Episode 114 Reunion (2)
“Bjorn! I remember! It’s that guy from back then!”
“There’s no need to explain. It just occurred to me.”
I felt a strange sensation as I recalled my memories.
Time went back three months, and it was when I was trapped in the instant death device [Evil Rift] of the Hierarch Monarch Liakis.
[Just be thankful they don’t kill you right away, you piece of trash.]
When the Djarwi Clan ostracized the mutinous explorers, a mass panic ensued among the explorers.
It was this man who appeared then.
[I, I know about this phenomenon.]
He showed new paths to helpless explorers.
Of course, it was a story that was naively hard to believe… … .
[I’ve been teaming up with this guy for over a year. He’s a mysterious guy. He knows everything. I have no doubt that what he says will save us.]
The explorers, with no other option, followed the path, relying solely on the assurances of a fairy who was their companion.
and…….
‘It’s fucking ridiculous to believe without doubt.’
It’s all gone.
Later, when I looked into it out of curiosity, that was all I heard, so I also just assumed that was the case.
Until I met that guy today.
‘They took over a hundred people to the temple, but it seems like they are the only ones who survived.’
When I thought about it that way, he couldn’t help but be an interesting guy.
It’s not like he was able to come back alive simply because he was lucky.
I think it would be reasonable to think that he was talented.
At that time, I just thought he was a cripple… … .
‘I never thought he would take me even though he knew I was a limb.’
“Eh, now! Get out!”
I narrowed my eyes at the man who was predicting the Death Knight’s patterns and giving instructions.
The guy has a total of four summons.
The synergy between summons is good, but the level of the essence itself is not high.
One thing we can learn here.
‘I guess the average would be around level 7.’
He is a lowly explorer with nothing to show for it.
If he had been born with a silver spoon in his mouth, his equipment would have been nice.
That’s why the questions are growing even more.
Liakis’ pattern and Death Knight’s appearance conditions.
How does an explorer with little experience and not even a good family know this information?
‘… … I guess it would be reasonable to view them as players.’
The final decision was made through rational reasoning.
That nameless summoner is a player.
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I don’t know why such a person would make the mistake of choosing a profession like a summoner as a human.
‘Ugh, I’m a little confused by this.’
If you’re a Suin, a Yongin, or a dwarf, you might not know.
Humans have no summoning system or racial synergy whatsoever.
Of course, this is only a small difference in the beginning, but as the game progresses, it becomes a huge gap.
In short, the efficiency is extremely low.
‘Maybe that wasn’t important to him… … .’
It was a very possible story.
Regardless of the character’s level of completion, it’s normal for people to want to just choose a job that’s easy to get into.
Well, who would want to fight directly at the front?
I guess that’s not what I’m saying, since I chose a shield as soon as I found out I was starting as a Barbarian.
“Death Knight defeated. EXP +4”
I opened my eyes in a sense of fulfillment that filled my body.
The Death Knight was transformed into a halo of light and scattered, ending with the fireball that the wizard had placed into its core.
By the way, the integer did not appear.
“What a shame. I even bought the test tubes at a high price just in case.”
“Pa, Parthenon, ma, be careful with your words… .”
“Oh, that’s right.”
The wizard looks this way with his mouth tightly shut.
‘Then it’s our turn now.’
After watching them with an expressionless face for a moment, I put back on my innocent barbarian mask.
“Oh, that’s great! What kind of magic was that at the end?”
“… … I don’t think we’re in a position to have that kind of conversation, right?”
As he tried to approach the wizard in a friendly manner, the fairy archer coldly cut him off and stopped him.
“What on earth did you do just now? If you can’t explain it properly, I will consider you an enemy.”
Ugh, I think I was really gentle in front of people back then… … .
Was it all an act?
Oh, fairies and barbarians don’t get along well.
“Like I said before, I was just trying to help!”
“That’s strange. None of us said anything like that.”
“Death Knight is strong! That’s why I thought you were in danger!”
The fairy archer glared at me with suspicion.
Even after seeing the baby barbarian mode, you look at me like that. How bad is the image of barbarians among fairies?
“Is that really the only reason?”
“Then what else is there?”
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“First of all, there must be a certain number. You may not know it, but it must have been a desirable number to the person next to you.”
Misha was startled by the fairy’s sharp muttering and waved her hand.
“Oh, misunderstanding! I may use a sword, but I can’t eat because my seat is already full!”
“Is that true… … ?”
“You might want to check it out!”
What are you checking? Check.
What are you going to do if you do it here?
It was a truly absurd answer, but the fairy simply nodded her head.
“If that’s true, then I will believe it.”
It looks like this fairy archer’s prickly behavior is limited to barbarians.
“But still, there’s something fishy about intervening to help.”
“Hey, you little rascals… … .”
“You! What did you just say?”
I asked back, annoyed by the sharp voice.
“How sinister must you be to be suspicious of him in the first place?”
I wasn’t really angry or anything.
I also know that it was wrong to barge into battle without permission.
But so what?
“Are you ignoring me because I’m a Barbarian?”
Being able to go hard and fight back even in situations where it’s clearly my fault.
That must be what a true barbarian looks like.
“If you insult me any longer, I won’t tolerate it! You little punk!”
4:2 The situation was so bad that the fairy was flustered as she watched me raise my shield as if I was ready to fight.
“No, that’s not it! I’m asking you to clarify something that doesn’t make sense!”
“What do you mean, something doesn’t make sense?”
“I understand that the goal isn’t to get the rewards, but it’s hard to believe that they didn’t intend to piggyback on us and take credit for free.”
Wow, this guy is really sharp.
In fact, it was as good as reaching the truth, but this was not a problem either.
“Why would I bother doing something like that? I already caught him once.”
“……yes?”
The fairy looked dumbfounded at my words.
Well, I guess that’s hard to understand.
Because it’s a difficult monster to encounter before reaching the 6th floor.
I continued with a brief explanation.
“I’ve been to the Bloody Citadel before. Does that explain it?”
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It’s a mutant rift, so instead of a Death Knight, a vampire pops out, but what do you know?
There’s no need to investigate the truth here.
That’s half true.
“Ha, but! How can we believe that?”
“If you insist on it like that, then no matter what I say, you won’t believe me. If you want to fight, then come at me, you rascal.”
“Because you put up with it, I thought you couldn’t do it if I told you to… …!”
The man stepped forward, startled by the sight of the fairy exploding with anger.
“Miss Meyrin. Stop it! What he said is probably, y-is true!”
“Huh? What is that… … .”
“I, I remember now! That barbarian… That’s the guy I saw there back then! Bjorn, son of Yandel. The explorer who earned the nickname Little Vulcan!”
It may have been a brief meeting, but the summoner seemed to remember my face.
Soon, the wizard and the warrior let out a gasp at the same time.
“Somehow, even while talking, he easily received the Death Knight’s sword.”
“Wow, that’s surprising. Miss Meyrin, it seems we were mistaken. Someone so famous wouldn’t do something like that just to gain some public recognition.”
The fairy archer pursed her lips, perhaps sensing that things were starting to get a bit strange.
“I understand how you feel, Miss Mayrin. Sometimes it’s hard to admit it. But sometimes, you have to learn to let go of your stubbornness and accept it.”
“Whew, I see… … .”
When all of my colleagues decided that I had no impure intentions, the fairy archer stopped being stubborn.
‘Huh, is this why I have to make a masterpiece?’
Realizing once again the importance of fame, I stared at the summoner approaching me.
“Well, it’s nice to meet you. Bjorn, son of Yandel.”
He may seem funny because of his stuttering habit, but he is no ordinary guy.
That makes sense, isn’t there a record of him driving hundreds of people to their deaths to save his own life?
“It’s fate that we met like this, so shouldn’t we introduce ourselves?”
The guy asked me cautiously.
I don’t think you’re curious about my name, so I guess you just mean you want to get to know me.
“good night.”
I nodded without hesitation.
There was no reason to refuse.
That’s why I stayed here until now because I was curious about this guy’s name in the first place.
“You see, I am Bjorn, son of Yandel. What is your name?”
Since I was sure he was a player, I thought I’d leave his name and look into it later.
There’s no big reason, I was just a little curious.
Looking at the behavior, I thought it could be a good reference sample to see how typical players behave.
but…….
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“This is Hans Krishen.”
Shit, I didn’t expect this.
A player possessed by Hans’ body.
What kind of opening scene properties are these?
“If you don’t mind, let’s go ahead and be friendly—”
I stepped back as I saw the guy smiling kindly and offering to shake my hand.
“Stop moving. I have something to do, so I’ll be going now!”
“…Huh? What is that—”
“Misha! What are you doing! Why aren’t you coming quickly!”
“Okay! Okay… Wait! Go, come with me… … !”
Damn, I should have brought some salt.
My heart is already starting to pound, wondering what will happen next.
***
As soon as he found out Hans G’s identity, he ran away from the place.
How much time has passed since then?
“What the hell is this! Running is fine, but please explain why—”
“… That guy was Hans too.”
“Huh? What does that mean—”
“I’ve never had a good time with Hans.”
Although it was said with genuine concern, Misha instead looked relieved.
“Oh my, what did I say? I thought something big had happened!”
No, is this really a big deal?
Hansra?
Is that also from a player you met in the labyrinth?
“If you look closely, you have quite a strange side to you. I don’t think you would believe in any of these superstitions.”
As I watched Misha not taking it seriously, I felt a sense of disappointment.
“Phew! Bjorn, you… Don’t you think you’re a little cute today?”
What is this guy really saying?
While I was at it, I told him one by one the incidents involving Hans.
Starting with Hans A, who broke the start, Hans C, who was Elisa’s subordinate, and Hans D, who was the leader of the group of marauders encountered in the Witch’s Forest.
“Oh, come to think of it, you said you hated the name Hans back then too… … ?”
“Yeah. But back then, I just thought it was ominous.”
Misha’s expression also changed when she told him about Hans B, who had been nearby just before Dwalki was taken away by Mozlan.
“What, what is it! Who the hell is Hans!!”
As expected of an explorer prone to superstition, at this point Misha also seemed to be getting a bit anxious.
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“Then what? We’ve already met… Are you sure something big is going to happen again?!”
Well, I don’t know about that.
I just think I need to be as careful as possible in the future.
“Let’s go to the third floor as quickly as possible.”
“…Not the first floor?”
Now, Misha, who was more serious than me, was expressing her doubts, but this was the most reasonable judgment.
First of all, it is not even certain whether this is a superstition or not… … .
Even if it really exists, nothing changes.
If Hans’ curse is true, then running away is pointless. Shit can happen in the city too.
The way to minimize losses is to just finish what you have to do.
“Ugh, if that’s the case, then why didn’t you just not say it? It’ll just make me feel uncomfortable… … .”
Well, that’s true.
It seems that because I met Hans, who was a former player, I had difficulty thinking rationally.
Or maybe I just started relying on him at some point.
I don’t know about happy things, but if you share difficult things between two people, it’s definitely cut in half, right?
“Is that what you’re talking about! You crazy barbarian!!!”
“…I’m joking.”
“Don’t lie! Your eyes were sincere!”
To tell the truth, Misha was furious.
Well, it seemed like he was quite satisfied with the fact that he had unknowingly relied on me.
“Whew! Anyway, it was good of you to tell me without hiding anything. If something like that happens again, don’t suffer alone and tell me. After all, I’m older than you, right?”
“Oh, that’s right.”
Misha is five years older than me.
Of course, this is based on Bjorn’s standards.
“What is that reaction?”
“It was more relied on.”
“… … I don’t think that was it?”
Anyway, we ended the small talk here and resumed moving. And how much time had passed?
I started to feel fatigue building up in my body.
It means it’s almost time to go camping.
‘It’s been about a day since then, so I’ll probably get to the third floor tomorrow or the day after.’
I was also quite tired, but I settled in and put Misha to bed first. Then I sat quietly and stood guard, thinking about various things.
How much time has passed since then?
[00:37]
When I checked the time, it was already past 12 o’clock.
Today is the 7th day, which means the first floor crystal cave has already been closed, spitting out the explorers into the city.
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Well, whether you leave early or late, when you get back to the city it’ll all be at the same time zone…
‘I hope he’s doing well?’
Suddenly, I remembered Caron, who had brought me to the first floor.
[It might be okay to pretend to sleep after deliberately saving your night friend as a human. If he has an ulterior motive, he’ll definitely reveal his true intentions!]
Could it be because of what he said last?
I was worried for no reason that something might have gone wrong.
‘Hey, what’s going on?’
Since it was already shift change time, I woke up Misha and took a short nap.
***
Dazzling light.
Crowd noise.
And the damp, city-specific air that envelopes your lungs.
Caron shouted without realizing it.
I just felt like doing that.
Should I say it’s refreshing?
I liked the way people around me looked at me like I was a savage. There was a time when I was intimidated by those looks… … .
So what do you want me to do!
“Behel—raaaa …
Charon has changed.
No, I took off one layer.
Just as the great horned beetle breaks its shell to become an adult.
During this expedition, he grew into a true warrior.
That’s why… … .
“Tsk, why do you always go around making it seem like that? What about savages?”
“Hey, I hear you. You have to be careful, they’re the ones who just take it in.”
Those contemptuous gazes felt like a pleasant stimulation.
Doesn’t that mean you’re letting your guard down?
Like the two night buddies he’d killed in the past few days.
‘It was easy.’
Bjorn, son of Yandel.
Everything was as he said.
The first floor was swarming with trashy people who had hidden their true intentions, and as soon as you showed an opening, they would rush in and say, “You’re right.”
Not knowing that it was actually a trap.
The expressions on the faces of those who had looked down on me as prey when I was being attacked in return were so exhilarating that I had never experienced it before.
Crunch, crunch.
One on the back, one on the right arm, and one on the left arm.
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Carrying three bags, he headed toward the checkpoint with great pomp. As expected from a gate reserved for 9th-grade explorers, the line was long.
As soon as he arrived, his friendly compatriots from all over the place came to him and found him.
“Charon, son of Tarson! What is that bag?”
“Here, it’s loaded with gear! Did they loot it or something?”
Caron shook his head firmly.
“Phew, looting? How could that be?”
This is not as disgusting an act as looting.
No, rather, it is a noble act of protecting one’s own kind.
When we drew a clear line on our concerns, the look in the Barbarians’ eyes changed.
“That’s possible without looting!”
“Wow, I’m jealous! If you sell all that, how many stone breads will you get?”
They were his classmates who had completed their coming-of-age ceremony with him, but today, they looked so young.
That’s why he gathered as many of his own people as possible.
Although I once felt competitive with them, my real enemies were elsewhere.
“Haha, don’t be jealous. If you know how, you can earn this much too. You won’t have to eat anything like stone bread for the rest of your life.”
“What!! If there is such a thing, please tell me quickly!”
“I’ll tell you! But before that! I have something to tell you first.”
First, Caron told us in sequence what had happened in the labyrinth this time.
Being betrayed by my colleagues.
The reason was his own heart.
To the point where they considered us easy, high-reward monsters.
“We are not monsters!!”
“We are warriors!!”
As expected, his compatriots were greatly indignant.
And when he heard that it was ‘Little Vulcan’ who saved him, he praised him with a loud voice.
“Little Vulcan, Bjorn, son of Yandel!”
“To read the thoughts of a wicked usurper, he is truly a great and wise warrior!”
The atmosphere heated up in an instant.
In it, Charon proudly shouted.
“He taught me. It is thanks to his teachings that I have returned with so much loot!”
“Oh! Is that true!!”
“That’s true! From now on, I will teach you that teaching too!”
Eventually, Charon learned everything he had learned from Bjorn.
No, he even shared the ‘method’ that he had personally devised without hiding anything.
Of course, the credit goes entirely to Bjorn.
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“All I have to do is save my night friend as a human and pretend to sleep!!”
“Bjorn, son of Yandel! Is he a genius?”
“It sounded a little strange at first, but coming from such a great warrior? I will follow!”
Looking at his people who were excited, Caron was convinced.
“Tch, here they go again.”
“I don’t know why they leave him alone when he’s always so noisy.”
“Even if you sell my heart, I think that snout will still be the same.”
Until now, the Barbarian has been the lowest-ranking prey in the labyrinth.
I hate to admit it, but that was the reality I faced a while ago.
Although they may be strong in a head-on fight, they are helpless against their cunning tricks.
but…….
“Bjorn, son of Yandel, said! This will be the first noble step for all of us!!”
“Behel—raaaa …
“Behel—raaaa …
From now on, things will be different.
