Chapter 61 Back to the Labyrinth
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Translator: JayM
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Back to the Labyrinth
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Look at this bastard.
A chill ran down Jeong Yoo-shin's spine.
Soline, the paladin, also hardened her expression.
"Why did your nose grow longer?"
Jeong Yoo-shin growled.
The gnome's face turned pale.
"Th-That's not it."
"What?"
As the atmosphere grew tense, some people began to look towards the table where Jeong Yoo-shin was sitting while crossing their arms.
"..."
The gnome stammered, his face flushed.
"Slavery is bad, but it’s a lie? Explain yourself clearly."
Jeong Yoo-shin pressed.
But the gnome remained silent.
Bang!
Jeong Yoo-shin slammed his hand on the table.
"Speak!"
Jeong Yoo-shin's voice echoed through the guild.
The surroundings fell deathly silent.
The gazes of all the explorers in the guild focused on the gnome.
Jeong Yoo-shin's face twisted fiercely.
"Have you heard of slave hunters? They're bastards who capture innocent people and sell them into slavery. They're not just roaming around the Eastern Alliance border. They're also inside the Labyrinth City."
Jeong Yoo-shin reached into his pocket and gripped his dagger.
"Choose your words carefully from now on. If you don't want to die."
He finished speaking and glared at the gnome.
The gnome's Adam's apple bobbed.
"No! That's not what I meant! I just..."
"Just what?"
A murderous aura began to emanate from Jeong Yoo-shin.
Unable to bear it any longer, the gnome blurted out.
"It's my kink! I like being a slave!"
What?
An awkward silence fell upon the guild.
Jeong Yoo-shin's mouth opened and closed.
The gnome's nose had shrunk back to its normal size.
"I… I have nothing to do with those slave hunters! This is the truth!"
"..."
He had completely missed the mark.
He had merely exposed the poor gnome's unusual sexual preference.
Murmurs began to ripple through the crowd.
"Hey, why is that barbarian exposing someone's kink like that? That's way over the line. Does he just assume everyone he finds suspicious is a criminal? Tsk."
"Still, that gnome's kink is a bit strange. Slave play, huh?"
"That's true. A dangerous bunch has gathered."
The murmurs brushed past his ears.
Jeong Yoo-shin lowered his head.
"I'm sorry."
"You bastard!!!"
The gnome's eyes were filled with resentment.
"I'm sorry."
Jeong Yoo-shin repeated his apology while keeping his head bowed.
How much time passed?
The gnome, who had been glaring at the back of his head, sighed deeply and crossed his arms.
"Sorry? Then increase my share of the reward. Words are meaningless, after all."
"No. That's not going to happen."
Jeong Yoo-shin raised his head and flatly rejected the gnome's proposal.
The gnome's mouth dropped open. His mind was in turmoil. Did this barbarian have no human heart?
Jeong Yoo-shin opened his mouth, his face slightly flushed.
"I'm a virgin. We've exchanged blows now, so let's keep the reward ratio the same."
"...What a stubborn fellow. He won't even budge on this?"
A dwarf sitting at a nearby table muttered.
Jeong Yoo-shin turned his head and looked at the dwarf.
"You're not even in our party, so why do you keep butting in? Do you want to get your ass kicked?"
After Jeong Yoo-shin's retort, the dwarf grumbled something and then fell silent.
Jeong Yoo-shin looked at the gnome. The gnome's face was slightly red.
"I'm sorry. But I can't adjust the reward ratio on my own. I think it requires the agreement of all the party members."
The gnome trembled, then sighed deeply once more.
"...Alright. Since the leader is fair, I'll trust you. Can you accept me?"
The gnome nodded and asked.
"Good. What's your name?"
"Gallerheim."
"Skar, nice to meet you."
Jeong Yoo-shin extended his hand. The gnome reached out and took it.
"It ends so heartwarmingly all of a sudden?"
The same dwarf from before muttered in disbelief.
"Mind your own business, you bastard."
Jeong Yoo-shin glared at the dwarf and said.
"A-Alright."
The dwarf immediately shrunk back.
The people in the guild quickly returned to their own tasks.
This seemed to be a common occurrence since they merely murmured a few times before losing interest.
Someone approached Jeong Yoo-shin.
"A barbarian as the party leader? Interesting. Are you looking for a support?"
He looked up at the person who had just spoken.
It was a male elf dressed in priestly robes.
"Who are you?"
"As you can see, I'm a low-ranking priest serving the Wind Spirit God."
The elf showed him a necklace.
Seeing the necklace reminded him of when he first fell into this world.
It looked similar to the necklace Simus often kissed on the Pilgrim’s Road.
"May I sit down?"
"Sure."
It seemed like today was his lucky day, for a support role to approach him so easily.
No, he still needed to ask the necessary questions.
"Do you have any negative imprints?"
The elf closed his mouth and made a troubled expression.
What was it?
Honestly, he was confident he wouldn't be surprised by any imprint now.
Bring it on.
He'd handle it smoothly.
He stared intently at the elf while waiting for his answer.
"I have the Granny Lover imprint."
???
Jeong Yoo-shin's jaw dropped.
His head spun as if someone had hit him on the back of the head with a hammer.
"Gran-what?"
Jeong Yoo-shin stammered.
"Granny Lover."
"..."
"That's pretty much it."
The elf continued speaking nonchalantly.
Jeong Yoo-shin stared blankly at the elf's face.
"Doesn’t it bother you? To love elderly women against your will?"
The elf's face turned serious.
"It was very distressing at first. I considered removing it, but then I thought “Isn't it a hard-earned imprint?” It's not easy to get an imprint, so I thought I'd endure it as a learning experience. And then…"
The elf cleared his throat and continued.
"...A new world opened up to me. Listen to me. It's not such a bad imprint. Once you fall for the charm of wrinkles..."
"That's enough."
Jeong Yoo-shin stopped the elf.
The elf looked dissatisfied, but he closed his mouth.
"Do you have any other negative imprints besides that one?"
"No. And I don't consider the Granny Lover imprint to be a negative imprint."
"I understand."
"Will you accept me?"
"Yes. Let's do our best."
"Pyrion Acrein."
The elf introduced himself and extended his hand.
Jeong Yoo-shin stared at the elf's hand and shook his head.
"I'm Skar. Let's not shake hands."
"I see."
The elf smiled wryly and retracted his hand.
"It's a peculiar preference, but acceptable."
Gallerheim, the long-nosed gnome, chimed in.
Jeong Yoo-shin stared blankly as the gnome's nose grew longer.
His nose extended, clearly showing his disapproval.
"Please retract your nose and stop lying."
"Oops!"
Gallerheim hurriedly grabbed his long-nosed mask and covered his face.
Jeong Yoo-shin looked around at the people sitting at the table.
Soline, the paladin.
Gallerheim, the gnome.
Pyrion, the elf.
Everyone was assembled.
Everyone.
They were a group with peculiar preferences, but they didn't seem to be bad people. He considered that half the battle won.
"...Ahem. Then let's talk about the reward ratio, the target level, how far we will go, and how much we will earn."
"Getting down to business, I see. Good."
Gallerheim, the long-nosed gnome, said while scratching his mask.
The other party members also nodded in agreement.
"Then..."
Jeong Yoo-shin settled down and had a long conversation with his party members.
All the party members were lower-ranked explorers who had shed their rookie status.
Their highest reached level was the fifth floor.
They had all been in and out of the labyrinth multiple times, meaning they had some experience.
They decided that the elf priest would receive a slightly larger share of the reward.
After a few hours, Jeong Yoo-shin stood up.
"Then let's end the discussion here and meet again in three days."
Jeong Yoo-shin parted ways with his party members and returned to the inn.
The sun, which had risen in the east, was now directly overhead.
He had gone to the guild early in the morning and finished the discussion with his party members late afternoon.
"I'm back."
"Welcome back."
Snout approached and greeted him.
"Have a seat for a moment."
"Yes."
"Two guests came last night."
"Yes, I saw them this morning."
"Did you see their faces?"
"They were wearing robes, so I couldn't see them."
I see.
"Is there a chance that they could be dangerous?"
Snout thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"I don't think so."
"Why?"
"First of all, the material of their robes is high quality. Ordinary commoners wouldn't even be able to lay eyes on it. Besides, their table manners were refined and dignified. They are people of considerable status. They might be suspicious, but I don't think they'll harm the inn."
"Thank you."
Jeong Yoo-shin patted Snout's shoulder.
"It was my duty."
Snout scratched his head while looking embarrassed.
"Where's Tarman?"
"Aldein-nim summoned him, so he went to the monster dismantling shol for a while."
Why did he go there?
He felt needlessly worried.
"By the way, how did your errand go?"
Snout asked cautiously.
"I managed to find party members. They seem like good people."
Jeong Yoo-shin sighed mid-sentence.
There was something daunting about talking about it.
"They’re good people. And we'll depart for the labyrinth in three days."
"I understand. Should I prepare food and water?"
"Please prepare enough for a week."
"Yes, sir."
Just then, someone opened the inn door and entered.
A tall knight and a small boy.
The knight had green hair and wore worn plate armor.
The boy had brown hair and wore simple clothes.
They were definitely the two guests from last night.
He was curious about what brought them to reveal their identities, but he held his tongue.
He didn't want to get involved with people of high status.
Especially not now, with his labyrinth expedition just around the corner.
He briefly made eye contact with the two, but that was all.
Jeong Yoo-shin stood up without saying anything.
"I'm going to the market. I need to buy some supplies in advance for the labyrinth exploration."
"Yes, sir."
Jeong Yoo-shin left the inn while glancing sideways at the knight and the boy.
The two were sitting at a table, whispering about something.
'It's none of my business.'
He didn't even know who they were.
Jeong Yoo-shin then left the inn.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Jeong Yoo-shin spent three days preparing for the labyrinth.
After haggling with the market general store owner, he bought two small healing potions, an antidote, and two sturdy leather pouches.
He already had dry firewood, healing ointment, rope, a thick robe, and bandages, so he didn't need to buy anything else. Instead, he bought a lot of torches.
He went to the blacksmith shop and received his light armor and barbute helmet with a visor.
Boron, who handed him the equipment, looked gaunt.
"So, what weapon are you planning to use?"
At Boron's weak question, Jeong Yoo-shin stroked his chin and thought hard.
Soline, the paladin of light, used a claymore.
Since she would be standing on the front lines while swinging her great sword, there was no reason for him to insist on using a two-handed sword as well.
Wouldn't it be better to coordinate with the vanguard while protecting the support and the guide?
"One arming sword and one round wooden shield, please."
"A round shield, huh? It would be better for it to have an iron rim around the edge, right?"
"Yes."
Boron brought the equipment out.
The light armor was similar to before.
It was leather based armor with segmented iron plates added to protect vital points. A solid plate was added to the chest and abdomen.
If only he had more money, he'd buy a chainmail shirt to wear underneath.
Jeong Yoo-shin smacked his lips as he felt a pang of unnecessary greed.
He strapped the arming sword to his waist and put the helmet on.
He adjusted the shield's hand strap and tightened the laces of his loosely tied work boots.
Jeong Yoo-shin jumped and ran around while wearing the armor. He drew his sword and swung the shield.
Boron watched Jeong Yoo-shin with his arms crossed. He suddenly said.
"You're a persistent one, aren't you? Just like Einhorfer."
Jeong Yoo-shin stopped and tilted his head.
"I'm a bit embarrassed by the sudden compliment. Here's the money."
Jeong Yoo-shin took out some silver coins from his pocket and handed them over.
"What about the drinks?"
"I'll buy them next time."
"Sigh. Be careful."
"Yes."
After finishing his business at the blacksmith shop, he returned to the inn.
Snout's mouth dropped open when he saw Jeong Yoo-shin.
"Skar-nim, you look like a veteran warrior like this."
"Thank you."
"So, you're leaving tomorrow?"
"That's right."
He felt a gaze.
Not far away, the knight and the boy were sitting at a table while looking at him.
The knight and the boy seemed interested in explorers but didn't seem particularly inclined to talk to him.
Jeong Yoo-shin also didn't want to get involved with them, so he didn't approach them.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The next morning.
Jeong Yoo-shin packed his luggage and went to the Explorers Guild.
When he entered the guild building, his party members were sitting in a corner.
Soline, the paladin, had a great sword slung over her shoulder.
Gallerheim, the long-nosed gnome, had a crossbow on his back and a small dagger at his waist.
Pyrion, the elf priest, wore simple clothes and carried a wooden staff.
A spiked metal mace was attached to the end of the staff, making it more like a long morningstar.
"Let's go."
Jeong Yoo-shin led his party members through the crowd and arrived in front of the labyrinth.
The area at the labyrinth entrance was teeming with explorers.
Before stepping onto the magic circle…
He turned and looked at his party members.
Soline, the human paladin.
Gallerheim, the long-nosed gnome.
Pyrion, the Granny Lover elf.
"What are you waiting for?"
Gallerheim asked.
"Let's go."
Jeong Yoo-shin and his party members stood on the magic circle as instructed by the guards.
Their objective was to collect magic stones and subjugate goblins.
Their target was up to the fifth level.
He pulled down the visor on his helmet and fiddled with the flint in his pocket.
"Nothing bad will happen, right?"
As Jeong Yoo-shin muttered, the magic circle flashed with light.
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T/N - Let’s go! Another labyrinth run! The MC really hasn’t learned, raising a red flag like that at the end.
Also, I laughed at the gnome’s kink getting outed like that. Poor guy. I can already tell that this party will be a riot. Hopefully, they all survive and not be as traumatized as the MC’s first 3 parties…