33. Let’s go quickly

Instead of gaining unwanted demonic eyes, I ended up with a debt. To repay it, I could either pay money, run errands, assist in human experiments, or have my eyes plucked out again.

There are many different ways, but the last method is a bit… Slowly entering the labyrinth, earning money while running errands, avoiding human experiments as much as possible, and making money as quickly as possible…

Of course, there were some gains.

First, the artifact. I thought it was just something that summoned a shield, but it turned out to be a storage-type magical tool that could store items. Rubica probably didn’t know when she gave it to me, right? Anyway, since it’s in my hands now, I should use it well.

And the second is the eyeball of the Umbra Valkyrie, a national power-level monster that appears on the 44th floor of the labyrinth. I’ve used it a few more times since I got it from the shop, but no matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to last more than 3 minutes.

At least the burning pain I felt the first time I used it is gone. The problem is that the amount of information hitting my brain directly through my vision is so overwhelming that it makes my head hurt rapidly.

“Ugh, is there no Tylenol?”

Of course, it’s just sudden fatigue due to the large amount of information, not a headache caused by illness, so it gradually gets better if I switch to the eyes of a regular direwolf. It usually returns to normal in about 5 minutes.

There are many problems, but I think this is the biggest one.

“Yeah, Yuen, you’ve really become a monster.”

There are no whites in the eyes. A red cross-shaped pupil is sharply embedded in a black background, and no matter how you look at it, it’s not an eyeball that fits into a human eye socket.

Moreover, when this pupil adapts to the dark and expands, the central part splits open with a ‘crack’, which is really creepy.

“What kind of shape is this?”

Still, it’s undeniable that the performance is amazing. Although there’s only one eyeball, it has the incredible ability to see through weak points, except for the minor biological error that the focus splits into dozens of directions.

The 9th floor of the labyrinth is where orc colonies start to increase, and scholars who study the labyrinth have certified it as a difficult floor that cannot be broken through without skills.

From here on, you can be considered to have shed the label of a third-rate explorer, and you need to be at least silver grade to qualify to move from the 10th floor to the 11th floor.

From the 1st to the 10th floor, there are no obstacles blocking the path except for high cliffs, so if you’re lucky, you might be able to skip encounters with strong monsters and move to the next floor.

From the 11th floor, the labyrinth changes to an underground dungeon where sunlight doesn’t reach, so you can’t skip battles with monsters. And the biggest problem is finding the way.

Since it’s literally a labyrinth, you have to find the path to the portal well.

“Yuen? Are you inside?”

“Oh, Sera. Come in.”

Sitting in the room, rummaging through the equipment and preparing to go to the labyrinth, I heard Sera calling from outside.

—Creak

“What’s going on?”

“Are you going to the labyrinth?”

“Yes, I need to make money. I have to pay Tresha’s salary, and also… I have some expenses.”

“Hmm, I see.”

Sera stood at the threshold with her hands behind her back for a long time, so I grabbed her shoulders and sat her down on the bed.

“Is something wrong?”

“Just wondering if you like the labyrinth that much.”

“Haha, what? I don’t go because I like it, I go because of the money.”

“You can make money doing other things, can’t you?”

“Hmm…”

Well, that’s true. But doing something else in the labyrinth city?

“Isn’t it dangerous? You get hurt every day.”

“It looks painful, but I don’t get seriously injured.”

“You said you got seriously injured last time.”

“Well, yes. But I haven’t been hurt since then.”

“Hmm…”

Sera is very affectionate. But what can I do? Once you start making money, there’s no place as easy to make money as the labyrinth.

If Sera had come to me like this around the fifth time I went to the labyrinth, I might have agreed and looked for another job.

I might have ended up under a scammer-like tanner uncle, or I might have worked under a crazy dwarf and touched some iron.

But how much would I earn from that? If I enter the labyrinth once and catch a blue-horned deer, the value of the horns alone would be comparable to Tresha’s salary. You earn money according to your abilities.

“Sera, are you worried about me?”

“Yes… Of course, I’m worried.”

“Now there’s Tresha too. Ah, of course, I’m the one paying Tresha’s salary. Is the inn work too hard?”

“N-no way! It’s not because of helping with the work!”

“Then what is it?”

Sera lowered her head without saying anything and fidgeted with her fingers. Could it be?

“Haha, Sera, do you… like me?”

“What?”

“It’s not like that. Why are you so…”

It can’t be, I’m being self-conscious. But Sera’s expression?

“Um… Sera?”

“I! Something came up! I’ll be going now!”

With that, Sera lightly tapped the floor with her feet and stepped out the door.

“Oh.”

* * * * *

“This is…”

I played a prank and got hated by Sera. Asking if she likes me was a bit too much. With Sera’s face and figure, she could easily win against Karina, but there’s no way she would like someone like me. Now that I think about it, I did something very unlikable.

“Phew, how should I apologize?”

It would be nice to apologize with something, but is there anything in the labyrinth that’s perfect for an apology?

“How about giving her a flower?”

“A flower, you say?”

“Yes, because there are flowers in the labyrinth that don’t exist on the surface.”

Katrina, who was listening nearby, provided the answer. Giving a flower as an apology? That’s… quite a good idea. Especially since the person I need to apologize to is a woman.

If I had given a flower to apologize to a man, I might have been mistaken for a homos*xual and stabbed in the back.

“Is there any pretty flower?”

“Hmm, around this time, there might be Aether Hyacinths blooming on the 9th or 10th floor.”

“What do they look like?”

“They’re blue flowers with a slight purple tint. You’ll recognize them as soon as you see them.”

“I see. The 9th floor, huh? I’ll give it a try.”

“Oh, but-“

Before Katrina could finish her sentence, Ewan had already burst through the lobby door and headed for the portal.

“Those are flowers that orcs like, so it might be difficult to pick them alone.”

Katrina scratched her head as she watched Ewan’s retreating figure.

“Well, he’ll manage somehow.”

The guild is still in disarray. Or should I say, it’s even more chaotic and crowded than it was in the morning. The guild building is quite spacious, but there’s a 500-meter clearing around the portal. They say it’s because you never know what explorers might bring back from the labyrinth.

“There are a lot of people watching the portal.”

To enter the portal in the center of the wide clearing, you have to push through the crowd surrounding it. But what can I do? I need to quickly pick those Aether Hyacinths or whatever they’re called and give them to Sarah. Of course, the main goal is to make money, and the Aether Hyacinths are just a bonus.

“I’m going in.”

“Good job.”

“Yes.”

After a brief greeting with the guild staff guarding the portal, I quickly entered the labyrinth. The current time is around 2 PM. I woke up in the morning, got paid, went to the blacksmith to buy some swords, and caused a ruckus at the magic tool shop, which took up all this time.

It’s still far from night, but that’s actually good. It’s best to quickly pass through the lower floors while the sun is up and reach the 7th floor by nightfall.

I’m stronger at night, after all.

“Whew..! Let’s run.”

I replaced part of the muscles in my legs with those of Ursus, swapped out my lungs and heart, checked my direction, and kicked off the ground.

Most of the muscles I have are from Ursus. Unlike the dire wolves, which I only took a few pieces from, I spent about seven hours sitting on the ground, tearing and eating Ursus’s flesh.

Huff- Huff-

The running speed is definitely incredible. Even if I run lightly without putting much effort, I can go about three times faster than an average person. And that’s not all. When the muscles I’ve been using for a long time get tired, I can switch to other muscles and run again as if it were the first time.

Running doesn’t put much strain on the brain. It’s something you can do instinctively, and even during marches, if you’re too sleepy, you can sleep while walking.

You could say the brain is almost resting.

“So fast.”

In just a few minutes, I broke through the first floor. The second floor, which is a forest, wasn’t much different. Since I’m using Ursus’s muscles, creatures like dire wolves don’t approach, and if it looks like I’m going to run into a tree, I just slightly change direction.

I’ve been running for about three hours now, excluding my brain. It’s only around 5 PM, but I broke through the 6th floor faster than I expected.

There’s no proper combat, the running speed is amazing, and I don’t take breaks. The speed of clearing is bound to be incredible. I couldn’t quite believe it, so I asked the guard at the 6th floor base.

“If I enter this portal, it’s the 7th floor, right?”

“Yes, is it your first time on the 7th floor?”

“Yes, well. That’s right.”

It’s the 7th floor. It’s not much different from the 6th floor, but it’s the first floor where swamps appear, albeit in very small areas, and it’s also the first floor where wild boars appear, though there aren’t many of them.

And sometimes, a giant raptor monster called the Red-feathered Eagle Owl flies through the sky.

In the swamp, you can very rarely see a Lizardman.

“Let’s go..!”

Of course, there was no such dog-like thing as falling into the swamp and dying on the first entry to the 7th floor.

“It’s just a forest.”

The 7th floor is composed of many forests, some swamps, and no plains, with a high proportion of mountainous areas.

A giant raptor that can carry off an average Direwolf, that terrifying place.

There’s nothing special to see on the 7th floor. If you were thinking of catching a Wild Boar, you’d go to the 8th floor, and Katrina said you can find clusters of Aether Hyacinths on the 9th or 10th floors.

Honestly, the 10th floor is a bit intimidating, but in reality, you don’t encounter the real boss monster of the labyrinth that often.

Meeting the one wandering around the vast floor is not that… easy.

“How did I really meet this Direwolf leader, this b*stard.”

Well, anyway, that’s a bit of a special case.

Anyway, the goal is the 10th floor, if possible, to find Aether Hyacinths on the 9th floor and catch a Wild Boar to return.

“Let’s go quickly.”