Slave Harem in the Labyrinth of the Other World (LN)
Volume 1 - Ch 5.02

Now that this mini-event has finished I just walked around the vicinity, listening to the conversations that people around me were having in Brahim. Out of all the people who were forming a fired-up crowd just a second ago, no one seemed to be complaining about the knights behaviour towards handling the murder that apparently took place. Is that response considered to be normal here? Does no one really care that much?

The Bandits who have been driven out of town came back to exact their revenge.

I suddenly heard someone speaking behind my back.

Revenge? Someone was killed for such a petty reason?

I hurriedly looked over my shoulder. I have no idea who said that just now, but it had to be someone who witnessed the gathering of the crowd and the arrival of the group of knights. So if that mysterious voice is to be believed there is a group of Bandits in the city that is out for blood. Without knowing the source of that information it might not serve as enough of an evidence if I chose to go to the town guard with it, but even so this is a matter that simply cannot be overlooked. If what that beautiful Female Knight was saying was true, the Bandits who attacked the village were originally from the slums of this town. Maybe the ones who did this were their friends or acquaintances? And most importantly, did only one of them wanted revenge, or were they all hell-bent on it as well?

Suddenly I felt my stomach tying itself into multiple knots and a wave of cold sweat rushing down my back. What what if Im one of the targets of their revenge?

No, nononono, that cannot be it. Thats absolutely not possible. Think about it calmly, you moron! Them being out for revenge probably has nothing to do with me at all.

First and foremost, the most likely reason for their revenge is the fact that they have been kicked out of the town, and I had nothing to do with it since I literally wasnt even existing in this world until a few days ago.

Secondly, none of the Bandits who attacked the village survived. I have slain all of them together with the rest of the villagers (although I did the lions share of the work).

Thirdly, even if some of them managed to survive the attack, replaceing someone without having a nice long look at his face should be borderline impossible in this technology=free world that probably never heard of something as abstract as photographs.

But that does not mean that I can feel relieved just yet. Even if their goal is to take revenge for being driven out of town, I cannot imagine a group of Bandits willingly going against an entire Knight Order. It would be nothing short of suicidal unless theyd have the advantage of both numbers and equipment, which Im sure they dont have right now. But if the grudge they are holding against Veil is strong, Then I dont think a setback or two would be enough to discourage them from pushing through with whatever it is they might be planning. They might have even obtained information about me through some illegal means unknown to me.

Whatever the Bandits intentions might be, I still cant rule out the possibility that I might end up being targeted myself. Until I replace and deal with them, I wont be able to have a peaceful nights rest. With all that said, looks like my decision to switch from dungeon crawling to Bandit hunting was the right one after all.

I have spent the next two days exploring the town of Veil while avoiding getting too close to the slums. I wasnt able to replace any of the Bandits, but at the very least I got the general feeling of the topography and the layout of the terrain in the slums. At the very least thats going to save me some MP I would otherwise wasted on using warp to get around here.

I also understood why the slums were build in the northern part of the town.

Two rivers run through the city of Veil. Both of them enter the city from the south and exit through the north. That water is used a well behind the inn I am currently staying at, acting as the source of drinking water, and probably bathwater for the customers as well, and all the inns sewage is probably drained to the sewers that run all the way beneath the city. The water that enters the town from the south is clear, but the further it travels downstream to the north the dirtier it gets. While I was making my way through the slums, I could faintly smell the smell of bad, almost rotten water in the air.

Nobody would want to willingly live in such a place. The distinction seems to be clear here: the southern part of the city is where the rich people and the business canter dwells while the northern part is comprised entirely of slums and the quarters of the poor and those who could not afford to live in the southern part. I wonder if I didnt see any Bandits or other criminals because they were being careful not to be spotted? I dont think that many people can use Identify besides myself, but maybe they just dont want their faces to be seen or they are only active in the middle of the night? Also, the possibility that I wont even be able to meet them inside the slums at all was extremely likely. If they were exiled from the town, they might as well have their base of operations outside of it.

With nothing better to do at the current moment I made my way to the Labyrinth. Instead of worrying about the things beyond my reach, I might as well try to get myself a treasure chest. That, and I also might try to gain myself some levels, just to be on the safe side if I really end up fighting against the Bandits. I know that technically I dont have to worry about anything as long as I have Durandal, but you know what they say: if the wielders shit, even the greatest of weapons will be shit as well.

I gained a few levels, so now using Warp should be that much easier for me. Maybe I will even be able to use it two times in a row without exhausting my MP pool? The number of available slots in my Item Box has also increased accordingly. My current levels are as follows: Explorer Lv.6, Hero Lv.4 and Warrior Lv.4. Since Explorer has been set as my first Job, it should now figure as my main Job on my Intelligence Card.

Usually labyrinths often tend to have secret passages and hidden doors in them, and this one was no exception from that rule. Way in the back of the first floor there was a small room behind a hidden door. When you passed it, you ended up in another small room similar to the one at the entrance. Just like that one, it also had a number of branching pathways extending from it, which created a truly magnificent maze. After checking every nook and cranny at the first floor, I made my way over there. When I stopped in front of one of the walls, a part of it made a rattling noise and then slowly slid down, revealing the pathway I was looking for. I went through it to proceed with my search. At first I didnt even realized that there was even a door since all I did was going back and forth between the places I have already explored. That was the safest method, but admittedly it was not very efficient, so the discovery of that new hidden passage was truly a Godsend to me.

I might have not made any progress when it comes to the Bandit search, but as a consolation prize the exploration of the Labyrinth entered a brand-new stage!

Today my current excursion into the Labyrinth occurred towards the end of the day, after I spend the daytime on another fruitless Bandit search in the slums of Veil. I wanted to do so mainly to improve my mood as I waited for the situation in the city to change.

I once again made my way to the end of the first floor and waited for the portion of the wall to slide down, allowing me a passage to the hidden section. I wanted to go inside immediately, but

But someone was already there.

Brown bodies with green heads. And not just two or three. There was so many Needlewoods here that they could make an entire bush or a small forest if they were to be placed beside each other, and they were all staring at me as if they wanted to say What the fuck are you looking at?! , or You picked the wrong cave, fool!.

*Sigh*.. fuck.

I said brandishing my Durandal as the enemies rushed towards me like an army of green, spiky toddlers.