Surviving in a Frozen Dark Fantasy as a Genius Mage - Chapter 30

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Mordor

◈ Surviving the Frozen Dark Fantasy as a Genius Mage ◈

Chapter 30: Veteran-Style Interview

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Expedition Party members were broadly divided into front-line fighters, Scouts, and spellcasters.

Those roles could be further divided into shield bearers, assault troops, rear-line marksmen, and support personnel, but those were the main categories.

Had word spread because of that commotion at the exchange?

Unlike before our first Labyrinth expedition, when nobody had shown up, quite a few people came for the interviews.

There had to be more than twenty of them.

“Introduce yourself.”

“I’m Evan.”

“No, not that. Your build, skills, and experience.”

“Th-that’s...”

“Rejected.”

“What?”

I began the interviews in earnest.

Before getting into the details, I filtered out anyone wearing nothing but a Gambeson without even a helmet. People who hadn’t covered the basics.

“You’re discriminating against fellow 9th Ranks?!”

A few of the more hot-tempered applicants protested.

“Yeah! This is only your second expedition too!”

I snorted and shut them down at once.

“You seem to be mistaken. I’m 8th Rank.”

Mages and Priests received a one-rank bonus when their rank was assessed.

“...!”

“Besides, my equipment is better than yours.”

Behold. This sturdy robe, incomparable to some shabby quilted armor, and this noble staff with Mana Amplification.

“I made approximately 170 silver coins on my first Labyrinth expedition, and I even defeated Marauders on the second floor.”

You damn newbie.

“Urgh.”

The worthless applicants who hadn’t even covered the basics shed tears at my smooth words and slunk away.

“That’s cruel. So cruel...”

“Dictator! If you only hire experienced people, where are newcomers supposed to gain experience?!”

There were still a few minor protests.

“You misunderstand, everyone.”

I wasn’t a fucking racist.

I wasn’t looking down on them just because they were 9th Rank Expedition Party members. If they showed promise, I would take them.

The problem was those who lacked the basics.

‘I can’t tolerate freeloaders.’

“Sorry. Next.”

As the interviews continued, the better candidates began to appear.

“I was a warrior active on the second floor.”

A dwarf warrior wearing dwarven-style plate armor engraved with fire and an anvil thumped his chest and spoke confidently.

He seemed too capable to join a first-floor party, but it wasn’t hard to guess why he had come.

‘We have a mage and a Priest, both precious assets.’

‘Elena is a 9th Rank elf warrior, her equipment is decent, and we said we’d head to the second floor if the chance came.’

I examined the dwarf’s profile from the Expedition Party guild.

[Gimlius]

[Race: Dwarf]

[Has explored all three second-floor areas, including the Burning City, Salt Cave, and Rotting Swamp.]

‘Gimlius... That sounds like a name that should appear in The Lord of the Rings.’

Putting that aside, he was experienced.

Even with a Priest and mage in the party, he wasn’t someone desperate enough to need us.

For someone like this, there was usually some hidden flaw...

“You said you would aim for the second floor if the opportunity came, correct? You won’t regret taking me into your party. I do have one condition. Raise my share to 30%.”

Right. He had something he wanted.

“Can I think about it first?”

Our earnings would decrease, but a dwarf of his caliber would be an excellent addition.

I’d put him on hold for now.

“I need to look into other parties as well. Give me your answer today.”

After the dwarf left, I looked over the other applicants.

If someone seemed skilled, they had another motive or demanded too large a share. If their personality seemed decent, they fell short somewhere else.

Most of them had a flaw of some kind.

‘Even if we accomplished something remarkable for a first-floor party...’

‘We’ve only explored the Labyrinth once. That must be why.’

“Next.”

While I was conducting the interviews...

“Ian, why did you reject those people just now?”

Daisy whispered to me.

“They were all 8th Rank, had decent gear, and asked for a fair share.”

Besides the dwarf, a few other second-floor Expedition Party members had come for interviews.

Daisy was asking about the 8th Rank man and woman I had carefully turned down earlier.

My answer was simple.

“They seemed to know each other.”

Why was that a problem?

“The Labyrinth is a place where anything can happen.”

Such things rarely happened, but if they had other intentions, it would be hard for us to respond.

Or, in a crisis, their close bond could work against us instead.

“I see...”

Daisy nodded with her mouth slightly open, seemingly impressed by my thoroughness.

Unlike our cute Daisy, Elena had to find something to complain about.

“I told you, you’re picky.”

“I have to be picky. Our lives are on the line.”

“Well, that’s part of your charm.”

Elena casually draped an arm over my shoulder and playfully twisted my hair around her fingers.

After the last person left, no more applicants came.

Leaving behind the loud chatter and smell of alcohol, I considered whom to choose.

“I don’t like dwarves,” Elena said.

“Why?”

“They’re fucking short. You can’t even see them.”

‘That’s a mindset that makes me worry about raising children.’

Ignoring Elena’s discriminatory remarks, I made my decision.

“Okay. I’ve decided.”

* * *

Afterward, the group studied the types and habits of monsters that inhabited the second floor, as well as traps, mechanisms, and other dangers they needed to watch out for. They also visited the general store and several other shops to restock consumable supplies for the expedition.

‘Ian really is amazing. He knows so much.’

“Whew.”

Daisy, dressed in a pure white robe, let out a sigh.

Behind her, the grand Temple of Meia, Goddess of Abundance and Mercy, stood in all its imposing splendor.

“Dize...”

Since that day, Dize had not appeared before the group.

Their time together had been short, but Dize was Daisy’s deeply bonded hometown friend.

As Daisy sadly rubbed her hands together, a handsome young man with icy silver hair approached from the other side.

“How did it go, Daisy?”

“Oh, Ian.”

Daisy looked at her friend and party leader, the clever mage who seemed to know everything.

“I met Agape and spoke with her. I prayed to the god... No, to Meia, and just like you said, I can use Heal more times now. I also learned a new Divine Power spell.”

“Ha ha, right? Good job, Daisy. The party will be even more stable now. Was there anything else?”

“Nothing especially unusual, but... Um... Agape was a little too forward, I guess? She kept suddenly taking my hand, so it surprised me...”

“Mm, she does have that kind of preference.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Leaving the cryptic remark hanging, Ian shook his head and held out his hand.

“You packed the Holy Water, right?”

“Yep!”

“Then shall we go?”

Daisy firmly took Ian’s hand, and they walked through the Labyrinth together.

They passed through the still-unfamiliar grand city and its countless people before soon arriving at the Expedition Party guild.

“You’re late. I’ve been waiting forever.”

Elena stood in front of it with her arms folded, looking at Daisy and Ian as though something displeased her.

“Ha ha! I look forward to working with you!”

The dwarf warrior was there as well.

‘This is the best option we have.’

After much consideration, Ian accepted the dwarf warrior Gimlius into the party, even giving him a larger share.

It was because Gimlius was an experienced veteran with extensive second-floor experience.

Their final party member was...

“Greetings, Ian, Daisy, Elena, Gimlius.”

An ordinary human man of average build, with such an indistinct impression that one might forget him after passing by, gave a brief bow with a backpack on his back.

His name was Hans.

Even his name was common, and he was only a 9th Rank Expedition Party member, but Ian accepted him over the other 8th Rank applicants.

The first reason was...

‘His equipment is good for a first-floor Expedition Party member.’

Hans was 9th Rank, but he had good equipment.

He wore reinforced leather armor, sturdy boots, and even carried a crossbow.

When asked, he said he had spent three years on the first floor and worked various jobs in the city to pay for his expeditions.

‘It might only be the first floor...’

‘But he’s entered and left the Labyrinth for three years and is still intact.’

That was proof of caution.

It also meant he had perseverance.

More importantly, nobody else had applied for the Scout position, and Hans appeared quite dexterous.

He could juggle four balls at once, and he answered Labyrinth-related questions Ian had created that required some ingenuity.

Even on the second floor, I knew every type of trap that could appear.

We simply lacked the keen eye to spot them and the dexterity to disarm them.

A Scout was exactly what we needed if we wanted to explore the second floor.

‘In the end, Hans’s ability will be important if we want to reach the second floor.’

Before entering the Labyrinth, the five went into the Expedition Party guild to register their expedition.

Ian then spoke to his party members.

“Ah, I’m planning to pick up a few requests before we explore.”

“Do you know how it works? If we accept requests carelessly and fail them, all of our reputations will suffer.”

Gimlius advised Ian, apparently unsure of someone who was only making his second trip to the Labyrinth.

“I know that much.”

Ian snorted inwardly.

Did this tiny dwarf think I wouldn’t know that?

I’m a veteran of this terrible game.

Labyrinth exploration allowed them to sell Mana Stones and rare monster byproducts for high prices, but requests could also bring in a decent income.

Many people, including curious scholars, wealthy people, influential figures, and merchants, wanted byproducts that could only be acquired in the Labyrinth, whether from its unusual environment or monster tissue.

Not only that.

‘Elena needs to rise from 9th Rank to 8th Rank too.’

To raise one’s rank among Expedition Party members, one had to prove achievements, and requests were the fastest way to do that.

There were hardly any requests on the first floor because so many new Expedition Party members came and went there.

From the second floor onward, though, requests crowded the notice board.

[Recover Sea Crocodile Eggs]

[Recover Unburned Knowledge]

There were simple investigation and gathering requests...

[Search and Rescue for Missing Persons in the Salt Cave]

And even notices asking people to find someone.

Under Gimlius’s suspicious gaze, Ian carefully examined the request forms.

What we needed to choose was...

‘Something without a fixed deadline that can be completed just by bringing back the requested item.’

The group had not yet decided whether they would enter the second floor or only explore the first floor.

For some requests, they could acquire a particular item in the Labyrinth without accepting the request beforehand, then accept it afterward and still complete it.

These were usually requests from groups such as merchants and craftsmen who needed large quantities of specific goods for further processing.

‘Of course, someone could take the request before us...’

That was a risk they had to accept.

“Let’s not accept any requests for now. If we see these items during the expedition, let’s gather as many as we can.”

“You’re skilled at this. Ha ha. Is this really only your second expedition?”

Gimlius’s suspicious look vanished as he laughed at Ian’s skilled handling of requests.

“The second floor...”

“Don’t be too nervous. We’ll see how well we work together, and if it doesn’t feel right, we’ll only explore the first floor and return.”

“Okay.”

“Kekeke, let’s go already. We need to make money!”

The group left the guild and stood before the towering Labyrinth.

Then, holding hands in a line, they stepped into the portal.