Chapter 17: 17. Map Clipping???
Guildmaster Sylvia Lumenen seized the hand of the unidentified master who had appeared at the perfect moment.
As someone whose job required her to assess countless different people, she was quick to scan him.
In contrast to his smooth, polished face, his body was firm and heavily muscled, while his hands were rough.
And the fact that he had come here with not a single piece of armor, carrying only one sword...
Shuddering at the sight of what might be the cheapest this top-tier prospect would ever be, Sylvia pointed upstairs with her palm.
"It is an honor... I will go over the details upstairs."
"Who are you...?"
The man did not recognize her, but Sylvia was not offended in the least.
If anything, she liked it. How long must he have trained alone for him not to know who she was?
Every so often, an Easterner like this would appear—someone utterly ignorant of the ways of the world and unaware of his own worth.
Taking advantage of him would be a terrible idea... To maintain this relationship for a long time, Sylvia answered with utmost courtesy.
"My apologies for the discourtesy. I am Sylvia Lumenen. I am unworthy, but I serve as the guildmaster of the Adventurers’ Guild."
"Ah... yes. My name is Jang Ryu-o. It is a pleasure to meet you."
At the man’s polite manner of speaking, Sylvia nearly broke into a foolish grin.
After all, powerful people with shitty personalities were usually difficult even to talk to.
But this man...
"Does the guildmaster personally guide new adventurers like this?"
"How could that be the case? I simply wish to build a good relationship with you, Jang Ryu-o. Most registrations are handled on the first floor."
"With me? The Adventurers’ Guild wants a relationship with me?"
Look at that innocent reaction. Even the way he spoke was so gentle—a world apart from those men with nothing but pent-up rage in their heads.
She had expected him to act as handsome as he looked, but his manner of speaking was even more appealing.
After opening the door to her office, Sylvia naturally seated Ryu-o on the sofa.
"Hehe, of course. Meidel! Prepare the registration papers and bring them up! Ah, do you have an identification plaque?"
"I do not..."
"I see... As expected... Meidel! Go to the receptionist and make sure he can get one issued immediately."
"Y... y-yes!"
Look at her not dragging out the ends of her words... She can do it when she wants to...
Sylvia clicked her tongue as she watched her normally languid secretary dash out at once.
But she quickly composed herself, sat down before Ryu-o, and got to the point.
"I will be direct. The Second Young Lady of the House of Duke Velatus has sent out a distress signal from the fifth floor of the labyrinth. I would like you to go in and rescue her as quickly as possible. Right now."
Ryu-o answered with an expression that said he had no idea what she was talking about.
"...? This will be my first time entering the labyrinth."
"Yes, I naturally know that. Will you at least hear the terms first?"
"If it is merely the terms..."
Sylvia decided to make him an offer he could not refuse.
"All adventurers rightly begin at the No Rank, but if you complete this request, you will skip the Wood Rank and be promoted straight to Iron Rank. Along with twenty gold coins. What do you think?"
Seeing Ryu-o’s eyes widen, Sylvia smiled to herself.
He was someone who would be promoted soon enough anyway, so it gave her a good pretext while resolving a troublesome matter. Killing two birds with one stone.
The fact that he did not seem particularly bothered even upon hearing the name Velatus made her trust him all the more.
Just then, Meidel entered the room carrying the papers.
"H-here they are!"
With smiling eyes, Sylvia held the papers out to Ryu-o.
"Even if you decline, your registration will proceed smoothly. Though personally, I would be glad if you accepted this mission."
"..."
"Will you accept the mission?"
**
No matter how thoroughly Master had explained things to me...
He had never explained how to deal with an absurd situation like this.
The moment I resolved myself to enter the Adventurers’ Guild, a silver-haired, blue-eyed beauty welcomed me and registered me as an adventurer—who could possibly have predicted that?
On top of that, I had received an offer I could not refuse, so in the end...
"Then I look forward to working with you!"
I waved to the guildmaster as she bent at the waist in a ninety-degree bow, then found myself standing before the portal.
Even the heavily guarded entrance was a free pass with the guildmaster accompanying me.
Before I could even properly process it, I had arrived.
The whole process had gone so smoothly that it felt as if my tension was fading.
This would not do. Master had said that reaching the fifth floor alone should not be difficult for me, but rescuing someone was another matter. I could not let my guard down.
Since entering the labyrinth would teleport me to a random location, I drew my sword.
[The most dangerous moment is immediately after entering a labyrinth.]
Recalling Master’s teaching, I placed my free hand into the portal.
It was softer than jelly, yet offered more resistance than smoke.
‘...? It is so soft? Ah, focus.’
My tension nearly loosened a little, but I shook my head and gathered myself.
As my body was sucked in, my vision blurred.
This was it. This was the moment I needed to be most careful.
I was dizzy, but I forced my eyes wide open and endured.
Ding!
[You have completed the tutorial!]
[Title unlocked!]
[Inventory unlocked!]
[Your Inventory has absorbed the Spatial Storage!]
...??? A tutorial?
Fortunately, I arrived safely in a wide field, with no monsters around me.
Still, there was no helping the way that ridiculous message completely drained me.
I did not even have time to take in the feeling of entering a labyrinth for the first time.
I quickly checked my surroundings once more, then opened my status window.
[Status Window]
Name: Jang Ryu-o
Class: None
Title: None (NEW!!)
Level: 8
HP: 590/590 MP: 410/410 Strength: 20 Agility: 12 Constitution: 15 Intelligence: 9 Luck: ¿?9
Remaining Points: 1
Trait: BUG
Skills: [LV.MAX Slime Body], [LV.5 Basic Swordsmanship], [LV.4 Qi Circulation and Meditation], [LV.2 Cloud-Treading Phantom Step], [LV.1 Water Resistance], [LV.1 Poison Resistance]
Inventory (NEW!!)
The things that immediately caught my eye were the NEW labels, the skills and stats I had raised so far, and the inventory.
"The bracelet Master gave me..."
For the moment... I felt a little disappointed, but I pulled myself together and pressed Inventory.
It would be a disaster if all my supplies had vanished...
Fortunately, when I pressed Inventory, I could see all my supplies neatly displayed in square slots, with their quantities written out as well.
"Whew... It is easier to see now? Then how do I take things out? Let us experiment..."
The results of the experiment: whether I pressed a square slot or simply thought about it, the item popped right into my hand.
‘What am I supposed to tell Master...?’
I would just have to say it somehow went into my body. My dantian could move around too, so what was a little spatial storage...?
This time, I pressed the newly created Title slot.
[Titles]
- [Miracle Worker]
...
I had thought there would be nothing there, yet I found a title called [Miracle Worker].
‘? Let us press it first.’
[Miracle Worker]
Granted to one who performs a miracle.
Additional stats are awarded upon performing a miracle.
That was a damn vague description.
It did not say how many additional stats it awarded, what qualified as a miracle, or whether it would keep awarding them for the same act.
For now, since it was the only title I could use, I equipped it.
I wanted to try shaking my dantian while practicing Qi Circulation and Meditation right away, but in the middle of a labyrinth...
My immediate goal was to rescue the hostage on the fifth floor, so I took out my adventurer plaque from the inventory and checked it.
The red dot was my location, and the blue dot was the portal to the next floor.
The first floor was a field, so all I had to do was run straight ahead.
As I sprinted straight toward my destination using the running technique I had practiced, horned rabbits stared blankly up at me.
"Kyuruk?!"
I did not have time to deal with you.
Checking the adventurer plaque briefly, I saw that I was already close to the blue dot.
When I put my hand into the soft portal and waited, the same sensation as before engulfed me.
In an instant, I arrived on the second floor, which was a forest.
At least the trees were not densely packed enough to obstruct my view, but...
"Grrr... grrk?"
I locked eyes with a pack of second-floor monsters: Silver Wolves.
There were three in total. I thought I could probably ignore that many and pass through.
When I kicked off the ground and began running, the Silver Wolves cried out and chased after me.
"Woof! Woof woof!"
‘Tch... What a pain.’
This would not do. Before using the portal, I had to deal with them before they drew all the aggro and their numbers grew.
If I ended up like the Pied Piper, that would be even more troublesome...
Strangely enough, this footwork allowed me to change direction even while floating in the air.
For example...
Whoosh!
"Grrr?"
As I, suspended in midair, ignored the laws of physics and made a U-turn toward it, the Silver Wolf’s eyes went wide.
Swish! Splat!
"Yelp!"
"Woof woof!"
One of them went down easily with a slash. The first time I split open flesh, a chill ran down my spine, but before I had time to feel repulsed, I looked straight at the Silver Wolves.
Startled by a movement they had never seen before, the Silver Wolves hesitated and backed away.
I would have preferred if they simply left, but it would be a nuisance if they called their companions, so I charged at the one whose tail had curled between its legs.
Swish! Splat!
I did not even need martial arts. One strike. The Silver Wolf’s snout split beneath its nose, and it fell without even a death cry.
The revolting yet peculiar smell of blood mingled with animal musk made it finally feel real that I had come to a labyrinth.
Naturally, the Silver Wolf did not give me time to indulge in my thoughts.
The Silver Wolf lunging from the side leaped to tear out my throat.
"Grrr!"
I sidestepped slightly, stabbed my sword through the skin of its belly, and pinned it to the ground.
Thud!
"Yelp! Yelp!"
"Hoo."
It let out pitiful cries, but I hardened my heart.
I stepped on the struggling Silver Wolf’s neck and drew my blade sideways with one long slice, killing it.
Riiip!
Blood sprayed, and its entrails spilled out.
It was not a pleasant feeling. My hands trembled slightly.
Before monsters could come drawn by the smell, I shook the blood from my sword, stored the corpses in my inventory, and began running again.
I steeled myself not to dwell on pointless thoughts.
My goal was at the very top. I could not mope over something this minor.
"Hoo..."
After taking one breath and kneading my forearms a few times, I ran again.
Whoosh!
**
I arrived before the entrance to the third floor with remarkable ease.
The real problem began now. This place was structured so that I could not simply follow the blue dot.
Starting from the third floor, there would be caves inhabited by goblins.
Naturally, I could not go in a straight line, and there would be forks in the path.
Fortunately, since it was still a low floor, the route should not be too complicated.
Holding a torch in one hand, I inserted the hand holding my sword into the portal.
Plop!
"...??? Wh-what? What is wrong with this?"
The moment I put my hand in with the sword, the portal dangled like a ragged piece of meat.
I had never heard about anything like this.
"Is this all ri—"
I felt my body being transported.
"—ght...?"
Bam!
In the next instant, it felt as though a blunt weapon had struck the back of my head and my shins.
Damn it, I should not have let my guard down...
It did not hurt.
The problem was that I toppled forward.
"Kerurk!!"
For an instant, the torch I had dropped flickered and illuminated the goblins.
Thud!
My face slammed into the ground.
"Ugh...! Huh???"
Normally, my face should have been crushed... but my neck sank straight down beneath the floor.
I could vaguely see the structure of the labyrinth, along with the soles of the goblins’ feet and their faces... I could see them? Even though they were above ground?
‘Pardon?’
When my neck vanished, the goblins, like me, had question marks floating over their heads.
"Kerurk??"
Then, a bright sound rang inside my head, snapping my dazed mind awake.
Ding!
[Miracle Worker title activated! Agility +3]
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