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**Great Sin Labyrinth Greed**
Category: Subterranean Labyrinth.
Located on the “edge” of the continent, in the southeastern part of the Continent of Israilia, next to the Arpas Mountain Range, is the Great Sin Labyrinth.
It is one of the largest labyrinths created during the Great Proliferation of Labyrinths that occurred six hundred years ago. It continuously cycles through periods of regular fluctuation and “Active Periods” where large-scale monster outbreaks occur, and it remains unconquered to this day. While over 30 floors are confirmed, some say it extends over 50 floors deep, but the truth is unknown.
Since a single Gold-ranked adventurer defeated a dragon in its depths, no one has broken their record of reaching that depth.
***
Day 1 of Classes at the Labyrinth City Greed Adventurer Training Hall
Ur and the other trainees were gathered on the training grounds.
By this point, with five precious casualties… or rather, dropouts, the previously boisterous participants in the training hall had become considerably more subdued. At least, none of them were shouting insults at the unshaven man before them, Guren. It seemed no one wanted to become an interior decoration on the ceiling.
Of course, Ur was also anxious. However, there was also a point of relief.
Guren was undeniably strong.
“It seems Lord Guren is strong, so perhaps I can become strong too,” Shizuku said.
“Strength doesn’t necessarily equate to leadership, but I suppose,” Ur replied.
Shizuku’s statement was simple but valid. At the very least, he was undoubtedly stronger than Ur, so there must be something to learn.
“One must possess strong ambition and persevere with patient effort.”
Ur recalled Jirou’s advice. Currently, Ur possessed absolutely nothing. No talent, no effort, no wealth, no knowledge, no skills. Being a wanderer, he had no familiarity with the land or any acquaintances. Even without the Golden Phoenix incident or Akane, Ur needed the power to survive.
He needed to obtain power. The power to live. Enough power to live happily with Akane.
Ur spurred himself on. At least, he needed to have the same positive outlook as Shizuku next to him to endure.
“Alright, gather up, you scumbags,” Guren, the source of the trainees’ anxiety, called out with satisfaction. Although he was met with stares of anxiety and fear, he remained unfazed, looking at the trainees as if unconcerned. Then, he declared,
“You will be delving into the labyrinth immediately.”
“Wait a minute,” Ur immediately interjected.
“What is it, brat?”
“Isn’t that too soon?”
Ur had expected to train to gain the power to enter the labyrinth, not to charge into one on the first day.
“I thought this sort of thing would start with basic training guidance.”
“Just running around here won’t prepare you for the labyrinth. If you want to learn about the labyrinth, go to the labyrinth. Earn Magic Stones. We’ll skim profits at the Guild as tuition.”
“I heard a pretty lousy reason there.”
Ur remembered Rods’s words: “Conditional free.” So, this was the condition. It wasn’t free at all, Ur thought. Naturally, others besides Ur were dissatisfied. The murmurs of discontent, which had subsided, resurfaced.
“Don’t mess with us! You’re not giving us proper guidance! And you’re cutting into our labyrinth earnings?! Then we’ll quit this training hall right now and go explore the labyrinth ourselves!!”
It was an extremely valid point. Without the reward of the rings, they would have left immediately. Ur himself intended to do the same if he wouldn’t receive proper instruction.
Guren also heard the insults and nodded in understanding.
“Then, let’s do this. Whoever acquires the most Magic Stones will receive a ring.”
The next moment, the ruffians who had been complaining scattered and charged out of the training hall with incredible speed, leaving Ur behind.
“…Is that ring being dangled like a carrot before a horse?”
“That’s what being an adventurer is about – using what you can to your advantage,” Shizuku replied.
“At least try to finish your excuses.”
“So, what about you guys?”
When she said “you guys,” Ur looked at Shizuku, who was standing beside him. She had also decided to stay. Well, that was fine, but Ur sighed.
“You have no intention of giving them a ring, do you?”
“Of course not. Who would give something like that to those idiots?”
While speaking words that seemed utterly disqualifying for an instructor, he flicked the ring with his finger. Ur thought that the Nameless would covet something like this, but inwardly, he agreed with Guren. He honestly didn’t want those thugs obtaining adventurer rings and spreading throughout the city.
“Then, is the purpose of this to break their spirits?” Shizuku asked.
Guren chuckled gleefully at the somewhat grim phrasing.
“That’s right. You understood well.”
“They all seemed very energetic and unlikely to listen to reason.”
“So?”
“It’s better if they calm down a bit.”
Guren laughed heartily at her words. He then looked at Shizuku with keen interest.
“You’re a strange woman. Why would you want to become an adventurer, with your looks and your disposition?”
“I want to become strong. As quickly as possible.”
Ur could feel the strong will behind her words. Guren snorted, “Sounds troublesome.”
“Most of those Nameless have skeletons in their closets. And since they’re outside the city, they’ve often already gained experience in smaller, wild labyrinths.”
Ur nodded in understanding. He himself had experience exploring labyrinths. Even before the incident with Akane forced him to work as a Magic Stone miner in a labyrinth, he had occasionally stood at the entrance and swung his sword wildly to snatch Magic Stones from monsters to earn his meals for the day.
“Because of that, they’re overconfident, underestimate the labyrinth, and get cocky. And those kinds of people are more prone to accidents and trouble.”
“So you break their arrogance.”
“Precisely. Under our supervision. Once their confidence is shattered, they’ll be a bit more cautious.”
It was an incredibly rough method of personality correction. Ur was astonished that the Adventurer’s Guild would do such a thing, but perhaps it was considered proper treatment for adventurers.
“That way, we create convenient slaves who lose a bit of their confidence, become timid, mine Magic Stones in the shallow floors every day, and return them to the city. Pretty smart, right?”
No, it was still awful.
“Anyone whose spirit breaks from a single setback is just that kind of person. Be grateful I’ve at least set up safety measures so you don’t die.”
“It’s possible they might succeed from the start. Labyrinth exploration. It might even boost their confidence further.”
“If they can do it successfully from the start, then that’s fine. It means they have the ‘skill’ and the ‘brain’ to manage the upper levels of the Great Sin Labyrinth… If everyone were like that, my job would be much easier.”
Guren’s words held a certain conviction. The Great Sin Labyrinth. Ur himself was entering it for the first time. Those thugs were likely experiencing it for the first time as well. The Great Sin Labyrinth, being the largest of all existing labyrinths, falls under the jurisdiction of the Great Alliance and the Temple, which governs the city’s politics. One cannot enter without going through the Adventurer’s Guild.
However, to rise as an adventurer, it’s an unavoidable path.
“Now, you lot, get going.”
“I don’t have an arrogant nose to break,” Ur said.
Guren hit Ur’s forehead, telling him to shut up. It hurt.
“If you’re staying at the training hall even without the lure of a ring, you’re virtuous enough to want to become stronger, right?”
Ur nodded. Shizuku beside him nodded as well.
“Then, first and foremost, you must go to the labyrinth. Engage in combat. Cross the threshold of death. Consume Magic Power and turn it into flesh and blood. Combat instruction comes later. Go.”
With that, Guren kicked them out, and Ur and Shizuku headed towards the Great Sin Labyrinth Greed.
***
Labyrinth City Greed, Marching Street.
The street was named during a time when armies and adventurers plunged into the labyrinth daily to suppress monsters that threatened to overflow. However, such a scene is no longer visible. With the increase in labyrinth explorers and the development of barrier magic, there is little concern about monsters overflowing from the labyrinth.
Instead, this Marching Street is lined with various shops and bustles with intense energy every day. This street, featuring abundant resources produced from the labyrinth and their processed goods, can be considered the continent’s premier shopping street.
~A Guide to the Continent of Israilia~
Marching Street
It’s a considerably wide main street, yet it doesn’t feel that way. Packed with shops, street stalls, and the many people who gather to patronize them, it’s bustling. It’s not just crowded; there’s an intense human energy radiating from it.
Merchants on the street stalls call out to passersby. This immense energy, like heat, is reflected by the people passing by, which in turn generates more energy, transforming into overall liveliness and warmth.
Ur had traveled to various cities during his wanderings, but he had never seen a place as vibrant as this. The enormous amount of Magic Stones flowing from the Great Sin Labyrinth and multiple other labyrinths drives industry, attracts people, and generates vitality and wealth. The endless Magic Stones illuminate the night, and the inhabitants revel in their desires.
Labyrinth City Greed is such a city. This street is like a microcosm of it.
“Everyone is so lively and energetic,” Shizuku remarked casually as they walked.
“It’s not called a Great Sin City for nothing,” Ur replied, nodding in agreement with Shizuku’s observation.
“Why so glum?”
“Honestly, I’m depressed. To think I’d end up becoming an adventurer.”
“Do you dislike adventurers?”
“I dislike them and am not good with them. They like money, drink, and violence. Vulgar hedonists. I don’t want to get involved with them.”
Ur had always felt a pure physiological aversion to adventurers. He knew, of course, that they weren’t all irredeemable scoundrels. He had been helped by kind adventurers who sometimes showed consideration for him and Akane. He knew not everyone was foolish or stupid.
The point was, beyond that, Ur simply found the existence of adventurers unpleasant. He felt it was completely incompatible with his desire for a stable life, and he believed it to be so. A life risking their lives against monsters felt fleeting.
“And yet, you’re becoming one.”
“That’s unpleasant…”
Ur slumped upon Shizuku pointing it out again. It was quite painful.
“So, what about you? I understand you want to become strong, but why?”
Despite their almost accidental meeting in the labyrinth leading to them traveling together, Ur still had no idea about her true objective. She seemed to cast aside her exceptionally good looks and only spoke of wanting to become strong.
However, Shizuku looked troubled by the question.
“I apologize, but I cannot explain my circumstances much.”
“I see. Well, that’s fine then.”
Ur accepted her words and ended the conversation. Shizuku then tilted her head.
“Is it okay?”
“There’s nothing to gain by prying into circumstances someone doesn’t want to talk about.”
Ur knew quite a few people who would say, “Don’t pry into my business.” They ranged from criminals to those engaged in acts that violated the laws of the Temple. As a result, Ur had learned how to keep his distance. If they said not to ask, he wouldn’t ask. He wouldn’t pry or interfere. It was normal for him.
However, it seemed different for Shizuku. Her face broke into a smile.
“Lord Ur is kind.”
“If you find kindness in something like this, it won’t do you any good.”
Ur felt uneasy at Shizuku’s beaming, happy smile.
“Is that not good?”
“If you feel indebted for every little thing, you’ll eventually be deceived and sold.”
He wasn’t joking. In this day and age, human trafficking was not an uncommon crime. While the city was safe, such crimes could occur outside the city, beyond the protection of the Great Alliance laws. It wasn’t unusual for city dwellers, who were caught up in their safety within the city, to find themselves enslaved outside its walls.
Furthermore, Shizuku was a woman of stunning beauty, making her a high risk for kidnapping.
When Ur explained this, Shizuku nodded in understanding. Then,
“Then, could you teach me various things?”
“Huh?”
“Lord Ur, Lord Ur, what are those stalls selling?”
Before Ur could ask “Why me?”, Shizuku pointed at the stalls lining the street with sparkling eyes and asked. Ur briefly considered ignoring her, then fell silent. Looking at her eyes, he grunted. Then, as if resigned, he sighed.
“…It’s children’s candy. They bake it after coating soft fruits called Mina with honey.”
“What about that sparkling thing over there? Is it a Magic Tool?”
“It’s a toy. When you hold it up to the sky, it shines in seven colors. I think they call it a kaleidoscope.”
“And that wiggly thing over there.”
“…That’s an adult toy. They shouldn’t be selling that out in the open. Ah, they got busted.”
And so, the two continued down the street, engaging in conversation much like tourists.
Soon after, the Great Sin Labyrinth Greed appeared before them.
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