Chapter 37
Chapter 37
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: Marcel's Nail
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Marcel.
How should I handle this?
My head was a mess. This was nothing like when I'd only been thinking about getting out of the Labyrinth.
'Why did Marcel have this?'
I stared at Marcel.
Marcel had made a strong impression from our very first meeting.
The glasses gave him an air of intimacy right away, he was a stable mage, and his personality was likable.
However.
If all of that was an act, and his goal had been to get close to us...
'If he's a member of the terrorist group, Rebellion.'
What should I do?
The answer was already clear.
'I have to kill him.'
The outcome was extreme, but I'd experienced their danger firsthand, even if just a little.
I'd encountered two of them so far.
Hanul.
And the one who'd tried to kidnap Celi, the mage hero candidate under Rozenta's protection.
I'd only met two, but...
Everyone I'd encountered was trash that deserved to die.
Of course, there might be some who weren't trash, or those who'd been forcibly recruited.
But that wasn't a reason not to kill them.
'But.'
There was one thing nagging at me.
That disgusting skull bastard.
The monster that had wiped out the entire Nation party by itself.
When that monster charged at me...
'Marcel tried to protect me.'
Even throwing away his own life. More out of the possibility that I could save him than anything.
Or because I had the talisman, so he'd survive with that, and it was a pointless thing to do.
'......Maybe they're in on it together.'
There were too many possibilities. But could I really believe Marcel just happened to have that item?
"......Yuseong?"
Ermé was looking at me with worried eyes.
Right, pull yourself together, Han Yuseong.
'That's not what's important right now.'
It was important, sure.
But right now, something even more crucial...
'The Labyrinth incident.'
I needed to figure out what that skull bastard really was.
'......Too much hit at once.'
My head hurt a little.
Only then did I start to take in my surroundings.
There were a lot of people around.
But the problem was...
'......Most of them are people I saw inside?'
If they were all fine, I wouldn't have thought it strange. But most of them were injured.
A few clutched relics and wept as if they'd lost someone.
"......What the hell is going on here."
Volkan was staring at us with a grave expression.
His eyes narrowed, as if this shouldn't have happened.
I could see why.
The Adventurer's Guild had deliberately minimized losses by deploying a large number of high- and mid-rank adventurers.
But the result was massive casualties among the high- and mid-rank adventurers.
And some wouldn't be coming back at all.
"......Han Yuseong, did you have a report?"
"I confirmed the death of an adventurer named Nation on the 1st floor."
"And?"
"I spotted a bizarre monster."
"What did it look like?"
"A skull with deer antlers."
"......A skull with deer antlers?"
Volkan's eyes widened.
As if he'd heard something he shouldn't have.
"......Was it wearing a coat or something?"
"Yes."
"That's a Deerbone Demon. It has deer antlers and it's the boss monster on the 15th floor."
The 15th floor boss?
Why the hell was something like that on the 1st floor?
Indignation welled up.
But something felt off. For a monster like that...
'It seemed kinda weak.'
Its movements were clunky, and for something trying to kill me...
I swallowed my words.
Wasn't that too weird? I was just a Rank 2 adventurer now, and one who'd only recently leveled up.
For someone like me...
'To gauge a thing like that is ridiculous.'
"-That's not true, my lord." As I tried to rein myself in, Rishiel interjected.
Rishiel looked at me with her blue eyes.
"-You possess a peculiar sense. Even superior to mine, who was called the hope of the Dark Moon, one of the three great elven houses...... Your senses are trustworthy." '......My senses?'
"-You sometimes lack common sense to an astonishing degree. As if you dropped in from another world." '......'
She had a surprisingly sharp side.
Or maybe it was just now coming out.
We'd spent a long time together, after all.
I looked at Volkan.
Volkan met my eyes for a moment, then nodded and spoke.
"You have something to say?"
"It might just be my hunch, but I didn't think it was that strong."
"Hm?"
"I thought I'd die if we fought, but it didn't feel overwhelmingly powerful."
"Compared to me?"
I looked at Volkan.
I focused all my senses on him.
'Still.'
No blue lines on his body. Just red lines signaling danger everywhere.
But.
That bastard was the same.
If I had to compare at the extremes...
'Volkan's a bit stronger.'
But by a razor-thin margin. If luck wasn't on his side, Volkan losing wouldn't be strange.
I told Volkan as much.
"......A razor-thin difference where I could lose?"
Volkan stared at me, his face saying he couldn't comprehend.
Did I say something weird?
'Rishiel, that's not what you said.'
"-No, my lord. Did you really feel that Deerbone Demon was on par with Volkan?" 'Yeah.'
"-Impossible. Volkan is the Mad Warrior of Reversal......one of the monsters who broke through the 20th floor." '......That old man?'
"-You're the only one who could call that existence that......well, no, not quite." Rishiel let out a faint sigh.
It seemed the elves viewed Volkan differently from how I did.
'If I were part of the Empire or kingdom factions, it'd probably be different too.'
Meaning he took good care of his own people.
Anyway, back to the point.
I looked at Volkan.
He wore a pensive expression, deep in thought.
"......Your senses can't be wrong. Factoring in hidden tricks and all that, it means the Deerbone Demon is slightly weaker than me."
Volkan's mouth split into a wide grin.
As if he found it truly amusing.
"I trust your senses. But the others won't believe some punk saying a mere Deerbone Demon is on my level."
"Is that so?"
"......The Deerbone Demon is called the Grim Reaper of the 15th floor, but it's no match for Volkan, who broke through the 20th."
There it was again.
What did breaking through the 20th floor even mean that they hyped it up so much?
"But your eyes and senses are extraordinary even to me. So if you say so, it's probably true. That's what's got you worried, huh."
"Worried about what?"
"......I'd love to throw down with that thing myself, but if it's on the 1st floor, then the anomaly started on the 5th. Minimally speaking......there might be something from the 20th floor down to the 5th."
"......"
Ermé's face grew thoughtful at Volkan's words, as if pondering something deeply. But she soon closed her eyes and gave up.
'......Is only that one Deerbone Demon on the 15th floor special?'
Maybe it was the only one.
"Rest up for now. The Guild will pay out compensation."
"......How much?"
"You ridiculous bastard. Showing your materialistic side at a time like this. You act like you don't care usually."
Volkan chuckled at my question and pulled a coin pouch from his pocket.
"The info you gave is top-grade, no question. Pouch with 200 gold coins. Take it."
"200 gold coins......"
Ermé murmured in a trembling voice.
200 gold coins.
In modern terms, that was close to 2 billion won.
'Is it right to make this much at my level?'
Thinking about it, our party had earned a fair bit even without this.
Not billions per run, but hundreds of millions for sure.
'Gotta split this among the five of us, excluding Viola.'
......No, considering making her owe us later, maybe give her a share too.
'......400 million becomes 330 million.'
For talent like Viola, investing might...
Investing...
'Still got that commoner mindset.'
70 million felt like a huge loss. But Viola had lost most of her gear, so maybe it was okay to give her some.
'We'll discuss it with the party members.'
The biggest issue remained.
I looked at Marcel.
'Are you the enemy or not?'
I hoped not.
I didn't want to kill someone I'd considered a friend with my own hands.
*
After exiting the Labyrinth.
My mind was a mess, but my body was honest.
In other words, I'd crashed hard. Two days fused with the bed.
I realized it was time to move.
'Lots to do.'
I'd handed over Nation's head, but I wanted to recruit Viola as a party member.
No, more precisely...
'I need to decide what to do with Marcel.'
I'd agonized over it for two days, but deciding Marcel's fate was still tough.
Should I cut him here, or not?
That was the question.
So I needed to consult someone.
But there weren't many I could talk to about this.
'If anyone......'
The most suspicious person in our current party was one.
Ermé.
The most suspicious, yet the most trustworthy existence.
Though vague.
'And Lucia, maybe.'
Her obsession with me was immense.
Alias: Villainess.
And Execution Princess.
Her nicknames weren't great, but...
'If I take my friend's ramblings at face value.'
She at least treated her own people incredibly well.
She might be a villain to others, but she'd treat me right. I showered, changed, and headed out.
"You're up?"
Ermé looked drowsy and languid.
Makes sense. She'd fought hard too, holding off goblin hordes at the front.
"I'd love to rest more, but your body's not itching already, is it?"
"......I'd rest a whole month if I could."
"Come on, don't say that."
No, really.
I could confidently become one with the bed for a full month.
Unaware or not of my sincerity, Ermé grew serious and said,
"What do you think, Yuseong?"
"About who?"
"Glasses guy."
"......"
I looked at Ermé. Eyes and hair like crimson sunset.
She met my gaze steadily.
'......What do you want?'
She'd know.
About the anomaly in the Labyrinth.
And what Marcel, the source of my worries, really was.
......She probably even knew bits of the future.
'......Too little info.'
I closed my eyes briefly.
Time to probe a little.
"......What about Marcel?"
"I felt it during the fight this time. Marcel's talented, but......not quite right for us."
"......"
Right.
Marcel had great talent, but keeping up with me or Ermé was too much for him.
Especially since...
'There's Rozenta.'
She's a buffer like Marcel, but fights on the front lines. Marcel has one more buff, but can't fight like Rozenta.
"Well, we'll keep it going for now. The friction will really start when we're all Rank 2 adventurers."
Ermé was hinting.
That if Marcel didn't learn useful skills by level 2, he might get cut.
'......What if Marcel's in Rebellion?'
I narrowed my eyes at her, but Ermé tilted her head innocently.
"If we drop Marcel?"
"Best is Viola, instant firepower. Celi's good too, but she's too young and needs basic training."
In other words, we'd raise Celi ourselves to fit the party.
I closed my eyes briefly.
Arms crossed, lost in thought.
Time passed, and I sorted my thoughts.
"......Decided?"
"One question first."
"What is it? If it's you, Yuseong, I might even share my secrets."
She smiled brightly, eyes curving into crescents.
Her usual playful expression. But her gaze was subtly tense.
I pulled out the nail from Marcel's clothes.
"......What's that?"
"It was in Marcel's clothes."
"......"
I looked at Ermé.
The gentle expression was long gone.
She stared at the nail with colder eyes than anything.
"Ah, so that's why they all died."
Her voice was icy, unlike her usual self.
Ermé looked at me with cold eyes.
"Do you know what these guys are, Yuseong?"
"......Roughly. But one thing's bothering me, so I'm asking."
"What?"
"When I was about to clash with the Deerbone Demon, Marcel threw himself in the way. Risked his life."
"Hmm-. That's what's bothering you."
Ermé pondered for a moment, then called over a nearby kid.
She pulled out paper from her bosom, scribbled a note, and handed it over.
"Take this to the Adventurer's Guild. I'll give you another silver coin."
Ermé slipped a silver coin to the kid with a smile. Extremely practiced.
"We'll decide tomorrow with this. I'm curious too. If Marcel's on our side or theirs."
Ermé said that, then quietly sheathed her sword.
"Shall we go find out?"
"Yeah."
Moving beats agonizing over it.