Death March — Fixed

“Tek here, there’s wonderful items in games that raise your experience gain. Implementing such a mechanic into the game was easy, since you just added a timed function that increases their experience gain.”

 

After we met the troops of the Labyrinth Army, one of the soldiers went ahead alone as a messenger. So, by the time we reached the Labyrinth Gate, there were 3 of the higher-level members of the Guild staff. I say higher-level, but they were only between 50 - 60.

 

“T-This guy is the ‘Mad Magic Axe’, Rudaman?!”

“Rudaman, as in the King of The Lost Thieves?”

 

The Guild staff look awfully surprised when they see the bearded man, before checking him with the Yamato Stone.

 

“Chevalier, you’ve done outstanding work. Rudaman is a fiendish man, having turned the tables against many subjugation units.”

“The reward for his capture should be around 100 gold coins.”

 

That’s very high for a bounty, only matched by leaders of the Wings Of Liberty.

 

“Well then, Chevalier, we will take the Lost Thieves to the West Guild, please come by later.”

 

“Okay.” I respond with a nod and polite tone.

 

The bearded king of the Lost Thieves is taken away by the three Guild Staff members. The rest of the Lost Thieves get checked with Yamato Stones, guarded by the soldiers.

 

Half of the young nobles got exhausted by climbing the meandering large stairway, so I needed to wait for them to come out, helped by soldiers.

 

Jeans and Merian, two of the Princess’s friends, are the only two that made it all the way up by themselves--the Princess is being supported by Lulu…and they are whispering about something.

 

The girls, other than Lulu, said that they still had a ‘quota’ for today and they lead the two women from Beautiful Wing back into the Labyrinth. Well, the two women were screaming as they were dragged away by Tama and Pochi--they seem to be getting along well.

 

“Tek! My level has been raised! This Labyrinth is really amazing.” The Princess returned from confirming her Status with the Yamato Stone.

 

“Congratulations, Mitia. How about Jeans and Merian?”

 

If she could recover this quickly, she might make a good Adventurer after some training. I also asked about the two people who had gone with her to the Yamato Stone, but they shook their heads.

 

“No, we only defeated one Labyrinth Moth.” Jeans said with a sigh.

 

Merian, who was brooding over something, asked me, “Chevalier, what should I do to become as strong as your retainers?”

 

“Training and actual combat. Those girls asked some famous Martial Artists and Fairykin masters in the Duchy Capital, and trained. They only spared time for sleeping and eating. They had also participated in actual combat, where they almost died, in both the Labyrinth of this city and another.”

 

I did exaggerate a little, since they were never in life-threatening situations, because I would save them, but they did fight as though their lives were on the line.

 

Merian nodded, “I see, so it really is about actual combat--”

 

“I’m warning you, just in case: but if the present you try to do actual combat with Monsters in order to become stronger. You would die within a month.”

 

“Wha, What do you know about me?!”

 

I was worried about Merian, who was muttering like she was going to become obsessed, so I warned her. It looks like she was shocked by my remark, she reflexively showed dissatisfaction.

 

Well, I only know the real her superficially, but looking at her level and Skills, she would die without a doubt, if she was surrounded by multiple Monsters. She is only level 13, and has one Skill--Etiquette.

 

By the way, even though Jeans has a Bronze Plate, his level is 14, and he has the Social and Horse-Riding Skills. He obviously got the Bronze Plates by paying for them.

 

“It’s probably good if you hide your social position and train. Whether from a higher-level Adventurer, or a in dojo. I think it’d be good if you challenge the Labyrinth again once you’ve regained your confidence--and learned some Skills.”

 

She seemed to be interested in training, she asked me which dojo she should go to.

 

I had seen a few places that seemed like Dojos in Labyrinth City, but I didn’t know of any good ones.

 

“I would recommend Horun’s dojo: ‘Labyrinth Self-Defense Style’.” A nearby female staff member answered for me, “Though the name sounds weak, it’s designed for actual combat. By self-defense, it means emphasizing your own safety as a priority, evading the opponent’s attack so as to prevent injury. Since, in the Labyrinth, even a simple injury can lead to danger to your life.”

 

Merian nods at the staff member’s words, she seems to have decided to go to the dojo.

 

***

I lead the young nobles, who have finally recovered, out of the Labyrinth.

 

Six fine carriages were waiting outside the West Gate.

 

“You fool!” Baronet Dyukeli, who was the foremost in the line waiting for the young nobles, shouted at Merian. He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards his carriage, before saying over his shoulder, “Chevalier Felspar. Thank you for your help. I will, without fail, pay this debt back.”

 

The ones who came for the rest of the young nobles were only butlers or other servants, so they boarded their carriage and went back home without any arguments.

 

The butler of the Marchioness, who came to pick up the fat boy and the Princess, relayed her request that I come to the mansion later. I told the butler that I needed to report to the Adventurer’s Guild, and that I would probably come by in the evening.

 

***

I’ve arrived at the West Guild, to explain the situation, but for some reason, the Guildmistress herself summoned me to her room.

 

“Thanks for coming, Tek. We had difficulty dealing with that Rudaman guy. While I can’t raise your rank to Mithril, but I’ll make sure that you get some preferential treatment if we get some delicious info.”

 

“Ha, thank you very much.”

“What’s with that spiritless reply?” The Guildmistress, who was in a great mood, gave me a hug. Which was fine, but the way she grinned and watched my face as she pressed herself against me…and because I was much shorter than she was, my face was buried in her rather large bust.

 

With a laugh, she pushed me back, walking back to her chair and sitting down.

 

“You should have quite a considerable reward from the reward money and the money that you will receive from the sale of the Lost Thieves--when they are sold as crime slaves. The small-fries will be sent to the coal mines. But, Rudaman, and his vice-boss, will be publicly executed.”

 

According to some follow up questions, it seems that the crime-slaves who work in the coal mines usually only have a lifespan of three years if they are ‘lucky’.

 

Ushana, the secretary, entered at the end of the Guildmaster’s explanation. It seems that Rudaman wants to negotiate with the Guildmaster. For some reason, the Guildmaster says I should join her to the dungeon that Rudaman was confined in, she spoke with a strange smile.

 

***

“So, what do you have to say?”

 

“I’m appealing for mercy.”

 

“Stop saying stupid things, you will be publicly executed.”

 

Rudaman is confined in a particularly ‘strict’ section of the dungeon. He’s been wrapped in Magic-Sealing Chains, inside a room which has every entrance covered by sturdy iron bars. There are Magic Circuits on all of the bars, and on the stone walls.

 

He was trying to negotiate with the Guildmistress, his expression mostly arrogant, though he looked like his broken arm was hurting.

 

“That might be the ‘proper’ thing to do, but I can’t stand becoming an exhibition for the S****y nobles. Won’t you put me into Violet?”

 

“Look back at your crimes. Your unsightly head will be shown on the Severed-Head Stand at the West Gate.”

 

It seems to be a bit of a barbaric custom--I don’t think I will be approaching the West Gate for a while.

 

By the way, Violet is a unit of the Kingdom’s army that’s composed of crime slaves. It seems that it’s a unit with a high mortality rate that’s specially used to fight giant Monsters, or as decoys in war.

 

Ushana explained.

 

“Would the kind noble over there grant my wish?”

 

“Why would I? Everything has consequences--you made decisions, and these will be the consequences.”

 

The Guildmistress looked over at me with a raised eyebrow when she heard my words.

 

“I’ll tell you some information that’ll really interest you.”

 

Information that will interest me huh?

 

Oh well, may as well hear it.

 

“It depends on the content. I’ll let you negotiate if it’s really interesting or vital information.”

 

“There are a lot of female children, baggage carriers who Adventurers handed over as sacrifices, in our hideout…and they are making Fiend Drug, which has been ordered.”

 

“Fiend Drug, you said?!” The Guildmistress, who was acting as a spectator, suddenly interjected.

 

Since I hadn’t heard of it before, I searched the name in the documents in my storage. Fiend Drug seems to be a drug that was originally developed to give humans physical strength that allowed them to fight Monsters, up to ten levels over them, in hand-to-hand contact.

 

If you have this drug, you will gain strength close to 10 levels, and on top of that, it has an effect of halving the Experience needed to level up. It spread throughout the Kingdom in the blink of an eye--but it has an atrocious trap.

 

For, if you regularly drink this drug and keep leveling up, you’ll become a grotesque Monster. The leveling effect is nice, but there’s no meaning to it if you end up becoming a Monster. However, it looks like there are a lot of people who yield to the temptation in this harsh world.

 

“If you leave them alone, the women and children who are cultivating the fields in our hideout will be killed. The killer is a noble, the same as you.” The bearded man spoke again.

 

“In other words, the one who needs the Fiend Drug is that noble, right?”

 

“Yeah, though we use it sometimes, but not enough to turn into Monsters.”

 

“So, what’s the noble’s name?” I have to try asking.

 

“The fool who should be able to tell me, has stupidly died. I know the name of the underling who sometimes acts as an agent and brings us food. That stingy bastard was called Besso. If you tail that guy, his boss should get in contact with him.”

 

“Either way, there’s no meaning unless we catch them in the act. Guildmaster, what would you do?”

 

The Guildmistress has a pensive look on her face, but eventually she seems to have judged that it’d be dangerous if the Fiend Drug spread through Labyrinth City, so she accepted Rudaman’s deal.

 

I couldn’t help in this situation if I remained here any longer, so I bid farewell to the now distracted-seeming Guildmistress.

 

The bounty, coupled with the sale of slaves, amounted to 160 gold coins.

 

I quickly opened my map and marked Besso before I forgot.

 

Author's Note:

It may look like I'm going to add the Guildmistress to the harem, but I am currently undecided about it. She hugs the MC because she is in a good mood, and feeling playful (remember, she's like 80+ years old, though with the body of an incredibly attractive 25yr old).

It's not definite either way (will she/won't she).