Chapter 9
Chapter 9
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: A Fiery Night
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My mind was hazy. It felt like I was drifting across an endless ocean on an inner tube.
“Huh...?”
Why the hell was I actually out on the sea? The whole world was blue. I'd rented an inn room and crashed out the moment I got inside...
The gentle lapping of waves and cool breeze caressing my body didn't last long.
Splash!
In an instant, the tube vanished, and I sank into the ocean depths.
I thrashed around, swimming as hard as I could, but it felt like something from the dark abyss below was dragging my legs down.
But none of it hurt or tormented me.
I was just bewildered by the inexplicable phenomenon.
What the hell? A crazy dream? Am I just that exhausted?
When I came to, I was standing in darkness. At this point, it had to be a crazy dream.
The entire world was shrouded in pitch black, but far off in the distance, a tiny light twinkled.
It was as small as a pinhole, but in this world of utter darkness, it shone blindingly bright.
The light was so dazzling I had to squint to even look at it.
Through half-closed eyes, I could make out the silhouette of a woman enveloped in the glow.
“...Soeun?”
Black hair, black eyes. A frail, delicate girl who always wore a radiantly beautiful smile.
My one and only little sister, Nam Soeun, was standing there in the light, gazing at me from afar.
“Soeun!”
I ran toward the light like I was entranced.
Too much had happened.
I'd fought tooth and nail in that goblin mating den, taken my first life ever, gotten backstabbed by some bastard, killed him too, slaughtered goblins, killed everything that got in my way. Killed and killed.
Blood and flesh everywhere, moments of mutual slaughter—situations that should've crushed someone like me, raised in the modern world.
Yet they strangely made my heart race with excitement.
The more battles I fought, the more lives I took, the more I felt emotions that betrayed every moral and ethic I'd learned back home. That self-disgust was the worst part.
But if I could just enter that light, I could forget it all.
Back in the peaceful modern world, living a safe life without ever seeing blood, together with my sister—
But no matter how hard I struggled, the distance to the light never closed.
“Soeun!”
I shouted her name and charged ahead, but the more I ran, the farther away the light seemed to drift.
The light grew smaller and smaller. Beneath it, Soeun's lips parted slightly.
[■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■]
“Haaah!”
I bolted awake like I'd been seized by a fit.
The moment I opened my eyes, I saw the inn room half-obscured by my helmet's visor, along with that status window I'd glimpsed before.
But right now, I had no time to focus on any of that.
“Huff... huff...”
I yanked off the stifling helmet in a frenzy and caught my breath.
How many minutes passed like that? My ragged breathing finally started to steady.
“Fuck. What kind of dream was that...?”
But my heart wouldn't calm down.
Part of me wanted to write it off as some bullshit dream and forget it.
But it wasn't that easy. Normal nonsense dreams fade the second you wake up, but this one clung to me stubbornly.
I replayed it in my head. Soeun standing under the light, me running toward her.
“No clue...”
I had no idea what it meant. Some inexplicable emotion kept squeezing my chest, making it hard to breathe.
I shook off the sticky, unpleasant feeling and cleared my head.
No point dwelling on weird-ass dreams like that. Better to focus on reality.
I stared at the status window floating in front of me.
If only it explained things nicely like in other media, but no such luck. I had to figure it out myself.
Take it at face value?
Stamina's probably just raw endurance. Strength and Agility mean getting stronger and faster. Technique's like dexterity or craftsmanship.
Wisdom at 0 is kinda brutal, though?
Feels like a certificate of being a meathead. I'm no scholar, but do I really need to be this dumb?
I glanced back and forth between Free Points and Stamina, and a prompt popped up.
Nah.
I dismissed it right away.
It's called 'Free' Points for a reason. Can't waste 'em.
Being able to spend them freely meant I could adapt on the fly—pump Stamina to tank when I needed to endure, or Strength for a big hit when offense called for it.
“Gotta use Free Points wisely.”
What were those plus signs next to the stats?
The +10s by Stamina, Strength, and Agility caught my eye. Why were they separate? Bonuses?
The moment I wondered, another window appeared.
“Hmm...”
I rested my chin on my hand and stared blankly at the window.
Blessings and Curses.
I didn't know the details, but I had a vague idea. Kakchi had mentioned it before I escaped through the portal.
Mysterious powers you pick up with low probability while exploring the Labyrinth.
Unknown acquisition method. Even checking if you had one required paying at a temple for a scan.
But thanks to my status window, mine were right there in plain view.
Do others not have status windows?
That seemed the healthiest way to think about it.
Yeah. Guess I didn't get isekai'd totally empty-handed. At least I've got this status perk.
But what's with the question mark blessing?
The second one, Blessing of Adversity, had a clear name and description. The first was obscured by question marks.
My base stats total 10 across Stamina, Strength, Agility.
Blessing of Adversity adds a flat 6 to those raw stats at max conditions.
But the question mark one gives a straight +30 total, no strings.
Something smelled off. Like, broken OP blessing vibes.
You know how in games, skills with paragraphs of conditions get outshined by ones that just say, “Hurl your spear like a motherfucker.” Clean and stupidly strong.
For now, I acknowledged the question mark blessing gave me massive power—and that I had blessings at all—then dismissed the window.
Staring wouldn't pierce the veil anyway.
Before getting up, I did some light stretching.
The quality sleep had left my head refreshed.
Evening light filtered through the window—I'd slept the whole day away.
My mind was sharp, but my body felt stiff from disuse.
It was like back in the modern world, but now my body was truly my only asset.
I thoroughly stretched my joints to loosen up, then caught a whiff of something musty.
Obviously from me.
Caked in Labyrinth dust, sweat, and blood without a wash? Bound to stink.
“No bathroom in the room, huh.”
Expecting too much from medieval-level amenities?
Public baths probably cost coin.
Still, there was a wooden bucket of water and a towel.
I compromised—dunked the towel and wiped down my grimy body while planning next steps.
“Money. I need money.”
Investigate Labyrinth portals to get home, find my sister swallowed by that magic circle? Great. Big dreams.
Goals so huge I couldn't even guess when I'd achieve them.
Labyrinth diving ain't easy. I nearly died multiple times on floor 1.
I could progress the Labyrinth slowly, but first, I needed a foundation to survive this world.
Clothes, food, shelter.
The basics for human survival.
Dress like a bum with just a cloak? You'd get jumped and raped for looking fuckable.
Starve? No strength to fight when they grab you by the hair.
No home? Sleep on the streets and get gang-raped by beggars at night.
To avoid that shit, secure the bare minimum basics before stepping back into the Labyrinth.
And clothes, food, lodging? All cost money.
Portals to the Labyrinth open once a week anyway...
Time to hunt day jobs or hit up a labor office.
I carefully wiped the dusty cloak and wrapped it around me, pulled on my pants.
Scrubbed the blood splatter off the helmet and put it on.
Stepped out the door, and noisy chatter hit me from all sides. Source: inn's first floor.
Descending the stairs, savory aromas wafted up, mixed with lively eating and drinking.
Tables packed with humans and beastkin chugging booze and devouring food.
“Labyrinth City Balerus~ this shithole city, shithole Labyrinth. Ahh! Shithole people in a shithole city!”
“Hey, hey. This bitch is wasted.”
“But it's facts, right? Let her rage on.”
Drunken bunny beastkin woman and human chick belting weird songs, arms around each other, doing a bizarre dance.
“Kyaaah! Baby milk spray!”
“Urk, you milky freak!”
A cow beastkin suddenly in the mood sprayed milk from her tits, sending others scrambling in panic. I watched the mad scene blankly.
“Oh my. You're finally up?”
Diana, weaving through the crowd serving food, spotted me and checked in.
“Yeah. Was pretty beat.”
“Slept straight through two days and nights? You must've been exhausted.”
“...Two full days?”
No wonder my body felt extra stiff. Not one day, but two.
“Yep. Listen to that raspy voice. Sit tight over there! I'll fetch some water.”
I nodded at her kindness and took a seat at a quiet corner table.
Nothing to do, so I people-watched the ongoing party.
“Drink! Drink more! Drink till you drop!”
“Grahhh!”
Skinny dwarf and human woman in a booze battle slammed mugs down and passed out together.
Damn, looks tasty. I'd crush beers no problem. One cold one and I'd be set.
Thud!
“Oho. You there, male! Solo?”
Something cold pressed my back. I whipped around to see a lizardwoman—no, lizardgirl—holding hefty mugs in both claws, chatting me up.
If it'd been human or humanoid beastkin, I'd be wary.
But green tits aside, this pure reptile form actually put me at ease.
“Yeah. Solo.”
“Keh. Perfect timing! I'm solo too, side feels chilly. Join for a round?”
“You buying?”
“Not free.”
Her slit reptilian eyes scanned me up and down.
“Fine warrior's build. Perfect for a contest.”
Sounded like praise, but how to respond?
“Uh... thanks?”
“Damn straight! Those solid arms, pecs! Best male bod I've seen. Gotta be top warrior. So as one warrior to another, I propose!”
Bam!
Two mugs slammed onto the table. She plopped into the chair opposite.
Elbow on table, hand up.
Ahh. Classic. Arm wrestling. The battle every guy's faced once. Stake your body and pride.
“Arm wrestle me!”
Brief silence.
Then—
“Ooooh! Third-floor warrior Gregor challenges a guy to arm wrestling!!”
“What?! For real?!”
“Insane bitch! No mercy challenging a dude! But looks fun!”
“Can't miss this show. Bets! Silver on Gregor!”
“Me too, 12 coppers on Gregor!”
“Copper on helmet guy! Upset potential!”
“One copper? Lame! 3 silvers on Gregor!”
Eyes locked on us instantly.
Drunks opened bets on our match in seconds.
I secretly tossed in my full 4 coppers—my whole fortune.
“Gregor! All in on you!”
“You crazy slut. One slip and you're fucked.”
“What's to lose? Outcome's obvious. Safest bet ever.”
“Win it, Gregor! Pity the guy and we're done!”
Atmosphere heated up fast.
Inn patrons crowded around as spectators. We faced off amid the cheers.
“Scared? Back out if you're not confident.”
Gregor waggled her fingers mockingly with a taunting grin.
Ah. Was gonna go easy.
Not anymore.
“Oh, I'm not confident.”
Thud!
I slammed my elbow down like I was embedding it in the table. Gripped her hand like I'd crush it.
Her eyes sharpened the instant she felt my grip strength.
“I'm confident I'll beat you.”
And rightly so...
You. Are. Fodder.