Chapter 82: Chapter 82 - Encounter(Part 1)

Point-of-View: Argent Stryker

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"Hi, I’d like to request a Labyrinth related quest, something simple," I remarked, as I got the attention of the receptionist.

A bit over a year has passed since I ranked up to Platinum, it’s the 33rd of December, 2012 today. After ranking up, I had initially planned on heading for the Labyrinth right away, but on the way to Kaygee Town, the closest settlement to it, I decided to wait a bit.

And for no other reason than me finding out that the Knights have been regularly using the Labyrinth to train in during recent months. But as of a few days ago, they’ve apparently fully vacated the place, so I don’t have to worry about bumping into them.

Because if I do, I know I won’t be able to stay calm. I won’t be able to hold myself back from trying to kill them...even if I’m vastly outnumbered or outclassed.

Every time I think about what happened to my old village and the state I found it in that day, immense rage and hatred wells up inside me. Naturally, if I see a Knight, I’ll want to take it out on them.

On another note, I’ve also decided to hold off on trying to rank up for the time being. Until I feel like I’m at a level where I can confidently say I can defeat Severa, I’ll stay at Platinum rank.

I mean, as far as quests go, there’s not really any difference between what’s available to Platinum ranks as compared to Diamond ranks, so it won’t make that much of a difference if I don’t rank up for a while.

Anyway, speaking of quests, this’ll be my first Labyrinth related quest, and I plan to play it safe and stick to the first ten floors.

The way Labyrinths are structured in terms of the spread of Monsters is like this...the first ten to fifteen floors is mostly made up of Common Grade Monsters, with a few Intermediate Grade Monsters in the eleventh to fifteen floors.

After that, upto around the thirtieth floor, the majority are Intermediate Grades, with a few Disastrous Grades from the twenty-sixth to thirtieth floors.

That’s when it becomes really dangerous...the thirty-first floor onwards is chock full of Disastrous Grade Monsters upto around the forty-ninth floor. The forty-first floor onwards is when Catastrophic Grade Monsters start appearing, more and more frequently and in greater numbers the further down you go.

You’d need a large group of high ranking Adventurers to get through those floors alive. But there’s more...the very bottom of the Labyrinths, the fiftieth floor, is essentially a guaranteed death sentence.

Only a handful of people throughout history have been that far down and lived to tell the tale, and only two people have ever defeated the Monsters that reside there, the last of them being over eighty years ago.

The Demonic Grade Monsters, there’s at least one in every Labyrinth, with a maximum of three in some Labyrinths. Of course, there are a few Labyrinths in which no one has ever made it to the bottom floor, so there could be some with more than three Demonic Grades.

Demonic Grades are extremely powerful Monsters with high levels of intelligence, most of them are capable of speech. Definitely have no intention of going that deep down into a Labyrinth.

I got a bit off-topic, so to get back to my point...since this is the first time I’m venturing into a Labyrinth, I should play it safe, and that’s why I’m sticking to just the first ten floors, at most. Each floor has an estimated area of about ten square kilometers, which is lot more vast than it sounds.

Most of the upper floors have been mapped, with signs put up and arrows carved in the walls to help prevent people from getting lost. So finding your way around isn’t too tough unless you get too deep down into unmapped areas.

All that said, while the spread of Monsters is typically how I described it, it’s not totally uncommon for higher Threat Level Monsters to wander up to the upper floors sometimes, so I shouldn’t let my guard down.

Anyway, as the receptionist returned with a stack of Labyrinth related quests, I rifled through the options, looking for something that shouldn’t be too tough to accomplish, while also being reasonably high paying. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Hm, guess that’s too much to ask for...all the ones that pay extra well would require going down past the fifteenth floor. All the quests in the upper floors are a lot less generous, I guess they must factor difficulty level into the equation, huh?

I then made up my mind and picked a quest to gather Orc tusks. Orcs are pig-like Monsters that stand on two feet, they apparently look pretty scary and imposing but are actually really weak and easy to kill.

They’re said to be pretty slow, and while they do have brute strength, their bodies are easy to injure and cut through, they’re not very durable.

Their tusks are valuable as medicinal ingredients, so they’re hunted quite often. Their skin can also be used as material for cheap leather armor, but it’s not very strong so there isn’t much demand for it.

Alright, this should be nice and simple enough to accomplish. Still though, I gotta say, this is a surprisingly high number of Labyrinth quests, I figured there’d be a lot less since even the least paying ones offer more reward than most regular quests.

"Is it normal for there to be so many Labyrinth related quests available?" I asked the receptionist, as I picked the Orc hunting one.

"No, not usually. There’s generally a high demand for these quests, but they’ve really piled up over the last few months since the Knights have been occupying it. Even though they’ve left, most people seem to be waiting a few more days, just to make sure they’re all gone," He informed me.

Yeah, that makes sense. For a Commoner, just being in the same vicinity as a Noble is a huge risk.

"Is there a chance that they haven’t all left?" I inquired with a frown.

"Well, we saw a slightly fewer number of Knights leaving than the number of them that entered the Labyrinth, so it’s possible that a handful of them are still in there. However, the more likely scenario is that a few of them died in there."

Hm, should I employ the same caution as the other Adventurers here? Running into Knights is definitely a scenario I want to avoid, but...if I do take this quest now while the other Adventurers are still staying away from the Labyrinth, I’ll be able to do it at my leisure since, in all likelihood, I’ll be the only person there.

"Okay, I’ll take this quest," I decided, before the receptionist nodded and approved the quest.

I noticed a number of Adventurers looking this way with interest...if I had to guess, they’re probably thinking something along the lines of ’if this guy comes back alive and well, then we’ll know that it’s safe to take Labyrinth quests again’.

I then headed out of the Guild and towards the exit of the town, after buying a few Magic Items. The healing Magic Item I’ve been using only has three uses left, so I got a couple of new ones.

I also bought an illumination Magic Item, it’s cheaper than a flashlight, and floats above you so you don’t have to hold it the whole time. It stays alight for about an hour after activation, and can be used a total of ten times.

Too bad Magic Items are disposable after a set number of uses and can’t instead be recharged like cellphones, that’d be a lot more convenient. But if that was the case, I imagine they’d be a lot more expensive.

I’ve considered getting a cellphone, but decided against it. First off, it’s pretty expensive, and while I can afford it...there isn’t any point in me getting one at the moment. It’s not like I have anyone that I want to contact, after all.

As I exited the town and headed for the Labyrinth, I passed by a couple of Adventurers who were heading back to town, and before much longer, the Labyrinth came into sight.

It was a tall, imposing tower-like structure, but that’s just for show...after you enter into the first floor, the next floor is downwards, with each subsequent floor further and further down. The towering structure you see outside is more of a marker than anything else.

And it’s-...hm? I’m almost to the entrance, and...I can hear the faint echo of footsteps and voices coming out from inside. Without a second thought, I quietly jogged away and hid behind a large rock, peering out from behind it as the voices became more clear.

"...can finally go back, it’s about time."

"Yeah, this place was filled with the stench of Commoners. Still, with this, I think it might have been worth our while. She should fetch quite a price in the capital."

"Good thing we were able to get the Enslavement Collar on her, she can’t do a thing to fight back!"

I clenched my fists as I felt a cold fury bubbling up inside me...those are Knights, two of them. If their words weren’t convincing enough, their fancy metal plate armor gives them away.

Their armor is badly damaged and they’re covered in dirt...but no visible injuries, probably thanks to a healing Magic Item or something.

A small figure was trailing behind them, draped in an oversized hooded cloak, their hands tied by rope, one of the Knights holding the end of the rope and dragging the figure with them.

They said ’she’, maybe a female Adventurer who headed into the Labyrinth and ended up running into these bastards? Either way, I’m not just gonna sit back and watch this...there’s only two of them, so...I’ll take the honor of killing them...

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