Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Otherworld Hunting Pub Experience (1)
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"...Should I just die?"
"Still on that? Hurry up and sit down already! Will's waiting!"
Drag, drag, drag—
The day after the exam, in the lobby of the fancy inn we were now staying at.
Fey was dragging Regen by the waist over to me as she sat down.
You've been through a lot.
'Black history is torture.'
I still wanted to throw punches into the air just thinking about my first YouTube video where I talked about bars.
So many people to thank, I read every comment and spouted tearful words of gratitude over and over.
Even though I wanted to take it down, it kept steadily making money, so I couldn't make it private.
"Regen, at least eat some breakfast and recharge. Sitting still will just make it worse."
That's why we had to warmly comfort her here.
If we teased her more, she might actually die.
"Y-yeah, thanks..."
Regen, finally regaining some composure, took a sip of her coffee—but
She spat out her coffee in agony at the shout directed at a part-timer that happened to reach her ears.
A fatal wound even in passing.
It's serious.
"Deep breaths. Deep breaths."
"Hoo... hoo, pfft..."
Like a poet tormented by the wind brushing a blade of grass,
Regen writhed even at the distant call for the part-timer.
"Anyway, Regen, feeling better?"
Time to change the subject.
"Yeah. My mana is stabilizing nicely. My face... hasn't changed much, but there's a slight improvement."
Regen slightly lifted her eyepatch.
The pink flower was still there, but it looked a bit wilted.
"And come to think of it, the smell... is less now."
"I sprayed a ton of high-quality deodorizer. Back then, I couldn't even afford painkillers, but now I have some leeway, so I figured I'd take care of it."
"I see."
"What, you miss the floral scent?"
"Yes."
"Heh, heh."
Whoosh!
Regen's ears turned bright red as she turned her head away from my gaze.
Why charge in when she knew it'd embarrass her? It was a mystery.
"A-alright! Enough small talk! We're official explorers now! Time to focus on the job!"
Thwack, thwack!
At that moment, Fey smacked the table with her hand to draw everyone's attention.
"We've got the team mostly together, so let's plan our expedition for real!"
She opened her bag and spread out various scribbled papers in front of us.
"First off, our goal is to descend to the depths of the Nether, right?"
We all nodded.
Fey wanted to find her missing sister.
Regen wanted to fulfill her old dream as an explorer of reaching the bottom of the Nether.
And for me,
'Tourism.'
I had the grand ambition to thoroughly sightsee the Nether.
"Great. Then let me tell you the optimal route for our team to explore!"
After that, Fey went on a passionate rant about the issues we needed to handle before the expedition.
Equipment and manpower needed for the exploration, budget estimates based on that.
Comparisons between joining a large guild or starting our own,
How to secure sponsors and funding for the expedition, and so on.
The explanations were so dense that I couldn't remember a thing from midway, but
It must have been useful. Probably.
"Ah, yeah, yeah. I get it perfectly."
Unlike me who was just pretending to listen, Regen—who had closed her eyes from midway—nodded.
"Regen, you fell asleep halfway..."
"For real."
Click.
Regen held up three fingers toward us.
"One, better to start our own guild with the three of us than join a big one. For a long-term expedition, the benefits are greater that way."
"Y-you heard up to there."
Regen folded down another finger.
"Two, hunt named monsters of hideous rank or higher under our guild's name to boost our rep in the association."
Nod.
"And three, use that to snag sponsors and explore without money worries. Right?"
"H-how...!"
Golden correct answer.
Fey's mouth fell open.
"You already knew all that?"
To my question, Regen grinned.
"Of course. You based it on cases of successful explorers."
"Y-yeah."
"And look at the result: my life got screwed despite succeeding."
"Oof."
More of a sad backstory than expected.
"More importantly, Fey, didn't you forget something crucial?"
Regen asked Fey.
"What? I covered pretty much everything..."
"No, you haven't even gotten your official explorer license yet. Doesn't passing the exam come before founding a guild?"
"...Ah."
Clatter—
Fey's wand fell and rolled across the table.
'Classic Fey.'
About time for her mistake stack to overflow.
"...Retest notice coming?"
"Starts tomorrow. Registration this afternoon. They're rushing it to bury this incident."
"Ugyaaah! Then we can't waste time here! Will! Sorry! I-I gotta go first!"
Crash, bang, whoosh—!
Fey panicked, hastily grabbed her stuff, and bolted out of the inn.
Slide,
And Regen, finishing her coffee, stood up too.
"Guess I'll go register with her."
"You too, Regen?"
"My explorer license renewal expired ages ago. Gotta retake it."
"But with your top-rank history, can't you just talk your way out?"
"Not impossible, but I'm worried about that sloppy little mage kid going alone."
"Ooh..."
Truly, our team's noble soul, Regen.
Tough words, but looking out for her teammate.
Truly, the material for a great biography...
"Plus, farming newbies is always fun."
Or so I thought back then.
Seeing the wicked smile on her face, it was clear she just wanted an excuse to elf-con artist the newbies in the newbie zone.
"Knew it, power nap..."
"...Shut up."
"Yes'm."
Oh, and.
As Regen grabbed her bags to leave, she turned to me.
"One bit of old lady advice: don't wander off from boredom. The continent's top swordsman or not, clueless wanderers get skinned alive here. You're the nosy type, so even riskier."
"I'll be careful."
"And especially watch out for women. Pretty ones coming on strong? Suspect them first. Lots of girls here hide their looks with all sorts of tricks. Drop your guard the second you're swayed, and you're done."
"Of course."
"Good answers. I'm off. Rest up."
With that, Regen followed Fey,
And I was alone for the first time in quite a while.
'Quiet.'
Always surrounded by people, the silence felt even deeper now.
Guess I'll behave and rest in my room today.
Regen warned me, after all.
I stood and walked toward the stairs to my room.
Then, toward the bed waiting for me...
—Thud.
'Should I?'
Leaving 'Threshold' like this, who knows when I'd return.
Sure, I've done some sightseeing, but is this enough to call it a trip here?
I'll ask travel YouTuber Kim Joo-hyuk. Is that your best?
'...No.'
Absolutely not.
I turned around. The sunlight streaming through the entrance looked like the hand of the goddess of travel tempting me.
And so,
Tat-tat—!
I dashed straight into the bustling streets.
"Tourism time!"
Tourism! Nothing beats more tourism!
I'll sightsee every corner until my teammates return!
.
.
.
...Two days after making that resolution.
'Screwed.'
I'd only wandered the city outskirts, shuttling back and forth to the inn without hitting a single decent tourist spot.
'How do they not sell even one map.'
Why did it turn out like this?
Above all, I couldn't even grasp the tourist spots.
Maps here were only of the city 'Threshold'; areas beyond were strictly off-limits to unqualified explorers like me.
Officially, to prevent unauthorized access, per the association—but who buys that.
In a world where dungeon layouts equaled guild power,
Guilds shared maps only among themselves and cracked down hard on leaks.
'That's why you need a big guild or sponsors for expeditions. They hoard info among themselves.'
Fey's words finally clicked.
'Then, work while sightseeing on the side—'
Like settling for chicken over pheasant, I poked my head into beginner entry-level spots that looked fun,
"Haha, kid. What's with the laid-back vibe? Here for tourism? On vacation?"
"Heh, how'd you know?"
"...Sorry, but explorer, you're deemed unfit. Please step down from the carriage."
"Oh no, fell for the premium acting!"
I disguised myself as a team member, but got weeded out by the guild's leading questions to filter casual tourists and booted unceremoniously.
Thus, two days slipped away pointlessly.
'Can't have this.'
At this rate, I'd leave without seeing a single proper spot!
'Anywhere's fine, as long as it's new...!'
So I scoured my old connections for tourist info,
"...Then have you tried the hunting pub?"
And heard a familiar name from the bro I did the mandrake gathering quest with before.
Hunting pub?
The one I knew?
"Hunting pub? You don't mean short for Hunting Pub, do you?"
"That's the one. Not for pro quests—just folks gathering casually to hunt a day or two for pocket money. Everyone calls it the hunting pub."
"..."
So hunting was literal hunting.
'But not bad.'
Lightning-quick gathering, light purpose.
The more I thought, the more it seemed perfect for me right now.
And so,
"Screw it, let's check it out. Where's this hunting pub?"
I ended up stepping into an otherworld hunting pub.
Even though I'd never been to one back in Korea.
*
And at the same time.
In 'Threshold's' priciest commercial district, the VIP room of the top-shelf bar 'Venus'.
"Target's location confirmed. Headed to Wellington Hunting Pub."
"Hm, hunting pub? Why there?"
"Not sure, but... seems he just wants to look around the area."
"Hmmm~ Definitely an interesting character. Rare type these days."
The mysterious woman listening to her attendant.
Indigo veil like the night sky, dangling pure gold Arabian mask ornaments.
Only her turquoise eyes visible, but her delight was obvious.
"Prepare the carriage. I want to meet him myself."
"Guildmaster, are you sure? No need for you to go—we can handle contact..."
"Hehe, it's fine. I prefer natural encounters."
Tracking his location doesn't scream natural encounter.
As the attendant thought that snarky remark...
—Click.
One heel click, and the woman had already slipped out the back door.
A mystical movement, like teleportation.
"And newbie, one warning: keep the cheeky thoughts in check from now on."
"...?!"
The attendant flinched as if his mind was read, turning around—but
—Click.
Another heel click, and only the attendant remained.
—Thud.
Confirming her gone, the attendant collapsed, strength drained.
'First time seeing Gold-rank guts like that. Gotta be one of the five great guild leaders... Ah, no, not these thoughts too...!'
Remembering her words, the attendant shook his head to banish stray ideas, glanced around cautiously, and slipped out of the VIP room.
Thus, the empty room held only a folded handkerchief like an origami crane, staring at the door.
Embroidered on the handkerchief's corner: 'Will'.