Chapter 7: 7

Depths of the Otherworldly Labyrinth

Chapter 7: Preparation and Level Up

As the sun began to set, I stopped reading and asked the library attendant for directions. 

I had seen some people asking the librarian for directions when I was reading. I just did what they did to obtain information without looking too suspicious. 

It was only a few hours of reading, but I really gained a lot.

I managed to grasp the basics of the world’s history from a history book, and I learned about peoples’ occupations and livelihoods from technical books and recent histories. Above all else, since it was a library of a Labyrinth city, there was a lot of information regarding adventurers and Labyrinths. 

I followed the path the library attendant had directed me to and arrived at an institution called a Cash Exchange.

I took out a leather bag from my ‘Item List’ and lowered it to my waist in a manner nobody could see. 

From the information I got in the library, the existence of systems such as the ‘Display’ and ‘Item List’ wasn’t recorded. This system was most likely uniquely mine, so I tried to hide it. 

When I walked in, I recognized the place as similar to an antique shop in my original world.

There were old things and junk scattered all over the place. In the midst of it, I found a plump man who seemed to be the owner of the place, so I called out to him. 

“Excuse me… I have something I want to trade for cash. Can you take a look…?”

I started the negotiation with polite words.

At first, I thought of working my way so I wouldn’t be looked down upon, but I decided against it.

While my goal was to get cash, I wanted to gather more information whenever I could.

Fundamentally speaking, I had a policy of not taking unnecessary risks. 

“Mn, sure. Let me see.”

“Here.”

The shopkeeper responded immediately.

I couldn’t find anything odd with how he carried himself.

【Item List】

Beef Jerky

Water Canteen

Hemostatic Potion

Oil

Numbing Needle(s)

File

Aurelia’s Greatsword

Leather Gloves

Wooden Bow

Iron Knife

Arrows with no Mark

Lighter

Smartphone

Pebble

Twig

10th Grade Magic Stone

9th Grade Magic Stone 

First, I took out all the 10th grade magic stones—twelve in total—from my ‘Item List’, pretending to take them out of my leather bag, and spread them out on the counter in front of the shopkeeper. 

“Aah, magic stones from the shallow floors. They’re all one copper coin each.”

“…I see. Please take them, then.”

I agreed with the exchange rate immediately when I heard they all had the same worth. 

“Here, twelve copper coins. You have an ID with you?”

“…No, I don’t.”

“Then put your finger here and press it,” said the shopkeeper, pointing to a black ink pad.

I panicked when I heard something about ID, but it seemed like it wasn’t a necessity. Back in my world, how many years have fingerprints have been used in the Western world? Thinking such a strange thing, I pressed my thumb on a paper he gave me. 

“So, seeing you went to the Labyrinth without an ID, are you a foreigner?” the shopkeeper asked me curiously.

Perhaps my nervousness raised suspicion in him.

“Yes. Or rather, it was my first time going into the Labyrinth ever. I’ve heard about the Labyrinth, so I came here from quite far.”

“Hou. This much for your first dive. Not bad. Where are you from?”

Not bad indeed, except it was all looted from dead bodies, which was quite disheartening.

However, the flow of the conversation wasn’t bad, so I decided to take advantage of it. I chose a safe place from the information I had gathered in the library. 

I decided to set my hometown to be some faraway country.

‘And it was quite a minor country amongst those faraway countries at that—The name was ‘Fania’, I think.‘

“It’s pretty far. A country called Fania, ever heard of it?”

“Fania, huh. I don’t know much about it, but I know where it is. You’ve come a long way for sure. What kind of place is Fania?”

He was being pretty aggressive with his questions, was he bored or something?

I resolved to just get down to business before the cat was out of the bag.

“Well, it doesn’t really have anything special. Anyway, do you have any recommendations on where I can stay for the night?”

“Mn, a lodging, huh. Whoseyards has public accommodation facilities; they’re just a bit expensive. Then again, there’s no cheap place in Whoseyards.”

“Is that so?”

Whoseyards seemed to be a rather expensive country, but that was something I had dimly predicted from what I gathered from the guard. 

“From the looks of it, you chose a country to travel to at random, eh? Whoseyards is the most good-looking country out of the five, so those who don’t know about the Labyrinth will enter this country first. It is a good-looking and safe country, but everything is expensive here. We don’t call ourselves a Knight Nation centered in nobility for nothing.”

“I see…”

I ended up in Whoseyards completely by accident.

However, the country seemed to be a country with sharp advantages and disadvantages to living in.

It’s a country for the rich by the rich. 

“To be honest, unless you have a deep pocket, it’s hard to explore the Labyrinth from Whoseyards. You can’t even get a proper meal if all you can earn is a few copper coins. That’s why most adventurers or Labyrinth explorers don’t stay at Whoseyards unless they have a high level to back them up.”

“That extreme… By the way, can you tell me what the rate is for a night’s stay here compared to other countries?”

“So high you’ll laugh at it. It’s several times more expensive here. A night’s stay in Whoseyards usually costs at least a few hundred copper coins.”

“H-hundred…?!”

“This is the kind of country where people just casually carry around gold coins in their purse. Sorry, but if you don’t have the cash, I suggest you camp out outside the Line for the night and head east to Varte. That country is a bit unsafe, but it’s a good place to start exploring the Labyrinth. I’m pretty sure you could find a place to stay with just a few copper coins there.”

Sleeping out in the open was the last thing I’d do.

That sounded like a prime condition for triggering the ‘???’ Skill.

My mental exhaustion was already high as it was; I didn’t know what would happen if I accumulated more stress. While indeed the skill helped me a lot, I had a feeling I shouldn’t use it too many times. 

Not to mention, there was also the fact that I didn’t have a firm grasp of that Line thing. From how the shopkeeper said it, I should avoid it even if I were to sleep outside. In a book I had read in the library, all it was described as was,  ‘a line of gemstones that transmits magic power’, and I had no idea what that meant. 

—In short, I couldn’t hold back from liquifying my assets.

For what it’s worth, I bet on the shopkeeper’s conscience, who’d been helping out a first-timer like me. 

“E-emm, then, could you take a look at all of my items? I want to know how much they can get me …”

“Hm, so you have more. Well, let’s see them, then.”

“Yes…”

I then stepped outside the store and pulled out the greatsword and other stuff from my ‘Item List’. I told him that an acquaintance of mine had kept them for me, but he still found it suspicious. He didn’t pry into it too deep, though.

Perhaps there are magic or tools that have functions similar to my ‘Item List’. 

Thus, I redeemed everything that could be worth money and kept only the bare minimum—

* * *

【Item List】

Levan Silver Coin(s)

Levan Copper Coin(s)

Iron Knife

Beef Jerky

Water Canteen

Hemostatic Potion

Oil

Lighter

Smartphone

Pebble

Twig

I possessed 10 silver coins worth 100 copper coins each stored in my ‘Item List’.

The named greatsword and the magic stone of the giant wolf alone were worth nine silver coins. 

Now that I had a brighter prospect of staying in Whoseyards, I asked the shopkeeper to show me some cheap accommodations within Whoseyards before walking there. 

It didn’t take much time to get to that old inn, which was nothing to write home about.

I confidently went to the front desk (or something I assumed to be the front desk) and rented a room. 

Since dinner and breakfast were included, I immediately went to the dining hall.

The meal was served in a buffet with various unique dishes. As for etiquettes and unspoken dining rules, I shamelessly asked a nearby waiter to enlighten me. Perhaps it was because I was staying at Whoseyards; he was very attentive and polite.

…To be frank, the dinner tasted bad. 

It was a far cry from my world. There were no luxuries such as rice. It was mainly just mashed grains, potatoes, and tacky hard bread. I told myself that I couldn’t get any safer food and stuffed it down my throat. 

—I finished dinner and went to my rented room.

It was a simple room.

It wasn’t exactly clean by my own standards.

But it was supposed to be one of the highest-rated in this world. 

That fact made me slightly dizzy, so I took a deep breath so as not to shake my mind too much. 

“Phew…”

I collapsed into the hard bed.

Reflexively, I stretched my arms out. 

It is my first real rest of the day.

It was quite a journey until I finally reached that bed. It was long, but eventually, I could rest. 

“Aah…”

Hence, I got careless.

The gear in my mind shifted in a more normal direction.

—If you think about it, that whole day had been filled with nothing but abnormality. 

I had countless questions.

And questions weigh the mind until they are answered.  

Just what the hell is happening…

What am I doing?

I woke up in a Labyrinth, was attacked by monsters, there was magic and stuff, and the world somehow resembled a fantasy RPG…?

I made a fool of myself. I bled out and almost died. I even looted dead people to the point of stripping them naked. I thought of nothing else; I just kept on struggling to survive.

But I don’t accept it. I don’t understand any of it. Just what is this world? Where is my world? Where is my family? I have no parents, but I have a little sister. Did I disappear in that world? Is my little sister all alone in that house?

That means I have to go back home as soon as possible. I have to get up early and make breakfast for the two of us in that room of ours. I have to escape from this false-looking world. The fact that there’s a ‘Display’ that pops up is disgusting. Sickening. What kind of treatment must my retinas have undergone to have it? Think about it scientifically. There’s a system that reflects my thoughts in a game-like status. How much do they have to fiddle around with my brain to make that happen? It’s scary, too scary to think about. An obviously foreign language is captured perfectly. Experiencing it is as comfortable as watching a Hollywood movie dubbed in Japanese. Impossible things are hidden within impossible conveniences. Aah, this is sickening. What do they want me to do? Don’t screw with me, don’t screw with—I feel sick. I can’t even take a god-forsaken hot shower. Why? Why the fuck can’t I? Fuck, I’m pissed. Aah, aah, aaAAAAAHHH——!!

【The ‘???’ Skill Has Gone Berserk】

Your mind has been stabilized in exchange for some of your emotions

Confusion is adjusted by +1.00

My burning emotion was extinguished instantly. 

“Aah…”

I had done it again. 

—But… there’s no other way around.

I gave up; I’d just go as the ‘???’ Skill guided me. 

Putting aside things I’ve done, I have no other choice but to proceed by trying to make sense of this world and take action.’

I must do my best.’

Understanding and taking action: repeating those two is all I can do now.

If so, then taking it easy and resting my body when I can is just as important. 

Yeah, let’s rest… Just, rest…

Everything ends if I die…

Everything…

Thus, I went out like a light, trying to rest my exhausted brain. 

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I fell deeper and deeper into the bottom of a sludge-like rest.

I had no room for dreams.

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I was wrapped in black, anxiety, and darkness.

It went for hours in real-time.

But it felt like some mere seconds.

Such a deep slumber—

* * *

* * *

“—Wake up!!”

Then, in the middle of that sleep, I was knocked awake.

All the air within my lungs was pushed out by force.

The pit of my stomach was smashed, awakening me with pain. 

“—?!”

“Come on! Hurry up and awaken! Hurry, hurry!”

I could hear a voice.

A high, clear, young voice.

That voice—— 

“Y-you’re…”

I opened my eyelids and saw the owner of that voice.

It was the very symbol of unreality taking shape. 

“I have something good for you, so wake up already!”

The voice belonged to that eerie girl I had met in the dungeon.

Her name should be Lastiara.

She wasn’t dressed in the armor I saw her in before but in a casual white silk outfit.

It seemed like that Lastiara girl had hit me on the stomach while I was asleep. 

I couldn’t keep up with how sudden it was. But—perhaps because my cognitive ability was still far beyond me—I somehow managed to talk calmly. 

“This is my room, you know…”

For the time being, I blamed her for trespassing.

By the way, I had no idea if there was such a law in this world or not. 

“O-ooh… Impressive. You’re not surprised…”

“I am. My mind just hasn’t caught up with me.”

I tried to treat that girl who looked younger than I was with polite words. 

Partly, it’s because I didn’t know who she was, and it’s also because there was a high probability that she was a noble young lady. 

“I see~ Well, I was thinking that you must be troubled. After all, you are still level 1 and haven’t been able to level up.”

Lastiara talked to me cheerfully. 

Her cheerful sight looked terrifying in my eyes.

Her eyeballs were the size of ping-pong balls and emitted an alien feeling similar to that of a deep-sea fish. I couldn’t tell if they were focused on something or nothing at all, and just looking at them made me feel terribly uneasy. 

“…You’re someone who can see levels.”

I handled her matter-of-factly.

Incidentally, I was aware that the concept of levels was common in this world. There were mentions of levels and statuses in various books I had read in the library. It was also written that there were only a few select people who could see such details.

However, when I read that those select people were described to be ‘religiously’ chosen by God, I grew uneasy. 

“I am, ‘Aikawa Kanami’. In this world, someone with enough luck will have the ability to see them; there are also the pious ones who gained the ability through long discipline. I would say priests who are in charge of leveling up the people in public institutions and churches and such fall in the latter category. I, however, belong in the former.”

Lastiara answered a question I had in mind like it was nothing.

She took my unfamiliarity with the world for granted.

She even used the words “in this world” casually. 

I gulped, surprised.

I selected my next words carefully. 

“I didn’t know that… Thank you. However, I still don’t know what your objective is. I don’t even know who you are, so I’d like to call for someone to get rid of you now…”

“Eh?! Wait, wait, none of that! That will be troubling for me. I am here to save you. I came with good intentions to help you use up your accumulated EXP!”

Raising her hand in overreaction, Lastiara expressed her good intentions to me. 

“No thanks. I’ve checked about levels in the library, and I know where the church is.”

I denied her coldly.

I didn’t want such a suspicious character to do that to me.

For me, a leveling-up event was quite important.

…Both from a practical point of view and from a game-maniac point of view. 

“E–eehー…”

Lastiara’s shoulders dropped. 

“So please take your leave.”

“Normally, people would be more, you know… Your reaction is too dull, honestly…”

Lastiara talked to herself in a teasing tone.

Apparently, the way I reacted to her was outside of her expectations. 

Still, I firmly and wordlessly urged her to leave. In response, Lastiara raised her head and looked at me as though she had just made up her mind about something. 

“Okay. I’ll use force, then.”

That was her brightest smile of the day.

I looked into her eyes.

My impression of them didn’t change.

I could only stare in awe into the depths of those golden eyes. 

Terrifying. I could only think of her as a monster in human skin.

No matter how much expression she showed on her beautiful face, I couldn’t sense any human warmth in her eyes—they were cold and reptilian, like those of a hunter locking onto its prey. 

Cowering in fear, I tried with all my might to get up from my bed and flee.

Lastiara’s action to counter me was to chant.

“—’Detested Wooden Box’, ‘Soundless Sky, Dull Songs’, ‘The Tangled Light’—”

She waved her little hand like a conductor as she chanted her magic.  

Meanwhile, I headed straight to the exit.

Confronting her would give me nothing; I need the intervention of a third party. First, I needed to get out of the room. 

Then, as I reached the exit, I put my hand on the doorknob-like protrusion of the door and… it wouldn’t move. 

It wouldn’t even twitch.

Like magic, the door was stuck hard, while the doorknob was glowing a light purple,

I banged hard on the door, screaming for help.

“S-SOMEONE——!!”

“It’s soundproofed. Scream if you want, but I’d rather have you behave.”

Before I knew it, Lastiara was already behind me, stroking my throat from behind. 

I quickly brushed her hand away. However, I noticed that my throat and mouth were beginning to glow in the same light purple color. I shivered when I realized that the same kind of magic on the doorknob had been cast on my throat.

“——?!”

My vocal chord wouldn’t vibrate.

Lastiara confirmed it and then reached out to me with the same hand that had stroked my throat.

I steeled my resolve and took her by the wrist. I put all my strength into it with the full intention of twisting her arm up to her back. 

—The next moment, I was thrown into the air. 

I could see the top of Lastiara’s head below me. I promptly understood: the hand I had grabbed had thrown me up instead.

That was not physical strength befitting a girl who probably weighed less than 50 kg.

I concentrated on breaking my fall with my rapidly cooling head fully occupied with plans. The mindset that anything could happen helped me from getting too surprised. 

I passed the ceiling and hit the floor.

Luckily, I landed on both of my feet and my right hand—though the impact was still too much to handle. My face contorted with shock and pain, but Lastiara was right in front of me. 

I pulled a knife from my ‘Item List’ and readied it.

Lastiara looked a bit surprised. However, her face immediately twisted into a grin; then she extended her hand as if to disregard my struggle.

In contrast, I couldn’t move.

My conscience put a brake on the act of slashing the girl with a knife.

I knew full well I was just being naive so late in the hour, so I just pretended I slashed at her while my free hand pulled the water canteen out of the ‘Item List’, planning to blind her with water.

Perhaps anticipating my counterattack, Lastiara slapped away the water canteen I took out. Then, with frightening speed, she also flicked away the knife in my hand and then swept me off my feet. 

Finally, she held my head down, then chanted her magic.

The moment I felt a light purple glow in my brain, my body stopped moving altogether. 

“Hmm… The way you break your fall and make instant judgments, you are just amazing. It’s hard to believe you are still level 1.”

I was completely out of my depth, and yet Lastiara assessed me as if I was something worth marveling at.

She seemed to be truly astonished and continued her talk. 

“I wonder if this is what they call ‘Parameters outside of Parameters’. Dear me, you are wondrous. How did you break your fall? Your strength and speed are just one-tenth of mine, you know? It’s hard to apply magic on you, too. Talk about terrifying.”

Perhaps because of the light purple magic, I couldn’t answer any of her questions.

If I couldn’t move my body, I couldn’t cuss at her.

That situation brought me nothing but anxiety. 

“You don’t need to be so worried. Believe it or not, I really do not possess any intention of harming you. I’m just trying to level you up. No, really.”

Saying so, Lastiara climbed on my back and pulled out an old-looking book from her pocket. 

“Let’s see, the chanting for leveling up is, hm… ‘Thou shalt behold and reflect——”

As Lastiara went into chanting, white light emitted from both of our bodies. 

“—t exists within me as the doest within thee’… That should do it.”

Soon, the magic was over.

If Lastiara wasn’t lying, it would have raised my level. 

“You are my precious ‘Candidate,’ I can’t have you linger around at a silly level of 1 forever. With status as low as yours, you could have died at the drop of a hat, so I was worried sick. However, now I can be a bit more relieved.”

Lastiara wiped her sweatless forehead as though she had just finished her work and then approached the window. 

“Now, since I have scary people looking for me with their eyes bloodshot, it is time for me to leave. Ah, don’t worry, you will be able to move soon. See you later~”

Leaving those words behind, Lastiara leaped out the window. 

My body remained immovable.

As I watched Lastiara storm away, I checked my own ‘Status’. 

【Status】

Name: Aikawa Kanami

HP: 119/121, MP: 71/141

Class :

Level: 4

STR: 3.03, VIT: 3.15, DEX: 4.07, AGI: 5.05, WIS: 6.09, MAG: 8.08, APT: 7.00

Constitution:

Confusion: 4.29

EXP: 127/800

Equipment:

Otherworld Clothes 

【Point Allocation】

Bonus Point(s): 3

Skill Point(s): 3

have been gained.

My level rose…

Still, what the heck was her deal…

It’s already proven that the girl meant no harm…

But she was too self-centered. 

She’s still someone I can’t be careless around.

The next time I see her, I’ll run the other way, no questions asked.

I should put some sand in my ‘Item List’ for the next time——

Since I couldn’t move my body, all I could do was contemplate.

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In the end, even after the expensive accommodation fee I paid, I still slept on the cold floor. 

‘First day, finished’

____

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