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Over the Infinite Chapter 27 Part 1

 

Volume 3 Episode 1 “Labyrinth City Guide”

 

-1-

 

「I cleared it. 」

 

That day, while eating alone in the guild’s cafeteria, a familiar little girl approached me. It was the witch girl, Lilika, who was supposed to be in the middle of challenging the trial. Her entrance pattern was exactly the same.

 

No, her expression was different. She had a triumphant look, even flashing a peace sign… So not at all the same, actually.

 

「…Hey. 」

 

It felt like quite a while since we’d last met, but we had seen each other several times since the rookie battle. Not much time had passed.

 

「Is it okay if I sit here? I have some things I want to ask about the future. 」

「Sure, go ahead. 」

 

I feel like we’re forcing the same exchange, but it must be my imagination.

It’s definitely not just a copy-paste. Absolutely not.

 

「By the way, I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m Tsuna Watanabe. 」

「Lilika. Lilika Edenfelde… but we’ve done introductions before. How many times are we going to do this? 」

 

Sorry about that.

They say what happens twice will happen three times. But no more from now.

 

「Sorry. Felt like I had to do it. Like… driven by some cosmic power. 」

「What kind of power are you talking about? 」

 

A kind of meta superpower. Even with my strong mental fortitude, I can’t resist it.

 

「Anyway, you’re talking about the trial, right? It seemed to take a while, but you’re still faster than many. 」

「Well, compared to you guys, I’m slow. Having experienced it, I realize how absurd doing it in one day is. 」

 

I myself think it’s unusual.

Mostly, it’s our rabbit’s fault.

 

「Did you make it to this month’s beginner’s lecture? 」

「Uh… no, I missed it. My debut is going to be next month. 」

 

She just missed the timing.

I remember seeing a huge number of people attending a recent beginner’s lecture. That means Lilika will be our junior by three months.

 

We haven’t progressed in conquering the Infinite Corridor this past month.

Since we haven’t received the D-class promotion exam yet, we can’t go beyond the 30th layer, which is the E-class limit. We’ve been dealing with a backlog of paperwork accumulated up to the rookie battle.

To advance to E+, the pre-stage to D-class, we need GP, which is usually earned over several months to a year. Normally, this time is used to conquer up to the 30th layer.

In our case, we quickly conquered up to the 30th layer and thus advanced to E-class, which is quite rare… thanks to the help of the old man and the others.

I heard Arsha took half a year to reach D-class, so we’re moving fast. Gobtarou even told us to calm down.

 

So, Yuki and I, without Sarges who’s already cleared it, are trying to properly conquer floors 11 to 30 with our own strength. But it’s not going too well.

We participated in a Time Attack contest in another dungeon, Yuki died midway, our weapons broke, and we’ve only reached up to the 25th floor.

Although not mandatory, we want to complete this before accruing the GP for D-class promotion.

 

It might be good to join forces with Philos and his team, who’ve also progressed up to the 25th layer without Gaul. If we fall behind, we might even consider including Lilika, who’s a solo player.

 

「Did you end up clearing it solo? 」

「Uh, yeah. I tried pairing up once, but it didn’t go well. 」

 

That’s impressive. Around the 15th floor, you even face non-brief-wearing regular Minotaurs, and they’re pretty tough.

Even now, they take a lot of time to defeat.

 

「So, you’re going to be idle for almost a month. Training is the only thing to do, right? 」

「My funds are getting low, so I’ve been looking into some temp jobs. Not sure about being a cashier, though. 」

 

The guild shouldn’t be recommending modern fantasy roles like cashiering to pure fantasy residents.

Come to think of it, I haven’t taken any part-time jobs either. It’s been training, lectures, and paperwork. Intensely stoic days, like a monk or a thoughtless businessman.

Surprisingly, I haven’t even completed the procedures for E-class promotion yet.

 

「I haven’t done any part-time work either. What other kinds of jobs were there? 」

「Let’s see, what I understood was moving, inventory, convenience store staff… Apparently, there aren’t jobs like transcription or scribing here. I mostly did scribe work outside, so it’s tough. 」

 

Well, in a city with printing technologies like in modern Japan, scribing isn’t really a thing. There are printers and copiers, after all.

 

「Lower-ranked adventurers seem to need part-time work, huh? 」

「Do you not need to, Tsuna-kun? 」

「Not exactly, but I do earn a decent amount, and the sale of our trial conquest videos helps a lot. Without those, I would probably be doing part-time work. 」

 

Adventurer income varies greatly, but for the lower ranks, the amount is modest.

Considering the cost of living, dungeon earnings alone would equate to an annual income of 2 to 3 million yen in modern Japan.

Since you have six days a week mostly free and can convert GP to cash (though not commonly done), it’s manageable without pushing too hard.

However, it’s better to have some sort of side income for expenses like weapons, armor, and items.

 

As you move to intermediate ranks and beyond, income varies even more within the same rank.

It’s like those job ads where they say, “Look how much this taxi driver earns!”

When I saw Arsha’s annual income, I was so shocked I almost got a nosebleed. It even made me consider proposing to her for a moment.

 

「Anyway, since Lilika is a magician, you might be better off than frontliners who have to spend a lot on equipment.

From what you showed me last time, you don’t use catalysts for your magic, right? 」

「That’s right. Outside, most magic requires catalysts for amplifying spell patterns, but here it seems unnecessary.

Not all of my magic is free of catalysts, but here, magic stones that permanently amplify magic are readily available… Outside, those are lifetime investments. 」

 

It’s astonishing that items used by magicians as lifelong essentials are so commonly available in the Labyrinth City.

 

「Magic stones, you mean the ones attached to the tips of wands? 」

「Exactly. They can amplify the released magical power or increase the conversion efficiency of specific phenomena effects.」

 

So that’s it. I’ve acquired and sold some in the dungeon, but they weren’t priced very high. Of course, the performance varies.

Selling them felt like trading in a bunch of manga at a secondhand bookstore – outside, they’d be a treasure trove.

 

「Hey Tsuna, yoohoo! Oh, who’s this? 」

「Lilika. She’s a rookie still challenging the trial. 」

 

Familiar faces, Yuki and Cloche, entered. Seeing just these two together is rare – an unusual combination.

 

「You guys here for a meal? 」

「No, we already had pasta outside. We don’t have any schedule today, so we’re discussing what to do next. 」

「Uh, Lilika, was it? How’s your trial going? Oh, I’m Cloche, nice to meet you. 」

「I cleared it yesterday. 」

「Ah, congratulations on clearing it! 」

 

The four of us around the table made for a lively scene.

Though it looks like it’s all girls, in reality, it’s 50% male.

 

「You were already a magician before the trial, weren’t you? 」

「Yes. I was working as one outside. 」

「Lilika may still be pre-debut, but as an adventurer, she’s years our senior. You should respect her. 」

「Wow, so impressive for someone so small. 」

「Being small has nothing to do with it. 」

 

She seems to care about that.

 

「We were just talking about what to do until her debut since she’s short on income.

Kuro, you’re a local, right? Do you know any jobs for outsiders? 」

「If you’re a magician, you can sell magic power at the Magic Guild. It’s not much, but it helps. 」

「Magic Guild? That’s separate from here? 」

 

I wonder why they don’t unify it with this guild. Must be some reason, maybe for creating job positions.

 

「Yes. The headquarters is in this district. Not too far.

You know where Shimomura Fashion Center is, right? It’s across from there. 」

 

A magic guild across from Shimomura is a strange juxtaposition, but now I get it.

 

「If you’re not using your magic for training, selling it might be an option. 」

「How much can you get for it? 」

「I’m not exactly sure, but I heard it’s about enough for one or two meals for a lower-ranked adventurer. 」

「Sounds modest. 」

 

Still, better than nothing. MP naturally regenerates, after all.

Maybe I should sell some too.

 

「Can you store magic? 」

「Apparently, there are ‘Magic Crystals’ that store magic. Magicians bring them to dungeons for replenishment.

The high-quality ones are expensive, but they also power things like trains and cars here. Some household appliances use them too. 」

 

Eco-friendly, I guess. There’s power generation, but maybe they don’t need fossil fuels.

 

「Yuki-chan and Tsuna-kun, you both don’t seem to know much about this city yet. 」

「It’s been a tumultuous couple of months. 」

 

I feel like I’ve been buried in paperwork for half of it.

 

「Have you actually explored the city yet? 」

「Not really. I feel like I’ve just been going around the same places. Yuki too, right? 」

「I’ve explored a bit. I don’t think it’s much different from Tsuna. I’ve become quite familiar with the 100-yen stores. 」

「We should probably take a proper look around the city, especially with the moving discussion. 」

 

I wouldn’t want to end up in an inconvenient place.

 

「How about I give you a tour? I’m free today.

Lilika, do you have permission to leave the dungeon area? 」

「Yes, I got briefed. The city is much larger than I thought. 」

 

Showing Lilika the middle parts of the city might shock her.

But I don’t remember getting a proper explanation – have I been forgotten?

 

「I’d like that. I hardly know anything about the guild hall. 」

「Okay, okay. Let’s start here, the Guild Hall cafeteria.

It’s a cafeteria for dorm residents in the morning and night but turns into a café during the day.

Dorm residents get free breakfast once they debut as adventurers. The menu and times are fixed. 」

「Tsuna always eats here, right? 」

「Of course. 」

 

Free breakfast is too good to pass up.

I often end up buying extra food, but it’s still a great deal.

Non-residents can also get a discount and pay for breakfast if they’re guild members.

Compared to when I was in the royal capital, it’s average after experiencing various meals in the Labyrinth City. Not bad, at least.