Episode 72 Ghostbusters (1)
I looked up at the unfamiliar ceiling and thought.
The last thing I saw before I lost consciousness was the gloomy sky typical of this city… … .
‘This must be some kind of makeshift tent for patients. There must be many other injured people besides me.’
If you actually look to the side, you can see the hospital beds lined up close together.
I understood the situation as naturally as I breathed.
Inside the tent, the silence is palpable.
Most of the used beds are empty.
That is to say.
‘It seems like quite some time has passed.’
So, what I have to do is also determined.
First, check how much time has passed.
As I slowly try to raise my upper body so as not to startle my muscles, I feel a heavy, uncomfortable feeling in my abdomen.
As soon as I realized the identity, I burst out laughing.
‘I wondered where he went… … .’
Misha was sleeping with her arms crossed over my stomach.
Even making a distinctive snoring sound.
It’s admirable that he’s been by my side, taking care of me, but I also wonder what the point is.
‘Well, he must have been tired too.’
Elisha, the priest of Karui.
A story of a lost life in the Witch’s Forest.
A chase with Liakis, the Lord of Chaos.
If you think back on what you’ve been through, it’s not hard to understand.
but…….
“Misha, wake up.”
Since my curiosity came first, I shook Misha awake without hesitation.
“Huh? Ugh… B, Bjorn! Wake up! How’s your body? How’s your body, are you okay?”
“As you can see, it’s fine.”
My left ankle, which had been aching, is now moving well, and my arm, which was torn off, has been restored to its original state.
In that sense, the first question.
“Did you use a top-grade potion?”
“No, the priest came and treated him.”
“What about the treatment costs?”
“Don’t worry about it. The guild will give you disaster relief money, so it won’t take much… … .”
No, I’m worried because of you.
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“So how much is it?”
“… 300,000 stones.”
“I see.”
Phew, but it’s still a lot cheaper than the highest grade potion.
I was worried because it was a new temple, but it seems like the guild’s support money was quite generous.
“Why are you making that face? Good job.”
“But Bjorn doesn’t like money… … .”
Oh, that’s definitely true.
What kind of image does he have of me?
“No matter what, money can’t be more important than your body, right?”
It’s not just about restoring the crushed flesh.
It is even more so when the cut sections are reattached.
It was a process of repairing an arm that had been torn off along with its bones, and an arm that had been abandoned in a labyrinth.
‘Obviously, there was no answer with natural regenerative power.’
I wiped out my foolishness cleanly.
Back when we tested the limits of regenerative powers with Raven, didn’t it take a long time for a severed finger to grow back?
Anyway, here’s the second question.
“So how long has it been since you came out of the labyrinth?”
“About 6 hours.”
Well, somehow it was still bright outside the tent.
It wasn’t like the whole day had passed.
“What about the backpack?”
“It’s fine. Of course, what’s inside it too!”
“What about the magic stone?”
“I converted everything, including yours, into money.”
“Did no one come to see me while I was unconscious?”
“Ah, Hikurodne came by!”
“… A dwarf?”
As I tilted my head, Misha slowly explained what had happened.
To cut to the chase, I reunited with Hikuro and his group who had come here just in case about 5 hours ago… … .
“Thank goodness all three of you are okay. So where did they go?”
“I confirmed that he was alive, so he said he was tired and went to bed.”
“I see.”
I don’t feel any regret.
It would have been the same even if the situation had been the opposite.
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Anyway, it’s not like I’ll wake up early even if I stay here. We can talk about the pending issues two days later when we meet.
“Then what else do I need to do to get out of here?”
“Just pack your bags and leave. I’ve already taken care of all the annoying things.”
“I see.”
I try to get up by throwing off the blanket, but Misha hurriedly stops me.
“Wait a minute, don’t get up!”
“… … ?”
“Uh, first of all, wear this… … .”
No further explanation was needed.
“ah…….”
While Misha turned her back and looked elsewhere, I put on the new clothes that had been lying neatly on the table.
By the way, you even bought me clothes in advance.
Unlike his usual rough appearance, he has delicate corners.
“Do the clothes fit well?”
“It fits well.”
To be honest, it’s a bit too small…
In the first place, it was difficult to find clothes in the right size in this city.
Anyway, when I left the tent, the sun was setting.
“Misha, where are you staying?”
“It’s District 8.”
“Then I guess we can go together.”
Since we were going in the same direction and returning to our accommodations together, the contrast between our surroundings and our behavior was striking.
People walking around the streets in clean everyday clothes, not heavy, hard metal armor.
“Bjorn, what are you looking at? Come on, I’m so tired.”
After walking along the clean streets for about 30 minutes, we arrived at our accommodation.
By the way, it seems like Misha’s accommodation is about 10 minutes further from here.
“It’s closer than I thought.”
“That’s right. Why didn’t I know that before?”
“Anyway, you should go now. You must be tired too. Thank you for today.”
“Now, just a moment!”
As I was about to quickly say goodbye and enter the inn, Misha grabbed my wrist.
“Is there anything else I need to know right now?”
“No, that’s not it… … .”
If not that, then what?
When I gave her a look telling me to hurry up and tell her what happened, Misha snickered and let go of my wrist.
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“Fine, I guess I’ll get scolded for saying the same thing over and over again anyway.”
“Same story?”
“Then I’ll go, tomorrow guaranteed!”
Misha ran away without me even being able to say anything in return.
“tomorrow?”
Wasn’t it supposed to be tomorrow or the day after that when we all decided to meet up?
The last sentence was a bit questionable, but I couldn’t be bothered to think about it, so I quickly went into the inn. Then, after a quick wash, I had a quick meal on the first floor.
As always, it didn’t really hit me until I lay down in bed.
‘You came back alive this time too.’
Came back alive.
What the fuck.
***
The next day at noon.
I woke up to the sound of a knock on the door. I tried to just ignore it and go back to sleep, but it was so persistent.
“… Misha?”
“I thought you were sleeping.”
“Why are you here? The appointment was supposed to be tomorrow night.”
Misha snickers at my question mixed with complaints and opens the bundle on the table.
I tried something and it turned out to be food.
“Come and sit down quickly. If you sleep like that without eating, you’ll hurt your body.”
No, Barbarians don’t have anything like that?
As I stared at her with a look of disbelief, Misha eventually grabbed my arm and pulled me towards her.
“Stop talking and come here. If you’re going to sleep, why don’t you just eat and then sleep?”
I didn’t think anything would happen if I skipped a meal or two, but I obediently followed his words because I was sincere.
The menu features stir-fried vegetables with eggs and grilled meats.
“How is it?”
“… It’s delicious. Did you make it yourself?”
“Then where can you sell something like this?”
Well, you could just say that.
Anyway, I really didn’t see it that way, but I didn’t think he’d be good at cooking.
“At first, I tried to make it myself to save some money, but I still do it because it’s fun.”
“Well, didn’t you say you were staying at an inn?”
“Oh, that’s true. I happened to become close with the chef, so when I asked him to use it for a while, he said yes.”
“I see.”
“If you get the chance, try it later, Bjorn. It’s better than you think and you can save a lot of money.”
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You want me to cook?
This guy really can do anything to a Barbarian. Or does he just not know much about Barbarians?
“Cooking is a warrior’s disgrace.”
“Well, just like that?”
As I nodded resolutely, Misha made an expression that said, “Okay,” and then cautiously made a suggestion.
“Okay then I can do it… … .”
What is he saying now?
“Okay, why go that far? It’s easier to just buy it and eat it.”
“I, I guess so?”
“By the way, how did you know about the lake? I don’t think they told you that much.”
“Oh, that? I asked the innkeeper where the barbarian was, and he just told me?”
“… I see.”
After that, we chatted and put food in our mouths, and soon the plate was empty.
“Then what are we going to do? Are we going to get better?”
I thought about it for a moment and then answered.
“Since it’s come to this, I think I’ll take a quick trip to the commercial district.”
I was originally planning to sleep through tomorrow night, but I don’t think I’ll be able to fall asleep even if I lie down again.
It’s a kind of obsession.
I can’t allow myself to put off things I need to do and rest unless I’m so exhausted that I’m about to collapse.
“That’s better. Misha, you come too.”
“Huh? Me too? I was going back to sleep… … .”
Misha trails off with a puzzled look on her face.
In my experience, in these situations, I needed to speak strongly.
“You’re the one who woke me up. Take responsibility.”
“Hehe, I understand. I had to go drop off my equipment anyway… … .”
Where are you running away to?
***
First of all, I got rid of all the equipment I had acquired.
It wasn’t as lucrative as I had hoped, since I had previously paid 2 million stones worth of protection money to the Djarwi Clan for equipment.
‘Among these, the ones I got from Hans’ group should be divided into five parts… … .’
Still, after selling the equipment and various consumables of the three religious fighters, a lot of money was saved.
The big thing was that one of the three was an expandable backpack owner.
Well, I had a lot of money to pay.
“… The repair cost is 500,000 stones?”
“It’s a piece of equipment made of lithium. If it was just a little bent or warped, then that would be fine, but if it’s so corroded, there’s nothing we can do about it.”
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No matter what, it’s like that.
You want 500,000 stones to repair a piece of equipment worth 4 million stones?
This is a Bavarian swindler—
“Bjorn, don’t be so stubborn. He’s not wrong… … .”
It was disappointing, but seeing Misha, a 5th year explorer, do that, it seems like it’s a normal price.
So I just paid it.
‘… How much is the bone loss?’
For efficiency gamers, what is scarier than muscle loss is none other than gold loss.
I went back through them one by one.
‘I left my Mace in the labyrinth along with one of my arms, and I used an advanced potion along the way, and the treatment cost was 300,000 stones, and the repair cost was 500,000 stones… ‘
The more I think about it, the more my stomach hurts.
If only we hadn’t handed over 2 million stones worth of equipment as protection money, we could have laughed it off…
“Bjorn, don’t be like that. If it’s money, I’ll work hard to earn it from now on… … .”
Yeah, let’s think positively.
In fact, isn’t this the second biggest takeaway from this expedition?
Oh, of course the first one is the Orc Hero Essence.
‘I got a lot of consumables like potions, so I actually have a lot of money to spend later… … .’
“Bjorn, what are you doing? Why don’t you go in?”
After finishing my thoughts, I entered the inn with Misha. It wasn’t Misha’s or my lodging, but an inn located in the commercial district of Commelby.
“I never thought the carriage on the platform would break down.”
“That’s why I said I had to move quickly, right?”
“Okay, then stop nagging me.”
Entering the inn, I asked for two rooms at the counter and got a slap on the back from Misha.
“Are you crazy? Do you know how much a day it is? Just grab one.”
“…Just grab one?”
I think it should usually be the other way around… … .
“I thought this was Ravigione! In places like this, it’s common to get over ten thousand stones in one night!”
“I see. I think one room would be enough.”
Now that I look at it, it seems like he deserved a slap on the back.
I came here because it looked cheap, but it costs 9,000 stones per night?
The prices are crazy because it’s the city center.
Last time, my monthly food expenses were just under 20,000 stone.
‘There was a reason he told me to move quickly… … .’
Still, the room itself was worth the price.
It wasn’t the goshiwon style I was staying in, but a structure with a separate living room, bedroom, and bathroom.
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Not only is there a window, but there is also a small terrace in the living room, and the room has a faint scent of flowers.
“Bjorn, look at this! Artian Workshop Soap! You let me use this for free!!”
Misha, who had initially been nagging me for wasting money, then discovered something and ran into the bathroom.
When he came out, he had a very satisfied expression on his face.
“Bjorn, we really have to work hard from now on.”
I thought, what’s the fuss about? But as I lay down on the wide bed, I couldn’t help but agree.
“Okay… Let’s work hard and earn money.”
Wow, the bed should be this soft.
‘When will I be able to sleep in a bed like this every day… … .’
I feel anew that I still have a long way to go.
A city where barbarism and civilization coexist.
How many more looters and monsters would have to be killed to make life here more humane?
Drumroll!
My eyes close without me even having time to think deeply.
***
At that time when most people were asleep.
The bar where those who were disappointed gathered was as noisy as usual, or maybe even more noisy than usual.
“Hey, have you heard the news?”
“Are you talking about the hierarchical monarch who appeared on the third floor?”
“Yes, I heard that over thirty people from the Djarwi Clan died because of that guy.”
“What’s the big deal about thirty? The guild will announce it tomorrow, but the total number of deaths is said to be in the hundreds.”
“So the culprit who summoned the Hierarchal Monarch hasn’t been caught yet?”
A topic that would intrigue any explorer.
But apart from the news that everyone knew, there was one story that was slowly spreading, knowingly or unknowingly, by the rich.
“Oh, you guys, do you know? I heard this from one of the survivors… … . It’s said that one person in particular played a big role in the survival of the Djarwi Clan?”
“If you’re talking about one person, are you talking about Vice-Captain McGrain the Iron Lion?”
“No, I heard that he was a third-floor explorer who happened to be there.”
“Hmm, was there anyone among the third-floor explorers who could do that? What was his name?”
“That’s what I mean… … .”
Bjorn, son of Yandel.
A barbarian who entered the 3rd floor in just 3 months.
The incredible bravery he displayed in saving countless people from danger was sometimes told accurately, and sometimes with a hint of exaggeration.
But even so, the ending of each story came down to the same thing.
“The wizard who told the story did not hesitate to say this about the barbarian.”
“What are you saying?
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“Even though I am still too young to have accomplished the heroic feats, I will certainly follow in his footsteps, borrowing the name of a hero who was braver and greater than anyone else… … .”
Alias.
Another name that only explorers with both skill and fame can obtain.
“It would not be an exaggeration to call it a small Balkan.”
That tinnitus was heard everywhere without fail.
***
“The character’s fame level has increased by +1.”
“The character’s fame level has increased by +1.”
“The character’s fame level has increased by +1.”
“The character’s fame level increases by +1… … .”
「… … .」
「… … .」
“Warning: Increases the chance of special events occurring to your character.”
