The Mage of Trust
"Abison!"
The beastman's ears perked up.
"This is Abison's backpack!?"
"You met Abison!?"
The dwarf shouted.
"No wonder it looked familiar! Where did you find the body?"
The priest brightened.
"It's not like we found Abison's corpse. We fought a team of slave mages and got it as loot."
I briefly summarized the incident with the bald party.
"My goodness! So that's what happened."
"That's insane!"
The priest and the beastman, deeply moved, checked the inside of the backpack.
Meanwhile, the dwarf started calculating first.
"What do you want as the reward for finding the backpack?"
"I want the backpack."
A rather funny answer came out.
But the dwarf probably expected that response.
After all, since they were about to cross over to the village, things like bacon, bread, and pots inside the backpack would only be dead weight to them.
What they really wanted were valuables like Abison's wallet and keys.
In exchange, I would receive more consumables from the dwarf party.
"Fine. We'll give you all our food."
"All of it?"
"It'll just be baggage for us now anyway."
We began exchanging supplies with the dwarf party.
As I handed back Abison's handkerchief, keyring, wallet, and scripture, I asked,
"You're not planning to come straight back, are you?"
If they were just going out to grab a resurrection scroll and return, there was no way they'd give us all their food.
"That's right."
The dwarf replied as he handed over two loaves of bread, a slab of butter, twelve boiled eggs, and seasoned dried beef.
"It takes time to get a resurrection scroll. The administrative process is a pain."
"That's because we already used one."
The priest added from the side.
"A resurrection scroll?"
"Yes."
I did think it was strange that they'd put soul preservation on him without having a scroll.
"What happened to it?"
"We already used it after Mr. Abison died."
No, Abison…
You really shouldn't be exploring labyrinths.
"Anyway, while we're waiting for a new scroll, we're going to recruit another mage."
The priest said as she handed over bacon, five cans of corn, a roll of toilet paper, and two water bottles.
"Then we'll come back as a four-person party, resurrect Abison, send him to the city, and we'll clear the next exit room and leave."
"I see."
"Haa… honestly speaking, you—being a slave mage—are about thirty thousand times better than Abison."
The dwarf slapped his forehead, looking like Abison had given him endless headaches.
"If we'd recruited a mage like you from the start, things would've been much easier."
"Look forward to the next opportunity. My price won't be cheap."
I joked back and slung the bag over my shoulder.
That was when—
"Um…"
Yernil, who had been quietly focused on organizing supplies until now, suddenly raised her hand and asked to speak.
Since she was the most incompetent(?) and timid one here, everyone's attention snapped toward her instead.
And what came out of Yernil's mouth was truly shocking.
Something even I, the turn-based master, hadn't anticipated.
"Then… could you take Caleb with you?"
What?
"There's still one slot left in the gate…"
Yernil, have you lost your mind?
"If Caleb crosses the gate with you, the contract is still fulfilled, right? All three members of your party would have crossed the gate. Isn't that correct?"
"Well, technically yes, but…"
Even the calculating dwarf was flustered by Yernil's point.
"Priest!"
This time, Yernil grabbed the priest's arm and pleaded.
"You said you were going to recruit another mage! Caleb can go out, pay 9,500 gold, become a free citizen, and then join your party!"
Her logic was sound.
"And once he's a free citizen, he can use the remaining money to get proper equipment. Couldn't you bring him into your party like that?"
But the problem was…
"Then what about you?"
The priest asked in horror.
"You'll be left alone!"
If I crossed over with the dwarf party, Yernil would be left here by herself.
"Even a talented mage like Caleb would struggle to survive alone in the labyrinth. Let alone you—you wouldn't last a day!"
At the priest's words, Yernil fidgeted with the hem of her pants and parted her lips hesitantly.
"I…"
She glanced at me once, then bit down hard on her dry, cracked lips. Her eyes reddened, and she lowered her gaze.
"Back when you said you only needed a mage in front of the exit room…"
She sniffled as she spoke.
"I think this is what I should've said back then. Caleb."
"..."
"I'm sorry… I didn't have the courage to say it then. Please go with them."
What is this supposed to be?
Some kind of mental victory?
Guilt for holding me back? Or trying to strike first because she's afraid of being abandoned later? Or maybe she's worried I'll resent her someday?
I couldn't easily guess what kind of psychology lay beneath Yernil's absurd proposal.
"Honestly…"
But it turned out that, surprisingly, she had reached this conclusion through rational analysis.
"I don't think the two of us can clear another exit room…"
She spoke in a voice filled with despair.
"Caleb's magic is incredibly powerful, but I… I saw it myself. The arrows I fired were completely useless…"
It was a rational resolve and a cold judgment. Not brave, but forced out while trembling in fear, tears streaming down her face.
Yet it was a resolute decision.
"If we keep going with just the two of us… we'll die in the next exit room… Please don't let it be because of me."
A brief silence fell.
This isn't game-like. Situations like this don't exist in games. The realization that this isn't a game but reality sent a chill down my spine.
"Elf girl."
The dwarf let out a low sigh.
"Everything you said is correct. To be honest, I want to recruit Caleb and take him with us right now."
"..."
"But recruiting another party's member inside the labyrinth is bad manners."
"B-But, in front of the exit room—!"
"At the door, you were just 'ex-convict slaves,' so we didn't care. Who dies, who lives, what happens—nobody cares."
Cruel, but true. I had suspected as much myself.
"But now, the way I see you is different. So I'll do this, respecting both of your positions."
The dwarf turned his gaze toward me.
"Caleb. On behalf of our party, I formally offer to recruit you. If you join us, we'll give you a 25% share of the profits, and per the contract made at the exit room, we'll pay you 9,500 gold."
He glanced briefly at the priest.
"Even so, that should be fine, right, Emma?"
"Yes. We would be fully fulfilling the contract."
At that, Yernil grabbed my hand tightly this time.
"Caleb. Go over to that party. I'm fine. You've already saved me three times. Back at the goblins, when I stepped on the trap, and when we ran into the other slave team."
"..."
"Honestly, I should've died a long time ago. I was no help at all in this exit room either. I know my own worth."
Even as she spoke so resolutely, her arms and legs were trembling nonstop.
Of course she'd be scared. Voluntarily staying behind alone like this—none of it made sense.
"I don't want to drag you down with me when I'm the only one who needs to die. If it's now, we can part with smiles."
"The choice is yours, Caleb."
The dwarf issued his final ultimatum.
"Please… let's say goodbye with a smile."
Yernil wiped away her tears and forced a smile.
And then—
Ding! Ding!
The hourglass shook and rang like an alarm clock.
[Hourglass Extension Opportunity!]
▶ If you remain by Yernil's side now, Yernil's trust will reach 100%.
▶ If her trust is maintained at 80% or higher afterward, you may issue commands to Yernil on your turn.
▶ After ending your turn, Yernil will carry out the command of her own will.
'What is this now?'
When we encountered the bald party.
When I received the dwarf's offer at the entrance to the exit room.
And now.
After being tested three times in a row over Yernil, I discovered a hidden option of the hourglass.
In the depths of the game labyrinth, special abilities can be added through leveling up, or expanded into higher tiers.
For example, a special ability like "Corpse Devouring" evolves into an entirely new dimension if used often enough, gaining additional options.
Originally, eating corpses only restored health, but later it might restore skill cooldowns as well.
Or grant additional stat buffs, or allow you to glimpse fragments of memories by eating the prey's brain.
That's what ability expansion is.
It seems that this function still applies even now that this world has become reality instead of a game.
The expansion function of the special ability called "Turn-Based Hourglass" is "issuing commands to party members."
How does it work?
'If I issue a command on my turn and end it, Yernil carries out that command?'
Can she carry out any command?
What happens if I issue an impossible command?
If I tell her to hold her breath for two hours, would she suffocate? Or would she eventually breathe anyway?
To begin with, long-term commands are likely impossible. For example, ordering her to obey me absolutely for the next fifty years probably wouldn't work.
The commands I can issue on my turn are likely simple actions.
For instance…
"Drop your shield and come out to hit the spider!"
Something like that.
In terms of action points, probably about a one-point action.
Earlier, the dwarf and the beastman didn't come out until I was on the verge of bursting, but Yernil would immediately jump out the moment a turn-based command was issued.
"..."
This is good.
No—this is insane, isn't it?
I know better than anyone how much impact giving a party member even one action-point turn can have on combat.
"Well?"
The dwarf pressed for an answer.
Hold on a second. I need more time to think.
The hourglass's expanded function and the talented archer Yernil.
Nearly ten thousand gold worth of coins, immediate escape from the labyrinth, and a spot in a veteran party.
Yernil's situation honestly shook me a lot, but let's remove emotion as much as possible and think rationally.
The Abyss of the Labyrinth is a game where every small choice matters. Even the tiniest event can return later as a massive butterfly effect.
Let's put these two options on the scales and weigh them carefully.
Mess this up here, and you end up like the bald guy.
Which choice yields the maximum benefit?
What should I choose?
"Caleb."
Sorry, dwarf, but I need to think.
Just sixty seconds.
[It is your turn.]
[Action Points: ■■■■]
"Please cross over as originally planned, the three of you. I'll escape separately with Yernil."
An answer even more shocking than Yernil's self-sacrifice exploded through the exit room like a bomb.
"...Uh...uhh..."
Yernil quite literally staggered in shock. That's how stunned she was.
"Huh..."
The dwarf and the beastman's eyes doubled in size, and the priest gasped and covered her mouth.
"Are you serious?"
"Yes. I'm serious."
There was too much missing information to clearly judge which option was better.
If this were a game, what would I have done? What choice would I have made?
Thinking about it that way, the answer was one hundred percent Yernil.
An immediate spot in a veteran party and ten thousand gold are tempting, but if you consider clearing the labyrinth to the very end, raising Yernil from now on is the better investment.
Without that level of long-term investment, defeating the Labyrinth Master was impossible even on lower difficulties.
And on developer difficulty? Absolutely impossible.
Of course, there were concerns.
What if, after all that effort to bring her out, Yernil said, "Farewell, everyone! I'm off to find happiness in the Fairy Forest," and ran off?
Or what if, once we reached town, I decided to stop adventuring in the labyrinth and found a safe job to live comfortably?
Because this isn't a game but reality, those possibilities haunted me probabilistically.
Especially the latter—it was a powerful temptation. If I became a free citizen with 9,500 gold, maybe that really could happen.
But for now, it's better to keep all possibilities open and take a broad approach.
And more than anything…
'I'm just not that cold-hearted.'
With twenty seconds left on my turn, seeing Yernil's face tipped the balance.
It's not some heroic urge to protect Yernil. I'm far from a knight on a white horse—more a small, ordinary person than a hero.
It's just that I'm also not heartless enough to throw Yernil away in a moment like this.
Humans are surprisingly like that.
When a lion charges in, a herd of buffalo abandons the straggler and a hundred flee—but humans are the insane creatures who charge back into a battlefield of flying bullets to rescue a fallen comrade.
Humans aren't as coldly rational as you'd think.
Honestly, it's easier on the mind to just say "Screw it, follow me!" and clear it together. If I left like this, would I really sleep well at night?
"C-Caleb!"
Yernil, unaware of what was going on inside me, grew frantic.
"Caleb! Are you insane!? Why aren't you leaving!?"
I'm already distressed enough, so could you be quiet for a bit?
"Even that personality is something to covet."
The dwarf was genuinely moved.
"You've got loyalty. In the labyrinth, that kind of trust rivals talents like 'Ultra-Fast Casting' or 'No-Chant Casting.'"
"..."
"The Magic Academy really struck gold this time."
The priest said with satisfaction.
"Assuming you make it out."
"What Yernil said was all true."
The beastman rogue added.
"Yes. Honestly, it won't be easy for just the two of you to find the exit room and escape."
The priest nodded in agreement.
"Caleb is strong, but how are the two of you supposed to defeat the next exit boss?"
"That's why—could we take the Venomic Spider corpse?"
I suddenly asked amid the emotional atmosphere.
The dwarf tilted his head.
"A corpse?"
Their party had originally planned to take the entire corpse through the gate, since harvesting materials from it would fetch a decent price.
"I may be moved, but that's a separate matter."
Kyaa.
Tried to bury the question in the mood, but that's not going to work, huh?
Dwarf, you're a T-type, aren't you?
"Then sell it to us."
"The corpse? How will you pay for it?"
The priest asked with a smile.
"Put it on our 9,500-gold tab."
"Kahaha!"
The dwarf burst out laughing.
"Fine, let's do that. 1,500 gold. How about it?"
"1,300."
"1,500 is already a bargain."
"Understood. Then 1,500."
Honestly, the fact that he was even willing to let us buy it on credit was something to be grateful for. After all, the dwarf was betting that I'd be the one to die, along with the 9,500 gold.
"Good. And…"
The dwarf turned to Yernil.
"Elven miss. What's your name?"
Wait a second, dwarf.
You didn't even know Yernil's name until now?
That's a bit much.
"Y-Yes… Yernil."
"Ye-ye-rnil."
"No! Yernil."
"No-yeor Yernil."
"No, I—"
What are you doing…
Out of nowhere, the two of them put on a brief bit of standing comedy.
"Yernil. I think you were incredibly brave as well. Thanks to you, I saw a scene even more impressive than a quadruple ultra-fast fireball."
"..."
"Don't die. Don't let go of Caleb. And make sure you return to the city together."
The dwarf handed Yernil four healing potions.
Priest Emma lightly touched Yernil's forehead.
"May Nathaniel's blessing be upon you."
A white light enveloped Yernil's body.
In the game, it's a blessing that lasts twelve hours, grants +1 to all stats, and provides immunity to curses and corruption.
I don't know how it works in reality, though.
"May Nathaniel's blessing be upon you."
The priest placed the blessing on me as well.
This is why having a priest in the party is convenient.
"Well, I don't really have anything to give, but if we meet in town, I'll buy you a beer!"
The beastman said, pointing beyond the gate.
"If we make it out to the village, where should we find the three of you?"
When I asked, the priest replied.
"Come to the Temple of Nathaniel and ask for Priest Emma. I'll pay you immediately."
"Thank you."
"Then we'll head to the village first. I wish the two of you good fortune."
Priest Emma bowed to us and crossed the gate first.
Kwagwarang!
The color of the gate changed from blue to green. It had begun to collapse.
"Hey, rookie mage. My name's Jikal. Remember it."
The beastman rogue, Jikal, patted my head.
"Let's definitely meet again in the city."
As he crossed the gate, its color shifted from green to yellow.
"Alright then. You two aren't crossing."
The dwarf warrior, Virtanen, pulled out an E-rank magic stone he'd put away and gently rolled it through the gate.
Kwaang!
The gate's color changed from yellow to red.
It was treated as if "one person's worth" had crossed using the magic stone.
In the labyrinth, this is proper etiquette. If fewer than four people cross, you use a magic stone to close the gate faster, so a new gate can be generated sooner.
"When you get to the city, look for the dwarf warrior 'Virtanen' at the Adventurers' Guild."
The dwarf thumped his chest and crossed the gate.
Kuuung!
The gate finally vanished completely.
Inside the exit room, only Yernil and I remained. Along with countless burned spider corpses.
Thud.
Suddenly, Yernil collapsed to the floor.
She'd told us to go on ahead with a calm smile, but it was clearly just bravado.
"Why… why didn't you go."
She hung her head low.
"How are the two of us supposed to clear the exit room…"
"Don't cry. Come here."
Yernil.
Don't worry.
This crazed veteran of the game—so over-seasoned he's gone rotten—had already calculated where to lie down long before stretching his legs out.
"Let's strip the spider's fangs."
This time you only fired two toothpicks, but in the next exit room, I'll make sure you fire arrows of lethal venom.
You'll deal the burst damage of two people—the dwarf and the beastman combined—and we'll escape together.
[Yernil's trust has reached 100%!]
[You may now issue commands to Yernil on your turn.]
The hourglass shook like an alarm clock.