“Excellent… Then could you tell me about yourself?” Emelia asked bouncing slightly on the edge of the bed.
“I was telling the truth before I honestly remember nothing of my life before I woke in the forest…So there is not much to tell,” Ash said bowing his head.
“Oh…I thought you were just hiding it since you were a sub-human,” Emelia admitted.
“Instead now that we are friends why don’t you tell me a bit about yourself?” Ash replied.
“Friends…That’s right we are friends…Hum, my first friend,” Emelia giggled making her seem as if she were a small child again and given her small frame it wasn’t hard to imagine.
“You are my first friend as well,” Ash added bashfully.
Emelia smiled then started telling him about what her life was like. As a child her father kept her in the house forcing her to spend all of her time learning from tutors so that when she took over the duchy she wouldn’t be a burden to the people. During a hunting accident her father had perished the year before making her the youngest landed noble at the age of fifteen. Fifteen was supposed to be her time to shine as it was the normal age that nobles were introduced into the world to mingle with other nobles but that had been quickly taken from her in the name of duty. Now at sixteen she was finding her job easier but with more time she had started to get lonely without others to talk to and when she found Ash she took the chance to make her first friend.
When it was time for dinner Ash walked to a large dining room with Emelia. The food was far above what he was used to. A whole foul, along with a fresh salad and a sweet pudding for dessert. “Since you’re going to be going into the labyrinth I think I have the prefect reward for you,” Emelia said as she clapped her hands.
Shortly after she clapped her hands two young women entered the room. One placed a long sword in an onyx black sheath on the table in front of him while the other sat a small metal breastplate in front of him.
[Sword of the Hawk: Sword belonging to a great hero of the Hawkwing family. Durability 50/50 attack 20-32 strength +10 stamina +5.]
Ash couldn’t help but gape at the stats on the sword. His hands shaking he picked up the silver breastplate and found that it surprisingly only weighed as much as his leather armor.
[Mithra armor: Armor blessed by the god of light. Durability 40/40 defense + 20 Endurance +10 spirit +10 agility +5.]
The armor had even better stats than the sword. These were godly items compared to what he had been using. They alone would be as if he rose his level ten or more times. At that moment Ash wanted to do nothing more than to rush out and try out his new sword.
“These are too good as a gift,” Ash forced himself to say. “The armor alone must cost a fortune.”
“It is already done,” Emelia said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “If it makes you feel better they have been sitting down in the vault collecting dust for years.”
“Then I will graciously accept,” Ash said stroking the sword as if it were a small pet. As he looked at the sword he heard a small giggle come from the other side of the room but he couldn’t tear his eyes off the sword to look.
Ash wanted to head straight for the labyrinth to try out his new sword but it was already late and he was having trouble keeping his eyes open after such a large feast. Slinking back to his room Ash collapsed on the bed and rolled on his back.
“Ladies man,” Rachel said with a light laugh as she settled on his shoulder.
“How long have you been here?” Ash asked as his face blushed a deep red.
“We have been watching all day. You two were so close we couldn’t find a moment to but in.”
“Congratulations,” Jun said floating a smile.
Sighing to himself Ash closed his eyes and started dreaming about the coming days. In his last life he had never had much to look forward to. Every day was the same, he woke up, did chores, and went to school. The only real difference was where he did them. His houses changed often and more than a few years were spent at group homes. This was the first time he felt the knowing sensation in his mind in anticipation for the future.
“What are labyrinths like?” Ash asked when he ran out of ideas about what he would fin tomorrow.
“I can’t say what the one here will be like since I have never seen the insides of it,” Rachel said puffing her lips out and tapping them with the tip of her finger.
“Different,” Jun said in his normal one word fashion.
“Just tell me about some of the labyrinths that you have seen,” Ash said as he let out a small groan.
“Well they are controlled by a master demon in their deepest part. They all have different levels depending on the strength of the demon in control but the smallest I heard of was seventy floors. The only real thing they have in common is that the floor designs depend on the demon in control. In one I visited each floor had a puzzle that you had to solve, and in another all the walls moved turning it into a huge maze. That one was really dangerous as you could get stuck in it for days at a time.”
Rachel continued on and Ash listened with rapt attention. Before he knew it hours had passed and the sun had long since set. His excitement still bubbling over Ash had to force himself to try and sleep. After hours of tossing and turning he finally drifted off to sleep though his mind was still buzzing about the coming day.
1-7
Jun woke as soon as the sun shining through the windows touched his face. Quickly strapping on his new armor and sword he rushed for the door only to be caught by the butler Edger. “Milady was sure that you might be eager to leave early this morning but she has asked me to relay a request that you attend the morning meal,” Edger said then sniffing the air wrinkled his nose. “That is after the good sir has refreshed himself.”
Ash was taken by the arm and led to the first floor baths where two women started at him openly and ushered him inside. Ash waited for the two ladies to leave but instead they started grabbing his clothes and forcibly undressing him. “W-wa-wait,” Ash yelled but his cries went unheeded and soon he was unceremoniously striped necked and thrown in the large tub.
Ash blushing furiously sunk into the hot water but was soon pulled up as large sponges were brushed over his skin as another girl washed his hair. Ash wanted to complain but honestly it felt really good.
After he was scrubbed clean four or five times over the women finally let him out of the bath and started drying him off. Then he was dressed and pushed into the dining room where Emelia was waiting for him with a large smile.
“What the heck is with the bath,” Ash said still flustered causing Emelia to laugh.
“I am so used to it I completely forgot about it,” she said still laughing. “I will tell them to let you bathe alone for now on…That is unless you enjoyed it,” she added with a coy look on her face.
“No thank you,” Ash said blushing furiously. “I don’t think my body could take any more washings like that. I thought that my skin was going to come off.”
“Oh really,” Emelia said though this time her eyes had a bit of fire in them. “Seems it was my young attendants that enjoyed the bath instead.”
“N-no I was just really dirty since I hadn’t had a chance to bath on the journey,” Ash replied quickly not wanting to cause anyone any trouble.
“Is that so?” Emelia said narrowing her eyes then letting out a soft sigh. “Oh well it done with now. So I guess you are planning to go to the labyrinth today, or has something else caught your attention.”
“Yes I was planning to go to the labyrinth. I wonder what it’s like.” Ash said as his mind started to daydream again.
“I know a bit about the labyrinth if you wish to know,” Emelia said with a smug look.
“You know about the labyrinth?” Ash asked stunned.
“What do you take me for?” Emelia asked slightly raising from her seat. “The labyrinth is in my duchy so of course I know about it. It is thanks to it that out land has been so prosperous and the same reason
all those young lords camp out at my doorstep trying to woo me thinking me nothing but an empty headed peacock to decorate their bedroom.”
Ash flinched at the anger in her voice and knew that he had hit a sore nerve. “Please tell me about the labyrinth,” he pleaded with upturned eyes.
“Sorry…” Emelia said slightly blushing and retaking her seat. After taking a small drink of water she cleared her throat. “The labyrinth is considered one of the best for new adventures since it doesn’t have any complex mazes and the upper levels have low level monsters. As the levels get lower the monsters get stronger. So far it has been mapped down to the 113th level. After level righty it’s not advisable to go in unless you have a full group of top tier fighters with you. The boss on the 113th level is a strong behemoth and no one so far has been able to beat it.”
“So it would be better to find a party to fight with,” Ash said more to himself.
“Ugu…I wouldn’t suggest that,” Emelia said with a saddened look. “Even though I rule here the kingdom as a whole looks down on sub-humans. In truth you could be killed or robbed and even if I knew who they were I wouldn’t be able to punish them in the open. So please be careful when you are outside…I don’t want to lose my first friend,” Emelia added with a shy smile as her cheeks blushed slightly.
“Then what am I supposed to do about other fighters. No matter how strong I am I can’t fight alone forever…It is too dangerous.”
“You could buy slaves,” Emelia offered.
“Slaves…They have slaves here?” Ash asked slightly taken aback.
“Y-yes. Prisoners of war, thieves, debtors, and people unable to pay their taxes are turned into slaves,” Emelia said softly.
The thought of slave’s appalled Ash. Where he was from slavery was considered inherently evil. Then again he was no longer on earth and there was little he could do to change the policies of the world he was in at the moment. “If I got a slave I could treat it like family,” Ash told himself but it still left a bad taste in his mouth. “How much do slaves cost?” Ash asked the words feeling heavy.
“It depends,” Emelia said after a few moments. “Unskilled young men can go for as cheap as thirty gold while young beautiful maidens can go for as much as ten platinum. I would suggest buying beast men since they are cheaper than humans and would be more ready to keep your secret. If you want I can loan you some gold so that you can buy one. If you don’t want it in the end I will take care of it. I can always use a new hand around the manor.”
“If I buy one I want it to be with my own gold. I don’t even know if I want to buy one either so let me give it some thought. How far do you think it is safe to go into the labyrinth on my own?”
“I think the first five levels are ok for you to solo since you are pretty strong but be careful. Each level has a boss before you can move to the next stage and more than one adventure has died within their rooms.”
“I promise I will be careful,” Ash replied smiling. “I don’t want to die just yet.”
For breakfast they had a sweet porridge filled with a salty meat and fresh juice. Once they were finished eating Emelia walked him to the edge of the property and waved to him as he left. Ash had to admit that it felt good to have someone see him off with a smile. He had once lived with an old lady that he had called Nan who always saw him off with a smile. He had thought that he would get to stay with her for a long time but shortly after Nan’s daughter had her sent to a nursing home and sold the old ladies house. It was sad and was one of the first times Ash experienced what humans were truly like. As he remembered that time in his life he started to wonder what Emilia was really after. No human was selfless…Even those who acted like saints did so for their own good. If she was just truly lonely Ash could understand but he promised to himself not to let his guard down. If push came to shove she would abandon him just like the other people had in his life.
As that thought stuck in his mind Ash once again thought about the slaves. “How do slaves work here?” He asked the air and as soon as the words came out of his mouth Rachel popped up and flew over to his shoulder.
“Well Slaves are branded and then imprinted so they are forced to obey their master’s orders. So you never have to worry about them turning on you though they can still run away though it is easy to track them through the slave mark.”
“They are completely unable to go against their master’s wishes?” Ash asked to clarify.
“Correct,” Rachel said the distance clear in her voice. “They still have their own minds but if they refuse a command the magic in the brand with punish them.”
Ash still didn’t like the idea of slavery. In his mind it was wrong but when in Rome, not to mention a slave was the only person that could truly be trusted. As Ash headed toward the large wall that surrounded the labyrinth he decided that he would save up enough and buy a slave.
After going through a guarded tunnel Ash reached the labyrinth. From the front it looked as nothing more than a large set of stairs that led into the earth though it gave him an ominous feeling that left the hairs on his arm standing up.
As he walked down the stairs he came to a black portal. Just the sight of the gateway made his stomach churn. Slowly Ash reached out his arm and touched the swirling black portal his body turned cold all over and he was sucked in. Ash felt like panicking but before he had a chance he found himself in an underground passage with white bricks on each side with numerous passages jutting off every now and then.
Pulling out his sword Ash carefully moved forward. Coming to the first passage he saw an older man with four kids around the age of twelve yelling commands at them. “Alan get your sword up, Jin don’t close your eyes.” Ignoring the small group Ash moved on coming across a few other groups fighting a small ball like creature. If he remembered right in the game he played they were called slimes.
Soon he found his own slime to fight. It looked like a small green ball with stone like eyes. Bringing his sword up and doing and underhanded strike Ash saw a nice red -22 appear and the slim jiggled for a moment then turned into a green puddle. Checking his experience Ash found that it had only given him one experience point.
Shrugging his shoulders ash absorbed the slime and inspected the area to find one small black coin and nothing else. Before he stood he noticed another slime jumping toward him and once again with one strike he killed it. This time the slime dropped a small green ball. Picking it up a description popped into his mind.
[Slime Core: core of a slime often used to make low level potions. Rarity: Common]
As long as he was staying with Emelia he didn’t need to worry about running out of gold so there was no feeling of being rushed. Ash decided it would be best to absorb as many slimes as he could to see what skills he could gain.
Though there were at least fifty groups fighting in the labyrinth at any given time Ash had no trouble finding slimes to kill. Walking around he even found a hidden room with fifteen slimes built up in it. After killing fifty slimes Ash heard the welcomed “tring” sound indicating that he had absorbed enough of them to get an ability.
[You have reach 100% absorption level on Green Slime. Abilities available; Bash (active).]
Ash was surprised the slime only had one ability.
“Tring,” [you have received the Bash ability]
Ash quickly checked his ability window. [Bash: Cost 1 SP- level 1 0%- slam body into enemy to do X 10 damage.] Looking at the description Ash felt disappointed. It was a weak and nearly useless ability. After getting everything he could from the slimes Ash found a small area with a light white encompassing it. From what he had learned there was one such area on each floor that had been mapped so that adventures could rest without fear of being attacked.
Once his HP and SP were restored Ash moved on and started to look for the boss room. HE encountered a few slimes and quickly killed them scooping up anything they dropped and absorbing them out of habit. It used his MP but he had brought a lot of juice to restor
e it as needed.
After searching for a quarter of an hour Ash finally found a large room with double doors with the face of a demon craved into them. On the left hand side a small plaque was hung. [Warning Boss ahead. King Slime- recommended group level of 3.]
Ash could tell that the plaque had been hung by a person as a few parts of it were worn and beaten. “Who do you think placed this here?” Ash asked Rachel who had been fluttering around enjoying watching the different people in the tunnels fighting.
“Most likely the guild hall,” Rachel replied. “They did the same thing in the dungeon’s that I had been in before.”
After checking to make sure that he was ready Ash pushed open the door and stepped though. As soon as he entered the room the double doors shut hard behind him making him jump slightly. The room lit up and standing in front of him was a large green slime about five foot tall and about the same size across.
Not wasting time Ash rushed forward and struck hard with his sword and a disappointing -8 appeared. Though the damager he did was low the slime was didn’t attack back it only shook. Suddenly the slime stopped shaking and jumped high into the air surprising Ash. Jumping to the side ash barely dodged getting smashed and even though the attack had missed his HP was reduced by 10 points. “Dangerous.”
A little more careful this time Ash move forward and continued his assault. The Slime had a simple pattern it would store energy for about two minutes then preform an attack either trying to smash Ash into the ground or into the wall. After five rounds of this the slime gave a final shudder and melted into a puddle. As soon as it was dead Ash tried to absorb it but a small “tring” sounded. [Your Demon Absorption skill is not high enough level to absorb this creature. Demon Absorption needs to be at least level 3 to absorb this monster.]
“What?” Ash said aloud. It was the first time his absorption skill had failed. Well it wasn’t as if he was going to kill the king slime fifty times anyway. Shaking his head Ash looked on the ground to find a copper coin and four slime cores. “So cheap.”
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