Chapter 5 : Into a Labyrinth

Two days later.

“Ma’am, we’ve used up all the firewood. Aren’t you going to buy more?”

“We don’t need firewood for the bathhouse anymore. The firewood worker has arrived.”

“Ah, I see.”

As I hesitated in front of the desk, the woman glanced at me and then shook her head.

“If you want to go, then go.”

“How did you know that?”

“Look at you. With a sword on your body, a bag, and even a cape. Are you planning to go out for a walk like that?”

“Haha… this is something.”

Well, with this outfit, anyone would think I’m prepared to enter the labyrinth.

After being away from the inn for a while due to my last labyrinth adventure, the woman now sees me as some kind of labyrinth-crazy person.

When I returned to the inn, I smelled of blood a bit, but my body was fine.

She must think I stayed in the labyrinth for my own enjoyment.

“Yueon. Are you going into the labyrinth?”

“Ah, Sera. It seems so.”

“How long will it take?”

“It shouldn’t take long. I don’t like the labyrinth either.”

“Then why go…”

“I have to make money. I’ve received a lot from your mother.”

“Really? Do you even know?”

“Of course, I do.”

The woman waved her hand and entered the kitchen.

“Be careful.”

“Yes, well….”

But why is Sera so concerned about me? Is the work at the inn that hard?

“I’ll come back and help later.”

“Promise.”

Hmm. It must be really tough for her.

Then again, there are a lot of customers.

Yesterday, there were suddenly even more.

The power of the signboard girl is impressive.

“Oh, look at how warm the sunlight is.”

A month ago, when I first fell into this world, it was almost the end of winter.

It was early March.

The sword repair is finished.

The middle part of the blade now has a deep fuller’s groove.

This part is called the blood groove, and it looks like the depth has increased a little.

According to the dwarf, the cutting strength of the blade has decreased a bit, so he told me to be careful.

“It doesn’t seem to have gotten shorter than I expected.”

The blood groove reduces the weight of the blade and pulls the center of gravity toward the handle.

However, it slightly weakens the blade’s toughness, but it shouldn’t be a problem if I mostly thrust with it.

In my pouch, I have a neatly wrapped grain cube in a cloth, and a metal canteen filled with water.

I’ve also packed a robe to wear at night when I need to rest and hung a lantern on the opposite side of my pouch.

“The oil is still there.”

It’s solidified whale oil, so it won’t spill or stain unless I light a fire.

It’s not a product from the labyrinth city but something caravans brought in from the coastal city.

I spilled all the liquid oil I used before, but luckily, a caravan arrived, so I bought some good solid oil.

Do I really have to use whale oil? Isn’t pig fat supposed to solidify at room temperature too?

‘If I light a fire, the smell of meat will attract wolves.’

The caravan people know more than I do.

There is also a sea inside the labyrinth.

Is it on the 7th floor? It’s similar to the forest on floors 1-6, but I heard there’s a sea nearby.

Rivers and lake-level water are everywhere.

“Shoes? Okay.”

The leather boots with metal soles fit snugly around my ankles, and thanks to the tar applied, I can expect some waterproofing as well.

“Let’s go.”

“One copper-grade adventurer. The target floor is the 3rd floor.”

“You’re back again.”

“Yes.”

The 10 ranks of adventurers are divided into brass, lead, iron, silver, gold, platinum, cobalt, palladium, titanium, and orichalcum, with brass being the lowest rank.

That’s me.

No matter how many compliments I get about my strength or size, a low-ranked adventurer is just like dirt on the street.

“Any progress?”

“Yes, a little.”

The guild is responsible for monitoring anomalies in the labyrinth, managing adventurers’ status, receiving and issuing requests, and overseeing promotions, among other tasks.

The large lobby is full of people.

On the right, thin bulletin boards are lined up at regular intervals like a library shelf, with requests for each rank posted.

There are no requests for brass or lead rank.

They occasionally come up, but most are gathering requests that can be solved on floors 1-5.

Lead is treated almost the same as brass, and you need to reach at least the iron rank to be considered a proper adventurer.

Even those who just visit the labyrinth as a hobby receive a lead rank.

“Today, you’re only showing half your face.”

“My right side looks better today.”

“Interesting answer. Should I talk to you face-to-face?”

Guild receptionist, Dalia, is staring at me with a worried look in her eyes.

In fact, there aren’t many brass-ranked adventurers.

Just reaching the 5th floor is enough to promote you to lead rank, which is the promotion condition for brass.

Therefore, the guild recommends reaching lead rank before getting an adventurer certification.

Usually, you need a certification to enter the labyrinth, but the guild gives you a temporary paper badge for a week’s waiting period.

If you reach lead rank during those 7 days, you don’t need to make a brass adventurer badge.

The fact that I’m still brass rank after 7 trips into the labyrinth is quite unusual. Unfortunately,

Some people make it to lead rank after their first trip, and most reach it by their second or third, but I’m still stuck at brass.

I’ve formed a party to reach the 5th floor before, but to rank up, you need to form a party with only brass rank adventurers of 3 members or less.

Previously, I had a lead in the party.

“Please finish the record quickly.”

“Let me see your face. Did you get a big wound on your left side?”

“It’s nothing like that… sigh, alright.”

When I turned my head forward, Dalia, who had been smiling, carefully examined my face and widened her eyes.

“My goodness, that left eye….”

“…Do you know when you see it?”

“Because a lot of bodies come in. Is that still working?”

“Yes. Thankfully.”

“Fascinating.”

Dalia wrote down the last line of the long list.

The guild records adventurers entering and exiting like this.

The reason they note down the target floor is to estimate the return time.

If an adventurer who aimed for the 5th floor doesn’t return for over a month, something clearly went wrong.

On the other hand, if an adventurer aimed for the 50th floor, waiting a month is just a start.

Some adventurers have even returned after three years.

“Please look here. For this labyrinth expedition, your target floor is the 5th floor.”

“What? I think I said the 3rd floor.”

“Well… this time, I just feel like I can make it to the 5th floor. Somehow…”

“Hmm… well.”

It’s okay if you don’t reach your target floor.

There’s no penalty or anything like that.

“Good luck.”

“Yes… understood. I’ll try my best.”

The guild building is a large complex surrounding the labyrinth portal in a rectangular formation.

Passing through a couple more doors to the interior, the labyrinth portal comes into view.

An employee in front of it casts a spell on the adventurer’s badge.

They say it’s a spell that notifies the guild when an adventurer returns, but the exact principle is unknown.

“Have a safe adventure.”

“Yes.”

As I push my foot past the shimmering, deep blue portal, I feel my body being sucked in all at once.

I landed on the 1st floor.

“This place…”

By infusing a bit of mana into the adventurer badge, it shows the direction of the nearest portal or return stone, allowing you to either advance to the next floor or exit the labyrinth.

The badge has a slight resemblance to a military dog tag.

When I hung it around my neck and injected a little mana, it pulled tightly in the direction of the portal before losing its tension and falling back onto my chest.

Clink-

In this world, no one is completely without mana.

Even I, having transferred from Earth, possess mana, though it’s weak.

I can check the direction about once every 30 minutes, but unfortunately, it doesn’t indicate distance.

“Alright, let’s go.”

The 1st floor is peaceful.

Mostly ordinary animals like boars or deer that lack mana.

At worst, you might find a kobold, a rodent-like monster resembling a guinea pig that occasionally lurks in caves.

These little guys are surprisingly tough.

They cling to the dark cave walls, dropping down when they spot a person, biting through even leather armor with their strong front teeth.

If one happens to latch onto your face, it could kill you instantly.

However, they constantly squeak as they move, so the chance of being caught off guard is low.

Unless you’re deaf, of course.

“A forest, huh. Should take about 30 minutes.”

From the 1st to the 10th floors, the terrain mixes in a set order: plains, forests, mountains, and swamps.

The 1st floor is about 80% plains and 20% forest.

The 2nd floor is 50% plains, 40% forest, and 10% mountains.

As you progress, the easier plains and forests gradually decrease, while the tougher mountains and swamps become more common.

After about 30 minutes without encountering any real monsters, I reached the 2nd floor.

I saw a few people near the return stones and the portals to the next floor in the center of the labyrinth, but there was no one I recognized.

The 1st floor is more like a walking trail anyway.

From the 2nd floor onward, forests become more prevalent, and the first actual monsters, like dire wolves, start to appear.

Wooo-

“2nd floor… Got lucky with the plains.”

Plains are truly peaceful.

Maybe that’s why they’re called plains.

With no trees in the way, you can see hundreds of meters around you, and the ground is relatively flat.

If someone approaches or a monster appears, you’ll notice right away.

After another two hours of walking without incident, I crossed into the next portal.

“A forest… again.”

The place where I nearly died once.

This floor is made up of roughly 10% plains, 70% forest, and 20% mountains.

“Looks like I’ve arrived.”

I reached the 3rd floor.