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After resting for half an hour when Kaelion left, I continued exploring alone for two more hours.
But the rest in the safe room didn't help me recover much, as what I really need is a few hours of sleep.
So during the whole exploration process, I felt like my head was going to split in two.
But I still kept exploring because I didn't really have anything better to do, as I still haven't thought of any way to get closer to the emperor or at least get some information related to him.
The strange thing about exploring alone is that almost every group of people I met in the corridors had something to tell me.
A few offered me help, but most tried to blackmail me into paying them for their 'protection', or outright tried to attack me to take my belongings.
I probably looked like easy prey as I explored the labyrinth alone, but I quickly made them realize their mistake, and the response to all those with hostile intentions was the same.
Death.
Since I was in no mood to deal with stupid people who only want to enrich and strengthen themselves at the expense of others.
Currently, after 7 hours total of exploration in the labyrinth, I'm heading to Rinka's house to sell her the loot I got today.
As I walk, I allocate the points I got from leveling up.
I went up four levels in Explorer and one in each of the older classes, so it was worth it to end up physically exhausted and with a terrible headache.
With this, my highest-level classes reached level 76, and Explorer reached level 68.
I decide to invest the stat points evenly, raising all my stats to 88 and strength to 89, as there is no good reason to unbalance my status.
...
When I knock on Rinka's door, the sky is already completely dark.
But, fortunately, visibility in the city is not affected in the slightest thanks to the electrocity the ancient orc mentioned.
As soon as the door opens, the young female orc is very excited to see me alone and invites me inside her house.
I accept because I think it would be nice to sit down and rest for a few minutes while she analyzes the loot I got from the labyrinth and calculates the amount she has to pay me.
The interior of her house is quite simple, with only one small room that doubles as a living room and kitchen.
Apart from the things dedicated to the kitchen, which are distributed on one of the walls, there is a round table with two chairs, a small sofa, and a staircase.
This staircase probably leads to the bedroom and the bathroom of the house, since in the room I am in, I don't see any other door besides the entrance.
However, just because it is simple does not mean that what is in the house is worthless, for no matter where I look, every corner of this small room has things that seem to be worth hundreds of gold coins.
'I don't understand why she lives in such a small place if she has so much money.... Maybe it's a cultural thing...'
"Would you like something to drink? Tea, coffee, wine?" she says hurriedly, as she drags me by one arm to a small, expensive-looking fluffy sofa, the only one in the room, but which looks like it's worth the same as a mithril dagger.
"Tea would be nice. Where can I leave the loot I got today?" I say, grateful for the nice softness of the couch, at the same time as thinking that I'm probably going to stain it with the grime I've gotten from fighting all day.
"Leave it on the floor, wherever you like," says the distracted young orc female, turning her back to me to make some tea, which she brings me after a few minutes.
'You surely don't seem to care much about keeping your house clean...'
"Are you sure? It would be a shame to get this carpet dirty," I say, looking at the thick blue carpet with gold and silver detailing.
"It's all right. Tomorrow the cleaning company will come, and their slaves know how to clean even the tiniest stain..." she says, laughing nonchalantly. "...it's almost as if their lives depend on it"
"Ahh," I say, not really knowing what to say in response to those words, and I put the loot on the floor in a little pile next to the sofa.
'If it wasn't because I need the money, I'd get out of here right now....
But it's not her fault for thinking like that either....
she's probably not even fully aware of what she's saying.'
"Wow... That's too much... Did you get all this by yourself?" she says when she returns with a cup of tea and a pot of tea, seeing the small mound of objects made up of all the loot I've gotten from the labyrinth today.
"Yeah, more or less... but my partner helped me a little," I say, taking a sip of the tea, after which I drink it all in one gulp as I'm surprised at how ridiculously delicious it is.
The infusion generates a warm feeling that spreads throughout my tired body and helps relax my stressed mind from the overuse of mana.
"Haa.... You're..." she says, blushing slightly, but then clears her throat and says, "Don't you want to stay for dinner? Ohh, you've already run out of tea. That's great... Let me refill your cup."
Rinka makes a pretense of refilling my cup, but I hold her hand to stop her, whereupon the young female orc's face turns tomato red and she falls to her knees on the floor next to me while breathing heavily.
"Thanks, but no thanks. I won't stay for long," I say, but suddenly my body feels very warm.
At the same time, I am surprised to find myself involuntarily considering the option of staying for dinner with Rinka, as my mind resists the idea of leaving this house.
'I could stay for dinner... And maybe I should spend the night here directly.... No... Kaelion is waiting for me... What the fuck am I thinking?'
I look down at the cup of tea I'm holding in my hands, and suddenly a suspicion begins to form in my mind.
'I didn't think she'd be desperate enough to try and drug me...'
"How much could you pay me for what I brought you today?" I say, trying to control my clashing emotions so I can think rationally.
"Hmm, I think... I could give you 11 gold coins for everything..." she says in a very low voice, looking for a brief moment at the mound of objects next to her, after which she looks at me with her face on the verge of tears.
"....But drink some more tea; I'm sure it will do you good."
'She doesn't seem to have been very thorough in her assessment of the loot....
Anyway, it's not like I have any other choice if I want to get money fast....
I could try to find someone else who is interested in buying things from the labyrinth, but nothing assures me that this person will be fair to me....
It's really bad that I don't have the slightest idea of the value of things in this place….
That's why I have to trust Rinka...
And sleep over with her...
She's so beautiful...
NO!'
It's lucky that my levels are so high, as most poisons and drugs have very little effect on me.
The only bad thing about it is that I find it quite difficult to get drunk now that I've gotten used to alcohol.
Getting drunk is a state that, while it seems I will no longer need it during the day due to Azur's prolonged silence, during the night I still need it to get rid of nightmares.
'Anyway...
It's alright...
I just have to be more cautious. She's too useful, so I can't afford to argue with her….
Besides...
It's not like she has done anything wrong either....
But I won't give her what she wants either....
She can try anything she wants, but she's going to have to keep the winning for herself...
Even on the off chance that I was interested in having that kind of relationship with someone, I wouldn't be able to afford it because of my curse'
"No, thanks. I'm in a hurry. The old orc who was with me yesterday when I registered at the guild promised he'd get me a tattoo so I could acquire the Shaman class," I say, while in a part of my mind I curse myself for my intentions to leave this nice couch and to refuse to drink another bit of that amazing tea.
"You are really strong. You don't need to get that kind of inferior class, or hang out with people like that old orc. He's probably the one who's putting those weird ideas in your head. Having that class is only going to make a lot of people look down on you just for having it," she says, grabbing my arm and looking at me as if I just told her I planned to murder her whole family.
"True strength does not discriminate or care about the opinion of others, but takes advantage of everything in its power to reach even higher," I say, breaking free of her grip and standing up, irritated.
I am equally angry at the part of me that urges me to stay and at the stupid attitude of the people of this empire, who are obsessed with calling everything they don't like inferior.
The young female orc looks at me from the ground, where she is still kneeling, as if she doesn't know what to do or say, while I wait for her to decide to pay me so I can get the hell out of this damn place.
'I have to be very careful not to accept any drinks or food offered to me by Rinka in the future....
I didn't think that coming here could become dangerous....
At least not like this...'
The bad thing about getting irritated is that the headache, which had subsided quite a bit when I drank Rinka's tea, is now coming back with renewed force.
But the good thing is that I finally seem to be completely free of the drug's effect, as now the idea of drinking another bit of this poisoned tea seems as ridiculous as it really is.