Surviving in the Labyrinth City of the Reverse World

15 – Sorcerer #2

“You want a bracelet with offensive magic?”

I thought it might sound rude. Even if Abella refused, I was prepared to accept it humbly.

Fortunately, there was no need for that. Abella willingly granted my request.

“I actually like it. No need for defense artifacts? You want to kill monsters with attack artifacts? I can feel your confidence and passion, and I like it. Okay.”

Abella changed [Abella’s Bracelet of Protection] to [Abella’s Bracelet of Arrows].

[Abella’s Bracelet of Arrows (D)]

A wooden bracelet made by mixing a large amount of platinum and silver.

Enchanted with magic.

Stored magic: “Magic Arrow (F)”

Charge count: 3

An artifact that can be charged infinitely as long as my mental power supports it. I already feel more secure.

“Magic Arrow is more efficient than other magic. It’s a non-elemental magic that doesn’t have any disadvantage.”

“…Is the element also important?”

“Of course. On the first floor, only easy monsters like goblins or trolls appear, but the hunting difficulty increases as you go down. Didn’t the guild tell you?”

“……”

Now that I think about it, it seems like the Vanguard of Miracles intentionally played a trick on me. And I was stupidly expressing my gratitude.

Really…

“Well, thank you for now. I’ll make good use of it.”

Just as I was about to say goodbye and leave, Abella asked.

“When you want to buy artifacts?”

“…At the Aunt’s Artifact Shop.”

“It’s not Aunt, it’s Abella.”

“Abella’s Artifact Shop.”

“Please, meet my friends and talk to them.”

Will customers come just because we advertise? The product itself has a lot of defects.

“I can handle it because I’m at this level. Other guys wouldn’t be able to.”

It’s fortunate that it’s an exclusive deal. The supply won’t be able to keep up with the demand, so the price won’t go up.

To put it metaphorically, it feels like finding a hidden gem restaurant that only I know about.

Anyway, I felt good.

We left Avella’s artifact shop and stepped out of the commercial district.

The streets were crowded. They were adventurers in ordinary clothes.

“Ugh.”

The sunlight was intense. I covered my forehead with my hand, creating shade over my eyes.

When I glanced up at the sky, the sun was at its zenith.

Unlike Horn Village, the weather was warm. It was the same winter, but the temperature was different. It was nice not to worry about freezing, but the sunlight was too harsh, so it wasn’t great.

I was annoyed because my body was tired. Even the feeling of resistance I was experiencing now would disappear like washing up after sleeping.

I hastened my steps to find an inn.

Since I don’t belong to a guild right now, it’s impossible to use the empty rooms in the guild house. I had to spend the day at an inn without fail.

Or I could rely on Sue’s guild.

“…Sue, you can rest at the guild house. I can find an inn on my own.”

“……”

I spoke first. But Sue’s reaction was lukewarm.

No way.

She wore a forced, awkward smile, as if she were deeply embarrassed by her situation.

“…It’s not easy for beastfolk to find a guild. There’s nowhere that will take us in. That’s why we can only work as mercenaries. I’m the same…”

“You don’t have a guild right now?”

“I’ve never joined a guild since becoming an adventurer. No one accepts me.”

“Oh…”

Suwoo was an outcast. More accurately, the entire beastfolk race was being ostracized in the labyrinth city.

“So how did you enter the labyrinth this time?”

“A Level 3 boy hired me. His parents in my hometown fell ill, and he needed money urgently…”

Suwoo’s hunting skills had already been proven. If she could handle it, she was far superior to humans.

So the boy entered the labyrinth with Suwoo.

“I think my ‘Soul Protection’ rank was quite high. There were four of us in the party, including me.”

“It was at least a C rank.”

“But…”

Suwoo ended up consuming more resources than the boy expected, and an accident occurred that caused the ‘Soul Protection’ on the party to be released.

The boy was unharmed immediately, but the other two, excluding Suwoo, who were not as resilient as the powerful White Tiger tribe beastfolk, were swallowed by the darkness of the labyrinth and died.

The party of four became two. Naturally, the difficulty level skyrocketed.

“The boy died while we were climbing together?”

“It was my fault. I should have protected him no matter what.”

Was the reason Suwoo wanted to buy me a defensive artifact because of a previous incident?

I felt uneasy for no reason. After hearing Suwoo’s story, an indescribable sadness welled up within me.

Why do I feel so upset?

“It’s a tragic accident.”

The dead boy is pitiful.

He must have been forcibly conscripted and became an explorer. If he hadn’t become an explorer, he wouldn’t have died.

Perhaps because it could be my future. The feeling of pity multiplied.

But I couldn’t do anything for him. All I could do was silently send words of mourning and contemplate.

I felt sadness. But apart from that, I also felt discomfort.

What should I call this emotion?

“Jealousy?”

Come to think of it, I’m not the only boy in Labyrinth City, Ravelins. Everyone must be having all sorts of physical intimacy with boys, just like the “Dominating Blades” sisters.

That’s normal. It’s normal, but…

“…Suppressing emotions is not easy.”

Is it because an adult’s soul is trapped in a child’s body? Unsettling thoughts of immaturity kept swirling around.

Lost in my thoughts, Suu woke me up.

Suu firmly grabbed my hand and stood still. Then, she knelt down on one knee and lowered her gaze.

“Ray, I will definitely protect you.”

I met Suu’s sudden gaze. My face was reflected in her golden eyes.

“…So, um. Can’t you let me join your party…?”

“……”

“I-I don’t need money… I just want to be with you… That’s enough for me…”

“I’ll think about it for a moment.”

“……!”

Upon hearing my statement of delaying the decision without making an immediate conclusion, Swoo’s eyes widened and he looked at me.

“W-Well, I guess. That’s how it is. For a merman like me….”

Swoo’s eyes trembled as if he was greatly shocked by the unexpected turn of events. He forced a smile, trying not to show his disappointment.

“It’s absurd that a guy like me would be needed….”

But his white tail wagged happily. He couldn’t hide it.

“Did I go too far?”

Seeing his pitiful expression, sympathy welled up inside me. I wanted to take back what I just said and accept Swoo into the party.

But now that it came to actually making a decision, I was bothered by the story I heard earlier. The image of Swoo and the unknown boy, sleeping and embracing each other in the same bed, came to mind.

Unconsciously, I frowned.

“Let’s go find a place to stay quickly.”

And so, I postponed my answer.

As I moved, Swoo followed behind me. Unlike when we were wandering around the commercial district, he seemed to have lost his energy in his steps.

Is rejecting the party invitation really that hurtful? It made me wonder, as Swoo seemed to be immersed in a sense of loss.

We found a place to stay with Swoo. Currently, we only had 2 silver coins. I was worried if this would be enough for us to stay for up to a week.

Fortunately, it turned out that we had more than enough money for a week’s accommodation.

“The boys stay for free! Breakfast and bathing are free too.”

It was the same in every inn. Every inn offered the same benefits.

“Charging money to a male adventurer? Who does that?”

“Our inn serves a delicious breakfast. My daughter makes the soup exceptionally well. The way she stirs it in a zigzag pattern is like art. So come in quickly.”

All Suwoo had to do was figure out the cost of the room.

“After resting well, you can go explore the guild. Let’s just book the room for one day, for now.”

“…Fine.”

In response to my words, Suwoo replied weakly. He still couldn’t shake off the shock of being rejected earlier.

“Suwoo.”

I grabbed Suwoo, who was walking upstairs with the room key in hand. He turned to look at me, his movements slower than usual.

His light yellow eyes had turned a dull yellow. He seemed lifeless.

“Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?”

“….”

It was just a joke, really. But was it that shocking?

“Something’s been off since earlier.”

“….”

Moisture welled up in Suwoo’s eyes.

“To think that Ray would speak to me so coldly… I don’t know what I did wrong… I’ve been trying so hard to remember…”

“Is it that serious?”

“I didn’t like how freely you hugged Ray in the square? Actually, I didn’t sense any malice… Or were you trying to give him an artifact as a gift? I, I just wanted to keep partying with Ray… If I gave him a gift, I thought Ray would include me in his party…”

“….”

Soo raised her arm and wiped away her tears. Her eyes were red and swollen.

“…Ray liked me. That’s why I gathered the courage to ask him to the party….”

“……”

“But what if Ray actually didn’t like me? Because I’m a werewolf and scary…. In the labyrinth, I have to survive, so there’s no other choice….”

It feels like she’s firmly holding onto some misunderstanding. If I don’t stop her now, Soo’s wounds will continue to grow uncontrollably.

I urgently grabbed Soo’s hand.

“That’s not true. It’s not, so come this way.”

There were too many curious eyes on the first floor of the inn. I felt embarrassed, and my face flushed.

I led Soo to the room. Soo followed me like a dried fern in my hand.