episode_0017

17. Mentoring Program (3)

“1 gold.”

Wince!

“This is the remaining amount of our party’s public funds.”

“….”

The next day, I had breakfast with Claude and Sia, and then I brought up the subject to the two people gathered in the room where Claude and I were staying.

“I definitely had 3 gold and 50 silver until yesterday morning.”

“….I’m sorry.”

thud!

“Claude.”

“Huh?”

When I call out to Claude in a calm voice, Claude, who was lying on the floor, carefully raises his head and meets my eyes.

“Should we just go back home?”

“Ah…no, that’s it!!”

“If Hawk pays you back, you’ll get 1 more gold, and then 2 gold. If you sell your equipment… If you pay off the equipment installment by selling your equipment, there won’t be much left, but if you do that with your own money, you can split it into 70 silver each, exchange it, go back to your hometown, and farm, right? ”

“Wow! Are you going to my house?”

Sia, who doesn’t know the details, is happy to go home.

The exchange rate in Labyrinth City is completely ridiculous.

Bronze, silver, and gold are the currencies used in cities. These are not currencies common to the continent, but are only used in cities.

In a city that monopolizes magic stones, no external currency flows in and only jewelry and gold are exchanged.

The exchange rate is 10%

Even the Labyrinth City currency can be exchanged for gems or gold to be used back in the kingdom or empire at a 10% exchange rate.

For example, if you come to the city and exchange 100 million won worth of gold bars from your previous life, and then change your mind a few days later and exchange them back into gold bars the next day, it feels like you’ve gotten 1 million won worth of gold bars.

There are complicated circumstances why the city is still fine even though both parents are out of town and showing off their crazy nerves… Anyway.

Claude, who realized the seriousness of the situation when I told him to return home even once in two years, becomes thoughtful and asks for my forgiveness.

“I’m…sorry, please!!”

“Why? If you’re from the Explorers, you can join a suitable knight order and the treatment isn’t bad. My hometown is not far from the Labyrinth, so the status decrease won’t be as bad and the protection is great.”

Boom!! Boom!! Kwung!!!

“Ouch! Claude, what’s wrong!!”

“I’m sorry Cain, please forgive me!!!”

“Hey, I have something to talk to Claude about, so can you come to my room for a minute?”

“Why…Why?”

“Ah.. I have something to talk about with the guys.”

“Okay… Okay! Should I call you right away?”

“Yeah.”

Sia, who was watching Claude, who was not angry but was banging his head on me, hesitated and went to her room.

“Hey.”

“Huh…huh?”

“Don’t you think that’s too much?”

“….”

“Let’s put the oddity aside, right, Chang-gwan? Like you said before, you can live off of pleasure without emotional exhaustion by just giving money, but if it’s come to this point, what will be left for us if we continue to explore here?”

Well, I understand Claude’s condition.

Among my former coworkers, there were some who didn’t date women and only went out for fun.

We broke off the engagement and went out together sometimes, and when I asked him why he didn’t have a girlfriend and wasted money on entertainment when he was handsome and made a decent amount of money.

They say that women get sick of you when you start dating someone.

I don’t want to live as an emotional trash can anymore, and I think it’s better than dating because I can go and drain the water cleanly whenever I want, and he’s the one who gives me money when I meet him, and he acts cute to suit his mood, and he picks a different younger woman every time and preys on me.

And he said it costs less than the money he spends on dating a woman.

When he first came to Labyrinth City, there was an incident where Claude kept hitting on various women and getting rejected.

Since she was a decent-looking person, I dragged her around here and there and pretended to date her, but I ended up getting dumped and it was a struggle.

Sia suffered a lot emotionally watching Claude being hit on by a woman in real time.

Then, after the mentoring program ended, Hawk, who was still close with Claude, took pity on him and took him to a brothel. After that, he got a taste for brothels and started enjoying the brothels while saying similar things to someone who worked at the same company in his past life.

Claude and that person eventually became addicted and the amount of money they spent gradually increased.

Before I became aware of it, I didn’t try to stop Claude strongly because I thought it might be better for Sia’s mental health if Claude went to a place where he couldn’t be seen, like a brothel, and hugged a woman where Sia couldn’t see him.

Now that I’ve realized my past life, things are different.

In the first place, if you set foot in this city and consider the crazy exchange rate, you are more likely to get caught up in a maze before you can save enough money to go back home and live comfortably.

It’s better to just settle down in the city, and if the kid has gotten this crazy, you need to use shock therapy to keep him on a leash.

If you want to use it as an experience buff and NTR launcher, you need to come to your senses.

Ah! I first suggested that we go back to our hometown to make him come to his senses and think, “Fuck, this is fucked up.”

And to shake off Claude’s mentality once more, he brings up something he had never talked about before.

“Claude, I haven’t said anything in a while. Do you know that other people are laughing at our party?”

“….what?”

“The guys who laughed at me the day I leveled up. Don’t you think they’re the only ones who are weird?”

“Huh…? Were you listening?”

“Claude Party’s leader Claude, a super rookie who reached level 4 in 2 years!!”

As he puffs out his body with exaggerated gestures and speaks in a raised voice, Claude’s eyes waver.

“The leader of that party, a bastard named Claude, is crazy about women, and whenever he gets money, he runs to the brothel and sucks the pussy of a prostitute!”

Wince!

“Besides that, there are still guys who know that you were dragged around by a woman in the past and did stupid things and they still talk about that.”

Wince!

“And that bastard named Cain who goes around calling himself a leader is a thief, but in reality he’s just a servant who cleans up all the shit that Claude does!”

Shudder!!!

“The dumb bitch with big tits next to her must have fucked Claude until her pussy was a rag, but seeing as Claude often goes to the brothel, she must be some kind of herbalist who doesn’t like tight pussy!!!!”

Thud!!!

When Sia spoke, she glared at Claude, gritting her teeth and hardening her expression to the point where veins appeared on her forehead.

This is because I naturally get angry while talking, so it’s easy to act with facial expressions.

“…..What?”

Claude’s face turns pale as he hears Sia’s gossip.

Well, that’s a dirty joke often told by ugly bitches who were jealous of Sia’s looks and big breasts.

When I go back and forth between the union and the city, I sometimes hear things like that. There were a few bitches who secretly took aphrodisiacs while the party they were in was having fun at the bar, and gave up their dungeon exploration due to unwanted pregnancies.

What I told Claude wasn’t all made up.

“You’re the party leader, so you’re sending me to the union instead of me because you find this kind of talk annoying. How many times do you think I’ve heard stories like this around me in the past two years?”

“…..”

◦ ◦ Even if I do it, I am not a child to be treated.

“Ughhh!!! I’m sorry…. Ugh…!”

Claude eventually bursts into tears at my words, which were filled with evil. It’s a bit ugly to see a little brat crying.

“Okay. Changgwan? If you want to go, go. I don’t care anymore. However, if something similar happens again, even if Sia hates me and resents me for the rest of her life, I will forcefully take you back to your hometown and separate you from me. No matter what.”

When Geum Tae-yang, or rather Geum-jok, began to speak so earnestly that Claude lowered his head and remained silent for a long time.

And Claude’s eyes were shining as he raised his head.

Is it because of the special status of indomitable? He would have been mentally exhausted if he had been this way, but his expression has become calm.

“I’ll cut it off.”

“Don’t tell me to believe you.”

“….Okay. Instead, I’ll try my best not to get cursed at by you guys.”

“Okay. And when we settle accounts in the future, you will only give 10% of the dividend and the rest will go to public funds.”

“….Ugh.. Okay.”

“If you come back yesterday, I was going to rest for two days and go to the labyrinth, but let’s rest for another week.”

“….uh.”

“Tell Sia to rest and not have to meet, because she likes to talk more.”

“…..Yeah..”

Claude, who had been angry at Sia but also felt very sorry for sending me to Sia’s room, carefully headed to Sia’s room.

And after a while of hearing Sia’s laughter from the next room, Claude returned to his room, packed his gear, and went down to the backyard of the dorm to begin training.

I was resting on the first floor with Sia, drinking a sweet beverage, while watching Claude train until just before dinnertime, which would normally have taken an hour or two.

“Cain.”

“Huh?”

“Claude, you’re suddenly working hard? It’s been a while.”

“What…isn’t that good?”

“Right? That’s right! When are you coming to my house?”

“I talked to him, but he said he won’t go yet.”

“I see…what about the labyrinth?”

“The labyrinth will be going next week.”

“You’ve been resting for such a long time. You’ve never had anything like this before?”

“You’ve been working hard, so you should take a break.”

“That…that…”

Sia, who had been asking questions like that, suddenly turns red in the face and stutters.

“What? Tell me.”

“There’s Kaiin…”

“Yeah.”

“Ma…massage…”

Sia, who is standing right next to me, whispers in my ear.

“Uh.”

“Do you have to do that in the labyrinth?”

“Um… You have to do it every day except when you have your period.”

“Oh…I see?”

Sia, whose face turned red at my answer, gulped down her drink and fanned her flushed face with her hand.

“Your period, maybe next week?”

“Hic!”

“Let’s see… That’s right. It’ll probably start in about 4~5 days..”

“That…that’s it!!”

I, who plans the labyrinth strategy schedule, have been keeping track of Sia’s menstrual cycle for more than a day or two, but when I take out a small notebook and check the expected date of Sia’s period, Sia is startled.

“Can I get a massage by myself today?”

“Uh…uh, I’ll try!”

“Okay, if there’s anything you don’t know, just ask, and if it doesn’t work out, I’ll secretly come and do it for you, okay?”

“Yeah! Thank you!!”

I should be more grateful, Sia.

Originally, I was planning to enter the labyrinth for a bit longer while preparing to break through the third floor, but given the circumstances, I guess I’ll have to make some money for the time being.

*

*

*

*

“Mr. Cain, do you want to be a mentor?”

“Mentor?”

The next day, I stopped by the union to see if there were any other requests that would make money, and Ms. Mi-on made me an offer in a quiet voice.

“Why is that..?”

“Ah, usually I suggest mentoring to party leaders who are level 3 or higher.”

“Then Claude-”

“Hey, you know Mr. Claude’s reputation~”

“Ah.”

“Actually~ There’s also his reputation, and I’ll specially recommend Mr. Cain! I’ll put in a mentor application for him. Anyway, there’s a limit of one per party. It’s a bit too much for Mr. Sia… If you accept and go to the labyrinth once, we’ll give you a grant, right?”

“Support fund?”

“Yes~ 50 silver will be paid from the combination, and we will match it with a higher magic stone distribution ratio for the mentor.”

“Oh?”

“The basic magic stone distribution ratio is either equal or at the party leader’s discretion, right? How about 40% for the mentor in the mentoring program? Doesn’t that sound appealing?”

“That’s right…”

When Mr. Hawk led our party around, I got a lot of great tips from hanging out with him.

Various contents covering the overall exploration, such as mapping tips, tips for using consumables, and building hideouts.

It’s rare for three people to form a party, so let me know the formation and other details.

Honestly, other than running around with Claude to the rice cake shop, the things I learned from Uncle Hawk in the labyrinth really helped us survive in this city.

You don’t have to buy the crappy books that he forced you to buy for 1 silver a few days ago, because everything the old man told you was full of useful information.

“But there is a condition.”

“Huh? Are there any conditions?”

What the heck? Mr. Hawk came back after hanging out with us for 3 or 4 days. Were there any conditions?

“How about staying in the labyrinth for 3 days or more, and having at least 1 party survivor excluding the mentor? Easy, right?”

“Is that a condition?”

“That’s right! You didn’t know either, Cain? Would you like to see this?”

Palang-

He handed me a piece of paper that looked like a pamphlet, as if he thought I would fall for it.

“If you look here, you can see that the survival rate on the first trip to the labyrinth is less than 20%, right?”

“Ah…?”

“We compile the applications for labyrinth exploration and compile statistics every year, and it usually stays around 15-20%.”

“Ah…”

“So, if all party members have a 100% survival rate as the standard, and if more than 20% survive, it’s a success!”

“I see..”

“No matter how much we try to provide free education and such, when you actually go into the labyrinth, you know, right?”

“That’s right.”

“So, if the party returns from the labyrinth and achieves a survival rate of 20% or higher, we will give you an additional reward.”

“Really?”

“5 Silver when you reach a minimum survival rate of 20%! 3 Silver is added for every 10% increase thereafter!”

“Ohhhh!!! If I go in and come back alive, I get 79 silver?”

“Yes, that’s right, and the magic stone settlement money you get from exploration is added to that!!”

“Let’s do it!! Do it now!!”

“Hoohoo! Then, please sign here…”

Square square square!!!

“Then today is the 7th… It will be matched around next week.”

“Thank you, Ms. Mi-on.”

“What is it?”

Ms. Mi-on’s smile deepens as she accepts the documents I signed, like a cat that has found its prey.