Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Death-Ground Fortune
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“…Boss, you’re not seriously bringing *that* back with you, are you?”
Kyle, the leader of the Pure Tribe’s scouting party, his face crumpled like a crushed can, snapped. Rei shot back, scratching her chin with an annoyed hand.
“What then? Should I have left him behind?”
Kyle nodded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“Yes. That would have been better.”
“Kyle, watch your mouth. If we left him, he would've been eaten by monsters. And you're telling me to leave him? Is that something you should say as a fellow human being?”
A self-deprecating smile touched Kyle's lips.
“Were we ever human? I must have missed that. I thought we were just the elves' emotional punching bags, or maybe emergency rations for the monsters. Oh, or was it toys for the beastmen?”
“Kyle!”
Kyle stomped his foot and roared.
“Then what do you want me to do?! We're lucky to even get a wink of sleep, not knowing when a monster will pop out from any direction! This place is so barren, we can barely find food even when we search high and low! And now we have another mouth to feed? A useless bastard who can't even take care of himself… Huh? What the hell! What is that crazy bastard doing now?”
Kyle's eyes, which had been spitting curses while pointing at Si-woo, went wide.
He saw Lee Si-woo touching a two-meter-long grub monster they were raising for food.
“That idiot has no idea what that is…!”
Just as Kyle was about to rush over and snap Si-woo's neck, Rei grabbed his shoulder firmly and shook her head.
Despite her delicate appearance, her grip was like an orangutan's, crushing his shoulder. Kyle bit his lip and backed down.
The position of tribe leader wasn't something just anyone could attain.
Here, only the most capable could lead others.
Having made Kyle back off with a single touch, Rei approached Lee Si-woo.
“Mr. Lee Si-woo, aren't you being a little careless? That thing may look docile, but it's still a monster. And this labyrinth is filled with them. So, please be careful. This is the Under Labyrinth, a place where people like you, who can't handle mana, get themselves killed if they act recklessly.”
Lee Si-woo poked the wriggling grub monster's body with his index finger.
“Are there a lot of monsters like this here?”
Displeased by his casual handling of an unknown monster, Rei snapped back with a thorny tone.
“More than a lot; it's enough to make you sick. You never know when or where they'll pop out. To put it dramatically, it wouldn't be strange if one jumped out from behind you right now.”
“For a place like that, you seem to be leaving this big fella awfully unguarded… A pet? Ah, no, that can't be it. It's not exactly cute, and that man who hates me said this place is barren, so it must be for food.”
A slight glint appeared in Rei's eyes at his response.
*'Well, look at this.'*
Rei narrowed her eyes.
“You're sharper than you look.”
Lee Si-woo took his hand off the grub and grinned. It was a smirk so annoying you wanted to slap it off his face.
“I happen to be quite brilliant.”
Rei shook her head as if he were a lost cause.
“You're certainly unique. Aren't you curious? About how we can understand each other even though you came from another world, where this place is, or how dangerous it is.”
“I know this is the Pit, and that most people who come here die.”
“What? You know?”
How could he know? Without mana, he had to be an outworlder, and most of them were thrown into the Pit right after being summoned, so they knew next to nothing about this world.
“Yes. So you don't need to explain every little detail. Even without you telling me, I'm well aware that my situation isn't good. So, with that said… is there anything you need me to do?”
“Uh, something to do?”
“Things are already tough, and I don't have any mana. It seems the only thing I have going for me is my face, so shouldn't I do something to get on my seniors' good side?”
Rei was dumbfounded by his shameless way of subtly bragging about his good looks. But what was even more baffling was his attitude.
*'What is with this guy? Why is he so calm? Is this even possible? Even if an outworlder who just arrived in the Pit didn't fall into a panic, he should at least look depressed, right?'*
When Rei didn't respond, Lee Si-woo shrugged.
“Well, if there's nothing for me to do, I'll just hang out.”
Rei said with a pout.
“Of course there's something to do. There's work everywhere. But we're not so heartless as to put someone to work the moment they arrive. So get some rest. Honestly, you're so unimpressive, I'll need some time to think of what to even have you do.”
She had tried to pressure him by calling him unimpressive, annoyed by how composed he was, but his response was a real spectacle.
“Understood. I'll be resting in a corner, so just call me when you think of something.”
And with that, he found a corner out of sight and sat down, leaning against the wall.
Rei let out a dry laugh at his comfortable demeanor, as if he were in his own living room.
*'I have no idea what kind of person he is, but you have to give him credit for his mental fortitude.'*
* * *
A labyrinth of stone walls, as if a child had haphazardly thrown them together.
There was only one way to escape this underground labyrinth where it was impossible to tell which paths were blocked and which were open.
Find the stairs leading to the surface, wherever they might be.
*'Is it because this is a human outpost? It's safer than I thought. Still, I can't let my guard down.'*
Lee Si-woo organized his thoughts, remaining vigilant.
*'Mana...'*
Mana.
It was the blood and air of this world, its source of energy.
To exaggerate, it was the very factor that determined the evolution of a species.
A species' fate was determined by how keenly they could sense, hold, and wield mana.
However, when it came to mana, Lee Si-woo was as good as blind and mute.
Not a single speck of it existed within his body.
*'Forget it. There's nothing more foolish than lamenting what you can't have. Besides, I have something in my hands so precious that the old mage who sent me here coveted it. There must be a way to obtain mana.'*
Si-woo was certain that the object the old mage had coveted was Barathrum.
After all, he couldn't imagine anything other than Barathrum being capable of connecting him to that strange space and granting him the common sense of this world with a single pill.
*Ding-dong.*
At the sudden chime and vibration, Si-woo had barely pulled out his smartphone when a message appeared on the screen.
[A Death-Ground Fortune (死地運勢) has arrived. Would you like to read it?]
*'The Death-Ground Fortune the Butler mentioned. So, this is how it comes.'*
As if possessed, Lee Si-woo pressed the accept button.
Then, a message written in blood-red letters appeared on the screen.
『A greedy wolf. A hunted fox. Starving rabbits. A sick demon. Do not forget, a cornered fox cannot survive unless it borrows the might of a tiger.』
Faced with the cryptic message, Lee Si-woo sank deep in thought.
The interpretation itself was more intuitive than he expected.
The greedy wolf must be the old mage, and the hunted fox must be himself.
And he guessed the starving rabbits referred to all the beings in the Pit.
There could be no one more starved than them in the Pit.
Setting aside whether beings who could kill him with a single punch could truly be called rabbits.
*'If I'm the fox, I need to borrow the might of a tiger to survive... It seems the sick demon is the tiger. But what's a sick demon? And where would I even find one? Ugh, this is frustrating. So frustrating.'*
But his contemplation didn't last long.
The presence of an unwelcome guest interrupted Si-woo as he mulled over the Death-Ground Fortune.
*Thump, thump.*
Hearing the footsteps, a startled Si-woo quickly shoved the smartphone into his pocket.
However, the latecomer noticed Si-woo's awkward posture and frowned.
“This bastard, I wondered where you were hiding. What the hell are you doing in a corner like this? And what are you hiding?”
The scouting party leader Kyle's glaring eyes scanned Si-woo. His gaze fell near Si-woo's pocket.
He had caught Si-woo hiding something in his pocket.
“Well, well? Look at this. Hey, newbie. Freeze. What… did you just put in your pocket?”
Si-woo tried to think of an excuse, but only poor ones came to mind.
However, there was always a lesser evil to avoid the worst.
“It's... nothing.”
As Si-woo mumbled, his hand secretly brushed against the inside of his clothes.
Kyle's narrowed eyes glared fiercely at Si-woo.
However, from his perspective, he could only see the back of Si-woo's hand, and thus, he didn't see the orb stuck to the center of Si-woo's palm like a magnet.
It was a sleight of hand commonly used by magicians.
As Si-woo's hand slyly slipped into his pocket, Kyle strode over angrily and kicked his hand away.
“You trying to pull a fast one on me, you bastard?”
*Clink, clatter.*
The orb that fell from Si-woo's kicked hand rolled across the floor.
As Kyle's gaze fixed on the orb, Si-woo's empty left hand moved like lightning, tucking the smartphone from his pocket into the belt at the small of his back.
It was a nimble-fingered dexterity worthy of a shell game hustler.
“What is this? This orb… Argh!”
Kyle, who had casually tried to pick up the orb, dropped it in surprise, the heat feeling as if he had touched a ball of fire.
*Rattle.*
Lee Si-woo carefully picked up the orb that had rolled to his feet and looked up at Kyle.
Kyle's complicated gaze met Si-woo's inscrutable, colorless eyes.
Si-woo smiled faintly and spoke in a soft tone.
“Sir Kyle, I may seem like an easy target, but it's a bit problematic for you to go through my belongings so carelessly.”
Recognizing at a glance that the orb was no ordinary object, Kyle snapped.
“…What is that orb? How does a guy like you have something like that?”
“Well, let's call it a secret weapon?”
Kyle scoffed.
“A secret weapon for a guy with no mana? Ha, that's a laugh. Even a stray dog would find that hilarious.”
Kyle grabbed Si-woo by the collar, hauled him up, and growled menacingly.
“Listen up, Si-woo. I'll be watching you. So don't even dream of pulling any stupid stunts, just do as you're told. Got it? I don't have the energy to clean up after the messes morons like you make. So please, just stay out of the way. Don't be a burden. Or else…”
As a sinister aura flashed in Kyle's eyes, Si-woo raised both hands in a gesture of surrender.
“I may be a useless guy who can't even handle mana, but I'm not an idiot. I won't do anything stupid, so please don't threaten me.”
“…I'll take your word for it. Fine, rest for another hour, then come find me. I need to see if you're worth your keep. And…”
With that, Kyle patted down Si-woo's pockets and chest with his palm.
It was a shameless gesture to check if Si-woo was hiding anything else besides the orb.
Kyle's eyes gleamed.
“You've got two more of these orbs?”
Si-woo cursed inwardly but maintained a calm expression as he replied.
“Yes, that's right.”
Kyle clenched and unclenched his burning hand a couple of times. Then, giving Si-woo a meaningful look, he spoke.
“A secret weapon, huh… We'll see about that.”
After Kyle left, a relieved Si-woo felt around the back of his waistband.
He pulled out the smartphone neatly tucked between his belt and muttered.
“I think I'm the one who'll be watching. I'm not the type to let a debt go unpaid.”
His way was to repay kindness with kindness, and malice with malice.
Still, it was a relief that the artifact was imprinted on him, just as the old mage had said, and that his smartphone hadn't been discovered.
He could have easily lost it.
Si-woo rolled one of the artifacts in his palm, thinking.
*'I refuse to be treated like a pushover from the start. I should probably use this to establish my position. If you save something for too long, it just goes to waste, after all.'*
He recalled Kyle's words, telling him to come find him in an hour.
Worth my keep, he said?
For that, he should consider his own financial situation first.
Because the meal I serve is far too expensive for a beggar to afford.