16. Are You Hurt?

Around 3 PM, I woke up late, hastily had lunch, and came to the guild to prepare for entering the labyrinth.

Since there was no need for light at night, I removed lighting devices like whale oil lanterns from my luggage. Instead, I had to pack flint to start a fire, which is lighter than a lantern, so the weight reduction is significant.

To properly enter the mountainous area, climbing equipment like ropes and hooks are necessary. Of course, with my enhanced physical abilities, I wondered if I would need them, but since my goal was to reach below the first five floors, I packed them anyway.

Additionally, I packed food, water, maps, recording tools, herbs, and bandages in case I stayed in the labyrinth for a long time. Having a healer would be ideal, but as always, healers are nobles.

Of course, I would only know after forming a party. I didn’t come here to enter the labyrinth right away but to hear the promotion guidelines and find a party.

“You’ve arrived.”

“Yes, I’m here.”

As always, Dalia greeted me with a bright smile. She took something out from below and placed it on the desk.

“This is….”

“Congratulations. You are now an Iron-ranked explorer.”

“Really?”

The long-awaited promotion. And it was two levels up at once. I returned the bronze explorer badge, which was often called the “poop color,” and received the adventurer badge made of solid iron.

Honestly, I was worried because lead is a heavy metal, but I became an Iron rank right away.

“It’s an amazing achievement. The boss monster is a creature that even Iron-ranked explorers find difficult to subdue alone.”

I don’t remember it being that difficult, or maybe I’ve really become that strong. Anyway, it’s a happy occasion. Being Iron-ranked means that I am now considered a full-fledged explorer.

I can now accept requests from the request board, and most importantly, it’s easier to find a party. Unlike the lead rank, which ends when you barely reach the 5th floor, the Iron rank is obtained by accumulating points through subjugation.

Considering that many lead-ranked explorers want to party with Iron-ranked explorers, I can feel the change in my status.

“I would like to form a party. Please set the target floors between the 5th and 10th floors.”

“Understood. When would you like it by?”

“I’ll come back this evening. Around 8 o’clock.”

“Yes, understood.”

Now, my information will be available to explorers looking for members in the guild, or I can directly obtain information about parties.

The latter is used by people who are at least Gold rank or higher, looking for a party that matches their level.

People with a lot of time often sit in the guild lobby and look for parties themselves.

“It seems you have acquired a good skill.”

“At first, I thought it was a trash skill. I happened to find out how to use it.”

“It happens sometimes. It suits you well, that left eye.”

“Are you saying it’s like a dog?”

“Please don’t take it the wrong way.”

“It was a joke.”

Dahlia, who had asked to wait for a moment, got up from the desk and brought a leather pouch from somewhere.

“This is…”

“This is the reward for subjugating the direwolf leader. Normally, an auctioneer would buy the direwolf’s corpse and sell it, but…”

“Ah, um.”

“They said you ate the direwolf on the spot? The selling price wasn’t much.”

After receiving the leather pouch, I opened the tied entrance to check.

“The subjugation reward is 50 silver, and the selling price is 70 silver.”

“70 silver for the selling price? How much would it have been if it were intact?”

“At least 2 gold.”

Oh my god. I ate 1.3 gold with my mouth. Just thinking about it makes my stomach churn and it’s so damn regrettable. But still, it all becomes my blood and flesh… Yes, it literally becomes my blood and flesh.

If it’s for leveling up, I shouldn’t regret eating things like this.

But damn, still, 1.3 gold.

“Understood. I’ll come back in the evening.”

“Yes, see you then.”

I received much more money than I expected. Let’s lighten the burden on my mind for now.

I ran straight to the inn and called the lady sitting in the kitchen.

“You’re here.”

“Yes. Ma’am. They say I’m iron grade.”

“Is that so.”

“Please praise me a little more. I’m feeling a bit disappointed.”

“You rascal, always dripping blood everywhere. Do you think I’d be happy just because you got an iron rank?”

“Haha, well, that’s true.”

I took out five 10-silver coins from my pocket and handed them to the lady. To be honest, this is enough to cover about two weeks of unpaid meals, but I’m still very grateful to her.

“Hmph. So, you’re leaving this old inn behind? Good. The air will be fresher.”

“Oh no, why would you say that? I like it here.”

“Fine. Are you going to eat?”

“I’ll have something light. I need to go buy some equipment.”

The lady glanced at me, then got up and started looking through the ingredients.

“Go ahead first. It might take a while to prepare.”

“Yes. Where’s Sera?”

“She went shopping. She should be at the market, but why do you ask?”

“Huh, does Sera go shopping alone?”

At that, the lady snickered and looked me up and down as if she couldn’t believe it.

“Why. A kid like you goes to the labyrinth, so Sera can handle the front yard just fine.”

“How am I a kid at 21? You’re treating me like a child again.”

“You’re twenty-one? That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard. With that face?”

“No, ma’am. How old do you think I am?”

The lady stared at my face as if trying to figure it out, then finally spoke.

“I thought you were at most seventeen.”

“Hmm, I don’t think I look that young.”

“Not really.”

“Did you give me food because I looked young?”

“You looked so pale and thin, and your clothes were neat. I thought you were a noble. I gave you food thinking you might drop some coins if I kept you around.”

“Well, I must have disappointed you. Should I earn more?”

“Enough, you rascal. Go do your work. If you have time, stop by the market and tell Sera to buy some more meat.”

“Will do.”

Did the lady see me as a noble? Regardless of the reason, the fact that she took me in and fed me when I was about to die doesn’t change. It seems like she’s saying things she doesn’t mean.

‘Do I look young?’

The people in this labyrinth city have slightly Western faces. They seem to age a bit faster. Of course, not all of them are like that.

After finishing my greeting, I headed out to the store that deals with food supplies. By the way, the southwest part of Kalax, where the Goat’s Beard Inn is located, is home to blacksmiths, cloth shops, weaving mills, tanneries, and grain warehouses that mill and sell grains like wheat and rice.

There are inns, and various shops and appraisal centers necessary for explorers are concentrated here, so lower-ranked explorers mainly live in this area.

The southeast part has the form of a slum, but the amount of money circulating in the market rivals that of the northwest, where the rich live. The reason is that illegal activities like brothels, gambling dens, and slave markets frequently occur there.

The northwest is a wealthy area, with expensive restaurants, homes of renowned explorers, artifact shops dealing with prestigious items, and high-end blacksmiths. Expensive lodging facilities are also located there.

Although not illegal, large sums of money are exchanged there. If you wander around the northwest of Kalax, you can see high-ranked explorers and wealthy people from other cities.

The small area in the northeast is home to an academy that trains scholars who work as appraisers and manages and researches the labyrinth. Large buildings, commonly referred to as ‘clan’ buildings, are abundant.

Of course, clan buildings are not only in the northeast.

“Sera.”

I see Sera shining brightly in the distance. She’s staring intently at a carrot in front of a vegetable shop, and the basket on her arm looks heavy.

“Sarah. You’re grocery shopping.”

“Y-Yoo Eun?! What are you doing here?!”

Sarah alternated between looking at my face and the carrot in my hand, then her face turned bright red, and she lowered her head deeply. Is she sick? Could she have caught a cold?

“That carrot looks delicious.”

“D-Delicious?!”

“Oh, do you dislike carrots, Sarah? You don’t seem like a picky eater, so that’s surprising.”

“I’m n-not a picky eater!”

Sarah, who was chirping like a chick, paid for the carrot and put it in the basket.

After telling her that the lady asked us to buy more meat, I took the shopping bag from her, and she kept opening and closing her mouth as if she had something to say.

“Is something wrong, Sarah? You’ve been acting strange since this morning. Your face is constantly red. Do you have a fever?”

“N-No, it’s not that. It’s just….”

“Just?”

“It’s nothing! Let’s go buy the meat quickly!”

* * * * *

It took longer than expected to do the shopping, so we couldn’t buy the equipment. Sarah seems to be very careful when shopping and tends to actively consider others’ opinions.

She looks at my face every time she buys something, which shows she has a kind heart, but I wonder if she’s living too exhaustingly.

“Ma’am, we’re back.”

“Goodness. I thought you two had gone to get a room. What took you so long until sunset?”

“M-Mom?!”

“Dinner is ready, so sit down.”

First, let’s eat. Then we’ll head to the guild, and we’ll go buy equipment tomorrow morning.