Following the route of Kerolf’s party—presumed to be deep-level explorers—in reverse, they came upon a clearing.
‘Another clearing… The labyrinth pamphlet doesn’t say exit portals only appear in clearings. Is it just coincidence?’
In one corner of the clearing was an exit portal, and in the center lay a dead hobgoblin.
When he shone the lantern on it, the hobgoblin’s skull was split from the crown of its head down to the space between its brows.
It looked like a mark left by the axe Kerolf had been carrying.
Kerolf’s party had taken the mana stone, but they had not taken the hobgoblin’s claws.
Remembering that there had been a request posted on the Warriors’ Guild board asking for hobgoblin claws, Dorn pulled out all twenty of them.
He wrapped them roughly in a scrap of cloth, packed them away, and gathered near the exit portal.
“Now. Make sure your packs won’t fall off, and hold hands.”
Dorn’s party joined hands and placed them on the exit portal, and the figures of the three scattered like sand.
◆ ◆ ◆
●
Name: Dorn
Stamina: 10/70
Mana: 10/10
Condition: Sleep-deprived, fatigued
Abilities Held: 【Self-Observation】, [Iron Muscles]
Select New Ability
[Iron Muscles] [Iron Bones] [Iron Skin]
●
“Mm….”
“Ah….”
Raon and Lilia had both obtained their first abilities and felt the heat of the imprint.
Morning sunlight shone down on them.
Dorn had decided that if both [Iron Bones] and [Iron Skin] appeared, he would choose [Iron Bones] first.
But now [Iron Muscles] had appeared alongside them, throwing him into confusion.
‘Ah! Duplicate imprinting!’
According to the pamphlet, “duplicate imprinting,” or “duplicate bestowal,” was an extremely rare phenomenon.
Just as seeing an item made one want to own it, just as one’s wallet opened on its own when a discount event was about to end, just as one bought a large-capacity item on sale even when one did not need that much…
[Iron Muscles] pulled at Dorn’s heart as if it had gravity.
Dorn slapped his cheeks hard and hurriedly chose [Iron Bones].
The duplicate imprint of [Iron Muscles] was certainly a stroke of luck that would be hard to encounter again, but it would be difficult to use in practice.
His lung function could not keep up, so even his current [Iron Muscles] could not display one hundred percent of its performance.
If it were imprinted a second time, the muscle contractions might become so powerful that the tendons connecting muscle and bone could tear away, taking fragments of bone with them.
[Iron Bones] began transforming Dorn’s body just like [Iron Muscles] had.
The area near where [Iron Muscles] was engraved grew hot, and everything from the bones of his skull to the bones of his toes began to change.
With the imprinting of [Iron Bones], gas exchange in his lungs might improve, compensating for the shortness of breath that came from overusing [Iron Muscles].
Why would [Iron Bones] improve gas exchange?
Human blood is made in the bone marrow.
Because of that, he hoped the capacity and efficiency of the blood that carried oxygen would increase.
“I got an ability!”
“I got one too, brother!”
Perhaps because his tension had eased after leaving the labyrinth, Raon called Dorn “brother.”
(Raon had been so overwhelmed by Dorn fighting the goblin wave that he had briefly used the title “party leader.”)
“Good. What ability did you get?”
“How would I know what ability it is? We have to go to the temple and compare the patterns!”
“Ah, right. You wouldn’t know exactly. Then shall we head straight to the temple?”
Lilia looked over the three explorers carrying four bags and said,
“I think we should dispose of the loot first.”
◆ ◆ ◆
Dorn came out of the Warriors’ Guild building after handing over the hobgoblin claws and receiving the request fee.
The amount was 2 silver.
If one simply killed a hobgoblin, it was worth 2 silver, but if one carefully checked the requests and took the claws, it became 4 silver.
Dorn had given the requests on the board a rough look before leaving.
Most byproducts from special individuals like hobgoblins had requesters who wanted them.
Dorn, who had received the request reward, and Raon, who had sold the mana stones, gathered in front of the Labyrinth Guild.
Once Lilia, who had gone to sell the spare equipment taken from the sacrificed explorers, joined them, they could go to the temple and find out what their imprints were.
Dorn touched the hilt of the one-handed sword at his waist.
He had once thought of replacing his terrible club with a fine longsword.
Taking this opportunity, he had gotten rid of the club, switched to the one-handed sword they had looted, and hung it at his waist.
Lilia came running over with excited steps, holding the coin pouch.
“Huff. Huff. Here you go, oppa. 1 gold and 30 silver. You should keep all the money, oppa.”
Seeing even Lilia call him oppa, Dorn gave a bitter smile.
Having begun his second life in an orphanage, he was used to becoming like siblings with children who did not share his blood, but whether it was all right for the mood in the party to become this light was something worth thinking about.
After receiving the money from Raon’s sale of the mana stones as well and gathering it all in one place, Dorn carefully put away the coin pouch, and the party, now rather close-knit, headed for the temple.
◆ ◆ ◆
The temple was a little different from what he had imagined.
The solemn atmosphere of a place that served the gods was somewhat faint.
It looked more fitting to call it a “Priests’ Guild” instead.
Everywhere were explorers who had come to invite priests into their parties, and there were several noticeboards plastered with requests—applications—filled with their long and earnest circumstances.
Priests who seemed to be of some age looked over the boards with the eyes of fresh members of society.
Dorn’s group took in the noticeboards they might one day use and looked around the inside of the building.
There were two doors, divided into men’s and women’s.
“Let’s find out quickly, get an inn room, and rest.”
Lilia nodded and entered the women’s comparison room.
Dorn and Raon entered the men’s comparison room and marveled at the patterns filling all four walls.
All sorts of patterns were carved into the broad stone walls.
Beneath each pattern was written the name of an ability, with no separate explanation.
It seemed that detailed explanations could be found in each guild.
Why had they not gathered them all in one place?
To Dorn, a novice explorer, it might be a secret beyond reach.
Dorn did not need to take off his clothes to check, but he read the room and removed his top.
“I’ll look for you, brother.”
“Sure. This one is [Iron Muscles]. Just check the other one. I’ll look for yours.”
After dizzyingly scanning the disorderly patterns, which seemed to have been carved on the wall in the order they were discovered, Dorn found the pattern that appeared to be Raon’s.
‘[Strength Enhancement], a material ability for 【Battle Aura】… He’s lucky!’
“Brother! I found it. It’s [Iron Bones]!”
“Good. I found yours too. Your ability is [Strength Enhancement]. It’s a material ability for 【Battle Aura】.”
The corners of Raon’s mouth danced.
“Hehe… Thank you!”
“No need to thank me. Haha. Let’s get our things and head out. I wonder if Lilia checked hers properly on her own.”
When they gathered their things and left the comparison room, Lilia was greeting a female explorer.
“Thank you. Take care.”
“Sister Lilia! You came out early!”
The excited Raon revealed his ability.
“Mine is [Strength Enhancement]. What about you, sister?”
“Mine is [Agility Enhancement].”
“You both obtained material abilities for 【Battle Aura】. Congratulations.”
Not only had Raon and Lilia obtained material abilities for 【Battle Aura】, they had also obtained the optimal abilities to cover their current weaknesses.
Considering how diverse specialized abilities were, even if they encountered a goblin wave one more time, they could not be called unlucky.
“But you came out quickly, Lilia.”
Remembering how women always took time to get ready in places like jjimjilbangs or swimming pools, Dorn found it surprising that Lilia had come out of the comparison room first.
“Ah, yes. I was about to take off my clothes and check, but there was someone who already had the exact same pattern as mine, so I asked her.”
“So that’s what happened. We’ve confirmed your abilities, so let’s get an inn room and rest properly. We’ll enter again tomorrow or the day after.”
“Yes.”
“Okay.”
◆ ◆ ◆
Dorn’s party returned to the “Beginner’s Furnace,” got a room, and washed up first.
Now, all three of them were gathered in the room with two beds that Dorn and Raon would use together.
When Dorn, now heavier after obtaining [Iron Bones], sat down, the bed sank deeply.
“Now… let’s settle the money we earned from this exploration. We went through something rough, but even so, we didn’t make 2 gold.”
Dorn, who had taken the coin pouch Raon had been managing and gathered together the money from selling equipment, the hobgoblin request fee, and the money from selling mana stones, spread the coins out on the bed.
One yellow gold coin and dozens of silver coins were laid out.
“First, if we divide it according to the settlement ratio we discussed before the exploration, I get roughly 1 gold, and you two get roughly 50 silver each.”
Raon’s eyes rolled around as he tried to calculate how many 30-copper stews he could eat with 50 silver.
“I have something to propose before we distribute it.”
When Dorn drew their attention, the two looked at him.
“At first, I considered breaking up the party because I didn’t know whether you two could fight well, whether you were trustworthy people, what abilities you had outside of battle, or what abilities you would gain.”
Raon pressed his lips shut and wore an anxious expression.
Lilia, on the other hand, curved her softly relaxed eyes.
“That means I trust you now. What do you think about working together from now on with the goal of forming a full six-person party: three warriors, one mage, one scout, and one priest? I think the three of us are fairly excellent warriors.”
“Bro…”
Raon was moved by Dorn’s warm words.
“I think it’s fine too. There’s no need to even mention Dorn oppa, who slaughtered twenty goblins with a single ability, and Raon is also at an excellent level for a ‘human’ who only farmed. I think he’ll become even stronger from now on.”
After the brother he respected in his heart, a girl his own age who somehow felt mature praised him as well, Raon did not know what to do with himself.
“Sister…!”
“Good. In that sense, let’s keep all the money we earned today as public funds. There’s no one who needs to change equipment right away, and it’s only right to buy potions and preserved food with public funds.”
“I agree.”
“I… I agree too! Haha!”
The praise and recognition from his companions seemed to unlock Raon’s heart.
Raon, an eighteen-year-old youth, smiled brightly.
Until now, he had held back his words and paid attention to appearing mature, but it was as if he had shed one layer.
◆ ◆ ◆
From the morning, Dorn’s party cleanly finished stew, roast chicken, and a mug of beer each, then went up to the inn room and fell into a deep sleep.
(A few guests who witnessed Dorn’s party’s Earth-style “mukbang” ordered roast chicken as well.)
—Snrrrk— snrrrk—
On the bed against the wall opposite Dorn, who had closed his eyes, Raon snored softly.
●
Name: Dorn
Stamina: 30→31/90
Mana: 10/10
Condition: Calm
Abilities Held: 【Self-Observation】, [Iron Muscles], [Iron Bones]
●
With [Iron Bones], his maximum stamina had increased.
Dorn did not stop at reading the status window written on his eyelids; he sank deeper and observed his entire body.
The muscles, heart, and internal organs strengthened by [Iron Muscles] were intact.
The legs and torso that had been wounded by goblin claws around dawn by the standards of the labyrinth city had also fully recovered thanks to the first-floor potion he had bought himself and Lilia’s third-floor potion.
When he focused on the bones that had just begun to transform through [Iron Bones], Dorn could feel how much stronger his bones had become.
It was not an exact number, but Dorn’s bones had now grown stronger not only against compressive force, but also against various external forces such as shear force, and they had become heavier as well.
It partially compensated for the weakness of being too light to properly utilize the power of [Iron Muscles].
Perhaps if he obtained the remaining [Iron Skin] and completed 【Iron Man】, the weakness of [Iron Muscles] that came from his body not being heavy enough would disappear.
Also, the insides of his bones, strengthened by [Iron Bones], were bustling noisily.
Not only in his pelvis and spine, but also within the bones of his limbs, his marrow churned as it replaced the blood cells in his blood.
One of the “functions of bone,” “hematopoietic function,” was being displayed.
This was the ability of [Iron Bones], which strengthened the function and durability of bone.
Through this, Dorn would partially compensate for the lung function that was lacking compared to [Iron Muscles], and with his white blood cells and platelets strengthened, he would gain outstanding resistance to infection as well.
●
Stamina: 33→34/90
●
Dorn’s consciousness sank into the comfortable darkness beneath the surface of sleep…