Chapter 4: 4. An Unworthy Disciple Greets His Master!
‘Examine my body in detail? Could it be because of this [LV.MAX Slime Body] skill?’
It seemed that the skill I had acquired after the black slime pierced through my stomach revealed something to the eyes of an expert.
I still did not really know what had happened to my body, so I would be grateful if she examined it for me.
The moment I was about to readily accept her request, Arin began fumbling over her words in flustered embarrassment.
"Ah...! Th-that is not what I mean! I am not demanding your body as payment or anything. I am simply curious about your physique... No, that sounds strange too..."
Hmm... It was not an unreasonable request, but there was something strange about how flustered she was.
‘Is she just very shy?’
Well, asking to examine someone’s body was not exactly an ordinary request, so I let it pass.
Before I knew it, Arin’s face had turned red, and she placed a hand on my shoulder.
Thump!
"What I mean is!"
I took the hand resting on my shoulder and smiled.
"I understand what you mean, my benefactor. I have not misunderstood anything, and I do not mind, so please examine me as much as you like."
"A-as much as I like?"
"Yes. I am counting on you."
I just hoped she would tell me what was going on after she looked.
It was a max-level skill. Could it have other functions besides making me more flexible?
Arin had been staring blankly at me before she spoke.
"What are you going to do... A boy should not go around saying things like that so carelessly. Though I suppose I have no right to say that when I was the one who asked..."
I had no idea why she kept acting like this. Did she feel guilty about something?
Hoping to ease Arin’s guilt even a little, I spoke.
"Then, could I get some information in exchange for letting you examine my body?"
"Information?"
"Yes. Basic common sense, where this place is, and things like that. I have lost my memories..."
I thought I understood why people always claimed they had amnesia when making excuses.
It was convenient. There was so much I wanted to hide, but saying I could not remember took care of it all and drastically reduced the number of excuses I had to make.
"When I came to, I was in a plain with nothing around... So I ran in one direction and met some slave traders. I almost got into serious trouble... Thank you for saving me."
The moment I said that, Arin’s eyes softened, and she gently pulled me into her embrace.
"-M-my benefactor?"
"You look so young... Sweetie, you have been through so much. You must have been terrified, right?"
The hand patting my back belonged to a body smaller and more delicate than mine, yet it was incredibly warm.
Was it the effect of my Luck stat? I was fortunate to have met such a good person.
As warmth I could hardly believe came from such a slender body enveloped me, I thought of the warm director’s...
Press.
My thoughts vanished in an instant.
I felt sorry for Arin, who was sharing her warmth with me, but the enormous breasts pressed against me had bleached my mind blank.
She was already such a beauty that my eyes wanted to snap wide open, and since her clothes were so thin, it took all my effort to keep my gaze fixed on her face.
Her breasts, flattened against my solar plexus and spread wider, seemed to pin down my entire body so I could not move an inch.
Why did she smell so good, too? I was about to go insane from the lower half of my body, which kept trying to tense up.
If I lost control and touched her here, I would become a beast who did not even know how to repay kindness.
As I desperately tried to control my groin, which was steadily hardening, Arin pulled away and began twitching her nose.
"Sniff... sniff... Huh...?"
Arin’s cheeks were slightly flushed and her mouth hung open. I shouted at her.
"Thank you, my benefactor! I feel a little stronger thanks to you."
"I-is that so? That is good..."
An awkward silence followed.
That was strange... Nothing that should have made things awkward had happened... right?
We stole glances at one another before one of us could not bear it any longer and spoke.
"Then, are the terms we discussed earlier acceptable?"
"Ah! R-right! Of course they are. If anything, I would like to ask you myself."
Having regained our composure, we continued our conversation.
"Ahem! You have a lot you are curious about, do you not? Ask me anything!"
My first question was...
"Where is this place?"
"This is at the edge of the eastern district... Ah, you said you had no memories, did you not? This is my home in the eastern district of Labyrinth City Velanis."
A labyrinth city... I had suspected it ever since the slime appeared, but it seemed certain now.
"Could you tell me more about Labyrinth City Velanis?"
"Of course. Come over here."
"? Yes."
Arin threw open the door and pointed to a gigantic tower.
In the middle of a vast city packed with buildings, the immense tower pierced above the clouds, as though it had drawn one long straight line between earth and sky.
"Wow..."
Arin smiled faintly at my gaping expression and continued her explanation.
"That tower is called the Lumen Labyrinth. It has existed since ancient times and is known as a passage to the divine realm. Many adventurers have challenged it in pursuit of its highest floor, but none have ever conquered it. This city lies at the westernmost edge of the continent and is administered under the Continental Alliance. It handles all of the magic crystals distributed throughout the continent. The city is divided into eight districts, and we are close to the far end of the eastern district."
Arin tilted her head as if asking whether I had anything else to ask.
"Why do people explore the labyrinth?"
"The monsters that emerge from the labyrinth possess magic crystals. The Adventurers’ Guild purchases monster corpses and magic crystals and pays for them. And reaching the labyrinth’s upper floors brings tremendous fame. There is even a famous tale of a man who climbed the labyrinth, became a duke, and eventually became king. There is also a legend that if you reach the very summit of the labyrinth, it will grant your wish."
"A wish..."
"Is there a wish you want to make?"
The first thing that came to mind was returning home.
I had promised to visit the director of the orphanage... Was she looking for me now?
I worried about the younger kids at Hope Orphanage, where I had grown up, and I had not even repaid the director who paid my enrollment fee.
And I wanted to know how I had ended up here in the first place.
I had never written the proverbial 5,700 characters, nor had I been hit by a truck with a teleportation magic circle drawn on it. I had no idea why I had come to a place like this.
Arin nodded when she saw the complicated expression on my face.
"It seems you do... Do you want to climb the labyrinth?"
For now... everything about my situation was telling me to climb it.
There was nothing else I needed to do in this world right away except climb.
I looked at Arin and nodded.
"Yes, I want to climb it."
"You could die. The labyrinth is not a place to be taken lightly."
"Even so, I feel like I have to climb it."
"Is that so? Do you have anywhere to go right now?"
"No."
"I see..."
Arin opened her eyes and spoke.
"Then, would you become my disciple?"
"Pardon?"
I did not understand why she would trust someone she had barely met enough to take me as her disciple.
As I stood flustered by the sudden offer, Arin smiled bitterly and spoke.
"Hmm... That was too sudden, was it not? The truth is, I examined your body a little while you were unconscious. Ah! Do not misunderstand. You were unconscious, so I only intended to share a little of my energy with you."
"You shared your energy with me?"
"Yes. Here, it seems to be called many things—mana, chakra, aura, and so on—but where I lived... No, I call it qi, or internal energy. I merely shared a little of that with you."
Mana, internal energy... There was no way I would not know those words. They were used in all kinds of fiction.
"So that is why my body felt refreshed when I woke up... Thank you, my benefactor."
"Hehe, it was nothing. Your body was special. I tried to initiate a Minor Heavenly Circuit, but the internal energy that should have traveled through your acupoints spread throughout your entire body instead."
Spread throughout my entire body? I had no idea what that meant.
I had heard of acupoints and Minor Heavenly Circuits in the martial arts novels the director enjoyed reading... But what exactly was wrong with my body?
Seeing my dumbfounded expression, Arin laughed as though she found me cute.
"Hehe, it piqued my curiosity. And when I saw the thief’s wrist, I thought you were quite skilled. I wondered whether you had learned swordsmanship somewhere."
I remembered... I had tried to drive a blade into the thief’s neck, but I had cut off his wrist instead.
I did not know how I had done it, and it was not my own skill.
After all, the only knife I had ever held was a kitchen knife.
"I will need to examine you further to know the details, but you are quite extraordinary. As far as I know, I have never even heard of a body like yours."
No one had ever called me special before in my life...
"I am not forcing you. If you truly do not wish to, you need not accept. But one thing is certain: if you become my disciple, you will have no regrets."
In that moment, memories flashed through my mind.
[Hey, you little beggar! Come act cute for me and I will give you 100,000 won. Start by barking!]
[Hah... This fucking bastard has such pretty eyes, does he not? Hehe.]
[You know? There is not one thing you are good at. You are an orphan, and you have no money. So do not go strutting around like you are something, understand?]
The only person who had ever acknowledged my worth was the director.
Moved by the pure goodwill I was receiving from another person, I nodded.
"I will do it, my benefactor!"
Perhaps she had not expected me to agree so readily, for Arin’s eyes widened before she smiled with satisfaction.
"Hehe, I look forward to working with you. Then, the Nine Bows Ceremony... No, since the place where we breathe has changed..."
‘Is she talking about the Nine Bows Ceremony? What was that again?’
Arin smiled beautifully and held out her hand.
"Do not call me your benefactor. Call me Master."
Rather than taking her outstretched hand, I blankly stared at my master’s beautiful face.
She seemed to want the Nine Bows Ceremony, so I promptly prostrated myself on the spot.
"I look forward to learning from you, Master! This unworthy disciple shall offer you nine bows!"
Visibly flustered, Arin tried to pull me up from the floor.
"H-how do you know to do that? And the Nine Bows Ceremony means bowing nine... I-I mean, get up first!"
"I look forward to learning from you!"
"I-it is fine!"
And so Arin became my master.
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