The park was located right in between the temple and the inn.
On his way back to the inn, Jeong Yusin made a stop at the park.
Sitting on a bench, he rested his chin on his hand and admired the view of the park.
There were beautiful flower beds and trees adorned with pink petals.
A marble statue stood at the center of the park, encircled by a fountain as if to embrace it.
For fun, perhaps, the water spirit was making the water from the fountain rise into the air, forming beautiful and strange patterns.
Children were playing around the area.
One boy swung a stick and shouted,
“Hyaaah! I am the sage Ezra! Take this, you evil ones!”
Another child shouted loudly,
“This time, it’s my turn to act as Ezra! Why do you always get the good roles?!”
Jeong Yusin, who had been sitting on the bench watching the children argue, now lowered his head deeply in thought.
His worries were deepening.
Even though he had paid money and gained the opportunity to learn to read and write, from where would he cheaply learn how to handle weapons?
The tuition fee at the Swordsmanship Guild was 30 silver coins.
That was an amount he could only earn by working nonstop for three months at the Demon Disassembly Site.
Jeong Yusin grabbed a handful of his hair and let out a deep sigh.
There were also fixed expenses to consider.
He had to pay 1 silver coin and 50 copper coins monthly as rent to Darmong.
It felt as if money was slipping out of his pocket just by sitting still and breathing.
After having just paid his tuition, he was now left with only 4 silver coins and a few copper ones.
If he planned for another expedition to the Labyrinth, he would need to save his money starting now. He at least needed funds to buy supplies for the journey.
Breakfast was free at the inn, and the temple provided lunch, which was fortunate, but dinner was completely out of the question.
This was his current situation.
‘This is super tight.’
Though he wanted to seek advice from Darmong, he disliked the idea of burdening someone who was already worrying about his own problems.
“Who would want to stay at an inn where there’s a potential sex offender?”
He had great respect for Darmong, who worried about such issues.
After organizing his thoughts, Jeong Yusin reached the conclusion that he had two options.
The first was to work at the Demon Disassembly Site.
While he’d be able to earn money, there wouldn’t be any improvement in his situation. He wouldn’t have time to either enter the Labyrinth or study writing and would simply have to work tirelessly for three months.
And after working for three months, he’d have to hand all his earnings over to the Swordsmanship Guild, allowing him to study for only a month before he’d have to work another three months at the disassembly site.
It was highly inefficient.
The second choice was to return to the Labyrinth.
As long as he didn’t sustain serious injuries or acquire strange engravings, he could avoid any severe financial losses. And thinking about it, the money wasn’t terrible either; he’d earned 3 silver coins from his first exploration, and considering it as earnings for a week, the profit wasn’t bad. Even though it meant risking his life, not eating well, and sleeping poorly, and the costs of purchasing supplies far exceeded his earnings, leading to a loss.
But what of it? If he met a good party and put effort into exploring the Labyrinth, he’d build up his skills, and as his abilities improved, he would surely have more opportunities to earn.
Having decided, Jeong Yusin stood up from the bench.
With a plan in place, all that was left was to take action.
“No.”
“Why not?”
The man sitting across from Jeong Yusin shook his head and said,
“You’re a Barbaroy. My party doesn’t take female hunters.”
Jeong Yusin frowned.
“At least call me a priest-hunter! Dammit.”
“That’s what I said.”
This was the fourth rejection.
After preparing supplies and spending a day at the inn, he had come to the Explorer’s Guild with high hopes, only to have his interview slip away each time due to being a Barbaroy.
The man sighed.
“Look for other parties outside the usual ones.”
A cold glare from one of the party members beside the man pierced through Jeong Yusin’s chest.
“Are there any abnormal parties?”
“Instead of looking at the recruitment notices on the guild bulletin board, ask the registration clerk. Say you want to join a ‘F-class’ party.”
“What exactly is a F-class party? Are you referring to a party for new explorers?”
“No. Just ask the clerk. Go ahead and get lost.”
The man dismissively waved his hand, clearly unwilling to explain further.
Jeong Yusin stood up.
Perhaps joining Kael’s inexperienced party was a stroke of luck after all.
He approached a different registration clerk, avoiding a receptionist who had a fierce look in the human woman’s eyes.
“Hello. Explorer. How may I assist you?”
It was a cute-looking raccoon with adorable ears, someone he had seen before.
“What is a F-class party?”
“Ah! It’s a party formed by people who have negative engravings. Are you planning to join one?”
“Yes. No one else is accepting me, so this is the only option.”
“Would you like to join a party formed by new explorers instead?”
“Are they the group made up of young individuals from the countryside?”
“Yes. By the way, these members did not attend the new explorer course. Too expensive, they said. Even with the huge discount on tuition fees this time.”
This… It was completely ominous.
“Are you feeling alright? Your hands are shaking.”
The registration clerk asked with an expression of concern.
“Just put me down for the F-class.”
“Yes. There’s a front line position available in one negative-engraved party. You can go to seat number 21.”
“Thank you.”
Jeong Yusin turned and headed toward table 21.
‘Looks like they’re regulars.’
There were four people sitting at table 21:
An elderly human mage.
An adult nuum.
A hairy-bearded dwarf.
And…
A goblin.
Jeong Yusin’s mouth gaped wide open.
“What? You’ve never seen a goblin?”
“The first time I’ve seen one that talks.”
“You’re a rookie explorer?”
“Yes.”
“Huh. Surprisingly, you didn’t pull your sword. Usually, rookies attack immediately upon seeing me.”
“That’s Scath. Am I qualified?”
“Yeah. Frankly, we’re in no position to be picky. I’m Dell. I was an elf who got a goblin engraving, and now I look like this. But remember: I am an elf.”
‘Emphasizing it quite a bit.’
Dell looked around and spoke.
“Let’s do introductions, shall we?”
The old human mage spoke up.
“I’m Keltan, a mage. I’m bad.”
“…”
‘Bad?’
Jeong Yusin stared blankly at the mage who insulted himself outright.
“I have the Mesagaki engraving. I don’t want to say more, so my introduction ends here. I’m bad.”
“Yes, sir.”
The old man frowned and folded his arms.
Next was the dwarf.
“I’m Einhofer. I have Water Fever and Decreased Vitality engraving.”
Jeong Yusin glanced at the large axe standing behind the dwarf.
“Sometimes my hand slips. Be careful.”
He swallowed hard.
The dwarf, who seemed genuinely devoted to his weapon, had an axe whose blade gleamed sharply.
Finally, the middle-aged nuum.
“I’m Dito. By the way, are you a Barbaroy? You’re quite the empathizer, aren’t you?”
‘What? What kind of engraving is that?’
Dito saw the worried expression in Jeong Yusin’s eyes and grinned.
“It’s one that makes the number of sexual encounters visible. It appears as a red number above the head.”
“Wow, a virginal Barbaroy—this is quite rare.”
The goblin interjected.
“But isn’t that too minor to be considered a negative engraving? Doesn’t it affect combat?”
Jeong Yusin asked with doubt.
“First, female explorers would avoid it, since showing their private lives in such a manner would naturally make them feel embarrassed and ashamed.”
“What about male explorers?”
Dito chuckled.
“If people see me with a male explorer, that explorer will be ruined. Rumors would spread, and it would be impossible to form parties with others. They’d be branded as perverts who try to figure out how many times a person has had sex and would end up falling into ruin.”
‘So terrifying!’
Upon thinking about it, he could now sense icy glares from other tables. Most were female explorers, but occasionally there were also looks from male explorers.
He realized.
The meaning of being seen with a nuum whose sex count was visible and a Barbaroy known for being a woman hunter.
From now on, it would be difficult to find a party under normal circumstances.
“I leave it to you, Barbaroy!”
Jeong Yusin blankly stared at Dito’s extended hand.
“Let’s not shake hands. It really feels like it’ll end badly.”
“Alright.”
Dito grinned brightly, and it was the kind of smile that suggested he already knew Jeong Yusin had crossed a point of no return.
“So, who’s the leader here?”
“That’s me.”
The goblin answered.
“When do you plan to depart?”
“Tomorrow afternoon.”
“Isn’t it usually customary to go in the morning?”
The goblin made a slashing motion across the throat.
“I die if I go in the morning.”
“What? Is there some kind of law against it?”
“Think about it. If we enter the Labyrinth and there’s a goblin there, higher-level explorers might just ignore it, but rookie explorers would swing their swords immediately. Recently, there’s been a noticeable increase in new explorers.”
“Can’t we just stay together?”
“I’m always at the back, but people see me and mistake me for someone planning a rear attack. I almost died once because some kind-hearted high-level explorer misunderstood me.”
“Then…”
The goblin snapped irritably.
“I’ve thought through it more than anyone! There’s no solution. Besides, it’s an unwritten rule that explorers who have turned into demons enter later in the afternoon. If that bothers you, just leave.”
‘What a sudden explosion. That goblin.’
“I understand. Is it noon tomorrow?”
“Yep. If you don’t show up by then, we’ll come looking for you.”
“That’s unnecessary.”
“Nope, I’ll do it.”
‘This goblin has quite an attachment issue.’
“Yes, see you tomorrow.”
Jeong Yusin stood up from table 21 and left the guild building.
In any case, he had been fortunate. With this, he could make time to go to the temple in the morning to learn writing.
Though he wouldn’t be able to attend daily, he was grateful for the opportunity to learn, even if it was just little by little.
“I’m back.”
“You’re here.”
At the inn, Darmong greeted him.
“It’s difficult for Barbaroys to find parties. Keep looking carefully.”
To Darmong’s words of encouragement, Jeong Yusin scratched his head.
“I’ve actually found a party, but… sigh.”
“Why? What’s the matter?”
“It’s an F-class party, do you know about it?”
“Dear me, surely?”
“Yes. I’ve joined a rather unique group of individuals. We’re leaving tomorrow afternoon.”
“Must be quite unique.”
“Yes. There’s a goblin and a nuum whose sex count is visible. It’s quite diverse.”
Jeong Yusin gave a detailed explanation.
Darmong nodded.
“That’s a decent party. There are even more peculiar ones.”
“…”
There are even more peculiar ones?
He didn’t want to ask. It was scary.
Perhaps the darkness in the Labyrinth City was deeper than expected.
Did the thought appear on Jeong Yusin’s face?
Darmong chuckled softly.
“Do you know that the more you remove engravings, the higher the expenses will go?”
“Yes.”
“This kind of situation usually happens among mid-level or high-level explorers. They repeatedly remove negative engravings and retain positive ones until they reach a point.”
“The cost of removing engravings becomes astronomically high, right?”
“Exactly. In cases where even selling all their possessions and equipment doesn’t cover the removal costs, the explorer will be expelled from their party.”
“Unfeeling.”
“It’s not necessarily so cold-hearted. Parties might overlook minor negative engravings, but those that seriously impede party operations directly relate to the risk the party encounters. Even members themselves would not wish this on anyone. Besides, there are plenty of explorers pushing up from the lower ranks, so there’s no need for them to take unnecessary risks.”
“I see. So, are those expelled people finished?”
“It varies from person to person. Some manage to climb back up, and others simply accept their fate.”
“Then what about F-class parties?”
“They’re the ones who claw their way back up.”
“So, it’s a more positive party than I imagined.”
“That’s… ”
Darmong skillfully evaded answering.
Considering Darmong usually provided clear responses, this behavior was surprising.
‘Nevertheless, it’s better than a newbie explorer party.’
Jeong Yusin consoled himself.
