8 License To Kill

I looked down at myself and I agreed that the slave outfit had seen far better days. The blood and dirt on it made me look like a beggar. I planned to get armor and clothes anyway, so it wouldn't hurt to just get them here.

"Do you have anything cheap?" I asked while looking around again, "I'm not looking to spend too much,"

"Sure, the cheapest set of armor in your size is twenty bronze coins. Non-negotiable. I've also got some outfits that should fit you for five bronze coins."

Rano walked towards the rack at the side and pulled out a set of black trousers and a shirt that was in my size along with some black boots. I threw five coins at him and took the outfit to go change. The clothes were a little loose since I was still very thin, but I knew that it was only a matter of time before I grew into it. The armor that Rano gave me was a bronze set of F rank armor. They weren't bad and so I asked him to give them to me in black.

[Strength +2]

[Agility +1]

After putting them on, my stats increased by just a little. Armor is very important in the temple because good armor can mean the difference between life and death inside a dungeon. I intended to get better armor later, but for now, I have to be satisfied with only this.

"Are you planning to go into the dungeon later?" Rano asked after we finished with the armor business. I could feel my purse getting lighter already and I didn't plan to buy anything else other than food, "I've got some F rank skill that you might need in there. How about taking a look at them?"

Rano brought out a box from under the table and opened it to show me many skill books. Skill books were the major way rankers gained skills in the temple. Whenever a strong dungeon monster is killed, the monster will leave behind drops in the form of either armor or skill books. The ranker that killed the monster could either use these drops for themselves or they could sell them for a lot of money. Even the weakest F rank skill book would not be sold for less than forty bronze coins.

I didn't want to spend any more money, but I knew that I wasn't equipped enough right now to go into the dungeon. Even though I was good with the sword, I still didn't have any other skill other than my [Magic Control]. The monsters that I will meet inside that dungeon are more dangerous than the [Stone Bear] and [Forest Wolf]. I would need at least one long-range skill if I want to survive.

I took a look inside the box and I saw there were many F rank skills inside and only one E rank skill [Arctic Tundra]. That skill would not be compatible with me because I am not a water-type mage, and even if it was, I am too poor to think of buying such a skill. It will cost at least two hundred coins.

I picked out a weaker F rank skill [Fire Ball] from the pile and I decided to get this one. The skill was not as strong as other fire-based skills, but it was still a ranged skill that I could use easily at my current level. [Fire] and [Dark] are very compatible classes so I won't suffer any restrictions if I learn this skill.

"Nice choice. That'll cost you forty bronze coins anywhere else, but since you've given me a lot of sales today, I'll give it to you for thirty-eight." Rano said as he closed the box and dropped it back. I brought out the amount and paid for it and felt my purse get even lighter. Right now, I already spent sixty-three bronze coins out of the eighty-two that I earned. That only left me with nineteen bronze coins. That would barely be enough to pay for a room and food for tonight.

I learned the fireball skill and the book vanished from my hand before a prompt appeared in my system tab.

[New skill acquired: Fire Ball - F]

[Fire Ball: Release a burst of intense flames, scorching everything before you as you decimate your enemies.]

[The Heart of Darkness is attempting to corrupt this skill with Dark Magic. The skill is trying to fight against the corruption.]

[The skill has failed to fight back. Corruption Successful]

[[Fire Ball - F] has evolved to [Pyroclasm - F+]]

[Pyroclasm: Unleash a torrent of black fire upon your enemies, burning everything in your path to dust and ashes]

The Heart of Darkness easily took control of this skill and it was corrupted by Dark Magic. The Heart of Darkness usually does this whenever I absorb a skill that it likes. If the skill is strong enough to fight back against the corruption, then I will have to use the skill as it is, but both in my past life and now, I still haven't seen a skill that can fight against the corruption of the heart of darkness.

I thanked the man and told him that I would be back later with more things to sell. I left the smithy and went towards the adventurers guild at the center of the town. The adventures guild was the only place where I could get a permit to enter the dungeon tomorrow. If I was an E rank, then I wouldn't need to get a permit and I could enter the F rank dungeons without supervision, but since I was only an F rank, then I will need to get permission.

Inside the guild, many adventurers were eating and drinking while talking amongst themselves. I went up to the counter and spoke to the girl there.

"I need a badge," I said as I brought out ten bronze coins and dropped them on the table, "And a permit to enter the F rank dungeon [Labyrinth of Shadows] with any team that's going tomorrow."

The girl nodded. She just assumed that I was knowledgeable since I dropped the exact amount that the badge and permit would cost. She gave me a badge and I allowed it to read my rank as an F appeared in the top right corner along with my name. She also dropped the permit and stamped it once she saw that I was high enough on the ranking.

"The team leaves by eight tomorrow." She said as she handed me the permit, "They won't wait for you, so try to get here on time. There is a map of the dungeon along with the permit. Try to read it thoroughly since many people have been getting lost in there recently."

I accepted the permit and map and put them in my purse before I asked her if she had a free room where I could stay. The girl reached behind the counter and brought out a key, "The room is three coins, five coins if you want a room with a bath as well. Seven coins if you want breakfast and dinner,"

I paid the seven coins and told her to bring the food up so I could eat in my room. I went to my room and I immediately threw my clothes off and went to the bathroom. I washed off the blood and sand from the past few days and I sighed as I came out. I looked at myself in the mirror and I was still a little surprised when I saw the younger face staring back at me.

I had long black hair that fell across my face. I wasn't ugly and many girls have called me handsome, so I wasn't insecure about my looks, but my cheeks were still sunken and there were dark circles around my eyes from not sleeping well for the past few days.

Someone knocked on the door and I tied my hair in a rough ponytail as I went to get my food. The meal was still hot and I began to salivate once I took it. It was a simple meal of soup, bread, and chicken, but it seemed like a feast to me since I haven't eaten a hot meal in a very long time.

I wolfed down the meal very quickly and once I lay down, I started to think about what I would do tomorrow. I didn't choose the [Labyrinth of Shadows] for no reason. There were many dungeons on the first floor, but the [Labyrinth of Shadows] was the only [Dark] based dungeon. It was also the least explored dungeon because it was filled with mazes and hidden traps. Many rankers have gotten lost in the dungeon and they have never been seen again.

Any F rank group that wants to enter any dungeon usually goes in with a guide that would be in charge of showing the way so I knew what to expect tomorrow. The F rankers would only plan to hunt close to the exit and take some drops back to sell for money. But unlike the rest of them, I wasn't going into the [Labyrinth of Shadows] to hunt for monsters close to the exit.