Side Story 9
The grasslands on the outskirts of Mezpol.
This would become the future headquarters of the Rabong Merchant Guild.
There was something that had to be done when starting a new business.
A founding rite.
Gyeon-dallae insisted strongly on it.
If the princess says so, you follow along.
They set up folding screens painted with talismanic patterns, laid out a table piled with food, including a pig's head.
"We hereby establish the Rabong Merchant Guild on this auspicious, geomantically blessed land of the Kalzenia dimension."
Gyeon-dallae began reciting the ceremonial invocation.
"We humbly present this abundant offering with utmost sincerity—"
Normally, such rites were addressed to the spirits of heaven and earth.
But this was another dimension.
There was a different god ruling this place.
So—
"Though we bear no direct relation, we trust that the god Kar will look kindly upon the beastfolk laborers, the native inhabitants of this land."
You will, right?
You already took a fragment of divinity.
"May our fortunes flourish, may customers crowd our doors, may bandits be repelled, and may our enterprise prosper day by day."
With that, a large chunk of top-grade mana stone was placed into the pig's mouth.
"All bow!"
Time to bow.
Juhyeok and the blood-summoned gave only brief nods.
The beastfolk, being natives, performed deep bows.
Thud!
But their small, chubby bodies lost balance.
Roll, roll, roll, roll, roll.
The beastfolk rolled forward in unison.
Over six hundred of them rolling together—it was quite the spectacle.
At that moment—
Swoosh!
The top-grade mana stone in the pig's mouth vanished instantly.
"Oh!"
"That was an immediate response."
"Is that a good sign?"
"If the offering was accepted, it won't spit it out."
The rite concluded successfully.
Next—
They needed someone to actually run the guild.
Guildmasters Rajiks and Juhyeok knew nothing about management.
You need to have run a company before.
Even on Earth, Rajiks Trading was managed by Jung Dong-hoon, not Juhyeok.
So—was there someone suitable to run the Rabong Guild?
Why wouldn't there be?
There were 355 blood-summoned from all walks of life.
...
Surely there was at least one merchant-class among them.
Name: Seok Sung
Rank: SSR (Special Super Rare)
Type: Merchant (Human)
Background?
Seok Sung was sharp from a young age. Born as the third son and unable to inherit family wealth, he struck out on his own. Starting from a small escort agency, he eventually founded the Seok Clan Escort Guild, dominating distribution across the entire Central Plains…
Long.
Skip.
"Ha ha ha! Leave it to me. Within half a year, I'll make the Rabong Guild the greatest enterprise in Kalzenia."
"I'm counting on you, Master Seok."
"Please call me Executive Director Seok, not Master."
"Understood, Executive Director Seok."
Reassuring.
Different environment, sure—but he'd do fine.
'Then what are those two doing?'
Blood-summoned clinging all over a colossal Gigant.
Kosak and Mackenzie.
"We've started a business—means we need advertising."
Ah!
"We'll make it shine so bright you can see it from Mezpol."
How?
"What's the point of keeping a mage around? And Old Man Mackenzie—aren't you the master of attention-seeking visual magic?"
"My specialty is fire magic."
"Don't be ridiculous. Have you used more fire magic, or more visual magic so far?"
Fair point.
Spotlight magic.
Small-scale fireworks magic.
Applied directly to the Gigant.
Spotlights shining onto the Gigant.
Fireworks going off at regular intervals.
Glowing brighter than any neon sign, words were emblazoned across the Gigant's body.
A billboard was erected.
But that wasn't all.
Dwarf Tomar Hammerstone came to see Juhyeok.
"We need to construct a proper building."
Not all dwarves were blacksmiths.
They were master builders as well.
For example:
Kudrak Silversteel—senior blacksmith of the Rsssal clan.
Tomar Hammerstone—senior architect of the Rsssal clan.
"…Here? Can't we just use prefabs?"
"Absolutely not. This will house the greatest merchant guild on the continent—prefabs are unacceptable."
Hmm.
"Furthermore, I don't wish to have the Summoner sleeping in prefabs forever. We'll construct a building at least twenty stories tall, above and below ground."
Sounds good.
But buildings need materials.
Dr. L provided a solution.
"According to low-orbit satellite data, there's a massive granite region north of here. To the west, marble deposits are also available."
Meaning—self-supply the materials.
"Assign the green aircraft, Lord Crackercerus, Elder Mad Demon, Warrior Gobang, and Lord Rajiks. One or two days should be enough to gather construction materials."
Building a new headquarters sounded like a hassle.
Wouldn't they complain?
"Not at all. I'll gladly slice granite."
"The warrior will gladly lend strength."
"With stealth infinite-turbo blink flight, it won't even take an hour."
"Hoeee!!!"
Everyone was enthusiastic.
"…Proceed?"
Well.
"Proceed."
Construction of the headquarters officially began.
The guild was founded.
Advertising was done.
Though the guild wasn't fully complete yet—business had to start.
First priority: opening the labor brokerage office.
Fulfilling the beastfolk's desire to work came first.
At first, not a soul came.
With a Gigant standing there, who would dare approach?
And rumors had spread about mercenary units being vaporized by destruction beams.
The Gigant billboard was a failure.
So it was dismantled.
Instead, they installed a large standing signboard.
Enhanced with visual magic to make it unmissable.
That did the trick.
Adventurers began gathering cautiously at the Rabong Guild outpost.
Their goal: recruit laborers into their parties.
You couldn't survive without entering the labyrinth.
The beastfolk's faces overflowed with anticipation.
They could finally work again.
Were they really that happy?
Still—couldn't let them go just like that.
The labor brokerage office—made by linking prefabs together.
Gyeon-dallae sat at the desk, handling operations.
Blood-summoned assisted her on both sides.
Adventurers came forward for consultations.
"Can laborer rental be arranged today?"
"Not rental—we broker party members."
"Whatever. How much to take one rat with us?"
Twitch.
Gyeon-dallae's brow crumpled violently.
"You little bastard!!!"
"…Huh?"
"Do you dare spew such filth in this place?!"
"W-what?"
"What did you say? Rat? You deserve to be beaten to death!"
An enraged Gyeon-dallae shouted at the assisting Dragonean.
"Lord Anturas!"
"Yes, Fairy."
"Throw that man out immediately. Make sure he never shows his face here again."
The Rsssal Dragonean Anturas grabbed the adventurer by the collar.
"L-let go! D-do you know who I am?!"
He tried to resist—
Slap! Slap!
Both cheeks, back and forth.
"Aaagh! Argh! Argh!"
But then Gyeon-dallae scolded Anturas instead.
"Lord Anturas! What are you doing? Are you out of your mind?"
"…What did I do wrong?"
"If you hit him inside, blood splatters everywhere. Take him outside."
"Ah! I see."
"But don't kill him. Remember the Young Master's emphasis on valuing human life."
"Yes, ma'am!"
In the end, the ill-mannered adventurer was dragged out by Anturas.
"Next!"
Gulp.
Another adventurer swallowed hard and sat down.
"…I—I need laborer party members."
"Welcome."
"R-rental—no, brokerage fee?"
"There is no fixed fee."
"Oh! Then it's free?"
"Don't be ridiculous! After the expedition, labyrinth resources must be distributed fairly."
The adventurer tilted his head.
"What? Laborers participating in distribution?"
Gyeon-dallae smiled sweetly.
"Then you may shut up and leave."
"…Excuse me?"
"You know how critical laborers are, and you refuse fair distribution?"
"Well, that is—"
"Lord Anturas!"
"Understood, Fairy."
Grab!
"W-wait! I admit I was wro—"
Slap slap slap slap!
"Aaagh! Ngh! Aaagh!"
Gyeon-dallae didn't even blink.
"Next!"
The adventurer whose turn it was hesitated, then tried to quietly slip outside.
"Are you trying to run away right now?"
"N-no, I just have something urgent—"
"Lord Anturas!"
"A-alright! I'll consult! I'll consult!"
Left with no choice, he sat down in front of Gyeon-dallae.
"Please speak."
"I want to recruit laborer party members. I promise fair distribution."
"Very well. I'll pair you up."
"Th-thank you."
"However, there is a condition."
"…What is it?"
"We will not send laborers alone. Each will be accompanied by a guard."
A guard?
"T-to the laborers?"
"Don't worry. The guards will not interfere with labyrinth exploration at all. They'll also be excluded from distribution."
"Ah!"
"They exist solely to protect the laborers."
"…And us?"
"Not my concern. Live or die—it's up to you. So you'd better give everything you've got to staying alive."
Gyeon-dallae stated it firmly.
"If any unsavory situation arises, the guards will extract only the laborers."
"Will you proceed with recruitment?"
"…We will."
Strict standards.
No exceptions.
The era when adventurers and guilds exploited laborers for pennies was over.
Fair treatment befitting their role and contribution.
If you didn't like it, forget about recruiting laborers.
You'd take guards along, too.
To us, laborers mattered more than you.
Because of that, many adventurers who came for consultations turned around and left.
So what?
If you don't want to, don't.
The thirsty ones dig the wells.
The party-brokering business that matched laborers with adventurers.
There were plenty of cases where troublemakers got beaten and kicked out—but still, many adventurers wanted laborers.
In fact, adventurers weren't the only ones lining up.
The beastfolk lined up too—hoping to be matched with a party.
Did they really like working that much?
Well, that's why they'd faithfully shown up even under unfair slave contracts.
Those damned guild bastards had exploited that trait mercilessly.
Beastfolk rejoiced when a party match was made.
"Hua!"
They joined adventurer parties with their assigned guards and headed into the labyrinth.
On the other hand, someone waited anxiously for their turn, afraid they might not get to work today.
That was also true of Enix, chairman of the Laborers' Union.
"Hoo-heeh…"
A deep, despairing sigh.
"Just relax and play around! Huh? If you can't go today, go tomorrow. What, are you a ghost who'll die if you don't work?"
"…But there's nothing more fun than working."
"What? And you're the one who formed a labor union? Why'd you even go into the sewers?"
"I worked there too."
"…Doing what?"
"Sewer cleaning."
"…Ah."
This is insane.
"That was even possible? You'd never finish cleaning."
"But I worked, didn't I?"
"..."
A laborer mindset carved into his bones.
"Give it up. You've already experienced being a dimensional laborer, haven't you?"
"Well… yeah."
That was true.
"Can't be helped. Then we'll take our own laborers and go explore the labyrinth."
"I'll gather intel and plan a schedule."
A labyrinth party usually had ten members or fewer.
Three or four blood-summoned, and the rest filled with beastfolk—no worries about employment that way.
Besides, the Rabong Guild was a labyrinth-related business anyway.
They needed to know what the labyrinth was like.
No burden at all.
It wasn't the Black Tower—no risk of collapse.
Decision made: labyrinth exploration.
Party composition?
Juhyeok, Kosak, Mackenzie, the human ice-spear veteran Manny, and the rookie blood-summoned courier Wang Chunbok—five people.
The others were busy guarding laborers or working on the guild headquarters construction.
Wang Chunbok, from the martial world, had been Rare (R) at first summon.
He'd grown to SSR, but among combat-type blood-summoned, he was still the weakest.
The labyrinth party limit was ten, so the remaining five slots were filled with laborers.
At last, five beastfolk—including Union Chairman Enix—joined Juhyeok's party.
The labyrinth entrance was inside Mezpol city.
There was an attendant, but anyone could enter freely.
Of course, they didn't take responsibility for what happened inside.
The deepest floor currently being explored was the 125th.
And it was extremely dangerous.
Not long ago, an adventurer party had barely escaped annihilation there.
Most adventurers harvesting resources operated between the 50th and 95th floors.
"Is the 125th really that hard? It's not like dragons appear."
"Of course it is! Adventurers don't even come close to Summoner Bong's toenails."
"Hey, that's a bit much."
"The 125th will be handled at Chunbok's level."
"Really?"
"If it gets dangerous, Old Man Mackenzie can step in."
"Indeed. This mage is here."
"Summoner Bong can just eat popcorn."
"That's right. If a summoner has to participate, the raid's basically failed."
Why does everyone keep excluding me?
I want to swing a hammer too.
I'm sick of popcorn.
"There's the entrance."
They'd done their research.
The labyrinth entrance was a magic circle.
"Welcome—oh?"
The attendant flinched in surprise.
"You've succeeded in renting laborers. Five of them, no less."
"…Renting? Five animals?"
Glare.
Kosak stared daggers at the attendant.
"Are laborers merchandise to be rented? And 'animals' is the name of a shut-in alchemist, not a counting word."
"…I see."
"You sound like a civil servant—watch your mouth. Or you'll get a ribbon tied around your neck."
"S-sorry."
Perception of laborers was still scraping the bottom.
"Anyway, can we enter?"
"Of course."
How to enter?
Simple.
Step onto the magic circle.
Because entry used a magic circle, the limit was ten people—any more and there wasn't enough mana.
"May I ask which floor you're heading to?"
"Why?"
"We need it for records, in case something happens…"
The attendant trailed off.
I knew why.
If a party was wiped out, someone had to collect the bodies.
Or at least the items.
"Judging by your party, you look like beginners. Somewhere around the 30th or 40th floor would be appropriate."
Hmph.
Bad first impression—and poor judgment.
Beginner?
I've cleared three Black Towers.
That's 300 floors total.
"Are you insulting us because you think we're weak?"
"Pardon?"
"Our party leader is a real man with the heart of a beast. He doesn't crawl around petty floors like 60."
"Th-then?"
"We're going to the 125th."
Now do you get it?
I am the beast of the Black Tower.
Bong Juhyeok.
"…With five laborers, the 125th is extremely dangerous."
"Don't worry. We'll be back before the booze gets cold."
Juhyeok stepped onto the magic circle with his party.
Ding.
"A new adventurer party has been registered. Please name your party."
"Bong Juhyeok."
"Commencing labyrinth entry for the Bong Juhyeok Party. Please state your desired floor."
"125th floor."
"Transporting the Bong Juhyeok Party to Labyrinth Floor 125."
Spot!
Left alone, the attendant finally let out a deep sigh.
"Haah… another cleanup job."
No.
This time, there wouldn't even be bodies.
Above the 100th floor, corpse recovery wasn't attempted—it was too dangerous.
And the 125th?
"They'll die the moment they enter."
The attendant was certain.
A party with five laborers—what could they possibly do?
Even filling all ten slots with mercenaries and adventurers was barely enough.
Time passed.
As the shift change approached—
Ding-ding!
A notification rang from the magic circle.
"Bong Juhyeok Party has defeated the Ruins Guardian of Labyrinth Floor 125."
"…What?"
"Entry to Labyrinth Floor 126 via magic circle is now available."
The attendant doubted his ears.
"Defeated the 125th floor guardian?"
Really?
"Then that means… the relic…"
The appearance of the 125th relic.
Mezpol—no, the entire Kalzenia continent—would be thrown into an uproar by this monumental event.
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