Chapter 6
IT’D BEEN TWO weeks since the harpies extermination quest. I decided to focus on quests I could complete alone and that were near the city. Today, I reported the completion of the day’s quest at the guild annex. Once again, the receptionist was Lesmond. Despite the numerous counters at the annex, his line was always short, and his work was thorough. I ended up favoring him every time. Besides, I could still admire the beautiful and cute receptionists from afar as I waited to be seen.
“Congratulations, Schwarz. With the completion of this quest, your guild points have reached the required level. You can now take the D-rank promotion exam.”
“Thank you. How do I apply?”
“Over at the adventurer registration counter in the main building.”
“Oh, there? Great. Thank you.”
“No problem, Schwarz. We look forward to your continued success.”
After completing the harpy extermination quest, I focused on quests near the Fortress City of Balga that I could complete alone. At the main guild building, I felt a certain distance from others due to my unusual attire and the unfamiliar arms slung over my shoulder. I kept my acquaintances limited to Rudy and Liese and focused on accepting daily quests, accumulating guild points, paying my living expenses, and earning funds to purchase attribute-free magic stones.
Finally, I had accumulated enough guild points. Now, if I passed this exam, I could enter the labyrinth. There, my future path would be revealed! I headed to the adventurer registration counter with renewed determination.
Upon entering the main guild building, I approached the adventurer registration counter. Behind it sat Milimaria, the elf who had assisted me during my adventurer registration.
“Welcome to the Kurtmelga Kingdom Comprehensive Guild, Balga Branch. Oh, you are... Schwarz, correct? Are you here to apply for the D-rank promotion exam?”
“Hello, Milimaria. I finally have enough guild points to apply for the promotion exam.”
“Finally, Schwarz! You’re a dud, aren’t you? Yet you’ve managed to accumulate guild points in just under a month.”
“You knew this whole time?”
Milimaria looked slightly embarrassed. She explained that the crystal which recorded biometric information always blinked white first when it transferred information to the guild card. Then it continued to blink according to the number of skills and attributes the cardholder possessed. However, when my information was transferred, it only blinked once for basic information. That indicated to the experienced Milimaria that I was a dud who lacked magic.
I recalled that both Ashley and Milimaria had seemed surprised at that time. Ashley must have realized it too.
“So that’s how it is. Well, it’s not a problem. I’ve been doing all right.”
“You have! It’s surprising that you have that much ability, Schwarz. But let’s get back to the job at hand. The D-rank promotion exam involves accompanying an examiner to the Wolf Fang Labyrinth in the eastern forest of the Fortress City of Balga. There you’ll traverse the first underground floor and reach the second.”
“That’s it?”
“Schwarz, even the first underground floor of a labyrinth is a difficult place. Moreover, this exam serves more as a training for the labyrinth explorer qualification, which will be added upon D-rank promotion.”
“Okay. I’ll keep that in mind. What’s the schedule?”
“We’ll need a day to arrange the examiner. Come back to the main building the morning after tomorrow. The exam will be a day trip, so camping preparations are unnecessary. However, gathering supplies and tools needed for labyrinth exploration is part of the exam. You’ll have access to the labyrinth-related materials in the library now that you’ve applied for this exam. Please research and prepare accordingly.”
“Got it—the morning after tomorrow.”
I thanked Milimaria and left the main building to return to the White Flower Pavilion of the Labyrinth.
The next day, I visited the guild library to prep. It had three above-ground floors, and several unknown underground levels. The above-ground floors housed various materials and books related to the natural world, while the underground levels contained labyrinth-related materials. My goal was, of course, the underground levels.
Labyrinth-related materials were not publicly available to prevent the underqualified from recklessly exploring and dying in a labyrinth. Even though efforts to raise awareness of the dangers were made, adventurers had a strong tendency to attempt reckless challenges. There were many repeated incidents of low-rank groups stimulating the labyrinth. As a result, general information about labyrinths was made exclusive, and labyrinth explorers were advised not to casually share their knowledge.
However, people are curious about secrets, and keeping them hidden often piqued adventurers’ interest. As an incentive, those individuals were told that once they reached D-rank, those restrictions were off. Those below D-rank were encouraged to aim for that privilege, while those above D-rank were reminded not to devalue it.
I was permitted to enter the library’s underground level, but I only had access to the space concerning basic knowledge of the first underground floor of the labyrinth. The rest would be accessible after passing the exam. I brought several materials into the reading space to confirm what was needed for exploration and basic knowledge.
My goggles had a screen capture function. I used it to capture and save information that I found difficult to memorize. There was a map of the Wolf Fang Labyrinth’s first underground floor, but it appeared distorted, like a crude sketch.
The basic knowledge I gathered about labyrinths indicated that the size of each layer varied with the labyrinth’s growth. Labyrinths that had existed unconquered for hundreds of years were incredibly deep. Newly formed labyrinths only had ten layers at minimum. The width of passages within labyrinths ranged from nine to eleven yards, with rooms along the way exceeding twenty-two yards in width. Since passages were generally unlit, explorers were tasked with bringing white light grass seeds to plant in dark areas. The seeds grew using the labyrinth’s magic essence, and when they bloomed, they emitted a soft glow that illuminated the passages. The labyrinth’s beasts and demi-humans were unbothered by the white light grass, and so it continued to bloom and absorb magic.
I learned that beasts and demi-humans within labyrinths were illusions created by the labyrinth’s use of magic stones as nuclei and magic essence. To conquer a labyrinth, it was essential to destroy or collect its Dungeon Core. This was a large magic stone found deep within.
The labyrinth expelled magic essence into the natural world. This attracted beasts and demi-humans, and once they were ensnared, it would read their genetic information and reproduce them within its layers. Continuous extermination was necessary to prevent strong species from gathering around the labyrinth or higher species from being born.
The skins and parts of naturally-born beasts and demi-humans could be used as materials, but only those born within a labyrinth left magic stones when defeated. If individuals absorbed enough magic essence, it solidified their bodies and they became higher species. They dropped items with high magic, such as distinctive horns, or biological weapons like swords, or shields they’d worn since birth.
On top of that, the equipment and belongings of explorers who died within the labyrinth were absorbed into it, sometimes reappearing as magic items. These items didn’t simply lie on the ground but appeared on pedestals in large rooms or shrines at the end of hidden passages within the labyrinth.
Why such items appeared remained a mystery, but some researchers suggested that they served as bait to lure prey—humans and beastmen—into its depths, while others considered them a form of amusement.
“Maze and explorer, a battle for life. It feels like a more severe relationship than I thought,” I muttered to myself. I closed the books I’d been reading and realized I was starving.
“I’m hungry. I need to go buy the tools for tomorrow and head back.”
Afterwards, I decided to go to bed early. The D-rank promotion exam was tomorrow, and I wanted to make sure I was fresh and sharp.