“Shall we wait by the entrance for the monsters to come to us?”
Shizuku suggested, pointing with her borrowed, old staff.
“If we can kill ten monsters at the entrance, we can leave quickly.”
“That’s smart.”
Ur agreed, but—
“Just one problem…”
“Is it not a good idea?”
“I’m not an expert on labyrinths, but maybe in Greed—”
He stopped as he noticed something behind her.
From the wall Shizuku had her back to, a grotesque goblin was emerging.
“Duck!”
Ur swung his spear with all his might. Shizuku crouched just in time, and Ur struck the goblin’s head as it appeared.
[GYAAAA!!!]
“It’s spawning fast…!”
The monsters appeared quicker than expected. While killing monsters was their goal, this was—
“Ur-sama!”
Shizuku’s sharp voice meant more monsters were coming. He paused his hand from picking up the magic stone. Shizuku could use magic, but it required time to chant. So, Ur stepped forward, spear ready.
“Stay—”
Before he could finish, Shizuku swung her staff at the goblin, striking it down.
[GUAGH!?]
The goblin writhed as Shizuku, though pained, nodded firmly at Ur.
“I can swing with all my might.”
“You’re reliable.”
Ur finished off the goblin, nodding in approval.
Even if the opponent is a monster that bears a grudge against humans, there are many who hesitate to “kill.” Ur doesn’t think that’s a bad thing. Those who don’t hesitate to kill are dangerous no matter how you look at it. If there’s no hesitating would be concerning.
But Shizuku’s resolve, despite her fear, was reassuring.
[GYAAAAAAA!!!]
“Two more! Let’s do this!”
“Yes!”
Great Sin Labyrinth of Greed, Entrance Plaza, Jaw of Desire
“So, how many will quit?”
Glen, the guild’s training instructor, muttered, sitting on an old bench outside the plaza, gazing at the blue sky.
“Isn’t there a better way?”
Rodz, who had followed him, asked exasperatedly.
Forcing the new adventurers who had just entered the training center into the Labyrinth.
This method had become a regular practice since Glen became an instructor. Before, there were more steps involved, but ever since he became the head instructor, it has always been like this. To put it bluntly, it’s a “shoddy” way of doing things, but…
“If you’re willing to waste that kind of time and money on a bunch of brats, then maybe it’s worth it.”
“I guess that’s true…”
In reality, they couldn’t afford to coddle potentially worthless recruits. Money and time are not infinite. Resources were limited. Despite its harshness, Glen’s method had increased survival rates among newbies. so it’s hard to say that he should stop doing it.
“Speaking of, Marly mentioned some unusual newcomers.”
“Those kids, huh?”
Glen’s lazy demeanor shifted slightly as he looked up.
“The gray-haired boy seemed like any unlucky kid. So far.”
“And the girl?”
Aside from Marly, others had noticed the beautiful girl who’d come to become an adventurer.
“……Who knows.”
Glenn responded curtly. However, Rodz, who had known Glenn for a while, could tell that it wasn’t due to a lack of interest.
“That sounds suspicious.”
“Shut up. If you’re so curious, go see for yourself, idiot.”
Rodz felt his shoulders relax at Glenn’s childishly extreme insult.
“Is this really the best of adventurers…?”
“If you have complaints, tell it to the higher-ups who decided that.”
“As if I could, seriously.”
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.PAGES.DEV
Greed Labyrinth, First Floor
“Flames, sing and smite our foes—Fireball!”
Shizuku’s beautiful, bell-like voice echoed as she chanted her spell. The fireball she released flew straight towards the goblins, burning them to ashes.
[GIIAAAAAA!?]
“Finish them!”
As the goblins writhed in the flames, Ur struck them with his dragon tooth spear. Though the blade was still battered, it was enough to crush the skulls of the burning goblins.
“Phew…”
Ur sighed. For now, the appearance of monsters had ceased. The sudden battle had made his heart race, but they had managed to defeat four goblins in the fight. Their target was to collect six more.
He gathered the magic stones lying where the goblins’ bodies had been. If they maintained this pace and stayed cautious, they should be able to collect the remaining six magic stones without trouble—
“Ur-sama.”
As Ur was stuffing the stones into his bag, Shizuku called out. There shouldn’t have been any monsters, but her voice carried a hint of tension. Ur looked up in response.
“What is it?”
“Where are we?”
At first, Ur didn’t understand what she meant. They were at the entrance of the labyrinth and hadn’t moved from there—or so he thought.
“……Huh?”
The place where they stood, which Ur thought was the entrance of the labyrinth, had changed in appearance. They had moved during the fight to a spot easier to battle, but they hadn’t intended to go far. Yet now, they had no idea where they were.
“Have we been pulled deeper into the labyrinth…?”
“Into the labyrinth?”
“They say the labyrinth pulls in those who enter and kills them.”
“How dangerous…”
An old drunkard who claimed to be an ex-adventurer had often told Ur and Akane that the labyrinth sometimes seemed to possess a will of its own, aiming to kill adventurers. Before they realized it, they could be driven into an inescapable depth and killed.
Confirming Ur’s suspicion, they heard a slithering sound from the corridor. When Ur turned, he saw numerous shadow hounds emerging from the labyrinth walls, glaring at them.
“This is bad…!”
[GAAAAAA!!]
As the shadow hounds roared, Ur and Shizuku quickly retreated. There were too many of them.
“Damn it, if only this junk could use its [Roar] ability…”
Ur thought about the dragon tooth spear’s original function, but his imitation didn’t have it. Complaining wouldn’t help.
“Turn at the next crossroad and hold them off!”
“Got it!”
Four shadow hounds were coming from behind. Fighting them head-on was too dangerous. Ur planned to ambush and at least take one down unexpectedly. With that resolve, he turned at the next crossroad.
[OOOOOOOOOOO!!]
But as he turned, he saw a giant foot, easily wide enough to surpass the combined width of Ur and Shizuku standing side by side.
“Uhh!!!”
Ur let out a pathetic scream as the foot moved towards him—
“Ooh, look at the little bugs dropping like flies.”
Instructor Glenn watched the scene before him with a leisurely tone.
“……”
“Ugh…”
“It hurts…it hurts…”
Near the entrance of Greed Labyrinth, a large number of adventurer trainees lay sprawled out. They were the ones who had been badmouthing Glenn at the training ground.
“You guys charged out so bravely, and now look at you. Don’t you want the ring? Huh?”
“Stop that…”
Glenn further taunted, but the trainees could only lie on the ground, unable to retort. Their mouths moved weakly, but their groans faded away.
“Pathetic. If you still had the energy to curse at me, you might’ve had potential.”
“You’re as ruthless as ever.”
A new voice came from the staircase leading to the labyrinth. Glenn and Rodz turned to see a female adventurer emerging from the labyrinth. She had beast-like ears and held a sword in one hand, dragging a battered trainee with the other.
“Don’t dump such annoying jobs like rescuing rookies on me.”
“Oh, come on. For someone like you, it’s easy, Karme.”
“He tried to hit me, yelling [Don’t steal my magic stones!]. You must’ve provoked them again, instructor.”
“Just like when you started.”
At this, the adventurer called Karme made a bitter face and unceremoniously tossed the rescued trainee.
“Ow…!”
“Interfering in a fight could get you killed by an adventurer. There won’t be a next time.”
With no knights in the labyrinth, she mercilessly berated the groaning trainees. As they looked up to retort, they noticed the silver ring on her finger.
“Silver rank…”
It was unmistakably the ring worn by “Silver rank” adventurers, heroes among adventurers.
“By the way, Karme was also the first to hunt ten monsters and get the prize. So, this is yours.”
“I don’t want it.”
Despite revealing the initial promise was a ruse, none of the trainees had the strength to complain anymore.
“Is that everyone?”
“Two more left. A boy-girl pair.”
Glenn answered immediately. He had been keeping track of who entered and who remained in the labyrinth. Though he was often careless, he observed closely when it mattered, which is why he held his position as an instructor.
“…Got it. If they seem to be doing okay, we might leave them be, but—”
Just as Karme was about to decide that—
“Hey there, Karme. Thanks for rescuing the snot-nosed brats.”
An old man known as Gogo, who appraised and exchanged adventurers’ magic stones, approached from the side of the hall. Seeing him out of his usual workplace was rare, so Karme asked curiously.
“Yeah, it’s a hassle, but what’s up?”
“Just checking. You alright?”
“What do you mean?”
Gogo pointed with his chin. A group of adventurers, separate from the trainees, were gathered, talking seriously. Judging by their equipment, they seemed to be from the “White Knights” guild, but their expressions were grave.
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