Chapter 167: Great Demon Realm (2)

Translator: RaidenTL

Chapter 167: Great Demon Realm (2)

The moment the glowing red essence floated up, the looks in the eyes of the group of adventurers, which had previously only been filled with the thought of getting some rest, sharpened. It was like a mirror, since our expressions couldn't have been much different.

A heavy silence fell, but as suited quick-thinking adventurers, it didn't last long. The first to open his mouth was the hammer-wielding warrior on the other side. "An essence has appeared from the monster we took down."

"Um, Mr. Nelbo..."

"You can stand back, Mr. Wizard. I'll take care of this."

So, you're the leader.

It seemed this guy had already decided what stance he would be taking in this situation—claiming ownership of the essence.

Chuckle.

I honestly hadn't even expected anything else. These were the same bastards who couldn't even wait a few minutes and interrupted our fight. "Prepare for battle," I muttered.

I said that more for the other side to hear rather than my teammates, a warning that blood would be shed if they were unreasonable here.

"Um, Mr. Yandel..." Raven said, concerned. It was similar to how the wizard on the other side said, "Um, Mr. Nelbo..." to the hammer warrior. Wizards really did seem to be reluctant when it came to these sorts of things. Was it because they grew up with affluence?

I summarized the situation in one sentence. "Don't panic. It's just five more monsters in the form of humans."

With that, the other side recognized that I was the leader too. The hammer-wielding warrior fixed his eyes on me and spoke, the words carrying with them a strange weight. "You're that guy from...?"

"Do you know me?"

Instead of answering, the warrior lifted the visor of his helmet. The problem was, I still didn't know who he was. Had I met him before? I was sure I would remember those awfully thick brows. When I looked at him with zero recognition in my eyes, the hammer warrior took off his helmet in frustration.

Flash!

A pure white scalp glistened under the light of the white magic spheres floating in the air. Then I remembered. "...Baldy!"

It was the guy I met when I went to negotiate with the district chief. He had tried to farm accomplishment points off of catching me. To think he would be disguising himself with a helmet.

"Pft!" For some reason, the opposing team's members burst into laughter.

Embarrassed, Baldy turned red. "...Do you want to die, savage?" Baldy put on his helmet again and said, "You'd better watch what you say from now on. There's no district chief to protect you here."

What now? If he knew what my relationship with the district chief was, he wouldn't be able to say something like that. Well, it didn't matter. "And you'd better get lost. Unless you want to lose that head too."

"So, you want to do this, huh?"

When I took a step forward, Baldy did the same. The distance between us narrowed, the essence in the middle of us both. The air grew heavy and a chill that couldn't even be warmed by the heat of the canyon took over.

Zippp.

Ahead of us, Baldy's archer pulled his bow.

Click.

From behind, I could hear Mr. Bear loading his crossbow. In the silence, we could almost hear each other's breathing. It was like a thread pulled taut. The moment the thread snapped, there would be a bloodbath. Baldy and I both knew this.

"Baldy, if you leave now, we'll give you the mana stone."

"I see math isn't your forté, savage. We took the monster down. Of course, the mana stone and essence are all ours."

No one backed down. Only adventuring parties in the top 30 percent made it to the fifth floor. Even if we got our hands on that essence, the death of even a single team member would be more of a loss.

Squeeze.

Yet we gripped our weapons and narrowed the distance anyway. Cold sweat ran down my back.

Stupid, greedy, bald bastard.

According to custom, we had ownership. He had probably intended to follow that custom at first, handing over the mana stone coolly. Their interference in our battle was likely just the result of wanting to rest as quickly as possible. The problem was that an essence had appeared.

...Is there no other option but fighting?

Gradually, I let go of my uncertainty and assumed the worst. The current situation was kind of like a game of chicken. Whoever backed down first would lose. And if everyone wanted to be the winner, this would end in catastrophe.

"Baldy, this is your last warning." I didn't like just running my mouth, but I attempted using words this time.

"Wow, I'm scared out of my mind." That was a no, then.

With this, I made up my mind. If he really wanted it, I'd see this through to the end. Without that amount of determination, I wouldn't be able to survive in this heartless world of adventurers.

Now that it's come to this, I'll have to consume the essence for now.

The original plan had been to store the Ifrit's essence in a Magic Vial and sell it. This essence didn't suit me, Ainar, or Missha.

Step.

However, an essence was always helpful if consumed. I'd rather absorb it myself than give it to that bastard. The cost of erasing an essence was still low for me, so I'd milk it to the bone, then toss it.

We'll fight by shoving them off. We won't be able to take their equipment, but winning comes first right now.

Okay, I'd pretty much finished gathering my thoughts. Time to put them into action. But just as I was about to step forward—

"Everyone, stop!"

"Yes. Mr. Yandel, put down your weapon."

The wizards on both sides stepped forward and our confrontation entered a new phase.

"Mr. Wizard? I thought I told you to stay put."

"Mr. Nelbo, quit talking like that. It doesn't make you seem as important as you think it does." Baldy was silent. "Answer me." Still nothing. "If you keep acting like this, I'm not entering the labyrinth with you next month."

"...I'll stop." Baldy immediately lowered his tail at the scolding of the wizard, who looked like a young boy. No wonder this dignified and sassy wizard had stood back. He had just been playing along.

I couldn't hide my disgust.

Bald and a phony?

Now I didn't even want to speak to him anymore. Anyway, the tension faded after Baldy lowered his weapon and stepped back.

"The pattern on your robe. Altemion School, right?"

"Yes. You're from the Warton School?"

"Haha, that's right."

"Baldy, if you leave now, we'll give you the mana stone."

"I see math isn't your forté, savage. We took the monster down. Of course, the mana stone and essence are all ours."

No one backed down. Only adventuring parties in the top 30 percent made it to the fifth floor. Even if we got our hands on that essence, the death of even a single team member would be more of a loss.

Squeeze.

Yet we gripped our weapons and narrowed the distance anyway. Cold sweat ran down my back.

Stupid, greedy, bald bastard.

According to custom, we had ownership. He had probably intended to follow that custom at first, handing over the mana stone coolly. Their interference in our battle was likely just the result of wanting to rest as quickly as possible. The problem was that an essence had appeared.

...Is there no other option but fighting?

Gradually, I let go of my uncertainty and assumed the worst. The current situation was kind of like a game of chicken. Whoever backed down first would lose. And if everyone wanted to be the winner, this would end in catastrophe.

"Baldy, this is your last warning." I didn't like just running my mouth, but I attempted using words this time.

"Wow, I'm scared out of my mind." That was a no, then.

With this, I made up my mind. If he really wanted it, I'd see this through to the end. Without that amount of determination, I wouldn't be able to survive in this heartless world of adventurers.

Now that it's come to this, I'll have to consume the essence for now.

The original plan had been to store the Ifrit's essence in a Magic Vial and sell it. This essence didn't suit me, Ainar, or Missha.

Step.

However, an essence was always helpful if consumed. I'd rather absorb it myself than give it to that bastard. The cost of erasing an essence was still low for me, so I'd milk it to the bone, then toss it.

We'll fight by shoving them off. We won't be able to take their equipment, but winning comes first right now.

Okay, I'd pretty much finished gathering my thoughts. Time to put them into action. But just as I was about to step forward—

"Everyone, stop!"

"Yes. Mr. Yandel, put down your weapon."

The wizards on both sides stepped forward and our confrontation entered a new phase.

"Mr. Wizard? I thought I told you to stay put."

"Mr. Nelbo, quit talking like that. It doesn't make you seem as important as you think it does." Baldy was silent. "Answer me." Still nothing. "If you keep acting like this, I'm not entering the labyrinth with you next month."

"...I'll stop." Baldy immediately lowered his tail at the scolding of the wizard, who looked like a young boy. No wonder this dignified and sassy wizard had stood back. He had just been playing along.

I couldn't hide my disgust.

Bald and a phony?

Now I didn't even want to speak to him anymore. Anyway, the tension faded after Baldy lowered his weapon and stepped back.

"The pattern on your robe. Altemion School, right?"

"Yes. You're from the Warton School?"

"Haha, that's right."

I knew about the Warton School too. Not only was it a fairly large school, but I could distinctly remember that what made it unique was that they poured all their resources into water-attribute magic.

"I'm Efrain Bello."

"Arua Raven."

First, the wizards introduced themselves. Then, unlike the adventurers, who had immediately pulled out their weapons, the two of them shared brief pleasantries.

"How is the Master of Altemion? I saw him a year ago at the academic conference."

"Well, Master is the same as usual. And Warton's master? Still researching?"

"Haha, of course. It is our earnest desire."

It was a sort of, We're family! conversation. It was like seeing high society in action. It was probably an effort not to complicate things since wizards all knew each other one way or another.

"So, what are you going to do now?"

Soon, Raven got to the point. "You're aware that staking your claim on the essence of the monster we were hunting is far-fetched, right?"

"Hmm, I don't think it's entirely far-fetched. Customs are just customs, after all. You can't deny that we got involved. So it's highly likely that the committee will recognize this as a personal dispute between adventurers."

Unlike the rest of us, who were about to fight like beasts, the wizards tried to find a solution to the problem through conversation.

"Although it may just be customary, it's hard for those who broke said customs to be seen in a good light. But to go all the way to the committee over one essence... I think it would be more reasonable for your side to just give it up."

"That's..." The opposing wizard trailed off. That meant our wizard had won the argument. "Yes, it is. So we'll forfeit it. I didn't want to do something like this in the first place."

So things could be resolved like this too.

I guess I really was fated to be a barbarian.

I lowered my mace. I didn't end up using it today, but there would definitely come a day when I would have to. That was how the labyrinth was.

"M-Mr. Bello?"

"Stop being a bad sport."

"Well, in this industry, we all have our own methods..."

Baldy implored him to reconsider, but the wizard's authority was unshakeable. "Then I don't know you well at all, Mr. Nelbo. This isn't defending our rights—it's greed. I think I've shown you enough respect as the leader. But how is this any different from being plunderers?"

Baldy couldn't say anything in response to the wizard's valid remarks and groaned. That didn't make me feel that good inside, though. I was starting to get curious about how it would feel to crush that shiny head.

"Mr. Yandel, what are you going to do with the essence?" While Baldy was getting scolded by the wizard, we discussed how to dispose of the essence.

"Ahem!" Ainar's eyes clearly said look at me, but I went with my original plan.

"We'll put it in a Magic Vial and sell it in the city."

"Nice and neat."

I was going to feed Ainar a better essence later.

I don't have the money to feed her an essence right now, anyway.

Typically, when a team member took an essence, they paid the team half of its selling price. Well, Missha and I could leave our part as debt, but it wasn't clear whether Mr. Bear and Raven would agree to that.

I knew about the Warton School too. Not only was it a fairly large school, but I could distinctly remember that what made it unique was that they poured all their resources into water-attribute magic.

"I'm Efrain Bello."

"Arua Raven."

First, the wizards introduced themselves. Then, unlike the adventurers, who had immediately pulled out their weapons, the two of them shared brief pleasantries.

"How is the Master of Altemion? I saw him a year ago at the academic conference."

"Well, Master is the same as usual. And Warton's master? Still researching?"

"Haha, of course. It is our earnest desire."

It was a sort of, We're family! conversation. It was like seeing high society in action. It was probably an effort not to complicate things since wizards all knew each other one way or another.

"So, what are you going to do now?"

Soon, Raven got to the point. "You're aware that staking your claim on the essence of the monster we were hunting is far-fetched, right?"

"Hmm, I don't think it's entirely far-fetched. Customs are just customs, after all. You can't deny that we got involved. So it's highly likely that the committee will recognize this as a personal dispute between adventurers."

Unlike the rest of us, who were about to fight like beasts, the wizards tried to find a solution to the problem through conversation.

"Although it may just be customary, it's hard for those who broke said customs to be seen in a good light. But to go all the way to the committee over one essence... I think it would be more reasonable for your side to just give it up."

"That's..." The opposing wizard trailed off. That meant our wizard had won the argument. "Yes, it is. So we'll forfeit it. I didn't want to do something like this in the first place."

So things could be resolved like this too.

I guess I really was fated to be a barbarian.

I lowered my mace. I didn't end up using it today, but there would definitely come a day when I would have to. That was how the labyrinth was.

"M-Mr. Bello?"

"Stop being a bad sport."

"Well, in this industry, we all have our own methods..."

Baldy implored him to reconsider, but the wizard's authority was unshakeable. "Then I don't know you well at all, Mr. Nelbo. This isn't defending our rights—it's greed. I think I've shown you enough respect as the leader. But how is this any different from being plunderers?"

Baldy couldn't say anything in response to the wizard's valid remarks and groaned. That didn't make me feel that good inside, though. I was starting to get curious about how it would feel to crush that shiny head.

"Mr. Yandel, what are you going to do with the essence?" While Baldy was getting scolded by the wizard, we discussed how to dispose of the essence.

"Ahem!" Ainar's eyes clearly said look at me, but I went with my original plan.

"We'll put it in a Magic Vial and sell it in the city."

"Nice and neat."

I was going to feed Ainar a better essence later.

I don't have the money to feed her an essence right now, anyway.

Typically, when a team member took an essence, they paid the team half of its selling price. Well, Missha and I could leave our part as debt, but it wasn't clear whether Mr. Bear and Raven would agree to that.

"Ainarrr, cheer up. If we sell that one essence, you can buy tens of thousands of cotton candies. Hmm?"

"T-Tens of thousands?" Ainar stumbled at the overwhelming unit of measurement before rallying her strength. I guess she didn't think this option was all that bad anymore.

Even still, she'll have to start with paying back the money I lent her first.

Anyway, once our discussion about the essence was over, Raven stored the Ifrit's essence in the Magic Vial, and we made way for the other team to pass. That would have been the end of it if they had just passed us by.

"You, what's your name?" Baldy asked, stopping in front of me.

The heck? Is he threatening me right now?

When I eyed him up and down, he cleared up the misunderstanding. "No, I mean... You could argue this is a fated meeting, after all. I can at least ask for your name."

Fate, my ass. Still, I gave him my name. "It's Bjorn, son of Yandel."

"Bjorn, son of Yandel?" Baldy cocked his head as if he'd heard the name somewhere. He revealed his name in turn. "I'm Meltasen Nelbo."

So, it wasn't Hans Nelbo. That set my mind at ease a bit. "Then goodbye."

It would be weird to shake hands here, so I ended the conversation. Baldy smiled sharply and continued walking. Starting with him, his colleagues passed us one by one—shieldsman, swordsman, wizard, and archer, in that order.

The archer froze right in front of me. The reason was simple—because I glared at him, hard.

"Ugh, I'm tired as hell. Let's just take it down."

If it weren't for this bastard, this bullshit wouldn't have gone down in the first place. In some ways, he irked me more than—

"Hans! What are you doing? We're leaving."

Soon, the archer averted his eyes and walked away. I froze like a statue. So there was a Hans.

***

The twenty-first day dawned. It had already been four days since we'd entered the fifth floor. We continued to follow the road downward, hunting monsters as we went. In the middle of that, Ainar also reached level four.

She hit level four after entering the labyrinth just three times?

In some ways, she'd grown even faster than I. I wished someone would give me a free ride, too. Anyway, there were a few times we found ourselves in rough spots while fighting monsters, but the expedition itself was going smoothly. I had been worried that something might happen because of Hans.

Maybe it ended with the essence...

This was an optimistic thought. If you looked at it closely, it even seemed plausible. Even though we ended up getting through the situation all right, we could have ended up fighting five against five, a battle where the losers would have had to delete their characters. Put simply, the Hans effect might have ended with the essence drop.

No, what the hell am I thinking? Goddamn bastards.

I'd never really believed in jinxes until I met Hans.

"Mr. Yandel, do you really still have to do that?" When I temporarily stopped to update the map, Raven carefully spoke up.

"What do you mean?"

"...I get that you're working hard, but we won't be able to get back by reading that anyway." Spoken like a wizard who valued results over effort.

I had no rebuttal to make. In truth, I wasn't confident we could return to where we started with this map, either. That was how complicated the roads of the Great Demon Realm were. It wasn't just made up of several paths—some spots had to be climbed over with a rope, too.

"If I keep going, I'll get better. It will be better by next time."

I was Team Apple Narak's guide. Although I wanted to live solely as a barbarian warrior, harsh reality had forced me down this path. Therefore, I had to practice doing this. I was sure Rotmiller hadn't been all that good in the beginning, either.

"Well, I can't say anything to that... But, isn't it hard?"

"Well, it is annoying. But it's also fun in some ways."

I wasn't just saying that; I was being sincere. First, this could be considered a qualification, so it felt like I was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠growing and developing. It was better to be safe than sorry, after all. If there ever came a time when I was stranded like back in the Witch's Forest, this ability I was honing now would help me.

More importantly, if I become a scout, leading the team to where I want will become easier.

"So, are we just going to continue down today too?"

"There isn't any other option."

Just like how the third floor consisted of several areas—Orc Colony, Witch's Forest, Ironrock Hill, etcetera—the fifth floor also had named areas. Between these narrow, maze-like paths were wide, disk-shaped terrains just like the starting point. There was also a place where you could enter through a cave on a cliff. We'd discovered three areas like that so far, but all three already had owners.

It seems there are more clans controlling hunting grounds than there were in the game.

As someone who had just entered the fifth floor, this was very frustrating. To think my growth would be hindered not because I didn't have the ability to take down monsters, but because of people.

Damn this reality-patched game.

In order to kill monsters that only appeared in those areas, you had to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pay a fee to the clan occupying it. And even if you paid the fee, you only got the right to a one-time hunt for experience points. I suppose properly capturing human nature in a video game was impossible. In reality, the ladder kick was several times worse.

Kick as much as you want. You think I won't be able to climb higher because of that?

After spending ten years on one game, I'd learned all kinds of tricks and hidden features. I'd also spent an entire year stuck on the fifth floor, so there wasn't a single nook or cranny I didn't know about.

Since we've come down this far, we should be able to see it now...

The road to strength was here.

"Ainarrr, cheer up. If we sell that one essence, you can buy tens of thousands of cotton candies. Hmm?"

"T-Tens of thousands?" Ainar stumbled at the overwhelming unit of measurement before rallying her strength. I guess she didn't think this option was all that bad anymore.

Even still, she'll have to start with paying back the money I lent her first.

Anyway, once our discussion about the essence was over, Raven stored the Ifrit's essence in the Magic Vial, and we made way for the other team to pass. That would have been the end of it if they had just passed us by.

"You, what's your name?" Baldy asked, stopping in front of me.

The heck? Is he threatening me right now?

When I eyed him up and down, he cleared up the misunderstanding. "No, I mean... You could argue this is a fated meeting, after all. I can at least ask for your name."

Fate, my ass. Still, I gave him my name. "It's Bjorn, son of Yandel."

"Bjorn, son of Yandel?" Baldy cocked his head as if he'd heard the name somewhere. He revealed his name in turn. "I'm Meltasen Nelbo."

So, it wasn't Hans Nelbo. That set my mind at ease a bit. "Then goodbye."

It would be weird to shake hands here, so I ended the conversation. Baldy smiled sharply and continued walking. Starting with him, his colleagues passed us one by one—shieldsman, swordsman, wizard, and archer, in that order.

The archer froze right in front of me. The reason was simple—because I glared at him, hard.

"Ugh, I'm tired as hell. Let's just take it down."

If it weren't for this bastard, this bullshit wouldn't have gone down in the first place. In some ways, he irked me more than—

"Hans! What are you doing? We're leaving."

Soon, the archer averted his eyes and walked away. I froze like a statue. So there was a Hans.

***

The twenty-first day dawned. It had already been four days since we'd entered the fifth floor. We continued to follow the road downward, hunting monsters as we went. In the middle of that, Ainar also reached level four.

She hit level four after entering the labyrinth just three times?

In some ways, she'd grown even faster than I. I wished someone would give me a free ride, too. Anyway, there were a few times we found ourselves in rough spots while fighting monsters, but the expedition itself was going smoothly. I had been worried that something might happen because of Hans.

Maybe it ended with the essence...

This was an optimistic thought. If you looked at it closely, it even seemed plausible. Even though we ended up getting through the situation all right, we could have ended up fighting five against five, a battle where the losers would have had to delete their characters. Put simply, the Hans effect might have ended with the essence drop.

No, what the hell am I thinking? Goddamn bastards.

I'd never really believed in jinxes until I met Hans.

"Mr. Yandel, do you really still have to do that?" When I temporarily stopped to update the map, Raven carefully spoke up.

"What do you mean?"

"...I get that you're working hard, but we won't be able to get back by reading that anyway." Spoken like a wizard who valued results over effort.

I had no rebuttal to make. In truth, I wasn't confident we could return to where we started with this map, either. That was how complicated the roads of the Great Demon Realm were. It wasn't just made up of several paths—some spots had to be climbed over with a rope, too.

"If I keep going, I'll get better. It will be better by next time."

I was Team Apple Narak's guide. Although I wanted to live solely as a barbarian warrior, harsh reality had forced me down this path. Therefore, I had to practice doing this. I was sure Rotmiller hadn't been all that good in the beginning, either.

"Well, I can't say anything to that... But, isn't it hard?"

"Well, it is annoying. But it's also fun in some ways."

I wasn't just saying that; I was being sincere. First, this could be considered a qualification, so it felt like I was growing and developing. It was better to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be safe than sorry, after all. If there ever came a time when I was stranded like back in the Witch's Forest, this ability I was honing now would help me.

More importantly, if I become a scout, leading the team to where I want will become easier.

"So, are we just going to continue down today too?"

"There isn't any other option."

Just like how the third floor consisted of several areas—Orc Colony, Witch's Forest, Ironrock Hill, etcetera—the fifth floor also had named areas. Between these narrow, maze-like paths were wide, disk-shaped terrains just like the starting point. There was also a place where you could enter through a cave on a cliff. We'd discovered three areas like that so far, but all three already had owners.

It seems there are more clans controlling hunting grounds than there were in the game.

As someone who had just entered the fifth floor, this was very frustrating. To think my growth would be hindered not because I didn't have the ability to take down monsters, but because of people.

Damn this reality-patched game.

In order to kill monsters that only appeared in those areas, you had to pay a fee to the clan occupying it. And even if you paid the fee, you only got the right to a one-time hunt for experience points. I suppose properly capturing human nature in a video game was impossible. In reality, the ladder kick was several times worse.

Kick as much as you want. You think I won't be able to climb higher because of that?

After spending ten years on one game, I'd learned all kinds of tricks and hidden features. I'd also spent an entire year stuck on the fifth floor, so there wasn't a single nook or cranny I didn't know about.

Since we've come down this far, we should be able to see it now...

The road to strength was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠here.