Chapter 43: The Wizard and the Barbarian (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 43: The Wizard and the Barbarian (3)
"Oh! Bjorn, son of Yandel!"
As soon as I left the magic tower, I headed straight to the barbarians' dormitory. But since it had been two months now, half of the faces I knew had disappeared, and newbie barbarians instead took their spots. I heard there was an implicit tradition to leave this place as soon as you made money to make room for new barbarians.
Among the ones who are no longer here, there are probably many who died during this month's expedition.
When you were born a barbarian, this was your destiny. Unlike elves, who had more experienced people helping them out, the barbarian way was to have to survive all on your own once you entered the city.
"Is Ainar here?"
"Ainar left for the holy land first thing in the morning!"
Yeah, I figured that would be the case. I came to visit since I hadn't seen her in the two days since we left the labyrinth, but it turned out to be a wasted trip.
"Oh, did you hear the news?"
"What news?"
"The free barbarian! News of that man is rampant around the whole city. You haven't heard?"
I flinched instinctively. "I-I didn't know that. Do you happen to know his name as well?"
"Hmm? I don't know! Strangely, that's the only thing that wasn't revealed!"
Thankfully, it seemed that the guild had made me anonymous.
"Anyway, to have such a person among our people, I am proud! He beat up hundreds of people by himself and courageously removed a false accusation placed on him by the guild. Isn't that amazing?"
"...He beat up hundreds of people?" I swear to god nothing like that happened. All I did was hold onto the daughter of the district chief and complain. But had the rumors already evolved into stuff like this? I was already starting to get worried about the future.
I'm sure it'll subside soon. The guild's employees are not idiots.
"I'll be back tomorrow evening. Will you tell Ainar that if you see her?" I asked.
"I will!"
Soon after, I turned around and headed to my inn. But what was this? As soon as he spotted me, the innkeeper looked like he had seen a ghost.
"Y-You...! You aren't dead?"
It seemed my analogy had been pretty accurate, then. Thanks to that, I didn't have to ask many questions and quickly extracted a confession that he had gotten rid of my room, thinking I was dead. "What happened to my belongings?"
"I got rid of them..."
"I clearly paid for three days in advance." Unbeknownst to me, my voice was filled with annoyance, and the innkeeper's face turned white.
It's not like I can just beat him up—
Wait. Since when had I started thinking like this? I flinched at the strange sensation that something was out of place.
It may have even started on the first day.
Looking back, everything had been a little strange from the very beginning. As soon as I opened my eyes, even though a person's head had been chopped off, my mind was calm. It was the same when I committed my first murder inside the labyrinth. I knew it was something I had to do, but the process of doing it was far too easy. It hadn't even been a gradual change. From the day I had woken up in this body, I was as aggressive as the barbarians, and I just hadn't noticed.
It was the same even today.
A jailbreak? Of course, it was a course of action I had selected after much deliberation, but strangely, I hadn't felt any hesitation. The argument I had had with the old man in the magic tower had been in a similar vein. I was angry because I had heard something that didn't tickle my fancy. The twenty-nine-year-old office worker Hansu Lee would never have done something like that. He wasn't timid, but he wasn't bold, either. He was very suspicious of everything, so he was the kind of person who observed a situation for a long time before taking action.
But what about now?
Until now, I just thought it was a change that had occurred because I had been placed in a strange environment, but the feeling of incongruity was growing bigger and bigger.
I'm positive.
Soon, I was convinced. Just like how in every battle the instincts ingrained in this oblivious body surfaced of their own accord, something had changed in my mind as well. No, it was more like I had found some sort of balance rather than experienced an actual change.
"Th-that's why I said s-sorry! Stop glaring at me!"
Having finished thinking it over, I sighed. I had changed. It was strange I had only noticed now, but at least I had confirmed it. But what about it?
If I want to survive in this world, it's better this way.
I decided to focus on the positive. I could just be more careful about controlling my barbarian instincts from now on.
"...If you give me thirty thousand stones, I'll let it go."
Therefore, though the innkeeper's behavior had been very offensive, I decided to let this pass with just fair compensation. The most expensive thing I owned was my 2,500-stone clothes, and I wanted to get some rest more than I wanted to stand here and argue.
"Thirty thousand stones! Just because I sold some of it—"
"Didn't you just say you threw it all away?"
The man silently gulped.
"If you don't want to give me the money then just say so, so I can tell everyone here what you did to me."
"...What if I just let you stay at the inn for however many days that amount of money would get you instead?"
"No." I had no intention of staying at this kind of inn in the future. Stealing from a dead adventurer was one thing, but he didn't even bother to wait until the date we agreed upon.
"Ha... Promise that you won't tell anyone."
"Of course."
After that, with an additional income of thirty thousand stones in my pocket, I headed to the inn I had been eyeing earlier. Although the average meal and the cost per night were twice as expensive, it was worth the price.
Now I finally feel like I'm living like a person.
First of all, the room was 1.5 times larger than before. It had windows and even had a private tub in the bathroom. The fact that it was much closer to Dimension Square was a bonus.
After scrubbing my skin clean for about an hour to wash off all the dirt I had accumulated in the labyrinth, I jumped straight into bed. It was soft, to the point that I wondered whether this was the kind of momentary happiness that people lived for. Was this why everyone else woke up in the morning?
Suddenly, all the events from the labyrinth up to everything that had occurred since I had returned to the city flashed through my mind like a montage.
"Fuck."
It was the same even today.
A jailbreak? Of course, it was a course of action I had selected after much deliberation, but strangely, I hadn't felt any hesitation. The argument I had had with the old man in the magic tower had been in a similar vein. I was angry because I had heard something that didn't tickle my fancy. The twenty-nine-year-old office worker Hansu Lee would never have done something like that. He wasn't timid, but he wasn't bold, either. He was very suspicious of everything, so he was the kind of person who observed a situation for a long time before taking action.
But what about now?
Until now, I just thought it was a change that had occurred because I had been placed in a strange environment, but the feeling of incongruity was growing bigger and bigger.
I'm positive.
Soon, I was convinced. Just like how in every battle the instincts ingrained in this oblivious body surfaced of their own accord, something had changed in my mind as well. No, it was more like I had found some sort of balance rather than experienced an actual change.
"Th-that's why I said s-sorry! Stop glaring at me!"
Having finished thinking it over, I sighed. I had changed. It was strange I had only noticed now, but at least I had confirmed it. But what about it?
If I want to survive in this world, it's better this way.
I decided to focus on the positive. I could just be more careful about controlling my barbarian instincts from now on.
"...If you give me thirty thousand stones, I'll let it go."
Therefore, though the innkeeper's behavior had been very offensive, I decided to let this pass with just fair compensation. The most expensive thing I owned was my 2,500-stone clothes, and I wanted to get some rest more than I wanted to stand here and argue.
"Thirty thousand stones! Just because I sold some of it—"
"Didn't you just say you threw it all away?"
The man silently gulped.
"If you don't want to give me the money then just say so, so I can tell everyone here what you did to me."
"...What if I just let you stay at the inn for however many days that amount of money would get you instead?"
"No." I had no intention of staying at this kind of inn in the future. Stealing from a dead adventurer was one thing, but he didn't even bother to wait until the date we agreed upon.
"Ha... Promise that you won't tell anyone."
"Of course."
After that, with an additional income of thirty thousand stones in my pocket, I headed to the inn I had been eyeing earlier. Although the average meal and the cost per night were twice as expensive, it was worth the price.
Now I finally feel like I'm living like a person.
First of all, the room was 1.5 times larger than before. It had windows and even had a private tub in the bathroom. The fact that it was much closer to Dimension Square was a bonus.
After scrubbing my skin clean for about an hour to wash off all the dirt I had accumulated in the labyrinth, I jumped straight into bed. It was soft, to the point that I wondered whether this was the kind of momentary happiness that people lived for. Was this why everyone else woke up in the morning?
Suddenly, all the events from the labyrinth up to everything that had occurred since I had returned to the city flashed through my mind like a montage.
"Fuck."
Why was it so hard for me to get some rest?
***
As soon as the morning dawned, I headed into an open clothing store and bought everyday clothes. Then I headed back to the barbarians-only dormitory.
"Bjorn! Where have you been all this time?!" cried Ainar.
"I had some things to take care of. Sorry to worry you."
"Worry? What are you talking about? There's no way I'd do that! Even if you were thrown into hell itself, you'd come back alive!"
Right, that's your impression of me. Well, I like that much better than a reunion scene out of a B-grade soap opera.
Since neither of us had eaten, we headed to a nearby restaurant.
"Oh, did you hear?" Ainar asked once we were seated and had placed our orders.
I wasn't caught off guard this time around because I had seen this coming. "Oh, that free barbarian?"
"Hmm? A free barbarian? What are you talking about?"
Uh, that wasn't your question? "...Nothing. So, what were you going to say?"
"Ah!" Returning to her original point, Ainar lowered her head and her voice. "I heard this from the elder... Someone stole the Genesis Treasure!"
"The Genesis Treasure?" I genuinely shouted.
The Genesis Treasures referred to the six treasures kept by the six races: dwarves, barbarians, elves, beastpeople, dragon people, and humans. The problem was...
Without that thing, I can't enter the last floor!
The Genesis Treasures were the most important items in Dungeon and Stone. The ending— Well, actually, at this point, I didn't know if the ending even existed, but in order to open the Gate of the Abyss, all six of the Genesis Treasures had to be combined. But now the barbarian treasure was gone?
"Who would do such a foolish thing?"
"I don't know either. But apparently it was stolen on the day of our coming-of-age ceremony. The elder said the other races might be in a similar boat."
"...I see."
It felt like someone had clocked me over the back of the head with a hammer, but I finished my meal without saying much.
Shit, does that mean I have to live here for the rest of my life?
In a way, it was as if my biggest hope had just disappeared. But to be honest, it would take at least several years for the Genesis Treasures to be of use to me anyway.
This isn't something I should worry about when I haven't even made it to the third floor yet.
Ultimately, my job remained the same. When the day came to make a choice, I needed to be as strong as I could so I would be able to choose from as many options as possible. Plus, you never knew. While I was focusing on that, the thief might even be caught.
"Ainar, are you free today?"
"Yes. I've decided not to go to the holy land today."
"Good." After a short meal, I headed to the business district with Ainar.
"Is this Kommelby? It's my first time being here in person! There are so many people!"
Kommelby was the name for Sectors Two and Five, which surrounded Karnon like a belt. It was colloquially referred to as the Free Market by most people. That was how commercially prosperous this part of the city was. Inhabited by Rafdonia's middle class, many artisans and shops were concentrated here. I had stopped by here with Erwen the other day.
Why was it so hard for me to get some rest?
***
As soon as the morning dawned, I headed into an open clothing store and bought everyday clothes. Then I headed back to the barbarians-only dormitory.
"Bjorn! Where have you been all this time?!" cried Ainar.
"I had some things to take care of. Sorry to worry you."
"Worry? What are you talking about? There's no way I'd do that! Even if you were thrown into hell itself, you'd come back alive!"
Right, that's your impression of me. Well, I like that much better than a reunion scene out of a B-grade soap opera.
Since neither of us had eaten, we headed to a nearby restaurant.
"Oh, did you hear?" Ainar asked once we were seated and had placed our orders.
I wasn't caught off guard this time around because I had seen this coming. "Oh, that free barbarian?"
"Hmm? A free barbarian? What are you talking about?"
Uh, that wasn't your question? "...Nothing. So, what were you going to say?"
"Ah!" Returning to her original point, Ainar lowered her head and her voice. "I heard this from the elder... Someone stole the Genesis Treasure!"
"The Genesis Treasure?" I genuinely shouted.
The Genesis Treasures referred to the six treasures kept by the six races: dwarves, barbarians, elves, beastpeople, dragon people, and humans. The problem was...
Without that thing, I can't enter the last floor!
The Genesis Treasures were the most important items in Dungeon and Stone. The ending— Well, actually, at this point, I didn't know if the ending even existed, but in order to open the Gate of the Abyss, all six of the Genesis Treasures had to be combined. But now the barbarian treasure was gone?
"Who would do such a foolish thing?"
"I don't know either. But apparently it was stolen on the day of our coming-of-age ceremony. The elder said the other races might be in a similar boat."
"...I see."
It felt like someone had clocked me over the back of the head with a hammer, but I finished my meal without saying much.
Shit, does that mean I have to live here for the rest of my life?
In a way, it was as if my biggest hope had just disappeared. But to be honest, it would take at least several years for the Genesis Treasures to be of use to me anyway.
This isn't something I should worry about when I haven't even made it to the third floor yet.
Ultimately, my job remained the same. When the day came to make a choice, I needed to be as strong as I could so I would be able to choose from as many options as possible. Plus, you never knew. While I was focusing on that, the thief might even be caught.
"Ainar, are you free today?"
"Yes. I've decided not to go to the holy land today."
"Good." After a short meal, I headed to the business district with Ainar.
"Is this Kommelby? It's my first time being here in person! There are so many people!"
Kommelby was the name for Sectors Two and Five, which surrounded Karnon like a belt. It was colloquially referred to as the Free Market by most people. That was how commercially prosperous this part of the city was. Inhabited by Rafdonia's middle class, many artisans and shops were concentrated here. I had stopped by here with Erwen the other day.
I wonder if she's doing okay.
Belatedly, Erwen came to mind. Our rendezvous almost always started with her coming to see me at the inn where I was staying, but now that I'd left that inn, it had become quite difficult to run into her. I couldn't remember the exact location of the elves-only dormitory I had visited that one time, either.
Well, I'm sure I could find it if I wanted to.
Still, I wondered if that was necessary. As long as her older sister was still alive, there would be no need for Ainar to journey into the labyrinth with me.
If we're meant to meet again, we will.
To be honest, after everything I'd been through these past few days, my memories of Erwen had also faded quite a bit. It hadn't even been that deep of a relationship in the first place.
"Oh! Look over there, Bjorn! People are eating clouds on skewers!"
What? There was cotton candy here? Intrigued, I bought one to get a taste and gave the rest to Ainar. It really was cotton candy.
"I-I can't believe it! Are all humans geniuses? To create food like this—!"
"Stop gushing over it and follow me."
"D-Don't leave me here! I can't get home on my own!"
Speeding up a bit, we quickly reached our destination: the surplus store where we had sold our equipment before. I sold off all the equipment that had landed me in jail, as well as the equipment that had turned into a lump of scrap metal. The selling price was about eight hundred thousand stones. I didn't sell the thing I got just before coming out of the rift, but...
I can probably just round up and call this five hundred thousand stones.
"Ainar, this is your share."
"This much?! I even absorbed an essence thanks to you..."
"Do not hesitate, take it. It's your fair share." The split was 80:20, as promised. Still, compared to the rest of our team, she probably earned the most during this adventure. "I promised you that if you followed me, you'd earn more money."
"Still, three hundred thousand stones! That's too much! How many cloud snacks is that?" Suddenly, the cotton candy had been upgraded to another monetary unit for Ainar.
"By the way, I'm getting hungry." Was it because the corpse golem's essence had Appetite +9 attached to it? I felt like I was getting hungry much faster.
"Already? It hasn't even been three hours yet!"
"So you're not coming?"
"Of course I'll come! Today, I will buy you meat!"
After quickly disposing of the equipment, we stopped at a nearby restaurant. Just as we were about to leave, Ainar looked straight into my eyes and said, "Thank you, Bjorn."
There was still sauce left on her lips, but her eyes were more serious than usual.
Ha... it was always awkward when she got like this. "No need. Like I said before—"
"I'm not talking about the money."
"Hmm? Then what is it?"
"It's just... I want to thank you for treating me the same way."
I wondered what she was going to say—I couldn't understand where she was going with this at all. Ainar's expression was far too serious for her to just want to say that. So I just stared at her without a word, and she continued.
"Um... As you know, my appearance has changed a lot. The others are avoiding me because they don't think I'm a warrior."
"That's—"
"These days, wherever I go, even humans keep coming up to me! That's never happened before!"
This was no doubt a serious concern for a woman who was very proud of being a warrior. To be honest, I couldn't really empathize, but that must have been because my personality was different than a regular barbarian's.
"Bjorn! Be honest!" Ainar cried out angrily when I didn't do anything but sit there and listen quietly. "Am I that ugly?"
...What?
"I have decided! Bjorn! From now on, I can't enter the labyrinth with you!"
Wait. Why was that the conclusion you reached?
***
I was currently sitting alone, drinking lukewarm beer in the first-floor parlor of the inn I was staying at.
"Ugh..."
How could beer be this tasteless? It seemed I was staying at the wrong inn. The food was pretty good, but the innkeeper had a bad taste in alcohol.
"Ha..." I let out a long breath in an attempt to shrug off my bitterness. My earlier conversation with Ainar came to mind. After her bombshell declaration, we had a long talk, but the outcome hadn't changed.
"I am alone again."
Ainar had left. Like all barbarians, she tended to ramble, but from what I managed to gather, it seemed her decision wasn't just because of her appearance.
"To be honest... an elder asked me to become his successor yesterday," she had explained.
An elder of the holy land—and one known for his reputation as a respected swordsman—had favored Ainar. Today, she decided to officially learn the art of the sword under him.
"But even if you go into the labyrinth with me, it's only a day out here," I had pointed out. Just one day a month was all I was asking for. Couldn't she miss one day of training to enter the labyrinth?
But the question only made Ainar upset. "I want to do that too... but there is a special training program, so I can't leave the holy land for six months."
Special training program? Could it be the one I was thinking of? If so, I could understand why she wouldn't be able to enter the labyrinth with me for six months. I also knew how great an opportunity this was.
"I won't ask you to wait. Nor will I ask you to take me back when I return. But I will definitely train hard and come back as a great warrior so as not to be a burden."
It was for that reason that I hadn't been able to hold her back. During this expedition, she had been restrained by a plunderer and forced to make an oath. Inside the rift? While the wizard, the dwarf, and I had played active roles, Ainar had been helpless.
Actually, that must have been the deciding factor for why she made this decision.
Her change in appearance would have only been a contributing factor.
"Ugh..." I took another sip of the lukewarm beer, feeling a strange thirst. A bitter taste filled the back of my throat.
Do I have to find another teammate now?
I had been hoping to be able to get some rest and prepare for the next expedition at my leisure. So, how come I had a new quest every day?
I wonder if she's doing okay.
Belatedly, Erwen came to mind. Our rendezvous almost always started with her coming to see me at the inn where I was staying, but now that I'd left that inn, it had become quite difficult to run into her. I couldn't remember the exact location of the elves-only dormitory I had visited that one time, either.
Well, I'm sure I could find it if I wanted to.
Still, I wondered if that was necessary. As long as her older sister was still alive, there would be no need for Ainar to journey into the labyrinth with me.
If we're meant to meet again, we will.
To be honest, after everything I'd been through these past few days, my memories of Erwen had also faded quite a bit. It hadn't even been that deep of a relationship in the first place.
"Oh! Look over there, Bjorn! People are eating clouds on skewers!"
What? There was cotton candy here? Intrigued, I bought one to get a taste and gave the rest to Ainar. It really was cotton candy.
"I-I can't believe it! Are all humans geniuses? To create food like this—!"
"Stop gushing over it and follow me."
"D-Don't leave me here! I can't get home on my own!"
Speeding up a bit, we quickly reached our destination: the surplus store where we had sold our equipment before. I sold off all the equipment that had landed me in jail, as well as the equipment that had turned into a lump of scrap metal. The selling price was about eight hundred thousand stones. I didn't sell the thing I got just before coming out of the rift, but...
I can probably just round up and call this five hundred thousand stones.
"Ainar, this is your share."
"This much?! I even absorbed an essence thanks to you..."
"Do not hesitate, take it. It's your fair share." The split was 80:20, as promised. Still, compared to the rest of our team, she probably earned the most during this adventure. "I promised you that if you followed me, you'd earn more money."
"Still, three hundred thousand stones! That's too much! How many cloud snacks is that?" Suddenly, the cotton candy had been upgraded to another monetary unit for Ainar.
"By the way, I'm getting hungry." Was it because the corpse golem's essence had Appetite +9 attached to it? I felt like I was getting hungry much faster.
"Already? It hasn't even been three hours yet!"
"So you're not coming?"
"Of course I'll come! Today, I will buy you meat!"
After quickly disposing of the equipment, we stopped at a nearby restaurant. Just as we were about to leave, Ainar looked straight into my eyes and said, "Thank you, Bjorn."
There was still sauce left on her lips, but her eyes were more serious than usual.
Ha... it was always awkward when she got like this. "No need. Like I said before—"
"I'm not talking about the money."
"Hmm? Then what is it?"
"It's just... I want to thank you for treating me the same way."
I wondered what she was going to say—I couldn't understand where she was going with this at all. Ainar's expression was far too serious for her to just want to say that. So I just stared at her without a word, and she continued.
"Um... As you know, my appearance has changed a lot. The others are avoiding me because they don't think I'm a warrior."
"That's—"
"These days, wherever I go, even humans keep coming up to me! That's never happened before!"
This was no doubt a serious concern for a woman who was very proud of being a warrior. To be honest, I couldn't really empathize, but that must have been because my personality was different than a regular barbarian's.
"Bjorn! Be honest!" Ainar cried out angrily when I didn't do anything but sit there and listen quietly. "Am I that ugly?"
...What?
"I have decided! Bjorn! From now on, I can't enter the labyrinth with you!"
Wait. Why was that the conclusion you reached?
***
I was currently sitting alone, drinking lukewarm beer in the first-floor parlor of the inn I was staying at.
"Ugh..."
How could beer be this tasteless? It seemed I was staying at the wrong inn. The food was pretty good, but the innkeeper had a bad taste in alcohol.
"Ha..." I let out a long breath in an attempt to shrug off my bitterness. My earlier conversation with Ainar came to mind. After her bombshell declaration, we had a long talk, but the outcome hadn't changed.
"I am alone again."
Ainar had left. Like all barbarians, she tended to ramble, but from what I managed to gather, it seemed her decision wasn't just because of her appearance.
"To be honest... an elder asked me to become his successor yesterday," she had explained.
An elder of the holy land—and one known for his reputation as a respected swordsman—had favored Ainar. Today, she decided to officially learn the art of the sword under him.
"But even if you go into the labyrinth with me, it's only a day out here," I had pointed out. Just one day a month was all I was asking for. Couldn't she miss one day of training to enter the labyrinth?
But the question only made Ainar upset. "I want to do that too... but there is a special training program, so I can't leave the holy land for six months."
Special training program? Could it be the one I was thinking of? If so, I could understand why she wouldn't be able to enter the labyrinth with me for six months. I also knew how great an opportunity this was.
"I won't ask you to wait. Nor will I ask you to take me back when I return. But I will definitely train hard and come back as a great warrior so as not to be a burden."
It was for that reason that I hadn't been able to hold her back. During this expedition, she had been restrained by a plunderer and forced to make an oath. Inside the rift? While the wizard, the dwarf, and I had played active roles, Ainar had been helpless.
Actually, that must have been the deciding factor for why she made this decision.
Her change in appearance would have only been a contributing factor.
"Ugh..." I took another sip of the lukewarm beer, feeling a strange thirst. A bitter taste filled the back of my throat.
Do I have to find another teammate now?
I had been hoping to be able to get some rest and prepare for the next expedition at my leisure. So, how come I had a new quest every day?