Survival Strategies of a Struggling Aristocrat

Dennis swiftly readied himself for the battle. The weapon he equipped himself with was a war hammer that one of his ancestors had used. This remarkable weapon, known as a Warhammer, boasted a steel head shaped like a cone.

Although Dennis desired a sword, the mansion only housed the ones employed by Lord Egmont. In light of the latter’s struggles in managing his territory, he had sold off the surplus swords.

Aside from his weapon, Dennis diligently packed a backpack containing rye bread and a water bottle for sustenance before departing from the town.

Nestled at the base of a rocky mountain in the southwest, the labyrinth adjacent to the town went by the name of Rock Mountain Labyrinth. It was just one of the numerous small labyrinths scattered about.

However, very few people visited this Rock Mountain Labyrinth. Troublesome monsters dwelled on the third and fourth floors, and in order to further explore it, they had to defeat those creatures.

Furthermore, it seemed that the only items obtainable within the labyrinth were ordinary metals, which offered minimal profits compared to the risks involved.

After walking for about an hour and a half in the southwest direction, a rocky mountain came into view. The surroundings consisted of sparsely green and barren land, with small and large stones scattered around.

The season was transitioning from spring to summer. Due to the long walk, sweat trickled down Dennis’ face, and his throat grew parched. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a water bottle, taking a sip.

“Phew, just getting to the entrance of the labyrinth has exhausted me.”

Although Dennis had a slender build, he was a guy who preferred to be outdoors, frolicking about, rather than remain indoors, reading books. However, ever since he had become connected to the soul of Masaya, he had developed a liking for reading as well.

The entrance to the labyrinth looked like a cave.

With caution, Dennis ventured into the labyrinth, illuminating the darkness with the flickering flame of a torch.

Dennis began his journey, gripping a torch in his left hand and a Warhammer in his right hand. The records had mentioned that this Rock Mountain Labyrinth was a small-scale one with five floors. And on the first floor, there were only slimes.

At that moment, Dennis believed that slime would be an easy victory. After advancing about thirty meters, he noticed a faint light within the labyrinth. It was emitted by the moss growing on the ceiling.

“A type of glowing moss, huh.” 

Dennis extinguished the flame of the torch. As expected, there was sufficient illumination. The labyrinth consisted of passageways constructed with stone walls and dome-shaped spaces, forming a maze-like structure.

Finally, Dennis encountered a slime—the first monster he had ever seen before. With rare exceptions, such creatures only existed in special places like labyrinths. Therefore, Dennis had never witnessed one before.

This slime was about the size of a washbasin and had a pale green color. It moved across the floor of the passage, reminiscent of a slug. Still, it was faster than Dennis had imagined.

Dennis hurriedly swung his warhammer downward, attempting to strike the slime. However, the slime evaded his attack by moving forward, and the warhammer struck the floor of the passage, producing a dry sound. The impact reverberated through his hand, causing a sharp pain.

“Damn it,”

The slime had approached his feet. As if it was intending to counterattack, it clung to his shoes and entwined itself around his ankles. In that instant, a jolt of electric shock surged through his foot.

“…”

The pain was so intense that Dennis couldn’t even utter a sound. It shot through his body, making his heart feel as though it might stop. He shook his leg vigorously, dislodging the slime. However, the separated slime began to creep back towards him.

Dennis swung his war hammer once more. Its metallic head pierced into the slime. Yet, that alone wasn’t enough to kill it. Slimes had cores, and unless those cores were damaged, they couldn’t be defeated.

Keeping his distance from the slime, Dennis took a deep breath, attempting to calm himself.

“What the hell was that electric shock-like sensation…”

The records found in the study had mentioned that being captured by a slime would result in a surge of pain. However, he had never imagined that the pain would be this intense.

Dennis desperately tried to avoid being ensnared by the slime while striking it repeatedly with his warhammer. It wasn’t until the ninth attack that the warhammer pierced through the slime’s core, finally putting an end to it.

The defeated slime dissolved into thin air as if melting into the space. It seemed that the creatures in the labyrinth were not ordinary beings but rather entities that would disappear upon death.

Feeling hungry, Dennis reached for the rye bread he had brought and took a bite.

Afterward, he encountered several more slimes and struggled to defeat them while searching for metal deposits. After about three hours of wandering, he stumbled upon a small dome-shaped space.

There were six slimes wandering around there. He had grown capable of taking down one at a time, but dealing with all six simultaneously was impossible.

“It will take time, but I’ll defeat them one by one,” 

He lured the slimes out, starting with the one closest to the entrance of the small dome space, and eliminated them individually. It took him a whole hour to dispatch five of them.

As he faced the last remaining slime, Dennis stumbled and fell on his back. He was quite exhausted. That was when the slime attacked.

The moment it clung to his back, the familiar electric shock surged through him.

“Agh!” 

The impact was so intense that Dennis let out a strange cry. He tumbled and rolled, shaking off the slime. As soon as he felt the slime had detached from his body, he quickly stood up and swung his warhammer downward.

“You… take this! One more strike!” 

Finally defeating the slime, he heaved a sigh of relief and sat down, feeling drained.

“…I’m… exhausted,” 

Dennis muttered wearily as he surveyed the small dome space where the slime had vanished. In the corner of his eye, he caught a glimmering sparkle. It was a silver-zinc ore deposit, shining brightly.

In the depths of the labyrinth, mineral deposits were naturally formed, and they could contain metal crystals like native copper. Since these metal crystals were of high purity, sometimes it was difficult to distinguish them by color alone. However, according to the records, this particular layer was likely a zinc deposit.

“I need to mine it…”

He drove his warhammer into the ore deposit and began mining the zinc. The metal sparkled and shimmered. If it were silver, it would be worth a fortune. However, mining silver and the like was not possible on this particular floor of the labyrinth.

Dennis packed the zinc in his backpack. It was said that the mineral deposits in the labyrinth grew slightly larger after the last mining session. Since this particular labyrinth had been left untouched for a long time, he was able to gather a considerable amount.

However, there was a limit to how much he could carry alone. He decided to mine around ten kilograms and head back.

With great effort, he dragged his heavy feet and began his journey back. By the time he reached the entrance of the town, the sun was beginning to set. Dennis called out to Kasper, the shopkeeper who was preparing to close his store.

“Hey, Kasper, Can I have a moment,”

Kasper turned around from locking up and directed his gaze towards Dennis.

“Oh, if it isn’t the little young master,”

“Spare me the words; I’m already sixteen”,

“I beg your pardon. So what can I do for you?” 

Once Dennis entered the shop, he took out the zinc from his backpack.

“I want you to buy this,” 

“Oh, zinc, is it?”

Kasper carefully examined the lump of zinc and then looked at Dennis.

“How about two silver coins for the whole lot?” 

Dennis, didn’t have any knowledge of the market value of zinc, so he could only agree. With the money, he purchased a bag of salt. A bag of salt cost seven copper coins, so he received one silver coin and three copper coins as change.

Incidentally, the currency in this country was called “Pal,” and the coins were made of brass, copper, silver, large silver, and gold. One brass coin was worth one Pal, and one copper coin was worth ten Pals, and so on and so forth; the value would increase by one digit for each coin.

When Dennis returned to the mansion, he was greeted by Amelia, who wore a worried expression, and Egmont, whose face looked stern.

“You’re late. What were you doing?” Egmont asked.

“I went to buy salt,” Dennis replied.

“What… just for getting salt, you took so long?” 

“Well, I had to get money to buy it,” Dennis explained.

At those words, Egmont averted his gaze, seemingly feeling guilty for not giving Dennis any pocket money.

“I don’t know what you were up to, but if you’ve come up with a way to earn on your own, it’s commendable. However, when you’re going to be late, leave a message so that everyone won’t worry,” 

Dennis apologized, realizing that Amelia had been genuinely concerned and on the verge of tears.

He took a bath to wash off the dirt, and then he cleaned his clothes. After changing into fresh attire, Dennis had a late dinner and then returned to his room.

“Dennis, can I come in?” 

When Dennis granted his permission, Amelia entered the room.

“I’m sorry,” 

“Why are you apologizing?” 

“Because I asked for the salt, and that’s why you were late,” Amelia said.

“No, that’s not it. I’ve been planning this for a while,” 

Amelia grew curious about what Dennis had been planning 

“It’s about the Mana (True Name) Art. I’ve been thinking of learning it,” Dennis revealed.

To learn Mana Art, one needed to know a specific True Name. There was only one way to obtain a True Name: by defeating monsters in the labyrinth. It was said that there was a low chance of acquiring a True Name after defeating a monster.

“Oh, so the monsters will tell you their True Names?” 

Amelia said, slightly misunderstanding the concept.

Well, it wasn’t exactly telling, but for Amelia, who had just turned ten, that explanation would suffice.

“So, are you going to continue exploring the labyrinth from now on?” Amelia asked.

“Yeah, I plan to keep hunting slimes for a while,” Dennis replied.

After today’s experience, Dennis keenly felt the need for a weapon specifically designed for fighting slimes. He realized that his Warhammer was definitely not suitable for slime hunting.

Dennis recounted the events in the labyrinth to Amelia. Along the way, Amelia showed signs of drowsiness, so Dennis called for Elma to take her back to her room.

Afterwards, Dennis lay down on his bed and immediately slipped into the realm of sleep.