Flesh Golem of the Labyrinth City - Chapter 53



Not on Purpose

“It’s evening, are we going into the labyrinth?”

“No. I have some business at the workshop. Are you still working now?”

“It’s a small clan. We work tirelessly 24/7 to survive. But the lizardmen you hunted down should all be sold off by now, right?”

When we arrived at the guild, Katrina was comfortably attending to the adventurers with her feet, still without shoes, propped up on the table.

She was wiggling her toes in black stockings and munching on a raspberry pie from who knows where. I couldn’t tell if I was talking to her feet or to her.

Next to her, Dalia was politely dealing with other adventurers. I guess veterans get to be comfortable wherever they go.

“That’s true, but is there anything I can get to eat? Just anything, maybe a bone or something?”

“A bone? A bone….”

Creak-

Katrina pushed her chair back, retrieved the paper behind her, and adjusted her glasses from her forehead to her nose. She carefully examined the contents of the paper before speaking.

“Go to tables 27, 42, and 44.”

“Why? Are the monsters there any different?”

“These are monsters brought in by guild employees, not explorers. Table 27 has a blue-horned deer, and the other two have wild boars. You can buy them right away if you pay.”

“I see. Thank you.”

“Here, kid.”

Katrina handed a candy to Ravi, who was watching from the side.

“Oh, thank you….”

“Katrina, don’t I get one?”

“What? This candy is only for cute little kids.”

“Ha, I’m quite cute myself.”

“Really? Stop saying unpleasant things and go quickly.”

“Yes, I’m going.”

So, if you’re not cute, you can’t even get candy. This world is truly rotten.

“Y-Yuan.. would you like this..?”

“Really?”

Ravi placed a small candy on his palm and handed it to me. As I reached out for the candy, Ravi’s expression instantly soured. Every time I tried to take it, his face grew sad, and when I withdrew my hand, he looked happy again. His face was very busy.

“It’s okay. Ravi, you eat it.”

Taking candy from a kid is a bit much.

From noble mtl dot com

The guild workshop is indeed quieter at night than during the day. Still, more than half of the tables are occupied, so I headed to the nearest one, table 27.

On it lay the carcass of a large blue-horned deer, neatly processed here and there, but the most eye-catching part was, of course, the large horns. The horns of the one I caught last time sold for 35 silver coins.

Thinking about it now, it doesn’t seem like such an expensive price. Considering that the monthly salary of an inn employee is on average 40 silver coins, it does feel quite expensive. Raw materials that haven’t undergone any processing are quite valuable at 35 silver coins.

“Good evening. I heard that the items on this table can be purchased directly here.”

“Ah, yes. That’s correct. The guild staff manage and bring them around.”

“I’d like to buy some horns. How much are they?”

“Just give me 50 silver coins. These are very old horns, so they’re quite valuable.”

“Hmm.”

The older the blue-horned deer’s horns, the more expensive they are. The one I sold last time must have been a relatively young specimen. Well, the people doing the dismantling work aren’t volunteering for free, so it makes sense.

“Alright. Could you cut the horns as I request?”

“Yes, how would you like them? Normally, the horns are sold as they are, so there will be some processing costs.”

I added 2 more silver coins and had the branches of the horns, which grew intricately like tree branches, pruned so that they could be a foot long. Of course, I bought all the pruned branches as well.

Since the only stomach I have is from a direwolf, the stomach opening is small, so there’s no choice. Most monster stomachs are discarded parts anyway, so I should be able to get a large stomach if I go to the Rymane workshop tomorrow morning.

“Ravi, let’s go.”

Holding the neatly cut blue-horned deer’s horns, I returned to the appraisal room. I don’t mind doing it anywhere, but Ravi kept insisting that others shouldn’t see, so we returned for now.

People who acquire good skills usually boast about it at the inn, but I haven’t really done that.

Anyway, I need to experiment. Ravi is bouncing around excitedly, urging me to do it quickly.

“This will be an incredible discovery..! A discovery that will go down in history..!”

“Is it that significant?”

“Well, actually, not that much….”

Nevertheless, Ravi’s curiosity is a great help to me. At first, he joined the research because he needed money, but now he seeks me out because he needs me.

“Let’s do it.”

“Yes!”

I turned my hand into the lizardman net I had just made. I shaped the thinly processed bones into a circle and roughly covered them with leather so that the bones were barely visible. Then, I created the stomach of a direwolf underneath and inserted the horn into the hole.

“Hmm.”

“Ugh..!”

After inserting the cut horn piece and waiting for about 10 seconds, the stomach wriggled and shook.

“Oh, it’s gone.”

“It’s done..! My theory was correct! Whether it’s created by a skill or not, as long as it’s a ‘stomach,’ it works!”

“Indeed, this is a significant discovery.”

“Yes, yes! This will make it much easier to consume various things!”

Since we’re not using the mouth, there’s no need to taste. There’s no unnecessary risk of injuring the esophagus, and the best part is that there’s no size limitation.

Now, if we can get a large stomach tomorrow, it will be possible to sweep up corpses like a four-dimensional pocket.

“Ah, Ravi. Do you have any plans for tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow? Why?”

“Let’s go to the northwest together.”

I thought it might be helpful to take Ravi along to identify useful organs.

“Northwest..! Sounds good!”

* * * * *

“Are you a companion?”

“Yes.”

“Understood. Please come this way.”

It was the same guide I saw yesterday. Was this person the manager? It must be tough with higher-ups visiting frequently.

“Basically, it’s difficult to hand over materials that include rare ones as per the orders. Miss Theodora also asked for your understanding on this part.”

“Yes, I heard.”

In the first place, the things I want are not particularly treated as rare materials. Of course, there might be some rare materials with functions that could catch my eye. But most of the materials go through processing anyway.

Besides, what I want are useless things like muscles or intestines, right?

“Ravi, what’s that bag?”

“Oh! This?”

Ravi was carrying a large backpack on his back. It looked quite luxurious, like an expensive school bag at first glance. With the bag, he really looked like a student.

I even wore a wide-brimmed witch hat to dress up, but to me, it made him look quite silly.

Inside, there were various books, including an encyclopedia of monsters that organized the characteristics, traits, and habits of monsters often seen at the appraisal center.

It certainly seems helpful to carry it around.

“Oh, and Miss Theodora asked me to give you this.”

“This?”

“It seems she has written down the schedule for the future.”

“Ah, understood.”

I received a luxurious envelope, but let’s look into this later. For now, let’s take a look around the workshop.

“Aven, you’re here.”

“Sir, nice to see you again.”

“Heh heh, that’s right. The young lady asked me to help Aben with his work today, so this old man has been waiting.”

“Should I have come a bit later to let you rest more comfortably?”

“No, no. Just sitting around makes you age faster. You have to move to live longer.”

Master Muto’s workshop skills are exceptional, so he knows the approximate price range of most materials. For materials with various demands, Master Muto will handle the cutting expertly.

It seems like he means I should ask Master Muto when there’s something that needs to be cut, but from now on, there’s no need for that.

“Master, do you use the stomachs of monsters?”

“Stomachs… Sometimes they are eaten. As stomach dishes, that is. As materials, they don’t hold much value. They spoil quickly and are less tough than leather.”

“So, they’re mostly useless, you mean.”

“That’s right.”

“Among the monsters currently in the workshop, which one has the largest stomach?”

“Hmm, would you like to follow me?”

“Yes.”

I followed Master Muto further into the workshop. From a distance, I could see things like cranes or very large humanoid species expertly dismantling giant monsters.

A monster, almost 8 meters long, was lying on a wide metal floor, its belly turned inside out, with fresh entrails being pulled out.

“What is that?”

“That’s a Titan Toad from the third layer. It’s an extremely large toad monster. Its stomach is also big.”

“Wow.”

What kind of place is the third layer to have creatures like this? If I go up to the 21st floor, will I have to fight things like this?

“Is the stomach not used?”

“Yes, that’s right. If I ask, they’ll remove it cleanly. Just wait a moment.”

As Grandpa Muto approached the site with a benevolent smile, the workers greeted him with utmost respect. It seems Grandpa Muto holds quite a high position.

Next to him, I noticed Ravi fumbling with his bag, trying to pick up books that had fallen out. The noise of the worksite had drowned out the sound.

“Oh dear, what are you doing?”

“The-the books fell…”

“I’ll pick them up for you. You shouldn’t squat down in a skirt.”

After gathering all the books and dusting them off, I put them back into the bag. It felt heavier than I expected, probably because it was filled with books. It seemed too heavy for Ravi to carry.

In the distance, a monstrous worker, towering at least five meters tall, was following Grandpa Muto. He was holding a disturbing pink pouch dripping with bright red blood, which seemed to be the stomach of a Titan Toad.

“Could you please leave out the contents inside?”

“Understood. I’ll take care of it.”

Grandpa Muto turned around and said something, then immediately flipped the pouch over, spilling its contents.

“Ravi, close your eyes and hold your nose.”

“Yes…”

Anyway, we successfully obtained the giant stomach. The soft stomach was easily cut with a butcher’s knife, so we sliced it lengthwise and stored it in the Lizardman’s net.

“This method is different from yesterday.”

“Yes, I discovered a new way.”

“Your growth is truly impressive.”

“Haha, well, Grandpa Muto, you are even more impressive.”

Thus, we acquired a giant four-dimensional pouch large enough to fit a person. Although it looked hideous, if you squinted from a distance, it somewhat resembled Santa Claus’s gift sack.

Of course, the contents weren’t gifts but rather food for my skill.

“Ravi, we’ve obtained the giant stomach. Shall we take a look around now?”

“Alright! I’ll diligently find a useful institution for you!”

Of course, Ravi never actually worked hard to find one. Because old man Muto knew all the workshops inside out.

In the end, Ravi wasn’t helpful. Not intentionally, but instead, he spent the whole day diligently training his weak stomach.