Chapter 11: Party Invitation
After the introductions and greetings, Nuri sat down by the fire and told them everything he had been through — finding his friend’s corpse, being chased by three mantises, killing one of them, and so on. It wasn’t much, but it was eventful, to say the least.
The three listened attentively with a wide range of expressions, except for Murray, whose scowl never wavered.
"Hah! Baby Mantis being your first monster encounter? Now that’s bad luck."
’Not as bad as Leonard.’
Diana shot the long-haired man a look that could have cut stone, then turned to Nuri.
"I’m sorry about your friend."
Nuri waved it off.
"It’s fine. It’s the Labyrinth."
She clasped her hands reverently and prayed.
"May the Pantheon light his way home."
’The Pantheon...’
Nuri held in his scoff.
Indeed, everything happened because of the Labyrinth. The Labyrinth was blamed for everything wicked in this world, sad as that might sound. Death was a common occurrence everyone accepted as fate, believing they would return to the gods’ embrace — which was bullshit.
It was the gods of the Pantheon who made this world a shithole in the first place. Anyone who thought these gods of the Pantheon were benevolent and all-knowing was as stupid as a rock, blinded by their own folly and fanaticism.
Nuri just couldn’t understand how people could willingly follow these imitators of the divine when all they did was exploit people for LCs. Unfortunately, the Pantheon had become the dominant religion, and the people’s only means of livelihood.
It had long since devolved into a twisted transaction between mortals and gods. Mortals felt obligated, morally even, to pay the tithe because it was divine will, and god willing, the world was shaped into the mess it was today.
Yet, while Nuri could ridicule both the gods and their flock, he could not truly blame the puny mortals, brainwashed by this false divinity. Had it not been for Rosaria, he too might have been swept away by the fanatical wave.
He finally laid his sword on the ground and studied the three.
"So why are all of you inside the Labyrinth?"
Diana scooted closer to the bonfire.
"Oh, just your usual family outing. We try to go in the Labyrinth six times per year to cover some other expenses."
Nuri nodded understandingly.
The conversation continued naturally, each of them sharing something about themselves, whether it was life outside or experiences within the Labyrinth.
Murray and Diana owned a bakery in District Pi, one of Vivaria’s 24 Districts. Hugo worked for a mercenary company he claimed was the most sought-after in the Lower Districts.
Black Cannon, he said. Nuri had never heard of it.
Given their very different professions, he was naturally curious about why they were here together, which prompted Diana to answer:
"Business has been bad ever since the tithe went up seven years ago. For common folks like us, 350,000 to 500,000 was simply unimaginable. We work at the bottom of the Middle Districts, so there isn’t much wealth coming our way either, which is where Hugo came in."
Nuri turned to Hugo, looking all smug.
"Wouldn’t that increase your tithe to a million?"
Diana gave a dry smile.
"For a small bakery, a million per month total is impossible. We make around 1.2 million on a good month. On bad months, we had to borrow from my brother just to pay our bills."
"And the Labyrinth helps?"
She nodded.
"It was hard the first few months, but once we got the hang of it, we made enough to close our bakery on weekends. Hugo helps us whenever he is free from his duties."
Nuri bobbed his head, intrigued.
"I see. Do you all usually roam on the 1st Floor?"
"Yes, and 2nd," Murray chimed in. "Most Explorer families and casual parties hunt here for easy money. 1-Star Essences sell for around 100,000 LCs. 1-Star equipment goes from 50,000. Better if you get Affixes."
’Huh, he talks quite a lot, doesn’t he?’
He listened with interest. Nuri had assumed that bulky people with mean faces wouldn’t waste many words.
"Which 1-Star Essence would catch the best price?"
"The Academy ain’t teach you youngsters that?" Hugo, the drunkard, asked, and shook his head.
"No. They only taught us how to survive and fight — anything that would help us soar in the Labyrinth. We were explicitly told not to care about prices and such."
Murray chuckled and nodded.
"Makes sense. The only people who actually care about what 1-Star Essences fetch are common mercs and the day-by-day."
"Whose son are you?" Hugo blurted.
Diana shot him a glare, but it wasn’t enough to deter him.
"Must be a big shot to attend the Academy."
She was about to shut his mouth, but Nuri stepped in.
"It’s fine. If you’ve never heard of my name, that’s all you need to know. Besides, what if you’re Marauders? I can’t burden my family any more than my reputation already has."
Murray suddenly burst out laughing. Hugo followed, then Diana, who chuckled elegantly.
"I like this kid," Murray said, patting Nuri’s back firmly in approval.
He paused for a moment, then said:
"How about you join our family? We’ll teach you everything you need to know — the nitty-gritty the Academy didn’t teach you."
’That quick!?’
Nuri turned the gears in his mind.
Being invited into a party by complete strangers was too suspicious to ignore. The fact that they had only talked for about thirty minutes made Nuri wary. What if they had ill intentions? Even if they were good samaritans, the very idea of teaming up with strangers repelled him.
As he pondered, Hugo swung his hip flask through empty air.
"You’re taking on a kid? Look, man, we got enough people to take care of, and we need to move fast. This kid’s gonna slow us down!"
"He’s capable enough," Murray retorted. "You heard him taking on three Baby Mantises at once — even killing one of them. What’s there to doubt?"
"That’s impressive and all, but—"
"You two!" Diana scolded, her eyebrows furrowed. "Why don’t we ask his opinion first? Very disrespectful, the both of you."
Murray scratched his neck while Hugo averted his gaze. Diana seemed to be the leader of the party, stepping in to mediate whenever problems arose.
"Well, Nuri, what do you think? We can discuss terms first."
Nuri weighed his words. They seemed genuine enough for him to put trust in, and his omniscient gut still hadn’t spoken up. However, as per the unwritten rules, one simply had to ignore unprompted advances.
"I—"
A scraping sound cut him off, echoing in from the passage at his back.
Hugo’s flask froze halfway to his mouth. Diana was already on her feet, hand grabbing her staff. Murray’s sword was already out of its scabbard.
Then, the sound warped into sharp, rhythmic clicks, distinct from the grazing that followed. Dozens of small impacts arrived almost at once.
Murray’s face darkened.
"Cave Centipedes. Not sure which archetype."
Hugo rose, offering a slow, lazy stretch that showed he wasn’t bothered in the least.
"Time to show your moves, kid."
