Chapter 102: Mafia (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 102: Mafia (1)
"W-What was that!? It's suddenly..."
"An earthquake...?"
Adventurers were awakened by the vibrations traveling through the ground. I realized it then. Once a Hans, always a Hans.
To think even a name change doesn't help.
I sighed and looked at Hanst—no, the man who would forever be remembered as Hans F—for the last time.
"I-I didn't do anything!"
Yeah, I know that. How would you have opened the rift from here? It's just my bad fucking luck.
"Bjorn?"
"Run!" I grabbed Missha and started running. We didn't have time.
Even though I hadn't provided any explanation, Missha asked, "...Is it a Rrrift? Has one been opened?"
"Yeah."
As was typical in my life, shit was once again going down. Of course, it at least wasn't the kind of shit that put us in danger this time.
Damn it all, I spent so much money.
I selected the rift I wanted to enter and made my purchases accordingly. I was so excited that I even enchanted my stuff with the lightning attribute. So what the hell was this?
"Bjorn! There!"
I didn't know who the bastard who did this was, but they had just smeared shit all over my plans. Was it a player? Or simply someone knowledgeable about this world? Well, I was sure I'd get a feel for it once I got in.
Whooom!
A portal formed in the direction Missha was pointing. By now, thousands of portals had probably been generated all over the first floor.
"Missha!" In case she fell behind, I pulled Missha into my arms and threw my body into the portal.
[You have entered the first-floor rift.]
Boom!
After landing with a deep, resounding thud, I let Missha down from my arms and immediately examined our surroundings. Apparently, we'd just barely boarded the last train, because there were already three people inside this rift. First, I took a closer look at each one.
"Oh, a barbarian and a beastwoman. How reliable. Nice to meet you. Please call me Carlson." First, a human man. His height was around five-six, and his weapon was a sword. To describe the first impression he gave off in animal terms... a rat would suffice.
"...They won't be a burden, then. I'm Abman Urikfried." The second was a beastman. Judging by the round ears on his head, he seemed to be from the Black Bear tribe. His defining features were his muscular body and the super-large crossbow on his back that was reminiscent of a siege weapon.
"Hello. I'm Jencia Nephrin. As for my weapon, I use this sword here. I will do my best not to be a burden." Last was a human woman around five-four with a pretty face. Surprisingly, she had her black hair in twin tails. Not that it didn't suit her, but I never thought some people actually walked around with this hairstyle.
Anyway, it was our turn next, so I stepped forward as our representative. "I am Bjon, son of Thor, and this is Michelle. As you can see, we are together."
"Eh?"
No "eh"s. When I shot her a look telling her to keep quiet, Missha pursed her lips in a way that suggested she had pieced together what I was doing. Then she relaxed the pinched skin around her eyes and stared off into space. Was that supposed to be her poker face?
It was noticeably strange, so I redirected the conversation before she drew any attention. "I take on the role of the protector in the labyrinth, and I am most confident in it. What are you guys good at?"
When entering a rift, learning each other's strengths was the most basic of basic procedures.
The woman named Jencia told us about herself in more detail. "I use a sword! Oh, and I have the essence of a Goblin Archer, and was also trained as a scout from a young age, so I'm somewhat knowledgeable about traps and mechanical devices."
Not a Goblin Swordsman but a Goblin Archer? When I heard that, I thought, What a useless character, but that wasn't something I needed to be too worried about. It wasn't like this was a character I was personally cultivating, anyway. Just by looking at her equipment, I could tell that she was a rookie.
Swordsman and defense warrior Carlson was better than Jencia, but ultimately similar. "I mainly use a sword and shield, Mister, um... Bjon? Anyway, it may not be as much as you, but I'm usually on the front lines taking attacks for the team too."
He was mid-second floor at most. However, since he didn't reveal his essence like the naïve woman who came before him, it seemed he had slightly more experience than her. That, or maybe he didn't have one.
Two beginners, huh?
Well, I had kind of expected that. The situation was different from the first time I met Hikurod and Raven. It had only been three months since the last rift opened, so it was impossible for anyone to have known it was happening in advance and prepare. It even opened on the first day, which led to this situation—if it had opened later, it would have been full of locals who hadn't even been to the second floor.
In that sense, this is suspicious.
I looked at the last person. I guess he accepted that as a prompt to introduce himself. "As you can see..." The muscular, bearded macho man shrugged the large crossbow on his back. He was the only mid-level adventurer of the three.
Like a typical barbarian, I decided to be direct. "Tell us how reliable you are."
"Shouldn't the person asking that question be the first to answer it?"
Oh, that was true. "I'm rank six, and Michelle is rank seven. We're mainly active on the fourth floor."
"I see. I'm rank five."
Shit, he wasn't mid-level but high-level instead. Generally, rank six was considered mid, rank five was high, and anyone who was rank four or higher was a top-class adventurer. That was because the gap between the ranks widened enormously from the sixth rank onward, and even included a promotion review. Dang, this was getting even more suspicious.
"What is a rank-five adventurer doing here?" I asked.
"Shouldn't we be asking the same of you guys, too?" This guy didn't miss a single beat.
"...We were originally working with a team, but due to some circumstances, the two of us were the only ones who came into the labyrinth this time. We couldn't move up to the second floor because we didn't have a scout, and then the rift opened." This was the answer I had prepared in case there was anyone suspicious of me once I opened the rift.
"What a coincidence. I'm in a similar situation. Well, it's been a while since I left my original team, though."
Goddamn it. Is he lying or what?
Even as I was wondering whether an archer tough enough to play solo actually existed, as soon as I looked at his face I knew.
Either way, I'll have to be more careful with this man.
It was noticeably strange, so I redirected the conversation before she drew any attention. "I take on the role of the protector in the labyrinth, and I am most confident in it. What are you guys good at?"
When entering a rift, learning each other's strengths was the most basic of basic procedures.
The woman named Jencia told us about herself in more detail. "I use a sword! Oh, and I have the essence of a Goblin Archer, and was also trained as a scout from a young age, so I'm somewhat knowledgeable about traps and mechanical devices."
Not a Goblin Swordsman but a Goblin Archer? When I heard that, I thought, What a useless character, but that wasn't something I needed to be too worried about. It wasn't like this was a character I was personally cultivating, anyway. Just by looking at her equipment, I could tell that she was a rookie.
Swordsman and defense warrior Carlson was better than Jencia, but ultimately similar. "I mainly use a sword and shield, Mister, um... Bjon? Anyway, it may not be as much as you, but I'm usually on the front lines taking attacks for the team too."
He was mid-second floor at most. However, since he didn't reveal his essence like the naïve woman who came before him, it seemed he had slightly more experience than her. That, or maybe he didn't have one.
Two beginners, huh?
Well, I had kind of expected that. The situation was different from the first time I met Hikurod and Raven. It had only been three months since the last rift opened, so it was impossible for anyone to have known it was happening in advance and prepare. It even opened on the first day, which led to this situation—if it had opened later, it would have been full of locals who hadn't even been to the second floor.
In that sense, this is suspicious.
I looked at the last person. I guess he accepted that as a prompt to introduce himself. "As you can see..." The muscular, bearded macho man shrugged the large crossbow on his back. He was the only mid-level adventurer of the three.
Like a typical barbarian, I decided to be direct. "Tell us how reliable you are."
"Shouldn't the person asking that question be the first to answer it?"
Oh, that was true. "I'm rank six, and Michelle is rank seven. We're mainly active on the fourth floor."
"I see. I'm rank five."
Shit, he wasn't mid-level but high-level instead. Generally, rank six was considered mid, rank five was high, and anyone who was rank four or higher was a top-class adventurer. That was because the gap between the ranks widened enormously from the sixth rank onward, and even included a promotion review. Dang, this was getting even more suspicious.
"What is a rank-five adventurer doing here?" I asked.
"Shouldn't we be asking the same of you guys, too?" This guy didn't miss a single beat.
"...We were originally working with a team, but due to some circumstances, the two of us were the only ones who came into the labyrinth this time. We couldn't move up to the second floor because we didn't have a scout, and then the rift opened." This was the answer I had prepared in case there was anyone suspicious of me once I opened the rift.
"What a coincidence. I'm in a similar situation. Well, it's been a while since I left my original team, though."
Goddamn it. Is he lying or what?
Even as I was wondering whether an archer tough enough to play solo actually existed, as soon as I looked at his face I knew.
Either way, I'll have to be more careful with this man.
I promptly designated Mr. Bear as my number one concern. Aside from his brute strength, everything about him was suspicious.
Besides this man, there is no one here who can collect rank-eight mana stones.
Of course, that was only taking into account the information that was currently available. The possibility that Carlson and Jencia were hiding their skills could not be ruled out.
"Oh, but who came in first?" I asked the question casually, like it was out of pure curiosity. Who had really opened the rift? Unless the three of them were working together, I determined that this question alone would allow me to figure each of them out.
"I'm not sure. I think we all came in together..."
"It was so simultaneous that I can't say who got here first."
"You ask strange questions."
I guess I wasn't allowed to get my hands on that information so easily. Ugh, fuck. This was like playing Mafia.
***
An unknown person had opened the rift. This trampled on many parts of my plan. First was the issue of loot distribution.
"Okay then, it's decided."
At the end of our discussion, we decided that Missha, Mr. Bear, and I would take three shares each, and Carlson and Jencia—Jenson for short—would each take one. The world of adventurers was a heartless one.
"It's not that much of a loss. You'll take all the leftover essences."
"Okay..."
This strategy of kicking away the ladder was the same one Hikurod and Raven had used on me in the Bloody Citadel, and what I was going to use on these guys too. If I made concessions here, what would be left?
He has more compassion than he seems to. I wasn't going to give them anything.
My plan had been to open the rift on the third day. Then, once we had a team of first-floor regulars, I was going to let them take care of all the dirty work and take everything for myself. However, we now had to deal with the variable of Mr. Bear, and there was no choice but to make considerable concessions in the loot distribution process. For now, Missha had been selected to eat the guardian's essence, but if a Numbers Item or Rift Stone were to drop, I'd have to roll the dice against Mr. Bear.
Ugh, I'm not confident in dice-rolling.
My stomach hurt already. I wasn't confident I could win. This was why I tried to avoid the variable of chance.
"Let's get going." I shook off my lingering disappointment and moved forward. Behind me were Jenson on both sides, then Mr. Bear, then Missha.
Crackle!
Like we were walking on thin ice, I could hear the sound of cracking with each step. It wasn't exactly an inaccurate comparison. We were traveling over a frozen lake right now. This was the one silver lining in the middle of this mess.
I guess I can use the items I've prepared.
There were a total of four rifts on the first floor. Depending on the type, there were differences in the monsters that appeared, their difficulty, and the rewards. Which one should we go to? After much consideration, I chose one, and luckily, it was the same one I was walking through right now.
[Glacier Cave]
A particular rank-eight monster appeared in the Den of Beasts on the second floor, and this particular rift could be opened by offering that monster's mana stone to an altar. My only reason for selecting this rift was Missha. Well, I had also reached level four and now had space for one more essence.
But there aren't really any to consume.
Even if this was a rift, it was one on the first floor. Even the guardians were only rank seven, and they didn't spit out an essence that suited me.
That's probably why this man willingly gave up the essence in the first place.
Anyway, I decided that it would be more efficient to focus on Missha's development for now and fill in the empty slot with a better essence later.
Wait a second. Didn't Ainar leave for the holy land last time after I did something similar?
That won't happen again... right?
"Why did you suddenly stop?"
"It's nothing." I shook off the thoughts that suddenly popped into my head and focused on my surroundings. At least I made it inside a rift. Besides, with an unknown mafioso in our midst, this was not the time to be idle.
Shaaaaaa.
Frozen snow sat on the mountaintop, snowflakes fluttering and scattering down from above, and the sunlight reflecting on the ice made everything feel warmer.
It's weird to be in a place like this after always being somewhere dark.
After walking for about thirty minutes, the lake area ended and a suspicious cave leading underground appeared. A monster was blocking the way.
"Kawww!" It seemed that the Yeti, a rank-seven monster and elite gatekeeper that appeared only in Glacier Cave, had appeared at the very beginning of our journey. As soon as it saw us, it let out a menacing shout.
"D-Do we have to defeat that and head down?" Jencia murmured.
Mr. Bear answered that. "I don't know what this place is like, but in rifts, monsters usually point the way."
This was an answer that would make any gamer nod. For some reason, I was getting even more suspicious now.
"Don't get involved recklessly. You guys stand back," Mr. Bear ordered.
"...Is that really okay?" At his considerateness, Jenson glanced at me and Missha.
Well, I had enough conscience not to ask them to risk their lives to fight a guy like that for only 10 percent of the mana stones, so I just told them to do as he said. They'd only get in the way, anyway.
"I'll go first." Soon, Mr. Bear lowered the super-large crossbow from his back for the first time.
Whooom!
An arrow fired and the battle began.
I promptly designated Mr. Bear as my number one concern. Aside from his brute strength, everything about him was suspicious.
Besides this man, there is no one here who can collect rank-eight mana stones.
Of course, that was only taking into account the information that was currently available. The possibility that Carlson and Jencia were hiding their skills could not be ruled out.
"Oh, but who came in first?" I asked the question casually, like it was out of pure curiosity. Who had really opened the rift? Unless the three of them were working together, I determined that this question alone would allow me to figure each of them out.
"I'm not sure. I think we all came in together..."
"It was so simultaneous that I can't say who got here first."
"You ask strange questions."
I guess I wasn't allowed to get my hands on that information so easily. Ugh, fuck. This was like playing Mafia.
***
An unknown person had opened the rift. This trampled on many parts of my plan. First was the issue of loot distribution.
"Okay then, it's decided."
At the end of our discussion, we decided that Missha, Mr. Bear, and I would take three shares each, and Carlson and Jencia—Jenson for short—would each take one. The world of adventurers was a heartless one.
"It's not that much of a loss. You'll take all the leftover essences."
"Okay..."
This strategy of kicking away the ladder was the same one Hikurod and Raven had used on me in the Bloody Citadel, and what I was going to use on these guys too. If I made concessions here, what would be left?
He has more compassion than he seems to. I wasn't going to give them anything.
My plan had been to open the rift on the third day. Then, once we had a team of first-floor regulars, I was going to let them take care of all the dirty work and take everything for myself. However, we now had to deal with the variable of Mr. Bear, and there was no choice but to make considerable concessions in the loot distribution process. For now, Missha had been selected to eat the guardian's essence, but if a Numbers Item or Rift Stone were to drop, I'd have to roll the dice against Mr. Bear.
Ugh, I'm not confident in dice-rolling.
My stomach hurt already. I wasn't confident I could win. This was why I tried to avoid the variable of chance.
"Let's get going." I shook off my lingering disappointment and moved forward. Behind me were Jenson on both sides, then Mr. Bear, then Missha.
Crackle!
Like we were walking on thin ice, I could hear the sound of cracking with each step. It wasn't exactly an inaccurate comparison. We were traveling over a frozen lake right now. This was the one silver lining in the middle of this mess.
I guess I can use the items I've prepared.
There were a total of four rifts on the first floor. Depending on the type, there were differences in the monsters that appeared, their difficulty, and the rewards. Which one should we go to? After much consideration, I chose one, and luckily, it was the same one I was walking through right now.
[Glacier Cave]
A particular rank-eight monster appeared in the Den of Beasts on the second floor, and this particular rift could be opened by offering that monster's mana stone to an altar. My only reason for selecting this rift was Missha. Well, I had also reached level four and now had space for one more essence.
But there aren't really any to consume.
Even if this was a rift, it was one on the first floor. Even the guardians were only rank seven, and they didn't spit out an essence that suited me.
That's probably why this man willingly gave up the essence in the first place.
Anyway, I decided that it would be more efficient to focus on Missha's development for now and fill in the empty slot with a better essence later.
Wait a second. Didn't Ainar leave for the holy land last time after I did something similar?
That won't happen again... right?
"Why did you suddenly stop?"
"It's nothing." I shook off the thoughts that suddenly popped into my head and focused on my surroundings. At least I made it inside a rift. Besides, with an unknown mafioso in our midst, this was not the time to be idle.
Shaaaaaa.
Frozen snow sat on the mountaintop, snowflakes fluttering and scattering down from above, and the sunlight reflecting on the ice made everything feel warmer.
It's weird to be in a place like this after always being somewhere dark.
After walking for about thirty minutes, the lake area ended and a suspicious cave leading underground appeared. A monster was blocking the way.
"Kawww!" It seemed that the Yeti, a rank-seven monster and elite gatekeeper that appeared only in Glacier Cave, had appeared at the very beginning of our journey. As soon as it saw us, it let out a menacing shout.
"D-Do we have to defeat that and head down?" Jencia murmured.
Mr. Bear answered that. "I don't know what this place is like, but in rifts, monsters usually point the way."
This was an answer that would make any gamer nod. For some reason, I was getting even more suspicious now.
"Don't get involved recklessly. You guys stand back," Mr. Bear ordered.
"...Is that really okay?" At his considerateness, Jenson glanced at me and Missha.
Well, I had enough conscience not to ask them to risk their lives to fight a guy like that for only 10 percent of the mana stones, so I just told them to do as he said. They'd only get in the way, anyway.
"I'll go first." Soon, Mr. Bear lowered the super-large crossbow from his back for the first time.
Whooom!
An arrow fired and the battle began.