Chapter 377: Treasure Hunter (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 377: Treasure Hunter (5)
As soon as I put the ring on, I was momentarily taken aback by the flash of light as it activated. When I saw the color, I pursed my lips.
A yellow light, huh?
That color meant just one thing: that something that could either have a positive or negative impact on my future was nearby.
"Erwen, is anything around?" I asked in a low voice.
Erwen immediately focused on her hearing. "One of those people from earlier."
"Since when have they been there?"
"I don't know. But... since they're hiding in the dark, I don't think they just arrived. Their breathing is stable too..." Erwen paused to listen. "Ah, they're even talking now. I think they're using a message stone. 'There's a Numbered Item, how far away are you?'"
No wonder the light on the ring came on. It seemed they had even watched us kill the Laplait mimic.
"Looks like they left behind a scout. Erwen, you keep focusing on what they're up to. We'll clean up our campground."
"Okay."
Leaving Erwen on guard, we quickly packed our bags and prepared to leave. However, our opponents were one step ahead of us.
"People have arrived."
"How many?"
"Eighteen in total. Ah, they're discussing what to do with us."
"I see... What did they decide?"
"I don't know. They must have used magic because the sound cut off in the middle. I'm sorry..."
"What are you sorry about? We'll find out soon enough."
In fact, as soon as I said that, artificial light burst out from where our opponents were hiding, brightly illuminating our surroundings.
"Hey there, friend! What was your name again? I think I forgot to ask earlier."
'Forgot to ask.' Yeah right. He hadn't even said his own name. "I don't know, I don't think we're close enough to formally introduce ourselves."
"Haha, you're a lot shyer than you look." The man laughed, but his eyes were cold. Also, he stood in an angled stance with his hand on his waist, near the weapon on his belt.
"So, what do you want?"
"One of our clan members happened to be on patrol in the area and saw you hunting a Laplait mimic."
"What a coincidence."
"Life works in mysterious ways. Anyway, I'll just get to the point. Give up your loot."
"Why should I do that?"
"As I said, this is our clan's territory. I'm sure you agreed to our terms earlier."
"Agreed?" I scoffed as soon as I heard that, but I actually understood where they were coming from. They must have roamed this island every day waiting for a Laplait mimic to spawn, and some adventurers who were just stopping by had managed to steal it from them. But too bad. "The only agreement we discussed was that you wanted us to leave early in the morning and we said we would." In fact, I didn't remember loot ever factoring into the conversation.
"That's a fallacy."
"It's not a fallacy, it's the truth."
The man's jaw tightened at that, and I heard an audible grinding sound. I could sympathize. Of course he would have assumed we had reached an agreement. No, in the first place, he never would have even fathomed that the monster would appear right next to us overnight.
"The labyrinth has its own unwritten rules. If you violate our claim, no one can blame us if we harm you."
This was a very direct threat. I stared at the man to ask if he was serious about this and the guy met my gaze head-on. It wouldn't have been out of left field for either side to pull a weapon at this point.
Gulp.
As the silence stretched on, the group behind the man tightened their grip on their weapons in a way that suggested they might attack depending on the answer that came out of my mouth. Of course, that didn't change the fact that I was still going to say whatever I wanted.
"I don't know about any unwritten rules. Anyone who tries to take what's mine is a plunderer," I said firmly.
"...So you've decided to make the wrong call."
I let that go in one ear and out the other, shrugging. "I've heard that often enough. Where do you think all those people are now? Anyway, at least we've cleared the situation up." Soon, I gave the final notice. "What are you doing? If you're going to fight, fight. If you're here to talk, you'd better get lost."
This was a completely different confrontation from our first meeting. Earlier, this guy looked down on us and kicked up a fuss until I said we'd leave early in the morning. But now? When I came on extremely strong, he didn't know what to do. I was sure it made him uneasy. He had no idea how I could be so confident when we had one-fifth of their manpower.
And part of that would be because of Erwen too.
I didn't think they'd recognized Erwen yet, but the scout would have reported that the elven archer on our team killed a Laplait mimic with a single arrow. They would have picked up on the fact that we weren't just nobodies. But he seemed to be having a tough time coming to a decision in front of his clan members.
"If you can't decide, I'll help you. If you're still standing in front of me after I count to three, I'll take that as intent to harm."
"...What?" The man looked incredulous but when I actually started counting, his expression changed.
"Three. Two." Instead of dragging this out, I counted down the seconds faster than was strictly accurate.
The moment I was about to say one, he raised a white flag. "...There's no need to shed unnecessary blood."
***
"Captain! Why did you back down there?"
At his subordinate's cry, the captain, Ecksher Mellick, frowned. When he did, one of his confidants quickly stepped forward to speak for him.
"They hunted a Laplait mimic without a wizard. That elven archer has to be at least rank three. If they're working together, the other two people must be of similar ranks."
"Even if all three of them are rank three, we have numbers on our side!"
"Remilton, have you ever fought a rank-three adventurer? They are monsters."
"But they didn't even have a wizard! We still could have won with our numbers!"
"And more than half of us would have died. Do you really think one Numbered Item is worth all that?"
"That's..." The man who challenged the decision trailed off at the confidante's logic, and the official debate began.
"But if this gets out, we will be mocked everywhere we go."
"That hasn't happened yet, and even if it does, I think the captain's call was the right one."
"But who is that elf? To be able to kill a Laplait mimic in one go..."
"The labyrinth has its own unwritten rules. If you violate our claim, no one can blame us if we harm you."
This was a very direct threat. I stared at the man to ask if he was serious about this and the guy met my gaze head-on. It wouldn't have been out of left field for either side to pull a weapon at this point.
Gulp.
As the silence stretched on, the group behind the man tightened their grip on their weapons in a way that suggested they might attack depending on the answer that came out of my mouth. Of course, that didn't change the fact that I was still going to say whatever I wanted.
"I don't know about any unwritten rules. Anyone who tries to take what's mine is a plunderer," I said firmly.
"...So you've decided to make the wrong call."
I let that go in one ear and out the other, shrugging. "I've heard that often enough. Where do you think all those people are now? Anyway, at least we've cleared the situation up." Soon, I gave the final notice. "What are you doing? If you're going to fight, fight. If you're here to talk, you'd better get lost."
This was a completely different confrontation from our first meeting. Earlier, this guy looked down on us and kicked up a fuss until I said we'd leave early in the morning. But now? When I came on extremely strong, he didn't know what to do. I was sure it made him uneasy. He had no idea how I could be so confident when we had one-fifth of their manpower.
And part of that would be because of Erwen too.
I didn't think they'd recognized Erwen yet, but the scout would have reported that the elven archer on our team killed a Laplait mimic with a single arrow. They would have picked up on the fact that we weren't just nobodies. But he seemed to be having a tough time coming to a decision in front of his clan members.
"If you can't decide, I'll help you. If you're still standing in front of me after I count to three, I'll take that as intent to harm."
"...What?" The man looked incredulous but when I actually started counting, his expression changed.
"Three. Two." Instead of dragging this out, I counted down the seconds faster than was strictly accurate.
The moment I was about to say one, he raised a white flag. "...There's no need to shed unnecessary blood."
***
"Captain! Why did you back down there?"
At his subordinate's cry, the captain, Ecksher Mellick, frowned. When he did, one of his confidants quickly stepped forward to speak for him.
"They hunted a Laplait mimic without a wizard. That elven archer has to be at least rank three. If they're working together, the other two people must be of similar ranks."
"Even if all three of them are rank three, we have numbers on our side!"
"Remilton, have you ever fought a rank-three adventurer? They are monsters."
"But they didn't even have a wizard! We still could have won with our numbers!"
"And more than half of us would have died. Do you really think one Numbered Item is worth all that?"
"That's..." The man who challenged the decision trailed off at the confidante's logic, and the official debate began.
"But if this gets out, we will be mocked everywhere we go."
"That hasn't happened yet, and even if it does, I think the captain's call was the right one."
"But who is that elf? To be able to kill a Laplait mimic in one go..."
"A silver-haired elf... maybe that was Blood Spirit?"
"If that really is the case, we could have been in big trouble."
"Blood Spirit? Did you all eat something bad? Why would that beast be here? She's such a war fanatic that she must be cutting people down as we speak."
The sharp voices rebutting each other's opinions grew louder and louder. Naturally, factions were divided along the lines of those who held the same opinion.
"Captain! The bastards are leaving the island by ship!" a subordinate who was scouting the area reported, and the clan members who were arguing and raising their voices immediately looked to one person. Their eyes all asked what the plan was.
Mellick sighed quietly enough that no one else could hear.
God damn it.
Running a clan was like sailing a ship. Even if typhoons, waves, and lightning came their way, the captain had to show his crew that he could overcome every trial. As such, the man made a decision. "Everyone stop this and pack your bags."
"Captain, that means..."
"We're going to chase after them."
At that, the faces of the people in the radical faction brightened. On the other hand, those who argued for a more moderate response expressed their concerns.
"But their power is formidable."
Their current estimate was that the three adventurers possessed an average rank of three, but the man wasn't too worried about that. "I understand your concerns. Perhaps if it was on land, I'd agree. But there's no way we can lose a naval battle."
"So that's why you let them go so easily!" The men in the radical faction were impressed by his decision and the opposing faction also seemed to agree to some extent. That was how confident these people were in naval warfare.
But it seemed there were still some questions. "But... is one Numbered Item worth that much?" one of them asked cautiously.
Mellick answered with a grin. "It's definitely not worth it for just one Numbered Item."
"You mean—"
"But that won't be all they have."
The Huntsman Clan may have been stuck on this island playing treasure hunt for the time being, but they were once pirates who roamed the sixth floor's seas. And pirates made their money hunting people.
***
At early dawn, the day gradually brightened.
Shaaaaaa!
The cool wind struck the sail, pushing the ship forward. Behind us, a cluster of stars shined in the dusky sky. In the east where the bow was located, you could vaguely sense the presence of the sun still hidden behind the horizon. It was a rather picturesque sight. Unfortunately, we had no time to enjoy it.
"Mister, there are ships following us. There are three in total and no emblems or anything like that."
As soon as we left the island, we were pursued. And it was obvious who exactly was behind it.
So they never intended to let us go from the start.
No wonder the confrontation had ended so easily despite the yellow light—they were probably angling for this very scenario when they let us go. If these guys had three ships, that meant they were quite skilled in naval combat. They probably determined they'd have a greater advantage in a fight at sea. Of course, one question remained.
But why was it yellow instead of red?
If we were going to be attacked anyway, shouldn't it have been red? What could be positive about this situation?
Those musings were cut off by Amelia. "Schuitz, what do you want to do?"
"It'll be hard to shake them, right?"
"Probably."
Their ships appeared to have modifications that made them especially fast, as the distance between us kept growing shorter even though we were using the mana propulsion device. And so, we only had one option now.
"Emily, don't waste the mana stones."
"Are we going to fight?"
"Is there any other option?"
Amelia didn't answer my question. She just let go of the wheel. When she did, the speed of the ship, which was riding the wind, decreased significantly.
Chwaaa!
The three ships riding the current toward us came into my sight too. Among them, the most noticeable was the ship in the middle. It looked about three times heavier than ours, was equipped with mana cannons on the front and sides, and had three sails. That wasn't all, either. There was even an icebreaking device attached to the bow. A ship of that quality would be just two ranks under a royal warship.
"Schuitz, if those guys fire cannons, our ship will sink in no time." Amelia expressed her concerns upon spotting the overwhelming grandeur of the small fleet, and I could see why. If this turned into a naval battle, a ship like ours would no doubt be destroyed in no time.
Smack.
I licked my lips and checked the Traffic Light Ring. The yellow light from earlier had long since faded away, but I thought I knew now why the light had been yellow instead of red.
"That ship... looks very big and sturdy."
Monsters weren't the only ones who dropped treasure in the labyrinth.
"A silver-haired elf... maybe that was Blood Spirit?"
"If that really is the case, we could have been in big trouble."
"Blood Spirit? Did you all eat something bad? Why would that beast be here? She's such a war fanatic that she must be cutting people down as we speak."
The sharp voices rebutting each other's opinions grew louder and louder. Naturally, factions were divided along the lines of those who held the same opinion.
"Captain! The bastards are leaving the island by ship!" a subordinate who was scouting the area reported, and the clan members who were arguing and raising their voices immediately looked to one person. Their eyes all asked what the plan was.
Mellick sighed quietly enough that no one else could hear.
God damn it.
Running a clan was like sailing a ship. Even if typhoons, waves, and lightning came their way, the captain had to show his crew that he could overcome every trial. As such, the man made a decision. "Everyone stop this and pack your bags."
"Captain, that means..."
"We're going to chase after them."
At that, the faces of the people in the radical faction brightened. On the other hand, those who argued for a more moderate response expressed their concerns.
"But their power is formidable."
Their current estimate was that the three adventurers possessed an average rank of three, but the man wasn't too worried about that. "I understand your concerns. Perhaps if it was on land, I'd agree. But there's no way we can lose a naval battle."
"So that's why you let them go so easily!" The men in the radical faction were impressed by his decision and the opposing faction also seemed to agree to some extent. That was how confident these people were in naval warfare.
But it seemed there were still some questions. "But... is one Numbered Item worth that much?" one of them asked cautiously.
Mellick answered with a grin. "It's definitely not worth it for just one Numbered Item."
"You mean—"
"But that won't be all they have."
The Huntsman Clan may have been stuck on this island playing treasure hunt for the time being, but they were once pirates who roamed the sixth floor's seas. And pirates made their money hunting people.
***
At early dawn, the day gradually brightened.
Shaaaaaa!
The cool wind struck the sail, pushing the ship forward. Behind us, a cluster of stars shined in the dusky sky. In the east where the bow was located, you could vaguely sense the presence of the sun still hidden behind the horizon. It was a rather picturesque sight. Unfortunately, we had no time to enjoy it.
"Mister, there are ships following us. There are three in total and no emblems or anything like that."
As soon as we left the island, we were pursued. And it was obvious who exactly was behind it.
So they never intended to let us go from the start.
No wonder the confrontation had ended so easily despite the yellow light—they were probably angling for this very scenario when they let us go. If these guys had three ships, that meant they were quite skilled in naval combat. They probably determined they'd have a greater advantage in a fight at sea. Of course, one question remained.
But why was it yellow instead of red?
If we were going to be attacked anyway, shouldn't it have been red? What could be positive about this situation?
Those musings were cut off by Amelia. "Schuitz, what do you want to do?"
"It'll be hard to shake them, right?"
"Probably."
Their ships appeared to have modifications that made them especially fast, as the distance between us kept growing shorter even though we were using the mana propulsion device. And so, we only had one option now.
"Emily, don't waste the mana stones."
"Are we going to fight?"
"Is there any other option?"
Amelia didn't answer my question. She just let go of the wheel. When she did, the speed of the ship, which was riding the wind, decreased significantly.
Chwaaa!
The three ships riding the current toward us came into my sight too. Among them, the most noticeable was the ship in the middle. It looked about three times heavier than ours, was equipped with mana cannons on the front and sides, and had three sails. That wasn't all, either. There was even an icebreaking device attached to the bow. A ship of that quality would be just two ranks under a royal warship.
"Schuitz, if those guys fire cannons, our ship will sink in no time." Amelia expressed her concerns upon spotting the overwhelming grandeur of the small fleet, and I could see why. If this turned into a naval battle, a ship like ours would no doubt be destroyed in no time.
Smack.
I licked my lips and checked the Traffic Light Ring. The yellow light from earlier had long since faded away, but I thought I knew now why the light had been yellow instead of red.
"That ship... looks very big and sturdy."
Monsters weren't the only ones who dropped treasure in the labyrinth.