31. The Human Heart Is…
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Translator: JayM
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: The Human Heart Is…
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They couldn’t identify the other woman.
Her face was too badly damaged.
“Let’s go.”
Karin urged the party onward.
“We’re leaving just like that? What about the bodies?”
Jeong Yoo-shin asked, and Karin replied,
“They’re already dead. We would take them with us if they were alive, but corpses are just baggage. If you feel bad for them, just report it to the guild. Tell them that your dwarf friend is dead.”
“Understood.”
“Don’t forget. We’re an investigation team, not a body recovery team.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Gillian looked at Karin.
“Karin, shouldn’t we examine this level more thoroughly? There’s no need to rush.”
Karin shrugged.
“What’s there to see on this shallow level?”
“There are still many missing rookie explorers. We should at least investigate the reason.”
“Other investigation teams will handle that. We have more important things to do.”
“…”
Gillian gave up and fell silent.
Lionel and Ahiman, seemingly unconcerned, didn’t say anything.
“Let’s go.”
At Karin’s urging, the party continued through the dark cave.
They walked for several more hours and encountered two more groups of goblins.
The battles were one-sided massacres.
Jeong Yoo-shin, who was stationed in the rear, had nothing to do but watch and stay safe.
He observed Karin and Gillian’s movements intently, memorizing their swordsmanship.
There were things he didn’t understand.
Gillian’s great sword moved with uncanny speed, and he would occasionally lose track of Karin’s movements.
Was it the power of their imprints? Or maybe it was the result of leveling up?
He was curious, but he didn’t ask.
He was just a porter. He wasn’t their comrade.
The battle ended, and they continued on their way, past the corpses and bloodstains.
They reached the center of the fourth level.
The large chamber with the transfer stone.
A murmur of voices could be heard from inside.
The chamber was crowded with people.
Familiar faces. The investigation team parties he had seen before entering the labyrinth.
They were mostly high-ranking explorer parties.
He saw the black-haired barbarian, but they didn’t make eye contact this time as the barbarian was talking to his party members.
“What’s going on?”
Karin asked as she entered the chamber, and all eyes turned towards her.
A man with dark blue hair pushed his way through the crowd.
“Karin, aren’t you an intermediate-rank explorer? Why are you here so soon?”
“Hans, you’re the ones who are slow. Why are you all gathered here instead of going to the next level?”
Hans, the blue-haired man, pointed at the stone monument.
“The color of the portal has changed.”
The crowd parted as Karin approached the monument, creating a path for her.
As if it were the most natural thing in the world, Karin walked to the monument.
Jeong Yoo-shin peeked over the heads of the crowd, curious.
A black portal shimmered in front of the monument.
Hans, who was standing near the portal, said to Karin,
“Karin, don’t do anything reckless.”
“I haven’t done anything yet.”
“Go back. This isn’t a place for intermediate-rank explorers.”
“Are you telling me that all these high-ranking explorers are scared of entering the fifth level?”
Hans’s expression hardened.
Tension filled the air between them.
Gillian, Lionel, and Ahiman, sensing the shift in atmosphere, moved closer to Karin.
At Gillian’s signal, Jeong Yoo-shin also approached them and stood next to Karin.
Hans said,
“This is the first time the portal’s color has changed. It’s only natural to be cautious. Don’t call these high-ranking explorers cowards. Even if you are the daughter of the Beast-person Alliance representative…”
“So what if I am?”
Karin glared at Hans, who fell silent.
“I’ve never relied on my family ever since I became an explorer. Everything I have, I earned myself. Why are you bringing up my status now? Answer me, Hans.”
Hans sighed.
While such a law existed in the Labyrinth City, Karin’s status far surpassed that of any prestigious family in the Eastern Alliance.
Hans was a high-ranking explorer, but he knew his place.
Even if he retired and things went well, the best he could hope for was the position of Knight Captain. And if he were to receive a bad negative imprint, even that would be out of reach.
The cost of removing negative imprints increased exponentially, so he was already considering retirement.
He didn’t want to antagonize the daughter of the Beast-person Alliance representative.
Hans took a step back and said,
“I apologize.”
“Hmph.”
Karin smirked.
Just then, the ground began to tremble.
Rumble.
One of the high-ranking explorers shouted,
“An earthquake!!”
“So suddenly?!”
“Brace yourselves!”
But before anyone could react, something else happened.
All the torches in the chamber flickered and dimmed.
Like candles on an altar that was disturbed by a sudden gust of wind.
The explorers whispered among themselves.
“W-What’s happening?”
“The tremors are getting stronger.”
It was true. The ground shook violently, making it difficult to stand.
“The portal is acting strange!”
Someone shouted, pointing behind them.
“Get back!!”
The black portal pulsed like a beating heart.
Karin, startled, stumbled backward and bumped into Jeong Yoo-shin.
“Karin!!”
Gillian and Hans shouted, reaching out to her.
But it was too late.
The expanding black portal swallowed Karin and Jeong Yoo-shin.
Everyone stared in stunned silence at the unprecedented sight.
The black portal returned to its normal size. Karin and Jeong Yoo-shin were gone.
“Holy shit!!”
“The portal swallowed them!!”
Cries of shock echoed throughout the chamber.
The high-ranking explorers grabbed Gillian, who was trying to jump into the black portal, and held her back.
“Let go of me!!”
Gillian struggled, but the high-ranking explorers didn’t budge.
“Captain, what should we do?”
Someone asked Hans.
Hans, the leader of the investigation team, felt a headache coming on.
“One team needs to return to report. One team will stay here. The rest, including myself, will enter the portal.”
“Are you sure?”
“We were going to enter anyway. Besides…”
He swallowed, thinking of a certain woman.
The current representative of the Beast-person Alliance and the leader of the Red Wolf Tribe.
A member of the Labyrinth City Council.
The Queen of Cold Blood.
Ingrid Redtail.
Karin, despite being an intermediate-rank explorer, was the daughter of the Beast-person Alliance representative first and foremost.
If they abandoned her now and she died, there was no guarantee they wouldn’t face her retaliation.
“Tell us, Captain.”
Rumble.
The tremors intensified.
“We don’t have time! Just do as I say!”
Hans yelled.
The explorers began to move.
Hans approached Gillian, his silver eyes gleaming through the slits in his helmet.
“We’re going in later.”
“We have to go in now!”
Gillian said urgently.
“No. We wait until the earthquake stops. The portal is currently unstable. We don’t know where it will lead.”
“Ugh!”
A muffled sound came from beneath Gillian’s helmet.
Hans glanced at the monument.
‘Can they survive? Hopefully, they were only transported to the fifth level.’
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
He felt like he was having a long dream.
He saw his family and friends as well as a convenience store.
He also saw an abandoned factory overgrown with weeds.
He danced with the blasphemous, grotesque shadows around a bonfire.
And then…
He woke up.
He saw someone holding a torch while looking down at him.
Karin.
He stared blankly at her ears.
“You’re awake?”
“Where are we?”
“The fifth level.”
“How long have we been here?”
“I don’t know. I spent about three hours looking for you.”
Three hours in the darkness?
“It’s a miracle I’m not insane.”
“Yes. A miracle.”
He stood up.
The ground was damp, and the surroundings were quiet. They were still in a cave.
“The end of the cave is just ahead.”
“I see. Should I carry the torch?”
“No. I’ll carry it. Let’s go.”
Karin led the way, and he followed.
They walked in silence for a while and reached the end of the cave.
They then exited the cave.
Outside, they saw that they were in a large basin-like area.
He looked up, but the ceiling was so high that he couldn’t see it. It looked like a starless night sky.
He looked down.
He saw a city shrouded in darkness in the distance.
A silent city nestled within a massive underground cavern.
He had learned about this in the last session of the newbie explorers class.
The Forgotten City.
Ingrave.
A city not recorded in history, shrouded in rumors and speculation. Even the oldest elven historians had never heard of it.
It was a large area, and it was said to be teeming with high-ranking goblins.
This was the final hurdle for rookie explorers and the starting line for intermediate-rank explorers.
He felt a small sense of accomplishment despite only being here as a porter.
Karin approached him.
“The transfer stone is in the central district of the city. We need to stay in the outer areas first and find an opportunity to sneak in.”
“You’re planning to use the transfer stone?”
“If necessary. It’s always good to have options.”
“Shouldn’t we wait for the others?”
Karin chuckled.
“Who’s going to rescue us? Don’t rely too much on other explorers.”
“Your party might come looking for us.”
“They might. And you can hope for that. But there’s no guarantee.”
“You’re saying they won’t come?”
“I’m saying they might not be able to come. There was an earthquake, remember? And that black portal? There’s no guarantee they’ll be transported here.”
“But we should at least wait a little…”
Karin’s expression turned cold.
“Why do you keep relying on others?”
‘What the hell?’
His expression hardened as well.
It was a perfectly reasonable suggestion.
He couldn’t understand her insistence on moving forward despite the risks. It felt like an obsession.
‘What is she thinking?’
Dalmong had mentioned something a few days ago at the inn.
Karin Redtail.
The daughter of the Beast-person Alliance representative.
Her father had been killed in a mysterious attack before she was even born.
The details of the attack were still unknown. Dalmong seemed to know more, but he had been evasive.
Karin was the strongest rookie explorer in the city, having reached intermediate-rank in just three months.
Three months.
Thinking back, he and Karin had arrived in the Labyrinth City around the same time.
He had been toiling away at the monster dismantling shop.
And she had been rapidly rising through the ranks, using her accumulated strength and wealth.
They had started from different points, with different statuses and perspectives. Even their races were different.
He couldn’t understand this red wolf beast-person. Her motives. Her thoughts.
They said you could measure the depths of the ocean, but not the human heart.
He was starting to understand that the human heart was also a labyrinth.
Karin glared at him.
She couldn’t understand him either.
This seemingly capable barbarian was strangely timid.
When they first met, he had been kneeling in the forest, surrounded by slave hunters.
During their second encounter, he had groveled before her.
She thought he had changed during their third encounter when he had faced her with confidence, but she had been mistaken.
He was just like the others, hiding behind the more powerful people.
The realization annoyed her.
They stared at each other, the torchlight flickering between them.
“Are you doing this for more money?”
Karin smirked.
Jeong Yoo-shin glared at her.
“…”
“Are you complaining about having to fight as a porter? Are you trying to extort more money from me?”
“…”
“That’s what I thought. So you’re just like the others, trying to freeload off of me while I do all the work. Dalmong misjudged you. Why did he even help you?”
Jeong Yoo-shin spoke.
“Fine. Let’s go. Into the city.”
His words were clipped and sharp.
“You’re going without your payment? How unfair.”
Karin sneered.
“Your mother raised you well.”
Karin was speechless at his retort.
A vein throbbed on her forehead.
Her eyes blazed with fury. It was a phrase she had clearly never heard before.
“…What?”
“Are you deaf too?”
Jeong Yoo-shin put down the packs he was carrying.
Someone who forced others to kneel and grovel, and then made them lick her belly, couldn’t be normal.
He couldn’t understand her.
This could escalate into a fight.
The atmosphere grew tense.
Karin put down the torch.
They stood facing each other in an open area outside the cave.
“You’ve got some nerve.”
“It must be convenient. Acting like an independent explorer when it suits you and then hiding behind your status as the daughter of the Beast-person Alliance representative when it doesn’t. Make up your mind.”
“How dare you!!”
Karin gritted her teeth.
Jeong Yoo-shin’s fingers tapped the hilt of his sword.
Karin was an intermediate-rank explorer.
He had experienced her overwhelming strength firsthand.
Even with a surprise attack, he would likely lose.
But he couldn’t back down.
She had insulted Dalmong’s kindness.
And that insult extended to his own struggles to survive in the Labyrinth City.
Karin growled.
“…If you leave here…”
“If I leave here, what? Do you think you’ll survive on your own? You’re rushing in head first without even knowing what’s out there. How do you expect to survive?”
Jeong Yoo-shin sneered, taking a fighting stance.
A confrontation was imminent.
Karin gritted her teeth and clenched her daggers.
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T/N - It seems I was mistaken. The MC will meet Karin’s mom in the future, not her dad. That seems scarier to me for some reason.