37 – Subjugation #2
The information delivered to the ‘Heart of Steel’ guild spread like wildfire. The party that was about to venture out a little further let out a sigh of relief.
“That was close.”
“Outsiders, why did you come all the way here to cause trouble?”
“Where is the group of outsiders near portal number 7? Are they the ‘Blood Skull’?”
The atmosphere in the adventurer village became chaotic. We rested and observed the situation.
“We came down here to have some fun anyway. Let’s just watch for a bit and then go back.”
“Aren’t we going to hunt?”
“It’s dangerous.”
Knowing that there were outsiders near the village, we decided that there was no need to go out. Lauren always prioritized safety above all else.
“It’s not just me. Most adventurers prioritize safety as their top priority.”
“…while having a dangerous job?”
“Well, if I die, it’s the end for me, but not for you. If I were alone, I would have taken the risk.”
It was impossible for a female explorer to play solo in the labyrinth. That’s why Lauren always prioritized safety.
“What if we don’t earn today? We’ll have another chance. It’s not like we have to go all the way down to the labyrinth.”
“That’s true.”
Lauren’s words were convincing.
Since she had no intention of insisting on hunting anyway, Lauren’s decision was followed. They laid their sleeping bags on the ground of the village and sat down, resting.
The members of “Heart of Steel” were patrolling.
There were personnel guarding the portal, personnel guarding the village gate, and personnel looking through the book of quests. Everyone seemed busy.
“How much reward are they giving, anyway?”
Staying in the labyrinth explorer’s village and guarding the portal was not an ordinary task. It was physically and mentally exhausting in many ways.
To the extent that they would never do it if told to.
But “Heart of Steel” supported it. Not only them, but other guilds as well, said they would take on the 3rd floor guard duty if given the opportunity.
By now, curiosity about the specific rewards could not be avoided.
When I asked, Lauren cautiously opened her mouth. Perhaps because she was bored, she told the story smoothly.
“In fact, Labyrinthine has a community too. Should I call it the Explorer Guild Federation?”
There were benefits, but what had a greater effect was the condition of the federation. They say that if a guild in turn doesn’t support it, they give a lot of pressure.
“Honestly, it’s a necessary job, isn’t it? It’s not like we only hunt on the 1st floor.”
“Ah, I understand.”
“When our skills improve, everyone will want to go below the 3rd floor… But if we keep thinking about getting attacked by bandits every time, it’s going to be a mess. So, I heard that we made an agreement with each other. So that everyone can safely enter the 3rd floor.”
It felt like an uncontrollable fire.
While spending time talking with Lauren, suddenly a commotion broke out.
A party of adventurers covered in blood was visible near the main entrance.
“Father!”
“Do you have a party with a priest?”
Both the boy and the woman were in disarray. If they weren’t treated immediately, it felt like they would die.
They were in a state just before losing consciousness.
“Ugh, it hurts…”
So everyone panicked. There was no woman who could maintain her composure when she saw the boy groaning in pain.
“I’ll check. Please step aside.”
Fortunately, there was a priest.
The party, who wanted to go even lower than the third floor, had brought a priest with them. Not just one, but three party members.
The leader of the party seemed to be a boy with a relatively high level.
A woman in a spacious priest’s robe examined the wounds. A faint light emanated from the fingertips of the priest using a sacred magic skill.
“…It’s poison.”
The female priest, after confirming the symptoms, shook her head. She had a gloomy expression, as if it was already too late.
Other adventurers showed similar reactions.
Curious about their expressions, I poked Lauren’s side and asked.
“You can’t treat poison?”
“You can. You just have to use ‘Cure.’ But it’s a heavy burden.”
I should do it for my own party, but not for others, especially not for those three.
“Even if we decipher it, it’s not the end. We’ll also need to use ‘Heal’ to restore the wounds.”
“….”
“The priest herself would want to save people. But ultimately, they’re strangers. They’re less important than her own party.”
Should I step up?
If it’s EX-rank “Soul Protection,” I should be able to handle it.
But Lauren stopped me. She grabbed my wrist and stood me up.
From Noble mtl dot com
“Do you know how stubborn you are? No matter what the sisters say, you have a personality that reluctantly does what you set your mind to.”
“….”
“But you also need to know when to endure. This is not advice from an adventurer, but from your sister Lauren.”
“…So I’m supposed to just watch?”
“Ray.”
Lauren looked down at me with a serious gaze.
“You don’t want to be exposed as an ‘Soul Protection’ rank, do you?”
“….!”
“I won’t ask for the reason. I think you have your own reasons for hiding it.”
I couldn’t say anything. My body froze.
Other than opening my eyes wide and staring, I couldn’t do anything.
Swoo, who had been listening to the conversation, grabbed Lauren’s arm. He didn’t growl at her, but he started to be on guard.
Lauren didn’t look at Swoo. She continued to speak as if advising.
“It’s good to have confidence in your abilities. Being courageous is much better than being scared. But if you keep acting like this, you’ll get caught soon.”
“But…”
“It’s hard to turn away from people who need help, isn’t it?”
In response to Lauren’s question, as if knowing everything, I slowly nodded my head. Lauren patted my head.
“You’re a good kid.”
“….”
“I understand. But you can’t keep behaving like this. If you thought you had to hide your rank, you should hide it ruthlessly. What if someone finds out about you while you’re neglecting your own safety?”
Neglecting my safety. It feels unfair.
“I tried to hide it as much as possible…”
“Adventurers aren’t fools. No one is oblivious, you know?”
“No one is oblivious?”
That’s a bit shocking.
“Maybe not everyone has caught on. People you’ve met briefly in the labyrinth won’t know. But those who have directly felt your ‘Soul Protection,’ and the adventurers who have witnessed it, they can’t help but know that you’re deceiving your rank.”
“….”
“You’re a kind and mature child. I know you have your own plans, and I tried to keep it a secret even if I had a feeling. But you keep acting contrary to that… I have no choice but to speak up.”
Who are the people that Lauren is mentioning? It was easy to guess.
The exploration party we saved on the first floor, the sisters of Caien and Marco’s party.
Lauren said that those girls know about my ‘Soul Protection’ rank.
“Even if I don’t know for sure, they must have realized that it’s not a B-rank.”
“…Then, what about me?”
“Nothing will happen to you. It’s no big deal. They’re not even members of the City Hall Expedition.”
There was no need to worry, he reassured me.
“They must have a reason to hide their rank. That’s why I’m telling you in secret… But you’re going around revealing what you’ve hidden. That’s why I’m telling you.”
“…Thank you for letting me know…”
“Are you still of the same mind? You won’t reveal it?”
“No.”
“Alright, then don’t step forward.”
It wasn’t a warm situation. It was uncomfortable to just watch as the dying boy and his sisters were right in front of us.
“I’ll handle it.”
Lauren blocked me and stepped forward himself. He approached the priest confidently and handed him two necklaces.
“Brothers?”
“It’s not like that.”
The “Heart of Steel” explorer guaranteed Lauren’s identity. There was no way he could be a brother.
Then the surrounding explorers let their guard down.
“Where did these come from?”
“Does that matter? Let’s save the kid first.”
Lauren said bluntly. The priest also agreed and accepted the [Totem Necklace of Euma], activating a sacred magic skill.
A brilliant light burst forth from the priest’s fingertips.
I stared blankly at it and asked Su beside me, “Is that ‘Hill’?”
“…I don’t know,” Su replied.
Su didn’t know. Despite being an experienced maze explorer.
She lacked experience to the point of incompetence.
“What do we do if no one takes us there…?”
Su shrugged her shoulders. The fact that she was ignorant as an explorer made her face turn red with embarrassment.
“From now on, let’s slowly gain experience. I’ll be with you.”
“Yeah…!”
The [Totem Necklace of Eumma] filled the lacking cost. Thanks to it, the priest could freely use sacred spells.
Detoxifying and healing. The condition of the party, who had suffered quite serious injuries, began to improve.
The Guildmaster of the “Heart of Steel” guild came to us again. More precisely, she had business with Lauren.
“You probably know why we came to talk, right?”
“The origin of the totem.”
Lauren informed us of what happened on the first floor.
“Did you catch the bandits?”
“How many were there?”
The members of the “Heart of Steel” suddenly bombarded us with questions.
“Seven? I think there were seven.”
When Lauren replied, the women whispered among themselves.
“There are still five more. But it’s not too bad.”
“There should be something similar outside too, right? Around twenty?”
“We have two totems on our side. If we attack first, it should be fine, right?”