Dungeon Miner Slave

Flinx was a little overwhelmed at how massive Ilioven was. Certainly, the city deserved to be called a capital city. It felt like he was back on Earth since the place resembled any city on Earth in its busyness, aside from its fantasy medieval setting. The thing was, he had a strange feeling that he arrived in a city filled with Cosplayers. He almost laughed out loud at the silliness of that thought.

After eyeing everything that he could, looking like a complete noob, Flinx sadly thought of the fact that just like any massively populated place, there was a sense of coldness and indifference on the faces of the people. Unlike in Beldor Town, because of how tiny the town was, everyone knew everyone else, and the people there depended on each other because their neighbors were the only ones who would help them in defending the town from monsters that would happily eat their children.

The faces of the people of the city were the same as those of the nine-to-five workers that one could find in any city on Earth.

Still, there were pockets of liveliness and exuberance that one could see, which were the group of adventurers that delved into dungeons. Flinx could not deny that there was magic in the air since there was literal magic in the air. Although when he looked around, he didn’t know which ones were the magic casters. Unlike in a typical fantasy show, where one would know who the magic casters were because of how they looked, in this world, magic casters did not wear their typical wizard’s robes. They wore what everyone else was wearing.

The ones he saw that were wearing luxurious robes turned out to be just rich citizens. He knew since he discreetly followed some of them out of curiosity.

The city was undeniably beautiful. It represented all the things an otaku would want to see in a typical fantasy city. The houses were made of wood and stone, the streets were made of cobblestones, the merchants were loud, hawking their wares to passersby, and more. Unfortunately, Flinx experienced one of its downsides. It stank to high heaven.

Flinx was an avid reader of the fantasy genre, but usually, the bad odor would be downplayed by the author or a magical solution would be present to remove the stink. Apparently, in this place, there was no such magical solution. He wondered if no one had invented deodorant. There were plenty of natural things that could be used as deodorants. Even something as simple as lime or baking soda could be used.

The smell was a combination of body odor and manure. Flinx was tempted to buy a face mask from his System Shopping Site, but more than likely, if he wore something like it, people would probably think that he was some kind of low-life or something. He hoped that he would get used to the smell soon.

While walking around, Flinx had not seen any evidence of magic. Was a magic caster that rare in this world? On second thought, maybe he just didn’t know where to look. The best example was the rune and array that the walls of Beldor Town had. He didn’t know they were there, not until Anuel, the old priest of Isthia, mentioned it.

He remembered when Flinx was teleported into this world, he expected Priest Anuel to use some kind of priestly spells, but the old priest had none. The only magic caster he had seen was the mayor’s wife back in Beldor Town. Again, he wasn’t really looking, and he had only been in that town. The only other place he had been was a couple of towns and the village where the merchant caravan stayed when he was still part of the caravan.

Flinx adopted the expression and stance that Camryn and Oliman had taught him so that thugs would not see him as an easy mark. Not that he was afraid, since he did have his magic, but he did not want trouble to appear the moment he arrived in this place.

He then asked one of the pedestrians for the way to the nearest high-level dungeon. A couple of tough-looking adventurers overheard his question and called him. The pedestrian he stopped moved on when the guy saw that Flinx left to join the two men.

“Hey, you! Are you also an adventurer? My name is Tim, and this is my brother, Oslo. We’re also adventurers and just arrived in this city. We knew where the dungeon was located since my uncle gave me a map,” The man who called himself Tim said.

“Hi! My name is Flinx. I also just arrived here. I’m looking for one of the high-level dungeons. I’m a gold-level magic caster adventurer,” Flinx said, then showed his adventurer token to the two men.

The two men gaped at him when they heard what he said. Aside from them, the nearby people who heard what Flinx had said also stopped and gaped at him as well. Flinx wondered if he had made a mistake in saying what he had said. Was it him being a gold-level adventurer, or was it him being a magic caster that surprised the two adventurers and the nearby people? Or maybe the combination of both?

“Oh heck! We’re just Iron rank adventurers! Didn’t expect to meet a Goldie so soon! Please to meet you, Flinx. Unfortunately, we don’t know the way to a high-level dungeon,” Tim said.

Flinx was amused at the nickname that gold-level adventurers had. He wondered what the nicknames of the other ranks?

Suddenly, an urchin interrupted them.

“Excuse me, sirs. I can help you with your problem for just a few copper coins,” The urchin said.

The boy looked to be around 10 or 11 years old. Flinx had to admit that he did need a guide. With how massive the city was, he knew that if he kept walking around, he would probably wander around for hours without finding his goal.

“What’s your name, boy?”

“My name is Runt,” the boy said, and Flinx was surprised.

“Is that really your name?” Flinx asked.

“Well, that’s the name that I’ve been called by Sister Louise ever since I was little. Sister Louise is the one managing the orphanage. I had to leave the orphanage since I turned 10 this year. Once an orphan turned 10, he or she had to leave and find a job,” the boy said.

“Where are you staying then?” Flinx asked, a little taken aback by the boy’s state.

“Why do you ask?” The boy asked suspiciously.

“Since you’ve mentioned that you left the orphanage, I was just wondering where you’re staying now. On the street?”

“No, silly! I’m boarding with my friends in an abandoned warehouse in the slum. Once I turn 14, I’ll join the guild, go into dungeons, earn tons of gold coins, and live like a noble!” Runt said proudly.

“Since you’ve found yourself a guide, we’ll be off then. Nice meeting you again, Flinx,” Tim said, then he left together with his companion.

Of course, Flinx would hire the kid as his guide, but then he remembered that he didn’t have copper coins, just gold coins. He forgot to get the copper coins from Rendira. He just shrugged internally.

“I don’t have copper coins, kid. Just gold coins. How long can I hire you for a gold coin?”

“I’m not Kid! My friend is Kid. I’m Runt. You’ll hire me?! For a gold coin?! Why don’t you have copper coins?” Runt rambled, and Flinx laughed.