Chapter 283: Adrift (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 283: Adrift (3)
Thud.
As the insect-type monster Kronby disappeared in a burst of light, it dropped a mana stone. I didn't bother picking it up, though. What would I do with it when I didn't even have a pocket to store it in?
I'm going to lose it.
In a way, this was even worse than when I first fell into the labyrinth and had to crawl on three limbs. At least back then, I had underwear.
Let's think about what's going on later and find something to cover up first.
Momentarily overwhelmed by the strange situation I'd found myself in, I quickly compiled a to-do list and resolved each item one by one. First, clothing, one of the necessities of life. Although this was an island that only had trees as far as the eye could see and where monsters disappeared as light the moment they were killed, it wasn't difficult to fulfill this requirement. To start, I was a barbarian anyway.
"...I really get to try everything here, huh?"
First, I picked up a vine that looked like it would fit. Then, securing some pumpkin-sized leaves on the vine, I wrapped it around my waist and, ta-da. With this, the piece of equipment I decided to call Protection of the Tree Elemental was completed.
...This is more durable than I thought it'd be.
As I put on the item I created and moved around, I was surprised by the high quality. I guessed the basics weren't basics for nothing. There was a reason the first humans preferred this look.
I should make her one too.
While I was at it, I made Amelia one as well. Rather than just bottoms, which was enough for me, Amelia's required two parts. But because she was much smaller than me, it didn't take much more time to craft both.
Since it's roomy, the size shouldn't be a problem.
This was one of the few advantages ofthe Protection of the Tree Elemental. Because it was so primitive, it wasn't a problem if it was a little too big. All you had to do was tie the stems tighter.
How long is she going to sleep?
I went up to Amelia and tossed the Protection of the Tree Elemental (F) on top of her body. It was not like I hadn't considered putting it on her, but it'd just make things even more awkward. No matter how I looked at it, putting it on for her would be crossing the line. There was a reason they said that a boy and a girl shouldn't sit together after the age of seven.
Anyway, since I'm not hungry right now, I should make a place to rest.
After fulfilling our clothing requirements, I immediately began preparations for our shelter requirements. This, too, wasn't all that difficult. After digging a pit the size of a hovel, all I had to do was stuff it with the same kind of leaves I'd used to make Protection of the Tree Elemental. I also picked up dry wood and made a bonfire in the center. Surprisingly, lighting the fire was easy.
Is it because my body is overflowing with strength?
When I rubbed some pieces of wood together without pause, it soon began to smoke. There were surprisingly few things in the world that could not be done by force.
Anyway, when does this girl plan to wake up?
After lifting Amelia up and placing her on the bed of leaves, I looked up at the sky. It was already night, but it didn't feel cold thanks to the fire. With a light source secured, I should be able to fight any monsters that came our way without issue. At this point, I moved on to the next item on the agenda.
The problem is food...
That was the third necessity of life and, in terms of survival, the one that always came first.
"Ha, honestly..."
The sighs came freely. It wasn't like this was my first time in the labyrinth. I didn't think I would have to worry about this again.
Growl.
...Where do I get food from?
***
There were no mountains on Farune Island. Except the coast, everything was a flat forest, which meant many natural walls were preventing the light of the bonfire from spreading too far.
These moth-like bastards.
However, the light of the bonfire was still enough to attract nearby monsters. Thanks to that, I had to deal with monsters all night long. Well, I still didn't put out the bonfire, though. Monsters appeared even without light, after all. I determined that it was smarter to fight with my sense of sight secured than without it.
It's not like I'm going to sleep in this situation anyway.
I spent a few more hours fighting back hunger before Amelia finally came to her senses.
"You're finally awake."
"...How did you know?"
"Your breathing got quiet."
This girl was a weird one. It was obvious that she'd woken up, but she kept her eyes closed without saying anything. I guessed she wanted to take stock of the situation first. "...Where are we?"
"Wait, put that on before you get up."
Raising herself up on her elbows, Amelia frowned at the leaves lying on top of her bare body. "Barbarian... did you undress me?"
This was one of the questions I'd expected Amelia to ask me when she woke up, so I was able to answer without missing a beat and without panicking. "Can you really say that after seeing the state I'm in? My clothes were completely gone too."
"...I see." After I turned around, I heard the sound of leaves rustling behind me. Fortunately, I didn't need to explain to her how to put it on. "It's on. You can turn around now."
When I turned back around, Amelia was wearing all the pieces of the Protection of the Tree Elemental (F) I had made. It was a very strange feeling. Now that both of us were wearing something like this, it felt like some sort of costume. I wondered if we'd receive a Costume Effect buff if we fought together.
"So, what is this place?" Amelia didn't seem embarrassed about her clothes at all as she repeated her earlier question with a straight face.
Well, I should have been the one asking that. "This is Farune Island. I don't know how much time has passed, and when I opened my eyes, we were completely naked."
When I gave her a brief summary of the various questions I'd had the moment I opened my eyes, Amelia fell silent. It seemed she needed time to get her thoughts in order.
After giving her about a minute, I asked, "Now then. Tell me why we are in this situation."
"...Why are you asking me?"
What, pretending not to know?
"The stone you were holding flared back then. I'm certain that has something to do with this."
"Yeah, that..." Amelia reached into the air, but the object that had been gone since I opened my eyes did not suddenly appear again.
Oh, right. I should make this clear, too. "Just saying this in case, but I didn't touch that thing. I don't know where it disappeared to."
The problem is food...
That was the third necessity of life and, in terms of survival, the one that always came first.
"Ha, honestly..."
The sighs came freely. It wasn't like this was my first time in the labyrinth. I didn't think I would have to worry about this again.
Growl.
...Where do I get food from?
***
There were no mountains on Farune Island. Except the coast, everything was a flat forest, which meant many natural walls were preventing the light of the bonfire from spreading too far.
These moth-like bastards.
However, the light of the bonfire was still enough to attract nearby monsters. Thanks to that, I had to deal with monsters all night long. Well, I still didn't put out the bonfire, though. Monsters appeared even without light, after all. I determined that it was smarter to fight with my sense of sight secured than without it.
It's not like I'm going to sleep in this situation anyway.
I spent a few more hours fighting back hunger before Amelia finally came to her senses.
"You're finally awake."
"...How did you know?"
"Your breathing got quiet."
This girl was a weird one. It was obvious that she'd woken up, but she kept her eyes closed without saying anything. I guessed she wanted to take stock of the situation first. "...Where are we?"
"Wait, put that on before you get up."
Raising herself up on her elbows, Amelia frowned at the leaves lying on top of her bare body. "Barbarian... did you undress me?"
This was one of the questions I'd expected Amelia to ask me when she woke up, so I was able to answer without missing a beat and without panicking. "Can you really say that after seeing the state I'm in? My clothes were completely gone too."
"...I see." After I turned around, I heard the sound of leaves rustling behind me. Fortunately, I didn't need to explain to her how to put it on. "It's on. You can turn around now."
When I turned back around, Amelia was wearing all the pieces of the Protection of the Tree Elemental (F) I had made. It was a very strange feeling. Now that both of us were wearing something like this, it felt like some sort of costume. I wondered if we'd receive a Costume Effect buff if we fought together.
"So, what is this place?" Amelia didn't seem embarrassed about her clothes at all as she repeated her earlier question with a straight face.
Well, I should have been the one asking that. "This is Farune Island. I don't know how much time has passed, and when I opened my eyes, we were completely naked."
When I gave her a brief summary of the various questions I'd had the moment I opened my eyes, Amelia fell silent. It seemed she needed time to get her thoughts in order.
After giving her about a minute, I asked, "Now then. Tell me why we are in this situation."
"...Why are you asking me?"
What, pretending not to know?
"The stone you were holding flared back then. I'm certain that has something to do with this."
"Yeah, that..." Amelia reached into the air, but the object that had been gone since I opened my eyes did not suddenly appear again.
Oh, right. I should make this clear, too. "Just saying this in case, but I didn't touch that thing. I don't know where it disappeared to."
"Don't worry. I don't doubt you."
Hmm, so I had that much credibility? "So, your answer to my question?"
"...I have a guess, but it's not confirmed."
Tell me what you're thinking, woman. Do you really have to restrict information even in a situation like this?
"Just speak freely. What is that stone and why are we in this situation?" I asked, not bothering to hide my irritation.
"That's..." Amelia trailed off.
The moment she finally parted her lips again, her expression determined, we heard the snap of a nearby branch. We simultaneously lowered our stances and turned in the direction of the sound. That was because there were only insectoid monsters on this island. In other words, it was highly likely that sound had been made by a person.
Except for the crackling of the bonfire, there was a suffocating silence. Because of that, I grew more uneasy. If there were another sound, I might have just assumed it was a random passerby.
"How long are you going to spy on us? Come out," Amelia said into the dark woods, her voice low.
We got a response about five seconds later. "Haha, you make us sound like bad guys."
Five adventurers straightened up from where they were crouching and made their way through the bushes.
What the hell, they were really watching us? Since when? God damn it.
I felt wrong-footed, but I immediately scanned the group in front of us. They were all human and male. Their equipment level seemed about rank five, but there was a clan emblem on their chests. It was an emblem I'd never seen before.
Did they come to the sixth floor with a clan and split off as teams on this island?
Even that explanation seemed a bit iffy, though. Considering recent events, very few adventurers had entered the labyrinth this month. Plus, their presence would have meant that the occupancy requirement of twenty people on this island had been hit. But we were only running into these guys now? Something was fishy here.
As I was thinking that, Amelia openly expressed her wariness, which signaled the start of the conversation. "Why were you spying on us?"
"Don't jump to the wrong conclusion. We spotted a fire in the distance and thought it was our clanmates. When we came to say hello, we saw the state you two were in and just observed you a bit out of surprise. We only found you just a little while ago."
It was a somewhat convincing explanation. Even I would have been curious about a man and woman wearing leaves like primitive people in the center of an island. I would have wondered what their story was, too.
"So, what happened to you?"
"None of your business."
"Haha, don't be so on guard. It's clear you two aren't in a good spot—"
Amelia cut the man off. "I said it's none of your business."
But did he find that charming as well? "Haha, how feisty." The man laughed good-naturedly, without a hint of displeasure. To be honest, he looked like a clown to me. Was he asking to be killed?
"Amelia."
"I'll make my own decisions here, so you just stay quiet."
Yeah, okay.
When I called her name to warn her against escalating the situation, Amelia also softened her tone a bit. "The boat we were on capsized. Before parting ways with our comrades, we promised to meet them here. Is that enough of an explanation?" She had obviously adapted the story from my own real-life experiences.
"Don't worry. I don't doubt you."
Hmm, so I had that much credibility? "So, your answer to my question?"
"...I have a guess, but it's not confirmed."
Tell me what you're thinking, woman. Do you really have to restrict information even in a situation like this?
"Just speak freely. What is that stone and why are we in this situation?" I asked, not bothering to hide my irritation.
"That's..." Amelia trailed off.
The moment she finally parted her lips again, her expression determined, we heard the snap of a nearby branch. We simultaneously lowered our stances and turned in the direction of the sound. That was because there were only insectoid monsters on this island. In other words, it was highly likely that sound had been made by a person.
Except for the crackling of the bonfire, there was a suffocating silence. Because of that, I grew more uneasy. If there were another sound, I might have just assumed it was a random passerby.
"How long are you going to spy on us? Come out," Amelia said into the dark woods, her voice low.
We got a response about five seconds later. "Haha, you make us sound like bad guys."
Five adventurers straightened up from where they were crouching and made their way through the bushes.
What the hell, they were really watching us? Since when? God damn it.
I felt wrong-footed, but I immediately scanned the group in front of us. They were all human and male. Their equipment level seemed about rank five, but there was a clan emblem on their chests. It was an emblem I'd never seen before.
Did they come to the sixth floor with a clan and split off as teams on this island?
Even that explanation seemed a bit iffy, though. Considering recent events, very few adventurers had entered the labyrinth this month. Plus, their presence would have meant that the occupancy requirement of twenty people on this island had been hit. But we were only running into these guys now? Something was fishy here.
As I was thinking that, Amelia openly expressed her wariness, which signaled the start of the conversation. "Why were you spying on us?"
"Don't jump to the wrong conclusion. We spotted a fire in the distance and thought it was our clanmates. When we came to say hello, we saw the state you two were in and just observed you a bit out of surprise. We only found you just a little while ago."
It was a somewhat convincing explanation. Even I would have been curious about a man and woman wearing leaves like primitive people in the center of an island. I would have wondered what their story was, too.
"So, what happened to you?"
"None of your business."
"Haha, don't be so on guard. It's clear you two aren't in a good spot—"
Amelia cut the man off. "I said it's none of your business."
But did he find that charming as well? "Haha, how feisty." The man laughed good-naturedly, without a hint of displeasure. To be honest, he looked like a clown to me. Was he asking to be killed?
"Amelia."
"I'll make my own decisions here, so you just stay quiet."
Yeah, okay.
When I called her name to warn her against escalating the situation, Amelia also softened her tone a bit. "The boat we were on capsized. Before parting ways with our comrades, we promised to meet them here. Is that enough of an explanation?" She had obviously adapted the story from my own real-life experiences.
"Hmm, then where did all your equipment go?"
"We put our equipment in a backpack before falling into the water, and we ended up losing it. We threw away our clothes because they were wet and dirty."
"I see."
Afterward, the man asked Amelia a few more questions, clearly curious. Amelia offered him a plausible story. Of course, the more he dug, the more contradictions there were.
"Oh, so that's what happened! It must have been quite frightening." But as if those contradictions didn't matter, the man scanned Amelia's bare body, and his eyes lit up. "This is, well, very fortuitous—"
Smack!
Amelia landed a high kick on the man's head.
Slump.
Ha, this woman. When even the barbarian was keeping his mouth shut...
Who taught you to throw the first punch?
Even as I inwardly sighed, I immediately moved as if on cue.
"What the hell are you doing!?"
The blood had already been spilled, after all. I could debate things like right and wrong later. For now, we had to work together. "Behel—ahhh!"
Releasing Wild Outburst, I activated Giantization and, using Leap, landed in the center of their formation.
Swing.
I swung my club to take down the wizard first.
Okay, the wizard's done.
I then twisted my back and used the centrifugal force to swing my club at the archer beside him.
"You!" The shield-holder beside the archer blocked the attack properly, rendering my second surprise attack a failure.
Crunch.
As a bonus, the club broke after smashing the shield. Damn, if I had had my mace, I could have crushed him with the shield.
Plop.
I tossed the broken club to the ground and grabbed the shield with both hands. "Gimme." I yanked at it forcefully, but taking it was difficult. No matter the difference in strength, shields were usually secured to a person's wrist with a belt. Of course, that wasn't a major issue. If his arm was the problem here, all I had to do was break it.
Crunch!
"Aaaaaah!"
After using the shield to pull him toward me, I brought my elbows down to shatter his joints. Next, I kicked the guy away and took his shield.
Clang!
I immediately lifted it to the side to block the arrow flying at me. And that was the end of the battle.
Stab!
In that short period of time, Amelia had sorted most of it out. When the archer dropped, spurting blood, there was no one left standing. Not all of them were dead, though.
"A-An aura...?" Upon noticing Amelia's aura coating the blade of the stolen knife, everyone lost their fighting spirit.
"Do you... know who we are...!?" The man who had taken the high kick in the beginning looked up at us with murder in his eyes.
Ha, why did things turn out this way?
"Be quiet." It'd be a hassle if this guy started screaming, so I hurriedly gathered leaves from the ground and stuffed them in his mouth. I looked at Amelia. "What are you doing?"
I took part in this because I had no other choice, but what we did just now was no different from looting. If word reached the city, it would definitely cause a lot of problems.
"Tell me why you suddenly did this in a way that I can understand."
When I looked at her, giving her a chance to explain, Amelia averted her eyes. "...I only attacked first before we ended up at a disadvantage since we had no weapons."
That was ridiculous. "In that case, wouldn't the normal approach be to try to solve things through conversation first?"
"I thought that wouldn't work on these guys."
It was like talking to a wall. Jeez, was this how everyone who met me felt? For some reason, talking to her felt like trying to reason with my past self.
Does she think she's a seer like Nostradamus or something?
I abandoned the conversation there with a sigh, and Amelia spoke in an almost consoling tone. "Don't worry. The situation you're fearing won't come to pass."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Check their backpack."
I didn't know what she meant, but I opened their expandable backpack as instructed. The first thing I saw was snack-sized beef jerky. I had been close to dying of hunger too. It seemed our food problem had been solved, then.
Munch, munch.
I first stuffed the jerky in my mouth and then went through the rest of the bag. It wasn't long before I noticed something odd.
Who the hell are these bastards? They're not part of a clan...
The backpack was full of various equipment, and it was hard to write it off as emergency back-up equipment. Not only were they all different kinds of items, but most had blood on them.
"These guys... they're plunderers."
Then were the clan badges for camouflage? But why did they look familiar... Where had I seen this emblem before?
Combing through my memories, I soon remembered. "...Elbis Clan."
It was a clan I'd read about in a book at the library. A gathering of dozens who had committed heinous crimes, in the end, they were all executed when their misdeeds were exposed. If memory served, that had been about fifteen years ago.
No sane bastard would carry this as a fake clan emblem, even if they were in disguise...
Something felt majorly wrong here. And in that moment, a breeze blew in from the cold sea and brushed down my spine.
Shaaaaaa!
No, wait...
When I hurriedly rifled through the backpack to find their identification tags, I froze in a daze.
"Holy shit..." The IDs listed various names, races, and ages, but they all had one thing in common.
"The renewal date is the 134th year of the New World...?"
For some reason, the date written on them was from twenty years ago.
"Hmm, then where did all your equipment go?"
"We put our equipment in a backpack before falling into the water, and we ended up losing it. We threw away our clothes because they were wet and dirty."
"I see."
Afterward, the man asked Amelia a few more questions, clearly curious. Amelia offered him a plausible story. Of course, the more he dug, the more contradictions there were.
"Oh, so that's what happened! It must have been quite frightening." But as if those contradictions didn't matter, the man scanned Amelia's bare body, and his eyes lit up. "This is, well, very fortuitous—"
Smack!
Amelia landed a high kick on the man's head.
Slump.
Ha, this woman. When even the barbarian was keeping his mouth shut...
Who taught you to throw the first punch?
Even as I inwardly sighed, I immediately moved as if on cue.
"What the hell are you doing!?"
The blood had already been spilled, after all. I could debate things like right and wrong later. For now, we had to work together. "Behel—ahhh!"
Releasing Wild Outburst, I activated Giantization and, using Leap, landed in the center of their formation.
Swing.
I swung my club to take down the wizard first.
Okay, the wizard's done.
I then twisted my back and used the centrifugal force to swing my club at the archer beside him.
"You!" The shield-holder beside the archer blocked the attack properly, rendering my second surprise attack a failure.
Crunch.
As a bonus, the club broke after smashing the shield. Damn, if I had had my mace, I could have crushed him with the shield.
Plop.
I tossed the broken club to the ground and grabbed the shield with both hands. "Gimme." I yanked at it forcefully, but taking it was difficult. No matter the difference in strength, shields were usually secured to a person's wrist with a belt. Of course, that wasn't a major issue. If his arm was the problem here, all I had to do was break it.
Crunch!
"Aaaaaah!"
After using the shield to pull him toward me, I brought my elbows down to shatter his joints. Next, I kicked the guy away and took his shield.
Clang!
I immediately lifted it to the side to block the arrow flying at me. And that was the end of the battle.
Stab!
In that short period of time, Amelia had sorted most of it out. When the archer dropped, spurting blood, there was no one left standing. Not all of them were dead, though.
"A-An aura...?" Upon noticing Amelia's aura coating the blade of the stolen knife, everyone lost their fighting spirit.
"Do you... know who we are...!?" The man who had taken the high kick in the beginning looked up at us with murder in his eyes.
Ha, why did things turn out this way?
"Be quiet." It'd be a hassle if this guy started screaming, so I hurriedly gathered leaves from the ground and stuffed them in his mouth. I looked at Amelia. "What are you doing?"
I took part in this because I had no other choice, but what we did just now was no different from looting. If word reached the city, it would definitely cause a lot of problems.
"Tell me why you suddenly did this in a way that I can understand."
When I looked at her, giving her a chance to explain, Amelia averted her eyes. "...I only attacked first before we ended up at a disadvantage since we had no weapons."
That was ridiculous. "In that case, wouldn't the normal approach be to try to solve things through conversation first?"
"I thought that wouldn't work on these guys."
It was like talking to a wall. Jeez, was this how everyone who met me felt? For some reason, talking to her felt like trying to reason with my past self.
Does she think she's a seer like Nostradamus or something?
I abandoned the conversation there with a sigh, and Amelia spoke in an almost consoling tone. "Don't worry. The situation you're fearing won't come to pass."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Check their backpack."
I didn't know what she meant, but I opened their expandable backpack as instructed. The first thing I saw was snack-sized beef jerky. I had been close to dying of hunger too. It seemed our food problem had been solved, then.
Munch, munch.
I first stuffed the jerky in my mouth and then went through the rest of the bag. It wasn't long before I noticed something odd.
Who the hell are these bastards? They're not part of a clan...
The backpack was full of various equipment, and it was hard to write it off as emergency back-up equipment. Not only were they all different kinds of items, but most had blood on them.
"These guys... they're plunderers."
Then were the clan badges for camouflage? But why did they look familiar... Where had I seen this emblem before?
Combing through my memories, I soon remembered. "...Elbis Clan."
It was a clan I'd read about in a book at the library. A gathering of dozens who had committed heinous crimes, in the end, they were all executed when their misdeeds were exposed. If memory served, that had been about fifteen years ago.
No sane bastard would carry this as a fake clan emblem, even if they were in disguise...
Something felt majorly wrong here. And in that moment, a breeze blew in from the cold sea and brushed down my spine.
Shaaaaaa!
No, wait...
When I hurriedly rifled through the backpack to find their identification tags, I froze in a daze.
"Holy shit..." The IDs listed various names, races, and ages, but they all had one thing in common.
"The renewal date is the 134th year of the New World...?"
For some reason, the date written on them was from twenty years ago.
