Chapter 109: Baby Barbarian (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 109: Baby Barbarian (2)
"Ugh!"
"Don't move. Your wound hasn't healed yet."
"...Did you save me?"
"Even used my advanced potion to do it."
Mr. Bear was awake and had a complicated expression on his face. He seemed happy to be alive, but also a little suspicious. Well, he of all people should know how much profit we could have made if he'd died.
"Thank you, thirty million stones would be—"
That may not have been the exact amount, but since it had been Jencia's estimate and she had a lot of plundering experience, it must be about right. Mr. Bear, who at this point in his career would be knowledgeable about the psychology of adventurers, quietly muttered, "...I was lucky."
I agreed. In this situation, how many adventurers would choose to resuscitate someone rather than wait for them to die?
"I'll pay for the advanced potion." Well, duh. "How much is it?"
"Hmm, five million stones should do it."
"...An advanced potion should be around one million."
"Is it? Then it looks like the merchants scammed me."
At my sly dealing, Mr. Bear looked dazed for a second, then smiled. "Certainly, the price of an item can change depending on circumstance." Like the seasoned rank-five adventurer he was, he seemed to have understood exactly what I was saying. "Five million stones... That's a reasonable price."
"Thank you for thinking that."
"...What arrre you guys talking about?"
You keep quiet. The adults are talking.
"But I don't have that much money right now. I'll pay you five million stones once we get back to the city."
"Hmm."
"I'll leave this item with you instead. I'd like you to return it to me once I pay you back." Mr. Bear took out a skull-shaped bracelet and handed it to me. "It's a numbered item. I've only used it once, but it's still worth more than five million stones."
Afterward, Mr. Bear briefly explained the object to me, but even if he hadn't, I already knew what it was. No. 7611: The Deceit of the Necromancer. When the wearer received a fatal blow, they fell into suspended animation and were immune to damage for a certain period of time. It broke after three uses.
I was wondering how he was still alive. It must have been because of this.
I asked him if he wouldn't just give me this instead, but Mr. Bear firmly stated that this was collateral and vowed to pay me with money. "Don't even think about stealing it, Bjorn, son of Yandel."
What the heck, how did you know?
When I flinched, Mr. Bear chuckled. "I've heard of the barbarian that travels with someone from the Cat Tribe. And that young lady also said your real name several times."
"Uhh, did I?"
"Don't worry. I understand the feeling of wanting to avoid attention. I won't be telling anyone."
Well, I was glad. I wasn't sure about anyone else, but it'd get a little annoying if this reached Dwalkie's or Hikurod's ears, since I'd evaded them by saying I received a commission to be here.
"So, what happened? Is the bitch dead? And you two took down the guardian?" Mr. Bear, who had come back from the dead, first finished calculating the cost of his life, then asked what had happened. I just nodded my head because I couldn't go into all the details. Fortunately, Mr. Bear, who knew adventuring etiquette, did not pry. "Little Balkan, Bjorn, son of Yandel. I thought your reputation was exaggerated, but looking at what you've done today, it doesn't seem that's the case."
He must've been surprised that we took down the guardian with just the two of us. Anyway, after deciding on a time and place to meet back in the city and distributing his share of the mana stones, Mr. Bear's wounds were completely healed.
"Bjorn, son of Yandel, and Missha Karlstein. Thank you for saving me. I won't forget this."
With that, the man rode out of the rift through the portal. A cool guy to the end.
After Mr. Bear left, we took a moment to look at The Deceit of the Necromancer. Two out of the three jewels on it glowed. In other words, there were two uses left.
I'll just wear this until I give it back.
Just in case, I clipped the bracelet on my wrist. I remembered Mr. Bear's words to take care of it before returning it but...
Well, I'll make good use of it before that.
Anyway, I set this issue aside and took some time to think.
Five million stones...
In exchange for the highest-quality potion, I had gotten a decent payment. Well, if you compared it to thirty million stones, it was just a drop in the bucket.
I guess I've become a real savage.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at all greedy. Besides, I didn't have to go through the effort of saving him. Whether Mr. Bear was a good guy or a bad guy, if I had just waited patiently, a sum large enough to upgrade my Spirit Imprint to stage six in one go would have landed right in my lap.
I had poured a potion on his wound not for some philosophical reason—like the fact that leaving someone to die for money that could be acquired another way would make me no different from a plunderer—but because of Missha.
"...W-Why arrre you looking at me like that? It's making me anxious again."
"It's nothing."
Whether my code of ethics was corrupted or not, I decided that waiting for a man to die was not something I could do while my colleague was by my side. However, after the dust settled, I began to think.
What if I was alone?
It wouldn't just be to enjoy wealth and glory. In this world, money was power—it was like life itself. If it weren't for Missha, what choice would I have made in the face of that huge temptation?
...That's probably not a question to already be worrying about.
Whether I wanted to or not, as long as I kept working as an adventurer, I would learn the answer someday. So I cut my thoughts off there and packed my things.
"Huh? Are we not going out?"
Where would we go? There were still two things we needed to take with us. I led Missha through the icy passageway. It was originally blocked, but it opened up earlier when the tyrant Tarunbas appeared. If we moved along this passage, we'd reach the second stage we were previously in.
"Wow... how do you know something like that? Information on Rrrifts is very expensive."
"Thanks to Ragna."
"Oh... that woman..." When I used Ragna giving me access to the secret library as an excuse, Missha accepted it and moved on. Maybe it was because she didn't read any, but she tended to believe me when I said I read something in a book.
Bam!
After reaching the second stage, I climbed the stairs and smashed the third pillar from the top. This item, which I had overlooked in favor of observing the mafioso, permanently increased Cold Resistance when taken.
He must've been surprised that we took down the guardian with just the two of us. Anyway, after deciding on a time and place to meet back in the city and distributing his share of the mana stones, Mr. Bear's wounds were completely healed.
"Bjorn, son of Yandel, and Missha Karlstein. Thank you for saving me. I won't forget this."
With that, the man rode out of the rift through the portal. A cool guy to the end.
After Mr. Bear left, we took a moment to look at The Deceit of the Necromancer. Two out of the three jewels on it glowed. In other words, there were two uses left.
I'll just wear this until I give it back.
Just in case, I clipped the bracelet on my wrist. I remembered Mr. Bear's words to take care of it before returning it but...
Well, I'll make good use of it before that.
Anyway, I set this issue aside and took some time to think.
Five million stones...
In exchange for the highest-quality potion, I had gotten a decent payment. Well, if you compared it to thirty million stones, it was just a drop in the bucket.
I guess I've become a real savage.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at all greedy. Besides, I didn't have to go through the effort of saving him. Whether Mr. Bear was a good guy or a bad guy, if I had just waited patiently, a sum large enough to upgrade my Spirit Imprint to stage six in one go would have landed right in my lap.
I had poured a potion on his wound not for some philosophical reason—like the fact that leaving someone to die for money that could be acquired another way would make me no different from a plunderer—but because of Missha.
"...W-Why arrre you looking at me like that? It's making me anxious again."
"It's nothing."
Whether my code of ethics was corrupted or not, I decided that waiting for a man to die was not something I could do while my colleague was by my side. However, after the dust settled, I began to think.
What if I was alone?
It wouldn't just be to enjoy wealth and glory. In this world, money was power—it was like life itself. If it weren't for Missha, what choice would I have made in the face of that huge temptation?
...That's probably not a question to already be worrying about.
Whether I wanted to or not, as long as I kept working as an adventurer, I would learn the answer someday. So I cut my thoughts off there and packed my things.
"Huh? Are we not going out?"
Where would we go? There were still two things we needed to take with us. I led Missha through the icy passageway. It was originally blocked, but it opened up earlier when the tyrant Tarunbas appeared. If we moved along this passage, we'd reach the second stage we were previously in.
"Wow... how do you know something like that? Information on Rrrifts is very expensive."
"Thanks to Ragna."
"Oh... that woman..." When I used Ragna giving me access to the secret library as an excuse, Missha accepted it and moved on. Maybe it was because she didn't read any, but she tended to believe me when I said I read something in a book.
Bam!
After reaching the second stage, I climbed the stairs and smashed the third pillar from the top. This item, which I had overlooked in favor of observing the mafioso, permanently increased Cold Resistance when taken.
[You have taken An Ice Chunk Imbued with Mana. Your Cold Resistance has permanently increased by +1.]
Since Missha had enough Cold Resistance, I took it. I was planning on giving her the next thing, though. After passing through the first stage, we left Glacier Cave. Then we passed the frozen lake and headed to the starting point.
Bam!
After breaking a small pond near the starting point with my mace, I dove into the ice water and took out a red bead made of ice.
"Here, eat."
"Shouldn't you tell me what it is firrrst?"
Would I feed you something bad?
Still, I offered a brief explanation, which rid Missha of her anxiety, and she swallowed it.
[Missha Karlstein has taken the Ice Crystal. Her Cold Sensitivity has permanently increased by +3.]
In truth, the Ice Crystal was Glacier Cave's signature item. In addition to increasing the user's sensitivity, you could eat it up to three times, so whenever I was building an ice-type character, I always came to Glacier Cave at the beginning of the game.
I'll have to come back here again after the three-month cooldown.
I was quite cold from diving into the water, so I built a bonfire and dried myself off. Then I put on the clothes I had taken off earlier. "We're done now."
"Oh, arrre we finally leaving?"
You wish.
I took a blanket out of my bag.
"...Why are you opening up a blanket?"
"We didn't sleep much on night watch. Let's get some rest before we leave." There was no safer place in the labyrinth than a cleared rift. It was a bit cold, but there was no better place than this to get a good night's sleep. "Don't worry. There is no one here but us."
"...I-I see. So are we just resting for a short while?"
"Yes. It's cold, so come here. Let's share the blanket."
"...Sh-should we?"
A cold breeze brushed past my nose. The campfire was warm. It was nighttime, so the dark blue Milky Way spread across the sky above and twinkled.
"Bjorn... are you sleeping?"
Honkkk!
"D-Does that mean you arrre?"
We closed our eyes for a while.
***
[You have entered the first-floor Crystal Cave.]
Rank-five adventurer Abman Urikfried opened his eyes in the Crystal Cave and let out a long breath. It was then that he realized.
...I'm alive.
After leaving the team he'd been a part of for a long time due to an incident, he had been working on his own. As a result, he faced many dangers, since the labyrinth was not an easy place to navigate alone. But it had never been as dangerous as it had been this time around. He'd knocked on death's door before just barely coming back to life.
...I was lucky.
He kept thinking about this, but it was true. Despite running into a disturbed bitch who had entered the rift and hidden her identity to loot others, there had been an adventurer in the team who had been kind enough to save him without having any connection to him. He also happened to have an advanced potion. What were the odds of that?
I'll have to make an offering to the temple when I get back or something.
No matter how he looked at it, it was truly a miracle. After enjoying the afterglow of survival for a while, though, he shifted gears.
Anyway—Bjorn, son of Yandel?
Little Balkan, Bjorn, son of Yandel. He had heard his name many times in the city. Of course, back then, he hadn't thought much of it, just that there was a peculiar new fellow in their midst. To a rank-five adventurer like him, an adventurer with an epithet was nothing strange.
He's an interesting one.
He was different from the average barbarian. Although he may have seemed simple and ignorant, he was skilled, quick-witted, and good at negotiating. To put it bluntly, he was like a barbarian who had been adventuring for a long time. Pure, but never naïve. That was how he'd managed to notice the black heart of a woman he didn't even know.
Earned an epithet in the third month and already this seasoned? He'll be big one day.
He harbored no ill will toward him. No, on the contrary, all he felt was gratitude. They said it was the fate of an adventurer to chase after money, but how many adventurers had he met had gotten swallowed up by money instead? Asking for five million stones for treatment? It could be said that the barbarian had already done his duty as an adventurer by not just stripping Abman of his equipment. This only seemed more special when you considered the large number of people who had seemingly forgotten that duty.
That's probably why that woman follows him so.
Abman recalled the cat woman who appeared to be the man's teammate. The barbarian had given her the Yeti and Guardian essences for nothing in return.
That woman is very lucky too.
It must have been a blessing to have a comrade like that. If only his old teammates were half as great as that man, he wouldn't be working alone like this.
No, wait...
At first, it was just a fleeting thought. However, his expression shifted as he seriously considered it. He was starting to doubt whether he should work alone because of this incident.
Certainly, a guy like that might not be bad. Even I can't work alone forever. And it looks like they only have two people too.
Soon, Abman came to a decision. The various clans and regular parties that had tried to recruit him would be disgruntled if they found out, but... oh well.
I'll have to bring it up when we meet up again in the city.
He liked that barbarian very much.
[You have taken An Ice Chunk Imbued with Mana. Your Cold Resistance has permanently increased by +1.]
Since Missha had enough Cold Resistance, I took it. I was planning on giving her the next thing, though. After passing through the first stage, we left Glacier Cave. Then we passed the frozen lake and headed to the starting point.
Bam!
After breaking a small pond near the starting point with my mace, I dove into the ice water and took out a red bead made of ice.
"Here, eat."
"Shouldn't you tell me what it is firrrst?"
Would I feed you something bad?
Still, I offered a brief explanation, which rid Missha of her anxiety, and she swallowed it.
[Missha Karlstein has taken the Ice Crystal. Her Cold Sensitivity has permanently increased by +3.]
In truth, the Ice Crystal was Glacier Cave's signature item. In addition to increasing the user's sensitivity, you could eat it up to three times, so whenever I was building an ice-type character, I always came to Glacier Cave at the beginning of the game.
I'll have to come back here again after the three-month cooldown.
I was quite cold from diving into the water, so I built a bonfire and dried myself off. Then I put on the clothes I had taken off earlier. "We're done now."
"Oh, arrre we finally leaving?"
You wish.
I took a blanket out of my bag.
"...Why are you opening up a blanket?"
"We didn't sleep much on night watch. Let's get some rest before we leave." There was no safer place in the labyrinth than a cleared rift. It was a bit cold, but there was no better place than this to get a good night's sleep. "Don't worry. There is no one here but us."
"...I-I see. So are we just resting for a short while?"
"Yes. It's cold, so come here. Let's share the blanket."
"...Sh-should we?"
A cold breeze brushed past my nose. The campfire was warm. It was nighttime, so the dark blue Milky Way spread across the sky above and twinkled.
"Bjorn... are you sleeping?"
Honkkk!
"D-Does that mean you arrre?"
We closed our eyes for a while.
***
[You have entered the first-floor Crystal Cave.]
Rank-five adventurer Abman Urikfried opened his eyes in the Crystal Cave and let out a long breath. It was then that he realized.
...I'm alive.
After leaving the team he'd been a part of for a long time due to an incident, he had been working on his own. As a result, he faced many dangers, since the labyrinth was not an easy place to navigate alone. But it had never been as dangerous as it had been this time around. He'd knocked on death's door before just barely coming back to life.
...I was lucky.
He kept thinking about this, but it was true. Despite running into a disturbed bitch who had entered the rift and hidden her identity to loot others, there had been an adventurer in the team who had been kind enough to save him without having any connection to him. He also happened to have an advanced potion. What were the odds of that?
I'll have to make an offering to the temple when I get back or something.
No matter how he looked at it, it was truly a miracle. After enjoying the afterglow of survival for a while, though, he shifted gears.
Anyway—Bjorn, son of Yandel?
Little Balkan, Bjorn, son of Yandel. He had heard his name many times in the city. Of course, back then, he hadn't thought much of it, just that there was a peculiar new fellow in their midst. To a rank-five adventurer like him, an adventurer with an epithet was nothing strange.
He's an interesting one.
He was different from the average barbarian. Although he may have seemed simple and ignorant, he was skilled, quick-witted, and good at negotiating. To put it bluntly, he was like a barbarian who had been adventuring for a long time. Pure, but never naïve. That was how he'd managed to notice the black heart of a woman he didn't even know.
Earned an epithet in the third month and already this seasoned? He'll be big one day.
He harbored no ill will toward him. No, on the contrary, all he felt was gratitude. They said it was the fate of an adventurer to chase after money, but how many adventurers had he met had gotten swallowed up by money instead? Asking for five million stones for treatment? It could be said that the barbarian had already done his duty as an adventurer by not just stripping Abman of his equipment. This only seemed more special when you considered the large number of people who had seemingly forgotten that duty.
That's probably why that woman follows him so.
Abman recalled the cat woman who appeared to be the man's teammate. The barbarian had given her the Yeti and Guardian essences for nothing in return.
That woman is very lucky too.
It must have been a blessing to have a comrade like that. If only his old teammates were half as great as that man, he wouldn't be working alone like this.
No, wait...
At first, it was just a fleeting thought. However, his expression shifted as he seriously considered it. He was starting to doubt whether he should work alone because of this incident.
Certainly, a guy like that might not be bad. Even I can't work alone forever. And it looks like they only have two people too.
Soon, Abman came to a decision. The various clans and regular parties that had tried to recruit him would be disgruntled if they found out, but... oh well.
I'll have to bring it up when we meet up again in the city.
He liked that barbarian very much.