17. Party Recruitment

“Riss. Iron rank explorer, and the highest floor reached is the 8th floor. As you can see, I’m a rear archer. I mainly use a crossbow.”

“Garond. Also iron rank, and I’ve been up to the 10th floor. Just to clarify, I’m not someone amazing who survived after seeing the 10th floor boss. I couldn’t even get a glimpse and came back up. I’m the front-line tank.”

“I’m Isolde. I have a sensitive hearing skill, so I mainly perform the role of a ranger, but it doesn’t mean I can’t fight. I’ve been up to the 10th floor and have experience participating in boss subjugation battles. Although I was part of the search team.”

“I’m Yuen. Iron rank. I’ve been up to the 5th floor. I mainly engage in close combat.”

One front-line tank, one rear dealer. One ranger in charge of reconnaissance. And me… what am I supposed to do?

After the brief self-introductions, all eyes turned to me.

“The 5th floor… it might be a bit difficult.”

“We’re aiming for the 8th floor, so I’m worried. How did you get to iron rank with just the 5th floor?”

“I went to the 5th floor and single-handedly subjugated the direwolf leader. They suddenly promoted me to iron rank.”

“Single-handed subjugation? Really?”

“Yes.”

Garond, who was carrying a huge tower shield and mace as big as his body, stroked his beard and made a sound of interest.

“You must have a good skill?”

“I’m not sure yet. When I first got it, it wasn’t that great.”

“Well, that doesn’t matter. For now… let’s disclose if we have any curse-type skills that could be a hindrance to the party exploration.”

This is the time that many explorers find the hardest. Forming a party and sharing their bad skills.

In the first place, this isn’t even a party yet, it’s more like a meeting. If a curse skill seems too much of a hindrance, you’ll be mercilessly kicked out.

“I don’t have much. I have a sleep-talking skill, but I just mumble softly, so it shouldn’t be a big problem.”

The female archer, Liss, is said to have a sleep-talking skill. Is that even a skill? Is it really a skill in the first place? It seems more like a habit, but she calls it a skill herself.

“I don’t have any curse skills. Instead, my equipment is heavy and mostly made of metal, so stealth might be difficult. Additionally, my movement speed will be a bit slower.”

Well, that’s the fate of those who walk around in iron armor. It can’t be helped. Still, judging by her size, she seems like a reliable frontline, so that’s something we can take into account.

“I, I…”

Isolde hesitated for a moment, then moved her chair slightly to the right and whispered softly into Liss’s ear.

Upon hearing the whisper, Liss suddenly blushed and pushed Isolde’s face away.

“W-what?!”

“What did you talk about?”

“No, she just…”

“N-no!”

At Isolde’s restraint, Liss stopped talking and looked at me and Garond in turn. Then, with a deep sigh, Liss grabbed her head and said,

“Fine, I get it. Isolde’s curse skill is something I can handle. She doesn’t want to reveal it, so don’t ask any more.”

“Are you sure? Verifying curse skills is the most important process in party cooperation.”

“Yes, I’m sure. Please don’t ask too deeply.”

“S-sorry! But it’s really not a problematic curse skill..!”

“Then let’s leave it at that. We’re not going to a very deep place anyway.”

Overall, it’s an excellent party with no serious curse skills. Except for me, everyone has been to the 8th floor, which is our goal, and the role distribution isn’t bad either.

“Your name is… Ewan? Well, it’s probably an alias. Do you have any curse skills?”

“No. I don’t. I only have one skill in the first place.”

“Really? What’s your experience?”

“This is my 8th run. The first and second were with a party, but since then, I’ve been solo.”

“Solo up to the 5th floor, huh. That makes sense.”

I don’t really have any curse skills. Ah, but should I mention that?

“If you happen to subdue a strong monster, how do you distribute the corpses?”

“Distribute the corpses..? If you catch something like a wild boar on the 8th floor, you drag it back and sell it, then distribute the remaining money. It depends on the contribution, though.”

Reese stared at me with a look that said, “What kind of stupid question is that?”

“Then, can I have some of the corpse before we distribute the money?”

“The corpse.. why?”

“Because I need to eat it.”

“Hmm…”

“Don’t misunderstand. It’s because of a skill. I have to eat it raw, it’s not because I like it.”

“That’s… isn’t that a curse skill? Having to eat it raw.”

Damn, is it? Eating raw stuff is kind of gross, but the return is worth it.

“Alright. Depending on the situation, we’ll set aside part of the corpse for you.”

And so, we formed a party without any issues. We decided to meet at the guild tomorrow morning around 10 AM.

It’s only about 8:30 PM now, so I should head to the market to get ready. I was planning to buy equipment tomorrow morning, but since we’re leaving earlier than expected…

I should replenish my supplies and stop by the appraisal shop before it gets too late.

* * * * *

“Don’t get too cocky. You’re heading to the 8th floor, right? Gauntlets won’t stop a wild boar’s charge.”

“Yes. I’m not expecting such amazing performance.”

“Good grief. Look at the way this guy talks! My gauntlet can easily block a wild boar!”

“What the heck are you doing?”

I bought a metal gauntlet from a crazy dwarf with a split personality. In addition, I threw away my tattered boots and bought sturdy leather boots at a decent price from a merchant tanner, and also bought metal greaves to reinforce my toes and shins.

This greatly increased the protection of my limbs. In the past, I might have hesitated because of the weight, but after wearing the gauntlet and greaves and replacing my muscles with those of the direwolf leader, I could walk and run without any problems.

My strength didn’t just increase within normal limits. Even with these heavy items, I could easily jump three meters like a sergeant.

And the sword…

“No matter how much your strength increases, if you switch to a gauntlet and a sword at the same time, you might lose your grip and die.”

“Let’s give it a try. Give me a good longsword.”

“Why does a guy who only used a one-handed sword suddenly want a longsword? Trying to die in style?”

“Huh? Isn’t a longsword a one-handed sword?”

Contrary to what I knew, a longsword was a two-handed sword. The one-handed sword I had been using was classified as an arming sword, and a longsword was a type of two-handed sword.

“Strong guys can handle it with one hand, but here, try holding this.”

“Oh.”

At a glance, it was much longer than the one I used before. The blade alone seemed to be over a meter long. Unlike my previous sword, where the tip didn’t touch the ground when I held the handle, this one touched the ground even when I held the handle.

“Swing it.”

“Alright, whatever.”

I could swing it without much trouble, even without changing my entire forearm. Of course, if I swung it for a long time, I might get tired, but in battle, I would replace my entire forearm with the muscles of the direwolf.

“Hiss.”

I focused my mind and replaced my entire right forearm, which held the sword, with the muscles of the direwolf leader. The grip strength was on a whole different level.

—Swoosh

“This is quite light, isn’t it?”

“When you enter the labyrinth, you’ll be swinging it a hundred times without rest. Anything feels light if you don’t consider that.”

The dwarf was right. If you did ten sets of ten reps with a pink dumbbell, it would feel heavy because of the weight of your arms. But my strength is on a different level now.

“No, it’s still light even considering that.”

“Hey, you rascal. Did you get some kind of super strength skill or something?”

“Something like that. This is good.”

“Ugh…”

I spent 70 silver from the money I had. 20 silver for the gauntlets, 10 silver for the greaves, and 40 silver for the longsword. It wasn’t a waste at all. This kind of equipment would look like iron grade at least.

“Hey, mister. Could you take a look at this?”

“What is it?”

I took off the ring I was wearing on my left hand and showed it to the dwarf.

“Hmm, a magic tool? It’s an artifact. To properly appraise it, you’ll need to go to a magic tool shop. I can’t do that.”

“Then please take a look at this.”

I put the ring back on my hand and infused it with magic to summon a shield.

“It’s a shield. It’s decently made, no major flaws.”

“Hmm. I see. I’ll be back next time.”

“Sure, just try not to die. Anyone who dies wielding that fine sword isn’t worth living!”

Isn’t a dead person just unable to live in the first place? Dwarves have such confidence in their weapons. Anyway, it is indeed a high-quality sword at a glance.

I didn’t sell my previous sword, just in case.

With two swords hanging on my left side, the left pouch belt kept slipping below my waist. I should do something about this. Maybe I should go back to the leatherworker.

“Shall I do it with harness?”

“Let’s see.”

When the pouch belt gets heavy, it sags down and sometimes even breaks. To prevent that, I removed the leather loops from the belt and attached metal hooks instead.

Leather loops are originally consumables. If used for a long time, the outer part cracks and turns into powder. If you think of it as an investment for the future, it’s not a waste.

Then, by adding two belts and hanging them over the shoulders, I fixed it so that it wouldn’t go down below the waist.

“Five silver coins.”

“Mister, it feels a bit cheaper here compared to other places.”

“You just realized that now? What a ridiculous guy.”

The best satisfaction you can get for five silver coins. The feeling of it hanging perfectly on the shoulders is excellent. It even feels a bit like a chest rig.

The biggest problem is the gambeson…

“Let it go.”

“Mister, is this all you can do?”

“You fool. If there’s someone who can revive this rag into a gambeson, that person is not a weaver but a magician.”

Without asking or arguing, the mister took the former gambeson, now a rag, that I brought and tore it apart with a board full of needles.

“Ha, fine. Give me a new one.”

“You brought the money, right?”

“Of course.”

“I’ll deduct the cost of the fabric.”

“What do you use that for?”

The gambeson that the mister tore apart with force is said to be turned into a low-quality gambeson again or washed clean in hot water and made into bedding.

“It’s thirty-two layers. It should be much sturdier than last time.”

“Won’t it get hot in the summer?”

“You must not know because you only go below the 10th floor, but from the 11th floor, no sunlight comes in and it’s cool all year round.”

“Ah, I’ve heard that.”

From the 11th floor, it feels like some underground ruins, and it seems to be a maze-like terrain that truly fits the name of a labyrinth.

“Ha, my precious 30 silver. I’ve become a beggar again.”

Even though he says that, his body feels secure. With this, it should be safe to go to the 8th floor.

I thought about going to the appraisal center, but there doesn’t seem to be a need to report every successful skill use. Let’s rest well today and prepare to go to the labyrinth tomorrow.