Undead.vol2.pt1

CHAPTER 1

The Labyrinth Of The New Moon

That quest of mine needed completing. I speak of the assignment I had accepted prior; specifically, the one which involved me hunting Orcs and gathering Orcish materials.

Due to certain circumstances and events, I found myself somewhat idle, with a sizable chunk of free time. I did, however, still have quite a bit of time before the assignment’s deadline. As such, I did not foresee there being too much of a problem.

Orcs were, as their name suggested, creatures with piglike heads and somewhat humanoid bodies. They were, however, more monster than human, and were classified as such. Around Maalt, they mainly inhabited forests and the like, as well as the Labyrinth of the New Moon.

In other words, if one took an assignment to hunt Orcs, one had two simple choices: to search in the forests, or to go hunting in the Labyrinth’s halls. My choice, on the other hand, was obvious. A simple reason, really: Orcs that inhabited the forests around Maalt usually moved in packs, while solitary Orcs were somewhat rare in such an environment.

Taking those factors into consideration, as well as the obvious problem of monster repop rates in the forest, one could quickly notice the differences in difficulty between the two choices.

Though in reality, it was more a problem of the Forest Orcs in question engaging in group-based warfare. To put it simply, one would be going up ahgatitnpst asr:a/g/inmg bapnd4odf Oirrces acmotnsg.stcthoe mtrees. For a solo

adventurer like me, the odds weren’t exactly favorable.

Comparatively, Orcs that lived in the Labyrinth—specifically the more shallow levels—were, for the lack of a better word, relatively stupid.

For starters, the thought of grouping up to ambush adventurers didn’t even occur to these Labyrinth Orcs. In addition, even though Forest Orcs were commonly armed with rudimentary weapons and armor, Labyrinth Orcs fared much more poorly in this regard, often dressed in mere rags and scraps. Of course, they did not fare very well in the weapons department, either. Simply put, Labyrinth Orcs were much less of a threat, sporting lower offensive and defensive capabilities.

Honestly speaking, this very same logic could be applied to Goblins, as well. Orcs, however, were more visually striking, and this was why it made no sense to hurl oneself into a huge crowd of reasonably- equipped Orcs. My choice was already made up for me, as if there was never any doubt that I would instead choose to explore a labyrinth.

With those thoughts in mind, I found myself standing at the entrance to the Labyrinth of the New Moon. Many moons had indeed passed since I last stood at its gates.

Said entrance was, in fact, thronged with people; it was lively as usual. It was a stark contrast to how the Labyrinth of the Moon’s Reflection was; to think I was hunting there just yesterday, too.

Another easy explanation: even beginner adventurers found themselves with larger, more tangible gains by hunting in this labyrinth, provided they hunted in groups. Reality was a bit more disparate for solo adventurers.

And this came with yet another simple explanation for such a phenomenon: as opposed to the Moon’s Reflection, monsters in the New Moon commonly organized themselves into looser groups,

the hallways of the New Moon were at least twice as wide as those of the Moon’s Reflection, and it was all too easy for a single adventurer to get surrounded by monsters in a single moment of carelessness.

In turn, the monsters that dwelled in the halls of the New Moon were considerably more powerful than those that resided in the Moon’s Reflection. Due to this, the New Moon was considered the more threatening, and hence higher-leveled, Labyrinth—at least, that was the public opinion surrounding the issue. The veracity of that claim remains to be seen, however.

Wading through the noise and commotion at the entrance, I came across many groups of adventurers; fixed parties, perhaps. Just a cacophony of noise, really, as the adventurers spoke and gestured in an excitable fashion. Leaving them behind me, I instead made a beeline for the entrance of the Labyrinth.

Of course, I did not for a moment think they were simply playing around. The discussions of party strategy and other points of caution within the Labyrinth were essential for survival, after all. While veteran adventurers regularly engaged in this practice, it wasn’t an uncommon sight for the new adventurers of Maalt to do so, as well.

These budding adventurers would probably have their seniors to thank, for it was those very same veterans that encouraged the spread of such discussions throughout Maalt and its surrounding lands. Plus, due to the fact that a simple discussion of strategy markedly improved the odds of a party surviving, new adventurers often found themselves engrossed in said conversations, obediently following the advice of those who had come before them. Good practice formed good habits— at least, that was how I felt about it.

From what I’d heard of other townships, new adventurers there hardly engaged in these talks. Compared to them, the adventurers in Maalt seemed like a more hardworking bunch.

But with that being said, I became increasingly aware of the many

labyrinth’s entrance. I didn’t blame them; they didn’t really intend to stare in the first place. The reason for them doing so was because trekking through the halls of the New Moon alone was a rare phenomenon in and of itself. Their curious looks, in turn, were not difficult to comprehend.

It would be unbecoming of me to say that no one challenged this specific labyrinth by their lonesome. Those who did often had strategies or similar means of dealing with monster hordes prone to surrounding them.

If I were to gauge my own abilities in fighting while surrounded...

Hmm. How would I do, I wonder?

It was difficult to say. Although I had absorbed a fair amount of life energy from the monsters I’d defeated and now wielded some strength, to this day I had only faced Skeletons, Goblins, and Slimes. It was therefore impossible for me to imagine how I would perform against Orcs and stronger monsters—at least, not until I could try my hand at defeating them.

It was worth noting, however, that familiar monsters such as Skeletons and the like did appear in the shallower levels of the New Moon. In order to find monsters like Orcs, I had to descend deeper into the Labyrinth’s halls.

In any case, I felt it was necessary to test my mettle in the shallower levels for now, and from there I would be able to make an informed judgment.

Steeling myself, I shelved my thoughts and strategies as I stepped into the Labyrinth of the New Moon.

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I suppose one really does hunt more efficiently with a party in

That was the only thought that entered my mind as I journeyed through New Moon’s hallways.

I should have probably mentioned that I was currently surrounded and in combat with a small group of monsters. Such a thought would not resound in my mind for no good reason, after all.

At the very least, they weren’t strong monsters in the slightest. It was more like they were all old friends of mine, being odd groups of Skeletons and Slimes, visiting me for a jolly reunion in groups of three or so. They were no stronger than they used to be, but I didn’t exactly find myself cutting through them in swathes. The circumstances and lay of the land were just too different: back in the Moon’s Reflection, it was all too easy for me to strike at their weak spots, decisively ending the fight, but in the halls of the New Moon, I found myself surrounded, no longer having the same windows of opportunity to strike.

To make things worse, each and every one of them attacked me in succession; my old friends kept me relatively busy just evading their attacks. Even if I were to swing my sword wildly at one of them while dodging, I would hardly land a meaningful hit. All I could do was progress cautiously and carefully, striking as and when I could while staying on the defensive. I found this tiring, and utterly exasperating.

While I could have simply ploughed through entire groups of said monsters, it was worth remembering that my actual target was an Orc, a monster dwelling in the lower levels of the New Moon. If I were to use up my reserves of mana and spirit here, I would be faced with the prospect of fighting an Orc later on without any means of attacking.

Missing the forest for the trees, indeed. As such, I consciously made the choice to not expend my reserves needlessly; the necessity of that was obvious to me.

Walking through the meandering halls, I continued on, relying on mild enhancements to my body that did not eat away at my reserves. Quite the departure from my usual “one-strike” tactics. Even the absolute minimum of my body-enhancing magics seemed sufficient

If I could continue on at this pace and emerge unscathed, that would be half the battle won.

—Whoops—

In a moment of carelessness, I found a bit of my robe grazed by the Acid Blitz of a Slime. But the robe did not seem to melt at all; I suppose it truly was an item of considerable defensive capabilities. I could not find a single nick or tear in its surface, despite the fact that some of my opponents wielded physical weapons.

Perhaps I will be able to take on an Orc in my current state after all...

Thinking as such, I gathered the magic crystals of the Slimes and Skeletons that had fallen to my blade, placing them in my tool belt’s pouch.

Though it seemed like a small pouch that could not contain very much at all, my waist-pouch was in fact enchanted with magic—the inside was bigger than the outside, so to speak. I had used this very same pouch in life; being a magical tool of sorts, it cost quite a bit of coin. It was a reasonable price for such a tool, however, and I ended up saving for five years to make the purchase.

If I had to say, though, the pouch’s capacity wasn’t exactly hefty. It had the capacity of approximately five to six normal-sized backpacks, which was a more than sufficient size for gathering magic crystals and the like.

More expensive variants with much larger capacities did exist, of course, some even being said that you could put an entire Dragon in one of their pouches. If one really did have such a treasure, however, it probably wouldn’t be for sale. Regardless, such items were beyond my means for now, but perhaps I would make that a reality one day. For now, I was content with dreams remaining dreams. Though I would still continue down the path realizing my dream of becoming a

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Mithril-class adventurer.

Having finally gathered all the magic crystals from my fallen foes, I began making my way into the labyrinth’s depths once more.

The Labyrinth of the New Moon was strange in its construction; most notably, the design and atmosphere of each floor was markedly different from the previous one. If I remembered correctly, the next floor was—

I felt a sense of anticipation surge up within me as I descended the labyrinth’s stairs, as if I were about to step into a great unknown.

Truly...unbelievable. Am I really in a building? A labyrinth?

Such was the force of the sight that greeted me as I found myself momentarily at a loss for words. Warm rays of sunlight pierced through the air, landing on rolling plains of soft grass. In the distance, I could make out the outline of a forest.

While I had been taken to this floor by other veteran adventurers back in the day, I could not help but be overwhelmed by a feeling of awe as I stared out at the green vista before me. To think the interior of a labyrinth could host such a space... If anything, this area was indistinguishable from the grasslands and forests above.

No one knew who or what made these labyrinths, and even to this day, many questions remained. One could not, however, deny the abnormality and magnificence of the sight before them.

Perhaps the existence of this space wasn’t too strange, given the fact that the pouch on my tool belt defied the laws of physics with the aid of magic. Be it magic or magecraft, it was entirely possible to enchant a space to behave in rather strange ways. Even a space like this could be woven from magic, assuming the wielder had enough skill to perform such a feat.

But this would be nigh impossible for people that lived in this modern age.

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There were many reasons for this, particularly the amount of magic needed, the incomplete nature of some ancient magic techniques, and the like. Although I wasn’t exactly familiar with the rules and laws of magical landscaping, I could list many reasons as to why such a spectacle would be impossible to duplicate by the hands of man.

Even so, magical places like this one did exist, scattered wide across the lands. In addition, they were known for appearing and disappearing—in seemingly random intervals—repeatedly as the seasons passed.

A mysterious phenomenon indeed...

Perhaps there was once a god who made such magical spaces within labyrinths; or at least humans who worshiped a similar being capable of such miraculous feats. Some have said the labyrinths were forbidden grounds, places that could never be truly comprehended by the knowledge of man. Some have even said that merely entering the labyrinths was an act of unforgivable trespass.

Even so, labyrinths were an unmistakably core part of humanity—of human culture and life. The reason being that ingredients and materials gathered from the labyrinths, and the monsters that inhabited them, were used to create complex magical tools. In rare cases, adventurers even found ancient treasures.

In addition, as long as the labyrinths were left undisturbed for a short amount of time, said monsters reappeared once more, again with useful ingredients available for harvesting. I could almost say that labyrinths were an almost inexhaustible, renewable source of resources and materials. Some would go even further and claim that labyrinths were eternally self-renewing.

In reality, however, proponents of the labyrinths often found themselves arguing with those who felt these ancient structures threatened the existence of humanity. Both arguments had their merits, and there was certainly no denying the number of adventurers who had losththtetirplivses:/ex/pmlorping4thde liarbeyricntthss f.ocr foamme and glory,

not to mention treasure. But if a new labyrinth suddenly appeared and was left alone, monsters would eventually spill forth from its depths, causing large-scale destruction to human settlements.

Even taking all those points into consideration, though, labyrinths were still an important part of people’s lives. If labyrinths were to completely disappear one day, many aspects of trade and industry would just suddenly cease—such was the situation humanity had found itself in.

Everything came from the labyrinth: materials for weapons, armor, medicine, and even a most fundamental need, food.

Take, for instance, a certain humanoid, pig-like monster: the humble Orc. Amongst the many food ingredients collected from the labyrinth, the flesh of an Orc was the most prized; truly, a name synonymous with delicious cuisine.

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It was incredibly easy to describe an Orc’s visual characteristics: they were rotund, stood on two legs like a man, and had the head of a pig. If one were to describe them that way, even a child would be able to imagine how they looked. In fact, they were somewhat popular amongst children—at least, that was the popular image of an Orc for the people that lived in these lands.

They looked slow and stupid, to the point one would assume they could be easily defeated even if one was lacking in technique, skill, or strength.

I was now facing that very same monster; however...

The Orc before me hardly trotted in a leisurely fashion. On the contrary, it was rushing at me with great form, aiming to close the distance between us swiftly. A single look informed me of the muscles in its limbs, and an equally savage gaze in its eyes. It was plain to see that a single blow could easily reap the life of a grown man.

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While the Orc in question did not hold a sword or spear in its arms, it did hold a roughly hewn, stick-like club; it was probably salvaged from the odd branch of a tree in the surrounding forests. It wasn’t difficult to imagine the sort of impact that such a weapon would have on the human body, as perhaps a single strike was enough to fell an adventurer.

The Orc, however, seemed to effortlessly wield its wooden stick- club, a testament to its brute strength.

Taking all the above observations into account, I could confidently say that Orcs were not weak monsters in any shape or form. If one were to simply treat an Orc as an oversized Goblin, one would surely lose their life almost instantly. I, for one, was no stranger to such tales.

While Orcs were often portrayed in children’s picture books and the like as rotund beings with large, bulging stomachs that trotted slowly on tiny legs, reality was not quite as forgiving. A caricature of an Orc, perhaps; nowhere near as threatening as the real thing.

A real Orc was, at the end of the day, a warrior. Even if the quality of its equipment left much to be desired, it would be foolish for one to lower their guard. That folly could easily kill the most skilled of adventurers.

With that being said, it was perhaps worth noting that I had just dodged a savage blow from the Orc’s club.

Quickly propelling myself to the monster’s unguarded rear, I held my sword up high, bringing it down in a wide arc upon its now- exposed back.

Orcs were indeed strong; that was a point I would not contest. But as long as one was aware of a monster’s strengths, and if one took the appropriate cautions and prepared accordingly, victory would always be within one’s grasp. This rule applied to all kinds of monsters in the labyrinth.

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The Orc, however, quickly understood that I had attacked it from behind, immediately turning around and swinging its club violently in a horizontal swipe.

Perhaps one would question why my attack did not seem to instill the slightest sense of fear into the Orc. But that answer was clear: my blow most likely did not cut very deep.

At a glance, an Orc may appear to be nothing more than a fat, walking pig; however, its round shape belied the true nature of its body, namely its intensely honed musculature. If one did not fully commit to the blow, its muscles would simply stop most types of blades, causing the weapon to leave little but a shallow flesh wound. It was not a very damaging attack at all. One could think of it as a natural kind of armor that all Orcs had been blessed with at birth.

But that alone was not enough for me to concede defeat, however.

Dodging the Orc’s horizontal swing, I channeled forth my reserves of mana and spirit. If this dragged on, it would surely become a long, pyrrhic skirmish.

Enchanting myself with the Shield spell in case my plans went awry, I converted my spirit into physical stamina. It was clear to me that I had to land a killing blow with just a single strike.

A normal Orc such as this did not come equipped with metal armor or shielding of any kind. If I had to say, more than half of the normal Orcs also did not have any reserves of mana or spirit. Even so, this particular Orc sensed my changing aura, raising its club and staring at me with its beady eyes. Before I could finish my enchantments, the Orc pounded the ground with its feet, rushing toward me with its club raised and without a second thought.

One could almost feel the intimidation; the sight of an Orc running at full speed toward oneself was indeed one to behold, and perhaps one that many would run from. Adventurers that did run from a charging Orc, however, would eventually be overtaken by it, losing

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their lives in the process.

The method by which one secured victory over an Orc was astonishingly straightforward: to not be intimidated by its charge, and strike at its weak points with whatever abilities one was blessed with. Simply put, one watched for openings, then exploited them. But for such a strategy to be successful, one needed the appropriate knowledge and experience, in addition to being able to read the flow of battle.

As for myself, I possessed knowledge. Experience, however, barring the fact that I was currently in combat with an Orc, I had little to none.

A thin line divided victory and defeat. Compared to when I was alive, I now wielded a sharply-honed sense of combat. Of course, comparing myself as I was now to how I was in life was one thing; it was quite another to compare myself to adventurers who were Silver- class and above. But I was confident that I had enough strength in me to defeat an Orc; on that point I was certain.

It was neither a declaration of pride nor folly, but simply a fact that I had become aware of.

Trusting in my own capabilities, I readied my blade, steeling myself to intercept the Orc’s charge.

A chance will surely reveal itself. Of that, I am certain.

Yes... Those words resounded in my mind.

Before long, I could see the whites of its eyes. In that moment, time itself seemed to slow down as I found myself clearly observing the Orc’s actions and movements.

Charging toward me, the Orc raised its club, intending to ram straight into me while swinging its weapon for good measure.

Unfortunately for the Orc, the decision to raise its club while charging created a particularly large opening at its torso.

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With my blade held out behind me, I slammed my foot down on the ground, swinging my blade into the Orc’s exposed chest in a grand, spinning arc.

In a moment of what seemed to be pure silence, the Orc and I passed each other. Turning around, blade still in hand, I glanced at the Orc that was now silently standing as copious amounts of blood spurted from its body. Slowly, and with its hand still grasping its club, the Orc fell forward face-first into the ground with a resounding thud.

Observing the scene before me, a single, simple thought crossed my mind:

It seems I’ve won.

And that was exactly what had happened.

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While it was all well and good that I had defeated the Orc, my job was far from over. Even though it would have been easy to dig around the carcass of the Orc and extract its magic crystal from near its heart, the request I had taken on specifically asked for materials to be gathered from the Orc directly.

More specifically, it was for the delivery of Orcish flesh, not its magic crystal. I suppose the guild’s client intended to use its flesh as a culinary ingredient.

A variety of meats were consumed across the lands, the most common ones being pork, beef, and chicken. Needless to say, cattle and the like did not possess mana or other abilities, and they were much safer to domesticate and breed. Their meat, in turn, was more affordable as a result. These meats tasted relatively satisfying, and with the appropriate techniques and adequate effort put in by the farmer, products made from said meats could potentially be of exceptional quality. Cattle were useful creatures indeed.

But there still existed a type of meat that stood above what most people subsisted upon: Orc meat. While there were many reasons as to why this was the case, the easiest and most straightforward reason was the fact that it was well known that Orc meat simply tasted great.

I should perhaps dispel a common misconception by the masses: many assume that the taste of Orcish flesh could be attributed to its musculature, but they are very much mistaken. The reason for this was, as I am fond of saying, relatively simple: the flesh and muscle of an Orc was reinforced by mana, with said mana dissipating upon the Orc’s untimely death. This would, in turn, cause the flesh of the Orc to return to its original soft state.

It is said the taste of Orcish flesh is vastly superior to that of the most well-bred pig, so much so that any who tasted it would be loathe to consume other types of meat.

Perhaps one would find it strange that such a delicious ingredient was not more common, but it was a simple case of supply and demand. To begin with, adventurers that could actively hunt Orcs were few and far between. At the very least, no adventurer to my knowledge was capable of delivering a shipment of Orc meat large enough to sustain an entire town on a regular basis.

It was a rare ingredient indeed, commonly found gracing the dinner plates of rich individuals and nobles, or on the tables of slightly pricier restaurants. Such was the nature of its supply; perhaps it goes without saying that it would command a high price due to its scarcity.

In other words, if one could defeat an Orc and successfully return with its flesh, one would be rewarded handsomely for their efforts.

Approaching the very same fallen Orc that was to become part of my fortunes, I promptly cut deep into its neck with my blade. Blood once again began spurting forth from the carcass’s new wound. This, combined with the already large cut in its chest, allowed me to quickly drain the body of its fluids.

During the process, however, I remained silent and deathly alert. There was always the risk of other monsters appearing and attacking me, for Orcish meat was not only favored by humans, after all. Even other monsters lusted after its supposedly heavenly taste.

As such, it was with much relief that I completed the process without encountering another monster.

Continuing on with my grisly task, I sliced off what parts of the carcass I needed, wrapping the freshly-harvested meat in large, soft leaves. These leaves were from a plant known as the Maalt-Hoonoki found in the forests around Maalt. It was specifically known for its preservative effects, and it was commonly used to wrap up fresh meat. It was indeed a useful plant.

I, for one, often carried a good supply of them with me. Much like the fluid-flasks I had used to collect the bodily fluids of a Slime, these leaves were similarly useful tools that every adventurer carried.

The parts I cut from the carcass were the loin, filet, and brisket, as well as large cuts from its thighs. Although I would have much preferred to toss the entire body into my bag, my pouch could hardly contain it. A pity, really.

With those oft-used parts removed, I made some cuts for myself, namely its heart, intestines, and trotters. This was as much as I could carry.

It was a good haul; if nothing else, this amount of meat would fetch a fair sum. Having properly dissected the carcass, I would be able to sell it to a butcher for good coin. In fact, if I somehow delivered more than what was asked for, I would even be able to eat or sell the rest.

Due to the nature of the request, I did not have to deliver a specific part of the Orc as it had only asked for certain cuts from the carcasses. It didn’t exactly hurt to collect more than what the request asked for, since that way, the flesh would not go to waste.

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It was worth noting, however, that the guild did offer dissection

services, in addition to having a dedicated dissection room. If possible, I would have liked to transport the carcass wholesale, but I suppose there was little I could do with the physical constraints of my pouch.

Having finished my harvest, I left the Orc’s body where it lay; it would eventually vanish given some time, as yet another unanswered mystery of the labyrinth. Perhaps it fed the other monsters of the Labyrinth, or was simply absorbed by the structure—either way, one of those two natural means would claim it. So it was not exactly harmful for me to leave the carcass as it was. If anything, it would be put to good use as fertilizer or food for whatever came after.

With the present possibility of a fresh carcass attracting monsters, that too was merely a fact of life; nothing much could be done about the natural order of things.

Well, then, I suppose I should move on.

As I set out on my journey once more, I was reminded of the fact that the request specifically asked for cuts of meat from three Orcs.

Before I could call it a day, I would have to defeat and collect ingredients from two more Orcs. While I felt repeating two more similar battles would be taxing, I could not help but feel stronger after absorbing the life force of the slain Orc. Indeed, I found myself looking forward to my next battle.

With those thoughts in mind, I continued my journey, venturing deeper into the Labyrinth of the New Moon in search of such an elusive culinary ingredient.

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After quite some hard work, I finally gathered the required ingredients. With specific cuts of meat and other organs harvested from the carcasses of three Orcs, I began venturing forth once more, this time headed toward the steps that would take me back to the previous level. While monsters had attacked me on the return leg of

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my journey, I hadn’t strayed too far from the stairs, fulfilling the details of my request in the general vicinity. In fact, I only crossed paths with Slimes, Goblins, and the like, so I found myself easily progressing without incident.

If anything, I felt relaxed enough to think of opening the Map of Akasha that I had received from that strange woman.

Even so, the risk of an Orc suddenly appearing was still ever- present. In light of this, I found myself still somewhat cautious, as I was not exactly confident enough to stand in the middle of a clearing and stare at a self-drawing map. If I had companions keeping an eye on my surroundings, things would have been different, but of course, reality was somewhat different for a solo adventurer such as myself.

I would really only consult a map if I could be absolutely sure of my safety, or if I was completely and utterly lost. In fact, even if I did have a choice, I would still feel conflicted. What a conundrum.

I could not help but think of the convenience the map brought to me, however. To think it was capable of charting the paths I had walked along as long as I channeled mana through it!

And so, it was with the thought of filling out as much of the map as I could that I chose to take a different path as I made my way back to the steps. But the Labyrinth of the New Moon was larger and wider than any other Labyrinth I had set foot in before. Mapping it, in turn, would certainly not be an easy task. At the very least, I would have liked to completely chart one floor of it, if only due to the fact that it would enable me to use the map’s adventurer-tracking function. But on the other hand, this restriction was particularly troublesome for labyrinths with large floors.

not the case for now.

Under normal circumstances, it mattered little to me if I could discern where my fellow adventurers were, but this only held true under said circumstances. If anything, I would only be depending on this function if I were searching for someone, and I suppose that was

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My ponderous trek was soon interrupted by the faint, but definitive sounds of battle.

In situations such as these, there was no singularly adequate response, with adventurers typically having varied viewpoints. While some adventurers felt it was a courtesy to not pass by and potentially distract a fellow adventurer in combat, others felt it was better to observe silently, offering aid should the situation prove dire.

Many things could be said about both viewpoints and courses of action, but it was indeed difficult, if not impossible, to say that one was more correct over the other.

As for my case, I belonged to the latter group. Much like how I had behaved during my first encounter with Rina, I slowly approached the source of the sound. Keeping adequately silent, I slowly walked in the general direction of the commotion, eventually coming to a quick stop.

Peeking out behind some cover, I spied two adventurers putting up quite the good fight with a few Goblins and Slimes. From their movements and techniques, I suppose they were Iron- or perhaps lower-Bronze-class adventurers of roughly 15 to 16 years of age.

With that being said, however, they displayed considerable skill despite their youth. The boy was a swordsman of sorts, and the girl, probably a practitioner of the healing arts.

It was a simple but effective formation: the boy held the front line, and the girl supported him with magic from the rear. Frankly speaking, this formation was a little risky for just two people. While they did a good job of holding out against the Goblins, the Slimes seemed to pose a bit of a problem.

Just as that thought flitted across my mind, the girl launched a fireball at the Slimes. Such magic was one of many lower-class attack spells, and those with the talent for spellcasting were often quick on the uptake.

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Unfortunately for me, I possessed no such talent or affinity with spells. The only thing I could do was reinforce my body with shielding magic. While I could not cast spells, that girl was throwing fireballs with quite an impressive velocity; I suppose she had studied and practiced quite enough on her part.

These Slimes were, as usual, weak to attacks of a magical nature, and they were immediately felled by the girl’s blasts. The Slimes, catching fire and dissolving, eventually left only their magic crystals upon the grassy ground. At the same time, the Goblins that the boy had been fighting fell, slain by his blade.

I supposed these two were fine on their own.

Satisfied, I turned around and walked away, once again heading for the steps.

“...Oh, do excuse me.”

While I had run into some other adventurers on the way back, they had not so much as looked at me, nor had they very much to say at all. For some reason, this filled me with a sort of joy, and I soon found myself out of the labyrinth, with a good day’s worth of hunting now behind me.

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“...Gaahh! Y-You...” was the sound that greeted me as I entered Lorraine’s abode. Lorraine, who had been drinking some tea before my entrance, was apparently startled enough to spit it all out, with the tea now hanging in the air like a fine mist. Upon closer inspection, she seemed hunched over some documents—documents which bore my registered name with the guild. Specifically, that of a certain “Rentt Vivie.”

“Are you... All right?” I asked, getting down on all fours with a rag to clean up the small puddle of tea-colored fluid on the ground. Lorraine, however, did not seem to be doing too well, as she was holding her

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head with both hands, looking positively exasperated.

“...In some ways I would say, no, I am definitely not all right. Which brings me to the point... Why did you register with such a name? Did you not think for a moment that using my family name would be strange, given our history together?”

It was as Lorraine said. While what she said had merit, there were other problems to me being here in general, problems that had been a long time coming since my untimely arrival and subsequent entrances into Lorraine’s abode. Me stubbornly using the name of “Rentt” did indeed make things a little worse; I could have used another name, no doubt, but things were not that simple.

If I had used another name, I would perhaps not appear as suspicious in this context. However, rumors of a strange man visiting Lorraine’s home on a regular basis would soon spread, and I did not wish for that to happen. Lorraine was a woman of age, after all. Such a thing would be most undesirable for her reputation. This was specifically why I had chosen to use her family name and pass myself off as a distant relative instead.

With all that in mind, and the history of my first name being that of a Saint’s and all, combining both that and Lorraine’s family name did not seem too strange. In fact, I had gotten used to it relatively quickly, and I was now using it on a regular basis.

Concluding my explanation, Lorraine’s expression slowly lightened up. Her previously incredulous stare soon faded, eventually being replaced with one of understanding.

“...A relative... A relative, you say... Hmm... I suppose that would be somewhat believable, yes...”

“You see?”

“...Well, even so. You did not have to go out of your way to consider my circumstances, yes? I really do not mind.

.

“To begin with, the fact that I am a woman and a scholar in these rural parts already gifts me with a questionable reputation; at the very least, I am surely regarded as strange.”

Just as Lorraine said, a female scholar in the faraway, rural frontier town of Maalt was a strange thing indeed in the Kingdom of Yaaran.

There were, however, no laws prohibiting Lorraine from doing what she had been doing all this time. While there were some contrary opinions and the like, the protests did not center around her gender or profession, but more on the physically taxing nature of operating out of a border town. After all, many monsters walked these lands, so it was almost an occupational hazard for a scholar to cross paths with more monsters than most other professions.

For the sake of research, many scholars traveled far and wide; I supposed one had no choice but to travel after leaving behind a large- scale academic institution. As such, most scholars in her line of research were often men with higher physical abilities—at least, that was how most people saw them.

Of course, such generalizations did not really apply to a Silver-class adventurer like Lorraine, but society would always have its opinions.

Even so, there had been a notable rise in female scholars as of late, albeit in fields of study that did not require too much fieldwork. In Lorraine’s case, however, her study of monsters and magic often meant that she had no choice but to personally set off on exploratory journeys. Such was the nature of her work. I suppose one could say that it came with the job.

But with that being said, Lorraine never was the type to be bothered about details like these. This was precisely why she had continued doing what she loved.

While Lorraine could have easily avoided the gossip and judgment of the narrow-minded if she had instead presented herself as an adventurer first and foremost, the fact that she still adamantly insisted

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on being a scholar first goes to show just how much she was dedicated to her research. Adventurers were judged on their capabilities, after all; gender was nary a consideration.

Although there was no shortage of adventurers who would find fault with Lorraine simply because she was a woman, their behavior perhaps said more about themselves.

All these points made adventuring a more woman-friendly occupation than being a scholar; such was the state of affairs in this land.

In reality, though, Lorraine was trusted by many at the guild, with her titles not being just for show.

“I can’t... Simply. Keep imposing. I am already... Causing you a fair amount of... Trouble, Lorraine. I would not... Want to be any more of... A burden.”

“Yes, yes. Just like you to say something like that. You should not worry too much about such things. To start, I am indebted to you in more ways than one. Do you not cook and clean? You do all that and more, no? If anything, we should be on equal footing now—well, I suppose I would still be in your debt, considering all that you have done for me in the past...” Lorraine said, smiling.

I found those words heartwarming; indeed, they were kind words for one such as myself. But reality was quite different; if anything, I was the one indebted to Lorraine.

Under normal circumstances, one could not exactly justify turning up at a friend’s home as a member of the walking dead and summarily live with them just because one had helped said friend with a fair number of chores. There was also the ever-present problem of potentially dangerous developments, seeing how I had once taken a bite from Lorraine’s shoulder and eaten it. There was no other way of portraying what I did.

.

Under normal circumstances, one would be terrified of me—at the very least, they would be unwilling to remain in close proximity to myself. Even so, Lorraine continued to interact with me normally, treating me as an ordinary person and allowing me to live in her home.

I was truly thankful from the bottom of my heart. And that was why I said:

“That... Is not... True. I am only able... To remain human now...

Because of your help, Lorraine...”

“Rentt... Well, if that is all there is to it, I will happily stay where I am. If the latest developments are to be believed, you are a relative of mine, are you not? Such formalities have no place amongst family and kin.”

To think that Lorraine had quickly utilized my made-up setting to her advantage—an impressive woman, as always.

“Then... I suppose I will... Gladly continue accepting... Your aid, then,” I said, nodding as I did so.

◆◇◆◇◆

After that conversation, Lorraine and I sat down and I gave her my report, detailing my achievements in the labyrinth today, as well as my thoughts on the capabilities of my new Thrall body. The Map of Akasha was discussed, as well, particularly how I felt about actually using it. Unfortunately, our conversation on those topics did not reveal anything new, and I instead moved on to discussing the current progress of my adventuring career.

It was a simple affair, really, with me informing Lorraine of my Orc- slaying quest, what had occurred during the hunt, and my spoils for the day.

The results of the hunt were just as cut-and-dry: next up, I would be accepting a class progression ranking test. To be more precise, I would

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be taking the test to rise to Bronze-class. This development did not surprise me very much, especially considering the fact that most adventurers did not merely start hunting Orcs successfully from the get-go after immediately signing up with the guild. The fact that I had returned with spoils from not one, but three Orcs relatively unscathed was perhaps more than enough to convince the guild that my adventurer class should be revised.

But good adventurers were not merely defined by martial prowess: an adequate set of knowledge was required as well, hence the ranking test. Basically, it would be a written exam of sorts, with the topics in question being the guild’s rules and information on monsters, materials, and the like. Within reasonable means for a Bronze-class adventurer, at the very least.

The test was, of course, reasonably difficult. For one such as myself, however, the test was frightfully easy. I could say that I was fully prepared, and would most likely score full marks on said test.

The problem rested with the practical section of the test; this particular section usually differed with each candidate.

Commonly, a Bronze-class quest would be handed out to the adventurer in question to test their mettle, but of course, this was not guaranteed. The nature of the task at hand was completely up to the whims of the guildmaster.

This part of the test was not varied for the sake of variation. It was most likely to prevent cheating and other kinds of undesirable behaviors. With that being said, however, it was common knowledge that some particularly talented individuals would find one way or another around that veil of secrecy. That act in and of itself was commonly taken as a fair indicator of their skills, and they weren’t usually reprimanded too harshly.

In any case, looking into the details of the test would involve too much time and effort, so I instead decided to take the test normally, passing it with my own ability.

I could not help but wonder what trials awaited me tomorrow, and it was with these thoughts in mind that I sat, eagerly anticipating the next dawn.

◆◇◆◇◆

“I have come... To take. The rank advancement test...”

Having arrived at the adventurer’s guild on the dot, I promptly walked right up to Sheila, announcing my intent without uncertain terms. Sheila, for her part, understood what I was here for immediately.

“Ah, yes, Mister Rentt. You’re right on time! I am most grateful,” she said, a smile on her face.

It was perhaps strange that Sheila would be grateful for my timeliness. Considering that many adventurers had a unique perception of time, however, her feelings were not too hard to understand.

For one thing, a fair number of ruffians and the like ended up as adventurers; it was a problem of attitude, really. While one could say that being late was not a big deal, small details like that easily distinguished a professional from a run-of-the-mill adventurer. Tardy adventurers would eventually find their bad habits catching up with them, usually in the form of a formal penalty from the guild, no less.

In addition, adventurers often had to deal with human clients as they climbed their way up the ranks, since adventuring wasn’t all about beating up monsters, after all. As such, having a large number of tardy adventurers milling around was not good for the general reputation and public opinion of adventurers in general, hence the guild’s efforts at cultivating some semblance of punctuality in its members. In fact, showing up punctually for the test was part of the test in and of itself.

But with that said, tardiness was not defined by a few late minutes

or seconds, as such precise timekeeping instruments were not readily available to the masses, and were commonly owned by royalty or rich merchants and the like. I could possibly go out on a limb and say that top-class adventurers kept a timepiece on their being, but on that I was not certain.

In any case, the candidate in question would basically lose points for showing up overwhelmingly late to the test. Due to me already knowing this fact, I had no qualms about showing up on time.

Although Lorraine’s perceptions of time were painted in somewhat broad strokes, she did own a personally-crafted timepiece of sorts, if only so she would not be late for her own appointments.

While clocks and the like were installed in public spaces for general use by townsfolk, I was able to tell the time from the comfort of Lorraine’s abode, largely due to Lorraine’s tinkering habits.

.

“Of... Course. Is the... Written test... First?”

“Yes, that is indeed the case. However... Are you sure of this? There are opportunities to take the test tomorrow, or the day after. You certainly don’t have to take it today. Have you considered taking some time off and studying for the test, at least? I would advise you to do that much...”

I understood Sheila’s concerns; she had merely informed me of my right to take the test the day before, and was probably not expecting me to show up for it the very next day. Perhaps there was some merit in that, as it was indeed uncommon for one to apply to take the test during the next available time immediately after being informed of the right to take it.

To begin with, more than half the questions that were commonly featured in the written test would be unanswerable by most Iron-class adventurers. In turn, most of these adventurers would take weeks, or sometimes even months off to study and gain the required knowledge to take the written part of the test.

In my case, I had proven myself to be worthy of taking this test immediately after registering. So naturally, the guild staff wouldn’t have had the time to warn me of the knowledge required for the test.

But I had taken the test previously in life, so while the test now might not be identical, I had firmly memorized the general types of questions and topics that awaited me: guild rules; monster information; material information; the general knowledge expected of a Bronze-class adventurer... I had more than enough time to ready myself for this test.

In addition, the tests were not held daily, instead held usually on a monthly basis. If I were to stagnate and continue drifting about as an Iron-class adventurer, I would never fulfill my dreams. This was why I had to act when the opportunity presented itself.

With those thoughts in mind, I offered Sheila my response: “There is no... Problem. Where should I... Go?”

If memory served, the test was held on the second floor of the guild, in a meeting room of sorts. Even if I had known the answer to my question, I had to ask either way.

“It will be held in the meeting room, on the second floor. This way, if you would...” Sheila said, stepping away from her counter to guide me to the relevant location.

Upon entering the room, the eyes of a handful Iron-class adventurers glanced at me, before immediately shifting back to various papers in their hands. Each paper looked to be filled to the brim with various notes and handwriting. Some of the adventurers mumbled under their breath as they did so, as if reciting ancient spells.

Notes, perhaps, written to aid in their test-taking efforts. The guild did loan these out to test candidates as the day drew near, but with the scope of questions having been relatively broad, the relevant information and knowledge could be squeezed onto one piece of paper as long as a smaller writing style was used.

This knowledge, of course, expanded proportionately to the rank one aspired to: a booklet for the Silver-class; a book for the Gold-class; an encyclopedia for classes beyond; so on and so forth.

Unfortunately, the candidates were unable to use said papers during the test, but perhaps they should consider it a blessing that the guild would loan them such resources in the first place. There was, however, a penalty to pay should they lose it, with the piece of paper in question costing one silver coin; an affordable price for even Iron-class adventurers. After all, if one dedicated at least a week or two’s worth of time to studying for the Bronze-class test, one would naturally obtain enough knowledge to score a passing grade.

Honestly speaking, it wasn’t too much to worry about.

It was worth noting, though, that for the greater half of the adventurers in this room, written tests such as this one would be a first in their lives. This fact perhaps accounted for the tense atmosphere— to think that I was once amongst their number! Any individual who did not take the time to prepare would surely be nervous.

On another note, while I had decided to take the written exam, there were other methods of testing available, such as an oral question-and- answer format. In fact, in kingdoms and countries with a lower literacy rate, that was the more common format of testing.

This was the reason as to why there were only a few adventurers in this room: due to the nature of the oral testing process, it was conducted in a separate area, with higher waiting times as well due to the fact that participants had to be tested individually. And so, those who did not enjoy waiting often took to the written version of the test instead.

After I made myself comfortable at my seat, Sheila, who had left the room after guiding me here, returned with a sheaf of roughly-hewn papers and quill pens in her arms.

“Well, then, let us begin the test. I am under the impression you are all literate and capable of writing, so I will not engage in unnecessary explanations. However...as a reminder, this set of papers contains the questions that candidates must answer. Candidates are to write their answers on this answer sheet, with the provided quill pens. The test will formally end when the sand in the upper chamber of this hourglass runs out. Are there any questions?”

I suppose what Sheila said made sense: all the candidates in attendance could indeed write. Even I had used a quill pen before.

As expected, there were no questions from the gathered adventurers in the room.

“Then I will now hand out the question and answer sheets, as well as the quill pens. I will also be retrieving the test revision sheets loaned to

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you by the guild.

“The question and answer sheets are one-sided only, and will be placed face-down on your tables. Please only turn them around when I instruct you to.”

Saying so, Sheila began making her rounds, distributing the appropriate pens and papers as she did so.

A strange aura of muted tension filled the air. For me, it was a nostalgic feeling. I did not have much time to reminisce, however. Sheila was already done with her rounds, and she now stood at the front of the room.

With a deft motion, Sheila turned a large hourglass over, setting it back down gently on her desk.

“...You may begin.” And so the test began.

◆◇◆◇◆

As expected, the test progressed smoothly, ending on a relatively inconsequential note. It was a given by this point, perhaps—after all, I had taken this test once before in life.

With that being said, however, the questions themselves were different, but the relevant area of knowledge largely stayed the same. It would have been quite strange if I did poorly.

The other candidates in the room, while looking uneasy, would probably pass the test without too many issues, as well. This was plain to see from the fact that they could read and write. They were clearly blessed with a fair amount of education in their lives.

In turn, it would not be too difficult to memorize the required facts for this test, given the narrow scope of tested knowledge. Empirical evidence to bhactktupp smy:/o/bmservpati4onds diirdeexcistt:sit .wcasopumblic knowledge

that the oral test had a much lower pass rate than the written one.

My literacy was gifted to me by my village elder and herbalist, as they were the ones who taught me how to read and write. My motivations back then were far simpler, as to me, a proper adventurer should at the very least be literate. This, too, contributed to my unchanging dream, that of becoming a Mithril-class adventurer.

We did not wait very long for our results to be published. The test papers were sent back after a short while, perhaps due to the smaller pool of candidates. If one’s name was read, one would be among those who passed. I, of course...

“Rentt. Mister Rentt Vivie,” Sheila continued as I stood, walking up to her desk in the front of the room. “...You have passed the written test. Well, actually, you received full marks! While it’s not exactly a difficult test, a result like this is somewhat rare. You’re something else, Mister Rentt.”

I suppose my performance was worthy of praise. Sheila’s choice of words suggested that other candidates had received full marks from time to time, too. Personally, I would not consider it such a great achievement.

Thinking back upon it, I realized that I had not scored full marks when I first took the test. I lacked experience, forgot the answers to some questions, and made some stupid mistakes. I kept all that to myself, of course, as one could not exactly tell the guild’s administrative staff that one had taken the test before.

“...I see. It is... Great. That I passed. What should I do... Next?” That was my relatively subdued answer as I asked Sheila about the next step; mainly, the practical, hands-on segment of the test.

◆◇◆◇◆

“...Next up is the practical assessment, where you will cooperate with some of your fellow candidates and reach a certain point in the

.

labyrinth. This will still be a competition of sorts, however, and the first group of candidates to reach the designated point wins.”

I nodded in response to Sheila’s words. I vaguely remembered collecting medicinal herbs and the like for my first practical assessment all those years ago. While the assignment sounded relatively simple in passing, I ended up having to defeat a fair number of monsters while making my way to the area where the herb grew.

The entire time I took great pains to not get lost in the dense undergrowth of the forest I had ventured into. All in all, it was mostly an unpleasant experience, to say the least.

Come to think of it, quite a few candidates had gotten lost, and had to eventually be retrieved by guild staff. Unfortunately, it goes without saying that those poor saps failed their practical assessments.

Compared to that, the goal for this assessment seemed easy enough.

Monsters would definitely be present in the labyrinth, and one could easily reach the designated spot quickly if one just purchased a map and took the shortest path...

At least, that would be what an Iron-class adventurer taking the test for the first time would think. Judging from my past experiences with the guild’s tests and trials, it was plain to see that they were up to no good—behind the cover of a simple request surely lay traps and other insidious devices.

“I... See. Are there... Any. Restrictions?”

Perhaps it would be the prohibition of maps, or other little details of a similar nature. But Sheila just smiled, somewhat faintly.

“Mm... Not really, no. Everything is permitted.”

Something was off about the way Sheila delivered her answer. The guild had definitely planned something. Of this, I was certain. If I were to go out of my way to avoid this, it would be used against me, or worse still, disqualify me outright.

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“I... Understand. So... Where is the... Adventurer I am cooperating...

With?”

“Hmm... Right, it would be these candidates here. Candidates Raiz, Laura!”

At Sheila’s call, two silhouettes separated themselves from the throngs of adventurers on the first floor of the guild. Slowly, they made their way toward us: a young boy and girl. They were strangely familiar; familiar faces indeed...

It did not take me long to remember that they were the pair who were locked in combat with Goblins and Slimes in the Labyrinth of the New Moon.

That very same swordsman-cleric pair.

I had assumed they were Iron- or Bronze-class when I first laid eyes on them, and I suppose I was not too far off the mark. The fact that they were here, however, meant that they were Iron-class adventurers, much like myself.

“If I may introduce you to Raiz Dunner and Laura Satii. And this here...is Mister Rentt Vivie,” Sheila said, introducing us to one another.

Raiz and Laura. Hmm...

Raiz was a short youth, with a head of short-cropped red hair and an energetic gaze. Laura, on the other hand, was a seemingly quiet girl with tresses of soft, faded brown.

The two adventurers lowered their heads at me as their names were called, and I did the same. It would seem like they had come to the table with the most basic of manners. That gesture brought me some degree of relief. There were, after all, many ruffians and the like who ended up as adventurers. Among them were a few who had strange notions about never so much as bowing to their fellows, all in a

misguided show of strength. In fact, a cursory look around the room revealed more than enough of those fools. Yes, they were everywhere.

Each team had a member of the guild’s staff assigned to them, presumably to explain the relevant procedures, but also to monitor each group for unsuitable behaviors.

...It did not take much to see that those certain individuals would fail the test since they were, after all, fools who could not even be half- decent at greeting their peers. I, however, kept my observations and opinions to myself.

More importantly, I had to find out more about my teammates; this much was necessary, given that we would soon be headed off into a labyrinth together. Failure to share adequate information would lead to deaths, and wherever possible, I would like to avoid dying a second time.

“I am... A swordsman. I can only use... Enhancing magic... And the Shield... Spell. Nothing... Else.”

Raiz and Laura were quick to respond to my simple introduction. “I’m a swordsman, too. I reinforce my body and stamina with spirit

in battle. And Laura here...”

“I’m a mage... But I can use healing magic, too. I will work hard from the back lines. I hope we get along and work well together, Mister Vivie.”

Hence concluded our simple exchange of pleasantries, if one could call it that.

.

Sheila continued her explanation:

“Well, then. I suppose you are all acquainted, so I will now proceed to explain the details of the test.”

Her words were enough to draw our undivided attention, for if one ignored something as crucial as the guild’s instructions, one’s life would easily be forfeit. I strained my ears, listening closely.

“As I have mentioned previously, the objective of this assessment is to reach a designated point in the labyrinth. To be precise, it will be this point, right here on the map. Is this understood?”

Saying so, Sheila pointed to a single point on the map detailing the Labyrinth of the New Moon.

“The guild will be providing you with this map, so please use it as you see fit. This concludes the explanation. But one note: you may engage in conflict with other adventurers. Otherwise, the first group that reaches this point wins. That is all.”

Raiz and Laura both nodded. I had my suspicions—something had to be afoot. Even so, I remained silent.

“There is a time limit for this assignment, namely until sunset today.

Do keep that in mind as you progress.

“Well, then, I hope the three of you give it your all. I’ll be cheering for you!” Sheila said, smiling innocently.

◆◇◆◇◆

“Well... Should we head off to the New Moon? Maybe by carriage, as usual? Oh...have you been there before, Rentt?”

I nodded at Raiz’s query.

It would sheemttlpikesR:a/iz/mhadpse4endfititroeacct intsa l.ecadoerm’s capacity for

our motley crew. This worked out in my favor, mainly due to the fact that I did not have much of a grasp on team mechanics. I had, after all, been adventuring on my own this whole time, so I suppose it was fine to leave things to Raiz. If there was a problem, I would raise it; otherwise, I fully intended on staying as silent as possible.

With regards to Raiz’s preferred mode of transport... Well, I suppose there was no problem with it.

Probably.

As it turned out, our horse carriage made it safely to the entrance of the New Moon. There was always the possibility of the carriage veering off-course and heading somewhere else. For my part, I stared at the coachman, and was rewarded with what seemed to be a bitter smile.

There was no telling what could happen on occasions like this, and I certainly would not be smiling if I really did end up somewhere else instead of my intended location.

The coachman’s bitter smile itself was a good indicator of this—one of the guild’s traps, perhaps. Raiz and Laura, on the other hand, did not seem to suspect a thing. After all, who would suspect a trap in such a simple, everyday activity?

This, however, was exactly the sort of tactic that the guild was fond of using, and I, for one, knew this very well.

Upon reaching the entrance of the labyrinth, Raiz and Laura immediately began their preparations, eager to set off. I supposed they weren’t doing anything wrong, but I should probably say something, and so I did.

“...Hey. The two... Of you.” “What’s up, Rentt?” “What is it, Mister Vivie?”

I didn’t have too much trouble attracting their attention, at least. “...We should... Buy new maps.”

The two looked surprised at my words, before eventually pulling out the supplied map from their packs.

“Well, we have a map right here, Rentt.” “That’s right... Can’t we simply use this one?”

I shook my head. “...This... Map. Was drawn... Almost 15 years...

Ago. There is no... Guarantee. That this map is... Still accurate, now.”

“Eh...? Ah! You’re right! Why’d they write something this important in such tiny letters? It’s even in this tiny corner, too!” Raiz said as he finally made out the fine print on the corner of the map.

Labyrinths weren’t static structures. It was all too common for the chambers and interior structures of a labyrinth to collapse and reshape themselves, eventually forming new roads into the unknown.

With that being said, however, labyrinths typically changed their interior structure once every ten to twenty years. Given that this map was 15 years old, I could not help but have my doubts about its accuracy. It would be best for us to purchase the newest edition of the New Moon’s map.

I, of course, had the Map of Akasha, so other maps mattered little to me. The problem in this case, however, was the fact that the designated location was only on the guild-provided map.

Unfortunately for me, a route to the designated location was not charted on the Map of Akasha—a road yet to be traveled, perhaps. Hence my suggestion, for all the reasons above, that we were better off purchasing a new map altogether.

“Who should we buy it from, though...?” Raiz questioned, craning his head as he took a good look around.

Map merchants were a common sight in the streets of Maalt, and they were, of course, present in large numbers near the entrance of the New Moon. The problem, in this case, was not one of quantity, but of trust: who should one believe? Anyone could scribble some lines on a canvas and call it a map.

With that in mind, I took a good look around myself, and almost immediately settled on a single peddler in the distance.

“...We will buy... Our map. From that... Person.”

Looking at the individual I had pointed out, my teammates both raised their eyebrows.

“...He looks super suspicious, you know?” “Yes, he does... Looks a little out of the ordinary...” was what they had to say.

I could not fault them, however. The person I had pointed to was a man dressed in black robes, seemingly emanating a strange, unreadable aura. Upon closer inspection, the corner of the man’s lips curled up in a sort of twisted half-smile; it almost seemed like he would attempt to sell us dangerous herbs.

...Perhaps I should not be commenting on the appearances of robed individuals. What made me so different from that other robed man?

My teammates did not seem to distrust me as much...

In any case, I made a beeline for the robed man. The two of them, still relatively unconvinced, quickly followed after me, having apparently set their doubts aside for the time being.

◆◇◆◇◆

“...Oh? What is this? Do you have business with me?” a small, hunched man in black robes said, his beady eyes immediately coming to rest upon me as I approached. He seemed amused; genuinely amused, if I may say so.

Around me were other Iron-class adventurers, all purchasing maps from one merchant or another, having noticed the discrepancy within their guild-provided maps. With that being said, the very fact that the only person who had approached this robed man was none other than myself was a reasonable indicator of his suspicious appearance.

Map merchants were a breed of their own. Yes, they were mainly present in droves on the streets of Maalt, but at labyrinth entrances, as well. Many of them hawked their wares, some claiming to have maps with intricate notes and otherwise hard-to-obtain information. The robed man before me, however, was nothing like the rest. In fact, he simply stood there, occasionally swaying like a stick in the wind.

Needless to say, he stood out, as one would expect him to. Anyone who took so much as a glance at him wouldn’t think he sold maps.

“...Sell me. A map.”

The man seemed somewhat impressed at my sudden declaration. “Hmm...? How very perceptive of you, to know that I sell maps.

Look at your peers! No other adventurer has approached me.”

“I do not... Care about your... Observations. Please sell... Me a map.”

But of course I had to be curt, for I knew the quirks of this man far too well. If he were to speak to someone he did not know, he would branch off in various pointless segues, before finally disappearing like smoke, not leaving a single trace.

Perhaps this behavior would come across as strange from a supposed map merchant. While many theories had been proposed, I suppose the man simply was not in the business of selling maps to people he did not know. There were, after all, adventurers who would not hesitate to use violence to achieve their means. With that in mind, the man’s behavior was perhaps not too difficult to understand.

“...Heh heh... So, you want a map? Here you go... And that will be two silver coins.”

.

Saying so, the man withdrew what appeared to be a scroll made of roughly-hewn paper from the depths of his robes. I, however, was having none of that.

“...I only want a map... Of the first floor. Also... That is far... Too expensive for a map. Let us... Be fair. I will pay... five bronze coins. A fair... Price, no?”

He seemed surprised at my interjection, but immediately withdrew another scroll from his robes, offering it to me.

“...Ho. So, you’ll probably make the cut after all... You two little ones there. You’ll listen to this man if you know what’s good for you...

“Heh. Five bronze coins it is, then.”

And so it came to be that I handed the man my coins with one hand, taking the map with my other. Almost immediately, the robed man disappeared before our very eyes, almost as if he was never there in the first place.

Raiz and Laura, who had been standing wide-eyed behind me all this time, finally decided to give their opinions on the matter.

“Hey, Rentt... Is this map really gonna be okay?” “I’ve never seen someone as strange as that before...”

I could hardly blame them for having their doubts, but in any case, I held out our newly-purchased map, displaying its details to my companions.

“...We should... Compare this map... With the one the guild... Gave us.”

The two were quick to cooperate, at the very least. Swiftly retrieving their maps from their bags, we began comparing the two scrolls in detail. The differences were remarkable, to say the least.

.

“...So, this passageway is caved in? And...this path here has just...changed? Labyrinths can do that?”

“Umm... The cloaked man seems to have written down the locations of many traps and the like... Oh. It would be bad if we took the shortest path to our marked location; it’s a dead end now.”

Such was the continued stream of muttering and relief from the two. Eventually, they both looked up from the scrolls, staring at me instead.

“You’re pretty good, Rentt! If we didn’t have you with us, we’d have surely run in with that old map and gotten lost!”

“Yes! With this map, the test will certainly go smoothly!” They seemed convinced of my capabilities, if nothing else.

While I did not say it out loud for fear of dampening Laura’s spirits, obtaining a map was only the first step; this alone was not enough to pass the guild’s trials. We had safely sidestepped the first of many gates that barred us from our goal. Perhaps that would be a more accurate image of our situation.

“...The guild is... Known for pulling... Tricks like this. There is no knowing... What is in the labyrinth, as well. Let us advance...

Carefully.”

The two nodded eagerly at my words. It seemed that I had been blessed with relatively honest and straightforward teammates.

I could not help worrying about their future, however; a little bit of doubt was a healthy thing to have. While I meant them no ill will, the same could not be said about their future encounters.

“HAAAAA!!”

◆◇◆◇◆

With a louhd sthtoputsan:d//amquipck4swdingiroef hcis tbslad.ec, Roaimz made short

work of the Skeleton before him. While it was by no means a forceful swing, it was accurate, cleanly cleaving into and shattering the Skeleton’s skull. The Skeleton, for its part, did not seem very satisfied at this, and instead continued to amble on, headless.

Jumping out from behind Raiz, I gave my own sword a good swing, bringing its edge through the Skeleton’s remaining bones, making it rain bone fragments.

“...Huff... Puff...”

Raiz seemed somewhat out of breath after our engagement. This was, of course, not the first Skeleton to bar our advance, as we had felled countless of its brethren on our way here.

Our formation was a simple one: Raiz was the vanguard, and Laura was the rear. I stood between them, protecting Laura while assisting Raiz with what attacks I could.

The two of them, however, seemed close to their limits. While I could have progressed myself without as much difficulty, that was not the point here: the goal of this test was to clear the guild’s trials as a team.

“...Raiz. Are you... All right?”

“Don’t...worry. I mean...I probably shouldn’t say that. It’s getting to me, yeah... For starters, did this part of the New Moon always have this many monsters?!”

Raiz’s observations had merit, as there were indeed more monsters in this area than usual. Although the Labyrinth was inhabited by a fair number of monsters, the concentration of said monsters in this area was quite unnatural.

If I had to guess, this was more of the guild’s efforts—guild staff must have gone through the trouble of leading monsters to this location. Demonstrating one’s combat prowess and stamina was, after

.

all, part of the requirements for becoming a Bronze-class adventurer.

“While the guild... Cannot control... The monsters of the labyrinth, they can... Use fragrances or... People. To lead, concentrate monsters... Into a certain location. That is probably... The reason.”

Laura was the first to respond.

“Fragrance...? Ah, yes. Fragrances... Incenses and such, to lead monsters to a specific location...”

“The guild doing it... Is part of the test... Perhaps. But there are...

Also people. Who use these methods... To entrap their fellow candidates. We should... Be careful.”

Laura’s previously innocent and cheerful expression turned dark upon hearing my words of caution.

“There are people who do that sort of thing...?” Surprise and sadness tinted her voice.

I suppose she had not wanted to believe that such individuals existed—oh, but they did indeed exist. Death was a force of nature in the labyrinths, after all. Even if an individual had lured or entrapped another to his or her death, the discussion would end then and there as long as they were not caught. There was also the option of letting the labyrinth’s monsters do the job. That way, one did not have to dirty their own hands.

In fact, the use of fragrances to lure monsters to another location was one of those methods, and individuals who specialized in this ability did exist. These events occasionally occurred on a much larger scale, with villages and towns assaulted and summarily wiped off the map; a tragedy of national proportions, indeed. To think that such events were possible if one hired the right individuals...

If memory served, the fragrances in question were originally

however, someone had seen fit to pervert its purpose. It was human malice at its purest. But of course, evil existed any and everywhere.

“...Stop,” I said to my two companions just as we were about to turn a corner.

The two of them looked to me, confused. In response, I whispered softly:

“There is... An enemy. There, waiting to... Ambush us.”

With adequately surprised expressions, the two of them whispered back to me.

“...But Rentt...I don’t sense any monsters!”

“That’s right... And monsters on this floor shouldn’t have the intelligence required to do such a thing...”

Laura and Raiz both raised fair points. Skeletons, Goblins, Slimes— all these monsters were only present in their weakest forms on the first level of the New Moon. No monster on this floor would even be capable of such tactics.

In the most dramatic case, a monster would reappear right before a passing adventurer, but that was all there was to it. I, however, warned my companions of a different danger.

“...The ambusher... Is not a monster. They are... Human.”

“H-Human...?!”

◆◇◆◇◆

“Why would a human lie in wait for us? Do they want something from us?”

“There is the... Possibility of that. Yes. But this is... Something else...

Altogether. If they really... Needed the two of you for some reason... They would not. Hide their presence... Like that.”

It was a simple observation: if they really did have something to ask of us, they would not be lying in wait in some corner; they would instead approach us normally, as anyone else would.

Among the rules of the labyrinth, there was one in particular that governed monsters and kills should adventurers cross paths, namely that they should not hunt monsters engaged by others without permission. There were, however, no rules on approaching or speaking with fellow adventurers. The very fact they were hidden meant that what they were about to do could only be done if they were hidden—in other words, it was unmistakably an ambush.

My two companions seemed to have reached the same conclusion. “Hey... You don’t mean...”

“You... You really think...?!”

I suppose we had all come to the same image, and my words of caution had served their purpose. If I had to guess, the two probably assumed that another adventurer was lying in wait to ambush them, but this was not always the case.

There was no denying the fact that there could be other unknown factors at play. It would be foolish to assume that the individual lying in wait for us was not hostile, but I suppose it would be equally unbecoming of us to strike first.

“...Should we... Find out?” I said, my voice still a soft, raspy whisper. My two companions promptly nodded.

“How...are we gonna do that?”

My response was simple: “We will... Advance in combat formation. You two... Get ready for anything. I will... Go up to the corner myself.”

Saying so, I put one foot forward. My definition of “finding out” was relatively simple: I would approach the place where the ambusher laid in wait, and see if they struck out at me.

I could not exactly leave this role to Raiz or Laura; although they were skilled adventurers in their own right, they did not have enough experience, and they might hesitate when fighting human opponents.

The biggest and most significant reason, however, was that the two of them would die if they were wounded in the ambush. This was, of course, no joke. Taking all factors into consideration, I would probably not die very easily even if I was wounded.

I was, after all, an Undead.

Thralls in particular were known to not die even if their heads were chopped off; they had a strange tendency to cling on to life. In my case, I suppose I would be unable to move if my head was chopped off, but at the very least, I wouldn’t stop moving just because I was stabbed in the chest. Me being a member of the walking dead in this instance played out to my advantage. This was why I volunteered.

The two of them reached out in protest, attempting to stop me, but I was already out of their reach, walking rapidly toward the corner of the hallway. Upon seeing that, the two gave up on trying to stop me, instead readying their weapons for combat.

A wise choice.

Although they could have cried out or raised their voices in protest, they instead chose to respond in a manner adequate to the situation at hand.

That was an important trait for adventurers to have—all things

at the heels of carelessness and a single moment of gullibility.

—Just like how it came for me.

I suppose that would be a bad joke.

With those thoughts in mind, I soon reached the corner in question

—

“WRAAAAAAAAAHHH!!”

With a loud shout and large movements, an adventurer-like man

sprung at me from the side, having hurled himself straight at me. In his hands was a sword, already raised well above his head. The blade was probably meant for me, as his actions spoke for themselves.

Behind him was a man with a bow, and another who looked somewhat like a mage.

As I thought.

A smile flitted across my lips as I narrowed my eyes. My predictions had been spot-on.

Swiftly drawing my sword, I parried the incoming adventurer, deflecting his blade harmlessly.

“...The two of you. Be... Careful,” I said, addressing my companions behind me.

My warnings were, perhaps, not needed after all, for Raiz and Laura’s expressions were now adequately hardened. They were the very images of adventurers; there were no longer any traces of the doubt and apprehension that had been on their faces mere moments ago.

Their gazes were steeled. To them, all that mattered was defeating

With that in mind, I, too, steeled myself for combat.

Signaling to Raiz with a nod, I left the enemy swordsman to him, instead rushing toward the archer and mage in the distance. In a well- practiced notion, I slammed my foot down upon the ground. Now blessed with several times the physical ability I had in life, I soon found myself right before the enemy archer.

“...Wha—”

All he could do was stare at my mask as I appeared before him in a flash, an expression of shock and disbelief on his face.

The encounter, however, did not end there. In a defiant display, the archer aimed his previously nocked arrow, intending to shoot it into me at point blank range. I suppose he had some degree of skill. But I simply sliced through his bowstring with a sharp turn of my wrist before he had the chance to release his shot. Steadying myself quickly, I slammed the flat side of my sword into the archer’s chest, decommissioning him. He ended up sprawled out on the ground.

The mage, apparently in the middle of a spell, was not prepared for my assault. I repeated what I had done with the archer, and soon, he, too, was incapacitated.

Only one enemy remained.

The sight of Raiz and Laura locked in combat with the enemy swordsman greeted me as I turned around. He was probably the leader, or at least looked the most skilled among his number. A quick inspection of their skills led me to believe as such.

Raiz and Laura, on the other hand, were by no means weak. The fact that they weren’t overwhelmed by the man was a testament to their skill. While the thought of assisting them crossed my mind, this was a valuable experience for them: their first fight against a living, breathing human.

Deciding that this experience was crucial to their growth, I threw out all notions of assisting them, instead silently observing their battle. In the meantime, I made a note to tie up the fallen enemy adventurers, laying them flat on the ground. With this, I no longer had to worry about them waking up and continuing their attack.

Of course, leaving them in such a state raised some other questions... But I suppose they would find their way out of their own mess.

At least, that was what I thought as I stared into the darkness of the labyrinth. There was a presence somewhere out there, silently observing this entire situation.

A short while later, Raiz finally scored a hit, deflecting his opponent’s blade with a smooth riposte. Seizing his chance, Raiz lowered his stance, rushing the man’s chest with a shoulder tackle. The enemy swordsman, unable to defend against Raiz’s momentum, promptly lost his balance.

Laura, not to be outdone, sent a series of earthen projectiles at their foe. Although it would seem like her projectiles would hit Raiz in the back, this was all part of a well-choreographed dance, with Raiz rolling out of the way at the very last second. To the swordsman, it probably seemed like hurtling pieces of stone and earth had simply appeared out of nowhere, with a few pieces cleanly catching him in the gut.

And that, if I may say, was probably the last thing he saw.

◆◇◆◇◆

“You... Did it,” I said to the two, after they had defeated their foe. “Yeah... Somehow.”

“I was so surprised... But why would other adventurers target us...?” Laura asked, still somewhat shaken.

In response, I offered an explanation.

“You were... At the guild, yes? It would be a... Competition. The team that reaches the... Goal first, wins.”

There were many ways of interpreting that statement: on the surface, it would seem like simply reaching the goal first allowed for a team to achieve victory. However, that would also mean the teams that came after the first would lose.

In turn, it would not be above the thoughts of certain individuals to assume that reducing the number of participating teams would result in higher chances of victory. At least, that would be how certain candidates would think.

“So...basically, these people were candidates...and they were trying to disqualify us?”

“Unfortunately... So.”

Unknown to Laura and Raiz, individuals like these were common during every test. The guild, for its part, ensured that this remained true for each test with their strangely-worded conditions.

In fact, it was fair to say that the guild’s terms and conditions for rank progression tests were engineered to goad delinquents on, if only because they would be educated and put in their place by more capable adventurers afterward.

I supposed I would leave those points for the end of the test; for now, I would let these two be.

“...In any case. There will be... More. Incidents like this in... The future. Let us advance... Carefully. Do not... Hesitate.”

The two nodded deeply at my words before once again setting off for the darkness of the labyrinth.

Seeing thaht tthteypwser:e/s/omme pdis4tadnceiraeheacdt, Iss.tocppoedmwhere I stood,

turning around to address the presence I had felt just now. “...You should... Take them back, quickly.”

With that, I felt some shadows behind me shift. Satisfied, I ran after the two, soon catching up with them.

◆◇◆◇◆

After Rentt and his group distanced themselves from the corner of the hallway, a figure emerged from the shadows. Dressed in black trappings, it seemed to fade into existence from the darkness of the labyrinth itself, looking in the direction that Rentt and his group had departed in.

“That one... He noticed, huh? That’s something, isn’t it? Isn’t he a new adventurer...?” the figure muttered, somewhat softly. From the sound of their voice, it was safe to assume the figure was a man.

Saying so, the man in black walked toward the three fallen adventurers, and was soon addressed by the fallen swordsman.

“You can mumble about your observations later. Get these ropes off me first...”

“Ah, right. Sorry about that.

“But, yes, even though it is your job, you deal with quite a lot, don’t you?” the man in black said, almost as if he were chiding the fallen swordsman.

“Don’t we all? Well, he noticed you, though,” the swordsman said, swinging back with a jibe of his own.

The man in black chuckled, looking at the swordsman with a condescending expression.

“You speak as if you three were not found out yourselves. That robed fellowhprtotbpabsly :k/n/ewm, ypou4kndowi?reThce ftasct .thcatothme three of you

were hired by the guild, I mean. The other two... Well, I don’t know about them.”

At that, the swordsman’s eyes opened wide. “Huh...? Are you serious...? Just who is that guy?”

The man in black tilted his head in response, his expression one of contemplation.

“...Who knows? I do have a slight inkling...an image, I suppose.

Perhaps it is as she said...” “Huh?”

“Oh, no, don’t worry about it. Just something I was thinking about. “Well, then, shall we retreat? Aren’t we down a few teams?”

“Yeah, two teams. To think we were gonna go easy on them... The young ones recently, they’re really something else.

“That guy just now... Think he’ll make the cut?”

With that, the group walked off into the distance, all the while continuing their conversations.

◆◇◆◇◆

“...In the end... It was unexpectedly... Smooth. The Journey.”

After that attack, we continued defeating monsters as we journeyed on, eventually reaching the area before the designated point without incident.

Even if this was only the first floor, this was the wide and maneuverable Labyrinth of the New Moon. There was a sense of achievement for having come this far, despite the fact that we were only one floor deep.

What stood before us, however, was not a cheer of congratulations or a bouquet of flowers—instead, it was a cold, heavy stone door.

“This door is...that sort of door, isn’t it?” Laura asked, looking in my direction apprehensively.

“Ah... Have you not... Been through this sort... Of door before?” “Not yet.” Raiz was quick to respond to my question. “It would have

been pretty tough, considering it’s only the two of us...”

That, in and of itself, was a wise choice.

The doors they had not been through before, doors that guarded the secrets and eventual progression of an individual through a labyrinth... Those doors were none other than...

“A boss... Room. I have heard... That there were quite a few... On the first floor. This must be... One of them.”

Indeed, this was none other than the boss’s chamber. The layout of boss rooms in particular differed among labyrinths, with some only having one per floor, and others having multiple rooms. Sometimes one would have to pass through these rooms to descend to the lower floors, and sometimes they could be avoided to no detriment whatsoever.

This time, however, the doors that stood before us did not lead to the lower floors. Instead, it was just one of the many on the first floor of the New Moon.

Yet the area that we were headed for was through these very doors.

There was no other way to get to the designated spot, so our course was set. The guild’s intent was plain for all to see: to pass this test, one had to pass through this room, defeat the monster within, and head on to the goal.

It was an ornate door, very different from the various doors we had

passed through up until this point. The guild, in choosing such a task, was clearly stating that those without the appropriate strength could not become adventurers. Although the statement might seem condescending, it was very much true. As such, even if the test’s implications were in bad taste, one couldn’t say very much about it.

“What about you, Rentt? Have you passed through boss room doors before?”

Perhaps he was curious about just how much experience his fellow candidate had. I answered Raiz’s question plainly.

“Yes, a few... Times.”

The room where I had encountered the Giant Skeleton before was exactly one such room. In addition, it was a special type of boss room from which there was no escape until its inhabitant was defeated.

Certainly not a type of room that most adventurers would enjoy coming across.

With that being said, I had close to a decade’s worth of experience under my belt, and as such, I had more than enough experience with boss rooms in general. Raiz, not knowing this, had asked me such a question, all the while not realizing that it was a mistake to do so.

As expected, Raiz’s expression soured upon hearing my response, perhaps feeling that his experience was inadequate. I could not help but ask Raiz a question in return.

“...Are you uncertain...? If so... We could... Bow out.”

There was, of course, always a choice. While I wanted to rise through the ranks quickly and did not want to withdraw, I found myself worried about exposing these youngsters to danger. Although I am in a rush, I was not callous enough to trade their futures for some savings on time. I am, after all, only 25. Surely I have a fair amount of time left...

I paused, wondering a little about how my lifespan had been affected by the fact that I was now undead. There were, of course, no ready answers, and I shelved those thoughts for the time being.

Raiz raised his head at my query.

“I can’t do that, not now. If I run away now...I have this feeling that I’ll never be able to come back...” he said, an audible edge of resolve in his voice.

I suppose Raiz had a point, as adventurers who had their wills broken just once become weak. In some cases, the adventurers did become stronger after steeling themselves once more, but there were also instances where such a thing simply could not happen. This was perhaps why Raiz said what he had, instinctively realizing this somewhere deep in his heart.

From what little I had seen of his character during my time spent with him, I could already tell that turning back was not an option; me asking after him was just a courtesy. If he didn’t want to run and had prepared himself for the trials ahead, then that was all there was to it.

I nodded at Raiz. “I see... Then that... Is enough for me. But... If you are worried. I have... An idea.”

“Eh...?”

Tilting my head back slightly, I directed Raiz’s attention to the hallway that we had just approached from. Turning, Raiz’s jaw dropped—behind us were four adventurers, slowly walking toward the stone-colored doors.

“Those guys...”

“Probably... Other. Adventurers. We just have to... Let them. Go first.”

At my words, Raiz’s eyes opened wide once more. His jaw, of course,

had still not closed.

◆◇◆◇◆

“...Ha? What’s this? Some kids and a masked freak... How interesting,” said one of the adventurers, apparently the leader of the four-man group.

Raiz, reasonably riled by the man’s words, already had a retort ready. I, however, stopped him, answering calmly in his stead.

“We are... Candidates. As well. I can’t say... I appreciate. Your tone of... Voice.”

“...Kuh. You sure sound like a freak, all right. Candidates, too, you say? Here’s the difference, skull face: we’ll be the ones passing this trial, not you. Don’t think for a second that we’re the same... Hoh? One of those kids behind you is pretty cute if you look closely. How about it, girl? You come with us, and you’ll pass the test for sure—eh?”

The man approached Laura, prompting her to quickly hide behind me, not bothering to answer the man’s questions. Visibly offended by her reaction, the man moved to draw his blade. Mine, however, was already at his throat, its edge gleaming in the dim light of the labyrinth’s halls.

“H-Hey now...?! You stop that. Was justa joke! Yeah, a joke...” “Is... That so. I do... Apologize. I have a poor sense... Of humor.” “Y-Yeah... My bad. I won’t pull anything else. So come on, put that

thing away...”

“...Hmph.”

Keeping my eyes trained on the man, I slowly lowered my blade, taking a single step back. The man, for his part, sighed with relief, his shoulders visibly drooping. It seemed that he was more cowardly than I had thoughht htitmptosb:e/. /mp4directs.com

“Well...? Up ahead’s the boss room, isn’t it? Aren’t candidate groups going in as individual teams...?” the man asked, in a calmer voice.

“...No. Please go... Ahead. We are going... To rest for a... Bit. Then we will... Follow.”

“Haah? Didja not get the note about the first team reaching the end winning? You just gonna let us have it?”

“...Sure. As you... Say.”

“Is that right...? Well, we’ll be going ahead, yeah? You guys! Let’s move!” the man shouted, leading his band of adventurers into and beyond the boss room’s doors.

Raiz, having kept quiet all this time, finally raised a query as the four-man group passed beyond the now-open boss room doors.

“...Was that really okay, Rentt?” “What... Do you mean?”

“I mean, letting them go ahead first... Didn’t we get here faster than they did?”

Although this was congruent with the description of the task that the guild had issued, there was, once again, something off with the way it was phrased. For the purposes of ensuring this test’s integrity, however, I decided to keep this fact to myself. As far as I could see, neither Raiz nor Laura had noticed this.

And so I said: “...Think about it... For a while. Try to remember...

What the guild... Staff member. Said.”

It was Laura who reacted first as realization seemed to dawn across her features. It would seem like she already understood, turning to Raiz with the intent of explaining. But I shook my head, signaling to Laura to keep her thoughts to herself.

.

Knowing Raiz’s overly honest and straight character, having him think too much over an issue would prove to be an untimely distraction. This was for his own good, and Laura, seemingly understanding this, smiled as she held her silence.

With that, we walked toward the doors. They were, of course, still open. Them being open was by no means strange since this specific sort of boss room wasn’t the inescapable, self-sealing type that I had found myself trapped in before. In fact, we found ourselves in a good position to spectate the battle within from just outside the entrance.

Seeing this, Raiz nodded, apparently convinced that our course of action was correct.

“...So, Rentt, you’re telling me that if I see this, I’ll not be so worried anymore?”

I offered Raiz a simple nod. “Just... Some reconnaissance. Raiz.”

As soon as I said those words, a large monster appeared before the group of adventurers, and before long, their battle with the boss room’s oversized denizen began.

◆◇◆◇◆

“Well... Then. Let us... Go.” Affirming that the battle within the room had ended, I turned around, addressing my companions.

“Wait, wait, wait! Wait a minute Rentt! Oi! Look... Look at this! That didn’t help at all!” Raiz said as he frantically chased after me.

Turning around, I tilted my head somewhat dramatically, offering a simple response.

“...Hmm. Is... That, really so...?” I questioned, ignoring what we had just bore witness to.

Laura, on the other hand, looked on calmly, sighing as she offered

“...Those guys were weaker than I thought... Not only were they wiped out instantly, they got retrieved, too... Those people just now, the ones in black, they were guild staff members, yes?”

Laura’s assessment was by and large correct. The four-man group that had passed ahead of us did not do very well for themselves in the slightest. Although we had positioned ourselves to observe their strategies and formulate some of our own as we spectated, the four of them had lost before we could even begin our discussion.

Just as we thought we were about to witness a death following a particularly vicious attack from the monster within, two figures, wrapped head to toe in black, jumped in to intervene. Not only did they cleanly dodge the monster’s attacks, but they also made it a point to grab each and every one of the fallen adventurers on the way out. I suppose this was a given, due to the fact that deaths were explicitly not supposed to occur during the course of the test. Actually witnessing guild staff in action, however, was very much a surreal thing.

While many points came to mind if one were to consider the reasons for their failure, the main factor was that of strength, or, to be precise, the lack thereof. One would have to overcome many traps and the like to reach this point. The adventurers in question probably specialized in scouting or information warfare, which meant that they just so happened to be somewhat lacking in combat ability. With that being said, this was something that could be easily remedied with training. It was unfortunate, but at the very least, they did not lose their lives in the encounter.

I could not help but have my doubts about showing this train of events to Raiz, however. Perhaps it did nothing but add on to his worries. Just to be sure, I shifted my glance toward him.

“...You know, Rentt, I feel stupid for worrying. Even if I’m not that strong... I don’t go down that easy, right?”

He held an unexpectedly optimistic outlook. While one could say

case. Raiz and Laura were both considerably skilled for their age, even among the many adventurers present in this trial. In fact, they had more than enough in terms of capability and power to pass the test on their own, and I could safely assume they were already in the upper ranges of their adventurer class. This was why I had kept quiet about the relative strength of the boss in this room, since it would serve the two better to have them notice for themselves.

With their spirits now adequately lifted, I supposed there was no longer a danger of them freezing before the monster in question.

“...Well, then. Should we... Get going? It is... Up. To you.”

Looking at them now, one could hardly tell that the two were worried mere minutes ago.

“Yeah! I won’t lose, not like those guys!” “Yes! Why don’t we tell them about how we passed later!” Raiz and Laura exclaimed, raising their weapons into the air.

◆◇◆◇◆

I must say, though, that things certainly did not go according to plan. Stepping into the boss room, I could not help but feel a little disappointed as I set my eyes upon the monster that awaited us.

If the monster in question had been defeated already, it would take some time for it to reappear. We would, then, be able to pass through this point unhindered. The conditions of the test, after all, were to merely “reach a certain point.”

Although there was indeed a monster in this boss room, and it was true that one could not pass through here without first defeating it, the guild did not prohibit individuals from passing through this room without having personally defeating said monster. Instead, they had kept silent on this point; a loophole that could be utilized by those in the know.

.

Personally, I would have preferred such an outcome, hence me allowing the group before us to pass. To the starry-eyed likes of Raiz and Laura, I suppose this sort of unscrupulous behavior would shake their adventuring spirit to the core. In light of that, I held my peace, not wanting to shatter their ideals.

If the group before us did defeat the monster, I would have simply passed it off as a happy coincidence. In reality, however, nothing went according to plan. I suppose someone somewhere would have an opinion about all this, something along the lines of how one must put in a fair amount of work in one’s life. Maybe there was some merit to it, but for now I shelved my thoughts.

The monster in the middle of the room was a familiar one; familiar, yet rare in rather specific ways.

“...A Slime? No, a...Big Slime...?” Raiz whispered, apparently moved by its majestic girth.

Despite Raiz’s words, his blade was drawn, his stance steady. He was ready for any sudden movements and attacks; Laura was the same.

This particular Slime was perhaps several times bigger than a normal Slime. Adventurers, in turn, simply referred to it as a Grand Slime, an upper-class monster of considerable threat.

Although Big Slimes were often seen milling about casually on the deeper floors of a labyrinth, they sometimes appeared on shallower floors as boss monsters. It was, for its part, adequately intimidating, with its large size striking fear into the hearts of adventurers. A monster of its nature was resistant to physical attacks and even more vulnerable to magic. In addition, its sheer volume was not simply for show; if an adventurer ended up in a disadvantageous position, they could easily be crushed in a second.

Taking into account all these factors, it wasn’t difficult to see why the guild’s attitude toward progression tests was often seen as mean-

spirited.

Would the guild take their own test? ...No, I suppose not.

We slowly crept up on the Slime, all the while observing the quiet vibrations in its large body. The Slime, being what it was, looked lovable enough, but this was without the half-digested remains of prey usually found in Slimes this size. Laura, apparently having similar thoughts as we advanced, began muttering to herself.

.

“I would...like a plush toy that big... Makes you feel that way...looking at it...” A few other words were lost under her breath.

I gave Laura’s mumblings some consideration. Even if one really owned such a toy, finding the adequate space to store it would prove to be quite the challenge. Was she thinking of stuffing the entire toy inside her rented room at the inn?

Finally taking notice as we reached the center of the room as a group, the Grand Slime quivered violently, launching an impossibly huge ball of acid at us in response. A Slime’s signature attack, its Acid Blitz, served to signal the beginning of our trial.

The ball of acid was, by visual approximation, at least ten times bigger than that of a normal Slime’s. If an adventurer were hit by that, burns would be the least of their worries. Unbeknownst to the Slime, we had already witnessed this attack when the four-man group engaged it in combat; it seemed to be a reflex action the Slime performed whenever something got close to it. It didn’t take us long to come up with a countermeasure in our limited discussions, for as long as we dodged away from the acid ball’s trajectory, it would be a relatively harmless attack.

The sheer size of the ball, however, meant that it had to be dodged decisively; hesitation alone could lead to partial impact. On this point, I had to express my thanks to the group that came before us, as it seemed that we did get some degree of useful information from them after all.

Having rolled to the side, Raiz ran forward, bringing his blade down on the Slime unreservedly. Although Slimes were greatly resistant to physical attacks, they were by no means invulnerable. If the core spinning in the middle of their gelatinous bodies was damaged, they would still die. Due to this, Raiz’s attack at least had a healthy dose of intimidation built into it.

was not quite enough to reach it. Such an attack would have worked in the case of a normal Slime, for as long as one’s blade pierced its body and impaled its core, the job would be done. It would be an easy job, at that.

A Slime of this size, however, possessed a higher than usual viscosity than its normal cousins, and was much more resistant to piercing attacks. The Grand Slime’s sheer volume also granted it a solid defense against piercing attacks; a blow that didn’t have enough force behind it would never pierce its core.

Raiz, having failed in his attempt, was promptly sent flying by a hand-like protrusion that stretched out from the Slime’s giant body.

◆◇◆◇◆

And so it came to be that Raiz was repeatedly sent flying by the Grand Slime’s makeshift arm. We all had our roles; if one were to question mine, it was that of being Laura’s shield. More accurately, I was tasked with distracting the Slime as Laura weaved her spells.

Magic was a Slime’s one true weakness, after all. During such an encounter, a frontline warrior like myself would keep the Slime occupied while the party’s mage worked their magic.

While I had intended to perform such a role in the first place, Raiz himself insisted on the role of Slime-harrier during our pre-encounter discussion, volunteering to attack the Slime in order to draw its attention.

I suppose there were many reasons for Raiz’s sudden change of heart. It certainly wasn’t an easy task to do alone. If I had to speculate, Raiz, who was now ashamed of how he behaved when he first set eyes on a larger version of a regular monster, was seeking to redeem himself. Specifically, he was disappointed in his inability to accurately gauge the monster’s strength in relation to his own. In response, he had made up his mind to fight said Slime, with the sole aim of amassing as much combat experience as he could so as to not react the

anything did go wrong, the guild’s staff would surely step in. This was a much better arrangement than potentially risking his life in an unsupervised encounter.

A sound decision.

Though, expecting the guild to step in and assist should anything go wrong would be unbecoming of any adventurer, but one could see that such was not the case for Raiz.

He was stabbing and striking at the Slime desperately. The Slime was, comparatively, much larger and stronger than he was. Raiz, for his part, did what he could to distract the Slime, attempting to strike at its core with every move. He made the most of the situation and chose to do what he was able to do at this point in time.

I could not fault Raiz for the developments that followed, namely the Grand Slime rolling after him in a counterattack after launching him away with its hand-like appendage once more. Raiz just didn’t have enough experience, and the Grand Slime was much stronger than he was—that was all there was to it.

I could not sit by and watch Raiz get swallowed up by the Slime, so I turned around, glancing at Laura. Her eyes told me all I needed to know; I suppose she had the confidence to dodge even if the Slime came her way.

Slamming my foot down onto the ground, I rushed toward Raiz and the Slime, the latter of which was getting dangerously close to my companion.

chamber’s floors.

Slimes looked like a viscous blob from all angles, but I personally considered its “back” to be the direction opposite to the one a Slime was advancing. Catching up to the pair, I promptly drew my blade, carving a horizontal gash in its back. With a wet splotch that was neither liquid nor solid in its quality, a section of the Slime was dislodged in the general direction of my blade, raining down upon the

.

Although I was much stronger than I was in life, I could not feel much of a difference in terms of resistance, Grand Slime or not. Even so, I could not realistically reach the Slime’s core with only a few strikes.

A Grand Slime’s core itself was different from that of its smaller cousins: it possessed a greater torque, spinning at a much faster rate to build up its internal resistance against bladed instruments and other melee attacks. But if one had the adequate precision or force, one would easily be able to pierce said core regardless of its defenses. Both of those options were, however, unavailable to me as I was right now.

All I could do at this point in time was wrest the Grand Slime’s attention away from Raiz and Laura, and it would appear that my attack had done exactly that.

As if responding to the blow, the Slime’s core spun in another direction, causing its entire body to roll toward me instead. As I thought, the concept of direction was relatively fluid when it came to Slimes. Perhaps the core itself was responsible for its general orientation?

I made a mental note to ask this of Lorraine, the resident Great Scholar, after I had returned from this test, all the while retreating from the Slime as it chased after me. I made sure to make off in a direction opposite to that of Raiz and Laura.

With breathtaking speed that one would not have thought possible for a Slime, the gelatinous monster made a beeline for me. More than anyone else, I was aware of the limited space in this room; one would not be able to escape indefinitely. But I had no intention of escaping, as there was no such need.

Having recovered from his previous exertions, Raiz readied his blade once more, rushing toward the now-distracted Slime.

Positioning himself directly opposite of me, Raiz infused his blade with his spirit aura, slicing into the Grand Slime’s wobbling mass.

.

Now being attacked from its front and back simultaneously, the

Grand Slime, as if exasperated, quivered intensely once again. Before long, we were both staring at familiar, hand-like appendages, the Slime having seen fit to generate two at once in response to our blows. They were the very same type of arm that had sent Raiz flying earlier, but the speed of the appendages now was markedly slower, probably from the strain of keeping two such projections up at once.

Raiz, for his part, was now able to dodge the Slime’s arm attacks.

On the other side of the Slime, I hardly had any issues keeping up with the Slime’s flailing arm. Maybe I could even fight this Slime toe- to-toe on my own. I would be unable to land a decisive blow, however, and it would end up being a battle of attrition that would quickly grow tiresome.

I suppose there was merit in honing a particular set of skills, specifically, my ability with attack-type magic. Yet another topic to discuss with Lorraine upon my return.

“I’m ready!”

The exclamation echoed through the room. Laura seemed to be done with her incantation, the very same incantation for a spell she had been weaving from the beginning of this encounter.

Simple spells and the like could often be executed with short chants. To deal with a strong opponent, such as this particular Grand Slime, it went without saying that a more powerful spell was needed. This was why Raiz and I had been buying Laura the time she needed. While I was supposed to have been protecting Laura from the Slime’s attacks, I ended up joining the fray, as well; such was the unpredictable nature of boss battles.

All’s well that ends well; a little too soon to say, I suppose, but as far as I was concerned, the fight was over.

At Laura’s signal, Raiz and I jumped backward, disengaging from the Slime. I wasn’t quite sure if Laura had the luxury of ensuring we

.

were no longer in the blast radius, but before I knew it, she was already standing before the Slime, staff raised. With a deep breath, Laura belted out the final words of her spell.

“GRAND! PROX!!”

With those words, great tongues of fire several times larger than her leapt forth from the tip of Laura’s staff. The spell’s flaming tendrils hurtled toward the Slime at breakneck speeds.

While a Grand Slime would usually constrict and wring itself up to avoid such an attack, this particular one, having been distracted by Raiz and me all this time, did not manage such a maneuver. In the next moment, the Grand Slime found itself engulfed in a sea of flames, having taken the brunt of Laura’s attack head-on.

Although the Slime was hardly wounded by the edges of our blades, it didn’t have a defense mechanism against magic. The impact caused a vast part of its body to melt away, momentarily exposing its core. If left alone in this state, the Slime would soon regenerate, erasing all traces of damage done to itself. Perhaps this was what made Slimes monstrous and intimidating; but then again, it was hardly a threat to us in this state.

Nodding in approval at Raiz, I looked in the direction of the Slime’s exposed core. We both understood what had to be done.

Finishing off a boss monster was seen as a heroic achievement among adventurers. Looking somewhat reluctant to do so, Raiz hesitated, as if doubting his own contributions to the battle. Eventually relenting, he readied his blade, rushing toward the Slime as he thrust the instrument cleanly through its exposed core. In the very next instant, the tension that held the Grand Slime’s body together vanished, causing it to lose its form. The Grand Slime, falling apart, was now nothing more than a puddle of liquid and some gelatinous fragments.

The labyrinth would reclaim its fallen denizen in time. I, however,

.

had other ideas, withdrawing some familiar conical flasks from the depths of my enchanted pouch. Handing one each to both Laura and Raiz, I turned to them, offering an explanation.

“The fluids... Of a clear Slime... Like this one. Are worth... Quite a bit of coin. You two should... Collect some, too.”

They were probably expecting a celebration of sorts, as both Raiz and Laura stared at me with blank expressions, taken aback by my words.

“... Even if we were to... Split it. There would still be a lot... For each of us. We will split... The rewards. And buy ourselves... A good meal.”

The two, now adequately convinced that the lifeless mass before them was worth its weight in gold, quickly got down on their knees, gathering up the Slime’s fluids with my provided flasks in hand. I suppose their naïveté made them lovable in their own way.

◆◇◆◇◆

While we were busy collecting the remains of the fallen Grand Slime, a group of adventurers passed us by. I suppose they had been waiting in the shadows this whole time, intending to pass through the boss room without much effort on their own after another party had defeated the monster within.

A wise choice. They would one day become good adventurers, for there was a certain kind of cunning that adventurers had to possess.

Raiz, however, shot the adventurers a most disagreeable gaze.

Perhaps he wanted to lecture them on the perceived unfairness of this situation and other slights; Laura, on the other hand, simply smiled, tapping Raiz a few times on the shoulder.

Laura, who was much faster on the uptake, had already realized a few of the many unsaid rules of adventuring, and she did not seem all too bothered by a group progressing on the back of our effort. I wasn’t

.

just letting them go ahead of us for no good reason, nor was I doing so out of charity. The test’s rules specified that the first group to reach the designated point would win, but it was still in my interests to allow them to pass ahead.

The reason was simple, and if my approximations were accurate, would soon be demonstrated. The leader of the party who waited, for his part, led his companions out of the room with a smile on his face. It was a smile of satisfaction, of having reached one’s goal after hard work. The others in his party were the same.

As soon as they had taken a step out of the boss room’s doors, however...

Pssht!

With the sound of escaping air, a steady stream of smoke engulfed their party, fogging up the doorway in the distance.

A trap—yet another one of the guild’s machinations.

“...As I... Thought,” I said, standing up. Laura turned to me for answers.

“Did you know this would happen, Rentt?”

“...Yes. Being in front... Of the goal. Is the second most... Dangerous thing. When it comes to... Labyrinth exploration. The first is... Letting your guard... Down.”

“...I suppose that’s right...” Laura nodded at my words.

Raiz, however, stared at the smoke-engulfed adventurers with a puzzled look on his face. That very same smoke was now creeping toward the center of the room, and by extension, us.

“Oh... Laura. Could you... Blow that away... With some wind...

Magic?”

“Yes, of course. That would be the best course of action... Breeze!”

With a single word, a warm, but steady stream of wind flowed forth from the tip of Laura’s staff, dispersing the creeping smoke. Although the spell was not strong enough to attack monsters with, it was an easy spell to control and master. Soon, the gas in question had been ushered into a far corner of the boss room.

While we had safely sidestepped the trap with this gesture, the adventurers in the doorway, who had been caught unawares, were the ones who took the brunt of the smoke. Under normal circumstances, we would have dispelled the smoke immediately, but Laura wasn’t exactly in the best shape. Maybe it was due to our intense battle, or the effects of what small amounts of gas had managed to come our way, but she had trouble even maintaining the light in the staff, regardless of her innate talents with magic.

After a short while, the smoke cleared. “I... See. It was that kind... Of trap.”

“Sleeping gas...or something similar. How frightening... If they were attacked now, it would be over,” Laura said, looking at the fallen adventurers. Each of them was now sound asleep on the floor of the labyrinth’s halls, a view that greeted us in the dissipating smoke.

Laura, for her part, still had not let her guard down. Despite her fatigue, she already had some spells primed to deal with any more potential smoke traps. I, on the other hand, enchanted my body with the Shield spell, keeping an eye out with my blade drawn for any monsters or impending threats.

Raiz, looking at the sleeping adventurers, mumbled to himself. “...If we went ahead, would we have ended up like that, as well...?”

The incident seemed to have instilled some capacity for thought in Raiz. I nodded in response to his query.

“I am... Afraid. So. These... People. Simply came by... At the right time.”

One could argue that this was inhumane; unfair, even. These very same adventurers, however, had no qualms about using us to defeat the boss before progressing. By that virtue, the action of us using them to spring a trap should be forgiven, if not permitted in the first place.

“Ugh, then tell me beforehand...” Raiz grumbled.

“... If you are able... To think. To come to... Conclusions, yourself... Then you have grown into... A better adventurer. Well... In your case, Raiz... You have... Laura. So perhaps that is... Fine.”

Although I did not want Raiz to suddenly lose all his innocence and become a cynic, it was clear that Raiz’s simple nature would one day become an obstacle to their development. Luckily for him, Laura seemed to understand my lessons relatively well. She had already grasped the concept of being suspicious of other individuals, adventurers or no.

I suppose there was always the option of leaving all the thinking to Laura, with Raiz simply fighting on the front lines. At the very least, however, I hoped that Raiz would one day have the capacity to understand the many thoughts that undoubtedly passed through Laura’s mind.

Expressing my views to Raiz, he agreed, somewhat sheepishly. “I guess... Hey, Laura, I’m not all that great with this thinking

business... But if you think I should know about something, tell me,

and I’ll do what I can to think about it myself.”

“Of course. But Raiz...you don’t have to push yourself into thinking too hard. I’ll work hard on your behalf, too.”

Watching over the two, who both had smiles on their faces, I could not help but reminisce about my youth, as well. But I didn’t have a girl

.

my age accompany me on my adventures back then.

Lorraine...?

Possibly... Yes, she did accompany me, but something about that comparison was not quite right. Lorraine and I were both relatively... Maybe pure was the wrong word here. In any case, we were problematic and strange individuals ourselves.

In any case, we still had to complete the rest of our journey. “...Well. We should... Get going soon. I assume that... There are no

more traps. We should still... Advance carefully. Nonetheless.”

The two nodded at my words. Their determination was written across their faces. Laura and Raiz were not keen on failing the trial just steps away from the finish line. Although they looked like any other simple-minded adventurer when we had first set foot into the halls of the New Moon, they now looked more hardened, although not yet seasoned.

A respectable amount of growth in such a short time, if I had to say.

◆◇◆◇◆

“Glad you could make it! You’re all here for the Bronze-class trial, yes? Congratulations! You’re the first party to arrive here,” said the man, apparently a member of the adventurer’s guild.

I observed him, but failed to find any odd points; his expression didn’t seem unnatural, either. Just to be sure, I asked for his guild- issued identification. Verifying it to be the real thing, I sighed, thinking that this was the end of the test. With this, there would be no more traps, and we could finally heave a collective sigh of relief.

Upon seeing my reaction, the staff member laughed. “Haha! Got you good, huh? I guess you’re tired of all this... But yes, this is the designated point.”

.

“So... Are we done? We pass the test?” Raiz asked.

“Well...technically. I won’t say we don’t have anything else up our sleeves, though... Either way, here are the badges that prove you have reached this location. Here’s one for you...you...and you. Three total for the three of you. Hand this to the guild receptionist back in Maalt, and the three of you will be officially promoted to Bronze-class.”

Counting out the badges in question, the staff member handed them out. They were little metal things, no bigger than one’s little finger.

This, too, was probably intentional, seeing as it was an easy object to lose, and we would have to guard it with our lives...or just handle it with great care.

Although the guild had casually mentioned that the first party to reach this point “wins,” it didn’t say anything about passing the test; yet more troublesome wording on their part. The correct interpretation of this was for the safe return of the badges in question to the guild back in Maalt.

Laura, as if remembering Sheila’s words, thought out loud to herself. “...Come to think of it, it was a competition of sorts, so we had to get here before everyone else to win...”

“Ah, yes. Since you are the first ones here, the guild has decided to award you with some promotional items, to recognize your victory over your peers. There’s enough for all of you—here you go.”

Saying so, the staff member offered each of us a healing potion, in addition to a convenient tool pouch made of leather with a sewn-in strap so that it might be attached to one’s waist or thigh. As it happened, the holder was the perfect size for the potion we were just awarded. Potions and tool holders like these were important items for adventurers to have. They were expensive, though, costing several silver coins a piece. Adventurers who were just starting out undoubtedly had to save up for such purchases.

Laura and Raiz were adequately happy, having received such

.

valuable items as prizes. Laura, however, received the items with a somewhat complicated smile on her face.

“As I thought... We do not pass just because we won, right...?” Her voice was barely audible.

“Eh?!” Raiz’s eyes opened wide in realization. He quickly recovered, placing a hand on his chin as he thought about the situation at hand.

“...Ah... The lady at the guild said we win...if we get here...not ‘we pass’... Ugh, what a mean trick...”

It would seem like Raiz had come to terms with his thoughts. Personally, I did not think that the trick in question was too mean-

spirited or difficult. This much was to be expected for a progression

test of this caliber; Bronze-class adventurers were expected to know their way around adventuring. It was with this aim in mind that this test was designed, so that the adequate lessons would be imparted into the participating adventurers.

Many of the traps that had been set could easily be avoided as long as one had given it some thought. I could deduce that more severe and debilitating traps were laid in higher-ranked tests. Those tests were set up to ensure that their participants would fail, and the measures taken were dramatic enough in their own right. Compared to that, the Bronze-class progression test was easy.

In any case, the test in question was an important point in any adventurer’s life. At the end of the day, they were to walk away with a deeper understanding of what would be required in their adventuring careers from here on out.

“I see you have it all figured out! It’s as you say. But, you have all been through a lot to get to this point. Strictly speaking, all of you have done enough to pass. The order in which the parties arrived to this point hardly matters more than turning in a completed request before its due date. That is one of the absolute basics of adventuring. Barring

.

that, everything is permitted. Well... almost everything.”

Basically, if we arrived here at the last second, we still would have qualified. The test had many annoying points, that much I could say, but at its core, it was a simple affair.

Upon hearing those words, Raiz and Laura both sighed, evidently relieved. Having experienced a similar feeling during my time, I couldn’t help but feel a little nostalgic.

With that, the staff member smiled, bidding his goodbyes. “Well, then! Good job so far. You’ve all worked hard. All you have to do now is report your results to the guild back at Maalt. Be careful on your way back.”

None of us present took the staff member’s words at face value. Of course there were traps and the like waiting for us on the return leg of our journey. Having come this far, it would be strange if we didn’t expect that. This was the meaning that we grasped from beyond the staff member’s friendly smile.

“URRAAAAHH!”

◆◇◆◇◆

Furrowing his brow as a loud voice rang out to his side, Raiz reacted, almost instantaneously.

“...I was WAITING for you! TAKE THIS!” With a furious retort of his own, Raiz swung his blade, perfectly knocking out his attacker.

“As expected, there was a trap here as well...” Laura said, an exasperated look on her face.

I couldn’t blame her since we were standing at the entrance of the Labyrinth of the New Moon. Overcoming various other trials and tribulations, we finally made it back to this point.

But immedhiatttelpy asfte:r/w/me hapd s4tedppierdeouct itnsto.tcheodamylight, yet

another one of the guild’s hired goons were on us, and Raiz reacted accordingly. One more of the guild’s traps, of course.

“It doesn’t end until we report our results to the guild, right?” The entire experience proved to be extremely educational to Raiz:

he no longer hesitated, nor bemoaned the realities of his situation. He was quite tired of the guild’s tricks, though; that much was written plainly across his face.

As expected, we encountered many other similar events on our way back to Maalt. Having seen countless traps and survived multiple ambushes up until this point, the smile of the guild’s staff member sealed the deal for Raiz. More than ever, he understood what had to be done, as well as how it would not benefit him to be too trusting of others from here on out.

“...But...have we not reached the end? This is everything...right...?” Laura asked, her voice tinged with uncertainty as we stood at the stagecoach pickup.

If they let their guard down and did not monitored the coachman closely, there was a possibility that they could be ferried elsewhere.

“No way... I have to think about carriages, too...?”

“That means we can’t relax until we get back to Maalt... No, back to the guild’s reception counter...”

They were, as expected, reasonably exasperated. While I understood how they felt, this was precisely what the test was designed to do. To accurately assess the potential of an individual, they would have to overcome many, many trials.

With that being said, I didn’t think the guild had any more traps and ambushes lying in wait. Having come this far, the chances of us failing were close to zero.

But of course...that would be what the guild wanted one to think. I resolved to not let my guard down.

“...If... You remained alert. And careful... The two of you now...

Would probably be... All right. Let’s... Go.”

The two responded to my words with surprised expressions; apparently, they didn’t expect praise from one such as myself.

“Hey, Rentt praised us!” “...It’s a little embarrassing,” said Raiz and Laura, laughing.

Their embarrassment, seemingly contagious, caused me to quicken my step.

◆◇◆◇◆

After that interaction, our party advanced cautiously but steadily. In the end, our return to Maalt was uneventful. The coachman, being the same individual who had ferried us here, smiled as he reassured us of a relatively uneventful journey after taking a short glimpse at my mask. As promised, he took us back to Maalt safely. While there were people who acted suspiciously around us in Maalt, our actions and movements indicated that we were sufficiently alert. Understanding that, the individuals in question soon scattered, leaving the path back to the guild clear.

Said individuals were hired by the guild, as well. They were tasked with stealing the badges of adventurers foolish enough to let their guard down as soon as they had returned to Maalt. Unlike their colleagues in the labyrinth, they were merely tasked with stealing, not all-out attacking; even the guild had a heart, at least for candidates that had made it this far.

After a short while, we finally reached our goal: we now stood in front of the adventurer’s guild.

“...It was only a short while, but it felt like an eternity...” Raiz said,

with an expression and tone of voice that hardly suited his age.

“It is strange, no? To look upon this building once again... It feels like it’s been a long time.” Laura, apparently in a similar mood, had the exact same expression as Raiz.

I, however, did not have time for their emotional reunion with the guild hall.

“...Let’s go,” I said, immediately stepping into the guild’s halls.

The two quickly followed after me in a hurry, apparently used to my habits already. Their behavior made me feel like adventuring in a party once in a while wasn’t all that bad.

“...I wanna check. Is this where we drop off the badges?” Raiz asked, an abundance of caution in his voice and mannerisms. Sheila, suitably amused by this, looked at Raiz with a twinkle in her eye and a smile on her face.

“Haha. I see you’ve grown! Yes, this is the place.”

Without further ado, the three of us handed over our badges to Sheila, who proceeded to check every single one, holding the small metallic objects up to her eye.

“...Yes. Congratulations! From this point on, the Bronze-class rank progression test is truly over!” Sheila said, as she started clapping.

The sound caused all the adventurers in the guild’s halls to join in, laughing and cheering at our success. It was a warm and peaceful atmosphere, for they, too, understood the significance of such a test. Their claps and cheers signaled acceptance and a well-deserved congratulations for their juniors.

Those who did not pass the test were also present, but their expressions were somewhat conflicted. After this, they now understood what to expect when they took their next test, and perhaps

.

one day it would be their turns on the podium.

While the overall population of Maalt’s guild was somewhat peaceful and accepting, not all the adventurers present were of the same character. Some stood in corners, looking at us as if we were not deserving of our rewards. Their numbers were few, however; Maalt’s guild was known for raising well-mannered and just adventurers. The black sheep were few and far between.

“So...are we Bronze-class adventurers now?” “Well...”

Just as Sheila was about to finish her sentence, a man stepped out from behind her, handing her a piece of paper. Looking at us, the man smiled, nodding as he did so.

“These three are all right. Here you go—their party report.”

“Ah... Yes. Right... Hmm. No problems here,” Sheila said, skimming through the document.

Raiz, not understanding the sight before him, asked for an explanation.

“What’s going on?”

“Umm...” Sheila, seemingly unable to explain, held her silence. “...That man... Has been. Following us... From the start.” “Eh?”

“R-Really? I didn’t notice him at all...” the two said, shocked. The smiling man approached us as he offered an explanation.

.

“I’ve been observing you this whole time. The test isn’t only about adventurer skill; we have to be sure of your character, as well. There’s

no way to judge you for how you really are, only your performance during this trial. Well...there are cases where we withhold promotions should the candidates do something really unacceptable... Which is why I was following you and watching over you all the while.”

I recalled the group of adventurers that had rushed into the boss room before us. Yes, it would be most distasteful if they had advanced in rank, as well. They were only a little rough around the edges, so they didn’t seem like adventurers who would commit crimes. Me letting them pass ahead of us may have reflected poorly upon our party. It could even be construed as us willingly observing the suffering of others.

In any case, those four were not too much to worry about. They may have provoked us, but they didn’t actually act upon their threats.

As for me drawing my sword... I suppose him placing his hand on his blade was merely another threat; he would have lowered it immediately if I showed any signs of resistance. He was calm, almost incredibly so, as I held the sharp edge of my blade close to his neck, the one who came across as the leader of the group. If one observed closely, one could discern the finer points of their acting; his mannerisms gave him away.

That was all good and well, I suppose.

The man continued: “And so, with the report that I handed to Sheila just now... Well, many things are written about your party, but mostly that you three have no problems whatsoever. The test is centered around the safe return of a badge either way, so the three of you, not having committed any particularly damning actions, all qualify. So, basically...you three pass! All of you made it!”

◆◇◆◇◆

“We...made it...? We made it! WE MADE IT! Hey, Laura! We made it!!

.

Raiz’s voice, at first one of disbelief, slowly increased in volume as the reality of the situation hit him. Laura, too, was soon caught up in the celebrations.

“Yes! We did it Raiz! It wasn’t a mistake to go against what my parents said and leave the village after all...!” Laura said, joy evident in her voice.

The contents of her exclamation, however, left me feeling somewhat uneasy, but that was a concern for another time.

Come to think of it, many adventurers came to towns like Maalt to get away from rural villages. I, too, was one of them, and was hardly in a position to lecture Laura for her life choices. The fact that they were here right now spoke for itself that they had enough skill to survive, and that was that.

Even if one were to attribute part of their success to luck, it was undeniable they had successfully risen to the rank of Bronze-class largely due to their virtue and hard work. As Bronze-class adventurers, their earning power was significantly increased, markedly over that of the average, run-of-the-mill adventurer. Even a farmer who owned his own land, crops, and tools in a village couldn’t hope to make more than an adventurer of this caliber.

If they chose to return to their villages in the future, they would be able to do so while dressed in all sorts of finery and riches, which was more than enough of a reason to be happy, I suppose.

As expected, I was pleased at the outcome, as well. I had spent most of my life as a Bronze-class adventurer, unable to progress any further. In many ways, I was greatly familiar with this particular adventurer rank. With this, I would once again be able to accept requests that I did in the past, as well as work toward becoming a Silver-class adventurer, the next step in my career.

My current life as an adventurer was satisfactory—no, more than satisfactory. This could very well be the peak of my career, and I would

.

continue on, not stopping for a moment until I finally reached my lifelong goal of Mithril-class. It was a great milestone in my second life as an adventurer.

There were still a myriad of problems present, namely my suspicious-looking robes, my apparently immovable mask, and the fact that I currently had the body of an undead Thrall. Well, minor hindrances in the grand scheme of things; I had to view them that way.

Is it really all that bad to have a single, sentient Undead walk the streets of Maalt?

Deciding to entertain my own question, I stood still, thinking about the implications of such an event...

Suppose a shambling Thrall walks into the market square of Maalt, his body full of holes. He then stops at a stall, engaging the shopkeeper in casual conversation.

“I... W... Would. Like one... Apple. Please...”

“A’right, here you go! That’ll be one bronze piece... Yep, one bronze piece.............. Say Rentt, you’re full of holes again today, aren’t you?”

“Yes... I am... Undead... After all... Ha... Haha.... ”

“Haha! You’re killing me Rentt!”

That would probably be how the conversation would play out.

...Is that such a bad thing?

Probably not the best of images. but not exactly one that was wrong

in any way. Unlike most other types of undead, I did not rampage about terrorizing townsfolk. Take that old lady over there—would she care if I were a Thrall full of holes, or a walking sack of bones? No. No one would care at all.

Realisticalhly tstppeaksin:g/,/hmowepve4r, adll iorf ethact wtsou.ldceondmthe moment

someone screamed and called for the guards. I would then bid a sorrowful goodbye to this cruel word.

Hahaha...

I found it difficult to laugh at the imaginary scenes of carnage in my mind.

I decided to shelve those thoughts for now since I wouldn’t have much to worry about if I continued down my path of Existential Evolution. If Lorraine’s studies were to be believed, I would one day be able to walk in the light once more. All I had to do was work at my labyrinth exploration. As long as I did what I was supposed to do, I would be able to evolve, collect monster ingredients to fund my adventures, and complete many requests from clients and eventually go up in adventurer rank.

Indeed, I would truly be hitting two, perhaps three, birds with one stone... That is, if everything went according to plan.

More importantly, I should finish the Bronze-class rank progression process. Although we had all already qualified, there were still minor details to work out. While I was familiar with these details and processes, Raiz and Laura were not.

As if on cue, Sheila turned to face us.

“For the three of you who have successfully made it to Bronze-class, a replacement of guild-issued identification is required. To be precise, your current iron-colored cards will be replaced with bronze-colored ones, much like this one right here.”

Saying so, Sheila held out what appeared to be a Bronze-class adventurer card in her hands. The name written on said card, however, was interesting to say the least. This card belonged to a certain “Guild Guildar” who apparently belonged to the Maalt adventurer’s guild.

Seeing the confusion on their faces, Sheila quickly offered an addendum to her explanation: “...Of course, this is a sample for illustrative purposes, and the card belongs to a fictional person. But ‘Guild Guildar’ is the official fictitious person that all adventurer guilds use to annotate their sample cards with.”

Although I wasn’t interested in the least in what Sheila had to say, her tales of Guild Guildar apparently captured the attention of Raiz and Laura. I suppose it was a rarity in their eyes, but did they not see this very same name when they were presented with their Iron-class cards?

“Yeah, well, I really thought that somewhere out there someone was called this when I got my first card...” Raiz said, scratching his head.

I suppose the staff member who had tended to him back then was not as descriptive as Sheila, or they simply took pleasure in tricking young adventurers. It wasn’t necessarily a harmful trick, or something that would hinder their careers.

Sheila continued her speech.

“Bronze-class and above adventurer identification cards are usually enchanted with certain magics to prevent forgery, so it will take about one to two days for you to receive your updated documents. It should be ready the day after next, but for now, you may continue using your current identification cards. And do not worry, you will regardless be able to accept Bronze-class requests in the meantime.”

The anti-forgery magics in question didn’t make it easier to identify said card’s owner so much as they were intended to be a deterrent against fraudsters claiming to be adventurers, stealing cards and writing their own names on them. But of course, these magics were not impregnable. If a skilled magician or the like set their mind to it, it was very possible to forge and illegally edit guild-issued identification. This was part of the reason why so many suspicious individuals of questionable background were part of the guild’s roster. This resulted in the guild being seen as an organization of questionable morals.

Now, these anti-forgery enchantments became more complicated with each adventurer rank. For example, Lorraine’s Silver-class identification card, having been closely examined by the owner herself, was deemed forgeable, provided that one had the time and money to do so. One also had to have adequate knowledge of the techniques involved. That was what Lorraine had to say regarding this topic. The same applied to Gold- and Platinum-class cards.

Mithril-class cards, on the other hand, were enchanted with extremely powerful wards and spells to the point they were almost impossible to forge, let alone edit. Mithril-class adventurers were living treasures of the guild, after all. The guild would do everything it could to prevent illegal forgeries of such cards.

But Lorraine declared it wasn’t entirely impossible, and that she herself could probably do something about it if she put in the adequate amount of time and research. I reminded Lorraine to never actually set about such a task, especially since I had no idea what would happen if Lorraine just decided to make such a card one day due to a flight of fancy.

It seemed Sheila was mostly done with her explanations now.

Although she had quite a few things to say, the jobscope of a Bronze- class adventurer didn’t exactly deviate too far from their Iron-class counterparts. The main difference was in the nature of the requests taken. Bronze-class adventurers were expected to engage more with their clients, particularly on assignments that required active escorts. Said adventurers would then need to learn the appropriate etiquette and business laws that governed the land.

All this was written in the thick handbook that sat on the receptionist’s counter. Lectures and other means of sharing information were available at the guild to those who needed them, and at a low, affordable price, too.

But I suppose that was neither here nor there. More importantly...

they soon turned to face me.

Although the two of them had gotten used to me in a relatively short time, their joyous faces didn’t display a hint of understanding for what I was about to say. The corners of my lips curled downward, but little could be done. We were nothing more than a last-minute party arrangement to begin with: two parties grouped together by the guild for the express purposes of taking the Bronze-class progression test.

I wasn’t about to complain about this arrangement now of all times, but at the heart of it, my tendencies to adventure alone still remained. It was time for us to part, now that the test was finally over.

“What’s up, Rentt?” “What is it?”

“...We have all worked... Hard. It was... Fun. We have had... Our ups and downs. While I do not... Know. What kind of... Adventurers, you two would become... I will never. Forget about... What we achieved.

Today. Thank... You.”

The two of them didn’t seem taken aback in the slightest. More than surprise, it was a calm sense of acceptance. Maybe they both understood that we would have to go our separate ways eventually, and responded to me with expressions that were a mix of relief and satisfaction.

“...No, that’s for us to say, isn’t it? I feel like we’ve just become proper adventurers today, and you’re the one who helped us achieve that, Rentt... I thought that adventuring was all up to skill and power, but now I know it isn’t like that. You taught us that. Thanks, Rentt... I’ll be the one who never forgets. I’ll remember the things you taught me today and build my skills on that foundation. If we ever work together on another assignment...I’d be happy to party up again.”

“Mister Vivie... If possible, I would have wanted you to stay with us

understand, somehow. I understand that you are...different, Mister Vivie. I don’t mean that you look different, but your goals, your purpose, is different... Like you are headed to a faraway place, unknown to us... I am sure you would not reach that point with us, as that it is for you alone to reach.

“You have taught us many things, Mister Vivie... Not only did you watch over us in battle, but you gave us opportunities to grow and gain valuable experience, all the while supporting us. We could see that. In turn... We also knew that we would be going our separate ways once the test was over. Even so, although this party is now over, and only lasted for a day, you are always one of our party members, Mister Vivie. So if anything ever happens, if there ever is a chance...please do group up with us again, Mister Vivie. Thank you for everything.”

I was surprised by their words. To think they saw through my intentions within such a short amount of time. I thought of them as young adventurers that I should guide, but that wasn’t entirely right. I remembered various instances where we looked out for each other, encouraging each other along as we progressed on our journey. At the very least, I now felt Raiz and Laura’s encouraging words giving me a reassuring pat on the back.

One day, I would definitely become human again. I could not lose that hope, of all things.

“...I apologize... For being unable to... Party up with... you. It is not a question... Of me disliking you two... Or a matter... Of strength. I have... Circumstances. Of my... Own. If, one day... My problems are... Resolved, then... I will definitely... Tell you more about... Myself. Until that time... We should all aspire... To be great adventurers.”

With that, we shared a handshake, the two of them smiling as they held my gloved hands in theirs. Despite wearing gloves, it wasn’t too far-fetched to think my hands felt strange under the leather. Even so, they said nothing, grasping my hands firmly.

I didn’t think they had somehow deduced my condition, that I was

an Undead. But they now understood that I had circumstances and problems of my own.

Raiz and Laura, having finally finished up with everything else they needed to do, made their way out of the guild hall, heading back to their rented rooms for a well-deserved rest. Walking with them to the front of the building, I waved before turning to head off in the direction of Lorraine’s home. As I did so, however...

“...Mister Rentt!”

A familiar voice rang out from behind me. The voice belonged to none other than Sheila—and I could not help but feel surprised at what I heard.

The way she called out to me, the way she said my name—it was almost as if she was addressing someone she had known for a long time...

CHAPTER 2

Contract By Magic

Sheila’s expression caught my eye as I turned around. It was deathly serious, enough for me to realize that something had finally gone wrong. It didn’t seem like I would be able to talk my way out of this situation easily.

Not having much of a choice, I walked toward the guild’s front door once more, stopping right before where Sheila stood.

“...Did you need... Something from me?”

Although my speech was still somewhat halting, it was a vast improvement from the guttural sounds I previously produced during my time as a Ghoul.

Likewise, Sheila’s voice was far from normal. It was clear that she was troubled, burdened with something she just couldn’t say.

“...Y-Yes. There is something I would like to ask you... If possible, could you follow me to this room over here...?”

It seemed Sheila had no intention of discussing this in public.

There were many ways to interpret this: at the very least, she wanted the matter we were about to discuss out of earshot of the various adventurers milling about in the guild. If I had to guess, Sheila already figured out who I was, along with the fact that “Rentt Faina” had registered as an adventurer twice. For some reason, she kept this secret under wraps, so maybe Sheila understood that I had some deep, personal reason of my own for doing so.

Of course, this didn’t automatically mean Sheila discovered the fact that I was an Undead. As to whether Sheila would keep that secret...

That was another matter altogether.

If I, as a human, had registered under a false name... That was something that could possibly be forgiven. Having registered under a false name, however, and as an Undead... That may be unforgivable in its own way.

What should I do...?

It was a difficult situation. Judging from Sheila’s expression alone, I understood there was no walking away from this encounter. If I refused to speak with her now, it would merely serve to complicate matters. Perhaps I could get by with a minimal explanation, but to do this, a conversation with Sheila was inevitable.

“...I understand. Where should... I go?”

“Ah...! Thank you. This way, if you please...” Sheila’s expression lightened up a little at my response.

Despite her generally apologetic demeanor, I resolved to explain as little as I had to—but what if she asked me to take my robe off? Did I have sufficient excuses for how I looked? I would attempt to convince Sheila as much as possible without revealing the fact that I was an Undead.

Steeling myself, I followed Sheila into the guild’s halls once more.

◆◇◆◇◆

After being led into a part of the central guild hall that was off-limits to all but guild staff, I was ushered into a small room, with Sheila closing the door behind me. Other than Sheila and myself, the room was empty.

discovered that it was mostly free of magical tools that could record conversations, nor were there any strange magic circles in place. Such tools were expensive to begin with, even for a well-funded organization like the guild.

Of course, Lorraine had a tool capable of such. She kept her fair share of secrets from me, and I was not about to ask where she had obtained such a thing. Maybe she got it as compensation for her aid in a clandestine matter or something; that was the most reasonable explanation for it.

“Well, then, Rentt... I suppose you, of all people, would know what I am about to ask, yes?”

Sheila’s words had a strong edge to them. She wasted no time in getting to the point. Although her tone of voice wasn’t hostile, it was strict, as if she would immediately see through any sort of lie. This was apparent in the way she had emphasized my name; but in the end, I knew what she was about to ask, and why I was led here.

And yet, there was no way I could simply tell Sheila about everything that happened up until now, nor was I intending to do so. I knew, for my part, that Sheila wouldn’t be satisfied with such a bare- bones explanation.

This was why I decided to explain most of what happened, leaving out certain crucial details, or at least glossing over them. I had to be able to control the flow of the conversation, so I answered Sheila’s question with one of my own.

“...Before we go on... I would like to... Affirm. One thing... Did you lead me here... In the capacity of a guild... Staff member. To tell me that you... Would not find fault. With me signing up... Under another name? Is that why... We are here...?”

“...I am the one asking the questions here, Rentt. Originally, that is a violation of the rules and cannot be tolerated. As such...”

I knew what Sheila was about to say. Although the guild’s rules were rather porous in various aspects, registering under multiple names was against said rules, on the surface of things. This was why a member of the guild would not simply forgive such a thing. Similarly, me standing in this room would be a relatively pointless venture, given how this conversation would turn out.

Negotiation was no longer my concern—I decided to be realistic about the matter at hand.

“If I cannot... Have that guarantee. Then I will be... Taking. My leave. And then I... Will not. Show my face here... Ever again. How about... That?”

It would not affect me much in the long run since I wasn’t about to give up on my dream of becoming Mithril-class.

I already had another solution: I would simply move away from Maalt, and register again at a guild elsewhere. As I have mentioned many times before, the guild’s rules were porous at best; there were too many holes in them to count.

Although registering and starting anew from Iron-class was troublesome, I suppose I had no other choice now that it had come to this. Changing how my mask looked, or minor details like the color of my robes wouldn’t be hard either, hence my statement.

Sheila, however, opened her eyes wide at this, panicking. “W-Wait! That isn’t...”

“Sheila. I am... And have... Been. Afflicted by a big... Problem. Even if... It is with an organization... Like the guild. I do not... Want to be stabbed. In the back. So... At the very... Least. I need to understand... That I will not be... Persecuted. For what I have to... Tell you.

Otherwise... I will refuse. To say... Anything. Of... Course, I would have you... Sign a magically... Binding. Contract... So you keep... Your word.”

“Rentt... Did something that terrible truly happen to you?”

It seemed Sheila didn’t think my actions were the result of a life- changing incident. Maybe she was under the impression that I was only changing my name, just as I had changed my appearance with a robe and mask.

Reality, however, was very different. I would probably never be able to show my body to any living human for the rest of my life. There was no knowing if I would be hunted the very next day should I do so, possibly even by the very same adventurers that I had dined and explored with before.

Under these circumstances, there was no easy way for me to explain exactly what had befallen me, but this wasn’t a matter of me not trusting Sheila. The problem laid with her affiliation: Sheila was, before anything else, a staff member of the adventurer’s guild. She had a moral responsibility to protect the safety of Maalt and its denizens; should she ever come across anything that would threaten this safety, she was to report it to her superiors, then oversee the process by which said thing was removed. This was why the adventurer’s guild existed in the first place.

With that, what I could tell Sheila was limited. She had her obligations, and I had my reasons.

The only reason I told Lorraine was because of her relatively isolated social position and eccentricity. Other than that single exception, I decided to not speak of my condition to anyone else, and this held true for the case of Clope the blacksmith, as well.

But Sheila was a different question altogether. This was no longer about personal preferences or how well I had gotten along with her in life; all this didn’t change the fact she was in a position that had certain social obligations.

I nodded at Sheila, awaiting her response. Sheila, for her part,

Finally opening them, she stared straight at me before saying something that caught me completely off guard.

“Rentt... To tell the truth, I have not reported what you did to the guild. I could not be sure it was you. I did, however, discuss my concerns with the staff member who followed your party today, so they know of my thoughts on the matter. In any case, about how you registered twice and all that—I don’t intend to say a thing, so...”

...A most unexpected development.

◆◇◆◇◆

“...Are you surprised?” Sheila asked, looking up at me with a somewhat bitter smile on her face. I nodded in response, at a loss for words.

Of course I would be surprised. Sheila was a staff member of the adventurer’s guild. One did not simply march into the guild, register, and become a staff member. Unlike registering as an adventurer, one had to overcome a series of difficult tests and selection processes to even be considered for a position.

Guild staff were obviously paid a relatively higher salary than most, and unlike adventurers, they didn’t have to expose themselves to danger on a regular basis. It would also be easy for a guild staff member to net a capable adventurer for themselves in time; so goes the common wisdom in these lands.

Due to these factors, a position within the guild was a popular and highly desired posting for young women in general. A woman in such a position wouldn’t want to be fired from their position, so guild staff members in general were often fiercely loyal to the guild. They would thus keep the guild’s secrets and report any bits of information, no matter how small, to the guild the instant they learned of anything.

Such was the status quo.

impossible for me to not be surprised.

“It goes without saying that I would not want to be fired...” Sheila continued. “But then, the guild is not as strict with its employees as the rumors would have you believe. If anything, the guild paints in broad strokes, and seldom cares too much about the small details. That is the current tendency and trend of the organization. I am sure you can see that from the rules concerning multiple registrations. In fact, the reason for young female staff members working so hard to appease the guild is not because they do not want to get fired, it is because they would like the guild to introduce a good husband to them. Well, that is the implication, anyway...”

That was the first time I had heard of anything of the sort. Was it not easier for a staff member to pick out and approach a capable adventurer on their own? Sheila, as if sensing this, continued her explanation.

“Well...if you did find one in a place like Maalt, then sure... But most high-ranked adventurers gather in the large cities, right? If one is not transferred to a prestigious location like that, one would never meet with a capable adventurer to begin with! So they all work hard to get transferred to the capital...and then put on all sorts of finery and go looking for husbands—that is the trend, either way. Of course, I don’t have any ambitions of the sort, so me not reporting you to the guild does not really cause that many problems...”

Now that I thought about it, highly-ranked adventurers, such as those of the Gold, Platinum, or Mithril-class, would definitely be found in the capital, or at least in large cities. In order to be transferred from such locations, staff members would have to work extra hard to appease the guild. This was taking into account that it was difficult to become a staff member in the first place, as it would be a competitive environment among those who had been selected. Surely appeasing the guild was an important thing.

Yet, Sheila doesn’t desire this...? Is that really true? I couldn’t help

but arrive athsutcthpa qsu:es/t/iomn.

p4directs.com

Male staff members of the guild did seem a little more carefree and occasionally more careless than their female counterparts. I suppose that was because they didn’t seek promotions or transfers to big cities. While they might have such intentions, the big cities were filled with skilled adventurers, but their salaries were probably paltry compared to the city big shots. Perhaps, to these men, it just did not matter as much.

These observations added some weight to Sheila’s monologue of the guild’s internal situation. Sheila’s apparent disinterest in a transfer was another issue in and of itself.

In fact, if this was all part of an elaborate ruse that ended with Sheila reporting everything she heard here to the guild, my hands would be tied, and I would be caught and executed. Not a good way to end the day.

It was not like I didn’t have a speck of trust for Sheila; I had known her for quite a long time, but not quite as long as Lorraine. Although I couldn’t trust her unconditionally at this point in time, she was an extremely trustworthy and reliable member of the guild to work with.

Going by my gut feeling alone, I felt that she was not lying to me.

However...

My doubts seemed evident to Sheila, who answered with a statement of her own: “...Well. I know you would not just trust me that easily. I completely understand that. I am employed by the guild, and have ethical obligations to follow, after all... All that is true. That is why I prepared this in advance...”

Saying so, Sheila withdrew a rolled-up sheepskin scroll from her uniform pocket, holding it open before me. The surface of the parchment was marked with all sorts of glowing lines and complex- looking letters. I could tell exactly what it was just from a single glimpse.

“...Magically binding... Contract. I see. You... Really. Brought one

.

with... You.”

A magically binding contract, as its name suggested, was a specific kind of magical tool. It was a contract that bound the signees together with arcane means. It was a convenient and versatile tool, created with specially-sourced sheepskin parchment and ink. All one had to do was pen the details of the contract, then have both individuals sign it.

Should either one break the contents of the contract, they would suffer a penalty of sorts.

The value of these contracts greatly varied, taking into account various factors such as the details of the contract and the strength of the penalties involved. What Sheila was holding in her hands was of average value, about two places below the most expensive type, and two places above the most basic. For normal purposes, a parchment of this quality was more than sufficient, and the penalties it could inflict were also reasonably heavy. Sheila had obtained the most expensive kind of parchment for this sort of purpose.

I could see that she was serious about this discussion.

“Rentt. I don’t know what kind of problem is haunting you...but could you please tell me? I only want to help. This does not concern my relationship with the guild...it only has to do with you. You are the reason I am the person I became today. If needed, I will write my name down on this parchment without hesitation... I also have a solution in mind for the staff member that I discussed this with today.”

Perhaps telling Sheila herself was acceptable, given that she had come armed with a magically binding contract. As for the other staff member whom Sheila had talked to...

Sheila couldn’t just undo her conversation. It seemed near impossible to have him keep the secret all to himself. But Sheila continued.

“...Well, you see, the staff member in question is actually my brother. This was why I was able to so easily talk this over with him...

.

But even if I were to tell him to keep it to himself, it would not be much of a guarantee. If it must be done, I could easily take this contract to him, as well. All he has to do is add his name to it, and even if he refuses, I have my ways...”

I did recall Sheila mentioning something about her brother, quite a long time ago. To think that both of them had ended up in the adventurer’s guild; I found it somewhat surprising.

It wasn’t too strange for me to not know of this, though. Guild staff sent on missions to observe monsters and their population amounts, along with members who did more clandestine work such as observing progression tests, usually never showed their faces as a rule. The fact that he had appeared before us at the receptionist’s counter was probably due to curiosity, as he couldn’t help but wonder who exactly this strange adventurer his sister had taken a liking to was. At least, that was my educated guess. Either that, or he was one of those individuals who enjoyed putting his older sister on a pedestal. It probably wasn’t too kind of me to think that way of someone I didn’t even know, though...

Sheila’s next statement, however, put that assumption to rest: “My brother will be transferring to the capital as of next week. Unlike me, he is on a sort of elite career path, with this being his last job in Maalt. There was probably no other chance for him to meet with you, so this was why he wanted to see you for himself. He didn’t want to pointlessly worry.”

I suppose this was why he showed his face. He was going to be working in another location anyway, so it most likely mattered little to him. If he was transferring to the capital, the possibility of him being sent out on such combat-oriented assignments again was slim. If anything, he would be eventually aiming to climb to the rank of guild master, or something along those lines. Sheila’s decision to stay in Maalt may have simply been to allow her brother to go in her place.

Concluding her explanations, Sheila posed a question to me: “So, that is how ithist..t. pWhsa:t /ab/omut ipt, R4edntti?rWeilcl ytosu .tecll omemabout the

situation that has befallen you? Having an adventurer’s guild staff member on your side is a very useful thing when you are in trouble, you know?”

◆◇◆◇◆

Honestly speaking, despite Sheila’s repeated assurances and apparent sincerity, I still had my doubts. I mean, Sheila had been suggesting this to Rentt Faina, a human. Former human. Would she go back on her word if she found out I was now an Undead? There was no telling, and I couldn’t shake that feeling.

However...

Sheila had gone through the trouble of preparing a magically binding contract. The fact that I still doubted her was an insult to her resolve. And it would be difficult to go against the terms expressed on such a contract, but not impossible. There were many ways to undo it or escape from it, but none of them were easy or trivial.

In fact, I already understood exactly how serious Sheila was about this entire matter from the very moment she had produced the scroll. Even if the contract were broken in some way, there still remained the question of the penalty. Exactly how heavy would it be?

“...Personally. I would like to... Believe you, Sheila. You might think I am... Nitpicking. On details... But what would you... Have the penalty... Be?”

Sheila stared straight at me, immediately offering her response.

“I have no intentions whatsoever on breaking this agreement, so any penalty is fine. Even if it means making me quit the adventurer’s guild, or turning me into a personal slave... Anything. It’s fine.”

Personally, I felt that both of those penalties were excessively heavy. While I was concerned about being hunted down as some sort of rare monster, stripping Sheila of her position as a guild staff member after

.

everything she did to attain it was nothing short of cruel. As for turning her into a slave... That was simply absurd. For one thing, the ownership of slaves wasn’t legal here.

As I thought about what would be a more reasonable penalty, Sheila had already laid the scroll out on the table in the middle of the room.

She started writing before I could say anything in protest. Shortly, Sheila held the scroll up before me. Written in clean letters on the parchment were the following words:

“Should this contract ever be breached, Sheila Ibarss will voluntarily resign from her post at the adventurer’s guild and all related organizations. In addition, she will also perform the necessary procedures to give up her free will and rights in a territory where slave ownership is recognized, summarily handing over her ownership rights to Rentt Faina.”

No, no no no. This was too much. It was impossible for me to sign something like this...!

Although I wished to voice my protests, the contract was already written. We would have to purchase another parchment to set new terms and set this one aflame.

At least, that was what I wanted to say, but I wasn’t blind to the determination in Sheila’s eyes. This was what she was willing to give up just to hear what I had to say, and it appeared Sheila made up her mind on this matter a long time ago. Apparently I no longer had a say.

The fact that she dragged me into this room and patiently stood here as I endlessly hesitated, and now this contract... There was no way I couldn’t affirm with her, at this rate.

Sighing, I turned to Sheila. “...I understand. Let us affirm... The contents of the contract... And then sign it. I will tell you... Everything. After that.”

Sheila finally smiled in response to me relenting.

.

“Yes! I will write down all the other appropriate terms now, just hold on for a second...”

And so Sheila explained and discussed the relevant details, perhaps a little too happily, and finalized the contents of the contract.

Confirming that everything was in order, Sheila penned out the rest of the contract with astounding speed, the feather quill in her hand waving to and fro like a flag in the wind.

◆◇◆◇◆

“Well, then... I have no... Choice. I will... Tell you.”

Although I felt somewhat coerced into all this, the other terms of the contract were all fair and reasonable. Even then, having someone in the guild who cooperated with me was something I could hardly pass up on. But would any living human follow through should they understand my current situation...?

That was my biggest worry. Barring Sheila, would such a person even exist? That was the reality of the situation.

Maybe this circumstance was inevitable. Be as it may, I found myself somewhat at peace with the current situation.

But where should I even begin? It was a difficult subject no matter how I approached it, but maybe it would be easier to start from the very beginning. Part of the contract stated that Sheila may not reveal my true identity to anyone without my written consent, so I suppose there was no longer a cause for concern.

Sighing, I slowly lowered the hooded section of my robe. The most convenient thing to do was to remove the robe entirely, but I didn’t have the courage to do so in front of a young woman. Either way, just seeing my face alone would be enough of a shock to most people.

Although I didn’t exactly have a hole in my head, the flesh on my face was rotted and, in some places, still dry. Compared to when I was

still a Ghoul, though, this was a lot closer to being human—for an Undead, anyway.

“Wha...?! T-This... What is...” Craning her head in a mixture of confusion and fear, Sheila slowly walked around me, peeking at me from various corners.

Standing before me once more, I changed the shape of my mask to show Sheila my face. If I had to say, this was the most visually impactful spot on my being since the lower half of my face was nothing more than teeth, half-rotted gums, and a somehow intact jawbone.

Lorraine, being a monster scholar and all, was very used to sights like this, and didn’t seem all too surprised. Sheila, on the other hand, didn’t seem to be taking in the sights all too well. Her face was now a pale shade of blue, and her knees seemed to shiver as she sat down on the ground, no longer able to stand.

“...Are you... All right?”

Although I asked after her kindly, the paleness in Sheila’s face hardly faded. I suppose she was too shocked to speak.

“...You see. Maybe it was... Better. To not have asked... At all. I look monstrous... No?”

Sheila shook her head rapidly at my words. “That’s not true!” she shouted, before continuing on in a softer voice.

“...That’s not...true. I had no idea, Rentt... No idea that something so...awful happened to you... But I hated not knowing anything even more. I am surprised, but...I am glad I know now...”

I was relieved Sheila didn’t scream at me to pull my hood back up. “Well...? What do you... Think?”

Sheila paused before answering.

“...How do I put this...? You seem very injured... No, gravely hurt...

And you cannot be cured? But there are healing magics, or high- quality potions... What about the Church? The priestesses should be able to do something...”

It looked like Sheila didn’t understand the full extent of my condition. I had no choice but to explain.

“No... It is not like... That. I have become... A monster. This body of... Mine. Is that of a... Thrall.”

Although I explained it so quickly, and in simple terms, it seemed to have taken Sheila quite a while to wrap her head around what I just said.

“Eh? That is... What?”

I continued my explanation.

“A while ago... As you know, I went... Exploring. In the Labyrinth... Of the Moon’s Reflection. I found an... Uncharted area... And went in myself... But then suddenly encountered a Dragon inside... And died. When I woke up... I had become a... Skeleton. So... Having no choice, I defeated... Other monsters there. And then through... Existential Evolution... I evolved... Changed. And now I’m a Thrall... What do you... Think? Interesting story... Right?”

A self-deprecating way of saying it, but I couldn’t deny it was actually somewhat interesting. I smiled wryly in spite of myself.

“No... Something like that happened...? No...” Sheila, still speechless, shook her head slowly. But this was the reality of it.

The average person would never believe such a tale to begin with, so a reaction like this was nothing short of what I expected. Judging by Sheila’s reaction and current condition, I assumed she needed some time to come to terms with what I said.

“I... Understand. That you are confused... Having heard such a thing... Out of nowhere. So... Take a while and... Think. About it from my... Perspective. Do you really think... It is all right. To cooperate with... Someone... Something, like me? Of course... I have no intentions of... Hurting people. All I want to do... Is to keep working. As an adventurer. I suppose it is difficult... For you to suddenly... Trust me. Although we have signed... A contract. If both parties agree... It can be undone. In any case... I should be going back... For today. You should think about... If you can trust me. As a person... That is.”

With that, I turned, intending to leave the room.

If Sheila refused to cooperate with me, for whatever reason, then all I had to do was undo the contract, and undertake the appropriate preparations to leave Maalt behind. There was no need to drag Sheila down with me; she had her own life to live.

In such an event, having told everything to Sheila meant that staying in Maalt could lead to my arrest. All I had to do was migrate to another region which wasn’t much of an issue at all. As long as I was prepared to cut off all my social ties, I could very easily live on my own. As for Lorraine... I suppose she would come with me, provided I asked nicely.

Then—

“Please, wait!” Sheila shouted once more, as if to stop me from leaving.

I turned around, looking at Sheila in the eye.

“I... I believe you. I believe in you, Rentt... Even if you did become a monster...you wouldn’t hurt people... I mean, you’ve always been so kind, Rentt! So I... I’ll cooperate. I will work with you,” Sheila said, in a voice that was almost pleading. Slowly, she staggered toward me, grasping my hands with hers somewhat forcefully.

“Rentt... From now on, if you ever have any problems with the guild,

talk to me about it... I’m sure... I am sure that I would be able to help...”

With that, Sheila finally relaxed her grip, looking up at me with a faint smile on her face.

.

◆◇◆◇◆

*click*

With a familiar sound, the door opened to reveal a familiar space, and an equally familiar face from within. It was the face of a woman whom I had known for a considerable amount of time. Logical, messy, and occasionally prone to playing annoying pranks on others, but overall a gentle person—

Lorraine.

“...Hmm? What do we have here? You have someone with you, Rentt? How rare. Don’t tell me—you’ve made your move on her, eh?”

Judging by the slightly crooked smile on Lorraine’s face, one would suppose she was joking. But I could sense a strange tension in the air— or maybe I was just tired from the events of the day.

The person Lorraine referred to was none other than Sheila Ibarss, a member of the guild who was currently standing behind me. After our discussion of the matters at hand, I had mentioned to Sheila that Lorraine was privy to my circumstances, as well. Upon affirming that I did live with Lorraine as a temporary arrangement, however, Sheila insisted on coming along for a conversation of sorts. That’s not to say I didn’t inform Sheila of said arrangements before. While she was not surprised then, she seemed lost in thought now, a complicated expression on her face as she followed behind me.

What exactly is Sheila thinking about?

I, for one, had no idea. But we were nonetheless in agreement that a conversation with Lorraine was due posthaste, so off we went.

Besides Lorraine and Sheila, the first person to know of my true identity was the adventurer Rina Rupaage. Clope and his wife, Luka, most likely understood that I was under some sort of extenuating

circumstance or another, but chose not to pry. The two had their own positions in society to consider as well, being part of a business that had connections to the local government and church. Perhaps they figured out that I had become an undead monster, or perhaps not; there was no way to tell.

In any case, I would regale Clope with my tale another time. As for now, I chose to appreciate their hospitality and silence. Their favor would not go unpaid, though. While I certainly did intend to act on it sometime in the future, now was not the time.

A statement from Sheila jolted me out of my thoughts, and back into the situation before me.

“No, Miss Vivie. Rentt has not done anything to me. However, we did...speak, about some things. Specific things.”

While that seemed to be enough for Lorraine to understand the gist of what happened, I didn’t think Lorraine understood the extent of Sheila’s knowledge from those words alone. It was up to me to disclose such information, and I didn’t expect Lorraine to perfectly infer my intent.

Sensing that this was not a conversation to be had at the door, Lorraine took a step back, as if to welcome us in.

“...Is that right? In any case, do come inside. It is somewhat messy, but make yourself at home.”

There was something off about Lorraine’s statement—why was it this messy? I cleaned and arranged her home just before I left for the progression test. It was unnatural for it to be in such a mess again in such a short time, even if I took Lorraine’s habits into account.

At least, that was what I thought...

◆◇◆◇◆

In the silence of the abode, Lorraine’s magical timekeeping device whirred and clicked at regular intervals. Said device was worth its weight in gold, as commonly, only nobles and the wealthy could afford such a specialized magic tool. And yet, Lorraine had one, for reasons unknown.

Given its girth and general size, I assumed Lorraine built it from scratch in her spare time. As usual, I found myself in awe of Lorraine’s odd sense of practicality. In a sense, Lorraine was capable of many things, maybe even everything...

Except for chores and other domestic pursuits. The reason for this escaped me, but I did have some ideas. After all, I did assume responsibility for Lorraine’s house chores at some point in time in the past, and then simply continued doing them. That realization, accompanied by a somewhat sinking feeling, permeated the entirety of my soul.

...Perhaps this was a thought best left for another time. “...Well, then. Let us speak. So, you heard...certain things from

Rentt, you say? Allow me to be blunt: just exactly how much have you heard?”

Lorraine’s seemingly normal question was accompanied by a stern tone of voice. The atmosphere immediately took a dark turn, surprising even myself. Turning to Sheila, I was equally surprised to find a previously unseen expression on her features. There was a certain light in her eyes, as if she made up her mind on one thing or another.

“...Well. I heard from Rentt that he has become...a monster. And that he doesn’t attack people...” Sheila responded, her voice soft and occasionally unsteady. I felt a mix of emotions behind her simple words. As to what exactly they were...I had no idea.

Lorraine, as if immediately understanding the situation, snorted with laughter.

“Hmph! That is everything, is it not? And yet you followed Rentt home in such a fashion? Did you not feel endangered?” Lorraine asked, leaning forward.

Sheila, on the other hand, shook her head. “No... No, not really. Rentt was going to your home, so it did not seem suspicious in any way.”

“Is that not only because you lack a sense of danger? Think about it; Rentt is an Undead, and I am a scholar with a dubious reputation at best. Well, at least here in Maalt. And then what would happen if a young girl, say, of your age, wandered into the den of a monster and a witch? Perhaps you would be thrown into a cauldron of sorts and steamed alive... Or maybe we would devour you where you stood. Is that not the common assumption on the streets?” Lorraine said, referring to herself as a man-eating witch for reasons unknown.

Although Sheila understood that this was a joke of some kind, she was now evidently uncomfortable. Her face tensed up as she forced a well-practiced guild staff smile onto her face.

“No, of course not... I would never think of you as a witch! Even I know that you are a well-respected scholar, Miss Vivie.”

“Just ‘Lorraine’ is fine... But no. You see, that is merely how it looks on the surface. To tell the truth, I sneak out to the streets of Maalt every night, seeking out vulnerable young girls and preying on them for their blood. A most delicious taste, yes, and good for one’s health, too. Did you know that it does wonders for one’s complexion?”

Lorraine’s expression did not seem to match up with her casual jokes. I found myself unable to read Lorraine’s intent since her words seemed almost threatening. In the next moment, however—

“...That is what Rentt has become. Do you really understand?” Lorraine asked haltingly, ending her statement with a forceful curve ball of a declaration to Sheila.

Lorraine was expressionless as she spoke. She was neither angry nor hostile, dropping the fact as if it were the most normal thing in the world. One would think that such questions were the norm in this abode by Lorraine’s appearance alone.

I felt a primal sense of fear rising up from deep within me upon realizing Lorraine’s perspective. To her, the guild staff member who sat across from her was not human, but merely an object to be dealt with accordingly depending on how they answered the question at hand. Perhaps this was a natural response to things, given our circumstances.

Cruelty... It was a cruel look. This was how Lorraine looked when faced with a monster on one of her expeditions. If I had to guess, her mind was now filled with various methods of eliminating the target before her.

.

In a conversation I had with Sheila after this incident, she revealed to me that she never felt so intimidated in her life. Sheila, being the guild staff member that she was, didn’t have much in the way of field combat experience. She wasn’t entirely devoid of it, as all guild staff members receive basic combat training as part of their program. She was able to defeat Goblins, Slimes, and the like with some assistance from her more combat-oriented peers.

But in those moments, Sheila felt pure fear. She had only seen monsters from afar up until this point, and they were now prancing about before her, with their eyes meeting hers, making their intent to kill clear. Here, Sheila found herself finally understanding why adventurers sometimes involuntarily held their breath before monsters. Although she logically knew that these monsters had to be slain, the conflict of duty and fear in her heart threw her emotions into disarray.

But that was relatively normal, and not much of a problem. What truly scared Sheila was the presence of a certain fragment in her thoughts, though it was small: the ability to take the life of another living thing before her in the name of necessity. She had chosen to justify such thoughts by thinking of the benefits slaying monsters would bring to humankind. Much like her peers, she couldn’t afford to hesitate when taking another life, as long as it was for her own benefit.

Sheila’s combat training experience taught her that much, and that was why she now found herself rooted in place. Staring straight into Lorraine’s eyes, Sheila understood. This was the very same expression she had leveled against Goblins and Slimes in the Labyrinth. She did not, however, expect another human being to look upon her in the same way.

Sheila had no choice but to understand that Lorraine would eliminate her if the latter found her response to be anything less than satisfactory. It wasn’t necessarily murder since that was only possible when the other party recognized their victim as a human being.

Lorraine’s eyes, however, spoke of something else.

To Lorraine, this would be nothing more than a simple act of disposal. She could easily set a variety of objects on fire and reduce them to ash, human or otherwise. Even Sheila understood that Lorraine had the capability to erase another being’s existence without the slightest hint of hesitation. After all, Lorraine was an adventurer, and an experienced Silver-class one, at that. One had to answer carefully; that was most likely the singular thought that flowed through Sheila’s mind right then.

Steeling herself once more, Sheila’s lips parted.

“I...understand.”

◆◇◆◇◆

It was a small, almost inaudible response, much like the flickering flame of a small candle before a storm. This flame, however, continued to burn in the face of adversity.

“I understand.”

Sheila’s repeated response now brought with it a certain degree of force; her voice was now louder, and more audible, but it was directed more at herself than anyone else. That was how it sounded to me.

Lorraine, finally understanding Sheila’s intentions, smiled, her features softening at last. “...I see. In that case, there will be no problems.”

Sheila seemed ready to collapse at those words.

“You must understand, it is not in my interest to terrify young girls.

But, in any case, it is late. Shall we have dinner?”

Upon hearing her words, I slowly began to realize why Lorraine had previously said and acted the way she did.

◆◇◆◇◆

“... Rentt... I’ve heard the stories, but you’re really good at cooking, aren’t you...?” Sheila said, a complicated expression on her face.

The lone table in Lorraine’s home was now adorned with a variety of dishes, meals that I had prepared for Lorraine and Sheila. It wasn’t anything too special. To me, this was classic home-style cuisine, something I was used to preparing. Personally, I felt the food in question tasted acceptable at the very least.

I suppose male adventurers who had knowledge on the culinary arts were few and far between. After all, few adventurers had the stamina to prepare their own meals after an exhausting day of hunting monsters in the Labyrinth. They would be ready to fall face-first onto their beds.

Adventurers, for their part, usually made much more than a merchant or a peddler, so even if they were to eat at a tavern or eatery every single day, it would hardly dent their income. This made adventurers who were well-versed in food preparation quite rare.

Female adventurers, on the other hand, often aspired to be hired on by the guild as staff, and for that very reason practiced cooking in their free time. There was no such trend among male adventurers. It was more common for male adventurers to dedicate their lives to climbing the adventurer ranks. One may argue that it was easier for either gender to carve out a career as an adventurer; to me, they each had their respective challenges.

I, however, had picked up my cooking skills back in my home village, from the same herbalist who taught me my other survival skills. Thinking back on it, I often assisted with preparing meals while she was busy synthesizing some sort of medication. She would also occasionally toss some herbs into the pot for good measure. It was a perfect learning environment for future herbalists and the like, and while it did equip me with a general knowledge of plants and herbs, I

“One Rentt per home—society should be that way, you see. He does everything, mostly for free, as well... But there is now a fee. I suppose you could say that I pay my dues in...that fashion,” Lorraine said, pointing toward the bottle I held in my hands.

It was the very same bottle that had been enchanted with preservative magics: the bottle that contained Lorraine’s blood. A single drop of it was all that I needed for my dinner.

Sheila’s face once again turned a pale shade of blue upon hearing that the bottle I carried with me at all times contained blood. I suppose this was why Lorraine said what she did in the conversation prior.

“I see... A Thrall is a lower-class Vampire of sorts, so...”

It seemed Sheila was quick to come to an understanding of the situation.

I was, for all intents and purposes, a monster seated at a human’s dinner table, licking blood from the mouth of a bottle. To the average passer-by, I probably seemed more like a masked man licking a reddish fluid from a small rod that was lowered into an innocuous bottle. It wasn’t an intimidating sight, perhaps more eccentric and strange.

“That is the state of affairs, yes. That aside, am I to understand that you two have signed a mutually-binding magical contract?” Lorraine asked, casually steering the conversation toward discussing the minute details of the contract between Sheila and me.

There was no obligation for me to tell Lorraine of the specifics, but given that we were all in on the secret now I supposed it was better to speak of it with all parties present.

I nodded in response. “...Yes. It is basically... A contract that...

Prohibits Sheila from saying... Anything about what I... Really am.”

leave that for after the meal. Trivialities, really,” Lorraine said, spooning a portion of her meal.

Sheila, on the other hand, eagerly withdrew the sheepskin scroll from somewhere within her guild uniform.

“I have the contract right here. Would you like to see it?” she asked, offering the scroll to Lorraine.

Lowering her spoon, Lorraine accepted it, unfurling and holding it up to her face.

While we had already signed the contract, and it largely didn’t seem to have any problems, Lorraine was specifically skilled at checking documents and the like for loopholes, which was exactly what she was doing. I personally didn’t feel Sheila would willingly violate the terms of the contract, but the possibility of her subconsciously revealing information was indeed a risk. It would also be unfair to Sheila if accidental slip-ups resulted in her leaving the guild.

But a more sinister thought crossed my mind: I couldn’t discount the possibility that Sheila could be mind-controlled by a mysterious third party sometime in the future. Such magics did exist somewhere in the world, and while those with a strong will could resist such an attempt, the weak would be mentally broken, and easily forced to divulge any information they held.

If such an event did come to pass, both Sheila and I would be in a disadvantageous position. Thus, having someone like Lorraine go through the contract was essential.

Lorraine’s disposition and skills contributed greatly to our purpose.

The contract was magical by nature, and was best scrutinized by someone who had an in-depth knowledge on magic and the like. Lorraine wasn’t a lawyer or official of the law by any means, but the extent of her knowledge was more than enough to verify the validity of the contract at hand.

.

It didn’t take long for Lorraine to fold up the scroll once more, apparently ready to deliver her verdict.

“...At a glance, I suppose there are no obvious issues. There are, of course, a dozen issues I could nitpick on. That aside, this looks mostly fine, as long as Sheila herself does not speak of Rentt’s so-called secret to any external parties. The main consideration here, then, would be an event wherein you are involuntarily controlled by some sort of invasive magic... In which case, I suppose you would have to give up your current life and become Rentt’s slave.”

“Is there nothing... That can be done about... That part of the contract...?”

“Well, all magical contracts of this nature suffer from similar problems. In the hypothetical event that Sheila ends up being controlled by magic against her will, and ends up on the road to slavery as a result of the contract’s binding effects, then all you have to do is cancel the contract from your end, Rentt. If she does, in fact, become your slave, her ownership rights are automatically transferred to you anyway, so you can resolve the issue from there. Either way, there seem to be no issues with this part of the contract.”

Personally, I felt those very details of the contract had a dozen problems of their own. For some reason, though, it apparently worked from a logical perspective, and that was that.

“In any case,” Lorraine continued her explanation, “should such an event really come to pass, you could skip all the troublesome paperwork and just cancel the contract with a mutual agreement.

What I had just mentioned was merely a worst-case scenario...”

.

Lorraine’s worst-case scenario was severe indeed. In the event of Sheila being controlled, and the magic being so strong that it could not be dispelled, the contract would carry out its effects, and we would have to live with the results. Under normal circumstances, I suppose one didn’t have to go that far in planning for a worst-case scenario. My circumstances, however, were far from normal. Lorraine’s sense of

caution was warranted, to say the least.

“As I was saying... This secret is now shared between the three of us.

We must each do our part to ensure that said secret is kept. As Rentt intends on continuing his adventurer career, your role is particularly important, Sheila, so we are counting on you, in more ways than one.”

“Yes... Of course, that is what I intend to do, but...” “But?”

“It’s just that, Rentt has been...standing out a bit too much recently...” Sheila said, glancing in my direction.

“Did something out of the ordinary happen...?” Lorraine turned to me with an eyebrow raised.

◆◇◆◇◆

“There are...several reasons.”

“Oho. Several?” Lorraine tilted her head slightly as Sheila attempted to continue her explanation.

I suppose Lorraine herself could understand why I would attract attention as I currently was, but I didn’t realize there were several reasons contributing to this fact.

“Well... First, there is the problem of his appearance... Although, I would not call it so much a problem, I suppose. There are many robed adventurers...and many more dress just as strangely at the guild, so...”

A fact of the guild that was more than obvious to me. Even I was aware of the fact that I stood out as much as the next adventurer.

However, a combination of factors in my appearance complicated matters. Specifically, a mask made of bone and my pitch-black robes. My wrinkled skin, visible in some places, didn’t help matters much either. I supphostetIprasnk:e/d/msompew4hadt hiirghelycontsth.ecscoalemof strange

appearances.

Lorraine nodded, apparently agreeing wholeheartedly.

“Yes, verily. If memory serves, were there not some more strangely dressed individuals? Like that one man clad in rainbow-colored clothing...with a big feathered hat on his head. Is he doing well?”

“...Ah! You must be referring to Augurey. He set off for the capital a while ago...saying something about how the wind was calling to him. He was skilled, yes, but he was a strange one... The guild has gotten quieter without him around.”

I, too, knew of this Augurey. In fact, I got along with him pretty well, having participated in some of his last-minute parties, as well as the tavern conversations that came after. Contrary to his flippant appearance, his skill as an adventurer was formidable.

Similar to me, Augurey’s singular problem was that of his appearance. As Lorraine accurately described, he stood out far too much with his flamboyant getup. I had even witnessed monsters swarm around him more than once. Monsters were living things, just like us, so the violent combination of colors must have been particularly eye-catching to them.

It was common knowledge that monsters followed Augurey everywhere he went, be it the forests or inside the labyrinths. As a result, both he and I were mainly solo adventurers, if only because no one was keen enough to party with someone who could attract monsters to them just by standing still. Compared to that, my appearance was much more normal—subdued, at the very least.

To think that he went all the way to the capital...

Adventurers were known for being flexible when it came to their base of operations, so farewells or goodbyes were always around the corner. Even so, I couldn’t help but feel somewhat lonely at Augurey’s departure. We were comrades in solo adventuring, if I had to say, but I

.

suppose that was how things were in these lands.

Sheila continued her commentary.

“No matter what, Rentt’s appearance contributes to him standing out, at best. Again, I wouldn’t really call it a problem... But, he did go and defeat some Orcs immediately after registering, and then went on to pass the Bronze-class progression test with flying colors... Under normal circumstances, I suppose we would just assume that Rentt was a skilled swordsman prior to becoming an adventurer. However...there have been a few incidents of new adventurers going...missing, as of late...”

Sheila’s commentary suddenly took a strange turn. Perhaps it was eye-catching for me to have defeated Orcs and advanced in rank in such a short time, but these instances were by no means rare. Even new adventurers could have been skilled in various fields, martial or otherwise, before registering with the guild. All they had to do, then, was study for and adequately pass both parts of the progression test.

Sheila’s mention of new adventurers going missing, however...

Why would I be connected to such an issue?

Meeting my gaze, Sheila continued on.

“The authorities are looking for the perpetrators... Of course, we simply assumed they had fallen to monsters in the labyrinth at first. But, if that were true, other adventurers would have found their remains by now... So therein lies the problem. We have found nothing, and new missing persons cases keep popping up...”

A fallen adventurer’s body could simply be absorbed by the labyrinth after they had fallen, or consumed by monsters. In such a case, however, their clothing or pieces of equipment would be left behind. Organic matter was absorbed at a faster rate than inorganic matter by the labyrinth, but even if their bodies were absorbed, guild- issue adventurer identifications were enchanted with the appropriate

.

magics to ensure their longevity. Even if one found nothing else, one would eventually come across an adventurer’s identification card.

I heard tales of some cards being recovered decades, even a century, after the owner’s death, but new adventurers do not venture to such depths for this to occur. Should they fall, their cards would be recovered relatively quickly being closer to the entrance.

Having an adventurer completely vanish in the labyrinth, card and all, was highly unnatural. This was further exacerbated by the frequency at which it was occurring recently.

“Someone could say it was just a coincidence, that the fallen adventurers’ cards had been dropped into a corner someplace... That is also possible. Actually, that is certainly the most likely explanation.

However, the frequency at which they have gone missing is far too high to be natural. We have no proof, of course, but it is indeed strange. One common possibility that the guild arrived at was that some unscrupulous individual has been targeting new adventurers specifically...either by attacking or kidnapping them...”

I suppose the guild had a point. New adventurers were disappearing at alarming rates, and their remains couldn’t be found. If the rate was more reasonable, perhaps the guild wouldn’t have arrived at such a conclusion. One could even assume the perpetrator was targeting new adventurers, killing them, and stealing their belongings; that was entirely possible.

“Even if they are new, they are still adventurers; they do not fall that quickly, nor that easily. It would be possible for a high-ranked adventurer to do them in, of course... But the guild has observed no strange behavior from any of the higher-ranked adventurers in Maalt thus far...”

“I see. So to summarize: if one was pressed to look for a culprit, the skilled, and yet strange-looking Rentt would be the most likely individual to point one’s finger at?”

.

Sheila nodded at Lorraine’s conclusion. “That is exactly it. To make things worse, he advanced to Bronze-class so quickly... There is no shortage of individuals who spread unfounded rumors of him due to jealousy or envy.”

“Jealousy...?”

A strange emotion rose up from within me upon hearing those words. I never once thought of myself as someone to be jealous of. Rather, I should be the one being jealous and envious of the people around me.

Realistically speaking, I should probably be more upset at the fact that certain individuals had pinned a crime I did not commit upon me. But instead, I somehow felt strangely delighted.

To think, other adventurers are jealous of my achievements...!

Lorraine looked at me with an expression of distaste.

“Oi, Rentt. It is hardly time to be gloating over your achievements. If this goes on, I would not find it strange to see you being lynched by an angry mob. Of course, the guild probably would not make any strange moves on you with such flimsy reasoning...” Lorraine didn’t seem very confident in her own words.

Sheila, turning to Lorraine, immediately addressed her concerns in a somewhat flustered manner.

“O-Of course! Rentt may look strange, but he does good work as an adventurer! The guild would never mistreat an adventurer who is beneficial to the cause.”

“...Am I to assume that if Rentt were of any other personality, he would be quickly gotten rid of? How terrifying.”

I suppose I couldn’t blame Lorraine for interpreting it that way, as the guild’s perspective on the value of individual adventurers could

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indeed be a fearsome thing. But that was just the reality regarding the ways of the world.

I personally contributed my fair share to the guild as of late; not only did I return with the promised Orc materials in the allocated time, I had also packaged them in a way that preserved their freshness. Adventurers who were capable of such a task were few and far between

—in Maalt, at least.

While the typical skilled adventurer could kill an Orc without much issue, adequately preparing the meat for transport was another matter.

“In any case... Those are the reasons for your precarious position, Rentt. Do be careful...”

◆◇◆◇◆

Following our conversation, the three of us sat and discussed potential countermeasures, only to find that there were no simple solutions to the problem at hand. I suppose this was how it would turn out from the start, but Lorraine took extra care to warn me about the missing adventurers case.

Although we couldn’t come up with a concrete solution, we eventually decided that I should, at the very least, refrain from exploring the labyrinths for a period of time. I didn’t find this to be a very practical suggestion, being a monster that sought to advance to another stage of Existential Evolution. If it were for a few days, I would manage, but days would stretch to weeks, and weeks to months...

Hardly a positive prospect.

There were monsters in the forests, mountains, and elsewhere beyond the town, but labyrinth monsters were still the most efficient to hunt. The labyrinth brought with it a wide range of conveniences, from being able to estimate a monster’s strength by the floor it lived on, along with the fact that certain floors were only populated by certain kinds of monsters. Conversely, monsters in the wild were somewhat irregular and unpredictable. One never knew what would be

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found in the hills and the like. Therefore, hunting outside the labyrinths was decidedly inefficient.

But I was not keen on being blamed for some mysterious incident simply because other adventurers were jealous of my progress.

Taking all the above factors into account, we eventually decided that I would stay put for a short while. If the situation still did not change after that, I would return to my prior activities.

In the event of my return to exploration, it was decided that I should have a party member with me in the name of safety. However, it was also possible that I would undergo Existential Evolution while fighting monsters in the Labyrinth. Existential Evolution wasn’t something I could control; its involuntary nature meant that any party member I brought with me would have to know of my circumstances. This narrowed down the pool of candidates considerably.

While teaming up with Lorraine or Sheila was the first thought that occurred to me, both of them weren’t practical companions, for an assortment of reasons. Lorraine had her daily work to tend to, and couldn’t always accompany me to the labyrinth. Sheila, of course, had her work as a guild staff member, not to mention the fact she wasn’t exactly part of the guild’s combat roster.

It would seem like there was no real alternative to me exploring the labyrinths alone, although I suppose a short rest wouldn’t do too much harm.

In any case, I could easily wait a few days. If I didn’t set foot in the labyrinth for a while, the suspicions surrounding me would dissolve gradually. That was the plan, anyway.

I was still able to take on other assignments that didn’t involve going into the labyrinth, much like the busywork I was used to dealing with in life. Those particular skills hardly left me, and those types of assignments were never in short supply. I suppose there really wasn’t too much to worry about.

There was also another reason for me holding back on the exploration for now: I had unfinished business in Maalt, specifically with the blacksmith, Clope. A considerable amount of time had passed since I placed my order, so maybe it would be ready by now. Such was the impression I got when I occasionally stopped by his workshop after my recent labyrinth excursions.

With that being said, there was only one way to find out: a trip to Clope’s was in order.