Conquering the Labyrinth with a Trash-Tier Trait - Chapter 34

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 34
“The Deep Sea Tuner. He just took that bomb with him?”
“Yes.”
“……And he said nothing else?”
“Well, he did say something, but it was…….”
“What?”
“……That the necklace was pretty, and he purchased another beautiful necklace to go with it.”
“…….”
Ha Il-ron was left speechless for a long moment, utterly baffled.
“What else?”
“He won the bid on Battle Scarab’s Leather Armor.”
“What is that?”
“A Rare Grade leather armor that appraisers said had ambiguous options. It was the item you told us to test and figure out the hidden mechanics of.”
“……What? He’s only just buying that now?”
“Yes.”
“So it seems clear he has no eye for items…….”
Ha Il-ron furrowed his brow again and shook his head as he exhaled, continuing his thought.
“I don’t understand. All right, items can be found by luck. But consistently bringing back high-quality miscellaneous gear doesn’t add up that way. There has to be a way to confirm…….”
“He apparently works at a slaughterhouse sometimes.”
“……A slaughterhouse?”
“Yes. He’s only been working at the District 9 Slaughterhouse for a few months, but apparently he outworks even the owner there. They say he extracts the finest meat even from sickly livestock. It’s suspected he must possess a Rare Grade or higher Butchering Skill.”
“Rare? A Novice? Does that even make sense?”
“……There’s no other way to explain it, apparently.”
“……I see. So he’s simply skilled at butchering—he has some special Butchering Skill?”
“Isn’t that the most credible theory we have at the moment?”
“It is, but then this… above… ah, never mind…….”
Ha Il-ron deliberated briefly before reaching a decision.
“Hmm. For now, keep watching him carefully anyway. See what he buys at the auction. He’s still a Novice, so we can judge after he obtains his First Job.”
“Understood.”
Neither of them knew that the conclusion they’d just reached was remarkably similar to one drawn by someone in the Royal Palace.
* * *
[……decide after.”]
‘Hmm. Did that work out?’
Based on Ha Il-ron’s words alone, it seemed he’d given up for now.
Of course, there was no telling what might happen after I obtained my class, but for now at least I’d bought myself time.
‘Still, to do this properly, I’d need to show off my butchering……. Hmm. Should I make it obvious?’
To be honest, my Butchering Skill is abnormal. Even accounting for the benefit of my trait, I’ve already reached Rare Grade on the 4th Floor Alpine Region.
Of course, there’s been no progress since then, but in retrospect, that was only natural.
It wasn’t the kind of skill you could grind your way through in the Novice stage.
‘If I hadn’t skinned that saber-toothed tiger on the 4th Floor, I wouldn’t have even reached Rare.’
But in reality, there was still a possibility.
‘There should be a Rare Grade slaughterhouse in District 6.’
Of course, whether a Rare Grade slaughterhouse would hire a Novice was another question, but I could prove my worth through skill.
‘Even if my wages get cut, if I think of it as grinding my skill……. Ah, but this could be a waste of time. In that time, I could work the Labyrinth or train instead…….’
My head grew complicated again, but I pushed the scattered thoughts aside.
It was already late; I needed sleep for tomorrow.
“All right. Time to sleep!”
I lay down, but I could only toss and turn for a long while.
My eyes wouldn’t close.
I’d taken off the earring, so why……?
“……Ah, this.”
Only then did the Deep Sea Tuner still hanging around my neck come to mind.
The refreshing sensation felt so good that unconsciously I hadn’t thought to take it off.
‘Is this what “Sleeplessness Membrane” means? Ha.’
Only after finally understanding the option’s true meaning was I able to safely remove it and get to sleep.
The next day.
“Let’s head to the Auction House now.”
“Yes.”
After clearing my mind with training until afternoon, I set out for the Auction House with Jeor-rik.
“All I need is that spear, right?”
“Yes.”
To obtain the final puzzle piece needed to clear the 10th Floor perfectly.
As I stepped back into the Auction House, I came face to face with an unwelcome sight.
“Huh? You’re Scrap…?”
Cha Hye-ryeon tilted her head, pointing at me.
She wore a black and crimson dress with bare shoulders, and a vividly drawn red rose tattoo between her collarbones caught the eye.
More precisely, it was the thorn-vine tattoos that twisted subtly in all directions around that rose that drew attention.
‘As expected. Special Class. Well, of course.’
The moment I clicked my tongue inwardly, the handsome man beside her—Lee Jin-sung—tilted his head.
“Scrap?”
“Oh. That. It’s a name. It stuck with me because it’s unusual.”
“Who?”
“There is. A Summoner. You don’t need to know.”
Cha Hye-ryeon’s attitude toward him seemed peculiar.
‘I thought they were lovers.’
The way that arrogant woman treated him—cautious, guarded.
“Ah, a Summoner. But is your name really Scrap?”
“Scrap Woo. Lee Jin-sung.”
The man wore the Lion King’s Battle Armor—the Super Rare armor with the game-changing option I’d seen yesterday—and my first greeting to him went better than expected.
“Ah, so you do know me. Sorry, but I don’t remember very well…”
“That’s understandable. I was driven out of the Royal Palace soon after I was summoned.”
“…Ah. That must have been difficult.”
Hmm?
He responded with courtesy—nothing like what you’d expect from someone paired with Cha Hye-ryeon.
No tattoos visible on the surface.
‘There’s no way he’s not Special Class.’
After all, he’d been evaluated as equal to Cha Hye-ryeon.
“But why are you coming up here, Scrap? This is the Designated Seating section.”
“Geez. Hye-ryeon. Even after I told you my name, you call me that?”
“That’s not your concern.”
When Cha Hye-ryeon narrowed her eyes, Lee Jin-sung laughed lightly.
“Fair point.”
His words retreated, but he didn’t seem to be reading her mood at all.
“Anyway, not just anyone comes up here.”
“Doesn’t seem like just anyone.”
Lee Jin-sung’s gaze swept across my body.
“That armor you’re wearing—you won it at auction yesterday? The one with the Oppressive Aura?”
“…Yes.”
He’d recognized the Battle Scarab’s Leather Armor at a glance?
On the surface, it looked no different from ordinary leather armor.
“I was thinking about buying it myself. Good choice.”
“That? No, that guy? A Rare Grade? What the…?”
“Hye-ryeon!”
“What?”
Cha Hye-ryeon didn’t back down this time, staring at Lee Jin-sung.
“You can’t say that in front of someone. It’s rude.”
“That’s not wrong either. When did you start minding manners?”
“When it’s necessary.”
“…Annoying bastard.”
Cha Hye-ryeon let out a scoff.
Yet Lee Jin-sung was still smiling despite her words.
“My apologies. He’s just naturally direct.”
“Who’s ‘he’?”
“Then Cha Hye-ryeon?”
“Ha…”
Hmm.
They didn’t seem to be lovers.
They were clearly close, yet neither bent to the other—neither deferred.
Rather.
‘Like they could bite each other’s throats any moment.’
It was remarkable how different it all turned out from what I’d expected.
“No, no. Well, I’ve managed to adapt somehow.”
“That’s impressive. Without any backing, you did this alone?”
“I was fortunate enough to meet a good teacher.”
I gestured toward Jeor-rik, and he stared at me with a questioning look.
‘Ah, right. Korean. For now.’
So I didn’t bother explaining further.
Whether I called him by whatever title he preferred, the truth was I regarded him as my teacher.
“Ah, so he’s your teacher. Right, a Novice would need a guarantor to enter the mid-tier Auction House anyway.”
Hm?
‘Had I ever mentioned I was a Novice?’
A faint unease crossed me when Cha Hye-ryeon glanced sidelong at Lee Jin-sung.
“You.”
“What?”
“Don’t talk pointless nonsense.”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t ask when you already know.”
For a moment their eyes met, and it was Lee Jin-sung who laughed first.
“Fine. I’ll stop there.”
His tone was light.
But Cha Hye-ryeon said nothing more either.
‘What was that?’
It seemed there was something between them that I didn’t know.
Lee Jin-sung casually steered the conversation elsewhere.
“Is there something particular you’re looking for?”
“Pardon?”
“We countrymen ought to help each other. In case our interests overlap, I was thinking of yielding to you.”
“Ah… well, I was thinking of a Rare Grade spear.”
“Ah, a spear. Then there’s no conflict with me. That’s fortunate.”
“That’s not like you—being so considerate.”
Cha Hye-ryeon said it with an edge of mockery.
“Why? Can’t I yield gracefully?”
“Because I’ve never seen you yield out of genuine kindness.”
“That’s unfair.”
“Is it wrong?”
At that, Lee Jin-sung shook his head with an air of exasperation and laughed.
Hmm.
‘Look at this bastard.’
Even if he’d somehow figured out I was a Novice,
‘Money aside,’
he doesn’t question how this Novice is after a Rare item that requires at least twenty Magical Power to equip?
Am I being overly cautious?
“Why do you worry about this guy so much?”
“Hye-ryeon. It’s good when Summoners—especially Koreans—help each other out.”
“You…?”
Cha Hye-ryeon looked at him as though baffled, yet Lee Jin-sung’s smile didn’t waver.
“Forgive me. My friend has caused you trouble.”
“I’m not your friend.”
“…I hope we might meet again under better circumstances. Ha Il-ron.”
I needed to verify something.
“What was he saying?”
After they’d gone, Jeor-rik asked, and I gave him a rough account of the conversation.
“The woman’s arrogant, and the man’s got a snake’s tongue. Fine-looking devils, too. Tsk, tsk. Nothing good comes from getting close to types like that.”
Jeor-rik seemed to share my assessment of them.
“Yes. I was already thinking the same.”
I touched the earring I was wearing, making sure Jeor-rik didn’t see.
From the moment Lee Jin-sung seemed to know who I was, I’d been recording his voice pattern over Ha Il-ron’s.
And that choice proved right.
[Hm?]
[Ah. I know too.]
[Right.]
[But I know something else. Lately, Prince Demian has been watching him.]
[Sounds like he’s made quite a bit of money in the Novice bracket. There’s something there. Even if he is defective grade.]
[That’s right. And that’s not all. You know Lee Jung-ho?]
[That bastard tried to pick a fight with this defective-grade guy and got absolutely demolished.]
[This was before the guy even registered as an adventurer.]
[Testing me out, huh. I was just being kind to him.]
[Do you? Sometimes I feel like you see me as a real villain.]
Lee Jin-sung’s laughter came through in a snort.
[Well, whatever. Either way, it’s strange. For a Novice, he already has enough mana to use Rare Grade items. And like you said, he doesn’t seem to be defective grade.]
[Which makes it even stranger. There’s something going on.]
[We should look into it. If he’s useful, we use him.]
[And even if he really is defective grade, we might be able to put him to use somehow.]
[So. Don’t mess with him carelessly. Don’t make him a target for that hobby of yours.]
Hobby?
What was Cha Hye-ryeon talking about?
[Don’t tell me.]
After that almost joking remark, a brief silence followed.
[It’s a favor.]
[Got it.]
[Share, you say?]
[……You really are yourself.]
[I’ll admit that.]
[Fine.]
After that voice, Lee Jin-sung’s words were no longer audible.
The ending had parts I didn’t quite understand, but that much was enough.
Because there was a far more important word.
‘Hmm. Prince Demian? Why would the prince be interested in me?’
I’d confirmed his character, and I’d picked up unexpected information to boot.
‘This is really troublesome in many ways.’
My frustration deepened, but there was nothing I could do about it for now.
Except to make every effort to conceal information about myself.
And something became newly certain to me.
‘This earring really is useful. I absolutely can’t throw this away. Should I upgrade it?’
The two activated debuffs had proven surprisingly handy, but the voice designation feature—which I’d thought was nothing special—was showing absurd effectiveness.
To make it Super Rare would cost an additional four thousand gold, or three thousand eight hundred to be exact, so I’d thought the cost-benefit made no sense.
‘I should upgrade it.’
Of course, I didn’t have that kind of gold right now, and if I suddenly ordered something worth nearly eight thousand gold, the Magic Tower would surely sense something odd about it. I’d need to handle that.
‘Or maybe synthesize it with another earring? But if the voice filter disappears in the process, the whole thing’s ruined…….’
“What are you doing? Aren’t you coming?”
“Ah. Yes. I’m coming.”
Prompted by Jeor-rik, I stepped back into the Designated Seating at the Auction House.
Only after the auction began did I discover one inconvenient flaw with the earring.
I saw Lee Jin-sung enter the adjacent booth first, and I couldn’t hear his voice at all.
‘Looks like it locks out automatically if there’s Soundproofing Magic or something like that. Well, there’s nothing to be done about it.’
Even accounting for that, there were still many ways to make use of the voice designation option.
Thinking that way, I focused on the auction, and
before the Lightning Spear I’d been targeting came up for bid, I saw an odd spear.
“This lot is a spear crafted from the branches of the World Tree itself. No, you’re asking why it’s in the Rare Grade section? That’s right. Unfortunately, this spear has a slight defect option, so it’s been downgraded to Rare Grade, but it is a weapon made from World Tree materials guaranteed by the Labyrinth Auction House.”
A Rare Grade wooden spear—one that hadn’t appeared in the catalog five days ago.
“The World Tree. I’m sure everyone knows of it. For the options, please refer to the catalog we distributed……Now then, bidding starts at fifty gold, with increments of fifty gold.”
That caught my attention.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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