Chapter 478: Big Fish (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 478: Big Fish (1)
This was my second coming-of-age ceremony since becoming the chieftain. Nevertheless, we were able to pull the ceremony off much easier than last month, despite only having done it once before.
Hm? No newbies this time?
None of the young warriors this time around were acting suspicious like a new player would. That was a relief. That meant an innocent person hadn't been dragged into this world only to be treated like an evil spirit, and an innocent barbarian's soul hadn't been replaced. It would be best if this shitty game faded into obscurity entirely.
"Kharon."
"What is it, Chieftain?"
Since I already had newbies on my mind, I decided to ask my second elder how the previous one was doing.
"Vector, third son of Kiltau? Oh, the one who picked a shield during the last ceremony!"
"Yes, him. How is he doing?"
"Ahh, you must be worried about him since he picked a shield."
"Just answer the question."
"I heard he's doing fine. In fact, I heard he was doing quite well in the labyrinth..." When I asked for more details, he gave me the most recent update. "He's a lot like you, actually. Last month was his first expedition, and he already made it to the second floor with the other warriors on his team."
"The second floor...?"
So, it seemed the newbie was making effective use of the new team system and starting items I provided him with. He even went and bought a torch from another adventurer in exchange for a potion, which was how he managed to get through the dark zone. On the second floor, he used his shield to tank for the other warriors as well.
"I heard he made a lot of money on his first expedition, Chieftain. Of course, not as much as you did."
He was level-headed and seemed to be adapting fast. Even with knowledge of the game, that was impressive. Still, there was one thing I was worried about.
If he keeps acting like that, those damn secret service evil spirit hunters will notice him... Well, I'm sure he'll be able to handle it on his own if they do.
Way back in the day, one of those bastards came up to me out of nowhere to ask where I was from, even claiming they were from the United States. If you weren't careful and wary of everyone you met, there was no way you'd last long here anyway.
"Then we should give them torches next time."
"Oh, that's a good idea."
I ended my conversation with Kharon, and then began leading the new young warriors into the city. However, on the walk over, Kharon brought more news.
"Chieftain." His voice was suddenly much tenser. "Just a little while ago... I heard some information. It's about why our young warriors died last month—the thing you asked me to look into."
Right, the first thing I did when I got back to the holy land this month was check how many young barbarians had passed away during the last quest. The death toll was a mere seven, an incredible number that spoke to a survival rate of nearly 90 percent. However, I wasn't satisfied with that. Not only had I supplied them with potions and shoes, but I even hired a wizard to group them into parties of three and four. How did it make sense that any one of them would die with all that going for them?
"So, what did you find out?"
Kharon's response was quiet. "It was plunderers. The guild received reports that our warriors were found dead in the Crystal Cave. According to the ones who reported the find, the dead barbarians looked like they were killed by humans, not monsters."
"...I see." I had a feeling that was the case. Of course, that left me with another question. "But something about that is strange. We put them into teams, so how were they killed by plunderers who frequent the first floor?"
Kharon hesitated before leaning over to whisper in my ear. It seemed he didn't want the young warriors following us to overhear. "Recently, the price of a barbarian's heart has risen significantly."
As the chieftain in charge of the future of the barbarian people, this was heart-wrenching news.
"The price went up...?"
"Yes. There was an announcement from the Magic Tower, and the price went up by several times."
"Damn it."
I now understood what was happening here. Since we were no longer the easy targets we used to be, the supply of hearts had gone down. Which meant the price of our hearts must have skyrocketed.
Since a heart is now worth millions of stones... it's no surprise there are bastards out there willing to do anything to get their hands on one.
It was much more economical to hunt barbarians on the lower floors than go up to the fourth or fifth. Not only that, but the barbarians were now traveling in groups of three or four, and each had potions on them. If professional plunderers stayed on the first floor and attacked young warriors, who were no match for them stats-wise, they had no hope of defending themselves.
"When I asked the adventurers who found the barbarian corpses, they said that most of the bodies found seemed to have been killed in a one-sided massacre."
Those fucking bastards.
Crack...
We needed to push back and push back hard.
***
After personally escorting the young warriors to Dimension Square, we all headed over to the wizard waiting for us. I then had her group the barbarians together and cast the Binding spell. This time, it wasn't a wizard from the guild. Now, I could use our clan's very own wizard.
"It's low-rank magic, but... since I had to cast it so many times, I'm quite exhausted."
"Thanks, Versyl Gowland."
"Ah... I promise I wasn't trying to complain, though..."
"That doesn't matter. You did me a favor, so I should thank you for it." I smiled and patted Versyl on the shoulder.
For some reason, Amelia let out an unhappy sigh from where she was watching this exchange on the sidelines. "...There he goes again."
I had no idea what she was talking about.
"Yandel, we should start heading in as well."
Since I'd finished taking care of all my chieftain duties, I agreed that it was time to head into the labyrinth.
[You have entered the Crystal Cave on the first floor.]
The Crystal Cave always brought back memories whenever I entered it. Without hesitation, we headed straight toward the dark zone in the center.
"...It's a strange feeling. Returning to this place," Versyl murmured, almost to herself, as soon as we reached the monument.
Yeah, it couldn't feel great for her to be back here.
"What's so strange about it? All I remember is you opening a portal and running away, leaving us behind."
Erwen couldn't pass up the opportunity to make a jab, and Versyl flinched. Thankfully, instead of getting upset or emotional, Versyl just apologized. "...I'm sorry."
"...I see." I had a feeling that was the case. Of course, that left me with another question. "But something about that is strange. We put them into teams, so how were they killed by plunderers who frequent the first floor?"
Kharon hesitated before leaning over to whisper in my ear. It seemed he didn't want the young warriors following us to overhear. "Recently, the price of a barbarian's heart has risen significantly."
As the chieftain in charge of the future of the barbarian people, this was heart-wrenching news.
"The price went up...?"
"Yes. There was an announcement from the Magic Tower, and the price went up by several times."
"Damn it."
I now understood what was happening here. Since we were no longer the easy targets we used to be, the supply of hearts had gone down. Which meant the price of our hearts must have skyrocketed.
Since a heart is now worth millions of stones... it's no surprise there are bastards out there willing to do anything to get their hands on one.
It was much more economical to hunt barbarians on the lower floors than go up to the fourth or fifth. Not only that, but the barbarians were now traveling in groups of three or four, and each had potions on them. If professional plunderers stayed on the first floor and attacked young warriors, who were no match for them stats-wise, they had no hope of defending themselves.
"When I asked the adventurers who found the barbarian corpses, they said that most of the bodies found seemed to have been killed in a one-sided massacre."
Those fucking bastards.
Crack...
We needed to push back and push back hard.
***
After personally escorting the young warriors to Dimension Square, we all headed over to the wizard waiting for us. I then had her group the barbarians together and cast the Binding spell. This time, it wasn't a wizard from the guild. Now, I could use our clan's very own wizard.
"It's low-rank magic, but... since I had to cast it so many times, I'm quite exhausted."
"Thanks, Versyl Gowland."
"Ah... I promise I wasn't trying to complain, though..."
"That doesn't matter. You did me a favor, so I should thank you for it." I smiled and patted Versyl on the shoulder.
For some reason, Amelia let out an unhappy sigh from where she was watching this exchange on the sidelines. "...There he goes again."
I had no idea what she was talking about.
"Yandel, we should start heading in as well."
Since I'd finished taking care of all my chieftain duties, I agreed that it was time to head into the labyrinth.
[You have entered the Crystal Cave on the first floor.]
The Crystal Cave always brought back memories whenever I entered it. Without hesitation, we headed straight toward the dark zone in the center.
"...It's a strange feeling. Returning to this place," Versyl murmured, almost to herself, as soon as we reached the monument.
Yeah, it couldn't feel great for her to be back here.
"What's so strange about it? All I remember is you opening a portal and running away, leaving us behind."
Erwen couldn't pass up the opportunity to make a jab, and Versyl flinched. Thankfully, instead of getting upset or emotional, Versyl just apologized. "...I'm sorry."
Well, this is awkward.
In an attempt to smooth things over, I quickly intervened, making sure to keep my tone light. "What's there to be sorry for? It wasn't your fault."
Erwen must have been genuinely rankled by that statement because, for the first time in a while, she openly disagreed with me. "It was her fault. If she hadn't run away, if she had just fought with us, a lot more people would've been able to make it back alive." It made sense that she'd be upset. After all, Erwen lost her older sister that day. "Your actions always come with consequences."
"...You're right. That's why I will pay for my actions." Looking genuinely remorseful for the decisions she made, Versyl took Erwen's sharp criticism with grace.
Surprisingly, Erwen backed off there and didn't make any other pointed comments. She even apologized herself. "...Mister, I'm sorry. I've made things uncomfortable for everyone."
"Huh...? No, it's fine. I'm not uncomfortable at all?"
"Well... I'm glad, then."
What? Since when was she so levelheaded? She had a tendency to get a bit heated when it came to matters involving her older sister, so I never imagined she'd be willing to end that conversation so peacefully...
"Bjorn! When is he going to show up? I've waited for this day for so long!" Ainar shouted, unable to hide her excitement.
Amelia glared at her and responded on my behalf, snapping, "Barbarian, I told you multiple times during our meeting. Yet you're asking the same question again?"
"...I forgot!"
"And?"
"I-I'm sorry...?"
"That's better."
Ainar's shoulders slumped at Amelia's scolding. It seemed they finalized the pecking order last month in the Witch's Hut. Nevertheless, she still asked the same question one more time.
"So... when will we be fighting? I completely remember the plan for how we're going to fight it, though, so don't worry!"
After a long pause, Amelia reluctantly answered, "...In seven days."
"W-We have to wait that long? Can't we summon him by day three, though?!"
"How funny. You're asking the exact same questions that you did during the meeting."
On the first floor, the Lord of the Floor had a certain probability of being summoned after day three so long as at least five people were gathered in one place. That probability dramatically increased over time, to the point where it became a 100 percent chance if you stayed in a group of five for a whole day.
We can start preparing to summon it on the afternoon of the sixth day.
Because there were only five of us, we had received permission to attempt our raid on the seventh day, right before the labyrinth closed.
"Then... are we just going to wait around here until then?"
Ainar already looked bored to death. Hearing her whine every day about how bored she was would be irritating, but thankfully, we wouldn't have to deal with that.
"Don't worry, Ainar. While we wait, you and I are going to do something else."
"Oh! Really?!" Ainar's mood significantly brightened at that.
On the other hand, Amelia tilted her head in confusion. "...Yandel, you have something else you need to do? I never heard about this."
Well, sure. I just came up with it today on the way here.
Well, this is awkward.
In an attempt to smooth things over, I quickly intervened, making sure to keep my tone light. "What's there to be sorry for? It wasn't your fault."
Erwen must have been genuinely rankled by that statement because, for the first time in a while, she openly disagreed with me. "It was her fault. If she hadn't run away, if she had just fought with us, a lot more people would've been able to make it back alive." It made sense that she'd be upset. After all, Erwen lost her older sister that day. "Your actions always come with consequences."
"...You're right. That's why I will pay for my actions." Looking genuinely remorseful for the decisions she made, Versyl took Erwen's sharp criticism with grace.
Surprisingly, Erwen backed off there and didn't make any other pointed comments. She even apologized herself. "...Mister, I'm sorry. I've made things uncomfortable for everyone."
"Huh...? No, it's fine. I'm not uncomfortable at all?"
"Well... I'm glad, then."
What? Since when was she so levelheaded? She had a tendency to get a bit heated when it came to matters involving her older sister, so I never imagined she'd be willing to end that conversation so peacefully...
"Bjorn! When is he going to show up? I've waited for this day for so long!" Ainar shouted, unable to hide her excitement.
Amelia glared at her and responded on my behalf, snapping, "Barbarian, I told you multiple times during our meeting. Yet you're asking the same question again?"
"...I forgot!"
"And?"
"I-I'm sorry...?"
"That's better."
Ainar's shoulders slumped at Amelia's scolding. It seemed they finalized the pecking order last month in the Witch's Hut. Nevertheless, she still asked the same question one more time.
"So... when will we be fighting? I completely remember the plan for how we're going to fight it, though, so don't worry!"
After a long pause, Amelia reluctantly answered, "...In seven days."
"W-We have to wait that long? Can't we summon him by day three, though?!"
"How funny. You're asking the exact same questions that you did during the meeting."
On the first floor, the Lord of the Floor had a certain probability of being summoned after day three so long as at least five people were gathered in one place. That probability dramatically increased over time, to the point where it became a 100 percent chance if you stayed in a group of five for a whole day.
We can start preparing to summon it on the afternoon of the sixth day.
Because there were only five of us, we had received permission to attempt our raid on the seventh day, right before the labyrinth closed.
"Then... are we just going to wait around here until then?"
Ainar already looked bored to death. Hearing her whine every day about how bored she was would be irritating, but thankfully, we wouldn't have to deal with that.
"Don't worry, Ainar. While we wait, you and I are going to do something else."
"Oh! Really?!" Ainar's mood significantly brightened at that.
On the other hand, Amelia tilted her head in confusion. "...Yandel, you have something else you need to do? I never heard about this."
Well, sure. I just came up with it today on the way here.
"It won't be a problem. We just need to make sure that all of us are together by the sixth day. So while me and Ainar do our business, you three can just rest here. I'll make sure we aren't late."
"...What are you going to do?" Amelia looked worried. Did she think I was going to stir up trouble? It was a bit depressing to see how little faith she had in me.
"Don't worry. The two of us are just going to go on a nice, peaceful stroll."
Oh, but we would, of course, be taking off all our expensive equipment before we left, for the authentic newbie experience.
***
Ainar and I left the party to take care of our new task. Even though she didn't know what we would be doing, Erwen volunteered to help. I unfortunately had to reject her, and the reason was simple. What we were about to do was something only a barbarian could do.
Stomp, stomp.
Ainar and I wandered around the cave aimlessly, without any real destination in mind. We simply picked a direction and walked.
Before our walk began, we took off all our equipment and stored it away in our sub-spaces, instead exchanging our gear for beginner barbarian equipment: a pair of boots, a cloth backpack, an extra bag around our waists, and a leftover iron weapon from the coming-of-age ceremony.
"...Bjorn, will this really trick them?" Even though she agreed to my plan and was following along, Ainar was still a bit skeptical. "Our names are both pretty famous..."
"Exactly. Our names might be well known, but our faces are not."
"You're only saying that because you don't know any better! Even if they don't know me, everyone else will definitely recognize you!"
Would that really be the case? I didn't think so. A person's first impression of someone was based on the context they encountered them in along with their appearance and temperament.
"Also, we're older, so... people will notice something is different."
Was she always the type to sweat the small stuff so much? It was impossible to tell the age of a barbarian. I was living proof. Every time I encountered someone, their eyes lit up and—
"Grr. Grr."
A Goblin suddenly emerged from behind a crystal rock.
Slice.
It was immediately killed by Ainar's iron longsword.
"Ainar!" I shouted at her without thinking. "What do you think you're doing?!"
Ainar flinched. "Wh-what did I do?! I-I was just cutting the Goblin apart..." She trailed off in quiet indignation.
"That's the problem! You killed it too easily!"
"...Then what should I do?"
"I'll show you."
We continued to walk around for a bit longer until we found a rank-nine monster. It was time to show her how we should be fighting them.
"G-Grrr...!"
The opponent was a lone Goblin.
I looked into the monster's eyes, which were filled with an eagerness to cut me apart, and then tightened my grip on the weapon in my hand.
Clench.
I gripped the handle so hard that the blade started to tremble.
"B-Behel—aaaaaaaaah!"
Then I swung the sword at random and prayed for my ancestors to protect me. Of course, the Goblin avoided my attacks.
Swing!
After randomly waving my sword around a few times, it eventually struck the Goblin. Because of my base stats, I took it out in a single hit.
Shaaaa!
The most important part of the act, however, was to immediately run over to the mana stone on the ground like a starving man toward food.
"What do you think? Can you do it?"
"Bjorn... I know you are supposed to be a first-time adventurer, but no warrior would ever be so bad at fighting..."
I sighed. Why was she so opinionated today? "So can you do it or not? Just answer me that."
"I'll try..."
"Oh, and make sure you let out a nice, loud battle cry. We want people to think we are going all-out in these fights."
We needed to scream out our ancestors' names while dealing with mere rank-nine monsters.
Visibly swallowing her embarrassment and shame, she played along. "B-Behel—aaah..."
She didn't put her whole heart behind that battle cry, but it wasn't bad. That was enough talk. It was now time for action.
"Now, you have to keep acting like that from now on. Got it?"
"Yeah..."
After that, we continued aimlessly wandering around the Crystal Cave, fighting rank-nine monsters the way I taught her. When we encountered human adventurers, we made sure to keep our eyes wide open, and on high alert. When we were hungry, we filled our stomachs with stale bread like we used to years ago.
This was what I liked to call Fisherman Barbarian Mode.
Surprisingly, maintaining the act required quite a bit of mental fortitude. No matter how much I tried to hold back my strength, I couldn't help but one-shot the Goblins... However, over time, I started to slowly get used to it.
One day passed, then two.
Time continued to march forward. Unfortunately, nobody had bitten our bait yet. Still, there was no reason to doubt ourselves or give up just yet.
During the first couple of days, there are still a lot of adventurers wandering around. The plunderers are probably being mindful of potential witnesses.
By the third day, however, many of those adventurers would leave the first floor to go higher.
Hooonk! Hooonk...
Ainar was asleep when we finally got our first bite.
Step, step.
Four adventurers approached us, making no effort to hide their presence. Their equipment wasn't too shabby either.
They must be at least fourth-floor adventurers...
Not that it made a difference either way.
Step.
The men continued to walk toward us, then began to fan out to surround us. Eventually, they came to a stop.
"Seriously. Why are they so hard to find?"
One of them smiled at me, and I was surprised to hear him say exactly what I was thinking.
"We finally found them."
Yeah, that's right...
We finally found them.
"It won't be a problem. We just need to make sure that all of us are together by the sixth day. So while me and Ainar do our business, you three can just rest here. I'll make sure we aren't late."
"...What are you going to do?" Amelia looked worried. Did she think I was going to stir up trouble? It was a bit depressing to see how little faith she had in me.
"Don't worry. The two of us are just going to go on a nice, peaceful stroll."
Oh, but we would, of course, be taking off all our expensive equipment before we left, for the authentic newbie experience.
***
Ainar and I left the party to take care of our new task. Even though she didn't know what we would be doing, Erwen volunteered to help. I unfortunately had to reject her, and the reason was simple. What we were about to do was something only a barbarian could do.
Stomp, stomp.
Ainar and I wandered around the cave aimlessly, without any real destination in mind. We simply picked a direction and walked.
Before our walk began, we took off all our equipment and stored it away in our sub-spaces, instead exchanging our gear for beginner barbarian equipment: a pair of boots, a cloth backpack, an extra bag around our waists, and a leftover iron weapon from the coming-of-age ceremony.
"...Bjorn, will this really trick them?" Even though she agreed to my plan and was following along, Ainar was still a bit skeptical. "Our names are both pretty famous..."
"Exactly. Our names might be well known, but our faces are not."
"You're only saying that because you don't know any better! Even if they don't know me, everyone else will definitely recognize you!"
Would that really be the case? I didn't think so. A person's first impression of someone was based on the context they encountered them in along with their appearance and temperament.
"Also, we're older, so... people will notice something is different."
Was she always the type to sweat the small stuff so much? It was impossible to tell the age of a barbarian. I was living proof. Every time I encountered someone, their eyes lit up and—
"Grr. Grr."
A Goblin suddenly emerged from behind a crystal rock.
Slice.
It was immediately killed by Ainar's iron longsword.
"Ainar!" I shouted at her without thinking. "What do you think you're doing?!"
Ainar flinched. "Wh-what did I do?! I-I was just cutting the Goblin apart..." She trailed off in quiet indignation.
"That's the problem! You killed it too easily!"
"...Then what should I do?"
"I'll show you."
We continued to walk around for a bit longer until we found a rank-nine monster. It was time to show her how we should be fighting them.
"G-Grrr...!"
The opponent was a lone Goblin.
I looked into the monster's eyes, which were filled with an eagerness to cut me apart, and then tightened my grip on the weapon in my hand.
Clench.
I gripped the handle so hard that the blade started to tremble.
"B-Behel—aaaaaaaaah!"
Then I swung the sword at random and prayed for my ancestors to protect me. Of course, the Goblin avoided my attacks.
Swing!
After randomly waving my sword around a few times, it eventually struck the Goblin. Because of my base stats, I took it out in a single hit.
Shaaaa!
The most important part of the act, however, was to immediately run over to the mana stone on the ground like a starving man toward food.
"What do you think? Can you do it?"
"Bjorn... I know you are supposed to be a first-time adventurer, but no warrior would ever be so bad at fighting..."
I sighed. Why was she so opinionated today? "So can you do it or not? Just answer me that."
"I'll try..."
"Oh, and make sure you let out a nice, loud battle cry. We want people to think we are going all-out in these fights."
We needed to scream out our ancestors' names while dealing with mere rank-nine monsters.
Visibly swallowing her embarrassment and shame, she played along. "B-Behel—aaah..."
She didn't put her whole heart behind that battle cry, but it wasn't bad. That was enough talk. It was now time for action.
"Now, you have to keep acting like that from now on. Got it?"
"Yeah..."
After that, we continued aimlessly wandering around the Crystal Cave, fighting rank-nine monsters the way I taught her. When we encountered human adventurers, we made sure to keep our eyes wide open, and on high alert. When we were hungry, we filled our stomachs with stale bread like we used to years ago.
This was what I liked to call Fisherman Barbarian Mode.
Surprisingly, maintaining the act required quite a bit of mental fortitude. No matter how much I tried to hold back my strength, I couldn't help but one-shot the Goblins... However, over time, I started to slowly get used to it.
One day passed, then two.
Time continued to march forward. Unfortunately, nobody had bitten our bait yet. Still, there was no reason to doubt ourselves or give up just yet.
During the first couple of days, there are still a lot of adventurers wandering around. The plunderers are probably being mindful of potential witnesses.
By the third day, however, many of those adventurers would leave the first floor to go higher.
Hooonk! Hooonk...
Ainar was asleep when we finally got our first bite.
Step, step.
Four adventurers approached us, making no effort to hide their presence. Their equipment wasn't too shabby either.
They must be at least fourth-floor adventurers...
Not that it made a difference either way.
Step.
The men continued to walk toward us, then began to fan out to surround us. Eventually, they came to a stop.
"Seriously. Why are they so hard to find?"
One of them smiled at me, and I was surprised to hear him say exactly what I was thinking.
"We finally found them."
Yeah, that's right...
We finally found them.