Chapter 14
Seonghyeon was devastated at losing all the things he’d gathered, but trudged onward to fulfill his duty as an adventurer and warn everyone of the danger.
He should have been running, but he’d spent the last few minutes running with every buff he could cast, and his stamina was too low to manage it.
Besides, running with his friend—the tiny little elf—beside him was even more impossible.
“Seonghyeon…”
“What?”
“I’m sorry. This happened because of me.”
“Don’t blame yourself. It’s not your fault.”
“Mm…”
Even his friend, who was suffering from the PTSD debuff [Denial of Reality], was acting like that to comfort him.
Thanks to his high Mental Fortitude, Seonghyeon tried to look on the bright side.
‘If I lose money, I can just make more!’ …Thinking that only made him feel more miserable.
“Seonghyeon…”
“What?”
“Here.”
Suyeon had been staring at Seonghyeon’s face, but finally she rolled up her sleeve, bit her lip, and held out her arm to him.
Seonghyeon slapped a hand to his forehead and sighed.
Then he pulled the slave mark from his pocket and gave her an evil grin.
“I told you I wouldn’t sell you, didn’t I? If you tell me to draw your blood one more time, I’ll touch this.”
“Eeeeeek!! You can’t do that! Absolutely not!”
“Then be quiet. I told you I’m not going to draw your blood.”
After that, the only sound was the steady thud of a human and an elf walking along.
They’d made it about halfway when Suyeon spoke in a trembling voice.
“Seonghyeooon…”
“What? Again?”
“No, it’s just… earlier… I think… I might’ve wet myself a little…”
Her voice trailed off, sounding almost tearful.
Seonghyeon had no choice but to stop for a moment and look at her.
The hem of her skirt was a little wet, and her undershorts were probably soaked through.
Because he’d run while carrying Suyeon, he now realized that what he’d thought was sweat or water on his chest had actually been her urine.
It felt a little gross, but could he really blame her, given the circumstances?
“I got wet too.”
“Ah… I’m really sorry. I’ll wash it or something.”
“I’m fine.”
“B-but…”
“Still, we should probably at least get rid of the smell.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Wolves are canines, and they have a keen sense of smell. If we run, they’ll pick up our scent and chase us all the way.”
“Then… what should we do? Rub it in the dirt or something?”
“Let’s see… I’ve got what I brought along last time I went to the middle levels in my bag.”
“What’s this? Hrk, cough, cough.”
As soon as Seonghyeon sprayed the perfume, Suyeon started coughing violently.
Wondering if she was having an allergic reaction, Seonghyeon quickly checked the back of her neck, but no red spots had appeared.
But Suyeon’s expression was strange.
Wasn’t she smiling brightly at the air and staggering around?
“H-hey! Are you okay?”
“Uh… yeah… Hehe…”
“Ah, shit. What is this? Can’t elves use this stuff? You look just like a human, so how was I supposed to know…”
Having only ever partied with an elf once, Seonghyeon had no way of knowing that she couldn’t use it.
The perfume called Mouraguga powder, meant to mask one’s body scent, was a hallucinogen that brought elves a sense of bliss.
Seeing Suyeon grinning to herself, Seonghyeon hoisted her onto his back.
It was easier than carrying her in his arms.
“Hehe…”
He figured it was better for her to be incapacitated than to be terrified and wail loudly, drawing every monster’s attention.
Besides, at level 2, Suyeon had only one 1st-level spell slot, so most of her usefulness was already spent.
With one deadweight on his back, Seonghyeon finally reached the camp near the entrance to the second floor.
The camp near the entrance to the second floor.
After descending the stairs shrouded in a thick veil of darkness, adventurers naturally gathered in the clearing just beyond them.
On the areas considered to be the surface levels, people always gathered near the stairs like this.
On the upper and middle levels, you had to reach a safe area on a particular floor to find a small rest stop, but the stairway camps on the surface levels were much larger.
This place was bustling with people setting out for the deeper parts of the Labyrinth, staff from the Adventurers’ Guild, and merchants who’d come all the way here to sell their wares.
Seonghyeon wanted to raise his voice and warn everyone immediately, but there was a more reliable way to evacuate them, so he went looking for the captain of the camp guards.
“Hello, Captain!”
“Ah! Aren’t you that new Cleric, Raine? Come on over. What brings you here?”
The Adventurers’ Guild and the Labyrinth Guard were separate organizations, but they worked together so closely that they were almost one and the same.
The Labyrinth Guard was made up of people who were like government officials in the city above, while independent adventurers belonged to the Adventurers’ Guild.
That was why the government-employed Labyrinth Guard only operated at large camps like this one, where they could guarantee people’s safety.
Seonghyeon was explaining this to Suyeon, but she was lost in her hallucination, giggling as she played tag with imaginary butterflies.
“What’s that on your back? Wait, you bought an elf slave?”
“Ah… That’s a long story. More importantly, a Dire Wolf has appeared on the second floor.”
“Hmm…”
When Seonghyeon handed over his Observation Compendium, the captain stroked his mustache with a grave expression and studied it closely.
It wasn’t absolute proof, but the Observation Compendium automatically recorded what an adventurer had observed. The entry [Dire Wolf: Sighted on the 2nd and 29th floors] showed that one had appeared on the second floor.
“You just spotted it?”
“Yes, that’s why I came to tell you.”
“Then… we’ll have to form a hunting party. First, we need to get these people out of here. Hey, Ragan! Come here!”
“Yes, Captain!”
The guard called Ragan ran over and saluted the captain.
The captain showed Ragan Seonghyeon’s Observation Compendium.
“A Dire Wolf has appeared on the second floor. Tell the authorities we need to send a hunting party there.”
“Understood, Captain!”
Ragan saluted the captain, gave Seonghyeon a respectful nod for bringing the danger to their attention, and quickly ran off.
After sending Ragan away, the captain sat down in front of Seonghyeon again.
“By the way, why did you buy an elf slave?”
“Uh… Well… We’re both from the Eastern Labyrinth.”
“Is that so? But that elf looks like she belongs to the Lacia race.”
“What’s that?”
“The noblest of the noble elves. The most reclusive, and the most dangerous race there is.”
“Huh…”
Having learned Suyeon’s secret out of nowhere, Seonghyeon held his breath.
The price he’d paid for Suyeon was nowhere near what you’d expect for someone described as ‘noble.’
Either the slave trader hadn’t looked closely enough, or Suyeon had made such a fuss that they hadn’t realized what she was. It had to be one or the other.
Aside from that, the captain seemed more concerned by Suyeon’s goofy grin than by the Dire Wolf’s appearance, so Seonghyeon thought he should explain.
“N-no, it’s… dangerous? I don’t think she’ll be a problem.”
“It’s not elves who are dangerous. It’s the Lacia. But perhaps that girl was driven out by her own people?”
“Hmm… Could that happen?”
“There’s no way to know unless you ask her. But you bought that elf as a slave? Then why is she grinning like an idiot?”
“Well… She wet herself when she saw the Dire Wolf, so I tried to get rid of the smell with Mouraguga powder.”
“What? You used Mouraguga powder on an elf? Ha ha…”
The captain laughed heartily, as if the situation were too ridiculous for mere disbelief.
“Right, it is a perfume we use as a deodorizer. But not for elves. To them, it’s a hallucinogen that brings on bliss. It’s like giving a cat silvervine.”
“Pardon…?”
“Well, you can ask someone else about it once you’re back up there, or look it up in an encyclopedia of elves. I know because I went on many campaigns against elves when I was young… Though that was a long time ago.”
The captain rose, laughing heartily.
“But there’s no time to explain. Get up, too. We have to protect our novice adventurers from the Dire Wolf, open an evacuation route, and get them out of here. We’re short on time.”
“Yes… Understood.”
“You’ll be rewarded for reporting this, and you’ll get an even bigger reward if you join the hunting party. You’re a Cleric, so they’ll probably have a role for you, too. It’ll be nice to hunt alongside a young fellow like you again.”
“Thank you, Captain.”
Seonghyeon bowed to the captain, then gathered Suyeon up.
Suyeon clung to him with a goofy smile on her face.
His friend, who was completely out of it, seemed to be acting like a girl around the age she appeared to be.
“All right, how about taking on a quest, then?”
“Yes, what kind of quest?”
“I want you to open an evacuation route with Aruel. You’re a Cleric, after all.”
“Huh… Me?”
“Of course. A level-eight Cleric is an incredible resource.”
Seonghyeon accepted the captain’s request.
It wasn’t anything major, and the way back only involved crossing the first floor.
And to cure his friend after she’d inhaled Mouraguga powder…
“Is there any way to cure someone of Mouraguga powder?”
“That? It’ll wear off on its own with time.”
“All right, understood. Then I’ll go meet Mr. Aruel.”
“I’ll bring up the rear and buy you time, so I’m counting on you!”
The captain laughed heartily and drew his sword from its scabbard.
Aura wrapped around his sword, and his steps fell completely silent.
Seeing the effect of a +3 magic sword issued to a captain of the Labyrinth Guard, Seonghyeon felt more than a little envious.