Chapter 181: Jinx (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 181: Jinx (1)
Hans Chrisen. The name was familiar somehow.
"Uhh! Bjorrrn! That guy is...!"
Even without Missha telling me, I suddenly remembered. All sorts of summoned creatures were surrounding him.
"He's a summoner!" said Raven.
The formation of the summons comprised of one attack type and three support types, averaging about rank seven. Once I identified each of them, I sighed.
No wonder he looked so familiar.
With this, the possibility of it being a similar-looking guy was null. This was Hans G, the guy I had determined to be a player based on his knowledge of Riakis' attack patterns and the appearance conditions for a Death Knight.
God damn it.
What happened when I ran into him last time, again? A Troll showed up on the fourth floor and almost killed everyone. Player or monster, every Hans in this world was a plague.
Step.
My heart grew cold.
I have to kill him.
That single thought dominated my mind.
"Mr. Yandel? Why are you so quiet—?"
I sprinted forward with more power than ever before. The pause right before that was only to gain momentum.
Boom!
Leaving clear footprints on the hard surface of the ground, I closed the distance between myself and the bastard in an instant. But Hans G didn't just sit back and watch, either.
"Kyaaaaaa!" A nearby lizard screamed and spewed fire at me. To be precise, it was a summoned beast of the fire attribute by the name of Naimpi.
Whooosh!
As a rank-seven summon its flames were not very threatening, but when enhanced by buffs from the support-type summons, its firepower increased explosively.
Chhhhhh!
The heat sizzled on my skin. But who cared? "Behelahhh!" My upper body was covered with a shield and the rest of the damage was offset with Flame Resistance. As I ran through the fire, it burned off some skin, but I had to prioritize.
Crunch!
The mace, full of the power of an ogre, made a satisfying sound as it struck true. Simultaneously, Hans G's head exploded, and he collapsed. The death had to have been instant because he turned into light before his body even touched the ground.
"W-What are you doing!" Raven shouted, as my actions were different from my promise to let her observe.
It was not that I couldn't understand why she was pissed, but I could explain later. "Don't come any closer!" I shouted authoritatively, moving swiftly toward my teammates. Then I let go of the breath I'd been holding. "Hup!"
Done. I may have run into a Hans, but I hadn't breathed in its polluted air. So it would be fine. No, it should be fine...
"No way, is it poison?"
Uh, no, but... How should I explain this?
"Yes. Let's give up on this path."
"Pardon? Wait, it's really poison? There was nothing to suggest—"
"Enough. Let's go."
With a somewhat domineering attitude, I led the team back the way we came. It seemed Raven was unfamiliar with this side of me. She started following without question but had an unhappy look on her face as she did so.
"This is far enough." After walking for about five minutes, I stopped. Just as I was about to turn around and explain what had happened, I tripped on a jagged stone and stumbled. "Uhh!" Managing to regain my balance somehow, I didn't fall, but even this didn't feel like a coincidence. Could it be that the Hans effect had begun? But that was just a doppelganger, not the real Hans. Maybe the misfortune would end here...
"Yandel! There are more ahead!"
At Mr. Bear's shout, I quickly looked around again. Two doppelgangers were approaching. I knew for a fact what they were as soon as I laid eyes on them for one simple reason: the two people who emerged from the darkness were wearing the exact same face.
God damn it.
I squeezed my eyes shut, then opened them again, but the scene in front of me remained unchanged. Was this hell?
"I'm... C-Chri... sen."
"H-Hans... Chri... sen..."
Hans was being copy-pasted.
It was just like the first time. Heedless of the flames, I rushed forward straight away and crushed his head. In this case, teamwork was just a bonus, not a necessity.
"Everyone hold your breath. We're going through!"
"Huh? What?"
"There is no time to explain!"
Since there was no other way to go, I held my breath and sprinted through the passage. When we finally got far enough away, I turned around and checked on my teammates.
"Bjorn, your eyes are scary!" cried Ainar.
"What the hell is going on? No matter how I look at it, I don't think there was poison there. Was that someone you know?" Raven demanded. My teammates could not hide their confusion at my strange behavior.
"Yes. I knew him." I calmed myself down and explained everything: that the name of the doppelganger we just met was Hans, and all of the bad things that happened each time I met a Hans.
"Th-this is a big problem! But, what do I do? I breathed!" Having heard the Hans Education lesson I gave to the barbarians, Ainar listened to my personal story and bit her nails anxiously.
"...Sounds like it's not just a coincidence." Like any adventurer who believed in superstition, Mr. Bear also looked concerned.
"Pardon? What do you mean by that?" Raven stood there, her expression clearly saying, What kind of nonsense are you all talking about? Then she burst into laughter. "Pft, Puhahaha!"
Was she a madwoman? How could she laugh in a situation like this?
"I guess you really are a barbarian after all, Mr. Yandel."
"That is a racist statement."
"Oh, I'm sorry if it sounded like that. But... P-Pffft! If you're really worried, do you want a Wizard's Protection?"
A Wizard's Protection? That hadn't existed in the game.
When I cocked my head, Raven explained calmly as if speaking to a child. "Whenever a wizard visits a poor neighborhood, kids come running up to ask us to give them luck. That's a Wizard's Protection."
...So it's just empty words?
"I don't need it."
"Why? It'll at least help calm you down." Raven cackled and said she wasn't just joking around. She started by explaining a study that showed that strongly believing in something could affect the physical body.
"This is far enough." After walking for about five minutes, I stopped. Just as I was about to turn around and explain what had happened, I tripped on a jagged stone and stumbled. "Uhh!" Managing to regain my balance somehow, I didn't fall, but even this didn't feel like a coincidence. Could it be that the Hans effect had begun? But that was just a doppelganger, not the real Hans. Maybe the misfortune would end here...
"Yandel! There are more ahead!"
At Mr. Bear's shout, I quickly looked around again. Two doppelgangers were approaching. I knew for a fact what they were as soon as I laid eyes on them for one simple reason: the two people who emerged from the darkness were wearing the exact same face.
God damn it.
I squeezed my eyes shut, then opened them again, but the scene in front of me remained unchanged. Was this hell?
"I'm... C-Chri... sen."
"H-Hans... Chri... sen..."
Hans was being copy-pasted.
It was just like the first time. Heedless of the flames, I rushed forward straight away and crushed his head. In this case, teamwork was just a bonus, not a necessity.
"Everyone hold your breath. We're going through!"
"Huh? What?"
"There is no time to explain!"
Since there was no other way to go, I held my breath and sprinted through the passage. When we finally got far enough away, I turned around and checked on my teammates.
"Bjorn, your eyes are scary!" cried Ainar.
"What the hell is going on? No matter how I look at it, I don't think there was poison there. Was that someone you know?" Raven demanded. My teammates could not hide their confusion at my strange behavior.
"Yes. I knew him." I calmed myself down and explained everything: that the name of the doppelganger we just met was Hans, and all of the bad things that happened each time I met a Hans.
"Th-this is a big problem! But, what do I do? I breathed!" Having heard the Hans Education lesson I gave to the barbarians, Ainar listened to my personal story and bit her nails anxiously.
"...Sounds like it's not just a coincidence." Like any adventurer who believed in superstition, Mr. Bear also looked concerned.
"Pardon? What do you mean by that?" Raven stood there, her expression clearly saying, What kind of nonsense are you all talking about? Then she burst into laughter. "Pft, Puhahaha!"
Was she a madwoman? How could she laugh in a situation like this?
"I guess you really are a barbarian after all, Mr. Yandel."
"That is a racist statement."
"Oh, I'm sorry if it sounded like that. But... P-Pffft! If you're really worried, do you want a Wizard's Protection?"
A Wizard's Protection? That hadn't existed in the game.
When I cocked my head, Raven explained calmly as if speaking to a child. "Whenever a wizard visits a poor neighborhood, kids come running up to ask us to give them luck. That's a Wizard's Protection."
...So it's just empty words?
"I don't need it."
"Why? It'll at least help calm you down." Raven cackled and said she wasn't just joking around. She started by explaining a study that showed that strongly believing in something could affect the physical body.
It sounds like she's referring to the placebo effect... Who do you think I am?
"Do it."
"Okay. Sure? Oh, how was this done again? Can you bend down for a moment?" When I slumped down on the ground, Raven tapped my shoulders as if to knight me with a rather reverent expression on her face. Then she spoke in an uncharacteristically warm tone. "Everything will be fine. You have inherited my luck."
I didn't know about luck, but I felt my sense of reason coming back. When I thought about it, this was only a jinx. Had there been a Hans around when I ran into the Dragon Slayer?
"Ugh, honestly! Get it together! You're the team leader!"
As per Raven's words, I needed to snap out of it. Even if the Hans effect really did exist, as long as we were inside the rift, meeting Hans's real self was inevitable. All I could do was be more careful than usual.
"Me too! Do me too!"
"Can you... do me afterrr?"
"Ahem, me too."
When my expression relaxed, my teammates gathered in front of Raven like baby birds.
"Ha... Fine. Make a line, everyone." Even as she sighed, Raven bestowed protection on each one of us, even adding words of blessing. Was she always like this? I felt like I was witnessing an unexpected side of her. "Now, tell me. I'm sure you didn't kill him without thinking of the consequences. You know about him already, right? About that Hans, or whatever."
"To some extent." After the blessings had been doled out, I took time to share the information I knew, namely what essence Hans Chrisen had and who his teammates were.
"So, his team is an elven archer, a human warrior, and a wizard?"
"The last I saw it."
"Only four people?"
"Since they're in the rift, it's highly likely there are five people now. He probably put a scout in the remaining seat." The fourth-floor rift opened somewhere above the twenty-fifth floor. Without a scout, finding the rift before it reached full capacity was virtually impossible.
"That does seem likely."
When I told them what I knew about his teammates too, Raven nodded in relief. I had a feeling I knew what she was thinking. Unless there had been a major change, Hans G's team was clearly inferior to us.
"We won't have to worry about any funny business when it comes to splitting the loot with them."
"Funny business is our job."
"If the situation requires it. We don't know anything about the last team yet."
Finishing off our information exchange there, we resumed our expedition. Thankfully, we seemed to be out of their range now, because after that we only ran into our own doppelgangers.
Too bad. I was hoping to learn about the last team in advance.
It seemed our paths hadn't overlapped because the unidentified team showed no signs of appearing. But there was no use being disappointed.
"Oh! Another mana stone box!"
We wandered the cave all day and occasionally opened the boxes that appeared in our path. This was the main reward for the first stage, the Shadow Cave. Since the doppelgangers didn't spit out any mana stones, this was how we could strike a balance.
Still, it's a bit strange.
I thought it was just a feature in the game, but now that I was experiencing it in person, it felt strangely out of place. It almost felt like a real game.
It sounds like she's referring to the placebo effect... Who do you think I am?
"Do it."
"Okay. Sure? Oh, how was this done again? Can you bend down for a moment?" When I slumped down on the ground, Raven tapped my shoulders as if to knight me with a rather reverent expression on her face. Then she spoke in an uncharacteristically warm tone. "Everything will be fine. You have inherited my luck."
I didn't know about luck, but I felt my sense of reason coming back. When I thought about it, this was only a jinx. Had there been a Hans around when I ran into the Dragon Slayer?
"Ugh, honestly! Get it together! You're the team leader!"
As per Raven's words, I needed to snap out of it. Even if the Hans effect really did exist, as long as we were inside the rift, meeting Hans's real self was inevitable. All I could do was be more careful than usual.
"Me too! Do me too!"
"Can you... do me afterrr?"
"Ahem, me too."
When my expression relaxed, my teammates gathered in front of Raven like baby birds.
"Ha... Fine. Make a line, everyone." Even as she sighed, Raven bestowed protection on each one of us, even adding words of blessing. Was she always like this? I felt like I was witnessing an unexpected side of her. "Now, tell me. I'm sure you didn't kill him without thinking of the consequences. You know about him already, right? About that Hans, or whatever."
"To some extent." After the blessings had been doled out, I took time to share the information I knew, namely what essence Hans Chrisen had and who his teammates were.
"So, his team is an elven archer, a human warrior, and a wizard?"
"The last I saw it."
"Only four people?"
"Since they're in the rift, it's highly likely there are five people now. He probably put a scout in the remaining seat." The fourth-floor rift opened somewhere above the twenty-fifth floor. Without a scout, finding the rift before it reached full capacity was virtually impossible.
"That does seem likely."
When I told them what I knew about his teammates too, Raven nodded in relief. I had a feeling I knew what she was thinking. Unless there had been a major change, Hans G's team was clearly inferior to us.
"We won't have to worry about any funny business when it comes to splitting the loot with them."
"Funny business is our job."
"If the situation requires it. We don't know anything about the last team yet."
Finishing off our information exchange there, we resumed our expedition. Thankfully, we seemed to be out of their range now, because after that we only ran into our own doppelgangers.
Too bad. I was hoping to learn about the last team in advance.
It seemed our paths hadn't overlapped because the unidentified team showed no signs of appearing. But there was no use being disappointed.
"Oh! Another mana stone box!"
We wandered the cave all day and occasionally opened the boxes that appeared in our path. This was the main reward for the first stage, the Shadow Cave. Since the doppelgangers didn't spit out any mana stones, this was how we could strike a balance.
Still, it's a bit strange.
I thought it was just a feature in the game, but now that I was experiencing it in person, it felt strangely out of place. It almost felt like a real game.
"The hypothesis going around in the academic world is that the archmage didn't discover the labyrinth but created it."
Perhaps Raven's words back then were true. If someone made the labyrinth, this setup made sense.
What even is this world in the first place?
Was this a game, or another reality? The questions I'd had since the first day I woke up in this world lingered in my mind, but as always, I folded them up and shoved them in a corner again. I wouldn't be able to find an answer in the clues I had right now. Wasting energy on something useless was foolish.
"All the boxes are open now. Almost no doppelgangers, either. What are you going to do?"
"Aren't you supposed to be making the calls here?" I shrugged and handed the reins over to Raven.
What she said was what I was going to say, anyway. "Um, I think we should rest here and head to the center tomorrow."
There you go.
"Why?"
"Because there is a high chance the other teams have already gathered in the center. There's no need to camp together, right?" It was a wizard-like, safety-focused decision. I especially liked the underlying distrust for others in said decision. "What, is there anything you want to say about my judgment?"
"Not at all."
"Hmm, the look in your eyes is weird, though..."
"I was just thinking how glad I am to have a wizard like you on the team." This was sincere. She'd never know how much easier things had gotten since she joined the team.
"...Flattery will get you nowhere."
Yeah, yeah, your shoulders are already at your ears, though.
After that, we set up a rough camp and took turns taking watch as the eighth day came to an end.
That was how day nine started. Waking up a little earlier than usual, we headed to the very center of the cave. We didn't get lost on the way. We had stayed here because of the boxes, but the way to get there was actually really simple. You just had to follow the passage with weeds.
Trudge, trudge.
The closer we got to the center, the more weeds and moss appeared on the wall. Soon, a wide cavity appeared in front of us.
"Finally, the latecomers are here!" Ten adventurers had already gathered inside.
"Oh! Y-You're here, Mr. Yandel!" Oh, of course, Hans G was there too. Did they spend the night here? When we arrived, the adventurers were cleaning up a chaotic campsite. I quickly did a scan.
Hans G's team is as I expected.
None of the members had changed and all four of them were the same as the last time I saw them. The unfamiliar woman with them must have been the newcomer.
The other team is...
I wasn't sure. They were a dwarf, a beastman, and three humans. Their equipment looked roughly on par with ours. The only peculiarity was their sharp eyes. But considering the setup of the rift, that wasn't especially peculiar, either.
"Who is the leader there?" The dwarf came up to us. He was the guy who had called us out for being late as soon as we arrived.
"O-Oh, Mr. Yandel is probably the leader. H-He's the one I told you about."
"Little Balkan?"
"Y-Yes." It looked like they'd already said their hellos. Hans G said something to the dwarf, then greeted me in a friendly tone. "N-Nice to meet you again. To think I'd see you here. Y-You have no idea h-how surprised I was t-to see your doppelganger."
"Enough."
"...Pardon?"
"Don't come closer." I lowered my voice and stopped Hans from approaching. The way I saw it, this much distance was just right for us. There was no need to mask your feelings in this world, right? I turned away from Hans G and spoke to the dwarf. "Identification tag?"
For some reason, it was Hans G who replied. "Oh, haha! I-I already checked their t-tags, so you don't have to—"
Yeah? The way you're acting, it's only making me more anxious.
"Identification tag." I ignored Hans's words and repeated myself.
The dwarf smirked and shot back a request of his own. "You guys take yours out first."
Did he want to kick off a psychological war or something? I didn't particularly feel like avoiding it, but identification came first so I just gave in and showed him. "Now it is your turn."
At my request, the dwarf showed us his. "Now, are we done?"
"...We're done." I nodded.
At that moment, Raven's voice sounded in my head thanks to a transmission spell used to secretly convey messages. "Mr. Yandel. These people are not from the city."
Yeah, you noticed too, then. These bastards are from underground.
"The hypothesis going around in the academic world is that the archmage didn't discover the labyrinth but created it."
Perhaps Raven's words back then were true. If someone made the labyrinth, this setup made sense.
What even is this world in the first place?
Was this a game, or another reality? The questions I'd had since the first day I woke up in this world lingered in my mind, but as always, I folded them up and shoved them in a corner again. I wouldn't be able to find an answer in the clues I had right now. Wasting energy on something useless was foolish.
"All the boxes are open now. Almost no doppelgangers, either. What are you going to do?"
"Aren't you supposed to be making the calls here?" I shrugged and handed the reins over to Raven.
What she said was what I was going to say, anyway. "Um, I think we should rest here and head to the center tomorrow."
There you go.
"Why?"
"Because there is a high chance the other teams have already gathered in the center. There's no need to camp together, right?" It was a wizard-like, safety-focused decision. I especially liked the underlying distrust for others in said decision. "What, is there anything you want to say about my judgment?"
"Not at all."
"Hmm, the look in your eyes is weird, though..."
"I was just thinking how glad I am to have a wizard like you on the team." This was sincere. She'd never know how much easier things had gotten since she joined the team.
"...Flattery will get you nowhere."
Yeah, yeah, your shoulders are already at your ears, though.
After that, we set up a rough camp and took turns taking watch as the eighth day came to an end.
That was how day nine started. Waking up a little earlier than usual, we headed to the very center of the cave. We didn't get lost on the way. We had stayed here because of the boxes, but the way to get there was actually really simple. You just had to follow the passage with weeds.
Trudge, trudge.
The closer we got to the center, the more weeds and moss appeared on the wall. Soon, a wide cavity appeared in front of us.
"Finally, the latecomers are here!" Ten adventurers had already gathered inside.
"Oh! Y-You're here, Mr. Yandel!" Oh, of course, Hans G was there too. Did they spend the night here? When we arrived, the adventurers were cleaning up a chaotic campsite. I quickly did a scan.
Hans G's team is as I expected.
None of the members had changed and all four of them were the same as the last time I saw them. The unfamiliar woman with them must have been the newcomer.
The other team is...
I wasn't sure. They were a dwarf, a beastman, and three humans. Their equipment looked roughly on par with ours. The only peculiarity was their sharp eyes. But considering the setup of the rift, that wasn't especially peculiar, either.
"Who is the leader there?" The dwarf came up to us. He was the guy who had called us out for being late as soon as we arrived.
"O-Oh, Mr. Yandel is probably the leader. H-He's the one I told you about."
"Little Balkan?"
"Y-Yes." It looked like they'd already said their hellos. Hans G said something to the dwarf, then greeted me in a friendly tone. "N-Nice to meet you again. To think I'd see you here. Y-You have no idea h-how surprised I was t-to see your doppelganger."
"Enough."
"...Pardon?"
"Don't come closer." I lowered my voice and stopped Hans from approaching. The way I saw it, this much distance was just right for us. There was no need to mask your feelings in this world, right? I turned away from Hans G and spoke to the dwarf. "Identification tag?"
For some reason, it was Hans G who replied. "Oh, haha! I-I already checked their t-tags, so you don't have to—"
Yeah? The way you're acting, it's only making me more anxious.
"Identification tag." I ignored Hans's words and repeated myself.
The dwarf smirked and shot back a request of his own. "You guys take yours out first."
Did he want to kick off a psychological war or something? I didn't particularly feel like avoiding it, but identification came first so I just gave in and showed him. "Now it is your turn."
At my request, the dwarf showed us his. "Now, are we done?"
"...We're done." I nodded.
At that moment, Raven's voice sounded in my head thanks to a transmission spell used to secretly convey messages. "Mr. Yandel. These people are not from the city."
Yeah, you noticed too, then. These bastards are from underground.