Grasping the weapon I grabbed from the dead monster, I swung it once to check whether it could withstand my strength or not. Sadly, the next moment, it became brittle and prone to breaking at a moment’s notice.

Naturally, I discarded it as it would relatively harm me if I brought it along with me and used it as a weapon. Since it might break at any moment, it will just lead me vulnerable to more attacks, resulting in the rapid decrease of my HP.

Looking for anything else that may serve of use from the corpse of the monster, I noticed a chest at the middle of the room. It had a silver color coating its whole body, with golden colored ornaments decorating its edges.

I went close to take a look whether this chest may contain something that might be helpful in prolonging my vacation. Because it had no lock, I swiftly opened it, revealing an object that is very familiar to me.

Isn’t this… the thing I used to reap souls…?

It had a thin, curved blade at one end of the crooked pole. Thinkin that this may be a weapon that can be used, I grabbed it and used both my hands to swing it around.

This is…

After a couple of swings, the weapon had no signs of deterioration or damage. I held it close to me and the blade reflected my appearance within this bright room, albeight a little bit dark.

I can use this…

Two red dots glowed from the sockets of my empty eyes, expressing my inner delight of finally finding a weapon that I could use for my vacation.

Finally, I also noticed that there was something more inside. It was cloth that could cover the whole body with a cover for the head. (A/N For those who are confused, this is a hooded robe.)

It was dyed black, as if it was like a gate connecting to the abyss. I also remebered wearing something during my work, and apparently, this had the same appearance, albeit smaller and weaker.

I had trouble trying to find out how to wear it, but after a minute of struggling, I was able to wear it without any problems. It was a perfect fit with my body length.

Now then…

Since my business had finished in this room, I went towards a connecting passage opposite to where I entered earlier.

<><><><><><><><>

~ Third Person POV ~

“Hah, hah, hah, hah…”

In the dark passages of the labyrinth, three silhouettes could be seen running while panting.

“We need, to warn the guild… About that monster…”

Albeight almost out of breath, a man, presumably the leader of the trio, spoke out.

“What the heck, is that thing anyway!? Didn’t it take, out the Minatour, singlehandedly!?”

“Idiot, keep quiet… You might attract, the surrounding monsters…”

The other two, a woman and another man, also spoke out in turn. The woman who had red, fiery hair and looked like she was in her late teens cried out, while the man with cloth covering his whole body, except for his eyes silenced her with a whisper.

The three of them were running desperately in order to quickly escape from the floor where they found a pitch black skeleton fighting with the Minatour that was considered this floor’s guardian.

Along the way, they laid waste to monsters that had an appearance of an oversized cat with razor sharp claws and fangs with movements that would make you think whether they were out of breath or not.

“I can see, the stairs…”

“Then, let’s get… The hell outta here!”

“I keep telling you… To be quiet…”

The trio hurriedly ascended the flight of stairs and took a rest before challenging the floor guardian of the 6th floor, and quickly resumed to running, but this time, with less haste to conserve their stamina.

<><>

“Hmm… Is that all?”

Sheathing his sword in the vicinty of corpses, he made a slightly dejected face.

“T-Thank you, traveller! If it weren’t for you, we would’ve been killed right here.”

In front of the man who was travelling towards Rockhound, a man in his prime bowed his head and gave thanks. Behind him was a carriage filled with people on their way to Rockhound.

“Don’t worry about it. Now then, how will you compensate me for this?”

With a smile that sent shivers down the bowing man’s spine, the passengers of the carriage made a frightened face.

“T-That is… At the moment, I have little money in hand that I may pay you for saving us. But once we reach Rockhound, I will gladly pay for securing our safety.”

“Hahaha!! Is that so?”

Towards the man who made a hearty laugh who saved them, the coachman and the passengers made befuddled expressions.

“Then, I would like to receive my payment now.”

With a sentence that could feel like a death sentence to the coachman, the man smiled.

“But what I want is food, shelter, and water, until I reach Rockhound. Also, while I am at it, why don’t I serve as a guard for your coach?”

“!? Are you okay with that traveller?”

“Sure. I’m fine with that. It’s my own conditions after all.”

The man made a smile while letting his hand rest at the hande of the sheathed sword.

“Then!”

Finally accepting the terms, the coachman quickly went to the passengers’ side and explained the situation. After that was the burying of the dead guards and taking their ID’s to confirm their deaths.

The guards that remained became crestfallen at the loss of their comrades, but because they already went through hardships, they were able to cope with the depression.

Darkness rose and the coach camped for the night. Taking this as a chance, the man made a move towards the coachman.

“Excuse me.”

“Oh, traveller? What brings you here at this time? By the way, my name is Grag.”

“Oh, my name is Quince. But…”

Entering the tent where the coachman would sleep, the man raised a question.

“Are those guards hired adventurers?”

“Hm? Yes they are. I hired them at the Capital for escort duties. Why do you ask such?”

“Oh nothing, just curious, that’s all.”

With a smile that disturbed the peace of mind of Grag, Quince left the tent and pondered.

‘But those adventurers don’t seem like adventurers at all. The way they walk, or march, gives of the feeling of a knight.’

“Fufu… I wonder…”

The wind blew on the night sky made the leaves on the trees fal and flutter onwards to the horizon, leaving the eerily smiling Quince behind.

<><><><><><><><>

~ First Person POV ~

After exiting the room where I got my weapon and clothes, I walked for about five minutes before encountering a monster in the dark. It had a shape of an oversized cat with sharp fangs and claws. Seeing as this was a chance to test my new weapon, I eagerly dashed towards it with speed that made the cat jump in surprise.

Too late…

With one slash, the cat was bisected into two equal parts, spilling out blood and innards on the ground. My weapon’s blade also caught blood from the cat where it cut through. The next moment, the blood was absorbed, and the blade was back to its shiny luster, but impossible to see in this darkness.

Hmm…? Could this be…?

I made a guess and let the blade come in contact with the blood and surprisingly, it was also absorbed. I made the weapon suck up all the blood on the ground and inside the cat, but nothing happened.

Maybe… If it keeps on absorbing blood…

While pondering on this topic, I walked on ahead of this dark passage.