Chapter 71: OriginFollowed by persons unknown, we take a couple turns to confirm their intent.

  With determination, Roxanne says, “Master, please allow us to defend you.”

  Sherry nods and Alina confirms, “Yes, this is our duty.”

  “Alright, but don’t attack until I can Identify them.”

  We wait for the group of five men to catch up. They stop about 30 meters away.

  The leader shouts, ?■■■ ■■■ ■ ■■ ■■■ ■?, in an authoritative tone. I assume it was something stereotypical.

  To my party, I say, “Just low-level Bandits. Let them come to us.”

  The thugs keep their distance and the leader tries to pantomime that we should lower our weapons and surrender. Does anyone actually fall for that? Well, it makes sense for them to try. I shake my head and motion for them to go away.

  My counter-offer was answered with ughter and snorts. After checking their surroundings, they start approaching confidently. At 15 meters, they look ready to start so I smile, wave at the attackers and say Attack in a friendly voice.

  Alina and Roxanne bze forward to instantly take out two thugs. Sherry hangs back with me, spear at the ready. The leader shouts to his people and the three of them turn around to flee. In their panic, they run directly into the Water Wall I cast behind them a moment ago. The two weaker Bandits fall backwards and are quickly defeated by Alina and Roxanne. The leader stands in the water as if meditating.

  I call to the girls, “Wait until the spell expires. Don’t touch him before that.”

  I start severing the wrists of the two thugs closest to me and Sherry stands guard. By the time that wall drops, the leader has fallen. The girls collect the remaining hands and bring them back to me. Sherry rips some cloth from one of the thugs for a make-shift bag. We collect their coins and crystals and just leave their crappy armor and weapons.

  Sherry asks, “David, why did that st one just stand there? Was he stunned?”

  “Yes, he was. I pced a Lightning Wall just behind the Water Wall. The second wall must have been a real shock.”

  Completely missing the dumb joke, Sherry says with admiration, “Incredible.”

  All three are happy with our fshy victory. No tears or remorse in this group.

  “I still have tests to complete. Let’s go somewhere safer.”

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  I open a portal to the 22nd floor of Nordselm’s Labyrinth.

  “Sherry, fish are on Nordselm’s 22nd, right?”

  “Yes, David, Mabreams are sensitive to earth magic and resist water magic.”

  “Do you remember the previous two floors?”

  “Yes, Pig Hogs and Fly Traps.”

  Got it. Fish and pigs have opposite sensitivities and resistances. Fly Traps are sensitive to fire.

  “Sherry, please come back here to keep an eye on me. Alina and Roxanne, don’t go too far ahead.”

  OK, where was I? Right, separating fire spells. To simplify the problem, I’ll drop Mage. Oh, Hero becomes my first job. That worked without emptying my job list. I guess turning it off and on again actually fixed it. And what about that Temple Options thing?

  “This byrinth has 60 floors.”

  “David?”

  “Sorry, not important now.”

  I guess I can locate temples now just like party members. Anyway, I need to get back to the tests. Um, fire, right?

  Without my Mage job, Fire Ball doesn’t work. It’s actually good that the spell names don’t overp. But, what’s more fire than fire? Inferno? Confgration? Thankfully not. This is just intermediate so maybe more subtle. Ignite? Burn? Yes, Burn Ball works.

  This is going to take a while. I bet Sherry could have researched these names for me. [1]

  “Sherry, do you know the names of the Wizard spells?”

  “Sorry, David, I don’t.”

  Next is wind magic. What’s more than breeze? Well, wind. Yep, Wind Ball works. That was easy.

  Earth magic is next, so let’s try earth. Not so lucky. Rock? Stone? Nope. OK, what’s worse than sand? Um, dirt? Yes. Dirt was a silly guess, but I’ll take it.

  Last is water. Wet, storm, rain, moist, and everything reasonable fails. Branching out to silly names, I eventually stumble on ‘aqua’. Seriously, what’s the logic here?

  “Thanks for waiting, everyone. We’ll skip the map for the moment. Roxanne, please lead us to groups of mainly single type. You can do that, right?”

  “Yes, Master, leave it to me.”

  I bst the three fish we encounter with Dirt Storm and Sand Storm as our light vanguard rushes forward. Another pair of spells and a little melee before the fish are defeated. We repeat our attacks against small groups with no risk to ourselves.

  “That went well. Roxanne, look for mixed groups now.”

  Lightning Storm works well since stun triggers pretty frequently. This might be due to my high bonus for Critical Hits or maybe it’s a fixed chance. I should see if the Assassin job helps.

  We just keep going like that until I see a spot that may match the map. If I’m right, we managed to wander our way through nearly a third of the floor. Time to go home and discuss the results.

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  The girls seem as excited about my Wizard job as I am. We all sit in the living room and I start expining.

  “As I said, I now have Wizard spells. Fortunately, I still have Mage as well so I’ll keep that as my primary job for identification. Even though Wizard is a natural progression after Mage, we can’t tell anyone because it’s really suspicious to unlock this job so soon.”

  Roxanne asks innocently, “Master, how long ago did you become a Mage?”

  The guys were there when I did that so they may have told them already. Besides, it’s pretty mild in comparison to my insane collection of skills.

  “I got the Mage job a bit over seven weeks ago.”

  Total silence.

  Well, that hit harder than expected. Sherry stared at me like my human-mask just fell off. Alina tilted her head in confusion. Roxanne’s jaw dropped for a moment before yelling “AMAZING!”

  Sherry peeked around the bouncing Roxanne to ask, “David, when did you come to the empire?”

  “Sherry, remember when I told you that I’d avoid talking about things I couldn’t expin or prove? This is the big one. Are you sure you want me to continue?”

  “David, it seems like you’ve already passed that point.”

  Yes, she’s right. Going from Mage to Wizard was the big news.

  “Please just calm down and I’ll tell you everything. Mirabel knows a little about my arrival, the guys were there when I got my magic and you girls know almost everything else about me since I arrived. What I haven’t told anyone is the completely unbelievable part. Just try to think of it as a story.”

  Alina urges, “Please, David, you can tell us anything. Really.”

  “I, um, I’m from another world. A world without byrinths, monsters or magic. A pce so different that the empire would be an unbelievable story. I came to the empire at the beginning of Spring. One morning, I woke up in a small barn in a small vilge near Vale. I don’t know how I got there or why.”

  Alina responds softly, “David, I see how serious this is to you, but we already assumed it’d be something like that. The only surprise is how recent it was.”

  “Um, really?”

  Sherry adds, “Yes, David. It’s not the strangest thing about you.”

  Roxanne gushes, “I didn’t know any of this. Master is more amazing than I imagined. Think of what you could accomplish in a year. The empire could be yours!”

  “Thanks for your enthusiasm, Roxanne. Even if it were possible, that is something I absolutely do not want. I value freedom over political power. Besides, managing a territory sounds boring.”

  Roxanne lowers her head. “I’m sorry, Master.”

  “No, it’s fine, Roxanne. I haven’t actually expined my goals anyway. When I first arrived here, my primary goal was survival. I fought the byrinths because I needed to become stronger and earn money. I have that now, so my focus has moved towards enjoying life. The three of you are a major part of that. I still fight the byrinths for personal gain and to help others. But, if that interferes with my happiness, I will not hesitate to stop. Labyrinths are not my goal. Can everyone accept that?”

  “Yes, Master, absolutely.”“Of course, David.”“Yes, I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Sorry I spoiled the mood by getting too serious. We still have work to do so let’s talk about the future of this party. With my new magic, the four of us could get pretty far. On the other hand, we have plenty of money and space for a full party of six.”

  Alina responds, “A full party is safer, as long as we can find the right people.”

  “Agreed. Sherry suggested that we find a new, two-person vanguard. If we do that, Sherry would move back to cover me, like we did today.”

  Sherry nods and says, “Yes, David. Using so much magic could leave you vulnerable. Any of us could help you, but Alina and Roxanne are better up front. If you want, I could handle the maps too.”

  “Yes, Sherry. I’d also like to switch you to Explorer while we’re in the byrinths.”

  “Alright, David. May I ask why?”

  “The simple reason is to help me collect the monster drops. Eventually, I want you to become an Adventurer to get Field Walk. Lastly, I want to hide the fact that you’re a Runesmith. If you’re known as being very successful, someone might try to capture you.”

  “Even if the st part is illogical, it’s certainly possible. You still want me to be your Runesmith, right?”

  “Yes, absolutely. You’ll just need to empty your Item Box when we get home. Including library research, I’ll be relying on you quite heavily, Sherry. I hope that will be alright with you.”

  “David, I was starting to feel bad about falling behind the others in combat. I’m very happy to be able to contribute in other ways. Thank you.”

  “Thanks, Sherry. Roxanne, Alina, is there anything else we need to consider?”

  Alina answers, “Yes, David, where are we going to find two guys who don’t like girls?”

  “Hmm, I could ask An for help, but I’m not optimistic.”

  “David, I was joking. Just get strong women. Sometimes it’s like you’re new here. He he.”

  (Sure, ugh at the alien.)

  “Regardless, I will consider men if they can be trusted.”

  Unsurprisingly, Roxanne agrees, “Yes, too many women can be a distraction.”

  “Sherry, you mentioned dragon-kin. They come from far to the east, right?”

  “Yes, David, but wouldn’t it be easier to look for them at the big sve auction?”

  “I’ve never seen dragon-kin around here. At an auction, rare and useful means terribly expensive.” [2]

  Alina asks softly, “David, is that the real reason?”

  “And the idea of a sve auction creeps me out. An’s pce is basically the limit for me.”

  “Then, how can you find sves elsewhere?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe they’re just wandering around, looking for work. Anyway, Sherry, can you be more specific on the location?”

  “Yes, David. Well past my vilge and practically all the way to Kassim. I’m guessing that’s where they come from.”

  “That’s too far to bring everyone and I might need to check several towns. Maybe tomorrow should be a travel day.”

  Sherry asks while grinning, “Could I maybe go to the library to research the next set of floors?”

  “Yes, good idea. Even if we dey our climb in Curatar’s Labyrinth, we’ll eventually need that information for Nordselm’s. Roxanne and Alina, if you want to go somewhere, I would prefer that you stay together. Any requests?”

  Alina answers, “We have some cleaning to do. The guys’ room reeks.”

  “Thanks for doing that. Alright, it’s still early enough so let’s go to the capital. We can pick up the support gear and then go to a restaurant.”

  “Yeah!”

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  Alina got fitted for her combat bras and Roxanne checked her new spare. Sherry wandered off to the lingerie section. She couldn’t possibly know how important this pce was in the manga. I stood by as she compared colors and styles. Soon, Roxanne and Alina joined in. I have to admit that I’ve been cheap about anything other than combat gear. So, pin-vanil-David agreed to buy nightgowns for the girls, two each. They tried to pull me into the selection process, but I convinced them that it’d be better to surprise me. I didn’t want to spoil their fun by admitting that I actually prefer nothing at all.

  One of the clerks recommended a moderately-priced restaurant that would be likely to have tables avaible. It was expensive as far as dinner goes, but certainly enjoyable. I pushed to get to a good spot before the guys left, so I should try to make it up to them now, well, not the guys. I want to keep the girls happy and reward their hard work. No matter how many jobs and skills I accumute, I don’t want to do this alone or even at all without them.

  We went home and I started filling the big tub with Mage and Wizard water magic. It was fun and messy. Sherry interrupted my adolescent py time by bringing Roxanne’s dragon-leather armor. I passed her Coral and Kobold crystals to provide strong protection against petrification. Done with business, I shot a Burn Ball into the tub — not a good idea for the smaller tubs. I calmly continued with Fire Balls instead. The girls got into the warm tub and I quickly joined them.

  Alina said, “David, tell us a story about your old world. Don’t worry about it being believable.”

  “Instead of magic, we have technology. With a device small enough to fit in one hand, I could speak to someone in a different country, listen to music pyed by people I have never met, watch theater performances, access information from immense libraries, see my current location on a map and routes to pces I’ve never been.”

  “You could have made the story at least a little believable.”

  Yep, that was silly. Not even my grandparents would accept all that. Instead, I told the girls about my hometown. The winding river running through it. The rge, forested park in the north. The snow-capped mountains far to the west. Fishing in the kes. Wandering through the monster-free forests.

  I had told Tuuli a little about my past, but, of course, that was well before she could understand me. I did that to help me accept this world, not to communicate. Now, I’m telling the girls because I want to share part of myself. Maybe it’s like the reminiscing of an old person. It almost felt like I was talking about someone else. Maybe I was simply scanned and uploaded to this world and the real me is still back there. Somehow, I doubt that version of me would be hot-tubbing with three adorable babes.

  I suddenly felt like turning in for the night. After drying off, the girls performed a little fashion show with their new nightgowns. At the store, these were frivolous trinkets. What I failed to anticipate was how they would make the girls feel. In hindsight, great purchase.

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  [1] In the LN, Sherry researched jobs and skills so her MC didn’t have to guess (v11 c5).[2] In the LN, the female dragon-kin cost more than Roxanne, not that David would know that.