Episode 45 Line (2)
When I returned to my accommodation, I was lost in thought while unpacking my backpack.
It was none other than the metal helmet I was holding in my hand right now.
‘Are you going to sell this?’
The official in-game name for this helmet is ‘Golden Mask’.
An item that can be obtained by defeating the boss of ‘Bloody Citadel’ and satisfying several special conditions.
The effect is simple.
Customizes the wearer’s facial appearance.
Although there is a condition that it is for exactly 30 days.
‘It was a consumable item that even had a limited number of uses.’
Maybe up to 5 times?
I remember that after I used it all up, it naturally disappeared from my inventory.
Of course, it’s not accurate.
That makes sense, since it’s an item I’ve never used myself, except for the first time I got it.
Then I always sold it on the exchange.
About half a million stones.
‘Ugh, but I’m still worried… … .’
Of course, if I were playing a game, I wouldn’t have worried about this.
Of course, it’s a decoration item?
What would you do by decorating a 2D pixel graphic character in a short period of time, say, 30 days?
Even if the market price is 10,000 stones, it is still profitable to sell it.
But where I am now is undeniably reality.
After a brief moment of deliberation, I made a decision.
‘Just in case, let’s keep it for now. It’s not like we need money right now.’
It’s different from games in many ways.
Haven’t there been cases of people being falsely accused and thrown in jail these days?
If you ever find yourself needing to turn this city against your enemies, this item will surely come in handy.
Maybe I’ll have to write for other reasons.
‘Money is the best after all.’
After finishing one thought, I realized the importance of money.
If I hadn’t made a lot of money this time, I would have definitely chosen the selling option.
And as you can see,
Having more money gives you more choices.
Whether it’s a game or reality.
Or maybe this far away world.
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***
“Hey! Did you hear that? The Crystal Union has been disbanded!”
A silver-haired fairy quietly finishing her meal in a corner of the restaurant.
Daria Witember di Tercia perked up her pointed ears.
It’s because I heard a conversation about a topic that I was interested in.
“What? The Sujeong Union is disbanded?”
Modified Union.
An explorer clan that has achieved explosive growth over the past 10 years by forming an extensive network of contacts based on countless message stones and providing various conveniences to explorers on the first floor.
“Isn’t it amazing? An entire clan of explorers just vanished overnight?”
“Huh! How can they be normal? Have they ever been explorers?”
From what she heard, most of the members of the Federation of Corrections were commoners who had entered the explorer’s realm due to the pressure of taxes.
You have a separate main job in the city, and you only take one day a month to go to the labyrinth?
Of course, there was nothing particularly wrong with that.
No, rather, I think the intention was good.
I actually heard that many ordinary people who were on the verge of not being able to pay their taxes were saved through this.
but…….
“Anyway, that’s good news! I guess you’re an explorer and you keep talking nonsense wherever you go.”
The current coalition of amendments has been corrupted.
As their power grew, they began to reject outsiders, and there were frequent instances of them taking advantage of this and committing evil deeds against beginners.
Just look at what happened to my younger brother.
Not only did he try to commit an outrageous act, he even tried to kill him to silence him.
‘I hate to admit it, but if it weren’t for that barbarian, something unimaginable would have happened.’
She, too, had been promising to help him someday after hearing about the incident.
But now that I hear it, there’s no need to do that anymore.
Coincidentally, this time again, thanks to the Barbarian.
“By the way, you haven’t asked that yet. So why did they suddenly disband?”
“Oh, you haven’t heard that news?”
“That news?”
“The Barbarian horse of freedom!”
She, who had been secretly eavesdropping on the story that followed, frowned without realizing it.
The more I listened to the story, the more interesting it became.
Not only did he escape from prison to clear his name, but he even took the district chief’s daughter hostage?
“As things have gotten so big, there are even rumors that the law to identify looters that was supposed to be applied only to 9th-grade explorers will be scrapped.”
This is truly a story worthy of becoming such a hot topic.
Those who falsely accused him have already been hanged on the gallows, and even the Sujeong Alliance, which boasted of its large size, seems to be taking a beating for its past actions.
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but…….
“But you know what’s even more surprising? That barbarian is only a 9th-grade explorer! Which means he just completed his coming-of-age ceremony!”
A 9th-grade explorer who has just completed his coming-of-age ceremony.
Somehow, when I hear this story, one person comes to mind.
A barbarian who was confident in front of others and also showed a different side in many other ways.
‘Surely, there must be such a coincidence… … .’
She shook her head as if to shake off her distracting thoughts.
And then I left the store and went back to my lodgings.
But with every step I took, that thought kept coming back to me.
‘That barbarian, is he really dead?’
So far, there has been no room for doubt in the circumstances.
But if that’s the main character of the story you just heard… … .
‘Then that would explain why I couldn’t return to my accommodation for two days… … .’
Should I really tell my little brother this?
Crunch.
As I opened the door amidst such worries, I saw my younger brother who had become noticeably gaunt.
I was sitting on the bed with my eyes closed, handling three flames that looked like they would go out at any moment.
Even in the labyrinth, two was the limit… … .
“Oh, Sister, you’re here?”
“… Are you sure you’ve been summoning spirits since then?”
“Yeah, that way, the bowl will be a little wider… … .”
Her lips hardened at those words.
The training method itself was not surprising.
Because that’s what she told me in the first place.
However, my younger brother had never pushed himself to this limit before.
“You know, sis, I think I heard the voice of fire.”
“what……?”
“I finally understand. How I can become stronger. Why I had to be weak all this time. Why I always had to rely on someone for help… … .”
My younger brother, who always seemed a bit intimidated and avoided eye contact when speaking, looked me straight in the eye and continued speaking.
“I wasn’t that desperate.”
There was no life in the cracked voice, but one thing felt desperate.
It is none other than poison.
Finally, the one thing my younger brother had been lacking the most was filled.
It was clear what caused the change.
That’s why Daria kept her mouth shut.
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‘Even if that story is true… it would be better not to say anything now.’
Just like it was 10 years ago.
This will all be for the sake of my precious little brother.
***
It was past noon.
Visited the Explorer’s Guild near the Tower.
Honestly, I’ve been through something so disgusting that I don’t even want to come near it for a while… … .
I had no choice but to do it in order to proceed with the new quest I received yesterday.
“What may I bring you?”
“I’m looking for a colleague who is at my level.”
“Is there a specific shape you want?”
A guild administrator who quickly gets to the point without wasting any unnecessary words.
I answered without hesitation.
“We are looking for a team of at least 4 people who operate on the 3rd floor or higher.”
Now that it has come to this, I don’t plan on simply filling Ainar’s empty spot.
Rather, I plan to use my promotion to a 7th-grade explorer to join a team with the best skills possible and efficiently conquer the tower.
‘Well, that’s assuming you have a decent team.’
When I handed over my ID card along with the personal information form I had written in advance according to the procedure, the administrative officer with sleepy eyes flinched.
Then he checked it several times with a strange look.
“…five stars?”
“Is there a problem?”
“Oh, no!”
An administrative officer who seems strangely motivated.
I don’t know what the star is, but for some reason, it seems like his speech has become kinder.
“Rain, here is a list of teams that fit the criteria that Explorer Bjorn Yandell mentioned. Would you like to check it out?”
All done in less than 5 minutes.
“Quite a few enemies?”
“I swear, that’s all that’s fit the criteria among the recruitment notices received by the guild!”
Who said what?
I just said that, but I don’t know why you swear at something like this.
“Hmm.”
The documents the guild members gave us contained brief descriptions of a total of fifteen teams.
Let’s read from the beginning… … .
[3rd Floor Exploration – Ellen Borneff]
Preferred Exploration Areas: Twilight Slope, Steel Rock Hill, and Black River Mouth.
Average rating: 7.
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Current personnel: 2 melee human warriors (rank 7), 1 melee waterman warrior (rank 7), 1 melee dwarf warrior (rank 7).
Recruitment: 1 close-range strike fighter.
*Equal distribution.
*Fairy messenger.
*Attendance at the pre- and post-event dinners is mandatory.
*Drinking is permitted during the exploration if desired.
What the hell is this team?
I just read the words and I feel like I’m already sweating.
I was so scared that I read other teams’ recruitment notices, but I couldn’t find a team that I really liked.
If the members are good, the distribution ratio is poor, and if the distribution ratio is good, there is a problem with the composition of the team members.
‘… If that’s visible in the notice, it must be even worse in reality.’
Perhaps if my career had been just a little longer, it would have been easier to find a team.
The maximum reachable floor is 2nd floor.
If it weren’t for the so-called first-timers, the range of options would have been much wider.
There probably wasn’t a team that would try to fool people with such a low distribution ratio.
‘This is becoming a nuisance.’
I would rather post a recruitment notice myself and form the members, but… … .
Even if I do that, no one will come, right?
The coming child will not be normal either.
‘I didn’t think I’d be able to find it in just one day anyway.’
“Do you have a preferred team?”
“I don’t see anything special today.”
As I shook my head and handed the documents back, the administrative officer nodded as if he were an NPC.
“Oh, really? I apologize for not being able to help you despite your valuable steps. If you wish, I can make Bjorn Yandel’s information available to other teams—”
“That’s okay, come back next time.”
“Oh, is that so? It was always the guild member Terves who was kind to explorers.”
Clearly, he was kind in his voice, his speech, and his actions.
The ability to perform work was also without any unnecessary details.
“Well then, goodbye, explorer!”
But… why do I feel so strange?
***
I left the Explorer’s Guild, leaving behind a strange feeling of unease, and was on my way back to my lodgings.
At the corner of the alley, I stopped walking.
It was because of one barbarian.
widely.
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A bushy beard.
Pants that are torn and stained with dirt here and there.
The Barbarian race itself tends to be mostly beggars, but even taking that into account, this Barbarian is leaning against the alley wall in a pitiful state.
‘what?’
As soon as I saw it, I felt a sense of discomfort.
Although we lived in separate accommodations, I felt a sense of discomfort because I often hung out with Bavarians.
Even though it’s Barbarian nature to settle down and rest anywhere, that’s what it’s like.
‘Why on earth… don’t you have a weapon?’
There is no weapon.
This is a very serious contradiction.
No matter how poor, hungry, or cold they are, the Barbarians are a people who carry a weapon as if it were their life.
Most people tend to ignore curiosity, but I was instinctively drawn to approach him and talk to him.
But how did this happen?
“hey.”
“… Hic, eeek!”
The barbarian, who was sleeping against the wall, was startled and embarrassed when he saw me.
Well, being afraid of strangers may be a natural biological reaction, but… … .
That’s by the standards of other creatures, and our fearless Barbarians wouldn’t do such a thing.
‘Fuck, this kid, no way… … .’
A sense of discomfort that had no form begins to slowly take shape.
My heart pounded, but I quickly calmed down and mentally sorted out what I had to do.
Well, first of all, I guess I need to lower my guard.
“Don’t be afraid, I won’t harm you.”
As proof that he was not an enemy, he took some beef jerky out of his backpack and forcefully put it in his hand.
The greatest favor a Barbarian can do.
Of course, he only received it and didn’t eat the jerky in front of me.
However, I could clearly feel that at least the vigilance engraved in his eyes had broken down a little.
‘Well, I guess we can have a conversation at this level.’
I asked as if I had been waiting.
“Why were you here like this?”
“That, that’s… I, I don’t have money… … .”
I nodded quietly.
The early Barbarians had no money.
This could be the case.
No, if you think about it, it’s obvious.
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but…….
“What about the weapon?”
“Oh, I sold it… … .”
Not only did he sell weapons, he also spoke to me politely… … .
“Please state your name. I am Bjorn, son of Yandel.”
“Li, Li Yan’s son Ta, Tari Khan!”
He raised his voice, perhaps realizing his mistake too late, but it was too late.
I was already convinced.
“Nice to meet you! Tarikan, son of Lien!”
This guy is an evil spirit.
And it hasn’t been long since I entered this world.
