I turned my head and looked at the hand on my shoulder.
A ring with a unique pattern was on his index finger.
“A subspace ring.”
My heart pounded.
What was inside that ring?
It felt like looking at an unopened random box.
Swoosh.
My hand reached for the ring.
My treasure…
“…What the hell!”The man quickly pulled his hand away as if he was disgusted.
“Barbarian, you bastard! You…!”
I could tell what he was misunderstanding from his terrified eyes.
His companions also muttered,
“No wonder a barbarian was a newbie.”
“A normal person wouldn’t come down to this city.”
“This is why he was kicked out of his tribe…”
What the hell are these crazy bastards talking about?
I had to clear up the misunderstanding.
So I quickly punched him.
Thwack!
My first target was Bucktooth, who had dared to put his hand on my shoulder and act friendly.
“Ugh!”
Something white flew out of his mouth.
Bucktooth was cured with a single punch.
“Behel—laaaaaaaaaa!”
As soon as I let out a battle cry, the surrounding explorers stepped back, creating space.
“Fight!”
“Waaaaaaaaaa!”
“The newbie is fighting Rex’s gang!!”
This isn’t a school classroom.
Even the employees at the counters just sighed with a ‘Not again’ expression.
Right, so no one’s going to stop us?
‘This is better.’
I was starting to like Noark.
Maybe I had secretly wanted a manly society like this.
“You bastard!!”
Beard, Bucktooth’s companion, drew his weapon angrily.
So you want a duel?
I had been holding back, just in case, but I swung my mace at him.
However…
Whoosh!
…Beard ducked.
And at that moment…
Crackle.
…a ball of electricity flew towards me from the man behind him.
It didn’t seem like magic.
He must be an ability user…
‘Yeah, my shield is Adamantium.’
Adamantium is a 5th-tier metal that reduces elemental damage by 50%.
Crackle!
Electricity flowed through my shield, but I endured it with my Magic Resistance.
But could it be because this was my first time encountering this type?
‘If you want to kill a tank, you should cast a curse first, you bastards.’
Beard’s eyes widened in surprise as I nonchalantly swung my mace.
“……!”
I understood.
He had closed the distance, expecting me to be ‘stunned’.
He was in the perfect position for me to smash him.
Thwack!
Okay, two down.
Thud.
Beard’s body flew up and hit the ceiling before falling to the ground.
It would have been a foul ball in baseball.
I tapped my shoulder with my mace and looked ahead.
“What are you waiting for?”
The remaining three, whose two companions had just been crushed, surprisingly acted rationally.
“Rex, let’s retreat.”
“…?”
“He’s a newbie who came yesterday, but I heard that Kalte’s gang followed him and were all found dead.”
Ah, so you guys didn’t hear the rumor yet.
It seemed like they realized I wasn’t an easy target, judging by the onlookers’ murmurs.
“But if we retreat now…”
“We’ll be a laughingstock. But it’s better than dying. I heard that one of his companions is a woman who uses Aura.”
“Aura…?”
The man named Rex frowned.
And at that moment…
Swoosh.
…Amelia, who had been waiting in another line, came and stood next to me.
“Ah, you’re here.”
“It seems like you attract trouble wherever you go.”
“It’s not my fault this time.”
“…I know. I saw it.”
Amelia said so and placed her hand on the dagger she had strapped to her thigh.
And could it be that this was the deciding factor?
“…How about we end this here?”
The man named Rex made a suggestion.
Geez, that’s not how you negotiate.
“Apologize.”
“I will. I apologize for making a rude request because I underestimated you.”
Is it their culture to grovel if they’re going to?
He was surprisingly humble.
‘So, what should I do…?’
I glanced at Amelia, and she nodded slightly.
It meant I should let them go.
“Alright, I accept your apology.”
“Thank you, then…”
Rex and his companions started tending to their fallen comrades as soon as I accepted his apology.
Hmm, what the hell are they doing?
“Stop.”
“…?”
“Leave their equipment.”
“But you accepted our apology…”
No, that’s one thing, and this is another.
What’s the point of a verbal apology?
“We’re on the same side now. We have to help each other, right?”
Damn right, that’s how the world works.
_____________________
Rex hesitated for a while and then sighed and took off his unconscious companions’ equipment.
“Here, are you happy now?”
“Where’s the ring?”
“…Here it is.”
Damn it, how much is this worth?
It’s practically money duplication.
Why were these Noark bastards living in poverty?
‘Anyway, I’ll check what’s inside the ring later…’
“Go now.”
“…….”
I put all the equipment they took off into my subspace ring after chasing them away.
Phew, I had been wanting another subspace pocket since expandable backpacks were so inconvenient.
“They’re warm-hearted people, even though they look a bit rough.”
“…….”
“What are you staring at? Come on, let’s get back in line.”
We then headed back to the counters.
Other explorers had taken our spots, but it wasn’t a problem.
I had already adapted to this city.
“Oh, human.”
“…Wh, what do you want?”
“We have a bit of a situation, so can you let us go first?”
“…Of course.”
We were able to get to the front of the line thanks to the kind explorer’s consideration.
We had saved almost 30 minutes since we were in the middle of the line before.
“The people here are so kind.”
“…Anyone would think you’re the one from here, not me.”
Haha, how embarrassing.
“I’m just a fast learner. I’m not a genius.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Huhu, you’re not being honest.”
“…….”
Anyway, it was soon our turn, and we were able to finish our registration earlier than expected.
Because we skipped the rank adjustment application.
“You said we should raise it to 5th grade.”
“It doesn’t matter. The Lord probably already knows about us.”
I had already achieved my goal, so there was no need to reveal my essences by adjusting my rank.
“It’s good that you’re doing what you want.”
“…Be careful from now on. There are more than just small fries in this city.”
“Okay. So are we done for today?”
“Yeah, let’s go back and rest.”
We returned to the inn we had booked yesterday and extended our stay, then stayed inside.
And after some time…
…contrary to Amelia’s expectations, the Lord didn’t contact us.
Damn it, our plan was to join him…
“Amelia, what’s going on?”
“…It seems like he’s trying to figure us out since he doesn’t have any information about us.”
“So?”
“Let’s just wait. He’ll contact us eventually. He won’t leave a high-ranking explorer like you alone.”
Time passed, and it was time for the labyrinth to open again.
_________________________
“Waaaaaaaaaa!”
“It’s been a while!”
“Let’s go make some money!”
The plaza was crowded, as if there was a festival.
It was a common sight on labyrinth opening days, but the people gathered here today seemed especially excited.
It was understandable.
Most of the few people who entered the labyrinth last month had returned alive, so there was a sense that the labyrinth was safe again.
It was great news for those who were struggling.
Swoosh.
Arrua Raven, who was passing by the plaza in a carriage, closed the curtains with a bitter smile.
It was finally sinking in.
‘Right, it’s already been a month…’
A month had passed since Bjorn Yandel died.
Although the man who was called a hero among explorers had died, the world hadn't changed.
Only her surroundings had.
“Ha…”
Raven briefly reminisced about the past few days.
[Yeah, Bjorn is dead.]
The warrior was surprisingly the most rational one.
[Let’s all go rest. We’re tired, so let’s talk about what to do tomorrow. I’ll go to the guild alone.]
She tried to do what needed to be done, facing reality.
To maintain this team that Bjorn Yandel had created.
Of course, it didn’t work.
[What… do you mean?]
[Now that Bjorn is dead, the five of us have to enter the labyrinth, right?]
The fairy retorted aggressively.
[Explore? Is that what’s important now?]
[Then what is?]
[Revenge! We have to take revenge!]
[Revenge?]
[Noark! That incident on the island happened because of them! And that red-haired woman is suspicious too. If she’s still alive, and if she’s involved in what happened to mister…]
The fairy’s eyes were filled with killing intent.
[I don’t even care if she’s not involved.]
[…….]
[I’m going to find them all and kill them.]
Raven understood her anger.
After all, she had recently lost her sister because of Noark.
[Erwen, I understand how you feel, but calm down. How are you even going to take revenge on those who left for the outside world? Let’s go home and rest today, and then we’ll talk tomorrow…]
[So that’s all it was to you guys.]
[What?]
[I feel sorry for mister. To think he stayed behind alone to protect these people, calling them his companions.]
[…What did you say? Say that again.]
[Ra, Raven, stop it! You can’t do this!]
The warrior stopped her.
The beastman archer would have usually stepped in, but even she didn’t seem to have the energy for that.
But did the fairy notice?
[…….]
She approached the beastman warrior.
[What about you, sister? Are you going to do it? Take revenge?]
[I, I…]
The beastman warrior trailed off.
And after some time…
[You beast.]
The fairy left after those words.
[I, I’ll talk to Erwen tomorrow. So let’s… go too.]
They disbanded and went home.
The warrior said she would go to the guild and report Bjorn Yandel’s death, but the mage stopped her.
[Miss Ainar, please take care of Misha. I’ll… take care of this.]
[But…]
[You can’t even read, Miss Ainar.]
[Alright. I’ll leave it to you.]
The beastman archer didn’t say anything.
She just watched as the team fell apart, as if she had experienced this many times before.
[Let me see, the deceased is… Viscount Bjorn Yandel?!]
The guild was in chaos when she submitted the death report.
The surrounding explorers and even the staff looked like they had many questions, but they didn’t approach her, seeing her expression.
A day passed.
[Did you hear? Viscount Bjorn Yandel is dead.]
[I can’t believe Giant died like that…]
[What a loss.]
The news of Bjorn Yandel’s death spread throughout the city as quickly as his fame had spread when he was alive.
And those who knew him visited his house.
[Ainar! Misha! Open the door! Is it true that Yandel is dead? Wh, why…? Open the door!]
Hikurod Murad, the dwarf warrior who was his former companion.
[…Murad, stop it. I confirmed it at the guild. We shouldn’t make things harder for them. Let’s go back and come again later.]
Brown Rotmiller.
And countless other explorers who were indebted to the hero, Bjorn Yandel, visited his house.
[Thank you for saving us that day.]
[He won’t be coming to the library anymore…]
Flowers piled up in front of his door.
Countless people mourned his death, and the barbarian tribe, who considered him as their next chieftain, closed the gates of the sanctuary and held a funeral for several days, praying for his soul to return to the forest.
But the world didn’t change.
Only her surroundings had.
[…Let’s all rest for a while and not think about exploring.]
All future exploration plans were put on hold.
What could they do with just four people?
And besides, they weren’t even in their right minds.
Everyone needed a break.
Even Arrua Raven.
But…
‘Nothing changes by resting.’
Arrua Raven had an epiphany after the fairy left that day.
Time doesn’t heal all wounds.
Everything would only get worse as time passed.
Therefore…
“I have to find him.”
Arrua Raven hadn’t been able to sleep properly since that day, spending every day buried in books.
She had even visited the library in the royal palace today and was on her way back to her lab.
Because there was something strange about his death.
It was known in the city that he had died because of ‘Stormgush’…
“This doesn’t make sense.”
…but judging by the circumstances, he had succeeded in hunting it.
He even had the presence of mind to hammer a nail into the ground and tie himself down.
But where did he disappear to in that short amount of time?
And if he was really swept away by the water, why was his equipment missing?
“There’s something more… a huge secret…”
Raven clutched her chest, unable to breathe.
Although it wasn’t a rational deduction…
“There has to be something more…”
…she needed something to hold onto.
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