“Are you ready?”
“Mn.”
The two entered the Labyrinth with three days remaining until the duel. Exill took point as he scouted ahead.
“Four skeletons, one archer.”
Exill drew back behind Envy and allowed her to charge the enemy first, attracting the full attention of the enemy. After counting to two, he too joined the fray. Exill charged at the distracted skeleton archer and used the haft of his spear to crush its skull. He eased the pressure on Envy by sweeping the legs of the two rearmost skeletons, finishing one with the stomp of his boot.
Once the battlefield was secure, they went around collecting the weapons of the skeletons. These could rarely be resold as is, but a skilled scavenger could break it down into useful components. The most valuable part of the skeletons was the grey lichen that grew in their skulls. Crumbling apart in the presence of sunlight, it was a crucial ingredient in concocting mana potions.
Exill was pleased with the progress they were making. Back when they had started out, the two would have had to lure the skeletons into a narrow passageway and create a favourable two versus one scenario, picking them off one by one. Their strength and teamwork had grown to such a point, they could charge out and cause mayhem as long as there weren’t too many of them.
“Let’s move on.”
The pair took down two more groups of enemies in the Labyrinth before turning back to the Guild. It would soon be afternoon and Iris would begin her shift. Exill enjoyed the midday sun and the quiet back-alley streets as the sandstone exterior of the Guild came into view.
“Did you have a good hunt today?” Iris asked as she inspected the hard calluses on his palm. Exill was fazed by her ability to grab his hand *every* single time. The heart and soul of the Guild had eventually grown immune to Envy’s pressure and was back to her old touchy-feely ways.
Noticed a small cut on the back of Iris’s hand, he cast [Heal] without a second thought. Her hands were always covered in little nicks as she transferred and weighed rough monster parts turned in by mercenaries.
“Please wear gloves when handling items from the Labyrinth. Your hand is as much as mess as mine.”
Iris pursed her lips, and her kind grey eyes folded in mirth as she saw the young boy who had grown strong so fast, caring about the state of her hands. Her heart fluttered as Exill closely inspected both her palms in petty revenge.
“Well, I have you to heal them now. I must say, I didn’t believe the rumours at first… but you certainly seem familiar with fondling women.”
Exill suddenly felt a dozen threatening gazes from mercenaries piercing the back of his neck. He swiftly let go of her hand and pushed the spoils of the Labyrinth over the counter. Iris tallied up the goods and slid 72 Denars across the rough countertop.
“Take care of yourself, and I’ll be rooting for you in the duel!”
He nodded and walked to the back of the Guild with Envy in tow. The Vampire could be heard murmuring under her breath, “Tch… man-whore.”
Exill ignored her comment. They had about an hour to go until Envy’s illustrious clients would arrive. “Did you tell them yesterday I might be joining them? What did they say?”
“Mn. They called you a coward.”
Exill tamped down his anger and directed it to the task ahead. He simply didn’t understand why his reputation was in such tatters. He had thought his image had been rebuilt from a cowardly boy to an upstanding warrior-healer, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. Someone was deliberately ruining his good standing.
Time passed, and eventually two figures entered the Guild and approached the seated duo.
“I greet the master of this most illustrious Desert Rose.”
“Sir Eumol, Master Vameki, I will be joining you today in your expedition.” Exill greeted them formally and joined the party headed by the Knight. He immediately sensed their barely contained disdain over the mental connection.
As the party of four exited the Guild, Sir Eumol casually commented over his shoulder at Exill, “I understand you are quite the marksman, and that you support our Cherry Pie from the safety of the rear lines. You may rest assured we will not allow a single enemy to pass.”
“Your concern is… greatly appreciated.” Exill replied with gritted teeth. It was best not to antagonise them before obtaining the information. He inspected their Cards with his mind’s eye, then cast [Appraise] on their equipment.
Name Eumol Eckhart Hometown Ark Race Human [Vitality+] Age 27 1st Job [Knight] lvl 39 2nd Job [Priest] lvl 45
Exill’s mouth dropped when he saw the list of enchantments the knight was equipped with. Every single piece of his gear had two bonuses applied, all of them geared towards combat such as bonuses to strength, speed, and damage resist.
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Equipment Price Enchantment Holy amulet ?? D Blessing of the Spirit, Vitality+ Adamantine Tower Shield 2900 D Damage Resist, Status Resist Adamantine Estoc 2700 D Strength+, Weaken Adamantine Cuirass ?? D Magic Resist, Poise+ ... ... ...
Some of the equipment was worth so much that his [Appraise] level was insufficient to fetch their price. Furthermore, he didn’t know what bonuses and perks the Priest job provided, but Sir Eumol was a walking tank if he ever saw one. Exill felt a pit in his stomach. The difference in gear was not something he could easily overcome.
The party entered the Labyrinth without any prior preparation and Sir Eumol and Envy took the lead. Exill hung back with Vameki the Wizard as the stony passageway widened to a large cavern, revealing their first group of enemies.
The group of eight acid bees buzzed angrily around their diseased hive as the party emerged from the passageway. Sir Eumol and Envy took a defensive stance while Vameki started casting his magic. Exill loosed an arrow, immediately killing one the of the bees.
A sudden gust of wind blew against the flying insects, causing their frantic charge to stall as they angrily buzzed to barely fly in place. This must have been the effect of Vameki’s magic. It was Exill’s first time fighting with a mage, and it was an eye-opening experience.
Envy and Sir Eumol swiftly cut down the remaining insects as the bees were pushed against the wall by the continuous gust. Exill found it difficult to follow some of the Knight’s actions and all his attacks were concise with no wasted movements. It was a brutal, direct battling style.
Sir Eumol turned around, flicking the insect guts off his blade, a victorious smile adorning his handsome face. He had felt the admiration seeping from the cowardly master of this most exquisite Flame.
Nodding at the rest of the group, they continued forward. By mid-afternoon they had defeated four more groups of enemies and were heading back to the entrance. Sir Eumol clapped Exill’s shoulder and companionably brought him closer.
“It is not too late to forfeit the duel. You are a remarkable shot for your age but sadly you are not my match. I assure you our Fiery Blaze will be taken care of in good hands. She will be the most beloved of my concubines and will no longer have to fight to earn a living in the Labyrinth.”
“I respect your candour Sir Eumol; however Envy is not someone I can easily abandon.”
The handsome knight ruminated on the kid’s words, before clapping his back once more, both amused and slightly impressed. Rumour had painted the lad as a coward, but he knew it took guts to face defeat and still head on.
“Haha, I can respect that! I will make sure you are fairly compensated.”
Exill’s heart dropped further as he left the Labyrinth, the spectre of defeat looming over him.
The options available to him had become painstakingly clear, and he dismissed Envy, then headed to the gambling district, renowned for their whorehouses. However his destination was neither of these places, but a less frequented, yet well known office of the Moneylender’s Guild.
Ignoring the catcalls from scantily clad women lining the streets, he turned the corner and searched for the sign denoting a pile of coins imposed on a notarized contract. Soon, he found his destination in the form of an understated building nestled between two gambling dens. Shaking his head, and with heavy feet, he entered the doorway.
“Welcome to Sloan’s Loans, are you here to make a repayment or to take out a new loan?” A cleanly dressed clerk who looked to be in his early twenties greeted Exill.
“New loan.” He replied simply, looking around at the minimalist interior.
The Clerk nodded and ushered him to a back office, then prepared a large reference tome as well as a clean slate prior to sitting down: “Before we begin, we are a licensed office of the Moneylender’s Guild, and as such, our borrowing rates are capped at 48% APR. You will not find a better deal borrowing from unlicensed sharks!” The cheerful Clerk took a deep breath before continuing on with his rehearsed spiel. “Receiving a quote takes just under a minute and requires you to submit your Card details. We may reach out to you in the future with better deals using the personal information you submit to us.”
Exill didn’t like the last part, nor the hefty interest rates, but he was in a bind. Invoking his Card for the Clerk to read, he also provided the address as Sundry Inn. He didn’t want spam mail going to Savta’s Clinic. The Clerk flipped through the pages of his tome and wrote down a series of numbers, however his pace crawled to a stop after a while, and he flipped back and forth between two pages.
“Ah, I’m sorry sir, but can I check your secondary job again? I can’t seem to find the Denar value of ‘Witchdoctor’ in our Blue Book.” The Clerk apologized and continued to search for its entry.
“I doubt you would find Witchdoctor in your book, it’s the first of its kind, and I obtained it when I was blessed by the Spirit.”
“Oh! In that case were you canonized by the Church?” the Clerk asked excitedly, but upon seeing Exill’s confused look he continued as if delivering bad news, “If that is not the case, I can only assign a loan based on your one years’ experience as a [Warrior].”
“How do you assign the value of someone based on their job?” Exill asked, feeling slightly annoyed.
“Ah, it appears Sir is unaware… our Blue Book records the value of slaves sold in Ark for the past ten years, categorized by their race, job, age and sex.”
Exill blinked as he realised the collateral for a loan was himself, and he would likely be sold into slavery if he couldn’t pay. On top of the high interest rates, he immediately dismissed this as an option, but was nevertheless curious about his supposed book value.
“How much am I worth?”
“Haha…” the Clerk nervously laughed, “I’m sorry to tell Sir that his book value is 4000 Denars. As you have no prior borrowing history, the most we can front is 50% of your valuation.”
‘Am I worth that little?’ Exill’s dignity suffered a critical hit. In spite of suffering this insult, he thanked the Clerk and exited the office. He heaved a loud sigh and looked up at the clear skies. Surrounded by the decadence of drunk gamblers and whores, he meandered back to the Clinic, feeling what little hope he had slipping away.