"First, let's go to the armorer and enhance our equipment. After that, Selly will head to the Explorer's Guild. Roxanne and I will check out the Bode and Tare labyrinths."
After breakfast, we planned out the day.
Even if we don't go to the Kooltar labyrinth for a while, it's still a good idea to enhance our equipment.
If the labyrinth is the bait and the duke put me in the labyrinth as bait, I can't really complain.
Given how the world is structured.
To avoid becoming bait, I need to become stronger or more cautious.
Those who become bait are ultimately just that level.
Strength isn't the only thing that matters.
We need to assess our own and our party members' abilities, consider the enemy's potential, and determine which points need to be enhanced.
Even without flashy strength, it's not impossible to survive in the labyrinth.
"Enhance the equipment?"
"I want to improve Roxanne and Selly's leather jackets. I want to replace them with better equipment."
Today, the focus is on enhancing Selly's leather jacket.
For now, it's enough to focus on Selly, but we can't just keep enhancing her equipment.
We'll also replace Roxanne's.
We need to buy multiple items to get a 30% discount anyway.
"Shouldn't we start with your equipment, Master?"
"If we had the spare resources, I would, but we're currently stuck on the eleventh floor of Kooltar. We should start with what's necessary."
I persuaded Roxanne.
I'm in the back row, and with Durandal's HP absorption when I'm in the front, the monsters' attacks aren't that painful with my current equipment.
"Sorry, for your sake."
"Don't worry. Each party member has a role. Right now, it's time to solidify the front row's defense."
I told Selly not to worry.
"Yes, thank you."
"Understood."
After breakfast, while Roxanne was washing the dishes, I had Selly make the equipment.
Selly is not only useful in battle but also as a blacksmith.
We then headed to the armorer.
"The next level up from a leather jacket is this hard leather jacket, right?"
I asked the familiar shopkeeper.
This is a large armorer near the center of Kooltar.
Recently, Selly has been selling a lot of the equipment she makes here.
"Also, for front row members, there's chainmail. For men, there are iron and steel armors. Chainmail is almost as strong as hard leather jackets. The downside of armor is that it's heavy and restricts movement, but it's more affordable."
The shopkeeper answered.
The chainmail is on the opposite side of the aisle from the hard leather jackets.
Chainmail is essentially a suit of mail.
When I picked it up, it was quite heavy.
Wearing this and running around in the labyrinth.
No way.
Especially for Roxanne, who prioritizes evasion, heavy equipment is a no-go.
"Roxanne, the hard leather jacket is better, right?"
"It's good equipment, but is it okay?"
"It's fine."
If there's any unease with the current equipment, gradually enhancing it won't make it safer.
"Selly, is the hard leather jacket okay?"
"This level of weight shouldn't be a problem."
Selly picked up the chainmail.
Is chainmail okay for Selly?
It doesn't seem light, but...
"Is it not too heavy?"
"It's heavy, but it's not a problem."
If Selly says it's fine, it's fine.
Dwarves are strong.
Or maybe there's some kind of assist effect.
Hard Leather Jacket - Body Armor
Skill Slots: 2
Chainmail - Body Armor
Skill Slots: 1
I looked at a few, but it seems the chainmail has one empty skill slot, while the hard leather jacket has up to two.
The hard leather jacket is probably better equipment.
There might not be any with two empty skill slots because there are fewer chainmails.
"Let's pick some good ones from here."
I took out a few with empty skill slots and gave them to Roxanne and Selly.
I can't really tell the difference.
Roxanne is serious about choosing, so let her pick.
While they were choosing, I looked at other equipment.
Hard leather hats and gloves also have up to two empty skill slots.
Maybe using hard leather material gives two empty skill slots.
But the hard leather headband only has one.
The next enhancement will be around here.
For now, it's fine.
After a while, I took the equipment Roxanne and Selly chose.
We bought them at a 30% discount and left the shop.
Two gold coins were spent.
It seems the better the equipment, the more expensive it gets.
We returned home and had Roxanne and Selly put on the new equipment.
Chainmail really looks like a combat armor.
It's a full-body suit that doesn't emphasize the chest line.
It's not really see-through.
You can see the color, but it's not sexy.
It might be sexy if worn over nothing, but it's pointless to make them wear it that way.
It's just metal when you touch it.
Can't it be a bit better?
Even if it could, I can't make them wear it in the labyrinth.
"Can we wear a leather jacket over the chainmail?"
"Equipment is enchanted. It fits the wearer perfectly and is more durable. Wearing multiple pieces on one part causes the enchantments to conflict. Some think wearing multiple pieces increases defense, but it makes the equipment wear out quickly."
Selly explained.
It seems you can only wear one piece per part.
You can't layer them.
"Maybe holding a sword and a wand at the same time is bad?"
"As long as you're not swinging them with one hand each, it should be fine. Just carrying them isn't a problem."
It's fine as long as you switch properly when using them.
If Durandal breaks, what happens?
To prevent that, I need to be careful and switch properly.
We parted ways with Selly at the Kooltar Explorer's Guild and teleported to Bode.
We asked the Explorer's Guild in Bode for the location of the labyrinth and walked there.
Bode was having a market day.
It seems to happen occasionally, like in Vale.
We navigated through the crowd and exited the city walls.
Bode is even smaller than Vale.
We walked through the forest.
It was a bit of a distance.
After about an hour, we reached the entrance to the labyrinth.
"How far has exploration progressed?"
I asked the explorers at the entrance.
"No party has broken through the first floor yet. It just appeared. The first floor monsters are Green Caterpillars."
It seems it was just discovered.
The duke gets a mirror every day, so it wasn't found days ago.
It might have been found yesterday.
We entered the labyrinth and teleported to Tare from the entrance room.
It's the same hut where we delivered food before.
It's probably some kind of meeting place.
We went outside.
First villager encountered.
"I want to ask where the labyrinth is."
"ΓΓΓΓΓΓΓΓΓΓ"
...They don't understand Brahmin?
"I'm sorry, I don't understand the local language either."
Roxanne can't speak it either.
"ΓΓΓΓΓΓΓΓΓΓ"
The first villager called someone, and a man came.
The village chief.
The first villager and the chief are elves.
They're handsome, but not as much as the duke or Gossler.
Maybe I'm just used to elves.
"Are you adventurers who came for the labyrinth?"
"Yes."
The chief understands Brahmin.
I remember the first village was the same.
"The labyrinth is southwest of the village. Humans should be able to find it."
"...Understood."
"Good luck."
Hmm. What is it?
Not exactly hostility, but there's a sense of being looked down upon.
Elves look down on humans, I guess.
I didn't feel it from the duke, Cassia, Gossler, or the knights, but it's different in the countryside.
I was the one who delivered food during the flood.
It's pointless to argue, so I left the village quickly.
Southwest, right?
"Their attitude wasn't good."
"Let it go."
"I felt like you were being disrespected."
"It can't be helped."
I smoothed things over with Roxanne.
It's nice that she's angry on my behalf.
But it's pointless to be angry at people I might never see again.
"You're so tolerant, Master. I want to teach them a lesson."
Teaching them a lesson wouldn't be tolerant.
I calmed Roxanne down and walked.
We soon reached the entrance to the labyrinth.
"How far has exploration progressed?"
I asked the explorer at the entrance.
The elf explorer made me a bit nervous.
"Up to the thirteenth floor."
"What are the thirteenth floor monsters?"
"The thirteenth floor has Love Slugs."
This explorer seems to treat us normally.
I've heard of Love Slugs.
Selly mentioned they leave items needed for the next equipment.
Perfect.
"Can you take us to the thirteenth floor?"
I took out a badge and gave it to the explorer.
"Are you a knight?"
"I'm related."
Gossler said the same, so it should be fine.
But the explorer at the entrance was silent.
What? Related isn't okay?
"...Well, since your party is small, would you like to add me to your party? If not, I can only take one person for free."
"Understood."
I see.
That's what it is.
The explorer was waiting for us to add them to our party.
Since we're only two, we can add this explorer to our party.
Selly is technically in the party, but adding the explorer will allow us to teleport to the thirteenth floor.
If the explorer forms the party, only one person can be taken for free.
We added the explorer to our party and entered the labyrinth.
The explorer went in first, followed by me and Roxanne.
"This is the thirteenth floor. If you're not going back outside, please remove me from the party."
"Ah, no. Let's go back once."
I answered without thinking.
Reflecting, I rushed to the thirteenth floor, but is it okay?
Maybe once you enter the thirteenth floor, you can't go back to the first floor.
Or maybe once you enter the thirteenth floor, you can go to all lower floors.
I want to test it.
We went outside, removed the explorer from the party, and re-entered the labyrinth.
I tried to go to the eleventh floor but couldn't.
I went to the first floor.
It seems you can only choose the first floor or the thirteenth floor.
You can choose the first floor and any floor you've been to.
We teleported to the Kooltar labyrinth from Tare without doing anything.
After recovering MP, we went outside.
In the Kooltar labyrinth, you pay to enter, not to exit.
It's normal to stay for a long time, so it's not unusual for someone to exit without entering.
We met up with Selly at the Explorer's Guild.
"How was the Explorer's Guild?"
"The labyrinth in Halber is explored up to the fortieth floor. Exploration completion announcements have been made for lower floors. The labyrinth in Tare is explored up to the ninth floor, with no completion announcements. There was no information on the Bode labyrinth."
"Because it was just discovered?"
It takes some time for information to gather.
Information on labyrinths discovered yesterday or today won't be available in Kooltar immediately.
The Halber labyrinth is actually explored up to the forty-first floor.
"The eleventh floor monsters in the Halber labyrinth are Minos. Green Caterpillars are on the fourth floor, so it might be better to enter here."
Indeed, Minos, which leave the leather needed for forging, being on the eleventh floor is good.
The equipment change means Green Caterpillars aren't completely out of the question.
Should I pay to be taken to the eleventh floor?
Or should I start from the first floor to save money?
The most efficient would be to wait for Bode's labyrinth to be explored to the eleventh floor.
But if I keep entering Vale's eleventh floor, I'll break my promise with the duke.
It might not be noticed, but there's no guarantee.
Another option is to enter Bode's labyrinth from the first floor and aim for the reward.
"How much is the reward for breaking a floor?"
"Um, the number of silver coins equal to the new floor number."
"That's cheap."
Two silver coins for the second floor, eleven for the eleventh.
It's more like a bonus.
Not something to aim for.
Now might be the time to gain experience on the eleventh floor.
Starting from the first floor is tedious.
It's not worth being stingy with a bit of money.
Maybe I should start from the tenth floor for some leeway.
The strength of monsters doesn't vary by labyrinth, but the activity level might.
But paying for both the tenth and eleventh floors is wasteful.
There's no significant difference between the Kooltar and Vale labyrinths.
If Roxanne can guide me to less crowded areas, starting from the eleventh floor should be fine.
I'll aim for the eleventh floor of the Halber labyrinth for now.