I Became a Slave Collector in the Labyrinth City

As the effect of the tonic wore off, the erection subsided too.
When the erection subsided, my legs lost strength as well.

“I can’t get up.”

“Then get on my back.”

“Okay.”

Thanks to that, I had to be carried on the large back of a barbarian warrior who came down for rescue operations.

‘The body odor is no joke. Doesn’t this person wash?’

The barbarian warrior carrying the young lady on his back and tucking me under his arm.

Foreigners who came down from the North, like the Asians who came from the East.
They’re called ‘Barbarians’.

Their speech is clumsy, their personalities are extremely fierce, and their body odor is no joke, but.
Still, their loyalty is second to none.

Unlike the Asians who are perceived as especially petty within the labyrinth city, the northern barbarians are called easy targets.

Thanks to such reliable barbarians transporting us outside, we could be sent out of the labyrinth without any particular discomfort.

‘My goodness.’

Outside the labyrinth was unbelievably chaotic.
It was more crowded than a market day, with rescue teams rushing into the labyrinth and rescued people intermingled.
And corpses of the dead were strewn everywhere.
Those who returned but ultimately died, I guess.
Wailing can be heard from all directions.
The cries of those who survived.
Today’s events will probably be recorded as the Great Labyrinth Disaster.

“We’re here. Get off.”

“Thank you. I survived thanks to you.”

“What’s there to thank. Well then, I’m off. I’m going to save the next person.”

“Yes, be careful.”

The barbarian who carried me and the young lady out didn’t even ask for any compensation.
He just put us down near the labyrinth entrance and immediately went back into the labyrinth.

He’s giving his all for the rescue operation.
Judging by the gold badge hanging from his neck, he seems to be a veteran adventurer.
I felt really grateful thinking about how he’s working hard for something that doesn’t even pay.

“We survived.. We survived.”

“Yes. We finally could get out of that damned labyrinth.”

The outside air felt so good after being trapped in the labyrinth for almost two days when we expected it to be a day trip.
It was a bit awkward to express joy with so many people crying around, but still, it’s fortunate that we survived.
If Rien hadn’t obtained an ability and come down to find us, we probably would have been trapped for much longer.

“Thank you for coming to find us right away, Rien.”

“Hmph.. I came down to find Lea..”

Rien glared at me slightly while taking care of the young lady.
It seems I’ve become slightly disliked because she caught me doing something strange with the young lady in the labyrinth earlier.
I feel wronged, but what can I do?

‘Well, I’ll see her today and never again anyway.’

What does it matter what she thinks of me?
There’s no problem since the young lady made sure to keep her mouth shut.

Our connection ends here anyway.
Once I receive compensation from the young lady, won’t we never meet again?

Thinking that way, everything that just happened felt like a dream.
To think I showed my genitals to and was touched by a noble young lady.

The labyrinth is truly a strange and cruel place where you experience many things you never imagined.

What just happened was one of those labyrinth happenings.
Being mentally cornered, we ended up doing lewd things that transcended the difference in social status.

Now that both the young lady and I have come out of the labyrinth, we probably won’t experience such a thing ever again.

‘By the way, the weather is really nice.’

Looking up at the blue sky made me feel refreshed.
I must have been under a lot of stress without realizing it while trapped in the labyrinth.

Well, it’s more so because I nearly died several times.
Not just the young lady, but I might have developed slight cracks in my psyche too.

I need recuperation.
I should quickly receive compensation and buy a slave.

“Ugh. Aah.”

While I was pondering how much compensation to ask for, the young lady who was looking up at the sky next to me clutched her chest and exhaled sharply.

“Lea, Lea! What’s wrong..!”
“My whole body.. feels like it’s going to burst.. Porter, what is this..!”

As she suddenly complained of pain, Rien panicked and didn’t know what to do, and the young lady grabbed my arm with a surprised expression as if she didn’t know why this was happening to her.

‘Here it comes.’

She must be going through mana adaptation.
Everyone usually suffers like this when they experience it for the first time.

“You’re going through mana adaptation, so you don’t need to worry too much. Everyone goes through this.”

“What? Ah. Aah… So everyone goes through this. Ugh.. It hurts..”

“Lea, are you okay…?”

“No.. My whole body aches.”

Rien stroked the young lady’s back, and the young lady soon returned to her normal state.
Maybe because she consumed a lot of experience, the growing pains seem to be quite intense.

She might have obtained an ability with this.

“Did you perhaps obtain an ability too?”

“Huh? No. I’m not sure about an ability. I think I just went through mana adaptation.”

A miss, huh.
That’s a shame. You don’t necessarily obtain an ability every time you go through mana adaptation.

Even I’ve only gone through mana adaptation five times despite entering the labyrinth countless times, and I’ve only obtained two abilities from that.

“Hmm…?”

Then suddenly, my body started hurting too.
It seems mana adaptation is starting for me as well.
Well, it would be disappointing if I didn’t go through mana adaptation after killing a Bunny Man.

‘It tingles a bit.’

It used to hurt like hell at first, but now I’m used to it.

This is already my 6th mana adaptation.
I guess I’ve entered level 6 now.
With this, I should be able to endure in the underground city without mana poisoning.

‘Have I finally become able to enter the underground city?’

It’s already been 6 months since I started labyrinth excursions.
I’ve finally earned the qualification to become a veteran.

I’ve become able to enter the underground city that I couldn’t enter before because my level was too low.

“Ugh…!”

Then a sharp pain that rang through my brain came belatedly.

This is…

‘A new ability!’

During the five mana adaptations I went through, I only obtained two abilities.

Of course, both were extremely cheating abilities from an adventurer’s perspective, but I was thinking it was about time to get a new ability.

I hope it’s a good ability this time too.

‘The ability I obtained this time is…’

[Spirit Eye Opening]

Spirit Eye Opening?

What’s this?
It’s an ability I’ve never heard of before.

Was there anyone around me with this ability?
I don’t remember anyone having it.

‘I can see things that others can’t see?’

No other information was imprinted in my brain.

It seems to be some kind of magical eye.
I think I’ll need more information to use it properly.

“Porter, are you okay?”

“Yes. I think I went through mana adaptation too.”

The young lady looked at me with a worried expression.
Did she grow attached to me during this labyrinth excursion?
She’s taking care of me even after we’ve come outside.

“Well, since we’ve caught our breath, let’s go to the aid station soon. My wounds are stinging a bit. You should come too, young lady. It’s better to treat small wounds before they leave scars.”

“Okay. Got it.”

My arm got quite badly torn while fighting the Bopal Rabbits.
I stopped the bleeding with the first aid supplies I had, but it would be better to get proper treatment at the aid station.

If the wound gets infected, we might have to amputate the arm.

Physical impairment leads to a serious decrease in combat power.
It’s something that must be absolutely avoided to live as an adventurer.

Among high-ranking adventurers, there are even those who commit suicide and get resurrected, saying it’s better to die and be resurrected than to suffer physical impairment.

Of course, that’s only possible for adventurers wealthy enough to pay all the resurrection costs.

“This is the aid station. If you get hurt or need treatment in the future, you can come here.”

“Okay. There are so many healers..”

The aid station was full of patients caught up in the Great Shift and healers treating them.
Those who had already died were left in front of the labyrinth for now, and all the living were being transported here for treatment.
It’s chaos everywhere. I wonder how many people are dying because of the Great Shift.
The whole city has become a mess, and when this chaos is over, a heavy silence and period of depression will follow.
The number of people quitting being adventurers will increase significantly, and if the number of adventurers decreases, the economy of the labyrinth city that lived off them might freeze.
It’s a bit scary because there will probably be a gloomy atmosphere in the city in many ways until a large influx of new adventurers comes in.
When people’s livelihoods become unstable, thieves and robbers tend to increase, and when such people increase, the underworld naturally becomes more active.

‘Well, it’s not my problem to worry about.’

The higher-ups in the city will take care of it. If the number of adventurers decreases, it’s also an opportunity to raise my value.
Let’s not think too negatively.

“Next person, please come in!”

“It seems to be our turn. Let’s go.”

“Okay.”

After waiting for a long time, the young lady and I were finally able to get our wounds treated at the aid station.
I heard that Rien’s arm was also torn, so she received treatment before coming down to rescue us.

“That’ll be 40 silver.”

Of course, the treatment isn’t free.
We have to pay for the consultation and medicine.

“Young lady, the payment please.”

“What! Do I have to pay for this too?”

“Huh? Well, you know. It’s because we got hurt in the labyrinth. I fought hard because you said you’d cover all the costs.”

“…You’re ruthless, really ruthless. It’s true that Asians are misers.”

“What? What did you say? That it’s fortunate we survived thanks to the survival items I bought with money I saved up meticulously?”

“Ugh. Alright. I’ll pay. Stop nagging.”

The young lady paid for my share too.
It’s nice to have a sponsor indeed.

“By the way, Rien.”

“Yes..?”

“Erika and Rika haven’t been found yet, right?”

“Yeah. I should go look for them again… I need something they gave me.. but I don’t have anything.”

At my question, Rien and the young lady’s expressions darkened again.

Rien’s ‘Search Tracking’ ability needed an object left behind or a part of the body of the target she wanted to track.
She said she was able to find the young lady and me by breaking the hairpin the young lady had entrusted to her.

Therefore, to find Erika and Rika, she needed something they had entrusted or left behind.

“Ah, right! I have something Erika gave me.”

The young lady rummaged through her clothes and took out a rosary with a cross.
It seemed to be something the priestess had given to the young lady as a gift.

“It’s something Erika gave me. The Goddess Church’s rosary. We should be able to find her with this.”

“W-wait a moment.. It might work… Will it work.. It works!”

Rien tore apart the rosary the young lady handed over and activated her ability.

“There, that way…. That direction!”

“South. It seems to be the sewer area.”

The direction Rien pointed to was the south of the labyrinth city.
It was the direction where the entrance to the sewer area was located.

‘It would be best to go look for them right away, but…’

Rien looked extremely tired.

Rien, who had entered the labyrinth again to rescue me and the young lady without getting proper sleep.
Her face was so pale that she looked like she might collapse at any moment.

“Rien, can you enter the labyrinth again?”

“Um… well.”

Rien’s hands trembled slightly.
It would be too much after all.

Without Rien to find the female knight and priestess.
We’d have no choice but to consider them both dead.

Especially in the sewer area where the corpse recovery rate is extremely low…
Resurrection would be impossible too.

It’s sad, but do we have to give up?

“Wait… I… I can still go in.. I have to save them…”

Although she looked extremely difficult, Rien hoped to enter the labyrinth once more.

Looking at her condition, it would be right to dissuade her and give up.
But if we did that, the female knight and priestess would die.

Once Rien steeled her resolve to go in, the option to give up disappeared.
In principle, we should report to the guild first about what happened in the labyrinth, but time is of the essence now.

For now, we have to go rescue them.

“Let’s gather a rescue team and go down. Young lady, you rest at the inn.”

“Wait, I want to go too.”

“If the young lady comes, that’s two burdens.”

“What?”

“Your legs are trembling right now, aren’t they? I’ll go down with Rien and rescue them, so just wait quietly at the lodging.”

“…Alright. If you rescue them, I’ll pay all the compensation I promised. Please do your best..”

“Yes. It’s a promise. Then let’s go, Rien.”

“Okay…!”

It’s 20 gold coins per person for rescuing the female knight and priestess.

‘Even if they’re dead…’

She said she’d give 10 gold coins if we properly recover the bodies.

So, this is… not volunteer work.

I’m not being a sucker.
I’m an adventurer who moves for compensation.

I’m absolutely not going back into the labyrinth because of the young lady’s expression that looks like she’s about to cry.
It’s not because Rien grabbed my sleeve as if asking for help.

……Damn it.
My legs hurt like hell.
But if it’s for money, there’s no choice.
I need to earn a lot of money to build a slave harem.

Well, let’s go down.
Even though we just came out.

The problematic party members aren’t all gathered yet.