About a week before Schwarz was to take the D-rank promotion exam, I visited the guild outpost in Myral Village.
“Schwarz Paudah...?”
Remi tried to pronounce Schwarz’s full name. Like me, she had never heard of such before.
“Yes,” she continued. “I inquired with the emblem officer in the royal capital, and I checked the noble directories of the Kurtmelga Kingdom and neighboring countries. There is no record of a Paudah family among the royalty or nobility, either currently or in the past.”
“I see. So he didn’t escape from the Baishburn Empire, then.”
Remi seemed slightly surprised that this assumption was off the mark. So, where did Schwarz come from? Before we could ponder that question, there was still more to report.
“A dud with a bloodline skill, huh? As things stand, we can’t just ‘leave it,’ as the general manager suggested. However, I can’t leave here due to the investigation of the new labyrinth found west of Myral Village. Ashley, it’s up to you to continue to observe Schwarz closely and report anything noteworthy.”
“Yes, ma’am. Understood. But he’s not a bad person at all. Rather...”
“Hmm? What’s this? Could it be...you’ve fallen for him?”
Her remark made my eyes widen, my face flush with heat, and my chest constrict with pressure. I didn’t let her know that. I looked straight at Remi’s grinning face and said, “N-no! That’s not it at all!”
“Heh, if a man like that—who wasn’t even an adventurer—risked his neck to rescue me from a goblin’s lair, I’d fall for him. Anyway, stay by his side. It’s challenging for duds to complete quests.”
“But I’m still just a trainee-guild investigator... I can’t accept quests or accompany him as an adventurer.”
“Schwarz is completing quests, right? Then eventually an opportunity will come along for you to accompany him.”
“Th-that is...”
Understanding what Senior Remi was implying, I returned from Myral Village to the Fortress City of Balga that same day. With my check of Schwarz’s recent activities at the guild complete, I prepared for the day ahead.
✦ ✦ ✦
It was exam day. When I arrived at the guild main building, I found Milimaria and Ashley waiting for me.
“Good morning, Schwarz. Ashley is your examiner for today’s promotion exam. She will give you your instructions. I’ll leave you all to it, then.”
Milimaria quickly went behind the reception counter. As she left, my audio sensor picked up her whispering “good luck” to Ashley. It seemed that Ashley might’ve been facing something challenging in this exam too.
“Good morning, Ashley. I look forward to working with you today.”
“Good morning, Schwarz. I’m happy to be your examiner.”
After we exchanged pleasantries, we immediately reviewed the exam’s details. We were heading to the Wolf Fang Labyrinth. It was located in the eastern forest, an area I had visited several times for extermination quests. The exam involved traversing the first underground floor, reaching the second floor, and then returning to the Fortress City of Balga. The exam would evaluate my combat ability, survival skills, and information-gathering capabilities to ensure I had no issues as a labyrinth explorer.
I was ready, and since Ashley had no issues, we set off for the labyrinth. She asked me how we should get there. I suggested taking a patrol carriage to the edge of the eastern forest.
“Schwarz, have you prepared a map of the Wolf Fang Labyrinth’s first underground floor?”
“Yes. I heard that basic information about the labyrinth could be viewed at the library, so I went there yesterday. I found a map, but it is more like a doodle than a proper chart. Is that okay?”
“The map of the Wolf Fang Labyrinth was created many years ago, but labyrinth maps are generally like that everywhere.”
Explorers often created labyrinth maps that they could sell to the guild. There were also explorers especially skilled in map-making that the guild often commissioned. In both cases, the maps were based on the explorer’s perception, which lead to distorted scales in places. While surveying technology in this world existed, it wasn’t feasible to bring a surveyor into the labyrinth. Moreover, there were very few explorers with surveying skills.
During the patrol carriage ride, Ashley began the exam by conducting a check of my exploration tools. I answered her questions as we rode toward the Wolf Fang Labyrinth.
“I won’t engage in combat during the exam. I’ll handle any attacks on me, but you’ll be dealing with threats on your own. Is that all right?”
Ashley looked ready to fight. She wore the leather armor she’d had on when we first met. A pouch hung around her waist. I hadn’t seen her draw any weapons, so most likely it was for tools. In contrast, I’d set through avatar customization to wear the black Napoleon long coat over my usual gear.
Over the past few weeks, I’d gone on numerous quests to accumulate guild points. I found that my powered suit, magazine belt, and exposed firearms stood out. They drew unwanted attention, so I had begun wearing the long coat to conceal them. While playing VMB, I never cared for fashion items that disrupted the FPS image. This was reality, though. I couldn’t walk around in combat gear everywhere, but I also felt unsafe going out unarmed. I’d seen firsthand how easily adventurers could die. I couldn’t bring myself to remove the powered suit or my firearms. Fortunately, the TSS allowed me to quickly cloak myself or remove the long coat during combat.
“Of course. I do have one question: how much of an adventurer’s fighting style and abilities are recorded and shared with the guild? My fighting style is quite unusual, and I don’t want it widely known.”
“Rest assured. The exam results are at the examiner’s discretion, and what is seen or heard during the exam is generally not shared with other guild staff. Moreover, the D-rank promotion exam is more of a training session than a test to fail, so there’s not much probing.”
“‘Generally,’ huh...I understand. That’s reassuring.”
We arrived. After disembarking from the patrol carriage, we followed the road to the Wolf Fang Labyrinth entrance. The labyrinth was located in the middle of the eastern forest, over thirty minutes by foot from the carriage. We chit-chatted along the way until we finally saw the building managing the labyrinth’s entrance and exit.
“That’s the Wolf Fang Labyrinth management building. We have to first register for exploration there. Oh, and don’t forget to buy white light grass seeds.”
The labyrinth management building recorded when explorers entered and exited, organized exploration plans, and managed labyrinth information. It also had a rest area and a shop selling recovery potions and white light grass seeds. Recording explorers entering the labyrinth helped predict when beasts or demi-humans might overflow from the labyrinth. This was based on extermination progress and the number of deceased explorers. Ashley and I submitted the exam’s exploration plan, had our guild cards verified, and received permission to explore the maze.
The labyrinth’s entrance was a large cave on an unnaturally raised hill. Guards flanked the entrance to handle any beasts or demi-humans that might overflow and escape. We greeted the guards, then entered the labyrinth.
Inside the cave, I saw several small glowing white flowers similar to those in the goblin lair. Realizing these were white light grass, we proceeded to the plaza. That was where the stairs leading to the first underground floor were.
“We’ll be in the labyrinth’s domain once we descend these stairs. Are you ready?”
Ashley sought final confirmation, but my response was to ask her to wait a minute. I checked my map for any light points—I wanted to make sure no one else was around. Once I confirmed we were alone, I operated the TSS to store the long coat I was wearing.
For this exploration, I had changed my primary weapon from the MP5A4 to the FN P90. Manufactured by Belgium’s FN Herstal, this was a submachine gun categorized as a personal defense weapon. Its ergonomic design and specialized 5.7 × 28mm ammunition offered high penetration against rigid targets when compared to standard pistol rounds. The bullet tumbled inside soft targets like human bodies and caused significant internal damage without exiting. I made this change to avoid stray bullets or ricochets hitting others in the confined maze. That, and also because the P90’s magazine could hold fifty rounds, providing highly sustained combat capability.
I held the P90, looking through and adjusting it to use the iron sights instead of the default dot sight. There was no discomfort transitioning into aiming. I retrieved a tactical light and two suppressors from my waist pouch. I attached the tactical light beside the iron sights and a suppressor to the muzzle. I also attached a suppressor to the Five-seveN and returned it to my waist.
The tactical light served as a flashlight in the dark labyrinth and could blind adversaries. The suppressor was used to avoid attracting surrounding enemies, as it would minimize drawing unnecessary attention from other explorers on the same floor. This made it a standard part of my equipment.
“Okay, I’m ready. Let’s go.”
Ashley watched my equipment check with a smile. This was how my first labyrinth exploration began.