Author Note:

I have a Patreon page. If you want to support my work, please visit it. There, you could find six chapters in advance for patrons.

https://www.patreon.com/finlegost

You can find the character concepts here:

https://www.instagram.com/finlergost

*******************

"You'd better start saying something interesting, or I'll leave you alone and go exploring on my own," I say, interrupting him.

"Don't throw empty threats at me, kiddo..." says the elderly orc, yawning and stretching as he lifts his upper body to sit up.

"...I already realized that, apparently, you can't do this without me. I still don't know why it is that there are monsters you refuse to finish off, and I'm sure you wouldn't answer me even if I asked. But now, more than ever, it's clear to me that you need me."

"You're imagining things, ancient orc..." I say, annoyed at how perceptive and intelligent this chatterbox is about some things, and quickly changing the subject to distract the old orc.

"...but speaking of imagining things. It seemed to me that the receptionist reacted badly when she heard you were a Shaman. Why?"

"Ahh, that..." he says, laughing, as he stands up and jumps to grab an apple from one of the branches of the tree we are resting on, after which he sits back down.

"...It's just the normal attitude of my kind toward that sort of thing. I suppose it would be the same if I had the Martial Artist or Paladin classes. But the former is very difficult to achieve as it requires years of training, and the latter is practically impossible for anyone of my race as they would have to go to the Sky Country to speak to the goddess of the Avians."

'Paladin... That's a class I didn't know about.... But it's irrelevant to me if I can't get it.'

"But why is that so?" I ask, not quite understanding what he's referring to.

"Because they are classes that originated from other races. It's similar to the contempt my race has for magic..." he says as he polishes the apple with a cloth, after which he gives it a bite.

"...do you remember the look on that girl's face at the beginning when she saw that you were a Sorcerer? For that very reason, I didn't use my tattoos until after the warrior who brought us to this floor left."

"Do you think Jackal would have tried to attack you, or something, just for being a Shaman?" I ask in surprise.

"Nah... But probably his attitude towards us would have radically changed..." says the elder orc, looking thoughtfully at his apple.

"...What can I tell you? I've had enough unpleasant experiences because of my tattoos, and so I've gotten used to hiding them in front of other people. It's no big deal, really."

'But it still stinks that others look down on you just because of who you are.'

"But… how come you have that class?" I ask, curious, as I don't understand the reason why an orc would want to get a class that is known to bring him the scorn of the other members of his race.

"That's my business," growls the ancient orc in a grim tone that surprises me.

"Weren't you the one who said we had to talk about our past?..." I ask in a mocking tone, but I quickly change tactics when I see the furious look he gives me.

"...But it's okay; I'm not really interested in how you got it. What I want to know is, can you help me to get it? I'm also interested in the Engineer class; could I acquire it if I buy and use a firearm?"

I don't know what effects those tattoos will have, but Kaelion uses them to make him faster, so I suppose I could try to get that same benefit.

And while I still think of firearms as a type of weapon I don't like, acquiring two new classes would mean getting access to a lot of extra stat points since the first few levels of the classes are so easy to level up.

Also, once I get the class, I will no longer have any need to use that type of weapon, thanks to my passive ability to level up all classes regardless of the action that generates the experience.

"Haa..." the old orc sighs at length and leans back, after which he begins to speak in his usual tone.

".... Shaman is a class distinct from others. Leveling up does not increase any one characteristic of the individual above the others. For example, the Sorcerer class especially increases mental abilities; Warrior works the same way but with physical abilities. Shaman, however, increases all abilities in a balanced way. Another distinction is that it allows people to use the tattoos to affect the spirit of the wearer and thus momentarily alter the way the wearer's capabilities are balanced. I, for example, have three tattoos..."

As he says these words, he shows me the different tattoos he has. "...One that increases my reflexes and speed, one that increases my physical capabilities, and one that increases my physical resistance. All at the cost of a bit of my mental capabilities, as my Engineer class almost exclusively increases those capabilities...."

As the old orc speaks in a sleepy voice and continues to take bites of his apple, I listen, very interested in the new information.

"....Also, just because these tattoos affect my spirit, that doesn't mean that I need to have an affinity for spirit magic to obtain the class or use the tattoos, but I do know that having the affinity makes it much easier to use them. In short, it's a complicated class in so many ways, but I think I could help you to acquire it..." he says, yawning.

"... Anyway, tattoos are one thing that require certain expensive materials, and right now I'm a little short on cash..." He smiles slightly.

"...Thanks to a certain main character I'm investing in. And the same goes for this idea of yours of buying a firearm…" he says, giving the final bites to his apple.

"... It's true that with what we looted today, we could get enough money, I suppose, but the association usually takes several days to pay to the people that sell them the labyrinth loot. It's a disgusting strategy they use to keep the money in case the person dies in the labyrinth. Anyway, that's the law, and we can only adapt to it, at least for now."

"How long does the association take to pay for the labyrinth loot?" I ask, after waiting several seconds, seeing that Kaelion doesn't plan to say anything more about it.

"Roughly, it used to be about a week, though it's been years since I've been to the association. It could have changed for the better or for the worse, which I see as more likely," the elder orc says, yawning again and tossing the apple pit away.

'Shit...

I wanted to try to get those two classes as soon as possible…

That would help me enormously to get stronger quickly, and that would make Azur's absence less noticeable....

Wait...

Didn't the crazy receptionist say she'd pay me instantly for the loot from the labyrinth I'd bring her? Hmm, it looks like I'm going to have to go to her house'

"Kaelion, I'm going to need you to accompany me to a certain place when we get out of the labyrinth. I think I know how I could get some quick cash, and then we could buy everything we need," I say, praying internally that the old orc doesn't start again with his shit about love, and I don't know what else bullshit, when he finds out where I intend to go.

"Hmm, ok... And how do you know the location of a place in the capital?" he asks, looking at me curiously with narrowed eyes.

"I don't know the location... I only have this piece of paper with the address on it, so you're going to have to guide me," I say, showing him the piece of paper Rinka gave me.

"This is a very nice calligraphy... Hmm, I think I saw it a while ago... Ahh, I see... Way to go, boy," says the old orc elder when he realizes where I want to go, and a foul grin spreads across his face.

'He knows nothing... But I don't care what he thinks'

...

By the time we get out of the labyrinth, it's already starting to get dark, so Rinka must already be on her way home.

We leave the association building, and I let the ancient orc guide me through the capital to the address on the paper.

After about half an hour's walk, we arrive at a small, refined-looking three-story house, which is the perfect clone of all the houses we have seen for the last five minutes or so.

They are all exactly the same, small in base size but elongated upwards, and all built tightly together.

This is unthinkable in the capital of Liones, where every house and building is different and where most houses tend to be considerably larger.

'I suppose it makes sense that large numbers of houses are built in the same way if the design is efficient....

But it still seems very strange to me.'

...

When we knocked on the door, it was obvious to me that the girl seemed to dislike the fact that I was accompanied.

But she tried to disguise it as best she could and agreed to buy our loot from the labyrinth.

However, she did not let us inside her house, and we made the transaction on her doorstep.

In total, we got 7 gold coins, which is pretty good considering that I mostly fought alone and that we weren't inside the labyrinth for very long.

That's more than enough to buy the materials for the tattoos, according to Kaelion, but I will have to wait a bit longer to get the money to buy a firearm.