Chapter 10

July 12, 2015 - Typo corrections

I canceled the planned sightseeing in town, allocated time to visit the archive room in the Explorer Guild, and decided to limit my tour of the town to a bit of shopping for a change of pace and a meal.

The archive room was on the second floor of the Explorer Guild.

It felt more like a slightly larger version of a middle school library than an actual library.

This archive room is available to anyone registered with the Explorer Guild. If you get permission, you can use it all day.

The books on magic are not as comprehensive as those in the Mage Guild, and the books on production are not as comprehensive as those in the Production Guild.

If there is a lack of information here, you need to submit a request for viewing permission to the respective guilds.

If you get permission, you can also view books from other guilds.

The windows in the archive room are made of glass. Along the windows, there are several desks arranged, probably for reading.

The bookshelves are gathered in a place away from the windows. Books are indeed expensive, so they are kept away from direct sunlight.

The number and variety of books were more than I expected.

They are classified and stored on the shelves. Not only books on magic, potion making, and blacksmithing, but also books on practical knowledge for daily life.

There were also books on the types and maintenance of weapons and armor.

There were even books that seemed unrelated to the Explorer Guild, such as entertainment novels, children's picture books, and romance novels for women.

The quality of the paper used in the books varies. Generally, the paper quality of books on magic is good. On the other hand, the paper quality of entertainment novels is poor. Some were of such low quality that they could be called substandard.

It seems that the paper-making technology in this world is quite advanced compared to other technologies.

The best quality paper was used for maps.

Not only the map of the kingdom, but even the map of the surrounding area of this town, which has a very limited demand, was made with high-quality paper.

What surprised me the most was that there were maps of other countries.

Is it really okay to have maps of other countries freely available for anyone to view? Aren't maps military secrets?

Well, maybe they aren't military secrets.

I lowered my eyes to the map I had in my hands.

The map was surprising, but its accuracy was disappointing. The development of paper-making technology contrasts sharply with the poor surveying techniques.

This is probably because mathematics has not spread and developed.

I also felt this during my travel with Don's caravan. The knowledge of calculations in this world is low.

While simple addition and subtraction can be done, people who can perform the four basic operations are rare. They are valuable resources.

Even these valuable resources have low calculation skills.

They wasted paper by doing written calculations to keep records of accounts and used food.

I might be able to make a fortune by selling abacuses.

While putting the map back in its place, I turned my gaze to the bookshelf with books on monsters.

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In the end, I visited the guild's archive room for three days.

There's only so much you can do in three days. I focused on cramming knowledge about magic and monsters, putting common sense on the back burner.

Thanks to this, I should have acquired a decent amount of knowledge about monsters and the magic I can use.

In the process, I realized that the power of my magic is extraordinary.

I don't know why. I don't know, but...

I paused my thoughts and appraised Mariel, who was fluttering in front of me.

Synergy Level 5

This is Mariel's special skill. The effect is "to increase the effectiveness of a specific person's magic."

I can't tell anything more than that.

This is probably the only thing I can think of.

The other reason might be that I am a transferer. As a transferer, I might have some advantages, such as having a greater effect of magic compared to the people in this world.

No, I'll think about it later. Now, I need to focus on exploring the dungeon.

I am here at the first level of the dungeon as an apprentice in Beck's party. No, it's more accurate to say that I was brought here.

I looked around again.

This is the Northern Labyrinth. The dungeon corridors are quite wide, and the ceilings are high. Most importantly, there are glowing moss-like things growing on the walls.

I walked through the first underground level of the Northern Labyrinth, observing my surroundings.

The corridor is about eight meters wide and the ceiling is about five meters high. This is wide enough to swing long weapons.

I looked at the party members again.

The first row is led by Thor, Darina, and a temporarily hired light warrior, Male A.

The second row consists of the party leader, Beck, Shuri, and me.

The third row is Ruri, Dita, a temporarily hired archer, Male B, and a temporarily hired porter, Male C, making a ten-member party.

Except for the three temporarily hired males, everyone can use some kind of magic.

Even in the usual formation, six out of nine members can use magic. The ratio of magic users in this party is high. The more mages there are, the higher the offensive power.

In fact, this party, led by Beck, is recognized as one of the top-tier parties in the past few years.

I was surprised by my luck. I was immediately thrown into exploring the labyrinth with a top-tier party. However, what surprised me the most was when I learned that all four women were slaves.

When I learned they were slaves during the self-introductions, I was honestly at a loss for how to react.

I knew about the slave system from the game's explanation and had confirmed the existence of slaves while gathering information in town.

However, being told directly that someone is a slave was a different kind of shock. By the way, Thor's slave is Darina, and the other three are Beck's slaves.

"Um, is it common for explorers to include slaves in their parties?"

Out of curiosity and caution, I asked Beck, who was walking next to me, while looking around.

"Hmm? Yeah, it's quite common. There are even parties where everyone except the leader is a slave."

Perhaps because we were near the entrance of the labyrinth, he told me this with a laugh, without any apparent caution.

Upon closer inspection, it seemed that I was the only one who was tense and cautious. Everyone else was quite relaxed. Mariel was even humming a tune as she fluttered beside me.

Thor also had a fairy with him, not just me.

It seems that bringing fairies into the labyrinth is common, and they are welcomed because they can use some magic and increase the drop rate of items.

Still, the idea of items appearing in the labyrinth... it feels like a game.

No, with magic and the fact that this is another world, it already feels like a game. I had been accepting it as normal until now.

"Except for the leader, everyone else is a slave, right? It's just like a light novel protagonist."

"Recently, I've been exploring with Thor a lot, but depending on the schedule and content, I sometimes bring only slaves. Today, I left two others at home."

Here, here! The person I was looking for is here!

Moreover, he's talking about it casually, as if it's just small talk.

I couldn't help but look at Beck. I'm sure I'm looking at him with admiration.

"Um, are the slaves you own skilled in magic and combat? And, are they expensive?"

I asked hesitantly.

"What, are you interested? There are also parties that don't include slaves and are composed only of companions. Besides, explorers' slaves are not commonly available in the market. If you need to quickly build your team, it's better to form a party with other explorers. Skilled slaves are hard to come by."

"That's true. Then, why do some parties consist only of slaves?"

It's not because they want to change women every night, right? If that's the case, they could just have slaves for that purpose.

" The biggest advantage of forming a party with only slaves is that there are no arguments over the distribution of materials and items obtained during exploration."

"I see, that does make sense."

"Well, that's not something you need to think about as an apprentice. It also requires a lot of money. For now, just focus on getting back alive."

Beck, who was impressed by my reaction, continued with a very reasonable statement.

"So, what kind of slave are you looking for?"

"Preferably, someone who can use magic and fight, and is also good at housework, young, and beautiful."

I answered hesitantly to Beck's sly question.

"Hmm, so you're like that too. I thought you were satisfied with just the fairy, but you're as greedy as Thor."

He laughed loudly and then whispered so that no one else could hear.

"Wait, are there many people who are satisfied with just a fairy?"

"No, not many. But there are those who find women troublesome and are satisfied. I thought you were one of them."

Bullseye, bullseye. You have a good eye, Beck.

Ignoring my admiration, Beck continued.

"But, the kind of slave you're looking for is what everyone wants. That means they are few in number and expensive. For now, don't push yourself and do what you can manage..."

Just as Beck's words were trailing off, everyone suddenly readied their weapons. What? Battle stance?

Looking at Thor, who was leading the way, I saw him stop just before a large corner to the right, tense his expression, put away his sword and shield, and draw his bow, hiding against the wall.

Mariel had already taken refuge behind my head. She must have been a wild creature before; her crisis avoidance skills are high.

Is it a monster? From my position, I can't see if there's a monster. I tensed up and became cautious, influenced by everyone's atmosphere.

Thor's fairy, Crystal, used a full-body blocking sign to signal for silence. She's quite skilled and useful.

The fact that he switched to a bow suggests that the enemy can be taken down with one shot from a distance.

Suddenly, Thor moved.

He darted out from the corner and fired three arrows in quick succession. It was a speed I had never seen before. Did he take it down?

Thor turned to us, and before he could give the failure sign, Crystal was already giving the failure sign above his head.

It was a failure. What kind of monster was it?

"It didn't work. This is the third time in a row we've let it escape."

He shook his head, looking quite disappointed.

"It uses spatial magic. Don't worry, consider it a lucky break if you can take it down."

Beck patted Thor's shoulder, who was feeling down, and encouraged him to move forward.

A spatial lizard. It's a monster I want to encounter and steal a skill from in this dungeon.

It's a monster that definitely has spatial magic and appears in the lower levels of this dungeon.

The books say it's difficult to take down, but from the conversation between the two of them, it seems even more difficult than I imagined.

There's no point in being greedy.

I need to start by steadily stealing skills and improving gradually.

I recalled the knowledge about monsters and magic I had learned over the past three days as I continued through the dungeon.