"Well, this just saved us several days worth of traveling. Thanks for teleporting me, Miss Prysm," Smiled Rosary, patting her on the head.

"Um, sure...don’t mention it. And...you can just call me Prysm," She muttered awkwardly in response.

"So, you planning on heading into town?" I asked Rosary.

"Hm? Yes, I plan to make my way to the Labyrinth after picking a quest, though that’ll probably be quite a bit later in the day, I’m going to take some time to rest first," She replied with a nod, before asking, "Aren’t you going to do the same?"

"No, I think I’ll head straight into the Labyrinth right away," I shook my head.

"Oh, really? Labyrinth quests pay pretty well, so why not take a quest before heading in?" She pointed out.

"Well, because I want to avoid running into any other Adventurers. I want to go all out for a bit, and it’ll be a good opportunity for Prysm to train as well. Can’t do that if anyone else is around. And if there are any witnesses, I’ll have no choice but to kill them. Can’t expect everyone to be as open-minded as you and Rayven are," I countered objectively.

"Hm, fair enough, I suppose. Then you don’t plan on going into town at all?" She inquired in response.

"No, I’ll head over after a few hours. I want to check with the Guild about my brother, whether he’s stopped by this town or not," I informed her.

"I see. I’ll ask around about him too, if you like," She offered, as Prysm stifled a yawn.

"Thanks, that’s be great," I nodded gratefully.

"Alright, then, I’m gonna head into to town now. I’ll see you two later," Waved Rosary with a smile, as she began making her way towards the town.

"You ready?" I asked Prysm, once Rosary was gone.

"Well, I’m a little bit sleepy...but yeah, I’m good to go," She nodded affirmatively.

"Good, then let’s go," I declared, heading in the direction of the Labyrinth while she trailed behind me, before I inquired curiously, "So, how does it feel, having another person know that you exist?"

"Huh? Uh, well...I guess she was pretty nice, not really what I expected," She responded with a shrug.

"Yeah? What exactly were you expecting?" I asked her.

"I don’t know, like I was picturing a more skanky, slutty vibe, I guess."

"What, because she slept with me?" I laughed in amusement.

"I mean, I didn’t exactly know much about her besides that," She muttered as she averted her gaze.

"I suppose that’s true. Well, anyway, looks like we’re almost there," I replied, nodding at a structure up ahead.

This’ll be my first time entering the Labyrinth...I’m kinda nervous, but also pretty excited. I mean, places like this are a staple of isekai worlds! Now, then, let’s see just how tough this is gonna be...

———————————————————————————

Point-of-View: Argent Stryker

———————————————————————————

"Do you surrender yet?" I inquired, my blade pointing towards my opponent’s throat, while I had her pinned to the ground with my foot on her chest.

"I...I surrender. You win," She relented with a grimace, the barrier fading before I helped her back up onto her feet.

That was a lot easier than I thought it’d be. Severa Sauveron, the Diamond rank who’d defeated me during both my previous two attempts to rank up to Diamond myself.

This time, I requested her as my opponent myself, fully preparing myself for another intense battle...but it turned out to be surprisingly easy. I didn’t even use any Magic, and Intangibility and Limit Breaker were also unused.

I defeated her with nothing but my Soul Weapon and physical combat skills, I never expected it to be this easy. All that time I spent in the Labyrinth, looks like it’s paid off greatly.

I’m ready now, as ready as I’ll ever be...it’s time to head to the capital. Oh, wait...the Guildmaster seemed like he’d wanted to tell me something, I told him it could wait until I finished this ranking exam.

If it’s some request for me to take on a quest, I’ll just turn it down. I’ve earned enough money to keep us going for a while, so I don’t need to take any quests for at least a few weeks.

Also, Izzy is waiting for me outside town, I don’t want to keep her waiting too long. I also promised her that I’d bring some meat-related food, I should remember to pick some up before I leave.

"You’ve gotten drastically more powerful since the last time we fought...what exactly did you do?" Inquired Severa curiously, as the receptionist overseeing the match jogged over.

I decided to keep the fact that I’d eaten Monsters, which made me stronger, a secret. It’s probably for the best that that doesn’t become public knowledge.

"I’d like to say I found a way to get more powerful, but honestly, I just trained like hell in the Labyrinth, that’s all," I shrugged in response.

"Hm, is that so? I suppose I’ll have to give that a try...it’s been a very, very long time since someone last defeated me in a fight," She replied with a wistful sigh.

"Um, congratulations, you’ve earned a promotion to, uh, Plat-...I mean, Diamond...-rank," Declared the receptionist, as he got over here.

He must be pretty new to the job, he seems really nervous and not very confident.

"Right, thanks. Let’s get it updated right away, if that’s okay," I responded, as I held up my hand, gesturing to my Status Bar crystal.

"Yes, of course, sir. Follow me," He nodded, before leading the way back out of the basement.

Severa stayed behind, looking around at the area...guess she needs some time to process this defeat. The first two times I fought her, she did seem like she was close to unbeatable.

As we headed up the stairs and reached the top, the receptionist led me to a room, where he updated my Adventurer rank in my Status Bar...I’m officially a Diamond rank now.

With that over, I decided it was time to wrap things up in this town. I asked the receptionist to get the Guildmaster so that I could get whatever that’s about over and done with.

"Sorry, but the Guildmaster stepped out for a moment, he should be back in about twenty minutes or so," The receptionist informed me, as he returned a couple of minutes later.

"Oh, that’s too bad. Do you have any idea what it was about?" I asked him.

"Uh, well I did hear him mention something about someone looking for you, but I don’t know the details," He shook his head in response.

Huh? I don’t like that sound of that, it could be an undercover Knight or something. I mean, who else would be looking for me? I have to get out of here immediately, can’t take any chances.

"I, um, have to go...I’m in a bit of a hurry, give the Guildmaster my regards," I replied, before heading for the exit without giving him the chance to respond.

Figures, of course the Knights are looking for me, especially after those two Knights escaped alive before I went into hiding in the Labyrinth. If I remember right, one of them was bald and the other had green hair...and if remember what they look like, they probably remember what I look like.

As I made my way to the town exit, I stopped by a couple of food stalls to get some fried dough pockets filled with minced meat and meat skewers, before continuing towards the exit.

I left the town and then made my way towards where Izzy was hiding and waiting for me, jogging over as I began to feel like I’d left her alone for a bit too long. I know she says that she experiences the flow of time differently than humans do, but still.

"Izzy? It’s me, you can come out," I called out, as I got to the spot.

"You’re back quite early, did you do everything you needed to?" She asked me, as she walked out.

"Yeah, sure did. Here, got you these," I replied, as I handed her the brown paper bags filled with steaming hot meat snacks, her eyes lighting up as her nose twitched.

"Ohh, that smells really good!" She responded eagerly, as she took it from me and picked out one of the fried dough pockets of meat, chomping into it with a delighted hum.

"You like it?" I inquired, as I stroked her head.

"Mhm, it’s so good!" She nodded with her mouth full, as I wiped off a bit of sauce from the corner of her mouth with my hand, which she proceeded to grab and licked the sauce off my fingers, "So, where are we going now?"

"To the capital. It’s been long enough, I refuse to keep my father and brother waiting any longer. We’re gonna go on a rampage in that den of rotten Nobles..."

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