Madness of the Blue Blood Labyrinth - Chapter 5
I dodged the wolf directly in front of me, its jaws wide open, large enough to swallow a baby whole.
Losing balance slightly due to the unstable footing, I was immediately attacked by two more at the same time.
What should I do? If I only wanted to avoid them, I could just jump back, but that would tighten the wolves’ encirclement.
This is a well-designed attack flow. Not bad for mere beasts—these guys are pretty smart.
Alright, this seems like a decent opponent to get some practice. Time to use it. My skill.
“Iron Blood.”
The veins under my skin glowed with a faint blue light.
The moment I noticed that, the large wolf in front of me sank its jagged teeth into my right arm—but the sound that followed was a sharp metallic clang.
A Explorer is a rare breed of human, with only about one in two thousand possessing a Slot, the organ needed to be one.
On top of that, modern society depends heavily on resources from dungeons, with magic stones being a prime example.
So, naturally, it would be a problem if the small number of Explorers died off.
That’s why those registered with the Explorer Support Association are granted a skill to ensure they have at least basic combat ability.
The method to acquire skills is simple. You just use a piece of paper dropped by creatures, known as “Skill Paper.”
The number of Slots a person has varies. The maximum is eight, but most people have four or five.
As for me, I only have two. That’s what “having a past” means, in my case.
It’s always better to have more power, especially considering the strict age limits and time restrictions on transplanting Slots. Generally, only the rich upper class can afford the surgery, paying large sums to get the best options.
Slots with three or fewer spaces, like mine, don’t find buyers easily.
Even then, there aren’t many people looking to sell their Slots in the first place.
Anyway, trivia aside. The skill I gained is called *Twin Blood*.
It allows me to use two abilities: *Mighty Blood*, which enhances physical abilities by channeling power through my arteries, and *Iron Blood*, which strengthens my body’s toughness through my veins. It’s a skill meant for a frontline fighter.
Skills that grant multiple abilities are quite rare, and I was lucky since I got this one from a random Skill Paper.
With only two Slots, having a versatile skill like this is definitely an advantage.
There are three drawbacks, but I’ll skip over those for now.
“Mighty Blood.”
The wolf, startled by the unexpected toughness of my arm, hesitated for a moment. Taking advantage of that, I yanked free and enhanced my strength.
I struck it down with a punch, its head cracking open as easily as an eggshell.
The death of one of their pack threw the remaining wolves into confusion.
Being smart creatures, they hesitated for a moment, unsure how to reform their formation.
A few seconds of indecision.
But for my enhanced body, a few seconds was more than enough.
“One… two… three.”
I steadied my spinning head, feeling the aftereffects of using the skill, and picked up the magic stone lying beside the vanished wolf corpse.
It was noticeably larger than the ones from goblins. The size of a magic stone is proportional to the creature’s combat ability.
I checked the wrist-mounted information device I received when I registered with the Association. It can send an emergency signal to other Explorers on the same floor if I’m about to die.
So far, I’d earned around 5,000 yen.
When compared to the time I’d spent here, it’s about the same as a high-paying part-time job.
But still—
“This is a million times more fun than some shitty job.”