By the time I finished eating and left the forest, I felt as though my stomach might burst.
I had eaten so much that the food seemed to be piled all the way up to my throat.
The feast had been covered entirely with meat, without so much as a single leaf of greenery.
Come to think of it, wolves were carnivores.
Now I understood why there were so few animals in the forest.
“Let’s meet again!!”
Leaving Luna’s energetic farewell behind, I departed the forest.
By the time I returned to the village, the sun was already setting.
There were more people out than when I had left around noon.
The ones who stood out most were the Adventurers carrying swords, spears, and bows.
They made up only part of the crowd, but they were all heading in the same direction.
Toward the largest branch of the Adventurer’s Guild in the North.
‘It should be open by now.’
Every Adventurer’s Guild branch also functioned as a tavern.
Because of that, their business hours ran from six in the evening until six the following morning.
For Adventurers, visiting the Guild and getting thoroughly drunk there was practically part of their daily routine.
“All right, let’s go! I made it to the third floor for the first time in my life. How could I not drink on a day like this?”
“Oh, did everyone hear that? Hector says he’s paying for everyone’s drinks tonight!”
“Hey! When did I say that?!”
The closer I got to the Guild, the more groups of four or more I began to see.
They were parties.
Teams that climbed the Labyrinth together.
And that was exactly why I was heading to the Guild as well.
To form a team that could climb the Labyrinth with me.
‘The Adventurer’s Guild.’
Before I knew it, a four-story Gothic building stood before me.
I had visited once before to register as an Adventurer.
Even during the short time I stood watching, the door opened repeatedly as people came and went.
‘Let’s go.’
First, I used magic to change my hair color.
My vivid Platinum Blond hair darkened to a deep brown.
For now, I would keep the defining feature of the Kalsburg Family hidden.
CREAK.
When I stepped inside, a spacious lobby came into view.
Two guards standing near the entrance glanced at me before continuing their conversation.
I passed them and climbed the stairs.
The moment I reached the second floor, a wave of noise washed over me.
“Beer’s on me tonight, so drink as much as you want, you bastards!”
“What’s gotten into you? You’re usually such a miser. Did you find a Relic in the Labyrinth or something?”
“Exactly! A Relic dropped from a Corrosion Crab on the second floor!”
“What?! And you’re only buying beer? Buy everyone a round of whiskey!”
Celebratory voices poured out from the second-floor tavern.
The tavern was a gathering place for Adventurers, a meeting room, and somewhere to unwind after an expedition.
I was tempted to join the lively atmosphere, but I had business to handle first, so I continued up to the third floor.
Five service counters came into view as soon as I arrived, with receptionists handling various requests from Adventurers.
The moment a man left the center counter, I sat down before anyone else could take the spot.
“Welcome to the Adventurer’s Guild.”
The receptionist greeted me in a slightly high-pitched voice.
The moment I saw the stiff smile on her face, something struck me as odd.
‘She’s too young….’
She was also unusually beautiful for a receptionist.
Guild receptionists were generally known for receiving high salaries in exchange for extremely difficult work.
After all, they had to deal with aggressive Adventurers on a daily basis.
Because of that, the position was usually filled by young men who struggled to find other work or middle-aged women with particularly strong nerves.
‘I never saw a young woman working as a receptionist in the game either.’
Come to think of it, she had not been here when I visited two months ago.
She was probably new.
Not that it mattered to me.
“What can I help you with?”
“I’d like to apply for an adjustment to Rank 8.”
I took a palm-sized wooden plaque from inside my clothes.
It was the Adventurer identification I had prepared beforehand.
I held it out to the receptionist, who continued staring blankly at me.
“…?”
Something was strange.
Even though I held the wooden plaque out to her, she did not take it.
She merely stared straight ahead.
‘No way….’
Just in case, I waved a hand in front of her eyes.
There was still no reaction.
Now certain, I asked,
“Are you blind?”
“Pardon? Did you do something just now?”
The receptionist suddenly flustered and reached out with both hands.
The instant her fingers touched the wooden plaque, she said,
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
She took it and began tracing the engraved letters one by one with her fingertips.
“Rank 10… Allen… Oh? Are you perhaps a Mage?”
“Yeah.”
“Wow… This is my first time seeing one in person. Well, not that I can actually see you.”
She said it with a bashful smile.
I almost asked how she had lost her sight, then stopped myself.
It would have been nothing more than idle curiosity.
Still smiling brightly, she asked,
“To apply for an adjustment to Rank 8, you need either an evaluation or to submit Monster materials. Which would you prefer?”
“I’ll submit materials.”
An evaluation was a rank-adjustment method used only for Adventurers between Rank 10 and Rank 5, who were categorized as lower to mid-ranking Adventurers.
It required proving one’s strength to a branch officer or someone of equivalent authority.
The procedure was complicated and took a long time.
Besides, I had planned to sell the Monster materials anyway.
“But you didn’t bring a bag or anything?”
The receptionist tilted her head in confusion.
How did she know that when she could not even see?
Apparently realizing what I was wondering, she explained before I could ask.
“I’m using a Skill called ‘Detection’ right now, so I can sense most things around me.”
Detection.
It was a Skill that allowed someone to understand their surroundings through silhouettes when they could not see in the dark.
In a way, it was probably the most useful possible Skill for someone who was blind.
‘Was it coincidence?’
No one knew exactly how Skills manifested.
Was it chance?
Or desire?
If it was chance, then she had been extraordinarily lucky.
‘Well, none of my business.’
I infused mana into the ring in front of the receptionist and opened the Subspace.
Monster materials spilled out with a series of light thuds.
Goblin ears, Gnoll tails, Death Worm teeth, and more.
The receptionist blinked.
“W-Where did those come from?”
“…….”
A Subspace Ring was a valuable treasure coveted by practically every Adventurer.
Explaining it would be troublesome, so I remained silent.
The receptionist soon gave an awkward smile and began gathering the materials.
“You’ve met the requirement for promotion to Rank 8: twenty materials from Rank 9 Monsters. Including the additional materials, you have forty-three in total. Would you like to sell them?”
“How much for everything?”
“After calculating it… 5,250 Sel.”
“Good. I’d like the money now.”
The receptionist sorted the materials, placed several coins into a small pouch, and handed it to me.
I opened the pouch to check.
The amount was exact.
The receptionist then began scraping lines into the wooden plaque with a small carving knife.
“Are you modifying the identification plaque to Rank 8?”
“Yes. Everyone gets very sensitive about this tiny little line, so—”
“No. I’m not finished taking things out yet.”
“Pardon?”
I infused mana into the ring again and reopened the Subspace.
THUD!
Marco’s severed head dropped onto the desk.
“Ah… ah….”
Even without sight, she apparently realized that it was a head.
The receptionist froze in shock.
She must have recognized the silhouette as part of a corpse.
Perhaps I should have been more considerate.
But since it was already out, I went straight to the point.
“This is the head of an illegal black-market merchant I killed in the Labyrinth. His name was Marco, nicknamed the ‘Leech.’ I believe there was a bounty on him. Can I use this to apply for an adjustment to Rank 7?”
“…….”
Even after I spoke, the receptionist merely stood there blankly.
I tapped the desk twice.
TAP. TAP.
Only then did she respond.
“Ah, yes.”
“So, is it possible?”
“Pardon? Um… what did you say?”
“…….”
After I explained everything again, the receptionist excused herself and hurried away.
“Please wait a moment! I’m still new, so… I’ll go ask someone.”
She returned shortly afterward with a pale face and pointed toward the head.
“Um, I asked my superior. They said they’ll need to confirm his identity and discuss it first. May we keep this?”
“Go ahead. Roughly how long will it take?”
“One or two days, probably. Um, but could you….”
“…?”
The receptionist hesitated, her lips trembling slightly.
Then she lowered her head.
“Could you lift this for me?”
“By this, you mean the head?”
I picked up Marco’s head with one hand.
The receptionist awkwardly brought over a small bag.
“P-Please put it in here!”
I placed the head inside.
The receptionist shuddered visibly before setting the bag down.
“Th-Thank you!”
“Has no one brought in a corpse before?”
“Ah, well… I heard that it happens sometimes, but I haven’t been working here very long….”
The receptionist slowly steadied her breathing.
Once she seemed calmer, I brought up my next matter.
“Second, I want to find teammates to enter the Labyrinth with.”
“Yes. I’ll show you the list of teams currently recruiting.”
“Can I see everything from Rank 8 through Rank 7?”
“One moment.”
The receptionist selected several sheets and handed them to me.
I slowly looked through the list.
Most of the parties seemed ordinary enough.
The problem was one particular sentence written on most of the postings.
〈Swordsmen, Archers, and Martial Artists all welcome. Shamans especially welcome. Mages absolutely not accepted.〉
I went through the list again from the beginning.
Not a single party was looking for a Mage.
“Are there any teams looking for a Mage or someone from a Support class?”
“Probably not among the lower-ranked teams that operate on the lower floors. Most of them recruit Guardians or Pursuers. Scouts come after that.”
“Hmm….”
Guardian was the Deep Dungeon term for a Tank-type role, while Pursuer referred to the damage-dealer role.
Scouts were exactly what the name implied: Archers or Assassins who found routes through the Labyrinth and detected traps.
On the lower floors, speed was important.
Because of that, Healers and Support Casters were not particularly popular.
Mages were even less desirable.
‘No helping it….’
“Can you ask every team on this list whether any of them would take a Mage?”
“Every team?”
The receptionist opened her mouth in surprise and asked again.
Considering the amount of work involved, that admittedly sounded unreasonable.
“If that’s too much, ask these three here. And if any of the other teams come in, could you ask them as well?”
“Ah, yes. I think I can do that.”
The receptionist took the list back and nodded.
This was about the best I could do.
Even then, I might fail to find a team.
If that happened, I would have to take the initiative and form one myself.
Fortunately, there was at least one promising person I could recruit.
‘At this time… they probably haven’t even become an Adventurer yet.’
The person I had coveted most in the game.
I had intended to approach them later since there had been no need to rush.
But if I ended up forming my own party, the situation changed.
It would be better for me to recruit and train them from the very beginning.
‘I wonder if I can bring them along on the next Labyrinth expedition….’
“Anyway, is that everything?”
“Yes. But please don’t get your hopes up too much. I’ve only heard about it myself, but lower-floor teams almost never recruit Mages.”
Well, I could worry about that when the time came.
If nothing worked out, I would simply create a new party.
With my business finished, I stood up.
Leaving the bowing receptionist behind, I headed toward the stairs.
I was about to pass the second floor and continue down to the first when the lively noise made me stop.
‘Come to think of it….’
I had not had a single drink since coming to this world.
That was rather ridiculous for someone who called himself an Adventurer.
And if I was going to drink anyway, listening to the unfiltered conversations of actual Adventurers would not be a bad idea.
Having rationalized it that way, I entered the tavern to settle my uneasy stomach.