Chapter 57: Taking a short break (2)

Chapter 57: Taking a short
break (2)

Let’s
summarize our gains this time.

First,
we have a blessing. Unfortunately, it wasn’t mine.

“Alas~
I didn’t want to use it in a place like this!”

Cow
girl Swordsman Jubeel drew her sword with one arm and struck a
bizarre pose.

“Sword
kii-ii-ii-ii-ii-i!”

The
sword was gently drawn from its scabbard, and a mysterious aura began
to emanate from it.

“Ooh,
that’s the Aura!”

“Ah.
I got it from the brink of death. Damn. Getting one blessing is
insanely tough.”

“Kuhahaha!
You look terribly shabby! Your heart is rotten!”

“Why
does such a precious blessing go to a young cow that only squirts
milk every single day…?”

“Ahhh.
If I get something like this, they’re going to ask me to become a
mid-level explorer – what am I supposed to do with it, hahahaha!”

The
explorers around us either admired or laughed at this sudden turn of
events in the center of the inn.

“Jubeel
obtained a blessing called Aura Blade, during this labyrinth
expedition.”

[Jubeel
LV.24]

[Blessings
and curses currently held by Jubeel: 1]

[◆
Blessing of the Enlightened Sword]

–
You gain insight into the nature of the sword.

–
You gain the ability to use basic sword techniques.

–
Wisdom +1 Finesse +5

The
full name in the status bar is Blessing of the Enlightened Sword, but
who cares.

-Tsk,
tsk.

I
applauded.

It
was a shitty move, but a cause for celebration. They say there is no
blessing more precious to a warrior or swordsman than that.

‘You
must be extremely gifted to realize it on your own.’

It’s
a very rare thing, and it’s usually earned by luck.

It’s
like buying a lottery ticket out of habit every day and hoping to
win, and then praying to be blessed.

Jubeel
miraculously won the lottery.

“Balkan,
you’re the only one. Sweaty women are jealous and sneer at me! In
return, I’ll give you my breast milk. Drink it sparingly.”

“I
really, truly don’t need it.”

“Do
you⋯?”

Jubeel
slumped her shoulders and turned to leave.

Explorers’
blessings can vary in performance, even those with the same name, and
Jubeel’s sword energy was quite dull, so it didn’t look like it was
going to perform well.

“Ouch!
No, my scabbard!!!!”

Nevertheless,
Sword Aura was a Tier 1 Blessing.

Jubeel
lost control of her blessing and cut her scabbard while trying to
lead her sword.

That
kind of sharpness, even with just a touch, is a crazy performance.

I
shook off my envy by looking away.

I
shouldn’t be interested in what others have already eaten. Now I need
to focus on what I’m going to get.

“First,
let’s settle the silver from the monster hunt.”

The
price for each monster I killed while escorting the students was 25
silver coins per person.

This
time, the amount was similar to the last time, even though I went as
the main combatant. We hadn’t gone to the Labyrinth to hunt in the
first place.

Besides,
the main event here wasn’t worth this kind of money.

“Two
gold coins, paid by the academy as a reward for the successful
request!”

“Yippee!
Yippee!”

“Aaahhhh!!!”

Jubeel
and Lammel whistled, Hitolis prayed to Earth Mother again, and Gregor
just grunted.

Two
gold coins. The nearly four weeks of hard travel had been well worth
it.

During
the first month in this world, I’ve saved about twenty silver pieces
from my part-time job at Diana’s tavern, and now in a month I’ve made
nearly ten times that amount.

Sure,
it was ten times harder than the inn job, but it was a breath of
fresh air.

With
this kind of money, I can afford to live comfortably, even if I’m
only a beginner explorer and have a decent weapon.

“And
now, here’s the problem⋯”

But
that wasn’t even the main part of the settlement.

The
party members, who had been whistling and boisterous just moments
before, swallowed nervously, because of a rarely dropped treasure and
an essential ingredient for crafting artifacts.

Its
value was no secret.

The
soul stone of a 7th floor minotaur and not just any minotaur, but the
soul stone of a special entity.

“I’ve
been an explorer for three years, but I’ve never gotten a minotaur
soul stone before.”

“This
is even an unusual one⋯”

There
you go.

Pfft.

So,
don’t give me that look.

“⋯Balkan.
You decide what to do with this.”

Joy
Hog and the rest of the party drooled and asked.

“Even
the party members who had readily declared ‘It’s yours’ for the
Hobgoblin soul stone, perhaps to gain favor, seemed to covet this.

Normally,
the reward for slaying a monster is paid at a rate determined by the
party, and when an artifact or soul stone is acquired, the person who
contributed the most to the acquisition is the one who gets it.

If
the contributions are uneven, there’s usually a big fight, but in
this case, it’s clear who contributed the most.

Who
scooped up the minotaur, who won the battle, who stomped the most
minotaurs, and whose slain monster spat out the soul stone.

“Hmmm.
Let’s start settling up, shall we?”

Without
hesitation, I reached out and grabbed the soul stone of the boss
minotaur.

This
one is mine for now.

***

“Woooo⋯
Milk tureen⋯”

“Gathering
the sources of wind and fire into one place⋯”

“Alcohol!
Bring me more alcohol!”

“Mother
Earth Goddess⋯
there⋯
there⋯
ouch!”

“Grrrr!”

I
organized the five unruly drunks.

I
put the milking cow in a corner, gagged the harpy who started
chanting at the top of her lungs, knocked out the drunken dwarf, and
put the cat priest with the wild look on her face next to Lizardgirl.

All
of them looked amused and satisfied.

‘As
it should be, after all the sacrifices I’ve made.’

I
remembered their faces when they’d been told to divide the other one
among themselves, unable to hide the smiles on their faces as if
they’d reaped an unexpected harvest.

There
are few things that can cause more headaches and frustration than a
relationship gone awry over money.

It
was a small price to pay to buy the trust of the higher powers among
the lower explorers and prevent future problems.

“Are
those the new party members?”

Diana
smiled as she came out of the kitchen and watched me move the party
members.

She
hadn’t even made eye contact with me yesterday when she came down
from the second floor with a mop drenched in sticky liquid, but she
seemed to have recovered somewhat over the past day or so.

“Yeah.
They’re pretty nice people.”

“Hoo-hoo.
That’s good. It’s always good to have good people around you, it’ll
help you in the future.”

Diana
then asked coyly.

“So,
did that spoiled⋯
no, I mean, bratty⋯
kid from the other day get away?”

A
spoiled, unruly child. A child who ran away. I can guess who it is
even if I hear it roughly.

But
the words were a little rough for Diana.

‘Maybe
it’s because she’s been hitting on her since the first meeting.’

Diana,
whose age is unknown, pretended not to be, but she was bothered by
her.

“Somehow,
it just happened.”

Where
is she now?

[Currently
owned slave: Denshi (LV.20)]

I
don’t know, but she leveled up a lot since the last time I checked.

It
was a phenomenal growth rate and she’d have to be at least on the 8th
floor to get this kind of growth.

To
gain a lot of experience points, one needs to go that much deeper
into the labyrinth, but Grumpy couldn’t possibly have strong backup
to cover for her.

‘She’s
enemies with the outlaw Bloods Clan she used to belong to, and even
if she finds a party, this kind of speed is…’

Suddenly,
I remembered Grumpy’s curse.

[◆
The Curse of the 1389th Puppet]

–
Denshi became the 1389th puppet.

While
blessings and curses are beyond human understanding, this curse is
even more mysterious.

Every
outlaw or reformed explorer I’ve ever met has a very high probability
of having this curse even if they weren’t even aware of it.

But
according to the letter Jeremy had handed me, Grumpy had gone off
somewhere, saying she needed strength to protect me.

‘She
moved with a clear intention.’

At
that point, I realized that she was aware of the puppet’s curse so
she most likely went to the Outlaw Zone.

There,
her rapid growth would make sense if she was being helped by puppets
of the same level or even higher up the chain.

‘What’s
the curse?’

At
first, I had a feeling of disgust at the curse, like something
outlaws would have, but now I was just genuinely curious.

‘But
at this point, poking around might just backfire.’

There’s
something I’ve been feeling desperately lately.

I
am weak.

[Nam
Soo-jin LV.16]

[Stamina:(8+10)
Strength:(8+10) Agility:(7+10) Wisdom:(0) Finesse:(0)]

[Free
Points: 3]

I’ve
gained four levels on this trip through the Labyrinth.

I
haven’t used any of my free points yet, as I gained three levels of
experience in one fell swoop by killing a group of minotaurs.

I
think I’ve done more than enough for one of the lower level
explorers.

‘Still,
I’m weak.’

Diana,
Idelbert, Zernier, Serif, the Royal Knight, and others.

Perhaps
it’s because I’ve met too many powerful people lately, but my
confidence is a bit low.

The
lower explorer ranks aren’t the only ones.

There
are intermediate, advanced, and even the highest, of which there are
only three in the Labyrinth City.

‘If
you count the renegade outlaws and the branded, there will be many
more.’

There
is power above and my hunch is that those associated with the
Puppet’s Curse will be quite strong.

Not
just those like Deluna and Derucio who don’t even recognize the
curse, but the more informed ones.

In
the end, it all boils down to one thing.

Whether
it’s exploring the labyrinth or answering questions.

‘First,
I have to be strong, then I can do anything.’

And
I’ve always been on a quest to get stronger.

In
the end, it’s just a combination of training and exploring the
labyrinth as usual.

After
finishing my work at the inn, I lay down on my fluffy bed, thinking
about what I had to do tomorrow.

Perhaps
my mind was overworked, but sleep came quickly.

***

Craftsmen
don’t blame their equipment but that’s because her equipment is the
best of the best.

If
a beginner gets their hands on a master’s equipment, they may not be
able to make rapid progress, but at least they won’t blame the
equipment.

If
you get the right equipment right first, you’ll be able to improve
purely on your skills so I went to get some gear.

In
front of me is an awe-inspiring luxury weapon shop.

The
best weapons shop in the Labyrinth City, where Zirnier’s weapons
are displayed in all their glory.

A
place I wouldn’t have set foot in if Zernier hadn’t offered to make
me a weapon.

From
what I’ve heard, Zirnier’s workshop is in the back.

My
helmet is a bit tattered from recent battles and I wonder if she
could repair it.