Barbarian, Back to the Dungeon (1)
The alarm was ringing loudly.
"Ugh..."
It was noisy. What the hell was this?
I tried to swat the alarm away with my hand, but what was going on?
Nya nya nya nya!
The alarm kept blaring without mercy.
"Ugh... ahh."
Finally, unable to endure the racket any longer, I sat up and opened my eyes.
There stood a three-colored fur cat and the wooden wall of the inn.
"Ah... an inn."
Yeah.
Last night I had dove straight into the bed and passed out immediately.
"Huu..."
Thud, thud!
It was dimly lit, as if just before sunrise.
Was this cat always coming to wake me up like that every single day?
I should tell Luna to stop the alarm.
After stretching for a moment to loosen my stiff body, I glanced at my arm.
“Umm...”
The wounds on my arm that could trigger panic attacks were mostly sealed, faintly revealing the red flesh beneath.
That meant it would take about three days to fully heal.
In the game, HP recovered automatically, but this even fixed the holes. Regeneration was truly amazing.
“Then what should I do from now on...”
My body condition was at its peak.
Of course, one arm still ached, but it was nothing compared to what I could handle.
Nya?
Nya nyak!
"Hey, come on, come on. You're so cute. But I'm a bit busy, so I'll be going."
I carefully stepped down the stairs, avoiding the cats that had claimed the landing.
Then, under the dim light of the inn with the nightlight on, a figure greeted me.
"You're really not like a barbarian. Your looks are the most barbaric of all, yet you avoid cats."
"Are you an old lady? Why did you wake up so early?"
"Those who said that were all burned, so burn you too?"
“Barbarian burning is illegal.”
“Bullshit. Anyway, it’s nice to speak informally. Since a barbarian uses formal speech, ahh.”
“That’s also barbarian discrimination.”
“What kind of discrimination is that? Anyway, are you heading to the dungeon today?”
"Yeah. Today I want to go as far as I can."
"Huu... I see? Then be careful of goblins."
"Huhu, what? You're worrying about me? Cute."
“I don’t think I’ll get hit by a barbarian~.”
"Oh, so the woman doesn't think she'll get hit."
With that, Luna quietly raised her middle finger.
"But why are there no customers here?"
Only me and Luna were in this place.
Did they all leave because I received a barbarian?
"Idiot. It's early morning now. Who would be a diligent explorer heading to the dungeon from dawn? Not entering a proper job."
"Yeah, that's right. Then I'll go."
"Take care. Ah, barbarian."
"What?"
"You're going alone? Without a party."
"That's right?"
"Hey, then buy this bag. Special sale, only 10 gold coins!"
“No, bullshit. I thought you were hooking me up with a party through connections, but it was just a bag?”
“What are you saying, you idiot. How important is a bag? No porters, no party members. Then how will you bring the drop items?”
Indeed.
Last night I had carried the horn rabbit's leather wrapped like a bundle.
Moreover, this guy was a former explorer and a friend of Miss Mary.
He wouldn't rip me off.
“...Is 10 gold enough?”
“Huhu, kid. You should have done that earlier. Here, take it.”
I handed over the 10 gold coins and opened the bag I received.
There were a few bandages and one antidote.
“Luna noona...!”
“Noona, shut up and get lost.”
“Thank you...! Overwhelming gratitude...!”
“What gratitude from a barbarian kid.”
I waved Luna away as she told me to go, put the potions I bought into the bag, and headed to the dungeon.
Different from when I camped near the wall, the portal arrived quickly.
There, a tired guard was yawning.
When I showed him my explorer certificate, he quickly checked it and nodded.
"Enter. And remember this. Aurelia will not absolve suspicion towards barbarians."
"Yes yes, thank you."
"...Hah?"
I entered the dungeon with the explorer certificate, leaving the surprised guard who received my barbarian greeting.
"Huu..."
When it was dawn outside, was it also dawn here? I walked through the cool air different from yesterday, shivering.
Tadadot━━
I gripped the axe handle with strength as the sound of breaking the forest's silence.
Because I knew it was the sound of a horn rabbit charging.
"Hup!"
I turned my body and swung the axe with all my might.
Kwadok━!
Kyuuaaaak...
The axe dug into the head and split the body all the way through.
The horn rabbit couldn't even let out a proper death cry and disappeared, leaving only the horn and magic stone.
"Hmm. So the corpse needs to be intact for the leather to come out and all."
Still, since the horn and magic stone dropped, it was fortunate.
I picked them up and walked through the forest again.
Kyuuaak!
After killing the charging horn rabbit, killing again.
Unlike yesterday, I was quite familiar, so I wandered through the forest without the holes in my arm.
Keruk...
I heard it.
A sound completely different from the horn rabbit's cry.
Similar to an animal's cry but different, I slowly moved my feet.
Then, I saw a small green person in the distance.
Keraak━!
Goblin.
Its rough face made by poking clay like a child's, short stature, and even the loincloth barely covering the genitals.
The appearance of a monster in a disgusting valley made my stomach churn.
This feeling that I couldn't not spit out.
Like imprinted on instinct, I unconsciously spat it out.
Woawewa━!!!
Keraak!?
War cry, or battle cry.
The goblin hurriedly raised its club at the war cry of monsters and barbarian combat species.
But it was already too late.
I quickly closed the distance and swung my shield to chop down the goblin.
Then I stepped on its legs and knocked it down.
Karak!? Kerarak!
"Hmm..."
Nothing special?
I didn't even know I spat out a war cry, but did it not react properly when I heard it?
The goblin, weaker than expected, struggled under my feet trying to escape, but that was it.
I lightly swung the axe and cut off the goblin's neck.
“I guess I can go down.”
At the end of slaughtering the horn rabbit and goblin, I found the portal.
I loaded my body onto the portal that clearly went to the 2nd floor.
"Huu..."
Like the 1st floor, forest terrain.
Moreover, this time the goblins' weapons were strengthened and they used poison needles, but
Still just goblins.
I raised my shield lightly to block and approached to cut the neck, easily hunting them, and continued advancing.
Arrived at the 3rd floor that way.
The 3rd floor was the area where goblins and wolves appeared, but
Kkaeng━!
Even if wolves mixed in, it wouldn't change much.
Or rather, it was good practice for moving my body because of them.
The axe technique that was gradually improving like imprinted on my body, and using the shield as a second weapon, I massacred the goblins and wolves.
At the end of advancing like that, I arrived at the portal heading to the 4th floor.
"Huu..."
The portal on the 4th floor.
The journey to check how far I could go reached the threshold of the 4th floor without any problem.
"What to do."
The 4th floor was the Wall of Tears.
In the game, the place where the most novice explorers were massacred, and if proper preparation wasn't done, you could really die.
I could die...!
The instinct as a barbarian was shouting.
I could do it.
"Good."
Trusting my instinct, I immediately threw my body into the portal.
Then, the vision flickered again.
After transferring outside the forest, I immediately threw my body onto the tree.
Continued battles, and since quite some time had passed, a bit of rest was needed.
If there was a party, I would take turns on watch for safety, but since there wasn't, what could I do.
With the thought that I had no choice, I used the backpack as a pillow and lightly fell asleep.
......!!!
I woke up from the sound coming from below and immediately lowered my body.
And when I turned my gaze to the direction the sound was coming from.
"Kya aak!"
Keraaak━━!!
A woman in priest robes was being chased by goblins.
"Ha, ha..."
Netia, the fleeing priestess, ran while holding back her tears.
Right now, with good luck, her companion's fate was at stake.
But her resolve didn't protect her from the sound coming from behind.
Kerarak━!
Goblins.
They were running through the forest, shooting poison needles continuously. The accuracy was poor, but there were four shooting goblins.
"Kya aak!"
The saying "ten shots won't miss a tree" didn't hold, and finally, the poison needle stuck in her calf made Netia scream.
Her leg was getting heavier, and her body flailed like sinking into a swamp.
"Hak...! Hak..."
Her breathing became rough, and her body gradually stiffened.
The poison from the needle in her calf spread quickly throughout Netia's body, making her gasp for breath.
Thud!
"No, no..."
As a result, a disgusting hand covered Netia.
Small hands grabbed her legs, arms, face, chest.
Seeing the goblins tearing at Netia's half-torn clothes with force, Netia shed tears.
'Ah, Goddess. Please, look down on this poor lamb.'
Even with Netia's fervent prayer, the god did not respond.
So she despaired, but
Kuung━!
A heavy object fell from the tree and smashed the goblin's head on the ground.
A muscular man wearing leather armor.
Woawewa━━!!!
Netia's face, seeing the man's appearance howling like a beast, was even more dyed with despair.