡¹


    When Roxanne¡¯s acquaintance heard her raising her voice like that, the eyes with which she was looking at her changed from someone who was looking down on her to those that were not even trying their bloodlust and ill intentions. Just how much bad blood must be between those two for the things to escalate to such a degree so quickly?


    ¡¸No, that is not what I am trying to do here at all. I just want to reiterate what I said: I do not mind you telling all those awful things about me, but I will never allow you to bad-mouth my master in front of me!¡¹


    ¡¸Oh, is that the case? Fine then, if that¡¯s how you want to play it, then I challenge you to a duel.¡¹


    ¡¸ A Duel?¡¹


    Suddenly, that Wolfkin woman said something that I would have never expected to hear. I know that she¡¯s angry at Roxanne, but is that really a reason to be going as far as to challenge her to a duel instead of calmly talking things out? If I was in their place, that¡¯s what I would have done.

 Volume 7 - CH 5.3

    ¡¸You want me to duel you? What for?¡¹


    ¡¸It¡¯s very simple. If you want me to stop bad-mouthing that master of yours and start respecting him, then you¡¯re going to have to make me do it, because I will never do that on my own. And so I ask of you, Roxanne¡¯s master: would you kindly allow your little slave to have a duel with me?¡¹


    The woman¡¯s facial muscles loosened up for a moment as she forced them into a smile that was not at all convincing. Next, Roxanne turned towards me as well and looked at me with expectant eyes.


    ¡¸Master¡­¡¹


    ¡¸If you acknowledge the duel between me and Roxanne, then I am going to issue the duel challenge to you shortly.¡¹


    ¡¸Roxanne, what is this woman going on about?¡¹


    ¡¸Only Freemen can engage in duels between one another, and therefore, the challenges to said duels can only be sent to a Freeman by another Freeman. However, even if you¡¯re going to be the one accepting the duel in somebody¡¯s name, there is no rule that states that you have to engage in the duel yourself if you don¡¯t want to. If you don¡¯t want to fight yourself, then you can always nominate someone to fight for you as your champion. In the case of a master and his slaves, slaves are usually sent as proxies for their master to engage in duals, since protecting our master¡¯s honor is one of our duties as your sworn servants.¡¹


    Sherry offered me an explanation, which was nice and all, but ultimately that was not what I wanted to know. What I wanted to know about was the explanation to this situation that we are being currently stuck in, not the explanation on how the duels themselves work, since I already know about them from my old world.


    I mean, I can more or less understand the general premise of what is going on in here, but the rest of it is so convoluted and dizzying and moving at such a breakneck pace that I am having trouble following after their conversation without engaging all of the neurons in my brain in it.


    ¡¸If you nominate Roxanne to take part in the duel in your stead, I will issue the challenge to you.¡¹


    Repeating what she already said, this woman isn¡¯t explaining the situation either.


    I understand that since Roxanne is my slave, I, the Freeman, have to accept the challenge to the duel on her behalf, since the challenge cannot be issued to Roxanne herself.


    This woman can issue the challenge to me and I can nominate Roxanne fight in the duel instead as my proxy.


    If I simply don¡¯t accept her challenge, will this woman not be able to have a duel with Roxanne? And does this whole thing mean that in this world, the disputes are being settled not in the courts of law, but through the duels between the sides of the conflict?


    Even if that might not be the case, at the very least duels seem to be a common occurrence here. But exactly that part, how common they are in this world, is what makes them so troublesome for me.


    ¡¸Roxanne. Is that woman stronger than you?¡¹


    I whisper in Roxanne¡¯s ear. If we compare their levels, then Roxanne, who¡¯s Beast Warrior Lv.32 should be stronger than this woman who¡¯s Beast Warrior Lv.29. At least theoretically.


    If the odds are going to be in our favor, then  I may as well accept her challenge so that Roxanne could go all out against her and teach her some good old fashioned humility.


    ¡¸The two of us took part in a mock battle about half a year ago. Unfortunately, most of my attacks ended up completely missing her.¡¹


    ¡¸And what about her own attacks?¡¹


    ¡¸I didn¡¯t let her hit me even once either, of course.¡¹


    Yeah, of course that would be the case. I don¡¯t know why I even bothered to ask.


    ¡¸I don¡¯t know what cowardly methods you used six months ago to force me into such a humiliating draw, but right now I have grown a lot stronger than I was back then. This time, I won¡¯t let you run away with your tail between your legs even though it would very much suit a bitch like yourself. This time, I will make sure to crush you so completely and thoroughly that there will be nothing left of you for your master to collect!¡¹


    Whoa there, lady, you can talk shit like that all you want, but just to let you know, Roxanne has also improved quite a lot. I cannot speak for the past six months, since we¡¯re not together for that long yet, but I can definitely vouch for the time she has spent with me. It was a time not spent on sitting around on her butt, doing nothing. It was a time she spent improving her level and stats as a Beast Warrior.


    Half a year ago, before I even met her, she was probably a Beast Warrior Lv.6 at best. On the other hand, it is also unlikely that this woman, who is a Beast warrior lv.29 right now was below Lv.6 half a year ago.


    ¡¸Master, please allow me to do this.¡¹


    ¡¸Only if you think you can win. If you don¡¯t think that you¡¯re up to the task, then I won¡¯t allow you to enter a fight that¡¯s just going to be a one-sided slaughter.¡¹


    ¡¸W-What might you mean by that?¡¹


    The woman seems to disagree with the direction of my conversation with Roxanne.


    ¡¸Of course, I cannot imagine you actually losing, Roxanne, but¡­¡¹


    ¡¸If you really are so confident in her abilities, then go ahead and accept my challenge so that I could show you just how disillusioned you both are. I said it before, and I am going to say it again. With my current strength, I will crush both your slave and your belief in her as her master.¡¹


    This is starting to get more troublesome than it is actually worth it. Since this is going to be a duel, then if something goes wrong and Roxanne does end up losing it, then I might even lose her as a result, and I don¡¯t want that.


    That¡¯s why I think that this whole thing is too troublesome, and that it would be better if we could avoid it altogether.


    That said, I can¡¯t imagine Roxanne losing to this woman, but even if she does manage to win against her, it will not change the fact that there is nothing for me personally to be gained from this duel of theirs.


    This is troublesome indeed.


    ¡¸Having come all the way here and having issued the challenge, it would be an insult to our Baradam family if you turned us down now. Or do you perhaps want me to be the one issuing the challenge instead?¡¹


    Sabo, Beast Warrior Lv.99 who has been keeping quiet until now, opened his mouth and asked me that.


    ¡¸Master, Sabo is the strongest Beast Warrior in the Wolfkin tribe, so fighting against him would be disadvantageous for us. Instead, please Miss Roxanne have a duel with her acquaintance.¡¹


    ¡¸I don¡¯t think I would lose to him, though.¡¹


    Roxanne, no. It¡¯s good that you¡¯re confident in your abilities, but that guy is Lv.99, you know? The difference in your levels is so big that he would probably wipe the floor with you without even trying too hard, so if you can fight against your acquaintance against whom you¡¯re going to have the level advantage, just go for it.


    ¡¸What did you say!? I will not allow this woman to slander me like this!¡¹


    Hearing Roxanne¡¯s casual comment, Sabo got pretty angry. I thought that he was obediently following the woman but it doesn¡¯t seem to be the case here.


    Still, I have no idea as to why this woman thinks she can defeat Roxanne. Or maybe she thinks she can do it because she has some kind of trick up her sleeve? Like some kind special item, or perhaps a unique Spell?


    ¡¸I don¡¯t think that Miss Roxanne is going to lose to that woman, master. And in the off chance that it does happen, she has ¡¸that¡¹equipped on her, so we don¡¯t have to worry about anything serious happening to her.¡¹


    Sherry whispers in my ear. By saying ¡¸that¡¹, does she mean Sacrificial Misanga?


    Roxanne and that woman both have Sacrificial Misangas equipped, so even if their duel ends up getting heated up too much, neither of them is going to die as long as they stop fighting when the other¡¯s Sacrificial Misanga breaks.

 Volume 7 - CH 5.4

    However, even if you have  Sacrificial Misanga that protects you from death equipped, it¡¯s effect does not prevent you from getting hit, nor does it inhibit the pain from getting hit.


    ¡¸Giving such a precious item to someone like Roxanne is going to be such a waste. However, if she is going to drop onto her knees during the duel and beg for her life, I may just find enough kindness in my heart to forgive her for all of the transgressions that she committed against me and spare her. After all, we the members of the Baradam family are widely known for our benevolence when it comes to dealing with the uneducated masses.¡¹


    Even though Sherry was speaking very quietly, the woman ended up hearing her words anyway. And not only that, but she also probably understood what Sherry meant by ¡¸that¡¹. Well, she has one too, so it¡¯s not surprising that she understood that.


    However, she does not seem to be understanding the most important thing here: that in the end, she is going to be the one who¡¯s going to be begging Roxanne for mercy on her knees.


    ¡¸Okay, okay. I get it, I get it.¡¹


    Even though I do not like it in the slightest, it looks like I have no other choice but to go and accept the duel between those two.


    ¡¸Thank you very much. Master. I promise that I will never forget what you did today.¡¹


    ¡¸O~hohoho~!!! Finally decided to accept my challenge, are we? That¡¯s commendable of you, Roxanne, but let me give you a final warning: whatever happens from now on, you better make sure to not have any regrets about it, you hear me? Well then, now that we have the arrangements out of the way, let us be off to the office of the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy. Also, do not even think about backing out of the agreement now, because that would be truly distasteful and disgraceful of you.¡¹


    The woman turns around and heads toward the exit from this part of the Labyrinth, while the other members of her Party obediently followed right behind her.


    ¡¸Do you really think it¡¯s going to be all right to leave this matter the way it is?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. It¡¯s going to be all right, I just know it. Also, there are no monsters near the entrance room, so we don¡¯t have to worry about them causing us any harm on the way back.¡¹


    When I asked Roxanne how does she feel about this situation, she bowed her head to me and answered respectfully, albeit the thing she told me was not the thing that I asked her about, because I don¡¯t care about the safety of that other Party. All that I want to know is if Roxanne herself was fine with going through with this whole duel thing.


    ¡¸In order to go through with a duel, you need to have permission from the Knight Order, so we should go and take care of that as well.¡¹


    Sherry also bowed to me with respect and followed that up with a very useful advice.


    Maybe it is because I grew up in modern-day Japan, where it is generally agreed that interfering with the private affairs of others is a thing that¡¯s very heavily frowned upon and is not encouraged at all, but I could not help it but to find this whole duel affair as more than a little bit awkward. Also, even though duels seem to be so commonplace in this world, I have never heard about anyone actually challenging someone to one even though it has already been a while since I started living in this world, and that got me thinking now: are duels really that common in this world? Or is it that its just my impression of them?


    Well, Roxanne¡¯s and Sherry¡¯s attitude seems to suggest that something must really be up with that topic, but instead of mulling that issue over for longer than it is actually worth it, I just let out a long, heavy sigh as we headed towards the exit of this Labyrinth¡¯s floor.


    ¡¸All right then, wait for me right here. It shouldn¡¯t take too long.¡¹


    When we arrived at the castle of Bode, the woman entered the castle by herself, and a short while afterwards, she came out together with Gozer by her side.


    ¡¸By my authority as the leader of the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy, I Gozer North Braun Anhalt hereby confirm that both sides of the conflict that request the duel to be held are indeed the Freemen.¡¹


    Gozer made a loud and rather pompous-sounding proclamation while raising his eyebrow a little when he saw me, but other than that, he didn¡¯t react in any noticeable way and simply continued on without hesitating or changing his facial expression for even a second. That¡¯s probably since in this little conflict of ours, he is a member of the third party that is supposed to be neutral to both sides to ensure that the duel is going to be judged fairly and without any sort of prejudice.


    ¡¸Of course.¡¹


    Roxanne then takes a step forward and stands in front of me.


    ¡¸What is it this time, Roxanne? Do you have any objections to our duel?¡¹


    ¡¸No, none whatsoever.¡¹


    ¡¸Well then, the challenge to the duel, which has been issued in accordance with the principles of self-defense, has been accepted. If you so desire, then you can fight in the duel personally, or you can nominate a champion that¡¯s going to fight in your place. Do you wish to exercise the right to do so?¡¹


    ¡¸No, there won¡¯t be any need for that. I am going to fight in this duel myself.¡¹


    Upon hearing Roxanne¡¯s answer, Gozer glanced at me. Was he expecting that I will be the one who would be taking part in the duel myself? Well, I¡¯m sorry to disappoint you Gozer, but that¡¯s not how it¡¯s going to be this time.


    ¡¸The other party has requested that the duel would be an immediate one carried out in a private setting. Do you agree to these conditions?¡¹


    ¡¸I want the duel to be carried out immediately because that way I can be sure that you won¡¯t have the time to prepare and use any of those underhanded tricks of yours that you definitely wanted to employ in order to fight against me yet again.¡¹


    The woman explains her reasoning behind wanting to duel Roxanne as fast as possible. But I have to say that I do not understand the kind of logic on which this chick seems to be operating. Not in the slightest. What does she even mean by underhanded tricks? Is she really expecting that Roxanne would result to cheating in an official duel?


    ¡¸In case that one of the would-be participants is injured or tired, the duels can always be scheduled to a later date if the other participant agrees to it. It is also possible to change the duel from a private one to a public one if any of the sides suspect the other of possible foul play, since with the audience watching, it is presumed that cheating would be that much more difficult to be utilized.¡¹


    Gozer gives me an additional explanation. So if you are afraid that your opponent might be cheating in your duel, you can also employ such preventive measures, huh?


    Nevertheless, Roxanne still turned towards me and looked at me with expectant eyes. To tell you the truth, I am actually kinda glad that this acquaintance of hers wants to make this duel a private matter, because if this was to be carried out in public, then it would have most definitely resulted in bringing much of unwanted attention towards both Roxanne and myself, since I am her master and she¡¯s my slave.


    Also, I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s because he¡¯s busy or he¡¯s not around, but the Duke was not here along with Gozer. That is also to our benefit, since the Duke of Hartz is the last person whom I would have wanted as a spectator to a dual that Roxanne was about to engage in.


    Since I have nothing else to say in the matter, I simply give her a nod of approval.


    ¡¸Yes, I accept these conditions.¡¹


    ¡¸Very well then. Upon the agreement of both sides, only the members of the Parties involved in the dual will be allowed to spectate it. Now, if you would please follow me.¡¹


    Gozer then headed inside of the castle, and we followed right behind him.


    ¡¸I will not let you escape me this time. We will settle this once and for all, whether you like it or not.¡¹

 Volume 7 - CH 5.5

    The woman stomps the ground pretty hard then goes ahead of us while we followed behind her at what I would like to call a respectable distance while we headed inside of the Bode castle.


    Gozer leads us to a corner in the courtyard of the castle where there were no trees, grass or anything like that, and if there were ever any weeds there, they must have been plucked on a regular basis.


    I wonder if this place is actually a training ground for the members of the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy?


    ¡¸Is this the place where the duel is going to take place?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes. We have another location prepared for the duels that have been agreed to be made public, but since both sides have agreed this time that you want to keep this matter strictly between your two groups, we had to prepare another place for it immediately, and this was the best location that we could spare in such a short amount of time.¡¹


    ¡¸Sherry, is what he saying true?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, master. It is a custom of the Knight Orders to have two types of places ready for the duels: one for the public duels and the separate one for the private duels like this one.¡¹


    Sherry whispers into my ear as we had a short conversation related to what Gozer said just now. So this is the best thing that they could do for us since we wanted to start the duel right away?


    ¡¸Roxanne, would you like to use my sword for this duel?¡¹


    In that case, if she is to fight that woman right away, then the least that I can do to help her is to lend my Durandal to her, because its ¡¸HP Absorption¡¹ and ¡¸Chant Interruption¡¹Skills should really come in handy in this battle. There is always a risk that Gozer might end up realizing what kind of weapon Durandal truly is, but at this point, I don¡¯t really care about that. If exposing it to others is the price that I am going to have to pay for ensuring Roxanne¡¯s safety, then so be it.


    ¡¸There¡¯s no need for you to do that, master. Besides, two-handed swords are really not my forte. I feel like I¡¯m much more adept at using one-handed ones anyway.¡¹


    However, Roxanne declined my offer. Is she that confident in her own abilities to wield a sword that she thinks an ordinary Rapier is going to be enough for her? I could always try to give her yet another one of my Bonus Weapons, but not only there is not enough time for me to do that, but also it would probably be a bad idea to have her go into such an important battle with a weapon that she would be not at all familiar with.


    In that case, maybe I should give her some kind of helmet that would cover her entire face? That way, I could at least make sure that even if her head was being targeted, she would not receive as much damage as she would have received if she was not wearing it. But on the other hand, if I give it to her now, then this lady might raise an objection, saying that it is illegal and unfair for me to be aiding Roxanne right before the start of the duel. Not only that, but at the current moment I have seven active Jobs, so I am wondering if it is all right for me to be having that many of them all at the same time.


    I mean, the effects of the Skills that are granted by the Jobs are shared by all Party Members regardless of whether they have the Job equipped or not, although I have yet to test the accurate effects of the Seventh Job that I have equipped.


    It might look like there is little I can do to actually aid Roxanne in this battle, but there might still be something that I can use. Mainly, another one of the Bonus Skills that I might have at my disposal: ¡¸Partilization¡¹. I have never used that Bonus Skill before, but at the very least I know what it is supposed to be doing: it is a Skill that shares the effect on one item that¡¯s in the user¡¯s possession with another Party Member, so if I consume a Recovery Medicine, then its effects should work on Roxanne as well. I also selected ¡¸Equivalent Exchange¡¹out of the list of my Bonus Spells. You know, just to be on the safe side in case if anything ever went wrong. I doubt that there will be a need for me to actually use that spell, but you know what they say, right? You can never have too many contingencies.


    Even though Roxanne and Sherry know about it, Gozer and that chick do not, which might help us pass it as something that Roxanne could do in case there was even a moment when I really would have to use it. And before you say anything else, I do realize that interfering with somebody else¡¯s duel is rather distasteful and that its straight up cheating, but I¡¯m not going to hold anything back if it means preventing the scenario in which I am losing Roxanne forever.


    I also selected ¡¸Lv.99 Death¡¹ as well. I have already confirmed that it¡¯s a single target magic Spell, and unlike AoE Spell, single-target ones can be used against human opponents without any problems.


    Lastly, I opened up Party Job Settings menu and switched Roxanne¡¯s Job back to her Beast warrior Lv.32. Thinking about it now, maybe I shouldn¡¯t have had her increasing the level of her Warrior Job all the time recently? If I didn¡¯t switch it up, then maybe she could have gained an additional level or two to her Beast Warrior Job?


    Well, no matter. Even if she were to keep her current Job, which was Warrior Lv.25 by the way, then I¡¯m sure that she would still be able to win against that woman without any major difficulties.


    ¡¸Here, desu.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh. Thank you, Miria.¡¹


    Miria passed a Hardened Leather Helmet to Roxanne, and Roxanne herself still has her Hardened Leather Shoes of Willow equipped on her, since we have come here to Bode castle right from the Labyrinth without even getting the chance to go back home. I¡¯m not sure if the preparations to such an extensive degree are even needed here, but it¡¯s going to be better for Roxanne to go into this duel while wearing the best equipment possible


    ¡¸If your preparations are complete, then would the two of you mindcoming to the front?¡¹


    ¡¸Of course. Coming right up.¡¹


    ¡¸Roxanne, remember: losing is not an option here.¡¹


    ¡¸Big Sister, all the best to you, desu!¡¹


    Both Roxanne and the woman did as Gozer asked of them and took a big step forward.


    ¡¸O~hohohoho~- in a duel, the lives of the participants are always on the line. That¡¯s why I hope you are prepared, Roxanne. Before, I said that I might consider sparing you if you fall to your knees and beg me for mercy, but that generous offer is no longer available to you. I promise you that today is going to be the day when you¡¯re finally going to die by my hand!¡¹


    The woman goes back on her words just like that. Contrary to her earlier statement, it looks like this Baradam family doesn¡¯t seem to be as benevolent and honorable as she claimed them to be.


    ¡¸Ready¡­ begin!¡¹


    ¡¸Let me tell you something, Roxanne. Six months ago, I didn¡¯t have any Party Member who would back me up, but this time, I have Sabo with me. He¡¯s the strongest warrior of the entire Wolfkin tribe, and the Baradam family is doing everything in their power to make sure that he¡¯s going to stay that way. Up until today, he has already consumed extraordinary amounts of the Dope Medicine. I hope you understand what that means, right?¡¹


    She admitted something like that so openly.


    Like I thought, Dope Medicine seems to be an item meant to help you level-up. So this Sabo guy managed to obtain Lv.99 as a Beast Warrior because of that medicine?


    Job effects are shared by all party members and their effects increase with level, so at Lv.99, the effects of the Beast Warrior Job must be pretty considerable. That also means that this woman is placing the odds of her victory not in her own strength, but rather in the strength given to her by her Party Members, huh?


    There is technically nothing wrong with using such a tactic, but it is definitely a cowardly one.

 Volume 7 - CH 5.6

    ¡¸You seem to understand the meaning of my words well enough. Serves you right. Well then, now do us all a favor and just drop dead already, why won¡¯t you?!¡¹


    The woman keeps taunting Roxanne while she just stood there silently, tightly gripping the handle of her rapier in her hand. The woman also strengthened the grip on her own sword, and when she saw that verbally assaulting Roxanne was going to take her nowhere, she made the first move of the duel and swung her weapon towards her, but Roxanne lowered her body slightly and dodged it. The woman then followed her attack with another downward swing, but Roxanne dodged that one as well.


    Two attacks, and she dodged both of them. So far, so good.


    Roxanne is as composed as ever. Even with shared Job effects of a Lv.99 Party Member, this woman is still unable to hit Roxanne even once.


    Roxanne dodges yet another one of her attacks.


    With the least possible movement, she is avoiding the oncoming slashes like it was the most obvious thing to be doing. She sways her head to dodge the point of the sword and then draws her shoulder back from the line of the subsequent strikes.


    Because the woman was already committed to the attack, Roxanne thrusts her Rapier forward after dodging her attack herself.


    The woman jumps back, and then falls over due to the momentum.


    ¡¸I¡¯m a lot stronger than I was six months ago! So how can she still be dodging all of my attacks?¡¹


    ¡¸Kukuku¡­ you attack as recklessly as ever.¡¹


    When Roxanne taunted her, the woman stood up angrily and produced a hateful scream out of her throat. She swings her sword again, but Roxanne easily avoids it by lightly stepping to the side.


    ¡¸Half a year ago¡­. You were much stronger than you are now.¡¹


    No, Roxanne, you¡¯re wrong. It¡¯s not that she was stronger six months ago. It¡¯s you who has become a lot stronger than her thanks to all of the hard work and effort that you have been putting into bettering yourself every single day.


    ¡¸Even though we should be close in terms of our abilities¡­ why¡­? How¡­? What is going on here¡­.?! Hod did you manage to become so strong?! What kind of sorcery did you use?!¡¹


    *Sigh* She still doesn¡¯t realize that no matter what she might try ti throw at Roxanne right now, it¡¯s not going to do her any good. At her level, Roxanne should be able to dodge all of her attacks with her eyes closed, and that is exactly what she is doing, avoiding the incoming strikes by a hair¡¯s breadth.


    At the distance they are right now, Roxanne¡¯s opponent has decided to completely commit herself to attacking her while abandoning any form of defense or safety measures, most likely because she is convinced that when she¡¯s so close to her, then it doesn¡¯t matter if she¡¯s going to miss her now or not if the next attack that she¡¯s going to before is surely bound to reach its mark.


    The funniest thing here is that if she was fighting against any other person, then she would have probably been right with that assumption of hers, because her strikes miss Roxanne by literally a centimeter¡­ no, a milimeter. Under any normal circumstances and against any other opponents, achieving such a feat should have been impossible time after time and again and again. That is why most people tend to perceive is as just a series of flukes or lucky coincidences whenever something like that happens to them.


    When this woman engaged Roxanne in a mock battle six months ago, her train of thought must have been either exactly the same or extremely similar, and that must have caused her to think that when she¡¯s going to be facing Roxanne again in the future, she¡¯s going to be the one to emerge victorious from their battle for sure.


    However, the result is not even close to what she must have been suspecting.


    It¡¯s just like I was thinking: It¡¯s Roxanne whose abilities far surpass and outclass the abilities of other people around her. When she was a Beast Warrior at around Lv.6, she was able to successfully pull out a draw against someone who¡¯s currently a Beast Warrior Lv.29. But now that Roxanne herself managed to grow in strength so much that she has become a Beast Warrior Lv.32¡­.. this duel cannot be called a contest of equals anymore.


    ¡¸I already knew that I had become stronger ever since master took me in as his slave, so I wanted to use this duel as a method of measuring exactly how much stronger I have gotten, but I can see that this duel can no longer fulfill that purpose.¡¹


    ¡¸Kuh¡­! No! This can¡¯t be happening! That is not possible! I¡­!¡¹


    ¡¸Are you done already? Because I know I am.¡¹


    After she expressed the loss of interest in the duel, Roxanne thrusted her sword forward.


    Her Rapier hits the woman directly in the throat, and the force of the thrust pushes her pretty far away, additionally causing her to fall over after she failed to regain her balance. Right now, laying flat o her back, she is vulnerable to the attacks from practically any direction.


    I thought that maybe she was planning on using a faint or something along those lines, but no, that was not it at all. Apparently, one direct attack from Roxanne was all that it was needed to sent her flying like that.


    One thrust of Roxanne¡¯s Rapier, which wasn¡¯t even performed at her full power. I highly doubt that it¡¯s going to happen, but if that one attack was all that it would take to kill that woman, then I think I would have broken out into laughter right here and now despite the seriousness of the situation.


    ¡¸N-Not yet¡­ I¡¯m not¡­ I¡¯m not done yet!¡¹


    Even though she was shaking all over, the woman was still desperately trying to lift herself up from the ground. And while she was in the middle of trying to stand up, I noticed that a string has fallen down from her leg to the ground.


    That is most definitely her Sacrificial Misanga. Since she has lost it, then does that mean that one more attack from Roxanne would be enough to kill her?


    When I used ¡¸Identify¡¹ on her, I noticed that Sacrificial Misanga had disappeared from the list of her currently equipped items, which means that it really must have been destroyed just now.


    This woman understands it as well. That there¡¯s no use in standing up now. And that the next time they are going to fight each other, there won¡¯t be any Sacrificial Misangas left to her that would save her from death at Roxanne¡¯s hands.


    ¡¸Even though you were the one plotting against my family in order to drive them to poverty and I despise you for it¡­ I also must thank you for it. If it wasn¡¯t for you doing that, then I would have never became a slave and met such a wonderful master. So if nothing else, you have my gratitude for steering my life towards the directing that it went.¡¹


    Once she finished speaking, Roxanne tightened the grip on the handle of her Rapier even more. Just one more stab and this should all be over. The villainous figure who wrecked Roxanne¡¯s life upside down is going to be no more. However¡­


    ¡¸Roxanne.¡¹


    I call out to her. That one word from me was a clear signal to her. A signal that this is enough. There¡¯s no need to push things any further, and its better to leave them as they are now. Roxanne has already achieved victory in this duel, so there is no need for her to sully her hands any more than it was absolutely necessary.


    ¡¸It¡¯s all right to leave it as it is¡­ right, master?¡¹


    Roxanne took a few steps back, and then turned around to look at the woman who was her opponent. Then she turned towards me, and when she saw the expression on my face, she must have realized what I wanted to convey to her.


    ¡¸Yes, I don¡¯t mind it ending right here.¡¹


    ¡¸Even if it means that from the rules standpoint this match is going to end in a draw?¡¹


    ¡¸Yeah, that should be fine¡­ isn¡¯t it?¡¹


    I glanced back at Sherry in order to check that in with her.


    ¡¸There shouldn¡¯t be any problems with such an outcome, so it should be all right.¡¹


    After hearing Sherry¡¯s answer with a doubtful look, I beckoned Roxanne to my side.


    It¡¯s better to make Roxanne leave it as it is now then just perpetuate the cycle of anger and hate.

 Volume 7 - CH 5.7

    ¡¸Use this.¡¹


    Then, we could hear a voice of one of the woman¡¯s Party Members calling out to her. It seems like it belongs to this Sabo guy, but I couldn¡¯t hear the rest of what he said at all.


    ¡¸Hey, what is going on there?¡¹


    ¡¸It¡¯s okay, master. He didn¡¯t give her another Sacrificial Misanga, so now the duel can end in an honorable draw.¡¹


    ¡¸Ah, well, yeah, I guess, but that¡¯s not really what I am concerned about¡­¡¹


    What I really want to know, is what was Sabo saying to her and what did he give her just now. Also, what the hell is an honorable draw, and how does it even differ from an ordinary kind of draw?


    ¡¸Have I managed to do my best, master?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, you definitely did, Roxanne.¡¹


    ¡¸As expected of Miss Roxanne. Your performance was as splendid as ever.¡¹


    ¡¸It was great, desu.¡¹


    Something still seems to be happening, and while she was listening to our compliments, Roxanne was also paying attention to the other two without being negligent or dismissive of their situation.


    The woman that was on the ground was not moving anymore. That is a scene that is typical of an ending to an intense battle: one side is left standing triumphantly, while the other is going to be on the ground with their head in the dirt in shame.


    Fortunately for us, that should also mean that the match between these two has drawn to a close, and that should be the end of it. Of course, unless the woman decides that this is not over yet and that she wants to go for round two.


    ¡¸I always watched master and the way that you fight. You were always my inspiration  for continuing to improve myself, so I wonder¡­ I wonder if I managed to become even a bit more stronger than I was before?¡¹


    ¡¸I see. Well, in my eyes, you most definitely did.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you very much. That is the result of being trained by master.¡¹


    No, I really don¡¯t think that Roxanne getting so strong has anything to do with me or how I trained her at all.


    ¡¸It would seem that the other Party has given up on continuing the battle, so would you like to do the same and end the duel in a draw?¡¹


    Gozer comes closer to us and asks us about our intentions.


    ¡¸Yes. There¡¯s no need for the violence to escalate any further than it already did.¡¹


    Roxanne answers him after glancing my way to see and seeing that I gave her a nod of my approval.


    ¡¸Is that alright for you too?¡¹


    Gozer then goes to where Roxanne¡¯s opponent was and asked her about the same thing. But instead of her, Sabo was the one who stepped forward and spoke to Gozer instead.


    ¡¸Yes, it is. After all¡­ there¡¯s no other choice now, is there?¡¹


    ¡¸Very well. Then, with the agreement of both sides, I hereby declare this duel to be a draw.¡¹


    After Sabo gives his answer, Gozer declares that the duel has been finished. He then steps forward and approaches the woman, who now lifted herself off the ground enough to sit down.


    ¡¸You are a disgrace to the Baradam house.¡¹


    Sabo says that to her while brandishing his sword. And then¡­ he brings it down onto the woman¡¯s neck swiftly, beheading her on the spot.


    ¡¸Ah¡­!¡¹


    What the¡­


    ¡¸Why the fuck did you do that?!¡¹


    I accidentally allowed the thought that I intended to keep for myself to leak out of my mouth as genuine words.


    ¡¸I offered her an Orb of Self-destruction since I thought that she would rather use it to end her own life instead of keep on living after suffering such humiliating defeat, but she refused to do it, so I had no choice but to finish her off myself. After all, if someone is not willing to go to such lengths in order to keep the reputation of the family untarnished, then the Baradam family has no further use of them, which means that we are free to dispose of such trash in any way that we deem fit.¡¹


    Not paying any kind of regard to the body of the woman whom he just killed, Sabo stepped over it and made an ominous declaration.


    From what I remember, The Orb of Self-destruction is an item that does severe damage to all of the enemies around you, but it is doing so in exchange for the user¡¯s life. Is that what is meant by honorable draw? A situation in which both of the Parties are going to end up dead, essentially resulting in a double K.O? Because if you asked me, then there is nothing honorable in such a practice at all!


    ¡¸Why have you done such a thing?¡¹


    Gozer steps in and asks Sabo about his reasons for killing that woman.


    ¡¸I feel no need to explain myself to you, since this was an internal issue between the members of the Baradam household. And since this woman was acting under my control, then as the head of the Baradam family, I see no problems in disposing of a family member who dared to go against my direct orders, which can be seen as her rebelling against me.¡¹


    ¡¸I understand. In that case, I only ask to check your Intelligence Card later in order to confirm what you just said.¡¹


    Wait¡­ you understand it, Gozer? Don¡¯t tell me that you¡¯re going to let this guy off the hook so easily just because he slapped you in the face with a bunch of arguments that sounded as if he took them right out of his ass just a moment ago!?


    Gozer withdrew his objection easily. Faced with what he just witnessed; he should have been pushing about an explanation.


    What kind of rule is that even? So even if murder is performed right in front of those who are supposed to be upholding the law, everything is a-okay and there are no problems as long as you preface the entire thing with a statement that the entire thing is an internal issue of your household? I am not buying that kind of a bullshit explanation. Not in the slightest.


    ¡¸Even if the draw as a result might be considered as convenient in our current situation, it doesn¡¯t change the fact that such a result is still a disgraceful one for the Baradam family. Not only its representative didn¡¯t manage to win the duel, but she also refused an honorable death through the Orb of Self Destruction. However, all of that pales in comparison to the beigest insult that the Baradam family has suffered: that the one who clearly won the duel refused to deal the finishing blow to her opponent. This is the kind of disgrace that I will simply not stand, and so, I demand to have a duel with that woman as compensation.¡¹


    While he showed Gozer his Intelligence Card, Sabo made a demand as he pointed his finger towards Roxanne.


    ¡¸Normally, there are no rules that state that the side that won the duel has to accept a request for a rematch coming from the side that lost the duel. As long as the winners don¡¯t want to fight anymore, they can just walk away. However, since the result of the duel between Miss Roxanne and that woman was a draw, then that rule does not apply here.¡¹


    Sherry informed me, because I was just about to open my mouth and asked what made Sabo think that we¡¯re going to accept his ridiculous demand.


    So that means that even if we managed to achieve a draw in Roxanne¡¯s duel, we might have ended up actually shooting ourselves in the foot here? If I knew that a draw might result in a rematch that cannot be refused, then I would have told Roxanne to finish that woman off after all. I wanted to just get this thing done with as fast as possible, but if it keeps drawing on, we might get more unnecessary attention to ourselves. This is as if the worst possible scenario that I was afraid of was coming to fruition before my very eyes.


    ¡¸Can we simply run away without going through with the rematch?¡¹


    ¡¸We might, but that is not something that I would recommend. If we run away now that the declaration for a rematch has already been made and the word about it gets spread around, then we will become a laughingstock of the entire region, because running away from a duel is universally perceived as the height of cowardice.¡¹

 Volume 7 - CH 5.8

    ¡¸I get it, but even so, there might be no other way for us to¡­¡¹


    ¡¸Please let me handle it, master.¡¹


    In my personal opinion, even if it means that we are going to be laughed at and have people¡¯s fingers pointed at us wherever we go, if it means that Roxanne gets to keep on living, then that is the price that I am willing to pay, but it seems that Roxanne herself is not going to have any of it.


    ¡¸Your willingness to go along with my request id commendable, but before we begin, allow me to give you a final warning. Up until now, I have ingested up to fifty Dope Medicines as per the instructions of the elders of the Baradam household, so if you still want to come at me despite knowing that, then you better prepare yourself.¡¹


    ¡¸In theory, fifty Dope Medicines is the maximum amount that a single person can ingest in order to make themselves stronger. Once fifty Dope Medicines have already been ingested, taking any more of them is not going to have any more positive effects on the individual.¡¹


    Sherry offered some additional explanations to Sabo¡¯s words. If what she says is true, then the theory that the Dope Medicine increases only your level without actually raising your stats in accordance with your level¡¯s number might actually be to our advantage. But still, if he says that he already ingested fifty Dope Medicines, thus raising his level by fifty, then does that mean that before he did that, he actually raised his Beast Warrior level to Lv.49 by himself without any external help?


    If that is really how it is, then I cannot help but to wonder: if they were to go through with yet another duel, would Roxanne have any chances of actually winning against him? Is she going to be stronger than him, or weaker than him due to the level gap that exists between them?


    If we ignore all of the Dope Medicine that this guy injested and the fifty levels that he gained from it, then his abilities and stats should be at the level of a Beast Warrior Lv.49, which is still higher than Roxanne¡¯s current Beast Warrior Lv.32.


    However, even if his numbers are bigger, there is still one more thing to consider: if that attacks of that woman against whom Roxanne thought just now were not able to reach her half a year ago, then I think that Roxanne¡¯s chances of victory would not be zero. After all, if she could avoid the attacks of a Beast Warrior Lv.29 while being a Beast Warrior Lv.6 herself at best, then now that she is a Beast Warrior Lv.32 she should technically have no problems repelling the attacks of a Beast Warrior Lv.49.


    Alternatively, there is one more thing that we can do.


    ¡¸Well, you don¡¯t have to worry about it, Roxanne. I am going to deal with this one myself.¡¹


    ¡¸Uhm, master? While I am happy to hear that you are willing to go that far for me, I think that you should know that that woman was not kidding when she said that Sabo is one of the strongest warriors in the entire Wolfkin tribe, and his strength is actually pretty well known among our community and no one ever dared to question it before. I know that you are a strong fighter yourself, but this is the kind of opponent who would be pretty dangerous even for you.¡¹


    ¡¸Roxanne, I know that you are more than capable of taking this guy on by yourself, but if you did that, then I feel like that would be too easy of a win.¡¹


    Even though I said that just now, I think that allowing Roxanne to fight against this guy would be pretty bad. There is always a chance that he was above Lv.49 when he was ingesting the Dope Medicines and that some of them simply did not work on him. And while I still think that Roxanne would be able to somehow manage on her own if she was to fight him, the risk of her getting killed by this guy is too great for me to actually go and gamble it, therefore I think that the best course of action here would be for me to participate in this second duel myself.


    ¡¸What! How dare you say something preposterous like that! I will not allow myself to be insulted like that!¡¹


    ¡¸Master, like I was saying, Sabo is a considerably strong warrior famous for his strength among the entire Wolfkin tribe, so I cannot allow you to put yourself at risk just for my own sake. If anything were to happen to you while you were fighting him, I would never forgive myself¡­¡¹


    ¡¸Roxanne. I appreciate you worrying about me, but trust me, it¡¯s going to be fine. Like you said, I am not as weak as that woman and this guy were taking me for.¡¹


    ¡¸Ah! Y-Yes, of course, master.¡¹


    Roxanne still tried to convince me not to take part in the duel against Sabo, but I just ignored her.


    I don¡¯t want to lose Roxanne, and so I cannot take the risk of allowing her to participate in the duel herself. After all, Sabo killed that woman without even batting an eye just because he deemed her a disgrace to his household for losing and refusing to die while taking her opponent with her, so if there is even a shadow of a chance that he would win in a duel against Roxanne, then I am sure that he would not hesitate to kill her at all. That is why I have to fight him myself.


    As for my own chances in a battle against Sabo, I feel like I can win against him, but I don¡¯t know it it¡¯s as certain as I hope it to be.


    ¡¸The other Party appears to be strong, exactly like you say. That¡¯s why I don¡¯t think that can allow myself to have the luxury of going easy against him. But since he has already killed that woman in cold blood, do you think that there won¡¯t be any problems for us if I end up killing him as a result?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, if you do that, then I don¡¯t think that anyone of the people who are gathered here is going to be holding that against you.¡¹


    ¡¸It should technically be all right since he was the one who declared his eagerness to have a duel after killing his own Party Member.¡¹


    Sherry and Roxanne gave their approval to my suggestion that I might just kill Sabo if I were to go all out in this duel. So even if I end up killing him, there won¡¯t be any problems? Because the last thing that I want to be dealing with are more members of the Wolfkin tribe requesting to duel me for killing one of their strongest warriors.


    ¡¸Do you accept the duel, then?¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, I do. Is it going to be a problem if I chose to fight with him myself?¡¹


    ¡¸No, it won¡¯t be a problem. In accordance to the rules of the duel, the side that received the request for the duel from the challenger has the right to nominate the combatant who¡¯s going to be representing them, and the challenger has no right to deny the representative, no matter who that might be.¡¹


    After Gozer walked up to us, I spoke to him about fighting against Sabo personally.


    ¡¸As much as I hate to say it, I might have no other way but to kill him since I cannot afford to take this duel easy.¡¹


    ¡¸You don¡¯t have to worry yourself about that. In a duel, one side killing the other is not an unusual result. Moreover, it is an expected one.¡¹


    ¡¸As I said, no matter how strong you are or what you might try to do or who you¡¯re going to nominate as your representative, I¡¯m not going to lose to you!¡¹


    Sabo shouted angerly. Oh, have I managed to struck a nerve?


    ¡¸I don¡¯t need a representative. After fighting the assistant instructor, it¡¯s time for the master of the dojo to step forward and show what he¡¯s capable of.¡¹


    ¡¸I have no idea what you just said. And I also cannot comprehend what is your reason for fighting me yourself instead of ordering one of your slaves to do it for you.¡¹


    ¡¸I don¡¯t want to risk Roxanne losing her life. And likewise, If you don¡¯t want to risk dying yourself, then I advise you to stop that farce of yours right now.¡¹


    ¡¸I don¡¯t need to listen to your human bullshit.¡¹

 Volume 7 - CH 5.9

    *Sigh*¡­ dude, I gave you a chance to stop and walk away with you life, and you won¡¯t even stop to consider taking it? I¡¯m not just threatening you with empty words, you know?


    ¡¸I might not look like It, but it¡¯s best not to anger me if you know what¡¯s good for you.¡¹


    ¡¸That¡¯s my line!¡¹


    ¡¸I didn¡¯t sleep much last night, but that shouldn¡¯t be a problem. I¡¯m in my usual condition today, and I¡¯m pretty sure that I could take you on even after a completely sleepless night and still emerge victorious.¡¹


    ¡¸Let¡¯s hurry up and start so I could test that for myself then!¡¹


    Ugh, it¡¯s no use. No matter what I try to say, this idiot is just not letting go.


    ¡¸Then, if there are no objections, shall we begin the second duel?¡¹


    ¡¸Ooo!!!¡¹


    Sabo yells, and I nod affirmatively at Gozer. However, I don¡¯t pull out Durandal.


    I¡¯m not sure if I can win by fighting this guy head on, so instead I should plan an alternative way of winning and utilize it as quickly as I can to secure a fast victory.


    I can use ¡¸Overwhelming¡¹and Recovery Medicine to heal myself if anything were to happen to me. There is also a possibility that Sabo might try to use The Orb of Self-destruction or some other items, but in that case, I¡¯ll just use ¡¸Equivalent Exchange¡¹on him if her tries anything suspicious.


    I can win this.


    ¡¸Both of you, come forward.¡¹


    Instructing us to face each other, Gozer begins the duel. As soon as he gave the signal, Sabo charged in at me.


    Is it like I expected, that trying to discuss anything with him is pointless at this point? In that case, I use ¡¸Lv.99 Death¡¹, and indicate Sabo as the target.


    There is no visible change at first. Sabo is still approaching me. However, ¡¸Identify¡¹no longer lists Sacrificial Misanga as one of his pieces of equipment. ¡¸Lv.99 Death¡¹ seems to have been successfully used then.


    I charge forward and use [Lv.99 Death] again while Sabo swings his sword down on me, so I also use¡¸Overwhelming¡¹. Everything becomes slowed down as I use it to avoid the incoming sword.


    I grab Sabo¡¯s arm, which has already lost its power. I pull his arm while being careful not to touch the sword. I also move my leg, moving his center of gravity without much effort, and then end ¡¸Overwhelming¡¯s¡¹effect.


    After time begins to move normally once again, Sabo is on the ground, defeated.


    ¡¸Ah¡­!¡¹


    ¡¸Huh? But it only just began! So how¡­?¡¹


    Roxanne and Sherry call out to me as I came back straight away. Even Roxanne doesn¡¯t seem to be able to work out what happened.


    ¡¸It¡¯s over.¡¹


    ¡¸It was amazing. I saw you move your feet and grab his arm, but I don¡¯t understand what you did afterwards.¡¹


    She saw everything. I didn¡¯t really do anything special, but still, Roxanne seems to have seen everything. Her eyes are as sharp as always.


    ¡¸Defeating him with such swiftness, without even drawing your sword¡­¡¹


    ¡¸Wow, desu.¡¹


    Sherry and Miria give me praise.


    ¡¸He is most certainly dead.¡¹


    Gozer confirmed Sabo¡¯s status.  He probably doesn¡¯t understand what happened either.


    ¡¸Lv.99 Death¡¹ seems to be a Spell that is designed to instantly kill anything and anyone as long as they are Lv.99. Well, at the very least they die normally instead of some gory way like the bloody explosion that is the result of using ¡¸Equivalent Exchange¡¹, so if I ever were to use it again, I won¡¯t have to worry about not being able to retrieve the Intelligence Card of the target.


    ¡¸I heard that Sabo is extraordinarily strong, but now nobody from the Baradam household will be able to act up. To defeat him so easily¡­ As expected of Master!¡¹


    ¡¸Well, I wonder about that. I still think Roxanne might be stronger.¡¹


    I wasn¡¯t able to understand how strong Sabo was after all, but it could be said that I didn¡¯t really need to understand it. All I had to do was to win the duel against him. Nothing more, nothing less.


    ¡¸But¡­ but Sabo was¡­¡¹


    ¡¸That woman who fought against the young lady was certainly strong, but for someone to actually exceed Sabo¡­¡¹


    Sabo¡¯s Party Members are surprised as well. All four of them that remained.


    ¡¸I, Gozer of the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy hereby testify that this was a fair duel and that there may be no retaliation for this outcome.¡¹


    Gozer instructs Sabo¡¯s Party Members. Should I also say something? I feel like I should, since the follow up to this whole thing might be somewhat important. That, and I don¡¯t want to worry about them coming for revenge either.


    ¡¸The circumstances were unavoidable because it was a duel. Please don¡¯t hold a grudge against me.¡¹


    ¡¸Ah, yes, I understand. I don¡¯t intend to cause a dispute with someone who defeated Sabo. But, about the equipment¡­.¡¹


    ¡¸The equipment? What about it?¡¹


    I thought there might be problems, but there won¡¯t be any grudges? If so, then leaving them the equipment is better than keeping it to myself and causing them to want revenge.


    ¡¸The equipment of someone defeated in a duel belongs to the winner. However, they don¡¯t often take it. Some people challenge others to duels to get equipment in a fast and easy way, especially if there are strong emotions from having equipment taken from you.¡¹


    Sherry tells me about the inner workings of taking the equipment of someone defeated in a duel. So, the equipment of the one who lost the duel officially belongs to the winner, and that is why there are certain groups of people who challenge others to duels just so that they could get their hand on their equipment. That¡¯s why, in order to show that I am not like that, I should leave Sabo¡¯s equipment alone.


    Honestly though, it all seems a little confusing to me.


    ¡¸Roxanne, what do you think we should do here?¡¹


    ¡¸I don¡¯t really have a grudge against them.¡¹


    ¡¸Yes, and we don¡¯t really need that equipment either.¡¹


    I informed the other Party¡¯s members about our decision after hearing Roxanne¡¯s answer. Sabo had equipment with Skills on him, but I think that this is probably for the best, because if I took his equipment, then the probability of them going after me would be that much greater.


    ¡¸Thank you¡­ we¡¯ll take the equipment and Intelligence Cards home, and leave disposal of the remains to you.¡¹


    ¡¸I understand.¡¹


    ¡¸Thank you very much.¡¹


    Sabo¡¯s Party Members thanked me, and then spoke to Gozer. So they don¡¯t want to take the remains of their fallen comrades back home with them? Are they that unnecessary? Thinking about it, not even bones are left of the body when you die in the Labyrinth either, so maybe it has become a common thing to just leave the bodies where they are so that they could just fade away on their own?


    But then again, they did decide to take their Intelligence Cards with them, but I guess that¡¯s pretty self-explanatory, since that is definitely a better proof of somebody¡¯s death than, say, a lock of their hair or some other bullshit like that.


    I thought about getting myself appointed as a Village Chief Lv.1 by somebody who I would make a Knight in my Party so I could check the Intelligence Cards from people¡¯s hands myself, but it look like there is going to be no need for me to do that. Maybe when they check the Intelligence Cards, they can actually see what happened in their minds? They might even be able to see the entire fight, but honestly, I don¡¯t think that such a thing is going to be possible.


    ¡¸Ok, this way.¡¹


    Gozer leads us.


    The leftover work and cleaning of the mess that we made is being left for the members of the Knight Order while we head into the castle.


    ¡¸Master, I¡¯m sorry.¡¹


    Roxanne apologizes to me as soon as we arrive in the lobby.


    ¡¸It¡¯s alright, Roxanne. Actually, I think some of what happened might be my fault, since I was the one insisting on you going for a draw in your duel.¡¹


    ¡¸But¡­¡¹


    ¡¸It¡¯s fine, Roxanne, really. I¡¯m not blaming you for anything that happened today.¡¹


    ¡¸Oh¡­ okay.¡¹


    Who knows, maybe Roxanne is just as shocked about everything that¡¯s happened today as I am?