31. Why All of a Sudden

“2 gold coins and 25 silver coins. Would you like to check it?”

“Wow.”

The next morning, I went to the guild and received the payment. The money came from selling the remaining corpse of Urs, the live goblin brats, and the rescue gratitude money paid by the guild.

The reason the guild bothers to pay rescue gratitude money is so that people will perform rescues. Rescues are tough and moving people is hard, so there needs to be some incentive.

—Murmur Murmur

Anyway, the guild is a bit crowded today. Is something going on? There are a lot of people I’ve never seen before. Most of them are gathered in groups, chatting about this and that. In times like this, it’s fastest to just ask.

“Ah, that’s because the return of the Scarlet Lotus party, the second party of the Meyerbridge Union clan, is scheduled for this evening.”

“Hmm. I see.”

I totally understood.

“What is that?”

“…A dive party that reached the 68th floor will be returning. This evening.”

What the hell! The 68th floor? They’re a monster group.

[Meyerbridge Union] is one of the four super-large labyrinth exploration clans based in the labyrinth city of Kalax.

A super-large clan has five ‘full parties’ composed of 12 members each, and the ‘Scarlet Lotus’ party is said to be the second strongest of the five full parties belonging to the Meyerbridge Union.

“The 68th floor, that’s truly amazing.”

“Hehe, someday, Ewan, you might be able to go too.”

“Thanks for saying that.”

Dahlia said with her usual friendly smile.

“Ah, from now on, please call me Aven.”

“A new alias?”

“Something like that. Ewan sounds a bit funny, doesn’t it?”

“I think it’s clever.”

“Thank you. My mother gave it to me when I was born, she’ll be happy.”

“…Isn’t that your real name?”

Anyway, it’s not really my concern. I haven’t even been to the 8th floor, let alone the 68th. My iron rank explorer badge must be crying.

If it’s a party going to the 68th floor, are all 12 members at least palladium rank? I’m so jealous. The difference in explorer ranks is only about five levels, but the floors reached are more than ten times apart. Of course, they move as a group of 12.

Is there a limit to solo exploration? Still, I prefer going alone. After traveling with other iron rank explorers, I realized the difference in speed is too great.

This might sound a bit arrogant, but aren’t I a bit different from other iron rank explorers?

“Are you going into the labyrinth?”

“Not right now. I think I’ll come back later.”

Since I’ve received the payment, I want to check my equipment. I bought a new sword, but I haven’t discarded the old one. And since the old sword is broken, I want to deal with it somehow.

Fighting with two swords didn’t feel too bad. It felt really invincible. Of course, I didn’t decide to use dual swords, and I have a shield artifact, so I want to make good use of it.

But where do I use this shield? Among the monsters I’ve encountered so far, the only one the shield worked on was the direwolf. Both Ursus and the direwolf leader were the same.

That deer guy isn’t someone you can block with a shield either. Moreover, when you go up to the 8th floor, wild boars appear, and these guys make the shield useless too. What’s the use of a shield when my body is flying?

When you go to the 9th floor, orcs appear. I haven’t met them yet, but I think orcs would be similar. Unless the shield is sturdier, it’s just a simple round shield with wood covered in leather and a bit of iron around the edges.

“Heh, this trashy shield. I’ve been duped by Rubica’s leftovers.”

I should learn more about artifacts. I don’t even know what happens if the shield breaks.

* * * * *

“The sword you used before, did you finally break it?”

“Please praise me. This one died a glorious death fighting Ursus.”

“Ursus? You met Ursus?”

“Yes. It shattered with a swipe of its paw.”

“Hmm, I see. You can’t use that anymore. A sword that’s been melted and reforged won’t have high durability.”

I disposed of the sword I used before. Don’t I have a splendid Excalibur that can split Ursus’s shell? Of course, it’s been known to break bones and get deeply embedded in the ground, so I don’t know how much longer it will last.

Since I use swords roughly, having a spare isn’t a bad idea. Rather than always fighting with dual swords, it’s better to have a backup sword.

“Is there no sword exactly like this longsword?”

“Do you even know what it means for a sword to be exactly the same?”

“What do you mean?”

“It means a crude and weak sword cast in a mold. Such a thing can’t be anything but a model sword.”

“I see.”

Still, swords mostly come out similarly from the same mold. Holding a hefty 2 gold coins in my hand, I feel like a bourgeois. Buying a similar longsword and hanging it on my waist gives me a bit of style.

“Just in case, don’t say anything weird like dual swords.”

“Why not?”

“All those idiots are dead. Among those who wielded two swords, the ones still alive are either about to die or strong enough without doing such things.”

The dwarf uncle seems to have a slightly conservative view on dual wielding. Anyway, I bought another backup sword. From now on, you are Extra Excalibur. It means backup Excalibur.

“I don’t really need to change the pouch or anything else.”

To learn more about the artifact, I need to go to the northeast. There are quite a few magical item shops there, so if it’s useless, I’ll dispose of it quickly. If it has some other useful function, I’ll make good use of it.

“This… is clearly a magical item shop.”

It’s a shop with staffs, orbs, and books with covers written in unknown languages lined up on the stall. No matter how you look at it, it can’t be anything but a magical shop.

—Creak

As I opened the door and entered, the inside was filled with an unknown smoke. This… is the smell of tobacco. And quite a strong one at that.

“Are you open for business?”

“Yes, in full swing.”

“Do you know how to appraise magical items? I brought something that might be an artifact.”

A woman with silver hair, holding a pipe in her mouth, was almost lying down on a chair with a backrest. She reached under the desk and placed a small purple cushion on it. I approached and placed the ring on the cushion.

“The effect?”

“A shield appears. I’m not exactly sure, but that’s all I know.”

“Hmm.”

The magical item shop owner’s sense of fashion is amazing. The desk hides her lower body, so I can only see her upper half, and half of what I can see is bare skin. I think I’ll become a regular here.

“It’s a storage-type artifact.”

“Storage-type… you say?”

“Yes. The shield is just stored inside. It’s a separate item from the magical item. If you want, you can replace it with something else.”

“Wow.”

If it can store items, that’s quite a useful magical item. Instead of a shield, I could put a sword in it, and depending on its performance, it might effectively reduce the weight.

“Capacity? How much more can it hold?”

When the young lady reached out and infused the ring with magic, a shield appeared. Then, after examining the ring without the shield, she gave an answer.

“Just this much.”

“Hmm, that’s a shame.”

“Do you see the magic crystal embedded in the center of the ring? If you replace it with a higher quality one, you can store more.”

“Aha.”

The storage function is engraved on the ring, and if you replace the gem-like thing in the center, you can increase the capacity. It would be great if it could hold at least two swords.

“How much does this magic crystal cost?”

“It depends on the magic it holds inside. What do you want to put in it?”

“Just these two swords would be fine.”

The young lady weighed the two swords I handed her and measured the specifications of the magic crystal that would go inside the ring.

“One gold coin. And about fifty silver coins.”

“Oh my.”

I had expected it, but the price units for these magical items are different. I’m about to spend 1.5 gold coins, what should I do?

Of course, it’s not that I don’t have money right now, but is it okay to spend it so freely?

“What if it only holds one sword?”

“The same.”

“What? How can that be?”

Why is the pricing mechanism like this? If it changes from holding two swords to one, shouldn’t the price be halved?

“This magic crystal is too old. Even the cheapest one can hold two swords.”

“Huh.”

They say the magic crystal embedded in the ring is too old. It barely has enough capacity to hold a single shield, and even that might soon be exhausted, losing its function.

Apparently, even the cheapest magic crystal can store enough power for two swords. More than that is difficult, they say.

“Sss, alright. Take my blood.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’ll pay with money as precious as blood.”

“Very well.”

What kind of reaction is “Are you sure”? Scary!

“By the way… that eye of yours. What happened to it?”

“This one?”

When I brushed my left eye, the lady nodded.

“It’s the effect of a skill.”

“The eye of a direwolf.”

“Yes, well. That’s right.”

“How did you do it?”

“I ate it. Raw.”

“I see, anything is possible?”

“I tried it with the direwolf leader and Ursus. This is just a regular eye.”

“Hmm.”

The lady suddenly stood up and disappeared behind the shop. She even took my ring with her. I hope she doesn’t run off with it.

Ah, no. She’s coming back.

Clatter-

“What is this?”

He brought a small box with an elegant rectangular pattern engraved on it. As he extended his finger over it and infused it with magic, a certain magical pattern glowed brightly in red, and the lock on the front clicked open.

“Open it.”

“Yes.”

As he lifted the lid of the box, the inside was revealed. On a cushion made of very expensive-looking luxurious red fabric, there was a strange, pitch-black sphere.

“What is this?”

“It’s the eyeball of an Umbra Valkyrie. I’ve cast a preservation spell on it.”

“Wow, that’s incredible. But what is an Umbra Valkyrie?”

“It’s a monster that appears on the 44th floor.”

“I see.”

There were no pupils visible, just pure blackness. Is this really an eyeball? It looked like a black glass marble.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you going to eat it?”

“Excuse me?”

“Eat it. This.”

“Uh…?”

Why suddenly eat this?