After breakfast at Broken Mug and the unexpected finding that Tess was the innkeeper’s daughter, I stopped at Broken Heart for my clothes. They dried out overnight. So I quickly ironed them and even though the bloodstains were now more visible than when the laundry was wet, changed into them. It bothered me less than wearing Alyson’s clothes.
I was still grateful that she had lent her clothes to me, but the idea she had worn them when she met customers, like Byron, wasn’t pleasant at all.
Feeling better in my clothes, I headed straight for the city hall, my first stop before I went to see Mr. Sandoval. The day before yesterday, the two gals dragged me straight from his library.
Okay, they asked politely, but ... I wanted to tell him I was fine before starting the training I had planned for this morning. However, I had to book the said training first.
The entrance hall was livelier than usual today, but that didn’t deter me. I pressed my ears to my head and stood in line at the counters, wondering why they hadn’t placed more receptionists here.
“Oh, I thought you changed your mind about becoming a seeker when you didn’t show up yesterday,” Enola said when she saw me. “It’s good to see you, miss Grey.”
I was hesitant to tell her about the offer I received from the city guards, but in the end, I dismissed the thought. Angering Rayden by talking about something I shouldn’t have was something I didn’t want to do. Plus, I still needed to go through the first floor of the labyrinth either way.
“Hi, Enola. Is this because of the attack?” I asked about the activity and the number of people in the lobby.
She nodded, “We have more requests than usual. Maybe you could find a better job now.”
“Oh, okay, I’ll look later,” I said, impressed she remembered what I did for a living. But not believing that after the night attack, a job where they would accept me despite my appearance would suddenly appear. “I’d like to book another training session.”
“Anything specific?” She asked me as she pulled out a thick book and opened it.
All morning and on my way to city hall, I thought hard about it. Given my limited financial means, the newly discovered [Beast] aspect, and my poor self-defense experience, I decided it would be worth trying close combat.
“Fighting up close, learning how to punch something with my fists or slice it with claws,” I said, waiting for the receptionist to react.
My choice startled her, but she recovered quickly and looked at the book, “I have one trainer here who would meet your requirements, but he’s a terran!”
“I may be human, but look at me. I don’t have a problem with that,” I shook my head, realizing that I hadn’t spoken to a terran yet.
Well, I talked to Timmy, but he was a kid, that didn’t count, and even though I passed dozens of them on the streets every day, I didn’t really talk to anyone. It made me nervous.
“I am just asking to avoid later problems. There are people who, let’s say, don’t like them.” She told me and thought, looking at the book, “He would be free at seven, that’s in 42 minutes. Does it suit you?”
“I don’t have a problem with that,” I nodded, even though my plans were different. It was mainly because I didn’t expect a free term so soon. While I waited for her to issue me a card, I wondered what else I could ask her.
When Enola filled out the card, she moved it on the counter in front of me, “Here, wait at ten in front of the entrance to the training halls.”
“Okay, can I ask you something else?” I asked, waiting for her nod. “To become a seeker, I have to go through the first floor of the labyrinth, but I know almost nothing about it. Just that there are no maps to the labyrinth because the floors are constantly changing and horned rabbits inhabit it.”
Enola smiled and reached under the counter. Then she placed something like a leaflet in front of me. “This is all available information for the first floor. I should have given it to you as soon as you asked, sorry.”
And I should have asked for more information the first time. I couldn’t blame her for that. My intention was to read the leaflet somewhere aside in peace not to delay her from work unnecessarily, but when I looked at the leaflet, I was shocked. The first floor was inhabited by a beast called a horned rabbit, I knew that. Little did I know it was a rabbit the size of a black bear, with bulging muscles, sharp teeth, and two short horns on his head.
I imagined adorable bunnies with horns like unicorns that the beginning adventurers had trouble killing for their cuteness. I didn’t understand how Tenderfire could think I was ready to face the beast depicted in a leaflet.
“Is this a horned rabbit?” I asked for reassurance, hoping Enola had reached for the wrong leaflet.
To my horror, she nodded, “Yes, I told you that quite often, beginning seekers overestimate their strength fighting them.”
I gulped, imagining myself fighting this monster, but even though the range of its levels was only 30-45 and the recommended level for beginning adventurers was 75, I didn’t see how I could defeat something like that.
“I’m not surprised,” I breathed.
It was not hard to imagine that this quarter-ton beast was the cause of death of beginning seekers. I folded the leaflet so that it would fit in my ring and put it in its storage, intending to read it later. I had other questions.
“Can I still ask you about the labyrinth companies?” I asked, ignoring the disapproving growl of the man waiting behind me.
“What do you want to know?” Enola asked.
I didn’t have to think about it, “About contracts. Are they magical contracts? Can companies force me to do something because of them? What is the usual contract duration and conditions?”
“Hold on, that’s a lot of questions!” Enola stopped me, organizing her thoughts. “First of all, they are not magic contracts, they will not place geas on you, but it may be in the contract that geas will place on you by company. Be careful of that! Personally, I would avoid companies that do that.”
“Oh, thanks for the warning. So they can’t force me to do anything?” I asked, making sure.
“It’s not a slave collar, just a piece of paper, but if you don’t follow its contents, you can lose everything and end up as a debt slave. Most companies take some percentage of your profits from the labyrinth and provide some benefits in return. But some require ongoing fees. If you fail to pay them a few times, you’re in trouble.” Enola warned me.
I was honestly wondering why anyone would sign up for such a company. There must have been something beneficial about them that attracted people to sign the contract with them.
“In terms of time, it’s diverse. It can be a contract for a specific floor, the amount of material from the labyrinth obtained, one day, month, half a year, but the standard is usually a year or two. If you are really sure about the company, you can sign up for longer, but I would recommend a contract for a maximum of four years.” She told me her personal opinion again, and I was glad for that as that’s what I wanted to hear, not some promotional speech.
“Conditions depend on what the company does, what they focus on, but in general, they make money from raw materials from the labyrinth. They take part of what the seeker brings from the floors or have a priority right to buy raw materials from them, etc. It’s up to you what suits you. I can’t advise you on that,” she said with a shrug and smiled. “Is there anything else you want to know?”
Right now, I couldn’t think of anything specific, but most of all, I didn’t want to delay the people waiting in line. The man behind me already seemed really upset.
I shook my head, “No, that’s all for now. Thanks, Enola.”
“No problem, Next!” She called, ending our conversation.
I stepped aside, making room for the grumpy man behind me, thinking that if I remembered something I wanted to know, I could ask Enola later. Though, I will have to stand in line again.
Looking at the time, I still had more than half an hour.
During that time, I intended to read the flyer somewhere where there would not be so many people and noise. Unfortunately, I have not yet been able to find such a place in Castiana, not counting the library. There were no parks in the city, at least I hadn’t found them yet. There was no waterfront as no river flowed through the city, not even a small stream. All because of the labyrinth the city stood on. This ancient structure, as I found out, was only a few meters below the ground.
For the same reason, there were neither hills, just flat ground.
In the end, I took refuge in one of the city hall corridors, where I leaned against the wall and pulled out a leaflet that Enola gave me.
I still couldn’t believe the enormous beast I was looking at was the horned rabbit. According to the description, it was an omnivorous beast able to jump five meters high and nine meters far. The rabbit moved quickly in a short distance, but long distances were tiring for it. The most common type of attack was to ram its head in the prey and then bite it.
His quick movements and attacks were made possible by the skills described in the leaflet. If I were to believe it, the rabbit shouldn’t surprise me with a skill like [Teleportation].
To my displeasure, despite its thick skull and the horns on its head protecting its eyes, the best approach to kill this beast was through ranged attacks. In close combat, the seeker had to watch out for its mouth full of sharp teeth and be able to deal with its strength. Fortunately, they were lone beasts and did not attack in packs, although if the seeker was unlucky, he or she could run into two or three of them.
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When it came to prey, they could hunt together just to fight for a dead body later.
The more I read, the more it discouraged me from entering the labyrinth. The thought of this mountain of muscle jumping at me was frightening, as well as the idea of this quarter-ton beast biting into my leg.
On the other hand, the rabbit was the only fauna other than the common insects on the first floor that I had to worry about. As I understood it, the floor was covered with meadows, overgrown with flowers and shrubs, and dotted with rabbit burrows.
I wondered how the flowers could grow underground, but it wasn’t written about on the leaflet.
What was also mentioned on it was information about suitable potions, their current prices, and availability. Most were beyond my financial means, which was frustrating, but on the plus side, I didn’t need healing potions.
Unfortunately, as unattainable for me as potions was recommended leather armor, I planned to conquer the first floor in what I was wearing. I had no choice.
But more than on potions and armor, the leaflet gave more weight on the recommended level of seekers. It gave me the impression that the rabbit was not hard to defeat despite its size, and I wanted to believe it, but I also didn’t want to overestimate my strength. I didn’t trust myself that much. Experienced people wrote the information, and for them, the beast was an easy opponent.
My experience was none. As a florist, killing was not in my job description. I’ve never killed anything in my life, not counting the thousands of digital monsters and players. The thought of fighting a real beast gave me shivers.
The more I thought about it, the more I had to agree with Tenderfire. In the labyrinth, I find out if I am a warrior or a coward, whether I dare to stand up to such beasts or if I shit my pants.
When the time came, I moved to the entrances to the training halls. A few minutes later, I entered one of them.
Since the morning, I have been using the domain, trying to perceive my surroundings, especially in case of a sudden attack. They assured me it was unlikely that the assassin would return to Castiana, but I didn’t want to underestimate the danger. That’s why when a man appeared next to me after two steps in the training hall, I managed to avoid his attack.
Jumping aside, I formed a shield in front of me, waiting for another strike.
The man, however, did not continue the attack. He straightened up and bared his teeth at me. Well, he smiled, but since he was basically a wolf, it looked like he was baring his teeth at me.
“Good response,” he complimented me.
It was an unexpected welcome, but I quickly realized that he must have been my trainer, “Thanks?”
He walked over to me and knocked on my shield, “You can cancel it. First, let’s see what you can do without it.”
I didn’t take my eyes off the wolfkin, partly for caution, partly because it was the first time I had spoken to a terran. It was strange because his poise was humanoid, but his features wolfish. He was covered with fur from head to toe, had the tail and ears of a wolf, a snout, fangs, and was two heads larger than me.
He looked fierce.
[Fighter: lvl?]
Wolfkin wasn’t as strong as the others I’d met, but he was still stronger than I was, and I was sure I’d know in a few minutes how much more experienced he was in combat.
“I’m Rezso, and you?” He asked me, studying me.
I canceled my shield and straightened up, “Korra Grey, I’ve come to learn close combat.”
“Are you going to fight monsters or people?” He asked me, sniffing the air.
His question startled me, I didn’t think about it. I was going to dive into the labyrinth, not fight in the army, but when I thought about it and remembered the night attack and Roe, I couldn’t rule out a fight with people.
“Both,” I replied cautiously, hoping he wouldn’t judge me too much for my choice.
“I see you’re not stupid,” he nodded, pleased with my answer. “Fighting monsters and beasts can be your livelihood, you may even find pleasure in it, but you never know when you’ll have to defend yourself against someone of your kind, whatever it is in your case.”
Ignoring his remark, I nodded, “That’s why I’m here, to learn to defend myself, to fight.”
“That’s what you say, but I see the uncertainty in your eyes,” Rezso said. “Are you sure you want to learn to fight without your fists?”
“I can’t afford weapons,” I said, ashamed.
Because I was poor, I couldn’t afford one, but I did what I could to change it.
Rezso snorted, “I see, you can’t even afford proper clothes. Judging by that day old blood stains and damaged wings, I’d say you were harmed during that attack on the barracks.”
“How...” I wanted to ask him how he’d figured it all out, but he stopped me with a raised hand.
“In such moments, one is most often aware of one’s weakness, but only a fraction of people have the determination to do something about it. It’s worthy of appreciation that you have it. The fact that I can put two and two together just means I use my brain,” he added to my question.
But then he frowned, “What I can’t figure out is what you are? You look like a half-terran, but smell like a human and a beast at the same time!”
I sniffed at my armpit, but I smelled nothing. My body has changed a lot, but my nose, my sense of smell has not. I still had an ordinary human nose, so I had to trust the terran man in this regard.
“You could say I’m a hybrid of the two,” I said, hesitating to call myself a mutant.
“What kind of lunatic created you?” He growled but was not angry.
When I came here, I didn’t expect to talk about my stay in the basement. It wasn’t what I paid for. So I was glad Rezso wasn’t waiting for my answer.
Cracking his knuckles, he said, “It doesn’t matter. Worse things can happen to you in the labyrinth. Show me what you got!”
“What?! On you?!” I asked as he was beckoning me to attack him. “Shouldn’t I attack the training dummy first?”
“Punch me!” he growled so loud it hurt my ears.
This time I attacked without hesitation, but he avoided all my blows despite my efforts. Using [Swift as a Whip] didn’t help me either, my fists hitting empty air every time.
When he attacked, I couldn’t avoid it. He was much faster than earlier, and before I realized what had happened, I was lying on the ground.
Standing over me, Rezso looked down, “You have some basics, but very lousy. Get up!”
I jumped to my feet, ready for another attack that didn’t come. Instead, he asked me to take up a fighting stance, and when I did, Rezso began to explain what I was doing wrong, how to clench my fist correctly, how to strike accurately to make the blow as effective as possible, how to move, and that was just the beginning of my training.