Chapter 15
The park was exactly halfway between the temple and the inn.
On his way back to the inn, Jeong Yushin stopped by the park.
He sat on a bench, propped his chin on his hand, and took in the scenery.
Beautiful flower beds and trees awash in pink petals.
A marble statue stood in the center of the park, with a fountain arranged around it as though embracing it.
Perhaps the water spirit was playing a prank, because the fountain’s water rose into the air and traced beautiful, bizarre shapes.
Children were playing all around it.
A boy brandished a branch and shouted.
“Hiyah! I’m the Sage Esdras! Take that, you bad guys!”
Another boy shouted at the top of his lungs.
“This time, I’m playing Esdras! Why do you always get to play the good guy?!”
Jeong Yushin sat on the bench watching the children bicker, then hung his head.
His worries were deepening.
He had paid to gain an opportunity to learn to read and write, but where could he learn to use weapons cheaply?
Tuition at the swordsmanship guild was thirty silver coins.
That was the amount he would earn only after working at the monster dismantling shop for three months without even stopping to breathe.
He grabbed his hair and let out a deep sigh.
There were fixed expenses, too.
The monthly rent he paid Darmong was one silver coin and fifty copper coins.
Money that left his pocket even if he merely sat still and breathed.
Since he had just paid tuition, all he had left was four silver coins and a few copper coins.
If he planned to enter the labyrinth again, he had to start saving now. He needed at least enough money to buy supplies.
Fortunately, he could eat breakfast for free at the inn, and the temple provided lunch, but he would have to go without dinner.
That was his current situation.
‘This is fucking tight.’
He wanted to grab Darmong by the trouser leg, but he didn’t want to give someone already worrying about his situation an even bigger headache.
‘Who would want to go to an inn where a potential sex offender is staying?’
If he had been the innkeeper, he would have thrown him out immediately, so he admired Darmong for agonizing over this problem.
He organized his thoughts.
In the end, two options remained.
The first was to work at the monster dismantling shop.
He could earn money, but he couldn’t improve.
He would have to grind away day and night for three months, with no time to enter the labyrinth—or even learn to read and write.
Then he would have to hand over everything he earned during those three months to the swordsmanship guild, study for one paltry month, and return to the dismantling shop for another three months.
No matter how he thought about it, it was inefficient.
The second was to enter the labyrinth again.
As long as he didn’t suffer severe wounds or obtain a strange Engraving, he would at least avoid a serious deficit, making it worth trying.
Come to think of it, he wasn’t earning too little, either. He had made three silver coins on his first expedition, which wasn’t bad for a week’s work. True, he had risked his life, eaten and slept poorly, and spent more on preparing supplies than he had earned, leaving him in the red, but still.
Well, so what? If he found a good party and worked hard, going around the labyrinth with them, his skills would improve, and once they did, he would have all kinds of chances to earn more.
He made his decision.
Jeong Yushin rose from the bench.
Now that he had made his plan, all that remained was to act.
* * *
“No.”
“Why not?”
The man sitting across from Jeong Yushin shook his head as he spoke.
“Because you’re a Barbaroi. My party doesn’t accept female hunters.”
Jeong Yushin frowned.
“At least call me a bride hunter. Damn it.”
“It’s the same thing.”
This was his fourth rejection.
He had prepared supplies, spent a day at the inn, then come to the Explorers’ Guild with his hopes running high to interview for a party, only to fail every time because he was a Barbaroi.
The man sighed.
“Go to a different party, not a normal one like ours.”
The gaze of the party member sitting beside the man pierced his chest coldly.
“Are there abnormal parties?”
“Don’t look at the recruitment notices on the guild board. Ask the receptionist. Tell them you want to join a ‘bottom-tier’ party.”
“What is a bottom-tier party? Do you mean a party of novice explorers?”
“No. Forget it. Ask the receptionist. Get lost.”
The man waved him off brusquely, as though unwilling to explain further.
Jeong Yushin stood up.
At this point, hadn’t it been lucky that he had joined Kaal’s clueless party?
He avoided the sharp-featured human receptionist and went to another desk.
“Hello, Explorer. How may I help you?”
It was the cute-eared dog beastkin he had seen earlier.
“What is a bottom-tier party?”
“Ah! Those are parties formed by people with negative Engravings. Are you thinking of joining one?”
“Yes. Since no one will accept me, that’s my only option.”
“There’s a party made up of novice explorers. Why don’t you join them?”
“Is it a party formed by young people who came up from the countryside?”
“Yes. For your information, they didn’t take the novice explorer course. They said it was too expensive—even though the tuition has been heavily discounted this time.”
This was completely—
Too ominous.
“Are you all right? Your hands are trembling.”
The receptionist asked with a worried expression.
“Put me down for the bottom-tier party.”
“Yes. There’s one negative-Engraving party looking for a frontline fighter. Go to table twenty-one.”
“Thank you.”
Jeong Yushin turned and went to table 21.
‘They look perfectly normal.’
There were four people sitting at table 21.
An old human mage.
A middle-aged gnome.
A dwarf with a bushy beard.
And—
A goblin.
Jeong Yushin’s mouth fell open.
‘Why the hell is there a goblin?
The goblin spoke.
“What are you looking at? Never seen a goblin before?”
“I’ve never seen a goblin that could talk.”
“Are you a novice explorer?”
“Yes.”
“You’re lucky you didn’t draw your sword. Whenever novice friends see me, they swing first and ask questions later.”
“I’m Ska. Am I accepted?”
“Yeah. To be honest, we aren’t in a position to be picky. I’m Del. I used to be an elf, but I got a goblin Engraving and ended up like this. I’m an elf. Remember that.”
‘He really emphasizes that.’
Del looked around and spoke.
“Why don’t we introduce ourselves?”
The old human mage opened his mouth.
“I’m Kelton, a mage. Amateur.”
“....”
‘He called me an amateur?’
Jeong Yushin stared blankly at the old mage who had launched straight into a personal attack.
“I have a bratty-girl Engraving. I don’t want to say anything more, so my introduction ends here, Amateur.”
“Yes, yes.”
The old man frowned and folded his arms.
Next was the dwarf.
“Einhofer. I have a hand-tremor Engraving and a stamina-reduction Engraving.”
Jeong Yushin looked at the huge single-edged axe standing behind the dwarf.
“My hand slips sometimes, too. Be careful.”
He swallowed nervously.
Perhaps because the dwarf took weapons seriously, the axeblade gleamed with a razor-sharp edge.
Finally, the middle-aged gnome spoke.
“I’m Dito. By the way, Barbaroi, you’re a virgin, huh?”
‘What the hell? What kind of Engraving does he have?’
Dito noticed the anxious look in Jeong Yushin’s eyes and grinned.
“I have an Engraving that displays the number of times I’ve had sex. It shows as a red number above my head.”
“Wow, a virgin Barbaroi. Now that’s a rarity.”
The goblin cut in.
“But is that really enough to call it a negative Engraving? It doesn’t interfere with combat, either.”
Jeong Yushin voiced his doubt.
“Female explorers hate it, for starters. Seeing their private lives laid bare is bound to make them feel embarrassed and humiliated.”
“What about male explorers?”
Dito let out a cackling laugh.
“If a male explorer is seen with me, he’s finished. Rumors will spread, and he won’t be able to join a party with anyone else. He’ll be branded as a creepy bastard who tries to find out how many times people have had sex, and sent straight to ruin.”
‘That’s fucking terrifying.’
Come to think of it, he could feel chilly gazes coming from the other tables. Most belonged to female explorers, though a few male explorers were looking his way too.
He finally understood.
What it meant for a gnome with a visible sex count to be together with a Barbaroi famous as a female hunter.
From now on, it would be difficult for him to find a party under ordinary circumstances.
“I look forward to working with you, Barbaroi!”
Jeong Yushin stared blankly at the hand Dito held out.
“Let’s not shake hands. It feels like that would really finish me off.”
“Sure.”
Dito beamed. It was the smile of someone who seemed to know Yushin had already crossed a river from which he could never return.
“So who’s the leader here?”
“Me.”
The goblin answered.
“When are you planning to leave?”
“Tomorrow afternoon.”
“Don’t people usually leave in the morning?”
The goblin drew a finger across his throat.
“I’ll die if we go in the morning.”
“All of a sudden? Is there some law or something?”
“Think about it. You enter the labyrinth, and there’s a goblin standing right there. Mid- or high-rank explorers would find it bothersome and simply move on, but novice explorers draw their swords first. And I hear the number of novice explorers has been increasing lately.”
“Can’t you just stay with them?”
“I’m in the rear, so I’m always standing in back. When people see me, they mistake me for someone trying to ambush them from behind. I nearly got killed because of that—by some supposedly kind high-rank explorer.”
“Then....”
The goblin snapped irritably.
“I’ve thought and worried about this more than you have! There’s no answer. Besides, it’s an unwritten rule that explorers who’ve turned into monsters enter in the afternoon. If you don’t like it, get lost.”
‘Why did that goblin bastard suddenly fly off the handle?’
“Understood. Tomorrow afternoon?”
“Yes. If you’re not here by then, I’ll come find you.”
“You don’t have to go that far.”
“Yeah, I do.”
‘That goblin is pretty obsessive.’
“All right. See you tomorrow.”
Jeong Yushin rose from table 21 and left the guild building.
Whatever the party’s circumstances, he had been lucky. He had secured time to go to the temple and learn to read and write in the morning.
Of course, he couldn’t go every day, but he was grateful simply for the chance to learn, even if only little by little.
* * *
“I’m back.”
“You’re back?”
When he returned to the inn, Darmong greeted him.
“It’s difficult for a Barbaroi to find a party. Take your time looking.”
Hearing Darmong’s consolation, Jeong Yushin scratched his head.
“I did find a party, though. Sigh.”
“Why? What happened?”
“Do you know what a bottom-tier party is?”
“Oh dear, surely not?”
“Yes. I joined a party with some rather unusual people. We leave tomorrow afternoon.”
“They must be quite unusual.”
“Yes. There’s a goblin, a gnome whose number of sexual encounters is visible, and various other oddities.”
Jeong Yushin elaborated at length.
Darmong nodded.
“That sounds like a perfectly decent party. There are many stranger parties.”
“.....”
There are even stranger parties?
He didn’t want to ask. It was frightening.
Could the darkness of Labyrinth City be deeper than he had expected?
Perhaps that thought showed on Jeong Yushin’s face.
Darmong chuckled.
“You know the cost of removing an Engraving goes up each time you remove one, right?”
“Yes.”
“It usually happens among mid- or high-rank explorers. If you keep removing negative Engravings and retaining positive ones, you eventually reach a point.”
“A case where the cost of erasing Engravings has risen astronomically.”
“That’s right. A case where even selling all the explorer’s wealth and equipment isn’t enough to cover the erasure fee. Once things reach that point, the explorer is expelled from their party.”
“That’s cold.”
“It isn’t necessarily that simple. Most negative Engravings are tolerated, but one that seriously interferes with a party’s operation is directly tied to the party’s risk. Neither the party members nor the person in question wants that. Besides, there are many explorers climbing up from below. There’s no need to take an unnecessary risk.”
“I see. Then are the expelled people simply finished?”
“It depends on the person. Some claw their way back up somehow, while others simply accept it as fate.”
“Then what about bottom-tier parties?”
“That’s right. They’re the ones clawing their way back up.”
“They sound more wholesome than I expected.”
“Well....”
Darmong mumbled, refusing to answer.
Darmong always gave clear answers, so this behavior was unfamiliar.
‘Still, they have to be better than a party of novice explorers.’
Jeong Yushin consoled himself.