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*******************

We are in the building that the queen granted to the foreigners, sitting at a large table.

We came to see Charity, Deirdre's friend, to commission her to make my sword.

"Yes, I can do that. That money is more than enough since you are Deirdre's first friend on this continent," says the orc girl when I finish explaining what I want, and the money I have available.

Charity is a tall, slender woman with olive skin and brown hair.

Her build is muscular, but not to the point of compromising her attractive feminine figure.

And her class is 'Legendary Blacksmith'!

I guess that's why she can create those kinds of items…

I didn't think there were singularities specifically dedicated to manual labor, but I was obviously wrong.

Based on the woman's appearance, I can say that orcs don't have many differences from humans, except for their skin color and their long lower fangs protruding a few inches above their lower lip.

"No, it isn't, miss! With that we wouldn't even be covering the materials," says Drok, a reptilian who appears to be Charity's assistant.

Reptilians, on the other hand, are very different.

Their skin is scaly and greenish. Their hands are webbed and they have a long, strong tail that they drag along the ground as they walk.

Also, they do not appear to grow hair on any visible part of their bodies, and have two rows of fangs in their mouths.

Crap. I guess that's why Octavo advised me to wait... But I need a sword... I don't feel comfortable at all with just my dagger as a weapon.

Anyway, I'll have to check with some other blacksmith to see if the cost is really that high.

After all, I don't really know these people at all.

Maybe this orc and this reptilian are just trying to rip me off.

In the room, it's just Drok, Charity, Deirdre, and me.

But when we entered the building, I saw many more reptilians and therians looking at me curiously.

The therians are all similar to Deirdre, though in varying heights and complexions.

The only thing that seems to change between them is their hair color and the shape of their tails and ears.

Most of the therians and reptilians I saw have no classes at all, but there are some with the Shaman and Martial Artist classes.

I guess they must be classes peculiar to the new continent, because I had never seen them until now. And, since several of them have them, I don't think they are singularities.

"Okay, okay... Look, I'll tell you what we'll do. I'll create your sword and you'll bring me materials in return. Depending on what you bring me will be the discount I'll give you on the final price of the weapon. Is that okay with you?" she asks me and, when she sees me nod, she turns to look at her assistant "and you, Drok?"

When her assistant also nods, Charity smiles and, rubbing her palms together, enthusiastically adds, "well, now that we're in agreement, let's talk about the details of your future sword. You already told me you wanted a short sword, but I'm going to need a little more than that to get started. Ideally, you should draw the concept you have and I'll go from there. How are you at drawing?"

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"eem... I don't know," I say, unsure. I didn't think getting a new sword would be so complicated.

As I'm finishing drawing as faithful a representation of my old sword as I can, I remember that I still have the fragments of my old weapon in my inventory.

Cursing my stupidity for all the time I wasted in drawing the design needlessly, I pull the fragments out of my inventory and, showing them to Charity I ask "I think this might be more than enough for you to get an idea of what I want, right?"

"yep, this will do," says Charity, taking the fragments and putting them away. "I'm going to take about a month to finish it, as orichalcum is quite difficult to work with."

"ok"

I guess I'll have to take advantage of the loot bonus as much as I can during this month.

It's a good thing to have a companion for that, although she probably won't be able to keep up with me anymore when we start getting to the higher floors of the labyrinth.

...

A few moments later, we exit the building and head into the labyrinth.

I don't know if what Deirdre says about Charity, on her being a very good smith is true, but I don't lose anything by trying.

The worst that can happen is that I don't like the sword she makes me...

In that case, I would just have to apologize and look for another blacksmith, but I wouldn't lose my money since I will only pay her when the sword is finished.

***

"Your pet seems to be especially violent today," Deirdre says as she watches Azur savagely tear apart the body of a goblin.

"yes, he's heartbroken," I reply as I remember how earlier today we went to visit Julia and Mia, as Azur was quite insistent on the subject, constantly sending me mental images of them, but…

When we got to the house and Azur saw Mia playing with Raila's cat, he felt a bit jealous.

And it didn't help the situation much that Mia ignored him when my partner tried to get her attention, as I chatted with Julia and Raila about my encounter with Deirdre.

In the end, Azur ended up very upset when we left. And I could tell he felt betrayed by how he was replaced by a cat.

While reminiscing in amusement about Azur's more ridiculous attempts to get Mia's attention, we find the room that leads to the next floor.

Ha. Yesterday we were there all day and didn't find it, but today we found it within the first 15 minutes of being in the labyrinth…

Anyway, I guess that's how luck works.

...

We've been on the 30th floor for two hours, and we just found a challenge room.

At first, Deirdre was quite intimidated by the size difference with the trolls that inhabit these floors of the labyrinth. But then, she saw that; although they have quite a bit of strength, an enormous size, and a regeneration skill that gives them a lot of stamina; they are not a problem for us as long as we outmatched them in speed.

An attribute of which she and I have plenty.

One problem we do have, however, is that Deirdre's weapons are starting to dull and nick.

And, while it's true that I and Azur are the ones taking out most of the enemies, it can be a problem if Deirdre hasn't something to defend herself with at a key moment.

So, I decided to pass her my mithril dagger, and I devoted myself to fighting entirely with magic.

However, after a few more hours, and despite having my dagger, it is now Deirdre who shows signs of exhaustion.

So, we decide to leave as soon as we find a room, either safe or challenge type.

...

In the end, we found a challenge room where the enemies were ghosts and, after defeating them, we got out of the labyrinth.

Deirdre could do nothing against them, as they were totally immune to physical attacks, and could only be damaged with magic.

Although we didn't sell anything yesterday because Deirdre was tired, today we did line up in the queue for selling our loot.

Also, she has to register with the guild if she wants to sell whatever she gets in loot.

I was supposed to take my loot to Charity per our agreement, but I don't think she meant this level of loot.

When we made the deal, she was probably thinking about stuff from the upper floors.

Ultimately, I am ordering an orichalcum sword from her. I don't think she wants materials from the 31st floor of the labyrinth.

When we got to the counter to sell the stuff and register Deirdre in the guild, I discovered that she couldn't read or write.

Since, when the receptionist asked her to check the information on her adventurer's card, she didn't know how to answer and I had to intervene.

Also, looking at Deirdre's badge, I discover that she has no magical affinity, and that her health and mana points are nothing special.

Since they only reach 120, in the case of her health, and 40 in the case of her mana.

But that doesn't matter…

Her strong points are her great agility and speed, things that are not recorded on the guild badge.

"Starting today, I will teach you little by little how to read and write, as well as how to add and subtract, while we rest in the labyrinth," I say as we walk away from the counter.

"Yes, master," says the girl cheerfully.

"I already told you not to call me that..." I don't know if she's making fun of me or what, but I find it very strange that she calls me that way.

"But you're teaching me a lot of things about the labyrinth!" she says with an innocent look on her face.

Is she pulling my leg?

"Well, I don't care. If I tell you not to do it, don't do it, okay?" I say in an irritated tone.

"Ok, M-Xelean," she says with a half-smile.

After saying goodbye, I go back to the inn where I'm staying for the night.

Today I did manage to level up, although it was only one level, and in my Explorer class, which is the one with the lowest level.

I added the stat point to Intelligence, bringing it up to 53 points.

Little by little, I am managing to balance my status again.

The next day, while I'm checking the interface, I see that the mithril dagger that was somewhat worn when Deirdre returned it to me had self-repaired itself inside the inventory during the night.