Six months ago, for reasons unknown, I was suddenly dropped into a fantasy world.
Since I arrived with my own body, it's more accurate to say I was transported to this world rather than possessing a character from a novel.
I was thrown into this brutal and cruel world with nothing.
My black hair and East Asian features certainly played a part, making the initial period incredibly difficult in many ways.
Naturally, I had no money, couldn't read, and possessed no survival skills or combat techniques to navigate the Labyrinth.
Fortunately, perhaps due to some 'transmigrator's privilege,' I could understand the language, but that was it. If I couldn't even communicate, I probably would have died...
Anyway, treated as a penniless foreigner from the East, I cleaned sewers, did manual labor, and desperately clung to life. As a result, I can now confidently call myself a proper adventurer.
I diligently entered the Labyrinth to gain strength.
Although I could only explore the upper floors, after several months of working as a porter, I managed to save a decent amount of money and acquire some equipment.
More importantly, after undergoing Mana Adaptation several times while delving into the Labyrinth, I even gained a few special 'Inung'.
You could say it was worth risking my life in the Labyrinth.
For reference, Mana Adaptation is, simply put, like leveling up.
I don't have a status window, so I can't be sure, but when you enter the Labyrinth, kill monsters, and gain experience, you undergo 'Mana Adaptation'.
Experiencing Mana Adaptation makes your body sturdier and stronger, and occasionally, you gain a 'special power'.
This 'special power' is called 'Inung' in the Labyrinth City, and I understood it as a skill.
So, by entering the Labyrinth, killing monsters, and accumulating experience, your level rises, and you acquire random skills.
Over the past six months, I've been in and out of the Labyrinth, undergoing Mana Adaptation roughly five times and acquiring two Inung:
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[Aether Pocket]
[Map Creation]
Respectively, these were an inventory that allowed me to store items and a mapping ability that prevented me from getting lost.
Thanks to the inventory, I no longer needed to carry heavy loads, and I didn't have to abandon hunted monsters due to weight limits.
As a result, my income became far greater than before.
Because I could bring out all the monsters I hunted in the Labyrinth intact, selling every part without waste.
There was no need to waste time on material collection in the Labyrinth, nor did I lose potential earnings by improperly collecting materials.
I just hunted, put them in my inventory, brought them out, and handed them over to the Guild. They'd take what they needed, calculate the value, and give me the money.
Anyone could tell how convenient, simple, and groundbreaking this method was just by hearing about it.
The Aether Pocket was nothing short of a revolution in the transportation industry.
That's why people with Aether Pockets, even if they're just porters, command a very high price.
Because it drastically reduces transportation costs.
Moreover, perhaps because it's a spatial ability, I heard there were only a few people with it in the Labyrinth City, despite the abundance of other Inung.
I think I heard there were only about three people, including myself, who possessed an Aether Pocket.
In any case, it was an amazing ability, and so rare that merchants repeatedly tried to sign exclusive contracts with me.
Of course, I refused them all.
I wanted to steadily earn money and live a comfortable life in the Labyrinth City.
If I signed with merchants, I'd have to live the life of an itinerant peddler from then on.
I didn't want to wander around my whole life. I just wanted to settle down here.
Above all, I also had a strong desire to enter the Labyrinth and become even stronger.
Once you become strong in the Labyrinth City, even nobles won't dare to mess with you, so I needed to get stronger.
Anyway, the Aether Pocket alone was incredible, but thanks to Map Creation, I didn't have to worry about getting lost in the Labyrinth, which also sped up my hunting.
You could practically call me an SS-rank porter, couldn't you?
Apparently, there are almost no people who have undergone Mana Adaptation this frequently in such a short period.
I suspect it's because I came from another world, making my constitution more prone to growth than others.
It's like I'm receiving a kind of growth buff.
If I hadn't been given even this small cheat, there would have been no hope in my life.
Anyway, back to the main point.
"Ah. I want a slave."
Here in the Labyrinth City, slavery is legal.
And most slaves in this city are either criminals or people who sold themselves because they couldn't repay their debts on time.
Slaves, once they become property, cannot betray their master or disobey their master's commands.
A woman who won't betray me and will only look at me for her entire life. That's the best.
More than anything, because the Labyrinth City has so many adventurers, 'all sorts of incidents' happen frequently.
For instance, a wife might have an affair with the muscular young adventurer next door while her husband is in the Labyrinth.
Or, while her husband is at the Guild selling monster materials, she might be fooling around with the fresh-faced young adventurer from the house behind.
"Damn it. Just imagining it makes me want to puke."
Especially in the Labyrinth City, with its high divorce rate and abundance of 'golden suns' [handsome, promiscuous men], if you want to leave your wife at home and go out with peace of mind, it's definitely better if your wife is a slave.
That's the view on marriage I quickly realized after surviving in this rotten town for just six months.
I've seen too much filth.
To avoid being cuckolded [lit. 'pong-ponged'], a wife absolutely needs to be a slave.
Even if I don't take her as a wife right away, having a female slave is good.
A woman I can exploit for free.
Her mere existence would raise my quality of life.
Honestly, instead of just spending money at a brothel, I genuinely want to buy my own exclusive slave.
Forget all those grand reasons; I just want my own personal sex partner.
"Let's work. Let's earn money. Let's buy a slave."
Muttering a work song to myself, I headed towards the Adventurer's Guild.
Come to think of it, that virgin earlier was quite something.
Her breasts were quite large, and her pelvis was 'childbearing hips'.
Above all, her slightly tearful expression was exquisite.
I heard she was a former adventurer who'd lost all her money gambling.
Besides cases like hers, there are also those who are sold into slavery because they can't afford the Resurrection fees.
Those who die in the Labyrinth can be revived at the Central Cathedral in the Labyrinth City.
However, the cost of Resurrection isn't cheap.
What's more, the price increases with each Resurrection. It's a system where your debt grows the more you die.
Those who are revived but have no way to repay the money become voluntary slaves.
Most are dragged off to brothels or mines to repay their debts until they die, and occasionally, nobles pay off their debts and buy them.
Or they become adventurers owned by the Cathedral, working until all their debts are paid.
By the way, with that kind of looks and being a virgin, she'd sell quickly.
As the slave merchant said, she might be gone by the next time I visit.
Well, it's not like I know her name or anything.
Even if she's gone, it's just a slight pity, that's all.
For now, I've learned that to buy a 'brand new' slave, one that no one has 'used' yet, I need at least 30 gold coins. So, I'll keep working hard to earn money.
"You're late today, Sion."
"Ah, yes. I had something to see."
As I entered the Adventurer's Guild, Edwin, the Guild receptionist, greeted me with a smile.
Her smile truly reached her eyes.
Her breasts were also large, and her voice was pleasant.
Especially when her green hair swayed, a pleasant scent wafted from it.
There were no rumors about her circulating either.
She had a good personality; a truly decent woman.
The only problem was that she was married.
Didn't she say she had three children?
Pretty and virtuous, with a good job.
There's no way a woman like that would be left alone.
I'd seen too many men die for messing with married women, so I wouldn't dare touch her.
By the way, Sion was the alias I used in this city.
My real name felt too out of place, so I just blurted out Sion, the first name that came to mind.
"I'm planning to enter the Labyrinth right now; is there a suitable party available?"
Given the time, I didn't really expect much.
It was likely a wasted trip, as most adventurers would have already entered the Labyrinth by now.
Even with my Aether Pocket, going in alone was scary, so if there was no party to join, I planned to just go home and rest.
I had 12 gold coins on hand, so taking a day off wouldn't significantly impact my life.
It would just delay my slave purchase by another day.
"Well, there is one party…"
But to my surprise.
There was still a party that hadn't entered the Labyrinth.
That was good news for me.
But for some reason, Edwin's expression wasn't very good.
It seemed like a problematic party.
I subtly asked what the problem was.
"It seems there's some problem with the party."
"Well, you see. They're a bit… what should I call them… troublemakers?"
"Troublemakers?"
"Yes. Uh. Hmm. Sion. Closer…"
Edwin asked me to lend her an ear, as if she was about to share a secret.
As I leaned in close enough to hear her breathing, she whispered softly.
Edwin's voice was nice, too.
Her whispering in my ear was like ASMR.
If only I could record it, that would be even better.
"Actually, it's a party with a noble's child in it."
"A noble?"
"Yes. A noble."
Huh. Nobles are a bit troublesome.
There are so many shady characters among them that getting involved can be tiresome in many ways.
"Yes. She's the daughter of Marquis Lionel. It seems she's always admired adventurers."
"So, she's here to 'experience' it, beyond just admiring it? Is that the gist?"
"Yes, exactly. But since she's a noble's child, it would be problematic if anything happened to her after just sending her into the Labyrinth."
It would be problematic, indeed. Even if she could be resurrected, there's a superstition that if a soul dies even once, it won't be whole and will be corrupted.
Literally, a pure virgin soul would instantly become a defiled, 'slutty' soul.
Of course, people living in the Labyrinth City don't think much of Resurrection, but nobles from outside the city might be different.
Moreover, the cost charged for Resurrection is enormous.
For that reason, if Marquis Lionel were to hear that his daughter had died absurdly in the upper levels of the Labyrinth, he might even hold the Guild responsible.
If a noble from outside the city started raising hell, asking if a novice adventurer could really die so easily, it would become troublesome in many ways.
And she wasn't just the third son of some unknown Viscount's family.
Nor was she the illegitimate child of a Baron with a small fiefdom on the outskirts.
She was the daughter of none other than Marquis Lionel.
The Lionel family. If I know their name, they must be a pretty significant house.
She wasn't a noble from within the Labyrinth City, but from outside it.
For me, who barely knows the nobles within the city, to know their name, they must be a truly powerful family.
So that's why they're reacting this way.
A novice adventurer, and it would be problematic if she died.
With a noble family backing her, no one was eager to approach.
But just sending her into the Labyrinth felt like an accident waiting to happen.
Troublesome people had arrived.
"Since they're novice adventurers, they need a guide, but no one wanted to do it, I suppose."
"Exactly. I like how well I can talk with you, Sion."
Being told that made me blush.
I like you very much too.
If only you weren't married, I would have just...
"Ahem. So, you're not actually asking me to be their guide, are you?"
"Well, you see. If they're only exploring the upper floors, I thought you, Sion, would be a good fit. They might not be familiar with the Labyrinth, but they claim to be quite skilled."
"Hmm."
To be honest, it was a bit awkward.
If anything were to go wrong with the Marquis's daughter, I, as the guide, would have to take responsibility.
But it was also true that it was worth a try.
"Let's give it a shot, then."
I was intimately familiar with the upper floors, having been in and out of them non-stop for the past six months.
You could say I had a rough idea of where everything was.
"If I take on the role of guide, there will be compensation, right?"
"Yes, of course. A small reward is prepared. And your Reputation will also increase. After all, it will be recorded that you guided the Marquis's daughter. Quite significant, isn't it?"
"Alright. I'll do it."
Reputation was important.
In a world where blood ties, regional connections, and academic networks are paramount, a foreign laborer like me, with no backing whatsoever, needed Reputation to survive.
Furthermore, a higher Reputation meant a higher Adventurer Rank, and that naturally increased my influence. So, it was always best to raise my Reputation whenever possible.
"They're gathered at that table over there, so you can go to them."
"Thank you."
I gave Edwin a slight bow and headed towards the table where the four novice adventurers I was to guide were gathered, chatting away.
But something felt off.
What? They're all women?
First, there was the blonde-haired brat who seemed to be the Marquis's daughter.
Her impudent expression gave off the impression of being a total write-off.
She certainly wasn't ugly.
No, despite being pretty, she looked like someone who wouldn't listen to a word you said.
Next to the brat sat a purple-haired witch in loose-fitting clothes and a silver-haired woman in armor, who were probably the bodyguards for this Labyrinth expedition.
And at the end, the priestess with slanted eyes… was a pink-haired one?
Oh, boy. Now I understand why everyone avoided being their guide.
The Labyrinth was quite savage.
It was even harsher for those who weren't properly prepared.
Right now, they looked like they were on a picnic.
Watching the four women laughing and chatting, I felt a distinct unease.
If they acted so carelessly in the Labyrinth, something bad was bound to happen.
Still, since I was assigned to them for the day, I might as well greet them.
"Hello. I'm Sion, your guide for today."
"Ah, you're here, porter."
"Excuse me?"
"Oh, nothing. It's just that they said we couldn't enter the Labyrinth without a porter, even after waiting all day."
"I, uh, came as a guide, not a porter…"
"That's what a porter is, isn't it? Anyway, with our skills, the Labyrinth is nothing. Right?"
"That's right, Young Lady. The Labyrinth is just a big hole, isn't it?"
"I… I don't think it's a big deal either…"
"Oh my. A big hole, you say? Hehehe."
"…"
The Marquis's daughter, treating me like a porter the moment she saw me.
The idiotic knightess who thought the Labyrinth was nothing.
The witch who felt like an 'extroverted loner'.
And even the pink-haired priestess reacting to the 'hole'.
It truly reeked of a 'write-off party'...
No, wait. What does it matter?
"Yes, yes. I am indeed a porter. Shall we head into the Labyrinth right away, then?"
As long as I could earn money, that was all that mattered.
In fact, if I made a good impression on that woman, who knew, she might even slip me a gold coin as a tip.
Pride doesn't put food on the table.
Besides, a porter with only six months of experience had no pride to uphold.
Money is king. These people are my customers.
What was important was money and Reputation.
Everything else was merely a means to an end.
I led the four women into the Labyrinth.
I'd give them a proper 'Labyrinth bus ride' and rake in some tips.