CHAPTER 1

The Start of My Life as a Seeker

Part I: The Labyrinth Country

The Labyrinth Country was where Seekers, the people who explored the labyrinths, and those who supported them lived. Basically, everything revolved around the labyrinths. There were quite a few entrances scattered around town, with each labyrinth ranked according to the difficulty of the monsters inside.

Apparently, there were about thirty of us new reincarnates this time. An accident of this scale would probably be big news. Thankfully, I didn’t have a wife or kids who would miss me. There were a few people who I knew would grieve, and I felt bad that they’d have to handle my funeral and stuff, but there wasn’t really anything I could do about it. I had to focus on how I was going to live in this world.

The other reincarnates and I appeared in the town in various places after emerging from the tunnel, but as we all gathered at the Guild as we were told, I was able to talk to them and learn a few things. When we were being reincarnated, the girl in the tunnel didn’t give us any choice about becoming one of these Seekers, but none of us had any desire to resist. None of us thought about trying to escape instead of going to the Guild. The reason being that it sounded like there wasn’t much you could do in this Labyrinth Country if you didn’t first become a Seeker. It didn’t sound too bad to me anyway, though I had no basis for feeling so optimistic.

When I came out of the tunnel, I found myself in an open square near the Guild. I didn’t get lost on my way, but I wasn’t the first there, either. The Guild building was large and conspicuous. A few reincarnates had already finished registering as Seekers and were about to head off on their first adventure.

“Hey, you’re new, right? If you’re going solo, you should stick to the one-star beginner labyrinths. You’ll be a goner in no time if you go into anything with two or more stars,” one of the Guild veterans cautioned.

“A g-goner? You can’t be serious…,” replied the newbie, a man in prime physical condition who looked to be in his thirties. The warning sounded genuine, so it didn’t seem like newbies got such bad treatment.

“You don’t wanna get shot down by a goblin, do ya? They’re pretty hostile creatures. Goblins’ll just come right up and attack us, so we just fight back, no questions asked. It’s all over if you take a hit from one of their arrows. They’re covered in shit and filthy as all hell. Even poisoned arrows would be overkill on a novice like yourself,” continued the veteran.

“Urgh… R-right. Then I’ll go to the beginner labyrinth…”

“Good choice. You know, I’ve already gotten my daily pay, so I could show you around. Don’t worry, we’ll split what we make.”

“Oh, thank you!”

I didn’t know how much of the exchange was out of pure goodwill or if there were Seekers who made a living by showing around the newbies.

I hoped the new guy would be all right, then I suddenly had an idea. Wouldn’t it be cool if I got the other new reincarnates—my former coworkers—to join a party with me? That said, apparently there were quite a few who thought it’d be a good idea to join more experienced Seekers. A bunch of parties were inviting the newbies to come along. The girl who’d been in front of me in line was among those still unaffiliated with a party. At first, I thought her friend was in the same boat, but it turned out she’d actually been invited into one already. I stood there wondering what kind of person would abandon their friend like that, but the black-haired girl didn’t seem bothered. In fact, it was almost as if she’d expected as much.

I wanted to join a party soon and make some friends. Maybe then I’d feel a bit better. I wanted to invite the black-haired girl, tell her we could work together since we came from the same world, but I didn’t get the chance.

“Ms. Suzuna Shiromiya, thank you for registering. You requested Shrine Maiden as your job, yes? Congratulations, you have been accepted. We have determined you meet all the requirements,” said the Guild registrar.

“Th-thank you so much…”

Suzuna… I wonder what characters she uses to write her name.

The registrar wrote Suzuna’s desired job on the card she’d been carrying from earlier. Apparently, you could opt for a specific job class if you happened to meet the requirements.

Suddenly, a dashing young Swordswoman about Suzuna’s age approached the newly minted Shrine Maiden. She wore a silver breastplate over a blue padded doublet. Her golden hair was pulled back behind her, her almond-shaped eyes sharp and clear. She was the kind of girl who’d turn heads even from a distance. The people milling around who were about to depart on an adventure also ceased their chatter to focus on her every move.

“…Do you have a moment?” she asked Suzuna.

“Oh, y-yes… What is it? I only just got here…”

“I know that. Only new reincarnates come here to register.”

Suzuna seemed nervous as the girl started talking to her. The gold-haired Swordswoman’s voice was soft, but it carried far through the hush that’d fallen over the Guild.

“I’m looking for a rearguard… There’s a few downsides to having me as a vanguard, and I have a tough time getting beginners to join me…b-but, if you join my party, I’m sure you’ll level up quickly…,” said the gold-haired girl. The armor and longsword strapped to her hip for easy access made her appear fairly experienced despite her casual attire. And yet, for some reason, she didn’t have anyone to form a party with and was trying desperately to convince Suzuna to join hers.

“Elitia’s still trying to get people to join her. How many days straight is this now?”

“Doesn’t matter how strong she is, she’s not gonna find anyone as long as she’s got that.”

Some men were making fun of the girl, whose name was apparently Elitia. She ignored them but cast her gaze downward and clenched her fists. It seemed she was known around the Guild. I would’ve imagined a gorgeous, formidable Swordswoman like her would have plenty of companions, but it appeared there was a reason why that wasn’t the case. I glanced at Suzuna, wondering what she would do. She did seem to notice the trash-talking, but she reached out to the downcast Elitia and took her clenched fist in her hand.

“It would be my pleasure. I’m still just a novice, but I’ll do the best I can as a rearguard,” said Suzuna.

“Oh… R-really? Y-you’re sure…?”

“I actually wanted to join my friend, but she went with someone else… You’ve really lifted my spirits. Even if you have ‘a few downsides,’ I’d really like to join your party.”

“…Thank you. My name is Elitia Centrale. And you are?”

“I’m Shiromiya… No, Suzuna Shiromiya.”

The two seemed to click and left the Guild together. There were still some people who were looking at them condescendingly, so whatever the “that” Elitia had was, it must have been pretty serious.

It piqued my curiosity, but my first priority was choosing a job. I looked toward the registration counter to see another man, a reincarnate like me, having a disagreement with the registrar.

“I am incredibly sorry, but it appears you aren’t fit to be a Holy Knight as you requested. It does seem you would be well suited as a Warrior, Thief, or Martial Artist, however…”

“But I want something more heroic! C’mon, just change my job already!” shouted the man, his loud voice a match for his rugged body as he chewed out the registrar.

It didn’t last long, though—the registrar must have taken it as a threat, because several armed soldier types approached and grabbed the man.

“Whoa, wh-what the hell?! Let go of me! I just thought she could help me out—!”

“Unfortunately, your actions have been deemed a threat to the Labyrinth Country. Your karma has risen, and you will be subjected to mandatory prison labor until it returns to zero.”

“Wha—?! S-stoppp! Let me go! I’m sorry! I’ll apologize right n— Aaaggghh!”

I didn’t need reminding that this guy was reincarnated at the same time as me, so I took this as a good lesson of what not to do and warned myself to keep order in the Guild building. It did sound like he’d be released from prison once this karma stuff had gotten back to zero, so this didn’t seem like the kind of thing you could never come back from. Probably.

Anyway, I just wanted to get my job sorted out without any major issues and make the necessary preparations to take it easy. I probably wouldn’t be able to secure a comfortable life in this world until I’d found a way to make a living.

Part II: The Guild Registrar and My Former Boss

“Hello, sir. I see you have a registration card. You will not be allowed to enter the labyrinth until you’ve completed your registration as a Seeker,” the registrar informed me. She was the same person who’d registered Suzuna as a Shrine Maiden earlier.

“Ah, right… Sorry about that. I was just distracted by the commotion.”

The registrar looked otherworldly with greenish hair, glasses, and a small mole under one eye. She was an incredibly attractive young woman. And…her boobs were massive. They filled her registrar’s uniform to the point that I just couldn’t manage to keep my eyes off them.

“Ah… Now, now, sir. I understand the attire of a different world may be more revealing than what you’re used to, but depending on your relationship with the person, staring might result in increased karma. Please adjust your gaze accordingly.”

“…I-I’m so sorry.”

“Ha-ha… How polite of you, sir, apologizing right from the beginning. Now, please relax. I won’t bite,” the registrar said reassuringly. Her kindness really struck me.

I found pretty much any hairstyle attractive, but as I was particularly drawn to hair that was pulled up, I was aware that this honest and kind registrar lady was pretty much my exact type.

“I apologize for not introducing myself sooner. My name is Louisa Farmel. I am responsible for your registration process and will be available to answer any questions you may have as a novice Seeker. I can assign you a different registrar, or are you happy to continue with the current arrangement?”

“Y-yes… Looks like I’m still a bit nervous. Yes, please continue.”

Back before I got reincarnated, I had to work with a lot of outside companies for my job. I found things went more smoothly if you responded to the other person with the same level of familiarity. Business relationships required collaboration, and being overly formal could hinder that, but—

“Ow…”

“S-sir? Oh, your memories must be quite mixed-up since you’ve only just been reincarnated. I’m sorry for talking to you so much at once. Would you like me to summon a Healer for you?”

“Oh, no. I’m fine. I just have a bit of a headache.” Truthfully, I had just remembered something particularly unpleasant.

Last spring, I had been transferred from the Web Content Creation Department to the Media Strategy Department. Not only was I in a completely different department, my entire career path had changed, too. I’d been told I would still be making websites, but that wasn’t really the case. Since I’d been working in media for a while, I ended up becoming assistant manager. And of course, the department manager for the newly formed “Second Media Strategy Department” was Igarashi. She was only twenty-four years old at the time, the youngest department manager in company history. That made her a pretty big deal.

She was an incredible beauty; I couldn’t even think of words to describe her. She was so beautiful that she stood out in a crowd like she was some A-list celebrity, and she had a fashion sense to rival any pinup fashionista, so I’d originally fostered some weird hopes for how things would turn out. Anyway, after meeting her and spending about half a day with her, I realized she wasn’t a young, sexy manager. She was a brutal, manipulative higher-up.

Even after I’d been transferred, I was still helping my former department. No one seemed to take that into consideration, however, so between that and the assistant manager gig, I ended up doing two employees’ worth of work. Of course, my salary didn’t go up, either.

At first, I thought I could do my work as assistant manager and help with any leftover tasks in my former department if I had some time. That didn’t go so well. I don’t know if Igarashi was just asking for too much or what, but my work as assistant manager just kept snowballing as if she was trying to prevent me from running away. I mean, sure, someone needed to gather data and prep for meetings, but with meetings all day every day, I was constantly running on all four cylinders. It felt like Igarashi was testing my limits. As a result, I had to focus on only my assistant manager duties during the day, and any work for the other department had to be pushed to overtime.

I’m not a particularly ambitious kind of guy. I was pretty happy doing routine tasks daily, so I couldn’t get behind Igarashi’s mind-set of doing something new all the time. But she seemed to think that as assistant manager, I must’ve shared her ambitions. One day, she said to me:

“Someone as talented as you, Atobe, will be able to do so much and get so far as my assistant.”

There’s a huge difference between taking that as her burdening me with unreasonable demands or just her own sky-high expectations. Personally, I couldn’t bring myself to tell her I was already overwhelmed by work and to stop asking me to do the impossible.

Meanwhile, in the other department, people joked that the manager had a thing for me, but I didn’t have time to think about that. I mean, she probably did, but only in the sense that as her assistant manager I was readily available.

Since I was so incredibly busy, I didn’t have time to study or work on the things I needed to in order to advance in my career. I never told her as much, but she said to me:

“Atobe, if you never get promoted, then you can stay and help me as my assistant.”

I doubt she meant it in a bad way, but I couldn’t help thinking she actually did. It all came rushing back to me in an instant when I thought about my miserable life as a corporate slave.

Since arriving in this new world, I no longer had to be pinned under the thumb of some manager I didn’t like. I’d been freed from my corporate shackles. The realization lifted an enormous weight off my very spirit.

“Good, I see you’re feeling better,” said Louisa.

“Yes, thanks to you. Okay, so how do I go about registering?”

“Please have a seat. On your Seeker’s license, there should be an empty job field. In that field, please write the name of a job you feel you are suited for or that you would like to try out.”

“Got it. So I won’t be selecting from a set list of jobs.”

“Correct. That’s because reincarnates come with such a wide variety of experiences. Some opt for jobs that we might not understand ourselves. Since we haven’t received their permission to make their jobs public, I cannot provide you with information regarding others’ choices.”

That means Suzuna’s Shrine Maiden job was public, which is why Elitia and I heard about it. In that moment, I realized the competition between Seekers began now, at registration. And even though I hadn’t gone into the labyrinths yet, I’d gotten some form of explanation as to why I needed to. Basically, since the labyrinths clearly supported all these Seekers and the corresponding infrastructure, becoming a Seeker came with some sort of appropriate compensation.

If I could choose an important job, that’d give me a running start. The issue was my lack of any specialized experience. In my previous life, I’d been in management for a marketing firm, so I could make business plans, presentation materials, even do a bit of desktop publishing–type stuff. But otherwise, I didn’t have any skills. The only other thing I could think of was my middling English skills, something that had helped me get the job in the first place.

Louisa didn’t rush me along and instead assisted other reincarnates. As this was a decision that would determine my life here, she seemed to be giving me plenty of time to consider it, but I really just wanted to pick something as soon as possible and start trying out this whole seeking thing. Most of the other reincarnates had already completed this step and were moving on in the process.

“Hey, Atobe. What job did you pick?” came a voice.

“Huh… Ack, Ms. Igarashi!”

“H-hey… What d’you mean, ack? I just thought I’d say hi, since I actually found someone I recognize.”

I turned around to see a headstrong woman with wavy brown hair—Kyouka Igarashi. I’d had advanced warning since I’d seen her while in the line for reincarnation, but I couldn’t help letting out a yelp when she came up to me. She was on the same ski trip we got with our employee discount. Not that we were going together; we just happened to be on the company trip. Anyway, it was probably safe to assume she’d been in the bus accident, too.

“What are you staring at? …Are you so in shock from getting reincarnated that you forgot who I am?”

“Uh, no, that’s not it… I was just thinking, Wow, that’s Ms. Igarashi.”

“Hmm? Guess you’re not that shaken up after all.”

Even though we’d arrived in the Labyrinth Country, we were still wearing the same clothes as before. Igarashi’s outfit looked familiar. It was something fashionable enough to be in a magazine but still well suited for the office. She had on a warm-colored knit sweater, the kind with the knitting lines running up and down. She looked pretty much the same as she would at work except for the thick tights for warmth. Her figure was still well proportioned, as always, but acknowledging that would have been an affront to her demonic, sharp-tongued nature.

Anyway, my evil boss looked no different from usual. I was pretty pathetic and couldn’t keep a cold sweat from appearing on my brow, and I felt nervous even though she’d barely said anything to me.

“Looks like you didn’t hear me the first time, so I’ll ask again. Atobe, what job did you pick? I assume it wasn’t web designer.”

“W-well, no, I doubt that would be of much use in an alternate world. I’m actually still thinking about what to choose.”

“Quit dillydallying; just hurry up and pick. Once you do, I’ll consider letting you form a party with me.”

Her phrasing could’ve used some work, but she probably meant I could join her party. Not that I was all that jazzed about it.

“Geez, why’d this have to happen…all of us dying at once?” Igarashi grumbled.

“I’ve been wondering if the bus was in an accident and we were all reincarnated, except for the people who are still alive.”

“In that case, our entire department might not be totally gone. I hope the people left can manage without us… Well, I guess this really isn’t the place to worry about that. Anyway, if the bus driver happens to be here, too, I’ll have to give him a piece of my mind.”

“This is truly an awful situation. Take care of yourself,” I replied in the hopes we’d wrap this up so I could get out of there, but she glowered at me. Personally, I wasn’t that crazy about getting the silent treatment from a woman. It really sucked, to be honest.

“You ought to take care, too, Atobe. This world’s labyrinths are full of monsters. You have to pick the proper job class.”

“Y-yeah. I’ll pick something,” I said, trying to give a safe answer, but Igarashi just seemed to get more annoyed.

“No, not just ‘something.’ If you’d just tell me you’ll pick a job I can depend on…”

“Uh… What were you saying just now?”

“…N-nothing. I g-guess I’ll just see you around. Don’t ruin my day by getting yourself killed.”

“Uh, yeah…I’ll figure something out… Oh, Ms. Igarashi!”

“I’m not your manager here, you don’t have to call me Ms. But I guess it’d feel weird if you just called me by my given name…so you can go with that. Anyway, what do you need?

“Uh, um…if you don’t mind, could you tell me what job you chose?”

Knowing her, she wasn’t exactly the kind to reveal her hand to me. I wouldn’t have been too surprised if she’d gotten angry at me for asking.

“Are you asking to get some ideas?” Her reaction was much gentler than I had expected. There was a high probability of stepping on a land mine now, though, so I needed to choose my words very carefully.

“Y-yes. I’m really not sure what I should pick.”

“Hmph, anyone could tell that just by looking at you. You shouldn’t pick the same as me, though. It’d be better if you picked something that shared responsibilities. We’d have problems if you picked some sort of fighter job.”

“Oh, but I thought a party made up of all fighters would be pretty strong…”

“Are you saying I’m wrong?”

“Uh…no, not at all,” I stammered, all nerves. I wasn’t very good with women, so it felt like I was walking on eggshells. The two of us just didn’t really get along anyway.

Hmm…Igarashi said something about sharing responsibilities. If she’s thinking she wants to join a party with me…

“Well, I decided to go with Valkyrie as my job. I can use swords and spears and apparently some spirit magic.”

“W-wow… That sounds amazing.”

“It just popped into my head, so I tried writing it down. I thought it’d be hard for me to stay alive if I didn’t pick something with a variety of skills. Does that help you decide?”

“Yes, thanks a lot. I’ll try choosing something that can share responsibilities in a party and handle a variety of different situations.”

“…That’s it?”

“W-well, I mean, Valkyrie sounds like it’s for women, so I’ll have to think of something else…”

Igarashi had her arms crossed the entire time I was talking, her finger tapping impatiently. My mind was racing, but I just couldn’t think of the right thing to say.

“Right, so I will do everything I can to stay alive, and I hope you stay well and we meet again and…,” I said.

“Sigh… Why can’t you see where this conversation is going?”

“Uh… Did you just—?” I started to ask, but Igarashi glared at me. That look rendered me completely powerless. I wish I was the kind of guy who could keep his cool under a beautiful woman’s gaze.

“Never mind. I hope we meet again, too. I’m gonna go over there and try to find a party to join.”

“Y-yeah. I’ll try to find something, too. Take care, Igarashi.” I was more concerned for her safety than I was about her control over me in our previous world now that we were both new reincarnates. And I couldn’t keep worrying about other people all the time.

Igarashi suddenly hurried back to me as I got lost in thought. It seemed like she’d forgotten to say something, but since she looked angry, I prepared myself for the worst.

“…Just remember—next time we meet, it’ll be too late for you to say you regret this.”

“Huh…? I-Igarashi—!” I called, but she zipped out of the Guild without so much as a glance back. She said she was going to find a party to join, but I wondered if she’d actually decided to find one on her way to the labyrinth.

If she tries to enter the labyrinth on her own… No, I’m worried, but if I offer to go along with her… Well, it’s Igarashi. She’ll be fine anyway.

It was hard to break out of the roles of superior and subordinate even outside of the shackles of corporate work. I’d thought I’d been liberated from it all, but things were the same as before. It looked like I was back to square one.

If only I could just throw off those chains. Igarashi was a Valkyrie now, and I knew she was strong-willed. If possible, I’d want to form a party with her.

Part III: Job Selection

“Was that your manager from your previous world? That must be tough,” said Louisa with a bright smile. I’m sure she treated every Seeker who came to the Guild with such kindness, but it made me feel better.

Ever since I was a kid, I’d never been popular with girls. I hadn’t had many opportunities to meet women outside of committees or work, either. It made me happy if a woman was just nice to me, which even I thought was pretty simple-minded.

“Now that you’ve come to the Labyrinth Country, your status as a Seeker is determined only by your achievements. That’s why I want to help you pick a job you won’t regret.”

All I needed were achievements. If I could accomplish that much, then maybe Igarashi would come to see me in a better light.

No, that wasn’t a good goal. I should aim as high as I possibly could. In my old world, the only way I could’ve ever gotten to the top would have been if I quit my job and started my own business, became my own boss. That didn’t seem to be the case here.

“Louisa, what kinds of achievements do I need to be considered?”

“Well…first, you’ll need to climb higher in the Seeker ranking. New Seekers aren’t even put in the rankings yet, but as you do more, the rank on your license will change.” Louisa pointed to my license. She traced the characters shown in the top left, and the displayed information changed.

So can this be used like some sort of miniature tablet? If so, I should be able to get the hang of it quickly.

“This page shows a record of your work in the labyrinth. There’s nothing in here at the moment, but your actions will be evaluated once you leave the labyrinth, and your new rank will be calculated. Please make sure that you don’t enter the labyrinth and then leave immediately, or flee right after a single monster attack. The lowest ranks have to sleep in the barn or even the dungeon.”

“…Well, I guess I’ll at least aim for the barn.”

“Your magic and vitality only recover a tiny bit in the barn, so your situation will likely just worsen. If you find yourself in such circumstances, please come to me with a request for assistance. You can’t keep doing it over and over, but I can arrange accommodation for you.”

It’d be wonderful if she meant she’d take me in, but I doubted I’d get that lucky.

“…Oh, will you need something immediately? It is difficult for me to arrange something on such short notice, so as an emergency arrangement, I could find something in my—”

“N-no, that’s fine. I might not even mess up in the labyrinth yet,” I said, turning her down in a bit of a panic. Maybe I should have let her go on. No, if I let Louisa help me before I’ve done anything to end up the lowest in the ranking, there’s a chance she’ll doubt me in the future.

“Louisa, can I ask you one last question? It seems a lot of people look for newcomers who are rearguards, like what that Elitia person mentioned. Is that correct?”

“Yes, rearguards are in high demand. They typically have lower physical strength and defense; they tend to have the lowest survival rates after five years, so the number of people in rearguard jobs has hit an all-time low. Vanguards are able to use better protective equipment, but rearguards tend to be lightly equipped. That means that a monster a vanguard can stand against could potentially kill a rearguard in one hit. It’s a difference that’s even more pronounced in newcomers who have weaker physical abilities,” explained Louisa.

So that meant rearguards had a high chance of perishing in an accident while they were just starting out as Seekers and more likely to make newbie mistakes. But that’s when your companions in vanguard or midguard roles weren’t doing their job and an attack got past them to the rear.

“It’s necessary to be part of a party if you want to try the high-rank labyrinths. For whatever reason, Elitia left her former party, and she tried to train up her own rearguard. However, I don’t know any more about her situation beyond that, and I don’t want to speculate.”

“…I see.”

So vanguards weren’t enough on their own to take on too much, and rearguards were definitely not capable of acting solo. One way for me to make an ideal party would be if I became a rearguard, made it hard for me to die, and added lots of companions. But even among rearguards, what sort of job was I even suited for? I wasn’t particularly religious, so a Priest wouldn’t work. I also didn’t have any skills like archery, which were suited to being in a rearguard position.

Eh, anything’ll do, I guess. I just wanted to be a rearguard. If I wrote rearguard, then it’d automatically assign me to a job I was suited for.

“It looks like you’ve made your decision. Please use your finger to write on your license,” said Louisa.

I steeled myself and wrote rearguard in the job field.

The next moment, the letters in rearguard sparkled before rearranging themselves into something different, which was now firmly displayed in the job field.

“Huh…?”

I felt relieved it was over, but Louisa appeared to be at a loss for words. I thought I’d heard an “Eh?” but that could’ve just been my imagination.

“Um, Louisa, the shape of the letters changed… I wrote rearguard, so shouldn’t I have been put in some rearguard job?”

“Well, n-no, not necessarily… Whatever you wrote should have changed to something like Wizard, or Priest, or Marksman. But this…” She flipped my license toward her, took a monocle out of her pocket, and examined the letters as if she were appraising a piece of jewelry.

After a moment, she leaned far over the counter to speak directly into my ear. It seemed like she didn’t want the people around to hear.

“I have never seen symbols like these before,” she whispered. “Um, you are…Arihito Atobe. What exactly did you write, Mr. Atobe?”

“Uh…um, as I said, I wrote rearguard.” I managed to keep calm despite her whispered voice on my ear.

Louisa stepped back, compared the license against me once more, then apparently came to a decision.

“Congratulations, Mr. Atobe. You’ve been accepted into your desired profession,” she said.

“W-wait a second. What exactly is the job I ended up with…?” I asked, slightly flustered.

For the second time, Louisa took care to lean across the counter to keep others from overhearing. This time I noticed her full breasts riding on the countertop, but I couldn’t stare without risking my karma going up.

“W-well…your job is literally rearguard. But I don’t think people will believe it even if you tell them, and some may even make fun of you. I am partly responsible, since I was the one providing you with advice, so I feel compelled to provide you some extra support. Please use these Mercenary Tickets so that you can better understand the strengths of your job,” said Louisa, and she stuck her hand into her pouch-like sleeve and brought out a few slips of what looked like paper, then passed them to me while hiding them under her sleeve. “If you use these tickets, you’ll be able to hire one mercenary for one expedition into a labyrinth. I say mercenary, but since these are only bronze-level tickets, you won’t be able to hire any humans.”

“By not human, you mean like…animals or something?”

“No. There are some animals that have been trained, but they only work with Animal Tamers. For special purpose hiring, there is the demi-human type monsters. The most dependable in my opinion are the lizardmen. Their base abilities for being a vanguard are excellent, so they tend to have fighter-type jobs.”

It didn’t seem like this whole being a rearguard thing was a total loss. With these bronze Mercenary Tickets, I’d be able to hire someone, even if once per ticket, but I could go into a beginner labyrinth. I could use this opportunity to learn about being a rearguard, find my strengths and weaknesses, and maybe figure out how I was going to survive here.

“I know I’ve just taken on this job, but do I have any skills or that sort of thing?”

“Yes, even rearguard jobs should be able to select two skills in the beginning. Since I’ve never seen your job before, though, I can’t be absolutely certain…but if you turn the page of your license, you’ll come to your skill set. Please select from the skills that are shown there. I cannot provide you with any advice in that selection process. Skills are a Seeker’s lifeline, so in general, we don’t show others what we have available.”

“Okay…so it’s only something I should share with companions who I trust enough.”

“Exactly. If it’s someone you trust to watch your back…or rather, watch your front, then you should let them know. Parties are about teamwork. You can’t get strong if you don’t work with other Seekers,” she said, then clasped her hands together in front of her chest and closed her eyes. “…It is part of my duty as caseworker, but I will pray for your safe passage. May the Secret Gods smile upon you.”

Yet again, our interactions just left me with more questions than answers. What were these “Secret Gods” she was talking about? Were they something the people in the Labyrinth Country worshipped? I decided it was fine to learn things little by little rather than asking about it all at once. Right now, I needed to focus on learning what exactly my job was.

Louisa took my license from me and drew a map to the Mercenary Office on it. I thanked her, then got up to leave. After standing from my seat, I moved by a wall where I wouldn’t stand out and turned my license to the skills page.

…How much is ten injury points?

I assumed injury points were like damage, but I couldn’t find a way to make the license display damage. I guess I just had to feel how much ten points was. I had no idea how many vitality points I had, though. If ten points was equal to someone flicking me in the forehead, then adding that wasn’t exactly useful. I didn’t want to have to do it, but I decided I just needed to hire a lizardman, have them take some damage from a weak enemy, and I’d try to gauge how much damage it was.

Seems like “Rear View” is a skill that lets the low vitality rearguard keep an eye on their own rear… Sounds useful, but I think to start, I’m gonna take “Defense Support 1,” then maybe “Recovery Support 1” for healing once I’ve tested out Defense Support… Actually, maybe I’ll hold off on healing.

There wasn’t even any damage to heal yet, so it might have been a bit soon to be taking Recovery Support 1. I stood there unable to decide for a little while before putting one point into Defense Support 1. I wanted to also try out Attack Support 1, but I wanted to use my remaining skill point carefully.

I didn’t notice any glaring changes as a result. The people around me probably had no way to know that I’d just taken a skill. I wouldn’t know if I’d made a good choice or not until I put a party together. I double-checked I had the bronze Mercenary Tickets Louisa had given me, quietly readied myself, then left.

Part IV: Hiring a Mercenary

The Labyrinth Country appeared to be a fortified city encircled by an incredibly long wall. I had no idea how many entrances to the labyrinths there were inside the walls, but it didn’t matter what direction you went, there was a wall there eventually and no way to get past it. Starting in the north, the Labyrinth Country was divided clockwise into eight districts, and the other reincarnates and I were in the eighth district. There were a few one-star beginner labyrinths in this area. I was headed for the nearest one called the Field of Dawn.

Louisa had drawn a map to a mercenary hiring office on my license, so I stopped by on my way to the labyrinth. It was near some facilities like the Monster Dissection Center and the Slave Market. When I tried to enter the Mercenary Office, a red-headed woman wearing an eyepatch came out to meet me.

“Hey, you’re a novice, aren’tcha? You’ve got some backbone comin’ here as a brand-new reincarnate,” she barked at me.

“Is it that dangerous around here?” I asked.

“Nah, not really. But there’s the occasional reincarnate who takes one glimpse at the Monster Dissection Center and gets so scared that he turns tail,” the eyepatch lady scoffed. She came off as a sort of Amazon, carrying a sword and clad in tight-fitting leather armor that exposed her well-sculpted midriff.

“Hmm…I see you recognize the value of strong muscles. You may yet have some promise. The last thing a Seeker has to rely on is their own brawn. You’d do well to remember that.”

“Ha-ha… Well, I’m not a vanguard, but I’m sure I could do with some physical training. Sitting at a desk all day has left me pretty flabby.”

“Certainly, in your current state, even the small monsters that appear on the easy levels of the beginner labyrinths would be a threat to you. I’ll give you one piece of advice. Avoid getting hit until you’re at least level three. You could die in one hit if you’re not careful.”

The way she so casually used the word die sent a chill down my spine. I flipped through my license and found the page displaying my job and level. Below that there was a red and a blue bar. Farther below that were ten circles in a row. The red must be vitality, the blue could be magic, and the black circles must be my experience points.

“Didn’t they explain this to you at the Guild? Who’s your caseworker?” asked the woman.

“Uh, no, it’s my fault for not asking… My caseworker’s name is Louisa.”

“Oh, well then. Louisa’s a veteran, she’s been doing it for five years. She’s a dependable one. There’s some useless caseworkers out there.”

“Louisa’s the one who gave me these bronze Mercenary Tickets. She said it was just for extraordinary circumstances, though, and she can’t keep helping me too much.” I showed the woman my tickets. She handed me the boards she was holding. It seemed a bit like a binder. There were sheets of paper with lines of characters written on them sandwiched between the boards.

“Sorry for not introducing myself sooner. My name’s Leila. I’m the assistant manager here at the Mercenary Office. The people at the Guild buy quite a few Mercenary Tickets, so I see them for work a lot.”

“So that’s how you know Louisa.”

“Yeah. As a matter of fact, she was originally a Seeker before she retired and decided to take on a support role. You could say something like that about the demi-humans here, too… Well, anyway. What kind of mercenary do you need?”

“I’d like a lizardman, preferably a vanguard. I see some on this list here.” Leila’s expression turned apologetic. I got the impression they’d all been hired by that point.

“Unfortunately, all the male lizardmen who have strong physical builds are out on jobs at the moment. We’ve got a female lizardman, but her equipment’s different, and I can’t really say she’s suited to be a vanguard.”

“Is she a fighter type?”

“She’s got a job called Rogue. It’s not really a vanguard or a rearguard, more like a midguard job. They can use some weapons, but they’re not as good as a specialized fighter. They also don’t have the same dexterity as a Thief, but they can use a bow. It’s kind of an all-around sort of job. Rogues are pretty rare among lizardmen, but it’s usually safer to gather newbies with specialized skills, so this one isn’t very popular.”

Which is why she was the only one left. Since I didn’t have many tickets, it’d probably be better to choose a male lizardman who was very clearly oriented toward fighting.

“Can this Rogue lizardman use a shield?” I asked.

“Yep. She comes with a leather buckler. It’s not the greatest piece of equipment, but it should be plenty if you’re only going to the first floor of the Field of Dawn. But be careful, both the person’s physical abilities and the shield’s performance change how much they can take.”

If I have her take a low-risk attack, taking into consideration her physical abilities, I should be able to test Defense Support 1. Then I wouldn’t have to waste time waiting for my turn.

“There are some other mercenaries you could employ, but if there’s too big of a gap in level between you two, they might not listen to your orders. They won’t just leave your party, though. Knowing that, this young lizardman is probably good for you. She’s level three; she’ll do what you tell her.”

“Thank you. In that case, I’d like to hire that lizardman, please.”

“All right. I’ll bring her out, you wait here,” said Leila.

There were other people who’d come to the Mercenary Office to hire mercenaries, but there were other workers assisting them. It was sheer luck that I was able to get help directly from the assistant manager.

A few moments later, Leila returned with something…completely different from what I imagined a lizardman would look like.

…Is this just someone dressed up as a lizard?

When you say lizardman, I assumed…well, a man that was also a lizard. Like, a human-shaped lizard creature. I think most people would agree with me. But what Leila brought out was definitely a “person,” no matter how hard you tried to argue otherwise. It looked like a human woman who’d put on the head of a lizard costume and then clothes made of lizard skin.

“Yeah, everyone’s surprised their first time. Demi-humans are transformed humans who’ve been defeated by monsters in a labyrinth. Other than that, resurrection generally isn’t possible in the Labyrinth Country. If they’re able to undo the demi-human transformation, they go back to the form they had in their previous life,” explained Leila.

“…But they’re considered lizardmen?”

“There’s no law against using demi-humans as subordinates. It’d be good if they could communicate, but generally they just follow other people’s orders. Once in battle, though, they fight independently, based on their instincts.”

I did not see this coming. They say they’re not human, but that’s just a legal definition. Actually looking at her, though…

“The lizard mask and whatnot are equipment special to demi-humans; we don’t take them off. There’s a lot of people who might not realize it by looking at them, but just because they’re working as your subordinate doesn’t mean they won’t defend themselves. We get the occasional person who ends up killed by the demi-human they’d been employing when they tried to do something to them. We ask you to agree to this oath to prevent that.”

She had called it a mask, but it was more like a big hood since it didn’t cover the lizardman’s full face. The lizard-skin leather she wore clung tightly to her figure, and for some reason there was a slit in it that extended from between her breasts to her abdomen. What she wore on her hands and feet also didn’t cover all her skin. The more I looked at her, the more I had to say it was a bit sensual, but…looking at the simple yet cutesy eyes on the lizard mask killed any strange ideas I had.

I signed the document and promised not to put the demi-human into any unnecessary danger. Once that was done, the display on my license automatically brought up the party page.

Still can’t read what my job says… Guess it might be rearguard written in some other language. And this lizardman actually has a pretty normal girl’s name…Theresia, sounds kinda European.

“Leila, will switching these numbers around change our battle formation?”

“No, that page is just for checking your party members. There’s another page for battle formation where you can set each of your member’s positions. Mercenaries should automatically maintain their position in the formation, but real, flesh-and-blood humans need practice.”

All right then… Oh, everyone’s in the front right now. Let’s change that…

I didn’t designate her solely as vanguard to make sure she didn’t get too far ahead of me. First, I wanted to try using Defense Support 1 with her standing just in front of me so I could see the effect up close.

I guess I could now consider this lizardman, er, Theresia in her lizard outfit, as my companion. She just stood there staring silently in my direction…except that her eyes were covered, so I didn’t actually know where she was looking.

“Um…my name’s Arihito. Nice to meet you, Theresia.”

“……”

I held out my hand, and slowly, very slowly, Theresia brought hers up as well. Her grip was fairly strong and gave me the sense that she was someone reliable.

“By the way, mercenaries will prioritize their own safety if they find themselves in serious danger, like if the battle formation breaks up,” added Leila. “Then they’ll return to the Mercenary Office. Some people even do that on purpose just ’cause they don’t want to bother bringing the mercenaries back themselves. Best not do that, though, or your karma’ll go up.”

“Okay, understood. I’ll bring Theresia back safely after we’re finished exploring.”

“Hmph, you seem like a pretty decent guy… Oh, also, I saw a young woman head into the labyrinth on her own earlier. She a friend of yours? You oughta keep an eye out for her. No matter what your job is, it’s dangerous to go it alone at level one.”

I wonder if that was Igarashi…? It can’t be, though, she said she was going to join another party. Eh, it doesn’t matter anyway; we’re all up against the same things, so I’d want to help out anyone who seemed in danger.

First things first: I needed to figure out exactly how strong my party was. I set off with Theresia following close behind. The only part of her face not covered by the mask was her obviously human mouth, but even that didn’t give an indication of any sort of emotions at all. Right now, she was my only companion. I hoped that the two of us would manage to get through this without incident as I headed off toward my first dungeon.

Part V: The Weapons Salesman

There wasn’t just one labyrinth that had a difficulty of one star, but apparently, it was customary for the newbie Seekers to go to the Field of Dawn first. Not far from the Mercenary Office was a huge set of stairs, which looked like it could be the entrance to the labyrinth. The crowd gathered around it was so immense that I’d have assumed it was some sort of tourist attraction if I didn’t know any better.

“You a novice?” a young man asked me. “If you don’t have a weapon yet, you should go to one of the stalls over there and pick one out. Your first one’s free, too.”

“Oh, really? Thanks a lot.”

“You must have a rough job if you went and hired a mercenary. Eh, every job’s got a way forward. Good luck,” said the boy. He seemed to be much more experienced but still sort of came off as a newcomer. Either way, he was going into this beginner labyrinth, so he’d probably only arrived here shortly before I did.

I didn’t see Igarashi nearby, but I did spot Suzuna and Elitia. Elitia had taken Suzuna to the weapons stall and was giving her an explanation.

“Hey, mister, what’s your job? I can help you pick out the right weapon for you,” came a voice from another stall. I didn’t realize it right away since she was wearing a turban over her bobbed hair, but the stall worker looked like another Japanese person like me. I could tell just by the fact that she called me mister that she was fairly young, even younger than Suzuna. She seemed like a cheery young girl.

“It’s surprising, isn’t it, that there’s so many Japanese people here. There are people from other countries, too, of course. It’s great how we can talk to anyone since we have a license,” said the girl.

“Uh, yeah…it is. Did you start selling weapons after you were reincarnated?” I asked.

“Yep. My family actually ran a sports equipment shop back home, so I wanted to be a Merchant.”

Ah, that made sense. Some Seekers managed to find a place for themselves in the city. My job wasn’t something that could really be used for sales. The easiest way to apply it and make a living would probably be defeating monsters.

“So weapons are usually divided into close range and long range, and then there’s some that would be considered mid range. What type would you prefer?”

“Let’s see…I guess I could just go with the classic, a sword.”

“A sword? Hmm, you… Oh, you seem to be able to use any weapon. That’s incredible. Is your job Weapons Master?”

“Nah, nothing that exciting. But if I can use anything, maybe I should go with something different.”

It sounded like I didn’t have any set weapons for my job, since rearguard covered such a broad scope. I would mostly be providing support from behind, so perhaps I should get used to using a bow or some other type of long-range weapon. I looked around the stall and my eyes fell on a slingshot.

“I think I’ll go for that slingshot.”

“Is that what you’ll be using? It won’t be very effective if you don’t have the applicable skills.”

“Really? Well, if I can use it without skills, then I’ll just need to practice.”

The slingshot was made from what seemed to be pretty sturdy wood. It came with a small pouch, which contained twenty bullets made of some sort of metal—I couldn’t tell what kind. When I picked it up, it fit in my hand almost like it’d been stuck there, and I just knew how to use it. I guess that’s what was meant by being able to use a certain weapon with your job. I guess you’d be able to tell what weapons you couldn’t use just by picking them up.

“If you don’t mind, I’ll just need to calculate the cost of additional ammo.”

“Of course. I get the feeling I’ll need a lot if it turns out I can use this. I’ll come back once I’ve made the money to buy more.”

“Oh…I forgot to give you this. You can put the things you find in the labyrinth in this leather sack. If you gather materials from weak monsters, you should be able to purchase ammo.”

I wondered if it’d be hard to decide what to bring back if I happened to defeat a larger monster. I’d have to think of the most efficient way to bring materials back from the labyrinth in the future.

“Then best of luck to you, Mr.…”

“Oh, I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Atobe Arihito, and you are?”

“My name’s Shinonogi Madoka… It’s been so long since I’ve said it in that order, surname then given name.”

Apparently, it was normal for Japanese people who’d come to the Labyrinth Country to switch their name order to given name first and surname second. Saying it in the typical Japanese order was probably quite rare.

“Well, until we meet again, Ms. Shinonogi.”

“Oh, just Madoka is fine. Everyone in this town uses your given name, right?”

“O-okay… It just feels weird to call you Madoka since you’re so much younger than me.”

“U-um…you can call me whatever you like. But cutesy nicknames are kind of embarrassing, and Ms. just feels so stuffy. S-so I guess then…”

In Japan, the name with which you addressed someone was one way to show your consideration for them. At this rate, it’d probably be nighttime by the time I got out of the labyrinth, but I wanted to be able to say hi to Madoka if I ever ran into her again.

“Phew… Sorry to make you wait, Theresia. Shall we go?” Theresia appeared to nod ever so slightly. We were heading toward the entrance to the labyrinth when a grizzled veteran-looking man who seemed like a guide of some sort called out to us.

“Hey, another novice, huh? You’re only the seventh I’ve seen today. I heard we had more than thirty new reincarnates coming in, but it looks like most of you were a little spineless. A Seeker’s gotta seek, y’know.”

“Is there any way to make a living in this town without seeking? Or is it best to just continue as a Seeker?” I asked.

“Do it for as long as ya can. There are some folks like me, though, who’ve gone over to the support side of things but still do some seeking, too.”

The man’s hair and beard were almost entirely white, but his body still seemed sound, and he had an ax slung by his side. He definitely looked like he used to make a living as a Seeker.

“Goin’ in and out of those labyrinths time after time will wear a person down. There’re some like me who have a side gig going into the beginner labyrinths and rescuing any novices who are out of commission. Oh, I haven’t even told you my name yet. I’m Ribault.”

“I’m Arihito. Nice to meet you.”

“Arihito… Mind if I just call you Ali? Or maybe Reheater?”

“I-I’d rather if you didn’t. I know it’s not the easiest name to say, but I’d really appreciate if you just called me Arihito. I actually had a question I was hoping I could ask you…”

“Hmm? No way I’m gonna be your guardian. If someone with a high level beats the monster, the low-level members of the party won’t just get the same experience. You won’t get any experience points if you don’t contribute to the fight.”

That wasn’t actually what I had wanted to ask, but I did learn something new. It sounded like grinding a low-level person with a high-level person’s assistance took a lot of effort.

“Thanks for letting me know. But I wanted to ask, about how much is ‘ten injury points’?”

“What? Ah-ha-ha, you think this is some kinda game? There’s no way to express the injuries you get from a monster’s attack with numbers… I mean, you can make a rough guess if you look at your vitality on your license and factor in your defense. You might be able to get an idea of how much you can take.”

So with other jobs, their skills don’t describe the damage they do using numbers…which makes it something unique to the rearguard job.

“For starters, you can go to the first level here and find one of the small-fry monsters in there called a Cotton Ball. You don’t wanna be too worn down after just one hit. Those monsters are the only ones in all the labyrinths that won’t kill a beginner outright even if they’re not defending. There’re no points or nothing, we Seekers have to just figure out our enemy’s strength based on our real-life pain. You’ve always got to be careful that you’re not taken down with the first hit.”

“Thanks a bunch, you’ve been very helpful.”

“You’re a gutsy fella. And you’ve got a mercenary with you. Arihito, I think as long as you’re careful, you’ll be one of the ones who can walk themselves out of the labyrinth on their own feet. Even if there’s some other Seekers around, if you think there’s trouble, give me a shout, and I’ll come over. I do regular patrols, but I don’t catch everything.”

“Got it. I’ll submit a request for your support if I end up in a fix and feel like I’m about to die,” I replied, and Ribault roared with laughter as he patted me on the back. He smiled as he saw me off. It sounded like there were others just like him who I could rely on for support.

“Ribault, earlier, there was a party with a couple of beginners in it that went into the labyrinth. Should I be worried…?”

“Oh, them… A Named Monster appeared, and they ran off, leaving the beginners behind. No point in worrying about them if they joined the party of their own accord, though.”

Was it some of the people I just saw at the Guild…? And is a Named Monster a really strong one? If they get abandoned, they’re probably gonna die…

Obviously, I wanted Igarashi and Suzuna to live, and I even hoped that all the people who reincarnated with me would be all right. I couldn’t be too reckless in the labyrinth, but I did just get another goal.

Part VI: Defense Support

Theresia and I walked down the long, gently sloping stairs, and suddenly the stairs were coated in grass and before our eyes was a field filled with light despite the fact that we should have been underground. This was the labyrinth known as the Field of Dawn. It far exceeded even my wildest expectations.

It wasn’t just a completely flat field of grass as far as the eye could see; there were a few trees sprouting up here and there. I glanced at my license and saw a map of the area displayed. This first level of the labyrinth was so vast you wouldn’t be able to cross to the other side even if you spent all day walking. It would be hard to believe that numerous expansive places like this were dotted around under the city, so it’d probably be safer to assume that we had been transported to a labyrinth that was somewhere else as we came down the stairs.

“Cotton Ball…that’s what we need,” I said. “If it’s a weak monster, it should be somewhere around here…”

Theresia didn’t respond but instead set out in the same direction I was headed. We surveyed our surroundings as we walked, and suddenly, Theresia stopped and drew her short sword and buckler.

Out from behind a tuft of grass appeared a fluffy creature that almost looked like a cute stuffed animal. According to my license, the creature was apparently “on guard.” The Cotton Ball turned a slight tinge of red. I wondered if maybe it was angry, or—

“…!”

The Cotton Ball bounced, then suddenly flew violently at Theresia. Theresia readied her buckler and used it to catch the Cotton Ball’s tackle. There was an incredible thump like a small explosion, loud enough to rupture eardrums, which made me wonder how the buckler hadn’t been crushed with the single blow.

This thing’s no joke… It’s the weakest monster but has this strong of an attack?!

Theresia was able to take most of the blow. I glanced at the red bar below her name on my license and saw that it’d been reduced only by about one twentieth of its total. But her vitality—her life force—was being whittled away, so I had no intention of taking it easy.

Theresia was unsteady from taking the attack, but she bravely struck out with her sword. The Cotton Ball wasn’t going down in one hit, though. Her attack flung it backward, and the moment it landed, it went to counterattack at a dizzying speed.

Now…I need to activate my rearguard skill!

I knew I needed to protect Theresia as she stood in front of me and readied her shield. I had naturally known how to use my skill when I’d put the skill point into it.

The first attack had been strong enough to crush bone if you were unlucky enough get hit directly, but…the second attack was different. The moment before the Cotton Ball crashed into Theresia, it went flying back like something had flung it. I wasn’t able to see it too well since I was behind Theresia, but it was like there was an invisible barrier in front of her. Theresia stood still for a moment as if she didn’t understand what had happened, either.

“Theresia, you attack it after I shoot!”

“……”

I jumped out from behind Theresia with a bullet ready in my sling, aimed at the Cotton Ball, and let it fly. I couldn’t waste a single shot, and that was a direct hit. I was shocked I was able to handle myself in a fight; my body actually seemed to know what it was doing even though it was the first shot I’d ever taken.

“—!”

As I would have expected, Theresia didn’t have anything to say about the critical hit she was about to deal. She closed in on the motionless Cotton Ball and brought her sword down on it.

“…W-we did it…?” I asked in disbelief.

Theresia turned to me and nodded. I approached the dead Cotton Ball, which looked like some kind of small, rat-like animal covered in long fur. But upon closer inspection, it had an evil-looking face. Even if it was violent, I would feel pretty guilty killing a cute animal that could be a pet, so I was happy that it did actually look like a monster.

“I’m sorry, Theresia. I should have used my skill in the beginning…,” I said, assuming she wouldn’t answer, but she shook her head slightly. It seemed like she could only respond with a yes or no. I guess as her employer I really just needed her to be obedient.

If you had the necessary skills, you could just remove whatever useful materials there were on the Cotton Ball and take those back, but I didn’t, so I picked up its whole body and put it in my leather sack. I wondered if the Dissection Center could give me enough money for more ammo if I took this to them… No, it was just lodged in the Cotton Ball, so it’d be better to take it out and reuse it. I’ve got to be thrifty until I’ve reached my earning goals.

“Theresia, are you injured? We could go outside for a bit so you can recover…” She shook her head to imply she was still okay.

Then I realized—the second attack on Theresia hadn’t reduced her vitality at all thanks to my skill, which had reduced the attack’s damage.

The Cotton Ball did less than ten damage when it attacked Theresia. Whether it was one point or just barely under ten, my skill practically nullified it. I’m starting to think Support Defense 1 is pretty useful…

I needed to test my skills a little bit more. I wanted to try it out on a stronger enemy, but I couldn’t ask Theresia to do that for me. But it was good to just know we could defeat a Cotton Ball without taking any damage even if they came at us as ridiculously fast as before. It would depend on how much I could get when I turned in the Cotton Ball, but we would have the option of hunting here.

“Okay, shall we try hunting a few more?” I asked Theresia, who nodded in response. The two of us headed toward a large tree just up ahead.

“—EEEEEK!”

“AAAHHH! I-it’s a Named Monsterrr!”

Just then, we heard a woman screaming—Igarashi. The other scream belonged to that more experienced Seeker who’d been in the Guild, the one full of confidence who’d said he’d show the newbies around.

“Shit…Theresia, let’s go!” I said, then started running in the direction the voices came from.

There was a big tree in the way, but once I’d gotten past it, I saw a bunch of Seekers fleeing as if they were being chased by something. Igarashi was running pretty quickly, but there was a new male Seeker who was lagging behind. Behind him was something that looked like a normal Cotton Ball but was somewhat different. It was completely red. It was chasing after the Seekers, who were running with all their might, trying to snap at their heels.

Part VII: A Rearguard’s True Strength

Even the attack from a normal Cotton Ball was enough to put a level 1 in mortal peril, but this red one was much bigger and much faster than the one Theresia and I had just defeated. It wasn’t quite twice as fast as a normal one, maybe about 30 percent faster.

That last guy isn’t gonna outrun it… But just what can I do against a Named Monster…?!

It was a monster with its own special name: Redface. It activated its skill, and I witnessed something that was hard to believe.

“AAAAHHHH!”

In the blink of an eye, the entire party that was desperately trying to flee was mowed down by Redface. The creature flung itself at terrifying speed and, like a boomerang, arched across the field and crushed the fleeing party. The attack was merciless; it hit every single member and crushed their bodies.

I couldn’t believe a Named Monster could be this powerful even though it was appearing in the beginner labyrinth… Even if I had multiple lives, it wouldn’t be enough. Were the people who’d run into Redface just that unlucky? Was I that unlucky?

“Gah…agh…I—I don’t wanna die… Screw this…!” gasped one of the men in the party.

Baldwick’s party ran away…but Igarashi was still there. That meant she wasn’t actually part of his party. She just happened to be in the same place.

“—Don’t think I’ll go down without a fight!” cried Igarashi.

Igarashi…she dodged using one of her Valkyrie skills!

That’s the kind of nerve I’d expect from her, the kind that let her use a skill she’d just learned when she was in the thick of it. But how often could she activate her skills with only level-1 magic? The stronger the skill, the more magic it’d take.

“Igarashi, run! We’ll keep it back—”

“Atobe…! Hurry, you need to get out of here! As if I’ll lose to this thing!”

I’d never seen her so emotional before, but I aimed for Redface just after it used its powerful skill and let loose a bullet from my sling.

Wha—?!

Even though I’d put everything I had into that shot, it just bounced off Redface with a ping, and it turned its target toward my party. It bounded once and ramped up its speed. If it went like this and Theresia took the hit, we might be able to survive one hit, but I had no way to attack this thing. If we couldn’t damage it, we couldn’t beat it.

Theresia would be able to go back…but I don’t know what’ll happen if she takes more damage than she can handle before she retreats…Leila said she’d died once already, but what happens if she dies again…?

“—Your fight’s with me, rat monster!” Igarashi suddenly shouted.

She had said Valkyries could use magic. The magic that Igarashi had selected from her abilities flashed out fast as a bolt of lightning, much as the name would imply, and struck Redface.

Why…is she trying to save me? I thought she just saw me as a subordinate to be conveniently used and thrown away…?

Redface shifted its target. It bounded backward, then turned to face Igarashi and prepared itself to throw another Boomerang Dive at her.

If she takes this hit, she’ll die. This thing was so strong that not a single person in the party from before was doing all right, but Igarashi didn’t have the energy left to activate a Mirage Step. She gripped her spear with a determined expression on her face and struck out at Redface.

“Hyaaa!”

Even if her spear attack didn’t make it through Redface’s defenses, maybe it could keep it from getting off its Boomerang Dive, but—

Igarashi’s spear snapped apart, and Redface launched at her, sending her flying to the grassy ground before she could even react.

“…What the hell…are you doing…?” I stammered, incredulous.

I felt something snap inside my mind. I had wanted to save anyone I’d found who was in trouble, but…with Redface’s absurd strength and the party that just ran, and me, just standing here watching this pitiful fight… I felt rage—anger at myself boiled through my entire being.

“She did all that for me… And now she’s gonna die…!”

I should have said Yeah, let’s work together when she came up to talk to me earlier. I got so wrapped up in our relationship as manager and subordinate, I just decided that’d never change even though we’d been reincarnated. I had wanted to run away from her…and now it was all going to come to an end, and I didn’t even know if she knew that about me. I wouldn’t have been able to make my decision if I hadn’t been backed into this corner.

Why would she try to protect someone like me…? I’m no different from before I got reincarnated. How could I be so pathetic, not changing at all even though I’ve been reborn!

I was too slow; I was just now realizing this because she’d protected me. But I wasn’t going to let the same thing happen twice.

“Theresia, will you help me? We’re gonna have to get through this together.”

“……”

With Defense Support 1, she could maybe manage to survive Redface’s attacks, and with Attack Support 1, which I had just put a skill point into, she might just be able to get through its defense. If we failed, Theresia and I would both die. I didn’t think this enemy was going to be kind enough to wait for Ribault to come and save us. I wouldn’t have been surprised if Theresia, as a mercenary, decided to put her life first and make a run for it, but she just gave the same small nod she’d been giving me all day.

And then—

“—Theresia!”

The whole point of this was to buy me enough time to save Igarashi and run.

Even though Theresia wasn’t necessarily a close-combat fighter, she instantly put herself in front of Redface. The monster was trying to make another run at Igarashi, who still seemed to have some life in her. It was one of Theresia’s Rogue abilities I hadn’t seen her use yet.

Trying to protect someone else, protect everyone, by throwing yourself in harm’s way. I couldn’t have predicted how the protected people would have felt if that happened to them.

If that’s what we’re doing…I should be the one doing the protecting!

It wasn’t just the people directly in front of me I could protect. When my skills said in front, all party members in front of me were treated as vanguard. I understood that now that Theresia had put such a large distance between us. My Defense Support skill was like a wall that could protect my companions even if they were fighting across a large area.

“—Theresia, I’ll back you up…!”

Redface pulled back from Theresia, who had suddenly moved in front of it, then braced itself for a moment so it could throw another of its powerful skill Boomerang Dive. That skill…it couldn’t be on a completely different level from the Cotton Ball’s tackle, could it?!

We defended! Theresia’s defense plus my Defense Support worked!

Even though there was such a huge distance between me and Theresia, my Defense Support was still effective. And Theresia was unharmed. The damage she’d taken from a normal Cotton Ball must have been only one or maybe two points, so I could completely defend against something that was ten times or five times more powerful, like Boomerang Dive.

If Boomerang Dive is ten times as powerful, that means Theresia has at most only twenty vitality points. Ten isn’t something to be taken lightly; in this world, it seems like it’s actually a large amount…which means…

Redface had been launched backward through the air by my Defense Support, leaving it wide open. I could guess what would happen to it if we hit it with my Attack Support 1.

“Now, Theresia! I’ll back you up!”

“—!”

Her normal attack didn’t get through…but the ten injury points did!

But it wasn’t over in one hit. Redface flinched away from Theresia, but she launched attack after attack at it.

I almost wanted to pump my fists in the air at the sight of Theresia’s slashes landing on Redface, followed by the invisible Attack Support 1 damage. We had defeated a monster that had crushed a more experienced party in one attack. The urge to shout in triumph bubbled up inside me, but this wasn’t yet the time.

“Theresia, I’ll take care of Igarashi, you go get Ribault from outside!” I ordered, and Theresia dashed out of the labyrinth.

Igarashi was collapsed on the ground in terrible condition. She’d taken one of the blows to her arm, which was now red and swollen; it was likely broken.

“Uh…gh…”

She was in pain. She had fought for us, and looking at her, I couldn’t stop memories from our previous life running through my head.

“You’re such a big help to me, Atobe. I can’t rely on anyone else for this kind of thing.”

…If only you’d just worded things a little differently. Actually, I was pretty stupid, too.

Unreasonable demands and high expectations, there’s just a fine line between those two. I didn’t know her intentions; it was too naive to think that way…

I sort of assumed I’d get more skill points when I leveled up. I flipped through the pages to my skills and saw that I’d gotten two more points I could put into them. I put one into Recovery Support 1. But I had to somehow get the unconscious Igarashi to agree to be in my party so I could use it.

“Igarashi, it’s me, Atobe. Help is on the way, but I can do some first aid. Could you join my party so I could do that?” At first, there was no response. I almost gave up since she wasn’t in any condition to be asked, but a moment later, her eyes opened just a tiny bit, and she nodded weakly.

“…If you do…anything weird…I’ll sue…,” she stammered. She had risked her life to protect us, but she still had her pride, which showed her spirit hadn’t yet been broken.

After she was in my party, though, I could see her vitality bar, which had been reduced by over 70 percent, and I only had using my new ability to heal her on my mind.

…So I can just make myself her rearguard… Will this work?

I nervously lifted Igarashi’s limp upper body and sat behind her so she was sort of in front of me.

“……”

She didn’t say anything, but she did seem somewhat opposed to the arrangement. That was to be expected, I guess, since I was basically hugging her from behind. I wondered if I could lay her on her side then I lay behind her, so I would sort of be a “rearguard” then. I wasn’t sure I’d have another opportunity to test it, but I just continued to hold her for what felt like the longest thirty seconds in my life until she recovered the five vitality points.

Part VIII: End of My First Adventure

Based on what I’d learned from the two fights today and looking at the red vitality bar on my license, I decided that Recovery Support 1 was a fairly useful skill for us novices. It took thirty seconds from when I activated Recovery Support 1 to when its effects could be seen in Igarashi’s recovery.

Yeah…that proves it.

Igarashi’s vitality bar, which had been reduced by about 70 percent, suddenly jumped up to 50 percent. Her painful-sounding ragged breathing seemed to come a little more easily, and the swelling in her arm almost completely disappeared, leaving just some redness behind.

If a level-1 Seeker had about ten vitality points, then healing five every thirty seconds was incredibly useful. Obviously, it was pointless if an enemy dealt more than ten points in one hit, so the fact that Redface’s attacks were just weak enough to not do that might be the only silver lining here.

Igarashi remained unconscious, though, perhaps from the shock or continued pain. I seemed to be able to heal vitality but not that… Perhaps I needed some different method that healed statuses or something.

I laid her on the ground for a moment and placed the body of Redface in my leather sack to take back as loot. Before we’d defeated it, it had looked like a super fluffy rat-like creature, but its face really did look evil. It was quite a bit bigger than a normal Cotton Ball, so it filled my leather sack, which probably could have fit four normal ones.

“Hey, you okay?! We’ll take you to a Healer!”

It was Ribault and some others who Theresia had fetched. His companions lifted Igarashi onto a stretcher and carried her away. I walked along with them as Ribault interrogated me.

“What the hell happened? Did you guys run into a Cotton Ball herd?” he asked.

“Baldwick and his party will have more information,” I replied. “A Named Monster appeared, and they used a Return Scroll to flee.”

“Tsk… Named Monsters are stubborn. They remember their first enemy and appear out of nowhere if that person enters the labyrinth. They should’ve known that, but I guess they just needed the cash too bad. Looks like you lot were able to get away, though,” continued Ribault.

I decided it would be pretty hard to just say we beat it. If it weren’t for my special job, we wouldn’t have been able to beat Redface. If word got out, I’d probably get too much attention, and who knew what that would lead to.

I’ll just report the Redface incident to Louisa. Maybe she can hold off on making it public that it was defeated. It’s unfortunate for Baldwick’s party, too, but I’ll just need them to keep the whole thing quiet. My skills just aren’t ready yet.

My rearguard skills had one major disadvantage: I couldn’t support myself in any way, so depending on the battle formation, I could get killed pretty easily. I’d need to get some skills to avoid that, such as some way to handle attacks that came from the side or a way to force enemies to focus their attacks on the vanguard. But if I could work on strategies where the vanguard fought and I supported from the rear, I should be able to handle the beginner labyrinths with little difficulty. Well, as long as no enemies appeared whose attacks weren’t made ineffective by my skills.

Today, the ten points was really effective, but it’d quickly become useless if the monsters’ vitality was higher or their damage was in a different class. The skill was called Defense Support 1, so I’d be willing to bet there was a Defense Support 2. I just hope I can get stronger.

As we were about to exit the labyrinth, we happened to pass by Elitia and Suzuna. They weren’t near us, so they didn’t know we’d been in the fight with Redface, but they sensed the grave air around us and came running over. Maybe she did her hair like that when she was fighting, but now Elitia’s golden hair was in two braids on either side of her head. I decided this wasn’t the time to poke fun at her and call her the Twin Tailed Knight.

“What happened here…?” she asked.

“A Named Monster appeared. It was really dangerous, but we managed somehow,” I replied.

“…Managed… You don’t mean the red Cotton Ball, do you? That only appears once a month and has been able to defeat even a level-three party. It’s so fast, it’s impossible to run away from—how did you…?” Elitia seemed to know about Redface and thought it a miracle we had survived so started to bombard me with questions, but she suddenly looked like she realized something and shut her mouth. “…I’m sorry, I should just be happy that you survived, but here I am asking all these questions. It’s amazing—you’ve just been reincarnated, but you were quick-witted enough to manage.”

“No, we were mostly just lucky. You don’t need to worry about me, but you should be careful if you plan to keep hunting in this area. I don’t think the red one will pop up again, though, so you shouldn’t worry about that,” I said. I was trying to be careful not to give too much information, but I didn’t want to let Suzuna get scared at the possibility of Redface appearing again since she was also just a newbie like me. There was a chance they’d realize we’d defeated it, but actually, that didn’t seem to be the case.

“Named Monsters viciously pursue the first opponent they see, no matter what. We could meet another Named Monster, but that red Cotton Ball won’t be coming for us. Thank you for your concern, though,” said Elitia, thanking a novice like me even though she was clearly a much higher level. Her humble and kind attitude left a good impression on me.

“You…you probably don’t have much time to chat, you should look after your party member… My name’s Elitia. And you are?”

“I’m Arihito. I know it’s probably difficult to say, but I would appreciate it if you could call me Arihito and not shorten it. And you must be Suzuna, right?”

“Y-yes…you and the lady who they carried on ahead were reincarnated at the same time as me…”

“Yep. But she’s okay. She’s unconscious, but her vitality is recovering.”

“Did you use a potion? They’re so rare, but it’s good you had one…,” said Elitia as she looked directly in my eyes. I had a feeling I knew what she was wondering: my job.

“…No, that’s impossible. If there were such an amazing rearguard…,” murmured Elitia.

“If there’s something you’d like to ask, I’ll answer,” I said.

“N-no, it’s nothing…a rearguard who can handle both healing and defense…Arihito, you’ll go very far if that’s the kind of job you have,” said Elitia.

She had wanted to find an excellent rearguard. If we talked about my job here, she’d probably ask me to join her. I got the impression that her job was more geared toward solo work, and there was some sort of risk to the rearguard. I would need to know that beforehand. As long as Suzuna was traveling with Elitia, there’d be a day she’d have to face that. It didn’t seem like a problem at the moment, but I was concerned to leave the situation as it was.

If we could somehow eliminate that risk and fix the difference between our levels, she could potentially be an excellent vanguard. But right now, it’s just a possibility…

First, I needed to worry about Igarashi. I’d talk about it more with Elitia and Suzuna if I met them again.

“All right, well I’m going to head off,” I said.

“O-okay…I’m glad I was able to speak with another Japanese reincarnate. Perhaps we could talk again if we happen to meet sometime…?” asked Suzuna.

Everyone seemed lonely since they’d just reincarnated. Suzuna bowed her head to me a number of times before walking away with Elitia. I got the impression they’d been doing some test runs, so they’d probably leave the labyrinth after seeking for a bit more.

I turned to Theresia, who’d been waiting for me and was about to suggest we go, but…something seemed different about her.

“…Theresia?” I asked.

“……”

She didn’t say anything; she just stared in my direction. Whatever it was didn’t seem like a problem, so I started walking and she fell in behind me. I had a sudden thought so stopped and turned around to face Theresia.

“…So I’ll be using a Mercenary Ticket tomorrow, too. Would you like to come along with me again?” I asked.

Theresia didn’t answer for a moment. I guessed mercenaries didn’t have the right to choose who employed them. After a moment, she nodded her head to say she would come with me the next day, too.

“Great, then it’s decided. We’ll say good-bye at the Mercenary Office today, but thanks for helping tomorrow, too, Theresia.”

This time Theresia didn’t reply at all. I grinned and we ran off to catch up with Ribault and his party, who had left us pretty far behind by now, then made our way out of the labyrinth.