Reunion (1)
First, I gathered the equipment of the three.
And I gave Karon priority in choosing.
"Take anything you need."
"I'm not that shameless."
"Don't refuse. You killed one of them, didn't you?"
"If you say so..."
As if there were some items he wanted, Karon took a few things from the loot.
A good quality leather bag and a few potions.
And..."A two-handed hammer? Is that all you're taking?"
"It's too small, I don't think it would fit me anyway."
Hmm, that's true.
Karon then holds an axe and a large hammer in each hand and smiles brightly.
"If it's hard to kill them with an axe, I can just kill them with this!"
Although his way of expressing it is unrefined, the content itself is quite rational.
Blunt weapons are more effective against monsters like Stone Golems.
And most importantly...
'Damn right, barbarians are all about dual wielding.'
Seeing Karon's barbarian look, which has become much more convincing, makes me happy.
Therefore, I hand him a few more pieces of equipment.
"Even if you don't need them, just keep them and sell them later."
"But...!"
Geez, what do you mean 'but'?
Why are barbarians so kind?
If he were human, he would have shown a greedy look.
"Don't forget that the stronger you become, the easier it will be for the young warriors."
"...Alright. I'll definitely sell these and turn them into equipment that will help me."
The reason I forcefully gave him the equipment while even instilling a sense of duty is simple.
Well, I could have pocketed about 200,000 stones if I had kept everything myself...
...but in the long run, this will benefit me more.
"Become stronger, Karon, son of Tarson."
"I will. Definitely, for the sake of our tribe."
Among the six races, barbarians are the weakest. It's because most of them die in the early stages, even though they have enough individual potential.
Of course, one person changing won't bring about a sudden shift, but...
What if the numbers gradually increase, starting with him?
And if a virtuous cycle is created where young warriors survive and become high-ranking explorers?
'Then the power of barbarians will also gradually increase.'
Whether I like it or not, I'm currently a barbarian.
The more influential my tribe becomes, the more I'll benefit from the trickle-down effect.
Just look at the mages.
If it weren't for the massive community called the Magic Tower, would they be able to act so arrogantly?
"Then let's get moving. It could be troublesome if someone sees us."
In that sense, I escort Karon to the 1st floor and give him various advice while we have time.
That he should choose teams with at least one member from another race. That he should be even more wary of those who act friendly, but not show it outwardly and pretend to be vulnerable.
"I think I understand a bit better now what you meant by hiding your axe within your innocence!"
Perhaps it's because I showed him a good example today with the three bastards?
Karon accurately grasped the main point of my words.
"I think it would also be a good idea to intentionally find a human as a night companion and then pretend to sleep. If they have ulterior motives, they'll definitely reveal their true intentions!"
Ah, uh, hmm...
I didn't tell him about that...
"...That's also a good method."
Was today's incident that shocking to him, being betrayed by his companions and treated like a monster?
It's a truly frightening level of application.
_________________________
[23:49]
Around the time Day 5 was about to begin.
After dropping off Karon on the 1st floor, the two of us returned to the Land of the Dead. And we increased our speed a bit and focused on searching.
We ended up wasting almost a day unintentionally.
The 2nd floor closes on Day 10.
In other words, if we're not going to finish this expedition on the 2nd floor, we need to move more quickly. And besides, we also have something to do before going to the 3rd floor.
"Hmm? You're going to catch a Death Knight? Will that work? I heard they're hard to find..."
The 6th-grade monster, Death Knight.
It's one of the biggest assholes you can encounter in the 2nd-floor Land of the Dead, with a very low probability.
Even I had to create new characters several times before figuring out the conditions for its appearance.
"Don't worry, encountering it isn't a big problem."
I guess I've gotten used to this kind of conversation now.
Misha doesn't bother asking where I got that information from.
She just expresses a different concern.
"Hmm, but even if we find it, I'm not sure if we can actually defeat it just the two of us."
It's not an unreasonable concern.
Although we encountered 6th-grade monsters occasionally on the 4th floor, this time we're not a full party, but just the two of us.
'And she probably doesn't even know how strong she's become since we've only been hunting 8th-grade monsters until now.'
Misha was able to operate on the 4th floor with just two essences before she met me.
Although her specs were lacking, she made up for it with her martial arts skills honed through hard work.
But in the meantime, she made a contract with a Spirit Beast, which was her lifelong dream, and this time, she obtained two essences.
And one of them was even a guardian's essence.
'And if we add the synergy from the combination… she's practically several times stronger than before.'
I make a calm judgment from a gamer's perspective.
With our combined strength, we can definitely hunt it down successfully.
But there's no need to explain it in detail.
There's a way of speaking that's suitable for barbarians.
"Misha, trust me."
"When you say that... I can't say no."
"Then it's settled."
Now that I have Misha's consent, we continue searching the surroundings.
Death Fiends, Chimera Wolves, Ghoul Lords, etc.
We defeat any 8th-grade monsters we encounter, expanding our search radius.
And...
"Let's call it a day and camp."
Day 5 ends without any results.
And the next day, Day 6, is the same.
[22:40]
A little over an hour left until Day 7 begins.
I let out a long sigh.
'I can't believe we haven't found it even after two days.'
When the labyrinth opens, a stele is randomly generated somewhere in the Land of the Dead. And on the 7th day, it summons a Death Knight.
In other words, if you just find the stele, you can easily encounter a Death Knight by waiting in front of it.
But...
'Phew, as expected of me.'
We searched like crazy for two days, even neglecting hunting, but we couldn't even find a trace of the stele.
It was an unexpected situation.
Even though the 2nd floor is vast, we only had to search the 8th-grade monster area, not the entire floor, right?
I thought two days would be enough to find it.
'Tsk, should I just give up on the Death Knight?'
As I'm clicking my tongue in disappointment, Misha approaches me.
"Don't be too disappointed. It's not like every book is always right? A large stele in the Land of the Dead? I've never even heard of that before."
Hmm, I guess this is also meant to be a consolation?
"So stop holing up in the library all the time and go out and have some fun with me."
"...Why does the conversation go there?"
"Th, that's! Hikurod said the same thing. It's more helpful to have a few conversations with explorers at a bar than to read a few books!"
It seems like the dwarf has only been teaching Misha the bad things...
But it's hard to criticize him.
Actually, most explorers are like that.
They prefer to gather information by socializing at bars rather than reading books.
There's even a guy who says that drinking and having fun is an extension of work, so that says it all.
"...Why aren't you saying anything?"
"I just had nothing to say."
"Why didn't you have anything to say?"
"Let's stop this conversation and just keep moving."
I didn't want to waste time on meaningless arguments, so we resumed our journey.
And after some time...
[23:59]
I check my watch and let go of any lingering thoughts.
Day 7 is about to begin.
And since Death Knights start roaming around as soon as they're summoned, it's practically impossible to find one on this expedition.
'In the first place, experience points were the goal...'
I put aside my disappointment and take out the compass.
"Oh, are we finally going to the 3rd floor?"
"Yeah."
Instead of wandering around aimlessly looking for the stele, I turn north.
That's when...
"Huh? Bjorn?"
"You feel it too?"
"Yeah, I felt a chill down my spine."
The air has changed.
It's hard to describe, but it's a distinct change that my body reacts to as soon as it happens.
'Could it be?'
A possibility comes to mind, and I borrow Misha's knife and cut my hand.
Drip.
As I press the blade down and drag it across my skin, acidic blood flows from the open wound.
"Ack! What are you doing! You're going to damage the blade!"
Anyway, regardless of Misha's grumbling...
I focus on the wound and count the time.
'One, two, three, four, five, six...'
The more I count, the wider my smile becomes.
The wound that should have healed in a few seconds is still open.
That means...
「Character is exposed to [Grudge].」
...the Death Knight we've been looking for is nearby.
「Healing and regeneration effects are greatly reduced.」
And very close.
______________________
'No wonder we couldn't find it even after searching almost everywhere. It really was nearby.'
Although I feel a sense of emptiness, I focus my mind.
It's because of one piece of information I realized.
'[Grudge] has already been activated...'
The curse-type aura [Grudge] is an active skill.
It's a type of skill that can be turned on and off at will by the monster or the character who acquired the essence.
In short, there's no reason to use it normally.
Unless you're in battle.
[00:00]
The situation is clear.
At this point, less than a minute has passed since it was summoned.
The Death Knight entered combat as soon as it woke up.
There's a chance that an explorer who happened to be passing by got caught up in it, but...
'That's highly unlikely.'
It's much more rational to assume that someone was waiting in front of the stele than to believe in such a coincidence.
'Could it be a player?'
That thought comes to mind first.
But I can't rule out other possibilities.
The Dzarwi Clan, which is considered a large clan, even knew how to summon the Orc Hero, didn't they?
Maybe information about the Death Knight isn't that high-level.
'Well, I'll find out once we get there.'
I put aside the final judgment for now and quickly move with Misha.
Although it's pitch black all around, finding the direction is not difficult.
Kwaaang!
We can hear explosions continuously, as if they're fighting quite fiercely.
Misha, as if she has a sense of what's going on, grabs my wrist and asks,
"Bjorn, don't tell me a Death Knight appeared? And it's already fighting someone?"
"Yeah."
"Wait, stop for a moment! What are we going to do there?"
What do you mean, what are we going to do? We're going to try to get a hit in and get some experience points.
"What? If we do that, we might get attacked!"
Misha is shocked when I translate my plan into the language of this world.
It's a reasonable concern from her perspective.
Although it's not as bad as with marauders, interrupting a battle or stealing prey is considered extremely rude among explorers.
But...
"It's okay, I have no intention of claiming any rights to the essence or magic stones, so we can just say we thought it was a dangerous situation."
"Hmm, even so..."
"Don't worry. If something happens, I'll take full responsib—"
"Idiot! Did you think I meant for you to take responsibility alone? Ugh, how did I end up with a guy like this… whatever, let's go! I give up!"
Hmm, I feel a bit wronged.
It's not like I'm doing this for my own benefit.
'...Anyway, it seems like this much is within the acceptable range, as long as it's not looting.'
I engrave the additional information in my head and quicken my pace.
And after about 10 seconds…
[Kyaaaaak!]
I see four explorers beyond the back of the Death Knight, who is swinging his sword.
"Huh?"
It seems like they've also seen us.
Therefore, without giving them time to say anything, I smash the Death Knight with my mace.
Thwack-!
Okay, this should give us some experience points.
I shout the line I prepared,
"Don't worry! I'll save you!"
This is why barbarians are OP.
“Behel—laaaaaaaaaa!”
If they were humans, it might be different…
…but would they really think I did that on purpose after seeing this?
______________________
The Death Knight staggers after taking a heavy blow.
[Kyaak?!]
It seems like this guy is also surprised by my intrusion. Although not as much as the four explorers who are staring with wide eyes.
"What are you doing!!"
A human warrior, who was closest to me, finally grasps the situation and shouts.
Next is the fairy archer in the back.
"What do you mean helping? Step back, or we'll attack you too."
Her voice is soft-spoken yet incredibly sharp.
I pretend to be flustered and shout,
"I, I was just trying to help!"
"Who asked for your help?"
"Huh? You didn't? I thought I heard something like that..."
"...Just step back! If you don't want to get hurt by getting caught up in this!"
"Ah, alright!"
I deflect the Death Knight's sword with my shield while conversing and then retreat to where Misha is.
"Damn it, what the hell is going on!"
The human warrior, who seems to be skilled, takes over the Death Knight's aggro while complaining.
And the battle resumes naturally.
I completely erase my demeanor as a clumsy barbarian and say to Misha, so that only she can hear,
"What do you think? It seems like there won't be any problems like you were worried about."
I wanted to reassure Misha, who was worried that we would be labeled as rude explorers.
But the response I get is a bit unexpected.
"You really are..."
Misha can't finish her sentence, as if impressed by my acting.
"Phew... whatever, what can I say? Other people should know what kind of person you are too."
"What are you talking about? I'm only showing this side to you."
"Uh, that's true, but? No, is that so?"
Anyway, let's end the small talk here and observe the ongoing battle.
After all, how often do you get a chance to watch another team's hunt this closely?
'Although it's not a full party, their balance is decent.'
The human warrior who's doing a good job tanking on his own.
"I'm going for another one, fall back!"
The damage dealer line consisting of a mage and a fairy archer who are spamming fire spells.
And...
'I think this is the first time I've seen a summoner here.'
And a human man in a utility role who summons monsters using a summoning ability to deal damage and provide buffs.
"Bjorn, doesn't that man... look familiar?"
At Misha's sudden words, I take another look at the summoner.
He has a small build, about 160 centimeters tall.
It's difficult to see his face clearly because of the shadows cast by his hood, but...
...I feel a strange sense of déjà vu.
'What is it? Where have I seen him before? There's no way I wouldn't remember a summoner...'
Just as I'm trying to recall why he looks familiar...
"Ev, everyone dodge! The, the attack I mentioned is co, coming!"
The summoner stutters as he gives instructions.
Thanks to that, my blurry memory becomes clear.
I take another look at the fairy who is near the man and then come to a conclusion.
'Ah, that idiot from before.'
It's definitely him.
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