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Chapter 190: My First Task
🕑 Added 2024-10-21 16:19:16 +0000 UTCAfter deciding on the course of action, I told Gill the happy news I'd help him with that job of his, and to say he was overjoyed would be quite an understatement. 'He really likes money, huh...'
We then promptly finished our meals and left the fancy tavern behind, heading for the Assignment Hall, which was also quite conveniently located on the fifth floor.
With the lunch crowds long gone, the streets were now mostly empty, bar a few window shoppers now and then, so the journey didn't take particularly long.
Thus, we soon arrived at a large, open space with rows of tables scattered throughout. 'So, this is the Assignment Hall...' I nodded to myself, looking around curiously.
Despite its name, there was actually no hall to speak of since we were already technically inside a hall, albeit a truly gigantic one.
I could see many students huddled around a giant board that was almost fully covered with a myriad of pinned-up pieces of parchment, which I guessed were the various tasks one could choose from.
Behind it was a set of wooden counters, each attended by a dedicated clerk.
After a brief observation, I realized it worked strikingly similar to how the Adventurer guild operated in the city. But that shouldn't be too surprising; if a system works, there would be no reason to change it after all.
We then approached one of the counters, and Gil cheerfully greeted the girl standing behind it. "Yo, Aileen long time no see!"
She wore the same grey novice robe as us but looked a bit older, signaling that she must have been one of the higher-year students.
The girl, Aileen, briefly regarded him with a raised eyebrow before scoffing. "Hmph! I didn't expect you to be back so soon, but as I already said, there will be no exceptions..."
"No worries, no worries! This time, I brought a buddy with me, and we'd like to form a party!"
"A party?" She then finally seemed to notice my presence and briefly looked me over before turning back to the still-smiling Gil. "I'm to remind you that as newly admitted novices, you're also not allowed inside the Labyrinth yet."
"Yeah, we know that, but that's not why we're here... We'd like to take on the hauling job as a party!"
"Huh?" Aileen blinked, looking at him like he was an idiot, before shaking her head in exasperation. "Whatever..."
She then reached down behind the counter and took out an elegant-looking form that read [Party registration].
With a victorious smirk, Gil gleefully grabbed the piece of paper and began quickly filling out the required information. Meanwhile, the girl turned to me and said, "You know he's going to get you both killed, right?"
"Ehm..." Faced with the sudden question, I simply looked at her, not sure what to say to such a blunt statement.
Luckily, Gil, who was now finished with the form, came to the rescue. "Don't be so dramatic, Aileen! It's not like we are going into the Labyrinth itself... Just a quick route to the loading bay, and before you know it, we're back, counting our reward!"
Aileen sighed again and seemed to finally accept her defeat. "Well, if you're both so eager, then be my guest, but don't come running to me when some stray crawler bites your legs off."
"Sure thing!" Gil grinned before adding matter-of-factly, "We certainly won't be running to you in that case since, you know... we'd got no legs."
"Huh?" She uttered confusedly before realizing what she had said. "Oh..." Aileen then quickly averted her face, blushing.
Meanwhile, the corners of my mouth twitched as I tried my hardest not to burst out laughing at this exchange. 'He's actually pretty funny...' I had to admit.
Aileen, still in a daze, hurriedly stamped down the job request, seemingly wanting to get this over with as soon as possible. Before we knew it, we were already on our way to the Tower's basement, seen off by Aileen's doubtful gaze.
I briefly wondered how we would get down there since the main staircase didn't extend below the first floor. But to my surprise, there was a small, unassuming entrance to the side of it I hadn't previously noticed, guarded by one of the old guys in novice robes.
"Halt!"
"We have a pass." Gill quickly presented the man with the signed document. The guard briefly looked it over and, upon seeing that it was a genuine one, simply nodded and stepped aside.
We then promptly walked through the narrow passage, leaving the splendor of the first floor behind and emerging on top of what looked like a steep spiral staircase followed by a long bare rock corridor.
I didn't know what I was expecting, but the basement turned out to be a lot more lively than I originally anticipated.
Forget the bustling kitchens. From what I could see, there were also countless warehouses, repair shops, book-binding workshops, and living quarters—loads of living quarters.
This last thing was particularly odd since, officially, no student should be living down here. However, I could see dozens upon dozens of the very same old guys in novice robes.
"Who are they?" I finally decided to ask Gil, unable to hold back my curiosity any longer.
He gave me an unusual, somber look before leaning in and whispering tensely. "It's considered bad luck to mention the Indentured, else you might end up like them."
It looked like he didn't want to talk about this, but as we turned a corner, he seemed to have somewhat relented and reluctantly explained.
"They are those who took on loans to pay for their tuition but lacked the necessary talent to advance their paths. So they are now bound to the Tower until they repay their debts... But as you can probably already guess, since the only thing they can do is the mundane tasks, they can count themselves lucky if they manage to stave off the interest."
I shuddered when I heard this as I vividly remembered the portly clerk who so eagerly tried to sign me up for a loan and the disappointed look he gave me when I actually turned out to have enough money.
'Oh, so that's what it was about...' I nodded, resolving myself to never take on any loans, no matter how enticing they may be.
With that, we swiftly made our way across the well-lit portion of the basement's first floor. Believe it or not, even the basement here had multiple levels to it, and right now, we were heading for its very bottom.
'Loading bay, was it?' I wondered as we once again entered a long, narrow staircase descending into the darkness below. Apparently, it was not very economical to keep lamps all over the place, so after a certain point, we had to carry our own light with us.
Following the instructions we received at the entrance to the second underground floor, we slowly made our way down, tightly clutching our flickering lanterns.
Being so deep, there were no longer any people around, and we were suddenly submerged in an unnerving silence. 'Is this going to be alright?' I wondered while trying to peer into the everpresent darkness around us to see what lay beyond.
I was not that worried for myself, but Gil was starting to look a bit pale, his previous bravado long gone. Still, I had to give it to him as he kept going, apparently determined to see this job through.
We slowly made our way to the very bottom of the basement, descending flights of worn stone steps that spiraled deep beneath the Tower. The air grew cooler and damper as we went, and the walls glistened with moisture.
When we finally descended the last flight of stairs, an immense relief washed over us as what awaited us down there was... Light!
We had to stop for a bit to let our eyes adjust to the sudden influx of bright light that assaulted us. I then looked around curiously, realizing that we were now in a vast cavern. Carts and crates were scattered about next to a large, closed gate that was being vigilantly guarded by a pair of actual mages, not students or the Indentured.
'This must be the Labyrinth's entrance...' I looked ahead in awe. I often wondered why I never saw any mages down in the 'Farms' as the locals dubbed the first two floors, and this seemed to be the answer.
Since the Tower's basement was already technically a part of the Labyrinth, this gate should lead directly into the Labyrinth's third floor, entirely bypassing the main entrance down in the city.
I wanted to look around some more but never got the chance. A grizzled old man in rugged crimson robes who previously stood near a stack of wooden crates, barking orders at another group of novices, seemed to finally notice us and began making his way over in broad strides.
"You two!" the man called out as he approached. "Here for the hauling job?"
Comments
Samuel S.
"peer into the everpresent darkness around us" ...LAMPS!
