Flesh Golem of the Labyrinth City - Chapter 48



47. Let Me Go

“34 gold.”

Are you serious?

“Isn’t that the price of a house?”

“In the southeast, you could get an empty one…”

“Oh.”

Even with 34 gold, it’s hard to buy a house. The southeast is practically a slum, isn’t it? I never really thought about buying a house, but hearing that makes me even less interested.

There’s the amazing cook lady, the pretty Sera, and Trisha, who I have to pay a salary to, at the inn. Trisha… she works hard. It seems like she gets along well with Sera.

As soon as morning came, I went to the guild, and the payment for selling the lizardman was settled. 34 gold, an absurdly large amount of money. With this, I could immediately pay off my debt to Iris and buy a good sword made of rare metal.

“No.”

I thought of something better.

“Dahlia. Where’s a good place to buy and sell monster corpses?”

“Monster corpses..? You mean materials?”

“Yes.”

The most reliable way for me to level up is to consume monster materials. Buying and eating high-quality materials with strong effects that I can use directly on my body is the best.

“There are quite a few auction houses in the western district. They buy and sell high-quality monster materials, and most of the powerful equipment made from those materials is made in the northwest.”

“The northwest, huh.”

It’s a district I’ve never been to. The northwest is a rich neighborhood, where high-ranking and famous explorers go. Low-ranking explorers like me are content with going to the blacksmith or tanner in the southwest.

Expensive metals like rare metals brought in from the labyrinth or other cities, or equipment made from materials from powerful monsters on the higher floors of the labyrinth, are luxuries for low-ranking explorers.

Most of the processed materials sold by the dismantler clans collaborating with the guild are from the northwest.

“Ah, and Aven.”

“Hmm? What’s the matter?”

“The score calculation is finished. Congratulations, you’re now a silver rank.”

“What?”

“Unfortunately, you need to reach the 11th floor or higher to advance to gold rank. Just reaching there will promote you to gold rank.”

“Oh.”

Come to think of it, I did slaughter a lot of monsters during the last labyrinth expedition. I even single-handedly defeated the boss of the 10th floor, the Orc Chieftain. It’s a shame that I’m stuck at silver rank due to the floor restriction, but they say I’ll be promoted to gold rank as soon as I reach the 11th floor.

My alias is engraved on the silver explorer badge, which looks like a dog tag. There’s not much difference, but the psychological weight of holding the silver rank explorer badge is quite significant.

‘So, I’m a silver rank now.’

“Haha, I didn’t expect this to happen.”

“I was also very surprised, Aven. To think you’d rise in rank so quickly. Not long ago, you were still at bronze rank-“

“Hey, hey, hey! Let’s leave the old stories behind.”

“Ahaha, Aven. Are you embarrassed?”

“Ugh, I’m embarrassed. I received the payment well. Thank you, Dalia.”

Dalia nodded gently and handed me a piece of paper. After signing that I received the payment, I returned the paper to Dalia and took the heavy linen pouch, putting it into my pouch.

Is this the weight of gold coins? The world seems beautiful. A sense of ease flows from deep within my heart.

“Let’s go to the auction house.”

I should go to the store selling monster materials and see if there’s anything good.

* * * * *

“Impressive.”

This is the northwestern region of the labyrinth city, Kalax.

Most buildings are two stories high. If tall, three stories, and occasionally, you can see one-story buildings, completely different from the southwestern region. Unlike the southwestern region, where most buildings were wooden and brown, here, most buildings are stone. Above all, the atmosphere of the people walking around is slightly different.

“Scary.”

I looked around and set out to find my way. When I asked Dalia, she said there are many large auction houses here and there, but the southeastern region is mostly where illegal transactions take place, so it’s not recommended.

In the northwest, there is said to be a huge auction house that sells high-quality monster materials.

“Here it is.”

Aureum Street. A city lined with master craftsmen of equipment making, expensive materials and rare resources, rare metals, and well-made clothing.

Also known as the ‘Golden Street.’

In the past, it would have been illegal for me to even breathe the air here. Because I had no money. But now?

“Who am I? The owner of thirty-four gold coins.”

It means I can proudly take a place in the procession of these wealthy bourgeois.

“Come, Heavenly Sword. Excalibur, come here.”

Passing through the entrance of the street, which is adorned with a large, shiny sign, I entered, and the street was filled with explorers carrying various weapons on their waists or backs.

Glass windows, which were rare in the southwest, are very common here. There are stores with entire walls made of glass, selling well-crafted metal armor like artworks, and impressive weapon shops with high-quality swords lined up on the walls.

“Wow, look at that axe.”

There are explorers with huge axes on their backs, people carrying something too big to be called a sword on their shoulders. There are also women who look like wizards and people walking around with elegantly shaped longbows.

It seems that all the high-ranking explorers are gathered here. If I stay in a place like this for too long, I might develop a sense of superiority.

“There it is.”

At the end of the street, I see a huge material store boasting an enormous size. Even in the northwestern Aureum Street, famous for its high land prices, it stands out with its overwhelming size.

“Auction Rhyme…”

When I replaced my left eye with that of the direwolf leader, I could see an immense amount of magic surging within. It felt like the excitement of standing in front of a toy store as a child.

As I entered the grand building made of pure white stone, the air inside felt slightly different from the cool air outside, as if it was being managed. Despite being a place where monster corpses were bought and sold, I expected it to smell a bit, but it didn’t at all.

‘Wow, what is that?’

There was a display stand with something that looked like a giant scale, as if they had ripped it off a dragon’s back. There were also very sharp and fierce-looking fangs, polished and hanging from hooks.

What do I need right now?

‘Hmm.’

I thought about it for a long time, but what I really needed was muscle. Maybe some tough, untanned leather, or even bones would be good.

“Hmm.”

Contrary to my thoughts, it’s just so-so? I was hoping to buy some monster blood, but the material shop sells things for making armor and weapons, not alchemy ingredients like blood.

When I went up to the second floor, there were more diverse materials, but…

“Nothing useful.”

The store is incredibly spacious, and there are so many people that it’s exhausting. Was Kalax always this crowded? It seems that no matter which city you go to, the downtown area is always packed with people.

Maybe it’s because I’m from the countryside.

I sat down on a sofa in a corner of the store to rest for a moment, then got up.

‘What is this, is there a celebrity here?’

As I was about to leave, I noticed a large crowd of people gathered in the distance. A celebrity? Or did a good item appear?

A high-ranking adventurer? What does it take to become famous in Kalax? The leader of a clan is obviously a high-ranking adventurer.

‘Hmm.’

It’s a large department store with many people coming and going. Seeing a few famous people passing by is nothing unusual.

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“I want to leave.”

There are too many people. Should I take a slight detour?

—Click, click

Even among the murmuring voices of the crowd, the distinct clicking sound of high heels asserting themselves. Is it because of the marble tiles? It sounds so clear.

The sound seems to be getting closer. Should I take a quick look at the face? Not that I would recognize them anyway.

—Click

The crowd keeps getting closer. The murmuring grows louder, and the air becomes more chaotic.

“You.”

Someone stopped in front of me and spoke.

“What did you just say?”

“What?”

An unknown woman stood in front of me with her arms crossed, glaring icily.

“Me?”

“Yes, you.”

Looking around, I realized I was now at the center of the crowd. I didn’t come here; people had gathered around me. It seemed like this woman in front of me had brought the crowd.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“Are you trying to deceive my ears?”

“Huh, really. Are your ears special or something? Special indeed.”

I wondered what could be special about ears, and then I realized.

“She’s a beast-human.”

Bright yellow hair. Large, fluffy ears perked up. A bushy tail and bright golden eyes.

“No, I told you I didn’t say anything.”

“I heard you clearly.”

“What did I say to you? I really didn’t say anything.”

Why is this person suddenly acting like this? Just picking a fight with someone who’s just standing still. Is this normal in the northwest?

“You said there’s nothing useful.”

“What does that have to do with you? Can’t people talk to themselves around here?”

Every time I open my mouth, people around me are startled. They’re not even NPCs reacting, what is going on? Of course, I haven’t done anything wrong, so there’s no need to be submissive.

“Why doesn’t it matter?”

“What are you talking about? What does the fact that there’s nothing useful in this big material shop have to do with you picking a fight with me? Are you the owner of this shop or something?”

“Yes.”

“Oh really? I’m sorry.”

Is this for real? The beast-woman standing in front of me with a very angry face is the owner of this huge Limein Auction.

Beast-people’s hearing is terrifying. She was somewhere I couldn’t even see, and she heard me talking to myself?

“This smell… You’re a direwolf, aren’t you? Not even a regular one.”

“Huh, how did you know that?”

Yesterday, I ate a big bowl of food and quickly recovered the muscles of the direwolf leader. They were agile and well-balanced muscles that I often used even in normal times.

“Trying to fool my nose and ears, you’re a thousand years too early.”

“No, I wasn’t trying to fool you.”

The beast-woman is staring at me intently. Why do I keep finding myself in these situations?

“Can you move aside, I’m leaving now…”

“Without buying anything?”

“Well, as I said earlier, there’s nothing I want.”

“What do you want then?”

“That’s quite complicated too.”

“Tsk, follow me.”

“Why should I?”

“Just follow me. Direwolf.”

Just let me go home.