Surviving in the Labyrinth City of the Reverse World

17 – Potion #1

When I turned around, there was a wizard standing there. Of course, she was a female wizard.

Wearing a shabby robe, she casually joined our table.

“What kind of conversation…?”

“You’re an adventurer, aren’t you?”

The female wizard said, tossing the words out.

Her tone was strange. As if sensing the discomfort I felt, she raised her eyebrows.

“…Well, I am an adventurer.”

Most of the guys staying in the labyrinth city of Labyrinth are adventurers. It’s a natural question.

“I want to make a request.”

“…A request…?”

The wizard continued her words, even facing my obvious hostility. My emotions seemed to be completely ignored.

“I needed the blood of a werewolf. Luckily, I came across a werewolf from the Baiho tribe who was having bleeding problems, so I’m making this request.”

“……”

The wizard’s gaze fell on Su.

Su’s cough stopped abruptly. It means that in order to carry out the request, he has to artificially make blood.

I don’t really want to ask him to do something like that.

Even if I politely ask, I wonder if he will listen…

The attitude of the wizard who wanted to entrust the request was extraordinary. It was unpleasant, as if demanding the blood of a werewolf.

“It’s f*cking disgusting.”

I shook my head nervously.

“Soo has already recovered. You’re not asking someone who has just healed to be injured again, right?”

“I’ll give you 1 gold.”

“……!”

The wizard took out 1 gold from his pocket. A sparkling gold coin. It was worth 100 silver.

To earn that much money, Su and I would have to do 50 weeks of planning and exploring dungeons together…

Kkolk-.

I shouldn’t grovel for money. I have to maintain my dignity here.

But I’m such a materialistic person.

Why can’t I refuse? I should firmly reject him like before.

Is it because of the gold coin in front of me?

I hate myself for being so swayed by just 1 gold.

The wizard said,

“There’s something I didn’t mention earlier. The blood I want is naturally occurring blood. Not blood deliberately shed through a wound.”

“…Naturally occurring?”

“If you induce bleeding with a knife or nails, the properties get into the blood. It’s not 100% werewolf blood. What I want is blood that hasn’t been interfered with from the outside.”

“……”

“For example, the nosebleed that the werewolf was bleeding earlier? I’m talking about the nosebleed that occurred without digging the nostrils too deep.”

“Ah….”

I understood.

“Are you trying to use alchemy for that?”

“Exactly, I’m trying to create a potion that can control a werewolf’s ‘mating season’.”

“Oh!”

I liked the magician’s research topic.

The ‘mating season’ skill possessed by werewolves provides immense power but demands a high cost. It’s like a high-risk, high-return situation.

The magician aims to turn that high risk into low risk.

“If I can control it, it’ll be a huge success.”

I didn’t evaluate the magician positively because I wanted gold coins. It was because this goal was truly interesting.

“Copira….”

I pondered for a moment. How can I crack the code?

While contemplating HOW, I soon found myself asking WHY.

Why did Swoo let out a howl?

He was perfectly fine throughout the week in the labyrinth, so why did he go crazy and start howling as soon as we entered the bath? I couldn’t figure out the reason.

“Rey, do you want gold coins?”

“…No?”

Embarrassed by Swoo’s question, I honestly felt a bit guilty. It felt like he had read my mind.

Swoo spoke as if he knew.

“I want gold coins too. With them, I can upgrade your armor and acquire more artifacts. The next expedition will be even safer.”

“……”

“You’re the owner of our party. It’s up to Ray to decide. I’ll completely follow Ray’s decision.”

According to my words, the direction of 1 gold is determined. Is it a magician’s pouch or my leather pouch?

I closed my eyes tightly and said,

“Um, can I have another cup of coffee…?”

“…I don’t mind. But I need Ray’s help.”

“My help?”

“It’s a little embarrassing to talk about it here. Let’s go up to the room…”

Swoo rolled his eyes around. Even the great Swoo is so cautious.

What kind of help does he need that he’s hesitating to ask for it?

The magician intervened.

“Just a moment. If I’m going to accept the request, I need to see the situation of collecting blood as well.”

“……”

Swoo frowned. It seems like this statement bothered him more than the magician’s arrogant attitude.

“I understand if you don’t trust me. Let’s go up together and collect it.”

“Ray…”

Swoo, who didn’t know what to do, was scolded.

“Let’s get it done quickly and rest.”

The thought of earning 1 gold easily made my footsteps light.

“If you calculate it simply, you don’t even have to go through the maze 50 times.”

50 explorations of the first floor of the labyrinth in a week. 50 times of maintenance work in the city.

A total of 700 days to earn money, and that’s 1 gold.

I entered the borrowed room and locked the door. Then I asked Swoo what I needed to help with.

“……”

Swoo hesitated and couldn’t speak.

When I urged him, complaining that I wanted to rest quickly, he finally told me a way he couldn’t resist making an excuse and spilling the beans.

“W-when I saw Ray’s naked body… suddenly, I had a dirty imagination and burst out laughing…!”

“What?”

There were too many unnecessary details before and after his rambling. I couldn’t understand it all.

The wizard summarized it for me.

“So, it means if Ray shows a chili pepper, it might be possible to collect blood.”

“What do you mean by ‘shows’?”

“A chili pepper.”

I looked at Swoo in disbelief and asked.

“Is that true, Swoo?”

“……”

Swoo didn’t make any excuses. He just bowed his head as if acknowledging that the wizard’s words were true.

“Well, it’s not a difficult request.”

We had been together in the labyrinth for a week, engaging in physical contact. It wasn’t the adult kind of physical contact, but we had grown quite close.

And just now, we even took a bath together. Showing a little something to Swoo… Well, that’s not too difficult.

“Please put it in here.”

The magician handed me a small glass bottle. It was no bigger than a finger.

It seemed like it could be filled to the brim if a single drop of coffee spilled.

“But what if the coffee doesn’t explode?”

“Then the request will become a failure.”

The magician retorted with a nonchalant tone. It felt like if we didn’t complete the request, we would have to find another client.

We had to somehow make Swu’s coffee explode.

“For 1 gold….”

No, that’s not it. No.

This is a public service project for the beings suffering from the “mating season” skill. It’s a noble cause to utilize the talents of lonely beings and mine more magic stones, strengthening the barrier!

Swu spoke with a trembling voice.

“I, I’m ready….”

Following the signal, I lowered my pants and blood spurted from Swu’s nose. The request was a great success.

* * *

I earned 1 gold from the snot and fell asleep with a sense of relief. I woke up the next morning, with the sun already up.

I had slept for nearly 14 hours.

Perhaps it was thanks to that. My body felt incredibly refreshed.

“Swu…?”

Swu, who should have been in the bed next to me, was not there.

I wiped the sleep from my eyes and stepped out of the inn room. In the first-floor hall, adventurers in a similar situation to us were having breakfast.

“Isn’t it amazing? To think that the conscription officer would stoop to such behavior.”

“He’s insane. Selling girls like this is beyond belief. And now he wants to sell boys to those perverts?”

“If you give me permission… I’ll personally kill him…”

“Well, even if he’s a conscription officer, you’re not an easy target for him, after all.”

The female adventurers sat together, giggling and chatting. Some of them were even drinking since morning.

Impressive.

Creak, creak.

As I walked down the wooden stairs, a loud creaking sound echoed. At the same time, all eyes turned towards me.

The gazes that scanned me were far from friendly. I could describe them as creepy.

“…I should join the guild quickly.”

Facing the ominous stares of unknown women was more challenging than I thought. I wanted to see Suu as soon as possible.

Just then, Suu entered the inn.

“Suu!”

I rushed down and stood next to Suu.

“Huh, was there a girl?”

“Too bad.”

“What’s so disappointing? What are you regretting? This girl is really something.”

At that moment, the women in the hall averted their gazes. Some of them even lost their appetite.

“Where did you go?”

“I just went for a little walk and came back.”

Swoo was drenched in sweat. His thin shirt clung to his body, revealing his well-defined figure.

The female explorers seemed to understand why they had woken up.

“You look cool, Swoo.”

“……!”

Without realizing it, I blurted out a compliment as I stared at his well-toned physique. In that moment, Swoo’s body stiffened.

“I-I-I’ll go take a shower!”

Startled, Swoo hurriedly ran off to the bathhouse, leaving me behind.