Chapter 212 Sewer
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Translator: JayM
Chapter: 212
Chapter Title: Sewer
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A dark night street.
"A being from another world came out of the labyrinth. Does that even make any sense?"
A rough-looking young man said in a loud voice, as if he wanted everyone to hear.
"..."
The explorers walking toward the Eastern District didn’t answer.
But the young man continued to speak.
"No, think about it. The labyrinth entrance, huh? It's guarded by so many guards, so how could it break through and come out?"
"Mits, be quiet. We just have to take the guild's request and carry it out diligently."
An elf who seemed to be the leader answered quietly.
The young man called Mits snorted.
"Hmph! It's because it's a ridiculous story. Isn't that right? Hey, wolf-head, am I right or not?"
Mits's arrow flew to Jeong Yoo-shin.
At the same time, people's gazes were fixed on Jeong Yoo-shin.
The latter shrugged and sent a sign language message.
'I don't know. I'm just carrying out the request.'
Mits clicked his tongue and looked around.
"What is that wolf-head saying?"
"Shut your mouth, you pathetic bastard."
Mits's head snapped around.
"Which bastard was that?!"
A girl in a loose-fitting robe shrugged.
"That's what the sign language says. I'm not the one who said it."
Grind.
Mits glared at Jeong Yoo-shin with wide eyes.
"What did you say? This bastard…!"
Jeong Yoo-shin hurriedly waved his hands.
Mits stared blankly, then turned his eyes back to the girl.
"He says it's not him."
"That's strange. It was a similar sign language..."
The elf in charge of the command frowned, as if he was fed up.
"Quiet!"
"..."
The elf rubbed his forehead and let out a small sigh.
"You all belong to decent clans, don't you? Even if it's a request for a promotion evaluation, you shouldn't be chatting so carelessly."
"Tsk."
The young man turned his head and closed his mouth.
"I'm saying this just in case. We need to coordinate with the Eastern District's explorer's guild branch, so refrain from saying anything that might provoke them. A tone that promotes hatred, a condescending attitude, all of it."
The explorers nodded.
The elf stared at Jeong Yoo-shin.
"Why didn’t you answer? Wolf-head."
Jeong Yoo-shin nodded his head diligently.
The elf looked at Jeong Yoo-shin with a dissatisfied expression.
"Answer. Don't just nod your head."
"Neng."
A thin and delicate voice.
The people's eyes widened.
They were half-sure that he was the barbarian Skar.
It was because his single-edged sword was too conspicuous.
The black-haired man had dueled the Beast Clan of the Eastern District alone.
Come to think of it now, the reason for the duel was also absurd.
To protect the insignificant small and medium clans.
How many clans disappeared and were created in a day? But to care about such a trivial matter…
Wasn’t it enough to have a city life where one trained oneself and strived for more profit?
They thought that he was a very foolish person.
They were sure that the barbarian would lose.
It was because his opponent was the wolf beast-person Rex, who was renowned as the Siege Breaker.
Rex's price had soared lately because of the large number of heavily armored high-level monsters that had appeared in the labyrinth.
But the barbarian Skar had used a completely unexpected technique and had won the duel.
It wasn't that they had watched with great interest.
The reason was simply that the central district's plaza and the guild headquarters were close to each other, so they had gone to watch to kill time.
The reactions of the explorers who had watched the duel were varied.
The high-rank explorers were impressed.
The low-rank explorers, who were called novices, admired him.
The intermediate-rank explorers were jealous.
Especially the mid-level explorers who were gradually gaining skill and experience.
The barbarian didn't seem that strong, but he fought strangely well.
They judged that even if they had fought there instead of Skar, they would have been just a good match with Rex at most.
So the explorers were sure that the man with the wolf doll mask was Skar, and they were glancing at him with eyes mixed with a competitive spirit.
But…
'That's not the barbarian Skar?'
The explorers were confused.
Then…
Who in the world was the man wearing that perverted wolf doll mask?
‘Don't tell me… Is he a fake?’
It was a plausible story.
Right after the duel had happened.
The number of people with a similar appearance to Skar had increased dramatically.
A rumor was circulating that the orders for elven single-edged swords at the smithy had skyrocketed.
There was also a story that female explorers were deliberately going to the southern district to take a walk.
The explorers closed their mouths and racked their brains.
Was he real?
Was he a fake?
"..."
The elf commander, pleased with the much quieter atmosphere, placated the explorers.
"Actually, my thoughts are similar to Mits'. There's a high probability that the guy who came out of the labyrinth got a negative imprint and hid in the Eastern District. People must have been scared because a new ability had appeared. Or the mystics of the Eastern District might have summoned a strange being."
"Teri, if you've predicted that much, then we don't need to step up, do we?"
Mits grumbled and retorted to the elf's words.
"Mits, go back if you don't want to do this. No one will stop you."
"Well, I'll be… If it wasn't for this request being required for me to get promoted to mid-intermediate, I wouldn't have taken this job."
Besides Mits, a few others grumbled as well.
Jeong Yoo-shin looked around.
'Why are there so many whining bastards here?'
There were many people of a similar age to him.
Were they friends who had gotten a decent imprint from the beginning and had entered a good clan?
'That's none of my business.'
Jeong Yoo-shin walked without caring.
About an hour passed.
The elf commander called Teri led the explorers and stood in front of the Eastern District's gate.
The people in charge of security saw the elf commander, nodded, and stepped aside.
As if the Explorer's Guild and the guards had already reached an agreement, there was no process of checking the explorers' IDs.
However…
The guards were constantly looking at Jeong Yoo-shin.
A wolf mask with sparkling eyes.
It was a doll mask that looked like it came out of a ridiculous illustration.
To think that a man would just wearing a doll mask while holding a single-edged sword wrapped in cloth.
It was scary enough to appear in their dreams.
When Jeong Yoo-shin passed the gate, the guard captain and his subordinates took a few more steps back.
The explorers who had entered the Eastern District passed the glamorous entertainment district and the plaza where the circus was held.
After walking for a long time, they arrived at a much quieter street.
Jeong Yoo-shin looked around.
A distinctly different atmosphere.
It was similar to the southern street.
Monster-people and people in explorer's attire were coming and going on the street lined with inns and shops.
After walking a little more, a dilapidated wooden building came into view.
When Jeong Yoo-shin first saw it, he thought it was a tavern, but the sign clearly said 'Eastern District Explorer's Guild'.
A few people were waiting in front of the branch.
Among them was a familiar face.
The wolf beast-person, Rex.
Rex was standing with his arms crossed and a grim face.
The elf commander approached them.
"Rex, are you in charge of this joint request?"
Rex nodded.
"That's right. To avoid unnecessary trouble with the 'residents', the Eastern District explorers have decided to accompany you. Is that inconvenient?"
"Not at all."
Rex looked around and frowned.
There were more young explorers among them than he had thought.
And he felt the competitive spirit in their gazes.
'Damn it.'
Rex swallowed a rising sigh.
They were all pale-faced kids who reeked of nobility.
Lucky bastards who had had it easy without ever experiencing the tragedy of the labyrinth.
Even the greenhorns who had only walked on a smooth path were looking down on him.
'Fuck.'
It was difficult to hold his head up after losing the duel.
The Beast Clan master had been furious and had poured all sorts of creative insults on him.
Even within the clan, a few bastards who looked down on him had begun to appear.
In the end, Rex had taken on a request that was like a disciplinary action and had come this far.
Rex's annoyed gaze wandered among the explorers and landed on the wolf doll mask.
Seeing the wolf doll mask with its tongue half-hanging out, a surge of anger welled up inside him.
Rex observed the wolf doll mask with burning anger, then his eyes widened.
'What...?!'
A somehow familiar single-edged sword.
As soon as he saw it, the back of his neck grew cold.
'This crazy bastard!'
What in the world was he doing here?
How many people in the Eastern District were grinding their teeth at this guy right now?
Rex's lips twitched.
Jeong Yoo-shin also flinched.
To think that he would see this friend here.
Rex immediately steeled his resolve.
Although anger welled up within him, work was work.
If he couldn't handle this request properly, it would really be the end.
Rex took his eyes off of Jeong Yoo-shin and turned his body.
"We don't have much time, so let's go straight to the sewer."
The explorers followed Rex and walked down the street again.
After walking for about an hour, a few foul-smelling monster-people came into view.
Most were slimes, kobolds, or goblins.
Occasionally, they also saw trolls or orcs.
Their appearances were different, but they all had faces full of fatigue.
The headquarters explorers, seeing the monster-people walking with their bodies covered in filth, frowned and covered their noses.
When they went a little further in through the foul smell, they reached a building made of red bricks.
Following Rex's guidance, they passed through the red building's iron door, and they saw an old orc sitting at the reception desk.
The old orc saw Rex, stood up, and bowed his head.
"Rex-nim, you've come."
Rex waved his hand to stop the orc's greeting and spoke.
"There was a story that some of the workers saw something suspicious in the sewer. Is there a witness?"
"Yes."
The orc, as if he had been waiting, stood up and led the people down to the sewer.
They went down the stairs, which were densely stacked with dreary gray bricks.
It was deeper than they had thought.
The further down they went, the darker it became, and the humidity and stench stung their noses.
After going down for a long time, they reached the very bottom.
It was a huge underground cavern that smelled foul.
In the wide underground, there were several iron doors, and equipment and household goods were organized inside.
The old orc brought a slime and a goblin from a corner to the group.
"Kigik! I-I saw it! Really!"
Jiggle, jiggle.
The goblin shouted, and the slime trembled.
"I-I saw dozens of red eyes in the darkness! Th-That's not all! It jumped out of the water, grabbed my comrade's ankle, and dragged him in!"
Jiggle.
The slimes bounced in time with the goblin's words.
The goblin was terrified and babbled incoherently.
Teri and Rex listened patiently to the end.
One of the explorers muttered.
"Is it really a being from another world?"
The old orc said with a serious face.
"These guys have been working in the sewer for a long time. Although unspeakable things do happen from time to time in the sewers of the Eastern District, this is the first time I've seen the workers this terrified."
The elf nodded.
"I have no intention of ignoring the testimony. Please step aside for a moment."
The old orc bowed his head and went up.
Only the explorers were left in the huge underground cavern.
Rex tapped his head.
"I know the testimony isn't very clear, but…"
Teri cut Rex off.
"It's something we have to do anyway. The headquarters is on edge because of the upcoming summit. If it's something suspicious, we can't miss a single thing."
"I understand."
Teri and Rex distributed maps and equipment to the explorers.
The equipment was nothing special.
All there was were old boots, a torch, and a long-handled net for scooping up filth.
The elf looked around at the explorers and spoke.
"Three people will form one team."
The elf grouped the explorers in the order they were standing.
Whether it was good luck or bad luck, Rex, Jeong Yoo-shin, and Gwyn were in the same team.
"..."
"Let's all do our best."
Gwyn, unlike her usual calm self, clenched both her fists with sparkling eyes.
"What? Human, is this that exciting?"
Rex asked.
Gwyn immediately returned to her usual calm state.
"It's my first time entering the Eastern District, so I got a little excited. I'm sorry."
"Hmph."
Rex turned his head and snorted.
He didn't like them because they were explorers who didn't know the bottom.
"Mr. Wolf Doll, would you hold the torch?"
At Gwyn's request, Jeong Yoo-shin nodded and took the torch.
Rex glared at Jeong Yoo-shin with sharp eyes.
This crazy bastard…
What in the world was he doing in the Eastern District this time?
Rex gritted his teeth and muttered inwardly.
'Skar, when this is over, I’ll definitely find out your plan.'
Jeong Yoo-shin stood there while holding the torch, and stared blankly at the darkness of the waterway.
'I'm hungry.'
The three opened the iron door and walked toward the dark sewer.
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T/N - Okay, I have to ask… Does the mask come with a hood or something? ‘Cause rather than the sword, I think the first thing people would comment on if they could see it is the MC’s black hair. It was never explicitly stated if the MC covered his hair, just that he was wearing a mask, so I’m kinda confused…