Chapter 295: Newbie (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 295: Newbie (3)
I turned my head to look at the hand on my shoulder. It bore a ring with an unusual pattern on the index finger.
"A sub-space ring."
My heart began to pound. What could be inside that ring? It was like looking at a loot box that hadn't been opened yet.
Slide.
Subconsciously, my hand gravitated toward the ring. My precious...
"...What the hell, you bastard?!" As soon as my hand touched his, the man jumped and removed his hand from my shoulder. "Barbarian, you son of a bitch! Are you...?!"
Judging by the startled look in his eyes, I could see what the misunderstanding was here. His comrades each offered their two cents.
"No wonder there's a barbarian down here."
"No normal person would come down to this city."
"So he was kicked out of his tribe because of his preferences—"
What were these assholes talking about? I had to hurry and clear up the misunderstanding, so I quickly threw my fist forward.
Smack!
The first punch landed on the face of Buck Tooth, who had dared to put his hand on my shoulder and act friendly. Something white popped out of his wide-open mouth. His buck tooth had been completely cured with a single punch.
"Behel–ahhh!" As soon as I released my battle cry, the other adventurers crowding the space all stepped back and made space.
"It's a fight!"
"Woahhh!"
"The newbie and Rex's gang are fighting!"
Was this a high school classroom? The workers sitting at the windows just sighed, looking unfazed.
So, no one's going to stop me, huh? Even better.
I was starting to like Noark more and more. Maybe I'd secretly wished to live in a macho society like this even if I pretended not to.
"You bastard!" One of Ex-Buck Tooth's comrades, Beardy, drew his weapon in anger.
Okay, let's switch to team-battle mode.
I had been refraining from using a weapon just in case, but I now took out my mace and swung it like I'd been waiting for the opportunity.
Whoom!
Beardy ducked to avoid the hit. Right at that moment, a ball of electricity flew at me from the man behind him.
Pzzzt.
It doesn't look like magic... He must have a special ability. But my shield is made of adamantium.
Adamantium was a grade-five metal that reduced all attribute-based damage by fifty percent.
Buzz!
An electric current flowed through the shield and into my body, but I could shrug it off with my Mana Resistance. It seemed like these guys had never experienced something like this before, though.
If you wanted to take down a tank, you should have cursed me first, you bastards.
When I swung my mace, unaffected, Beardy looked flabbergasted. I got it. He'd expected me to end up paralyzed, which was why he had closed the distance even more, leaving himself at just the right angle to get whacked.
Smack!
Okay, that was two down.
Boom.
Beardy's body cracked the ceiling and then landed on the floor. If this were baseball, that would have been a foul. I tapped my shoulder with my mace and stared straight ahead. "What are you doing? Come."
The trio who had just lost two of their teammates for trying to cut in line surprisingly made the rational choice. "Rex, let's leave."
"I think I just heard someone say that Kalte's entire gang was found dead after following a newcomer who came down yesterday."
Oh, you guys hadn't heard the rumors yet.
It seemed they were just starting to realize I wasn't an easy opponent from the whispers of nearby onlookers.
"But if we back off like this..."
"We'll be laughingstocks, I know. But that's still better than dying. I don't know if it's true, but I also heard there's a woman with him who uses an aura."
"An aura...?" The man named Rex frowned.
Right at that moment, Amelia, who had been waiting in line elsewhere, came over and stood next to me.
"Ah, you're here," I said.
"You seem to be the talk of the town wherever you go."
"It wasn't my fault this time."
"...I'm aware. I saw it happen." Amelia's hand drifted to the dagger on her thigh. It seemed that was rather persuasive to our unfortunate trio.
"...Why don't we call this here?" Rex suggested.
Hey, that's not how you negotiate.
"Your apology?"
"I'll do it. I apologize for looking down on you and making an unreasonable request."
It seemed like the culture of this city was that once you decided to take something lying down, you lay really low. Surprisingly, this guy went fully submissive.
Now, then. What should I do?
Contemplating this, I glanced to the side and saw Amelia give a slight nod. That meant I should let them go. "Fine, I accept your apology."
"Thank you. Then..." Once I verified that their apology had been received, Rex began to tend to his fallen comrades.
Hmm, what the hell is this now?
"Stop. Leave behind everything those two have."
"But I apologized..."
Those are two different things, man. What use is an apology that's nothing more than pretty words?
"We're on the same side now. We should be helping each other."
Mm-hmm, that's that neighborly feeling that comes with being in a community, no?
Rex thought this through for a long time before he finally sighed and stripped the equipment from his unconscious comrades. "There, is that enough?"
"The ring?"
"...Here."
Whew, how much did this make? I was practically copy-pasting money at this point. Why did these bastards from Noark all live in poverty?
Anyway, I'll find out what's in the ring later.
"Go."
After sending off Rex and his minions, I stored all the stripped equipment in my new sub-space ring. The expandable backpack was getting uncomfortable, so I had actually just been thinking that I really hoped to get my hands on a sub-space item.
Beardy's body cracked the ceiling and then landed on the floor. If this were baseball, that would have been a foul. I tapped my shoulder with my mace and stared straight ahead. "What are you doing? Come."
The trio who had just lost two of their teammates for trying to cut in line surprisingly made the rational choice. "Rex, let's leave."
"I think I just heard someone say that Kalte's entire gang was found dead after following a newcomer who came down yesterday."
Oh, you guys hadn't heard the rumors yet.
It seemed they were just starting to realize I wasn't an easy opponent from the whispers of nearby onlookers.
"But if we back off like this..."
"We'll be laughingstocks, I know. But that's still better than dying. I don't know if it's true, but I also heard there's a woman with him who uses an aura."
"An aura...?" The man named Rex frowned.
Right at that moment, Amelia, who had been waiting in line elsewhere, came over and stood next to me.
"Ah, you're here," I said.
"You seem to be the talk of the town wherever you go."
"It wasn't my fault this time."
"...I'm aware. I saw it happen." Amelia's hand drifted to the dagger on her thigh. It seemed that was rather persuasive to our unfortunate trio.
"...Why don't we call this here?" Rex suggested.
Hey, that's not how you negotiate.
"Your apology?"
"I'll do it. I apologize for looking down on you and making an unreasonable request."
It seemed like the culture of this city was that once you decided to take something lying down, you lay really low. Surprisingly, this guy went fully submissive.
Now, then. What should I do?
Contemplating this, I glanced to the side and saw Amelia give a slight nod. That meant I should let them go. "Fine, I accept your apology."
"Thank you. Then..." Once I verified that their apology had been received, Rex began to tend to his fallen comrades.
Hmm, what the hell is this now?
"Stop. Leave behind everything those two have."
"But I apologized..."
Those are two different things, man. What use is an apology that's nothing more than pretty words?
"We're on the same side now. We should be helping each other."
Mm-hmm, that's that neighborly feeling that comes with being in a community, no?
Rex thought this through for a long time before he finally sighed and stripped the equipment from his unconscious comrades. "There, is that enough?"
"The ring?"
"...Here."
Whew, how much did this make? I was practically copy-pasting money at this point. Why did these bastards from Noark all live in poverty?
Anyway, I'll find out what's in the ring later.
"Go."
After sending off Rex and his minions, I stored all the stripped equipment in my new sub-space ring. The expandable backpack was getting uncomfortable, so I had actually just been thinking that I really hoped to get my hands on a sub-space item.
"They may not have looks going for them, but they're warm-hearted."
Amelia said nothing.
"What are you looking at? Let's get in line again."
After that, we headed to the window again. Other adventurers had taken our place since we stepped out of line, but that was no problem. I'd already adapted to this city.
"Oh, human."
"...W-What is it?"
"As you saw earlier, we had extenuating circumstances. Can you yield your spot to us?"
"...Of course."
Thanks to the consideration of a kind adventurer, we were able to stand at the very front of the line. Since we had been in the middle of the line before the fight, we were essentially saving thirty minutes.
"The people here are very kind."
"...Anyone looking at us would think you're the one from Noark, not me."
Haha, don't flatter me like that, I'll get embarrassed.
"I'm just quick to adapt. Not a genius."
"I never said anything remotely like that."
"Haha, you're too shy to tell the truth, huh?"
Anyway, since we were at the front of the line, our turn soon came, and we were able to get our registration done ahead of schedule. That was because we skipped the rank adjustment application.
"Didn't you say you were planning to get your rank raised to five?" I asked Amelia.
"Doesn't matter. By now, news of us will have reached the castellan."
Since we'd managed to achieve our objective quickly thanks to me, there was no reason to adjust our rank and publicize the essences in our possession to the whole town. "Good thing I did as I pleased."
"...Things may have turned out fine just now, but be more careful from now on. Little fish aren't the only ones in this city."
"Okay. So have we finished our mission for today?"
"Yeah, let's head back and rest."
Returning to the inn we found yesterday, we changed the terms of our stay to rent the room long-term and then waited there, refraining from going out. I wasn't sure how long we stayed put. Contrary to Amelia's expectations, the castellan did not show any interest in us for several days. Which was a problem, as phase one of our plan involved working under him.
"Amelia, what's going on?"
"...Looks like he's taking his time trying to figure out what we're like since he has no information on us."
"And?"
"Let's keep waiting for now. He'll get in touch someday. With his personality, the castellan won't be able to leave two independent, high-ranking adventurers alone."
Time continued to pass and soon it was time for the labyrinth to open.
***
"Wooo!"
"How long has it been?"
"Let's go make some money!"
The square was packed with people like there was a festival taking place. It was always like this on labyrinth entrance day, but the people gathered in the plaza today looked especially excited. It wasn't like she couldn't understand why. After the small number of people who entered the labyrinth last month had returned alive, public opinion was that the labyrinth was safe again. To those who had been struggling, that couldn't have been better news.
"They may not have looks going for them, but they're warm-hearted."
Amelia said nothing.
"What are you looking at? Let's get in line again."
After that, we headed to the window again. Other adventurers had taken our place since we stepped out of line, but that was no problem. I'd already adapted to this city.
"Oh, human."
"...W-What is it?"
"As you saw earlier, we had extenuating circumstances. Can you yield your spot to us?"
"...Of course."
Thanks to the consideration of a kind adventurer, we were able to stand at the very front of the line. Since we had been in the middle of the line before the fight, we were essentially saving thirty minutes.
"The people here are very kind."
"...Anyone looking at us would think you're the one from Noark, not me."
Haha, don't flatter me like that, I'll get embarrassed.
"I'm just quick to adapt. Not a genius."
"I never said anything remotely like that."
"Haha, you're too shy to tell the truth, huh?"
Anyway, since we were at the front of the line, our turn soon came, and we were able to get our registration done ahead of schedule. That was because we skipped the rank adjustment application.
"Didn't you say you were planning to get your rank raised to five?" I asked Amelia.
"Doesn't matter. By now, news of us will have reached the castellan."
Since we'd managed to achieve our objective quickly thanks to me, there was no reason to adjust our rank and publicize the essences in our possession to the whole town. "Good thing I did as I pleased."
"...Things may have turned out fine just now, but be more careful from now on. Little fish aren't the only ones in this city."
"Okay. So have we finished our mission for today?"
"Yeah, let's head back and rest."
Returning to the inn we found yesterday, we changed the terms of our stay to rent the room long-term and then waited there, refraining from going out. I wasn't sure how long we stayed put. Contrary to Amelia's expectations, the castellan did not show any interest in us for several days. Which was a problem, as phase one of our plan involved working under him.
"Amelia, what's going on?"
"...Looks like he's taking his time trying to figure out what we're like since he has no information on us."
"And?"
"Let's keep waiting for now. He'll get in touch someday. With his personality, the castellan won't be able to leave two independent, high-ranking adventurers alone."
Time continued to pass and soon it was time for the labyrinth to open.
***
"Wooo!"
"How long has it been?"
"Let's go make some money!"
The square was packed with people like there was a festival taking place. It was always like this on labyrinth entrance day, but the people gathered in the plaza today looked especially excited. It wasn't like she couldn't understand why. After the small number of people who entered the labyrinth last month had returned alive, public opinion was that the labyrinth was safe again. To those who had been struggling, that couldn't have been better news.
Swish.
Arua Raven passed the square on a wagon and drew the curtain bitterly. It had just hit her.
"So, it's already been a month..."
It had been a month since Bjorn Yandel had died. Although it had been the death of a man largely considered a hero by the adventuring community, the world kept turning, unchanged. The only things that had changed were the things around her.
Sigh...
Raven briefly recalled the past month.
***
"So, Bjorn is dead," Ainar, who was surprisingly the most composed member of the group, had said. "What are you doing? Let's all head home and rest. We're all tired, so let's talk about what we're going to do from now on tomorrow. As for the guild... I will go there by myself."
Facing reality head-on and accepting it, she tried to do what had to be done immediately: sustaining the team Bjorn Yandel had created. Of course, that wasn't going to work out how she wanted it to.
"What do you mean... from now on? What do you mean by that?" the elf asked.
"Since Bjorn is dead, the five of us will have to enter the labyrinth together from now on."
"The labyrinth?" the elf shot back aggressively. "Is that really the problem we should be concerning ourselves with right now?"
"Then what problem do you think we should deal with?"
"We have to get revenge!"
"Revenge?"
"On Noark! It's all because of those people that the event on that island was even triggered! And that red-haired woman was also suspicious. If that bitch is alive and has something to do with what happened to Mister..." Murderous intent gleamed in the elf's eyes. "No, even if she has nothing to do with it, it doesn't matter. I'm going to find and kill them all."
It was understandable that she'd lose her reason to anger. The recent loss of her sister had also been at Noark's hands.
"Erwen, we get how you feel, but calm down," Raven said. "The people of Noark are outside now. How are you going to get revenge on them in the first place? Let's go home for today and come back tomorrow—"
"Yeah, that's all he was to you people."
"Excuse me?"
"I feel bad for him. For staying back to protect the likes of supposed comrades like you."
"...What did you say? Say that again."
"R-Raven, stop it! Don't act like her too!" Ainar, their warrior, stopped her. Normally their team's beastwoman would have stepped forward to intervene, but she didn't seem to have the presence of mind to do that.
But did that catch the elf's eye? She marched up to the beastwoman. "What about you? You'll join in on it, right? Revenge?"
"I-I..." The beastwoman trailed off.
After a while, the elf, who had been quietly waiting for an answer, left with the words, "Beastly bitch."
"I-I'll meet up with Erwen tomorrow. So let's... all go home too," Raven said.
With that, the team scattered and went home. The warrior woman intended to head to the guild and report the death of Bjorn Yandel, but the wizard stopped her.
"Miss Ainar, please take care of Miss Karlstein. I'll... do this."
"But—"
"You can't even read, Miss Ainar."
"Okay. I'll leave it to you."
The beastman archer, who had a family of his own, did not say a single word until the moment they parted. Like someone who had been through this many times before, he just watched the splintering of his team with grief in his eyes.
"Let's see, the deceased... Baronet Bjorn Yandel?!" When Raven submitted the death report, the guild went into an uproar. Nearby adventurers and staff alike seemed to have a ton of questions, but they didn't dare approach Raven after seeing the expression on her face.
A day passed.
"Did you hear? Baronet Bjorn Yandel is dead."
"To think that giant would go like that..."
"What a shame that someone like him left us."
News of Bjorn Yandel's death spread through the city as quickly as word of his feats spread in life. Those who knew him visited his home.
"Ainar! Missha! Open the door! Is Yandel really dead? W-Why... Open the door!" shouted former teammate and dwarven warrior, Hikurod Murad.
"...Murad, stop it. I just came back from seeing the death report for myself at the guild. We shouldn't make things even harder for them. Let's just go and come back another time," said Brown Rotmiller.
Many other adventurers who were indebted to the hero named Bjorn Yandel visited his home.
"Thank you for saving us that day."
"Now you won't... be coming to the library anymore."
Flowers piled up in front of the door. Countless people mourned his death, and the barbarian tribe, who had seen him as their next leader, even locked the gates to the holy land and held a funeral for several days, praying for his spirit, which had come to rest in the labyrinth, to return to the forest. But even still, the world remained unchanged. It was only the things around her that were different.
"...Let's not think about going on quests for a while and just rest."
All plans for future expeditions were suspended. What could the four of them do when they weren't all in their right minds? They needed a break. And the same went for Arua Raven herself.
But a break won't change anything.
The day that elf stormed out like that, Raven intuitively realized that the saying "time is the best medicine" was a lie. As the days went by, everything became more of a mess than ever got fixed.
"I need to find it."
Raven was unable to sleep properly for several days and spent her time buried in books. Even today, she was on her way back to the palace's library. That was because what had happened that day was still veiled in mystery. In the city, his cause of death was understood to be the Storm Gush.
"I can't accept that."
But he had succeeded in killing it. He'd even had the energy to secure his body to the ground with stakes so as not to get swept away by the ocean. So where had he disappeared to in that short amount of time? And if he had really just been washed away, why had his equipment been left behind?
"There's something else... Some big mystery at work here..." Raven clutched at her chest like a person struggling to breathe. Although she perhaps wasn't being very wizardly and logical right now, she needed something to cling to. "There has to be something else."
Swish.
Arua Raven passed the square on a wagon and drew the curtain bitterly. It had just hit her.
"So, it's already been a month..."
It had been a month since Bjorn Yandel had died. Although it had been the death of a man largely considered a hero by the adventuring community, the world kept turning, unchanged. The only things that had changed were the things around her.
Sigh...
Raven briefly recalled the past month.
***
"So, Bjorn is dead," Ainar, who was surprisingly the most composed member of the group, had said. "What are you doing? Let's all head home and rest. We're all tired, so let's talk about what we're going to do from now on tomorrow. As for the guild... I will go there by myself."
Facing reality head-on and accepting it, she tried to do what had to be done immediately: sustaining the team Bjorn Yandel had created. Of course, that wasn't going to work out how she wanted it to.
"What do you mean... from now on? What do you mean by that?" the elf asked.
"Since Bjorn is dead, the five of us will have to enter the labyrinth together from now on."
"The labyrinth?" the elf shot back aggressively. "Is that really the problem we should be concerning ourselves with right now?"
"Then what problem do you think we should deal with?"
"We have to get revenge!"
"Revenge?"
"On Noark! It's all because of those people that the event on that island was even triggered! And that red-haired woman was also suspicious. If that bitch is alive and has something to do with what happened to Mister..." Murderous intent gleamed in the elf's eyes. "No, even if she has nothing to do with it, it doesn't matter. I'm going to find and kill them all."
It was understandable that she'd lose her reason to anger. The recent loss of her sister had also been at Noark's hands.
"Erwen, we get how you feel, but calm down," Raven said. "The people of Noark are outside now. How are you going to get revenge on them in the first place? Let's go home for today and come back tomorrow—"
"Yeah, that's all he was to you people."
"Excuse me?"
"I feel bad for him. For staying back to protect the likes of supposed comrades like you."
"...What did you say? Say that again."
"R-Raven, stop it! Don't act like her too!" Ainar, their warrior, stopped her. Normally their team's beastwoman would have stepped forward to intervene, but she didn't seem to have the presence of mind to do that.
But did that catch the elf's eye? She marched up to the beastwoman. "What about you? You'll join in on it, right? Revenge?"
"I-I..." The beastwoman trailed off.
After a while, the elf, who had been quietly waiting for an answer, left with the words, "Beastly bitch."
"I-I'll meet up with Erwen tomorrow. So let's... all go home too," Raven said.
With that, the team scattered and went home. The warrior woman intended to head to the guild and report the death of Bjorn Yandel, but the wizard stopped her.
"Miss Ainar, please take care of Miss Karlstein. I'll... do this."
"But—"
"You can't even read, Miss Ainar."
"Okay. I'll leave it to you."
The beastman archer, who had a family of his own, did not say a single word until the moment they parted. Like someone who had been through this many times before, he just watched the splintering of his team with grief in his eyes.
"Let's see, the deceased... Baronet Bjorn Yandel?!" When Raven submitted the death report, the guild went into an uproar. Nearby adventurers and staff alike seemed to have a ton of questions, but they didn't dare approach Raven after seeing the expression on her face.
A day passed.
"Did you hear? Baronet Bjorn Yandel is dead."
"To think that giant would go like that..."
"What a shame that someone like him left us."
News of Bjorn Yandel's death spread through the city as quickly as word of his feats spread in life. Those who knew him visited his home.
"Ainar! Missha! Open the door! Is Yandel really dead? W-Why... Open the door!" shouted former teammate and dwarven warrior, Hikurod Murad.
"...Murad, stop it. I just came back from seeing the death report for myself at the guild. We shouldn't make things even harder for them. Let's just go and come back another time," said Brown Rotmiller.
Many other adventurers who were indebted to the hero named Bjorn Yandel visited his home.
"Thank you for saving us that day."
"Now you won't... be coming to the library anymore."
Flowers piled up in front of the door. Countless people mourned his death, and the barbarian tribe, who had seen him as their next leader, even locked the gates to the holy land and held a funeral for several days, praying for his spirit, which had come to rest in the labyrinth, to return to the forest. But even still, the world remained unchanged. It was only the things around her that were different.
"...Let's not think about going on quests for a while and just rest."
All plans for future expeditions were suspended. What could the four of them do when they weren't all in their right minds? They needed a break. And the same went for Arua Raven herself.
But a break won't change anything.
The day that elf stormed out like that, Raven intuitively realized that the saying "time is the best medicine" was a lie. As the days went by, everything became more of a mess than ever got fixed.
"I need to find it."
Raven was unable to sleep properly for several days and spent her time buried in books. Even today, she was on her way back to the palace's library. That was because what had happened that day was still veiled in mystery. In the city, his cause of death was understood to be the Storm Gush.
"I can't accept that."
But he had succeeded in killing it. He'd even had the energy to secure his body to the ground with stakes so as not to get swept away by the ocean. So where had he disappeared to in that short amount of time? And if he had really just been washed away, why had his equipment been left behind?
"There's something else... Some big mystery at work here..." Raven clutched at her chest like a person struggling to breathe. Although she perhaps wasn't being very wizardly and logical right now, she needed something to cling to. "There has to be something else."