Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: First Mission Accomplished! Afterparty... Successful?
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After coming back from the bathhouse, two moons had already risen high in the sky. Both moons were full tonight, illuminating the dark, primitive night quite brightly.
It had been two years since I fell into this world, but the sight of two moons hanging in the sky was still a marvel to me.
I wondered just how much more time I would have to spend here before that view became familiar.
And did I really have to stay here until then? I'd once compared life in this otherworld to military service in rural Gangwon Province.
But in the army, you could call home, go on leave, or get discharged and end it all. In this incomprehensible world, I wasn't even sure if there was a way to escape, which left me feeling somewhat melancholic.
If I thought I'd never see my family or friends again, I'd go mad, so I forced myself to change my train of thought.
What the hell is this world?
Why did I end up here?
I'd spent countless sleepless nights pondering these fundamental questions. Of course, that didn't bring any answers. It just piled more questions on top of the old ones.
Still, I remembered the day I fell into this world and the last day I spent in the arms of my family.
That was already two years ago.
The full moon had been quite bright that day.
I'd been walking while gazing at it, just like now. Of course, there was only one moon in that world, which probably made it capture my attention even more.
On my way home from the convenience store, with snacks for me and ice cream for my little sister in the bag.
I stared at the moon high in the sky as if entranced. It was something about a supermoon, I think. It really looked bigger than usual, which was pretty fascinating.
Swoosh-.
Then suddenly, I felt like my body was sinking into the ground beneath my feet.
It was like walking while looking at the sparkling moonlit sky and failing to dodge a hole in the road. Did I fall into a manhole? But when I came to...
I was in this otherworld, fuck! To this day, I still have no idea what I fell into that day.
Beware the light-.
The witch Nemea's final farewell echoed in my mind. If only she'd said that to me two years ago.
Now I'm treated like a ridiculous barbarian, groveling on the floor like an ignorant wretch. Damn it, fuck this shitty world!
Of course, now that I'm freed from slavery, my future isn't all bleak. I still have hope!
"...Chaos Eternal."
Ding-.
『Name: Hassan Lv. 7 → 8
Strength: 2 → 3
Agility: 2
Vitality: 3
Karma: 227
Blessing: Blessing of Chaos | Amateur Handiwork』
Strange letters appeared as I recited the odd incantation. Thanks to the obsidian statue I got earlier, my strength had increased, and my level had risen to 8.
What I could grasp right away was that, for some reason, I could consume karma points to raise stats like strength. And level seemed to be a comprehensive total of those stats.
To increase total karma, I apparently needed to heal people's conditions using quack methods like acupressure.
Anyway, that was the rough outline I'd pieced together.
I hoped to research and make good use of the power I had, carve out a place in this world, and live like a human being. Gazing at the full moon, I made that wish.
But fuck, with two full moons in this world, which one should I pray to? Anyway, may the more mystical and effective one grant my wish!
Or since there are two moons, maybe the power to make wishes come true is doubled? As expected, having tasted higher education makes me smarter than the primitives in this uncivilized world.
"Here you are, brother! You're late!"
When I arrived at the Nymph Wing Inn, the lobby on the first floor—used as a tavern—was a chaotic mess of all sorts of people, tables, raucous noise, and scattered food scraps everywhere.
It was like a pigsty, but that was pretty much the norm for restaurants and inns in this world.
A world oblivious to food hygiene laws. My dad, who ran a shady back-alley clinic, would love it here. Why the fuck did I end up in this world instead of him?
Of course, they say nobles and high-rank adventurers have access to fancy restaurant-like places even here. But I'll probably never set foot in one my whole life.
"We got tired of waiting, so my sister and I started eating first."
"We just started too. Come on, sit down."
I was about to tell them the truth—"I forgot the inn's name"—but swallowed it. I remembered it was some Nymph-something inn, but not that it was the Nymph Wing.
I'd wandered through Nymph Tail Inn, Nymph Leg Inn, Nymph's Tear Inn, Nymph-whatever-else Inn before finally making it here.
These innkeeper bastards plaster "Nymph" on every damn name. Are they some kind of chain?
"You look sharper. Shaved?"
Luna was the first to notice the change in me after the bathhouse. It cost 10 coppers just for the bath and shave. If she hadn't noticed, I'd have been offended.
I wanted to change into cleaner clothes if possible, but since it was late, the clothing and gear shops were closed, so I'd put that off until tomorrow.
"Weird?"
"The bearded look suited your barbarian vibe better. Now you just look like a bandit!"
Luna peered at my face and gave that assessment. Not sure if it was a compliment or an insult.
I just nodded, stroking my smooth chin for the first time in ages, feeling strangely unfamiliar.
Luna had ditched her weird mask somewhere too, showing her bare face.
"The mask?"
"Can't drag formal ritual garb to the dinner table~."
It was like her work uniform, I guess. Anyway, I preferred her without the mask, so no complaints.
Her antics were a bit crazy, and the pink hair was kinda funny, but her face was pretty.
Sure enough, heads turned our way, drawn by Luna's cheerful voice. Most tables were drab groups of men drinking together.
Of course, I had no intention of mocking them. Drinking with a girl! How long had it been since...? I was thrilled by the situation myself.
Tension mixed with rising excitement. Forget drinking with a girl—when was the last time I sat across from someone as an equal, sharing drinks and food?
...
The fact that I couldn't even remember meant it was ages ago.
Beer in this world barely had any carbonation. It was bland and lukewarm, more like barley tea boiled and then cooled than actual beer.
Still, the alcohol content was higher than what I knew, so a few glasses got you buzzed quick.
Having tackled a tough request together and with booze flowing, the awkwardness and pretenses had melted away, letting us talk freely.
"Anyway, this Malco here is definitely going all the way to the Pluto Ruins. I'll learn the secret melody from Orpheus there and make my name famous. My songs will spread to every tavern and campfire of travelers!"
Malco rambled his drunken speech, tongue slurring.
I knew little of this world's lore, so I mostly listened while Luna, still relatively sober after a few drinks, chimed in.
"Orpheus? I know him. Famous bard, right? But he's been dead forever. How do you learn from him?"
"Ah, sister from foreign lands doesn't know? They say a river to the underworld flows at the end of the Pluto Ruins. Cross it, and you reach the land where the dead await us."
Pluto Ruins appearing across the world took various forms, with diverse traps and monsters, but they were all parts of one massive underground palace.
All ruins led to Pluto's palace at the end, apparently. In modern terms, the underworld or hell—something like that.
"I know the land of the dead. The land of the formless, right? That's what we call it in Ideophe."
"Land of the formless? Fascinating phrase. It stirs my inspiration."
"But everyone ends up there eventually after death anyway. No need to go seeking it out. Can't understand mainlanders' thinking."
Luna, from Ideophe Island, shook her head slightly at the cultural barrier. Then she blinked at me and asked,
"Hassan, what about you? Why'd you become an adventurer? Wanna meet the dead too?"
"Sister, why ask? Samaria's Hassan is surely a killer wandering in search of glorious battle and a fitting death! Not to meet the dead—he just wants to kill people!"
Fuck, what the hell was that? This bard asshole trying to paint me as some psycho?
As I tried to protest, my booze-heavy lips struggling to move—
"Seeking a death befitting you sounds cool. Actually, first time seeing a Samaritan! Wanted to meet one back home."
"This Malco's seeing a real Samaritan for the first time too. Wow, even more imposing than the tales. Tearing and stomping that hideous hell beast goblin barehanded? Astonishing. Truth be told, I was pretty scared back there."
Diring-.
Out of nowhere, Malco pulled out the instrument on his back and plucked the strings with his fingers.
"Samaria's Hassan. Feels like a great song's coming. If brother meets a glorious end someday, I'll compose a fine chant for you. Then you'll live eternally in everyone's hearts!"
"Cool idea, big nose. Hope it happens."
Like hell I hope so, you crazy fucks. That's telling me to die.
*
Maybe because it was a relaxed drinking session with no need to watch our words, we all got properly wasted sooner or later, leaving only leftover snacks and drunken babble on the table.
Bard Malco, who'd chugged booze from the start, was now face-down snoring.
Only I, fairly tolerant of alcohol, and Luna, oblivious to her limits, remained, polishing off the scraps with slurred tongues.
"So I told him, Sergeant Kim, no way—! The goalie's the battalion commander—! If you shoot like that, my leave—."
"Puhaha, what's that? Anyway, fun story. Are all Samaritans as fun as you?"
Luna's face flushed, grinning widely. She'd burst into giggles at anything I said.
To people living in this barbaric world, my tales from 21st-century life must sound like hilarious jokes.
Now that I thought about it, my being here or living in that comfy world felt like one big joke too.
No wonder for listeners—it probably sounded like wonderland stories from savage Samaria.
Of course, seeing a girl crack up at my stories wasn't a bad sight.
Drunk people's laughter gets lighter everywhere, and she'd probably laugh her ass off if I just sneezed, but still.
Laughing well was a merit in itself.
A woman's laughter might have healing powers beyond imagination, at least for men.
After being crushed under Elfriede and clinging like bottom-barrel gum, my male pride was recovering a bit.
"Here, Ideophe snowflower liquor I brought. Rare stuff—just for you."
Glug glug.
Luna poured a bluish liquid from her leather flask into my empty beer mug.
External food allowed?—The question crossed my mind, but the booze dulled my thoughts.
Anyway, she laughed at my stories and refilled my glass promptly. Couldn't ask for better.
No healthy guy could hate this. Felt like recompense for all the past hardships. This must be why people chase success and status.
"Glass empty again. You drink well, Hassan."
I'd even forgive her for siccing the bee on me. She did try to save me from the goblin mob, after all...
"Hassan, back home, you really weren't popular with girls? Strong and fun guy—bet you were."
"Nope."
Ouch, right in the sore spot, fuck. Stung like a bee on my nape, sobering me a tad.
Nah, just my imagination. Far from sobering, I couldn't even twitch a finger. Mind clear, body heavy as lead.
" Weird. In Ideophe, you'd be... popular. Ideophe girls... like one guy... 'cause men are... so few...."
Drunk Luna's words came out choppy, or maybe my hearing was fading.
With my eyelids growing heavy, maybe the issue was my ears, not her mouth.
"Hassan... got a... blessing, right? Then super... popular. No... girls?"
"...Told you, none."
"...Hassan. Asleep?"
"Nah, not sleeping. Not that drunk yet."
"Really... not?"
Our conversation wasn't meshing.
Luna acted tough on booze but was sloshed enough not to follow. In this harsh world, a young woman drunk on the streets would be in grave danger.