episode_0003

3. Awareness (3)

I dragged Claude back to the dorm, put him inside, took a few silver coins from my pocket containing my personal funds, and went to find the Explorers’ Guild alone.

“Wow.. Looking at it like this, it looks like a bank.”

The interior of the Explorers’ Union building, seen from a modern person’s perspective, was more systematic than expected.

Dozens of individual reception desks, like bank tellers, lined the floor, with a small pole at one end of the counter like an antenna.

If there was no party and it was a beginner’s turn or the receptionist was already working, after the previous person’s turn was over, the receptionist would operate it and the magic stone embedded in the end of the pillar would vibrate with a light, and then the waiting explorers would go to the reception desk.

I saw that the seat at the reception desk for our party was empty and went straight to it.

“Oh my! Mr. Cain, how are you feeling?”

“I see the rumor has spread here, Mr. Mi-on.”

Mion, the dedicated staff member in charge of our party, asks about my well-being.

“There are no secrets in the Labyrinth City!”

Wink!

A white dress shirt, a leather vest, dark brown pants similar to the vest, and ash-gray hair neatly rolled up and sticking out only slightly at the nape of the neck.

He greeted me with a cheerful smile, wearing a hat similar to a beret with a single feather stuck in it.

Cain, in my current life I haven’t looked at any other women besides Sia, but Mion looks more attractive than I thought.

The white dress shirt she was wearing seemed to be made of a thinner material than the other receptionists’, and the bra with black lace that could be seen faintly between the shirt and the breasts it held together were smaller than Sia’s, but still quite large compared to the other women.

Even though they were all wearing the same uniform, they had their bottoms pulled down tight to show off their bodies, and a subtle sexiness flowed from their faces.

If Sia feels like a harmless small animal, then this woman’s face should be said to be a bit like a fox’s?

“First, I’d like to renew my card…”

“Oh my! You really reached level 3?”

“Haven’t you heard the rumors?”

“But really… Come here!”

Mion walks out of the reception desk with shining eyes and leads me to one side of the building, making a fuss.

“This place is always so grandiose.”

“Don’t say that. In fact, the combination was created thanks to this measurement artifact.”

If you leave the window for mission requests, party matching, and magic stone exchange and go a little deeper into the corner of the union building, you will see a complex mechanical device that is about the width of two adult males in a wide space.

“Please give me the card.”

“Here.”

He took out the Explorer Card he had brought with him along with the silver coins from his bosom and handed it to Mion.

Since these are letters and words that I don’t know from memory anyway, I guess it won’t matter if I look at them after refreshing.

Mion, who had received the card from me, inserted it into the thin gap in the center of the machine.

When you look at it like that, it definitely looks like an ATM.

Wooow!!!!

“Wow! You really leveled up!”

“Then it would be fake?”

“There are definitely people like that. People who ask you to confirm once again that they have leveled up.”

“Ah…”

Charrr!!

When I leveled up like that, I saw mechanical devices moving around, emitting the same light that came out of my body.

Knock!

“Yes! Your card has been renewed!!”

“Thank you…huh?”

Mi-on quickly grabbed the card that popped out of the device as if vomiting it out and handed it to me. I looked at the card I received, and contrary to my expectations, some very suspicious letters caught my eye.

Name: Cain

Level: 3

Status

Strength: 2

Agility: 5

Stamina: 5

Horsepower: 1

Special Status

Skill: 10

Kaho: NTL, Hitomi, Awakening

Quirk

-kleptomania

“Is there a problem?”

“Oh…no. Thank you.”

What the heck… why is Gaho in such a bad state?

“Oh right, Ms. Mi-on is here.”

Without realizing it, I handed back to her the feather I had snatched from her hat.

“Hehe, you still have bad hand habits, Cain.”

“Please look at me. You know my quirk.”

“But I’ll let it slide because you return it right away.”

I started to feel a little envious when I saw Mi-on winking at me in a slightly seductive pose.

“Huh, what’s wrong? Is Cain really okay?”

“Huh…Huh? What is it?”

“You were only looking at my chest from the reception desk. It was different from usual.”

“Ah…”

“Oh my, you’re so dull, you’re only just now realizing my charm!”

“Hmm.. Sorry, I’m not feeling well yet, so I was a bit dazed and did that. I apologize if it was uncomfortable.”

slap!

“Ouch!”

“Eight! Aren’t you being too serious? I was just joking, so it’s a little disappointing that you reacted like that.”

I saw Mi-on puffing out her cheek slightly and hitting my arm, but that wasn’t important right now.

“Haha. Okay, I guess I’ll be going now. Mion-ssi”

“Yes~ Get some rest and enter the labyrinth at your leisure.”

“Yes.”

I quickly left the union building, leaving Mi-on waving her arms and greeting me.

“You didn’t understand it because it was in English…”

After leaving the club, I sat on a nearby park bench and stared at the cards.

When I thought back on Cain’s memories, it certainly seemed that way.

Even when I first arrived at the Labyrinth City and received protection.

‘Hey, Claude, do you know what this text means?’

‘Um… What is this letter? I’ve never seen it before. And if you don’t know it, how can I know it?’

‘But just in case…’

‘Ka..Cain! Let’s ask the union member sister!’

‘Hmm… Well~ There are no secrets in the Labyrinth City, but isn’t that Mion a letter I’ve never seen before?’

Even when I reached level 2 and received new protection.

‘No, you did it last time too, and now you’re doing it again, Hitomi? What are you talking about?’

‘Isn’t that like an order? Just do something, Cain!’

‘Yeah, Hitomi! Eeee!!!’

‘Cain!!!’

‘Cain!!!’

It’s dizzying. I remember the moment I shouted “Hitomi”, unfamiliar letters appeared before my eyes and I fainted, so I tried using it a few times but it was similar, so I never used it and just sealed it away… What if..?

“Hitomi!”

“Roy, where are you going for lunch today?”

“Huh? Should we go where you said we should go last time?”

“Really? Wow!”

“I got a reservation ticket from Robin.”

“Really? Your little brother is really kind.”

“Right?”

Ugh!

“Eeeeek!!!”

As my vision turned red and my eyes stung, I groaned. A couple passing by looked back at me with a worried expression.

“Excuse me… Are you okay?”

“Ah… It’s okay…!”

The moment the woman in the couple approached me and asked if I was okay, I raised my head to tell her not to worry.

[Tanya]

[Robin] – 90%

[Roy] – 10%

“Oh my, what should I do! Your complexion is really bad.”

The girl’s cheeks turned slightly red when she saw my face. Just as she was about to blush a little, her boyfriend called out to her from behind in a slightly offended voice.

“Honey.. I told you it’s okay..”

“Roy! Isn’t that too much? The person looks sick..”

[Tanya]

[Robin] – 75%

[???] – 20%

[Roy] – 5%

Could it be ????

“Ah.. It’s really okay. I think you two can just go about your business.”

“Oh… Really?”

“Tanya…”

“…Okay, let’s go. Roy.”

Um… if what I thought was right… uh… cheer up, Roy?

As the couple left my side, the burning pain in my eyes disappeared and a feeling of exhaustion spread throughout my body.

“What’s the difference from the last time I wrote it… Um, is it the number of people?”

Before I recalled my past life, when I used Hitomi, there were a lot of people in the Explorers’ Guild using it.

“I guess it’s because the magic power is 1.”

I thought I was receiving ridiculous protection, so I shouted out another word.

“NTL!!”

“Isn’t this a trigger type?”

No matter how much I think about it, it’s ridiculous. It’s not even Hitomi’s eyes, it’s some kind of baseless thing.

“Fuck, if this keeps up, isn’t the status window going to pop up? Haha…”

Tiring!

“Huh?”

Name: Cain (Kim Seong-hu)

Level: 2->3(new!) 0%

Status

Strength: 2.92

Agility: 5.22

Stamina: 5.99

Horsepower: 1.3

Special Status

Technique: 10.78

Guardian: NTL(EX), Hitomi, Awakening(new!)

Quirk

-kleptomania

As I muttered in disbelief, a translucent window suddenly appeared in my field of vision.

“What is it..?”

As far as I know, no one knows the conditions for leveling up or gaining status in the labyrinth.

When you exit the labyrinth into the city, a similar glow appears when you level up or gain a quirk, but no one knows the exact mechanism.

Look at the status window, which is more detailed than what’s on the Explorer Card.

“Is there an explanation for things like Gaho or something like that?”

Just in case, I gestured to the air and Gaho’s detailed information appeared.

NTL(EX)

– Bonuses apply the more you steal something the target cherishes.

Hitomi

– Understand the relationship.

consciousness

– Become aware of your past life.

“Fuck… That’s why I thought you were a thief.”

As you enter and exit the labyrinth, you will randomly gain quirks. Starting from mild quirks like those of Nana, Claude, and Sia, to mental breakdowns, cannibalism, pedophilia, and other mental illnesses or bad passives.

When I was about to reach level 2, I acquired the quirk called the Wall of Graft and was unknowingly buying a lot of consumables at the general store. When I swiped one or two items, something appeared in the air.

And in the labyrinth, whenever he dismantled traps or brought back items or magic stones that the monsters had placed, he would inevitably see letters that would float up, and although they were letters that Gaho couldn’t understand, his special status was also a skill, and when he would steal something or do something thief-like, letters would float up in the air, so he thought he was a thief, but I didn’t expect this.

“Ha…! This is ridiculous.”

After washing my face and gathering my wits, I stopped by the school relief center, paid the medical bill, and returned to my lodgings.

I think I need to cool my head for a few days and think about how I should live.