Survive the labyrinth with EX-grade traits

“We’ve arrived!”

After picking up Lumia, who was talking with Roten in the backyard, the three of us headed to the Adventurers’ Guild.

Among the numerous counters, there was a dedicated one for processing and settling spoils.

We picked the one with the shortest line and joined the end of the line stretching from the counter.

“Hey, watch your back! It’s the Arrar!”

“Don’t jinx it. Let’s move to the other line.”

“Damn. That guy’s got guts. Is he avoiding the curse by having the same black hair?”

“Tsk tsk. What a scumbag, showing up at the guild today of all days!”

Damn it! These bastards are starting again.

“Arrgh! You bastards, shut up!”

I gritted my teeth and kept an eye on the adventurers around me, mostly those who were running their mouths, as I opened my status window.

Since high-rank adventurers had separate floors, there was no way they would be on the first floor.

Mid-rank adventurers used the same first floor as low-rank adventurers, but they had a separate counter, so most of them would have settled their spoils early in the day.

In other words, the people chattering in line were mostly average adventurers with E to D-rank abilities.

‘If I cause a ruckus here that doesn’t kill anyone, I wonder how much penalty they would impose?’

During the circus, I didn’t hesitate to cut down those who were badmouthing Lumia.

With my temper already half-flared, I was considering stirring up the Adventurers’ Guild or challenging specific individuals to a duel or sparring to teach them a lesson.

“It’s okay.”

Unlike before, Lumia didn’t show any signs of fear or shrinking back. She held my hand tightly and whispered.

“…You’re okay with this?”

How could I cause a ruckus when the person involved was telling me not to?

I nodded and waited quietly until it was our turn.

‘I’ll let it go for now because of Lumia’s kind heart, but I won’t hold back if I see them in the labyrinth.’

I memorized their faces, names, and traits.

I was going to remember these bastards who were badmouthing people behind their backs and fronts.

[Chaos says well done for holding back.]

One advantage of Lumia being an Arar was that most people waiting in line moved to another line as soon as they saw her.

In other words, the waiting time to reach the receptionist was significantly shortened.

“Welcome, Adventurer. How can I help you?”

This receptionist was very business-like.

Even when Lumia, who had followed us, caught her attention, she maintained her professionalism and hid any signs of surprise.

She asked politely, and I finally felt at ease as I placed my hand on my backpack.

With my limited knowledge and Veronica’s experience, we had carefully sorted the spoils into the bags, putting only the necessary ones in each bag.

Without any issues, I placed the bags containing the spoils from the 9th floor on the counter and handed over the iron plate.

“Adventurer Ahren, you worked hard on this expedition. Let’s start the settlement.”

A soulless compliment.

The receptionist, who was like a book, infused mana into the magic tool and began checking the bags one by one, starting with the Ratman and Kobold tails and ears, then the Hop Goblin variants’ ears and Ghoul’s fingers, and so on.

There were the Serpent’s Eyes, which were worth 5 gold coins each, and the Banshee’s Tears, which didn’t reach that price but were still valuable.

On top of that, there was the Silver Crystal from the Golems, which wasn’t expensive but was just as visually appealing as the previous two.

“Congratulations on obtaining the Serpent’s Eyes, which are as rare as the spoils from the low-rank upper species.”

What’s with the monotone voice?

“Thank you. So, how much will it be?”

“Please wait a moment. I’ll check if there are any personal requests for the rare spoils.”

Just like how I had met Haynes through the Golem’s Core, I wondered if there would be a request that would pay more than the usual price.

“Hmm… There doesn’t seem to be any suitable request. My apologies.”

Unfortunately, the result was a miss.

‘Tsk. The method of gaining contribution points through trade requests is out of the window.’

The receptionist, who had been wearing glasses, took them off and looked at me.

“You worked hard. It’s a total of 14 gold coins, 13 silver coins, and 30 copper coins.”

Huh? 14 gold coins?

The Serpent’s Horns from the previous expedition were worth 6 gold coins each, so I had expected around 7 gold coins in total.

Since there were no spoils from the 9th floor, considering that we had only reached the 8th floor, the amount was honestly double.

We had reached twice the floor and received almost double the settlement, a fair result.

‘It was the right decision to push forward from the 4th floor!’

Since we had earned this much before graduating from the low-rank, if we became mid-rank adventurers and moved forward, we would be raking in money with each expedition.

I looked forward to the future.

“Adventurer Ahren, is there anything else I can help you with?”

“Ah, I want to check my contribution points for mid-rank adventurer promotion. Should I go to another counter?”

The receptionist shook her head.

“Actually, there’s no one waiting behind you, so I’ll do it here. First, I need to go through the confirmation process, so could you tell me some basic information about yourself?”

Even though she had confirmed my identity with the iron plate, she still needed to go through the basic procedure.

We exchanged simple questions and answers about my name, age, current residence, and main position.

“Ahren. Ahren, ah!”

For the first time, I heard her surprised voice.

“It’s amazing. You’re discussing mid-rank adventurer promotion less than half a year after registering for the first time.”

Clack.

Woooooo.

The receptionist pointed to the crystal-like magic tool that she had taken out earlier.

“This is the Adventurers’ Guild exclusive soul distinguisher. It has a grand name, but it’s just a magic tool to confirm that your soul grade has risen after successfully climbing the Tower of Proof. Please place your hand on it.”

It didn’t seem like the receptionist was unnecessarily tampering with the magic tool, as if it were a cliché.

After all, countless adventurers had gone through this process, so I placed my hand on the crystal.

“It will turn blue if you successfully climbed the tower.”

The receptionist narrowed her eyes as she spoke.

“On the contrary, if it turns red, it means you’ve tampered with the important matter of promotion in the Adventurers’ Guild. Your adventurer qualification will be permanently revoked. Do you agree?”

“Of course. I agree.”

“Confirmed. Please slowly infuse mana into the crystal.”

If I infused mana recklessly and broke it, I would have to compensate with a huge amount of money.

“Whew.”

She scared me at the last moment.

I took a deep breath to calm myself and carefully infused mana.

Paat!

The transparent crystal gradually turned blue.

“Congratulations! Now, I will proceed with the contribution confirmation procedure you mentioned. Please wait a moment.”

The receptionist manipulated the magic tool she had taken out earlier and moved her hands quickly, but I didn’t know what she was doing. I just thought that the guild receptionists were all high-spec elites.

After a few minutes of confirmation, the receptionist spoke in a similar tone to when she was surprised about the half-year earlier.

“It’s rare for me to be surprised this many times in one day while working as a guild receptionist.”

“Well, I hope you were pleasantly surprised.”

Pfft.

“Ahren, even though you’re a low-rank adventurer, you’ve made a significant contribution to the defeat of the Evil God’s Apostle. Your guild contribution is already more than half-filled, and there are many things to celebrate.”

What the hell? More than half-filled?

I had no idea that the hard work and sweat I put into climbing the Tower of Proof would have such a grand effect.

As soon as I heard that my contribution was more than half-filled, I decided to significantly revise the plan I had set up earlier.

The receptionist, whose attitude was 180 degrees different from when we first met, smiled.

“I hope you will become an even more shining adventurer through your upcoming promotion. And what about the two ladies behind you?”

“No, I’m fine. Lumia, I’ll wait for you at the table, so do well.”

“Then, come forward, beastkin lady?”

Veronica, who had followed us as a simple bodyguard for Lumia, walked towards the table we had reserved in the corner.

Since there were no other people around, I decided to watch over Lumia until her procedure was complete.

I had already finished the settlement, so her Tower of Proof climb confirmation and contribution confirmation didn’t take long.

“Oh? Lumia, you also contributed to the rescue of civilians during the defeat of the Evil God’s Apostle, and your guild contribution is already 30% filled. Congratulations.”

“Th, thank you.”

Surprisingly, Lumia had also contributed to rescuing civilians outside the Colosseum, and her contribution was already filled.

Good. Even though we couldn’t promote at the same time, at least one person wouldn’t have to worry.

I was worried about Yeriel, who wasn’t here. Still, she was a priest of the Church of Light, so I thought she would have her own way of earning contribution.

Lumia, who had finished her business, was full of joy.

“Ahren, my contribution is already 30% filled. Did I do well?”

“Of course! You’re doing great. Let’s work hard and promote together.”

“…”

After patting her shoulders, Veronica walked towards the table in the corner.

“Is this the end of today’s business at the guild? Ugh, it will be way past dinner time when we return to the inn.”

“I’ll look for requests next time. Now, there’s only one thing left, right?”

It was time for the first distribution of the settlement money.

Why the first distribution?

Because the items and equipment obtained from the looters who died for various reasons would be disposed of through different routes like the magic item shops, trading posts, and auction houses, and then distributed for the second time.

Cutting to the chase, I calculated the distribution of the settlement money.

Spoils settlement money: 14 gold coins.

The 20 gold coins from the Erebun party, which I had obtained by pretending to be a paladin at the Seven Stars Trial.

The 10 gold coins from the lion beastkin party.

The 20 gold coins from the two medium armor warrior parties, which they had given as a share.

The 8 gold coins from the scammer party that we caught at the 8th floor.

The 10 gold coins from the collaboration with the Martin party, which I had earned by myself, so I kept it as my personal fund.

Anyway, even after deducting the 10 gold coins, the total was 72 gold coins.

‘Is this for real?’

I was thrilled when I received the money bags and put them in my backpack.

But when I combined them after returning, the amount was insane.

I told the two women, who were waiting with anticipation, the exact amount.

If we divided the total of 72 gold coins into four and deducted one gold coin per party as a common fund,

“The pure settlement money, excluding equipment and items to be disposed of, is…”

“How much is it? Hey, don’t keep us waiting!”

“17 gold coins per person.”

Huh!

The two women’s eyes widened, and their mouths opened in surprise.

‘On top of that, I have 10 gold coins, making it 27 gold coins.’

We hit the jackpot with this long expedition.