Chapter 62 Knock Knock
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Translator: JayM
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: Knock Knock
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The floating sensation was brief.
Pitch-black darkness.
A hard floor.
And the dampness unique to caves that touched his skin.
Thud!
The moment he landed on the floor, he quickly tried to take out his flint.
"Kieeek?"
Something made a noise right in front of him.
"Goblin!"
Gallerheim shrieked.
"Is it a person?"
Jeong Yoo-shin asked. Gallerheim had identified it, but he asked just in case.
"Kieeeck!!!"
The goblin shrieked.
It wasn't.
Jeong Yoo-shin immediately drew his arming sword and swung it towards the source of the sound.
Swish!!!
"Kueek!!!"
Blood splattered on his helmet first, followed by a scream.
Jeong Yoo-shin immediately took out his flint and struck it.
Flicker.
The torch illuminated the dark labyrinth.
Blood gurgled from the fallen goblin's neck, staining the cave floor.
Jeong Yoo-shin looked at his party members, torch in hand. Each of them was gripping their weapons.
"To encounter a goblin right after teleporting… How unlucky."
Gallerheim muttered with a pale face.
Was it some kind of explorer's superstition?
It wasn't a particularly convincing one though. He had been through enough to not be bothered by such things.
"Don't spout nonsense right after teleporting."
Jeong Yoo-shin took out his dagger and cut off the goblin's ear.
He took a leather pouch from the backpack strapped to his back and put the goblin ear inside.
"You're incredibly fast. Quite skilled."
Pyrion, the elf priest, expressed his admiration.
"Don't mention it."
Jeong Yoo-shin stood up and continued.
"So, where are we?"
"Just a moment."
Gallerheim, the long-nosed gnome, took out a map and looked at it.
Karin had figured out where they had teleported to just by looking around. Gallerheim was a bit slow compared to her.
Gallerheim scratched his head and spoke.
"We're in the outermost area, far from the central zone. It'll take quite some time for us to get to the next level."
"I understand."
It wasn't bad. They had to go around anyway to complete the request. He decided to think positively.
Jeong Yoo-shin swung his sword to shake off the blood and slung it over his shoulder.
"Let's go."
Gallerheim took the lead. Jeong Yoo-shin followed behind him. Behind Jeong Yoo-shin walked Pyrion, the elf priest, and lastly, Soline, the paladin, guarded the rear.
Gallerheim. Jeong Yoo-shin. Pyrion. Soline.
They walked through the dark cave while maintaining formation.
The party members were silent, seemingly tense.
They walked for about two hours.
"Huh!"
Suddenly, Gallerheim raised his crossbow. He seemed quite startled.
"What is it?"
"Enemy behind us!"
At Gallerheim's shout, Soline immediately turned around and took a stance.
Jeong Yoo-shin also grabbed his shield strap and stepped forward.
They waited while maintaining their formation.
Step. Step.
They could hear footsteps.
They weren't the footsteps of a monster.
Jeong Yoo-shin grabbed Gallerheim's shoulder.
"Gallerheim, please lower your crossbow for a moment."
Jeong Yoo-shin positioned the elf priest and the gnome behind him and raised his torch high.
After waiting for a moment, the footsteps grew closer.
"Don't shoot."
A voice came from the darkness.
A human voice.
Jeong Yoo-shin remained vigilant.
A middle-aged human man slowly approached them while holding a torch.
"Barbarian?"
"That's right."
"I see. Judging by your attire, you seem to be lower-ranked explorers who have shed their rookie status."
"..."
Jeong Yoo-shin met the man's gaze without saying a word.
The man was wearing heavy armor and had a kite shield slung on his back.
"Don't look at me like that. We're just here to ask for your understanding before we pass through."
The man said.
"Alright. Go ahead."
After finishing his words, Jeong Yoo-shin made eye contact with his party members.
They nodded silently in agreement.
The man's party members emerged from the darkness.
Judging by their gleaming armor, they seemed to be at least intermediate-rank.
"Gasp!"
Suddenly, the elf priest let out a gasp.
The elf's eyes were bulging. His gaze was fixed on one of the middle-aged man's party members.
Jeong Yoo-shin gripped his sword.
What was it?
He quickly scanned the middle-aged man's party members.
A lizard beast-person with a spear.
A deer beast-person with a longbow on their back.
A bald human with a longsword slung over his shoulder.
And…
There was an elderly human woman.
She had long white hair tied back and was completely covered in a robe.
She had a gentle appearance, as if she had aged gracefully.
A subtle air of elegance emanated from her posture, suggesting she wasn't of ordinary status.
She seemed completely out of place in this dark and gloomy labyrinth.
The Granny Lover elf, completely captivated, approached the elderly woman.
"Ex-excuse me."
"Don't come any closer."
The middle-aged man, who appeared to be the leader, stood in front of the elderly woman.
Jeong Yoo-shin grabbed the elf tightly.
"I apologize. My comrade has a fondness for elderly women."
The man tilted his head for a moment, then spoke.
"There are people like that. I understand, but don't come any closer."
"Alright. I'll hold this elf back, so hurry up and pass through."
Jeong Yoo-shin made way for them to pass.
He didn't forget to firmly hold on to the elf, who was smitten by the elderly woman's charm.
The man nodded once and looked at his party members.
"Let's go."
The man's party quickly moved on into the darkness of the cave.
The elderly woman followed closely behind the party.
He wasn't sure if she was just healthy for her age or if she was light on her feet because she wasn't carrying any luggage.
Why were they rushing?
He was curious, but there was something he had to do first.
Jeong Yoo-shin watched the people disappear into the darkness, then turned his head.
"Pyrion."
"...I apologize. I think I went a bit crazy for a moment."
'It's possible to pursue elderly women even in the labyrinth.'
He understood, but it was wrong to approach someone without their consent.
"Just be aware of it."
Since the elf sincerely apologized, he decided not to press him further.
"Phew… This has happened a few times, but it's always nerve-wracking."
The gnome muttered while letting out a sigh of relief.
"Let's go."
Jeong Yoo-shin led the party through the darkness of the cave.
How many hours did they walk?
The party's breathing started to grow ragged.
"Shall we take a break?"
Jeong Yoo-shin asked.
"There's a resting area a little further ahead."
Gallerheim replied as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Alright."
They walked for another hour and arrived at the resting area.
They entered a cavity in one of the cave walls and settled down.
They took out some blankets to cover the walls and the entrance, and unpacked their backpacks.
They placed a torch in the center and sat around it.
"Barbarian, you have remarkable stamina."
Soline said while looking at Jeong Yoo-shin.
Jeong Yoo-shin took off his helmet and ran his hand through his sweat-drenched hair.
"It's not that remarkable. I just got used to it."
"You were also calm and collected when we encountered the other party. Actually, everyone but you was flustered."
Jeong Yoo-shin tilted his head at Soline's words.
Hmm. Was it that much?
She had been in and out of the labyrinth four or five times already, so wouldn't it be natural for her to act that way too?
He thought for a moment and came to a conclusion.
Everyone’s experience in the labyrinth was different.
"I guess when your shoulders are heavy, your actions become heavy too."
Jeong Yoo-shin chuckled and replied.
Soline's shoulders shook with laughter.
"Just like Senior Gillian said. I'm glad I found a good leader."
I see.
Jeong Yoo-shin nodded and took a drink from his water pouch.
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After resting for about an hour, they left the resting area and continued through the darkness.
After walking for a few hours, they came across a pile of goblin corpses.
Jeong Yoo-shin approached and examined them.
Straight wounds, as if measured with a ruler.
Precise blows that severed vital points without any unnecessary damage.
It seemed like the party that had gone ahead had dealt with them.
Though they hadn't taken the ears.
He didn't know if they didn't need such small change or if they were in a hurry.
This could be considered lucky, as they could get the ears for free without fighting.
His party members seemed to share the same thought as they took out their daggers.
'Free corpse looting? Is heaven helping me?'
Jeong Yoo-shin grinned and took out his dagger.
Scrape. Scrape.
They sat together and cut off the goblin ears.
Sitting like this reminded him of the reject party he once joined, and he laughed unconsciously.
"Barbarian, why are you laughing?"
Gallerheim's face was a bit pale.
He looked completely clueless as to what he found funny.
"I laughed because I remembered my old friends."
Only then did Gallerheim's face relax.
"I see. Are they all doing well?"
Jeong Yoo-shin smiled wryly at Gallerheim's question.
'We all went our separate ways. One of them even died by my hand.'
He repeated the truth only in his mind.
"Yes."
Jeong Yoo-shin answered shortly and continued cutting off ears.
He opened his pouch and put all the goblin ears inside.
Thanks to the party that had gone ahead inadvertently clearing the way, they were able to collect ears from goblin corpses without fighting.
Still, it felt a bit lacking.
'I guess there's not much to gain on the first floor.'
He hadn't seen a single black slime carrying a magic stone.
He stuffed the pouch into his backpack and stood up.
"How about we go to the second floor?"
"Let's do that."
Gallerheim readily agreed.
"Good."
"Sounds good."
Pyrion and Soline also agreed.
They walked for a few more hours.
Jeong Yoo-shin turned his head and looked at his party members.
They were covered in sweat and were exhausted from the long walk.
"Let's camp on the first floor today."
At Jeong Yoo-shin's words, the party members nodded.
'It seems like I need to consider stamina management as well.'
After organizing his thoughts, he asked Gallerheim.
"Is there a suitable camping spot nearby?"
Gallerheim unfolded his map, looked at it, and said.
"There's a resting area a little further ahead."
"Let's go."
They walked for about two more hours and found the resting area.
It was a cavity several times larger than the previous one.
It was large enough to accommodate at least three parties.
There was no one there.
Considering it was in the outer area, far from the central zone, and was on the first floor, it was only natural.
They unpacked their luggage and finished setting up camp just like before.
They decided to conserve their dry firewood and placed their torches in the center instead.
Jeong Yoo-shin and his party members sat comfortably and took out food and water from their backpacks to eat and drink.
The tension and awkwardness they had felt when they first entered the labyrinth had lessened considerably.
Suddenly, he felt curious.
Jeong Yoo-shin swallowed his dried meat and spoke.
"Pyrion, I have a question."
"Go ahead."
"Pyrion, you're an elf, aren't you? You're a long-lived race, so how does… the Granny Lover imprint activate? From an elf's perspective, aren't all humans relatively young?"
Pyrion, the elf priest, smiled faintly and spoke.
"Why do you ask? Are you interested?"
The unexpected question shook Jeong Yoo-shin. Why was he curious?
It was clearly a forbidden question.
"Now that I think about it, I'm not really curious. Let's forget I asked."
"This imprint senses the aging of the other person. Does that answer your question?"
I see.
Since he had already stepped into the darkness, he decided to ask just one more thing.
"It seems a bit vague. Does the imprint have specific criteria for defining aging?"
"The more wrinkles the other person has, the more their skin sags, the stronger 'that place' reacts."
That place?
That place.
The elf nodded, pointing to his chest once, then to his lower body.
Ugh.
Jeong Yoo-shin hurriedly covered his mouth.
The elf continued.
"I'm 300 years old, but my heart is still in my twenties when compared to humans. Since my heart is young, what does it matter if someone is a little younger than me? The elderly woman from earlier, too. Oh, how..."
"Let's stop there."
Jeong Yoo-shin said while glaring at the elf.
Gallerheim chimed in.
"Barbarian, there's no need to be so dismissive. I think it's a respectable preference. At least you shouldn't interrupt someone when they're talking."
Jeong Yoo-shin reached out to Gallerheim while still sitting.
"Lower your mask."
"G-Gasp! Don't!"
Gallerheim shouted in alarm while backing away.
After some lighthearted banter with his party members, they finished their meal and decided on the watch order.
Jeong Yoo-shin was third.
He wrapped himself in his robe and leaned against the wall.
He stared at the torch burning alone in the middle of the dark and damp cavity for a while, then closed his eyes.
"Barbarian."
Someone called his name.
He opened his eyes to see Soline standing there.
"Barbarian, you're sleeping soundly in a place like this."
Soline said with a wry smile.
"It's the first floor. Go get some sleep."
Jeong Yoo-shin replied and adjusted his posture.
His back and neck were stiff from sleeping against the wall.
He watched the torch for a moment after Soline went back to lie down.
He could see the blanket they had hung at the entrance beyond the flickering flames.
He listened with one ear to the sounds of his party members tossing and turning.
He stared at the blanket for a long time.
They had hung the blanket to block out the light, but he felt like it was trapping them inside instead.
Then.
Rustle.
The blanket shook slightly.
Jeong Yoo-shin's body stiffened.
A chill ran down his spine.
He hadn't heard any footsteps or breathing, but the blanket had fluttered slightly.
Something incomprehensible had happened. The unknown turned into fear and gripped his heart.
He tightly gripped his arming sword and stared at the blanket.
"Knock knock."
A playful voice came from beyond the blanket.
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T/N - F*cling creepy. This novel is really good at raising the tension. Also, MC thinking the heavens are helping him seems like a flag to me.