Chapter 19: Real Adventurer

Okay. Time to clean my shoelaces.

It’s the day after my dinner date with Samantha, and thankfully I have a much needed day off.

Since I have the day off, I slept in till a 07:00, and am now going to catch up on all of the tasks I’ve neglected over the past week.

First on the agenda, washing my shoelaces.

Back when I still lived at the orphanage, this was part of my daily ritual. Everyday, after I finished my morning chores, I would unlace my shoelaces and wash them next next to the well.

Ever since I became an adventurer, I’ve only had time to wash them once per week, so this is something I’ve been looking forward to.

I roll out of bed, and put on my clothes from the night before. Since my other set was destroyed by the monster, I guess I’ll have to buy some more today.

I retrieve my boots from their spot next to the door and carry them into the bathroom.

Setting them on the edge of the bathtub, I carefully start unlacing them. Thankfully, these boots have a combination of hooks and eyelets, which makes this process less of a chore.

While I’m working, I think back to the conversation I had with Samantha the night before.

Finding the limits of my title? What is that supposed to mean?

Currently, my title allows me to instantly tie any shoelace I touch, and prevents other people from untying them. At first glance, this makes me seem like the ideal candidate for a shoe salesman, but it doesn’t seem very useful for anything else.

Are there any other ways for me to use my skill? Can it be used for anything other than tying shoelaces?

I finish removing my shoelaces and carry them over to the shower. Even though I tried to be careful, the floor beneath where I was working is covered with chunks of dirt and dried blood that fell off from my laces.

I offer a silent apology to whoever cleans my room. Up till now, I’ve been trying my best to keep my room as clean as possible, but it appears that my streak has come to an end.

I’ve never met the people who clean my room, because they always come by when I’m at training. However, since I have the day off, maybe I’ll run into them so I can apologize.

I turn on the shower and wait for the water to warm up. Once the water is warm to the touch, I lather up my laces with soap and gently scrub the dirt away.

The Adventurer Guild doesn’t hold back. They provide each room with liquid soap and shampoo, which is something I didn’t know existed in this world.

They also replace the towels everyday with fresh ones, which I’m sure is super expensive.

Once I finish bootcamp, I probably won’t be able to afford to keep living here, so right now I’m savoring every single moment I have left in this room.

I rinse off my shoelaces and place them on a towel, then I set them down on my bed to dry.

Once they’re dry, I check them over for damage.

As usual, they’re in perfect condition. They almost look like they’re brand new.

As I lace up my right boot, an idea begins to form in my brain. I know I can tie a shoelace when it’s attached to a shoe, but does my skill still work when it’s by itself?

Holding my other shoelace in both hands, I activate my skill.

Bam. The shoelace is tied.

Bam. The shoelace is untied.

Wow, it actually works. Surely, this opens up all sorts of possibilities.

What kind of possibilities? I’m not sure, but this feels like it has potential.

Once I finish relacing my boots, getting my nice clean shoelaces dirty again in the process since I forgot to clean my boots in my excitement, I set off to grab myself some breakfast, preferably something sweet.

I know, breakfast is supposed to be the most important meal of the day, but today is my day off and I’m tired of eating meat every meal of the day.

Since the Guild pays for all of my food, I’ve been eating very well. It’s not like we were starving at the orphanage, but now every meal I eat comes in an Emperor sized portion.

It’s a good thing it’s free, because if I had to pay for my food, I’d already be broke. Ever since I started bootcamp, I’ve been eating like there’s no tomorrow.

I finish my breakfast, which consists of several different types of pastries and baked goods, and head off to the Adventurer Guild’s general store. My goal is to buy myself some shoelaces, along with a new set of clothes.

Why shoelaces?

Because I need them for practice. Samantha said that I need to use my skills repeatedly for a long period of time, which means I need to get myself another pair of shoelaces to practice with.

Unfortunately, I’m not sure if practice is the right word. Usually when you practice, you’re trying to improve, but with my current skill level, there’s nowhere left for me to go.

I’m not bragging, it’s the truth. I literally can’t tie shoelaces any faster, because I can already tie them instantly.

However, Samantha seems to think it will work, so who am I to question her. Who knows, maybe I’ll get something out of it after all.

Instead of taking the main route to the lobby, which is located right next to the general store, I decide to take a different route and do a little exploring. Unfortunately, while this is a great idea in theory, in practice, everything falls apart.

The Guild itself is a series of maze-like corridors and rooms, located deep within a mountain. It is made up of two types of corridors: main corridors and side corridors.

Main corridors are large and spacious. They are wide enough for six adventurers to walk through side by side while wearing full battle gear, and about as tall. They are lit by hundreds of magic stone lamps, spread along the ceiling at regular intervals, and have signs at regular intervals to help with navigation.

All of the Adventurer Guild’s major facilities are linked together with main corridors, which makes getting from one place to another quick and simple.

Side corridors are the exact opposite. They are barely wide enough for two adventurers to walk down side by side, and are barely taller than the average adult. They are sparsely lit and signs are nonexistent, which makes them a nightmare to navigate.

All this put together makes the side corridors ripe for exploration, which makes navigating them every adventurer’s dream. Probably.

All of the tunnels run along a grid, so theoretically they should be easy to navigate. However, many of the side corridors don’t connect directly to each other, so finding the correct path without a map can be quite difficult.

I step into a side tunnel, leading away from the cafeteria.

I’m excited. Even though all I’m doing is taking a different route that leads to the same place, I feel like an adventurer setting off on a journey into the unknown.

At the end of the corridor, I pause and take a deep breath.

This is it. This is my last chance.

Do I continue? Or do I turn back with my tail tucked between my legs.

No, I’m an adventurer. I can’t turn back now that I’ve come this far.

I know, I’m still less than 25 meters away from the entrance to the tunnel, but if I turn back now, there’s no way I can call myself an adventurer.

I turn left and walk to the end of the corridor, then hang a right, followed by another left.

I march down corridor after corridor, trying to keep myself moving in the direction of the general store, but after more than thirty minutes of seemingly random twists and turns, I have to admit that I’m completely lost.

The cramped corridors. The dim lighting.

Every tunnel I walk down looks exactly the same.

At one point I tried to retrace my steps, but I must have taken a wrong turn somewhere and ended up getting even more lost.

As time passes, a ball of panic begins to form in the pit of my stomach.

Will I starve to death? Will I die of dehydration? I didn’t bring any food or water with me, because I didn’t think it would take this long.

What if no one realizes that I’ve gone missing? What if I’m stuck down here until I die?

No, don’t think about that kind of stuff. I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.

“Wow, fancy meeting you here,” Chloe says, walking up behind me.

She’s carrying a large stack of books, which covers up the bottom half of her face.

“Have you recovered from yesterday?” Chloe asks, shifting the books in her arms.

“Yes, thanks to your healing.”

“I’m glad you made it back alive. Most adventurers would have died before they got back to the Guild.”

“It’s all thanks to Bridget. If she wasn’t there, I would be monster food.”

“Right, Bridget. After her introduction, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but she turned out to be quite capable.

“So, what are you doing here? If you aren’t doing anything important, would you mind helping me carry these books?”

“Sure, no problem. I’m lost anyway.”

“Lost?” Chloe asks, giggling. “I bet you wanted to explore the tunnels to prove you were a real adventurer.

“Don’t worry, everyone does it. Samantha did the exact same thing the first time she came to the Guild.

“Take these,” Chloe says, handing me half of the books.

I take them from her and stumble under the weight. Even though they look like normal books, they’re super heavy.

“Ah, much better,” Chloe says, rolling her shoulders. “Before we head back to the main corridor, let me show you something that will help you in the future.”

We walk to the end of the corridor and come to a stop next to one of the corners.

“See this?” she asks, pointing to a notch carved into the stone on one side of the corner. “No matter where you are in the Guild, if you follow these notches they’ll lead you to the lobby.”

Huh, so they had something like that all along. I’m surprised I didn’t notice it earlier.

“Do many people come down here?” I ask.

“It depends. This particular tunnel is located near the staff living quarters, so everyone who works here uses it.”

I see, so that’s why I didn’t see any skeletons. Since everyone on the staff uses this corridor, they must have people who come through it regularly to clean it out.

“I didn’t know that this is where the staff housing is located.”

“You aren’t supposed to know.

“Because a large portion of the Adventurer Guild’s staff is female, the route to the staff living quarters is a closely guarded secret. It helps to protect them from unsavory characters and gives them privacy when they aren’t on duty.

“Of course, sometimes a random adventurer stumbles across it, but the area is highly guarded and the majority of the staff is proficient in weapon handling, so it usually isn’t a problem.”

As we walk, Chloe points out various points of interest.

The public bathhouse. The research and development lab. The library. The magic stone processing facilities.

Most of these facilities weren’t listed on the Adventurer Guild’s brochure, so I never would have found them on my own.

Finally, after many twists and turns, we step out into the main corridor that leads to the lobby.

“Take the first left,” Chloe says. “That will take us to the staff offices.”

The hallway to the staff offices is lined with glass doors. Behind each door is an office, each one holding a single desk and two chairs.

As we pass by, the employees sitting behind the desks give Chloe a wave. Since her hands are full, she smiles and nods back.

Some of the offices are spartan, devoid of decorations, while others are painted in bright colors and filled with an assortment of knickknacks. Some of the offices have fine art displayed on the walls, while others have shelves of books or paintings of the occupants’ family. Even though each office has the same set of furniture, they are all completely different.

“Here we are,” Chloe says, stopping in front of one of the doors near the end of the corridor.

Inside, Chloe’s office is relatively plain. In fact, the only decoration in the entire office is a single wooden shelf holding seven mithril plaques on top of it. Each of the plaques has Chloe’s name etched into the center of it in an elaborate script, and the words, “Champion of the Empire’s Annual Combat Tournament Magic Division”, written above it.

“Hold these for a second,” Chloe says, placing her books on top of the ones I’m carrying.

I stagger backwards under the weight, my legs screaming in protest.

Chloe unlocks the door and steps inside. “Come in.”

I stagger through the door and set my books on the desk.

“Ah, wait–” Chloe says, but it’s too late.

The wooden desktop gives out a wail and the entire thing splits in half, scattering all of the books onto the floor.

“Oh, no. I’m so sorry,” I say, stooping down to gather the books into a pile.

“Don’t worry about it,” Chloe says. “I should have warned you earlier.

“I’m sure the Guild has a few spare desks lying around that I can steal.

“In fact, maybe I’ll take Samantha’s. Her desk is pretty nice and she doesn’t use her office much so she probably won’t notice.

“Right, since you helped me out, it’s my turn to help you. Where were you trying to go when I ran into you?”