Chapter 63: The Hut (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 63: The Hut (2)
It was day eight of being stranded.
While wandering through the Witch's Forest without any direction in mind, surprisingly, we hadn't encountered any adventurers until now. Given the terrain here, we probably should've come across at least one, but in truth, that wasn't strange at all.
First, the Witch's Forest was huge. Second, since it was not used as a main hunting ground, the population of people who took up residence here was small. Third, we were wandering aimlessly instead of heading toward the center. As a result, the chances of us running into someone were lower.
Plus, at this point, those who will pass through this place would have already passed it.
Still, I figured that when the third floor closed, some adventurers would come through here to go up to the fourth floor, since it was common to want to get a taste of a floor before you went up during your next quest.
So these people want to go up to the fourth floor?
That seemed very likely. Of course, that didn't mean we could trust them.
"A barbarian and a beastwoman? Is it just the two of you?" Just as I judged them the moment I laid eyes on them, they also evaluated us. To be fair, it must be strange. A duo, not on the first two floors but the third floor, and in the Witch's Forest at that.
The man, who seemed to be the leader of the team of five, reached a conclusion. "Have you two... been separated from your team?"
"That's right." I readily admitted it. It was good to bluff, but there was a time and place for that. If I tried to deny it while looking like a beggar like this, we'd just look suspicious. And what would we gain from insisting on denying it? Of course, I should still be careful.
"Ahh! Bjorn! Arrre we saved now?"
"Stay put." I pushed back Missha, who was already getting excited, blocked the front, and slowly raised my shield.
"Don't be so guarded. We're not bad people." A middle-aged human woman on the man's side smiled warmly at us. "I have a son and daughter around your age in the city. I know why you're worried, but you must be exhausted, so—"
"No thanks."
A son and daughter? So what? Rather, that made them seem even more dangerous to me. Having children to feed meant that her motives for earning money were even more apparent.
"B-Bjorn, why are you doing that? They may be able to help us..."
"Be quiet."
How should I react if we come across an adventurer? I had thought a lot about that over the course of our travels. The conclusion I had reached was to first ask for help. Promising sizeable compensation in exchange for getting us out of the forest would be a good deal for them, too. Except, in order to make said deal, we had to find out what kind of people they were. Verification came first.
"I am Bjorn, son of Yandel."
When I revealed my name, the leader of the other side responded in kind. "You are a very wary friend. I'm Hans Staub. I play the role of the scout on this team."
But the problem was... "Your name... is Hans?"
"Haha, it's a pretty common name."
"Exactly."
Why were there so many Hanses in the world? I deducted one point because of his ominous name.
"My name is Anuman Beit. In the city, my husband and I have a general store—"
I cut the woman off before she could start reciting her personal information at me. "There is no need for that."
There was no way in the labyrinth to confirm whether that statement was true, and we did not have much time. Would we take their help or not? Whichever option we chose, we had to make a quick decision.
Two warriors, two archers, one scout.
I quickly swept my eyes over them and evaluated their combat power, faces, expressions, tones of voice, and vibes. Of course, it wasn't necessary to closely examine each one. Sometimes, intuition made more accurate decisions. Experience and data were accumulated in the unconscious mind.
"Missha." Soon, I made up my mind. There was no guarantee that this was the correct answer, but... "Will you go along with my decision?"
No detailed explanations were necessary here. As such, Missha gave a short, succinct answer to my question, one that likewise omitted many things. "Of courrrse."
Nice. Now that I had her consent... "That's enough introductions. We'll be leaving now."
"Leaving? Didn't you guys need our help?"
Yes, but for some reason my instincts are screaming that you're dangerous.
"Come to think of it, I don't think we do. Missha, let's go."
"O-Okay!"
"Hmm, all right then," said Hans. "There's no reason for us to stop you. Goodbye."
Okay. Now that I'd gotten them to agree, I slowly retreated with my eyes still on the group, covering my body with my shield.
That was the moment I heard the familiar sound of something ripping through the air.
Whip!
Before my brain could figure out what was happening, my body reacted.
Whip!
As my neck bent sideways, an arrow passed right by the side of my ear. Fuck, how did they do that? It flew in from behind me. The bastards who shot the arrow were definitely in front of me...
"Ms. Beit, what are you doing!" A member of the team shouted something at the archer lady. Had this not been mutually decided upon?
The lady who'd said that she had a son and daughter our age no longer spoke in a gentle tone. "You idiots! Didn't you see the equipment he had? It's made of lithinum! Do you know how much that sells for?"
"B-but they're still adventurers..."
"If you can't do it, stay out of it, kid. You see that backpack over there? It's an expandable backpack. Something you won't be able to buy even if you spend an entire year in the labyrinth."
Perhaps it were true that she owned a general store with her husband. This lady had a good eye, although I wasn't bold enough to compliment her on it.
"I-I can't."
"Then whoever wants out can back out."
"I'll join in. This isn't my first time. I'm not in a situation to turn down free money."
Originally adventurers, an agreement was quickly reached between them. I watched the exchange intently.
Missha anxiously grabbed my shirt. "B-Bjorn... shouldn't we rrrun away?"
"Wait."
They had a scout on their side. If we ran now, we wouldn't get very far.
It should be here about now...
I cut the woman off before she could start reciting her personal information at me. "There is no need for that."
There was no way in the labyrinth to confirm whether that statement was true, and we did not have much time. Would we take their help or not? Whichever option we chose, we had to make a quick decision.
Two warriors, two archers, one scout.
I quickly swept my eyes over them and evaluated their combat power, faces, expressions, tones of voice, and vibes. Of course, it wasn't necessary to closely examine each one. Sometimes, intuition made more accurate decisions. Experience and data were accumulated in the unconscious mind.
"Missha." Soon, I made up my mind. There was no guarantee that this was the correct answer, but... "Will you go along with my decision?"
No detailed explanations were necessary here. As such, Missha gave a short, succinct answer to my question, one that likewise omitted many things. "Of courrrse."
Nice. Now that I had her consent... "That's enough introductions. We'll be leaving now."
"Leaving? Didn't you guys need our help?"
Yes, but for some reason my instincts are screaming that you're dangerous.
"Come to think of it, I don't think we do. Missha, let's go."
"O-Okay!"
"Hmm, all right then," said Hans. "There's no reason for us to stop you. Goodbye."
Okay. Now that I'd gotten them to agree, I slowly retreated with my eyes still on the group, covering my body with my shield.
That was the moment I heard the familiar sound of something ripping through the air.
Whip!
Before my brain could figure out what was happening, my body reacted.
Whip!
As my neck bent sideways, an arrow passed right by the side of my ear. Fuck, how did they do that? It flew in from behind me. The bastards who shot the arrow were definitely in front of me...
"Ms. Beit, what are you doing!" A member of the team shouted something at the archer lady. Had this not been mutually decided upon?
The lady who'd said that she had a son and daughter our age no longer spoke in a gentle tone. "You idiots! Didn't you see the equipment he had? It's made of lithinum! Do you know how much that sells for?"
"B-but they're still adventurers..."
"If you can't do it, stay out of it, kid. You see that backpack over there? It's an expandable backpack. Something you won't be able to buy even if you spend an entire year in the labyrinth."
Perhaps it were true that she owned a general store with her husband. This lady had a good eye, although I wasn't bold enough to compliment her on it.
"I-I can't."
"Then whoever wants out can back out."
"I'll join in. This isn't my first time. I'm not in a situation to turn down free money."
Originally adventurers, an agreement was quickly reached between them. I watched the exchange intently.
Missha anxiously grabbed my shirt. "B-Bjorn... shouldn't we rrrun away?"
"Wait."
They had a scout on their side. If we ran now, we wouldn't get very far.
It should be here about now...
"I... will... kill... you..."
There.
I smiled sharply.
It was the only reason I had been trying to make a quick decision, be it sink or swim. When the Carnivaro emerged from the darkness, the group of adventurers who had been targeting us were startled.
"A C-Carnivaro?"
"Why are there two of them?"
That was because this was our eighth day as castaways. They may have just entered the forest, but we had already reached level ten of the Witch's Eye.
"Missha, now." I pulled Missha in with one hand, and with the shield in the other, I rushed forward instead of backward.
[Carnivaro has cast Chasing Arrow.]
[Carnivaro has cast Chasing Arrow.]
On our right, a Carnivaro notched an arrow on its bow. When I caught sight of it, I ran even faster.
Whiiip!
Eventually, my dynamic barbarian perceptiveness recognized that the two arrows had been shot simultaneously, but there was no need to worry about protecting my back. I now had something else to block them instead.
"A-Ahh! Stop them!"
"W-What the hell are these things?!"
The moment I pushed and shoved into the opposing group with the oblivious strength of a barbarian, I heard a scream. It was the kid who had said he wanted to back out. "Aaagh!"
Hmm, so the arrow hit you. Yeah, it's usually the good guys who go first.
Bang!
"Agh! Fuck, my foot!"
An explosion sounded from the direction of the Carnivaro. When I glanced back, it appeared that Hans D, startled by my sprint forward, had tried to fan out and had accidentally stepped on a mana mine.
"Mr. Stobe!"
Okay. At this point, it looked like the aggro had completely gone their way.
"Missha, you run from now on."
"O-Okay."
I put Missha back down and then ran forward without looking back.
"What are you all doing! Don't look at them, take care of the monsters!"
They wouldn't be able to follow us for a while.
***
Dungeon and Stone was a roguelike game. Once you died, that was it. The character disappeared. Of course, at the end of the day, it was just a game. A character could be created again, and new equipment could just be adjusted. The main point of this game was to advance to the next floor with the information you gathered from the previous attempt, anyway.
In Dungeon and Stone, death became a part of everyday life. But what if the world of the game became real life? Rebuilding a character was not possible. Whatever you saw, heard, or learned in this life lost meaning the moment you died.
And in that sense, I got lucky this time.
"But Bjorrrn, how the hell did you know that those people would act like that?"
"It was a hunch." I had been right to follow the quick decision my subconscious had come to.
When Missha learned the truth, she couldn't help but be stunned. "...A hunch?" No wonder she had agreed to obey me without asking questions. She seemed to assume that I had to have an actual logic behind my actions.
"I... will... kill... you..."
There.
I smiled sharply.
It was the only reason I had been trying to make a quick decision, be it sink or swim. When the Carnivaro emerged from the darkness, the group of adventurers who had been targeting us were startled.
"A C-Carnivaro?"
"Why are there two of them?"
That was because this was our eighth day as castaways. They may have just entered the forest, but we had already reached level ten of the Witch's Eye.
"Missha, now." I pulled Missha in with one hand, and with the shield in the other, I rushed forward instead of backward.
[Carnivaro has cast Chasing Arrow.]
[Carnivaro has cast Chasing Arrow.]
On our right, a Carnivaro notched an arrow on its bow. When I caught sight of it, I ran even faster.
Whiiip!
Eventually, my dynamic barbarian perceptiveness recognized that the two arrows had been shot simultaneously, but there was no need to worry about protecting my back. I now had something else to block them instead.
"A-Ahh! Stop them!"
"W-What the hell are these things?!"
The moment I pushed and shoved into the opposing group with the oblivious strength of a barbarian, I heard a scream. It was the kid who had said he wanted to back out. "Aaagh!"
Hmm, so the arrow hit you. Yeah, it's usually the good guys who go first.
Bang!
"Agh! Fuck, my foot!"
An explosion sounded from the direction of the Carnivaro. When I glanced back, it appeared that Hans D, startled by my sprint forward, had tried to fan out and had accidentally stepped on a mana mine.
"Mr. Stobe!"
Okay. At this point, it looked like the aggro had completely gone their way.
"Missha, you run from now on."
"O-Okay."
I put Missha back down and then ran forward without looking back.
"What are you all doing! Don't look at them, take care of the monsters!"
They wouldn't be able to follow us for a while.
***
Dungeon and Stone was a roguelike game. Once you died, that was it. The character disappeared. Of course, at the end of the day, it was just a game. A character could be created again, and new equipment could just be adjusted. The main point of this game was to advance to the next floor with the information you gathered from the previous attempt, anyway.
In Dungeon and Stone, death became a part of everyday life. But what if the world of the game became real life? Rebuilding a character was not possible. Whatever you saw, heard, or learned in this life lost meaning the moment you died.
And in that sense, I got lucky this time.
"But Bjorrrn, how the hell did you know that those people would act like that?"
"It was a hunch." I had been right to follow the quick decision my subconscious had come to.
When Missha learned the truth, she couldn't help but be stunned. "...A hunch?" No wonder she had agreed to obey me without asking questions. She seemed to assume that I had to have an actual logic behind my actions.
"Their leader's name was Hans."
"Sorry?"
"I hate that name."
Missha just stared.
"Anyway, thanks to that we escaped safely, which is all that matters."
"Yes, but..." Missha trailed off with a slightly uneasy look on her face and changed the subject. "Anyway, I never thought that kind-looking woman would turrrn on us so quickly..."
Missha trembled slightly, perhaps thinking about the old woman who had been glaring at us and screaming at the top of her lungs. Her rapid one-eighty seemed to come as quite a shock.
I didn't know if it would be of any consolation, but I threw in my two cents. "She could've actually been a very kind person."
"Hm? What do you m—"
"If only we hadn't looked so weak."
And if we didn't have expensive stuff. If only we hadn't run into each other in the labyrinth, but in the city, that woman might have been remembered as a kind person. However, instead, she had nocked the arrow on the bow and pulled it faster than anyone else.
"I don't understand...she stopped being furrriendly to us because we looked weak?"
"Missha, why did you enter the labyrinth?"
"Because I have to earrrn money..."
"Those five were the same."
Money was a means of protecting yourself, especially in a world where failing to pay taxes was punishable by death. There were likely many other interests that the woman was trying to protect besides her own life.
"...I think I learrrned a lot from this expedition."
"Then move faster. They might come after us."
We sped up some more.
How much time had passed? Despite my concerns, they did not reappear even more than an hour later.
The monsters may have attacked them first, but I'm sure two Carnivaros wouldn't have wiped them out. Could there have been another problem?
Hmm, that seemed to make more sense. It may have been Hans stepping on a mana mine. If the scout had been injured, it may have disrupted their pursuit of us. Whatever the reason, that meant that one crisis had been successfully averted.
Please, I hope this ends with that.
Even as I thought that, however, I forced myself to remain vigilant. I vowed not to relax until the very end. As always, the shittiest things always happened when you let your guard down.
***
Day eleven of being stranded, and day thirteen of being in the labyrinth. The time was 7 p.m., exactly fifty-three hours before the labyrinth closed.
"Bjorrrn, I found it!"
We found a tree leading to a hut. Seeing as the light radiating from it had slightly faded, it seemed that quite a while had already passed since the entrance had formed, but beggars couldn't be choosers.
It's over.
The worst had somehow been avoided. Even if we could only rest for four hours, we could survive the remaining two days on willpower alone. In other words, the chances of us getting back safely had increased dramatically.
[You have entered the Witch's Hut.]
Because every minute of rest was precious, I immediately put my hands on the tree and entered the area. The scenery beyond the portal was the same as before: the smell of grass and flowers, the idle chirp of grasshoppers, the sound of the wind blowing through the leaves.
Damn it all...
Sadly, in the middle of the peaceful pocket dimension was something foreign.
[Current number of visitors: 5. The entrance is now closed.]
Previous occupants. In other words, people who had discovered the hut before us.
"Bjorn."
"Shh."
I covered Missha's mouth, scanning the area with my eyes as quickly as possible.
One on the bed, one on the chair, and one on the lawn.
Looking through the window, there were places I couldn't see from this angle, but it would be logical to assume there were three people in total, since the hut was limited to five people.
What a headache.
I slowly approached the man who was sleeping on the grass. Just then, rolling in his sleep, the man turned onto his back and faced us.
I flinched. Surprisingly, the face I was looking at was a familiar one.
I didn't expect to see you here...
"Their leader's name was Hans."
"Sorry?"
"I hate that name."
Missha just stared.
"Anyway, thanks to that we escaped safely, which is all that matters."
"Yes, but..." Missha trailed off with a slightly uneasy look on her face and changed the subject. "Anyway, I never thought that kind-looking woman would turrrn on us so quickly..."
Missha trembled slightly, perhaps thinking about the old woman who had been glaring at us and screaming at the top of her lungs. Her rapid one-eighty seemed to come as quite a shock.
I didn't know if it would be of any consolation, but I threw in my two cents. "She could've actually been a very kind person."
"Hm? What do you m—"
"If only we hadn't looked so weak."
And if we didn't have expensive stuff. If only we hadn't run into each other in the labyrinth, but in the city, that woman might have been remembered as a kind person. However, instead, she had nocked the arrow on the bow and pulled it faster than anyone else.
"I don't understand...she stopped being furrriendly to us because we looked weak?"
"Missha, why did you enter the labyrinth?"
"Because I have to earrrn money..."
"Those five were the same."
Money was a means of protecting yourself, especially in a world where failing to pay taxes was punishable by death. There were likely many other interests that the woman was trying to protect besides her own life.
"...I think I learrrned a lot from this expedition."
"Then move faster. They might come after us."
We sped up some more.
How much time had passed? Despite my concerns, they did not reappear even more than an hour later.
The monsters may have attacked them first, but I'm sure two Carnivaros wouldn't have wiped them out. Could there have been another problem?
Hmm, that seemed to make more sense. It may have been Hans stepping on a mana mine. If the scout had been injured, it may have disrupted their pursuit of us. Whatever the reason, that meant that one crisis had been successfully averted.
Please, I hope this ends with that.
Even as I thought that, however, I forced myself to remain vigilant. I vowed not to relax until the very end. As always, the shittiest things always happened when you let your guard down.
***
Day eleven of being stranded, and day thirteen of being in the labyrinth. The time was 7 p.m., exactly fifty-three hours before the labyrinth closed.
"Bjorrrn, I found it!"
We found a tree leading to a hut. Seeing as the light radiating from it had slightly faded, it seemed that quite a while had already passed since the entrance had formed, but beggars couldn't be choosers.
It's over.
The worst had somehow been avoided. Even if we could only rest for four hours, we could survive the remaining two days on willpower alone. In other words, the chances of us getting back safely had increased dramatically.
[You have entered the Witch's Hut.]
Because every minute of rest was precious, I immediately put my hands on the tree and entered the area. The scenery beyond the portal was the same as before: the smell of grass and flowers, the idle chirp of grasshoppers, the sound of the wind blowing through the leaves.
Damn it all...
Sadly, in the middle of the peaceful pocket dimension was something foreign.
[Current number of visitors: 5. The entrance is now closed.]
Previous occupants. In other words, people who had discovered the hut before us.
"Bjorn."
"Shh."
I covered Missha's mouth, scanning the area with my eyes as quickly as possible.
One on the bed, one on the chair, and one on the lawn.
Looking through the window, there were places I couldn't see from this angle, but it would be logical to assume there were three people in total, since the hut was limited to five people.
What a headache.
I slowly approached the man who was sleeping on the grass. Just then, rolling in his sleep, the man turned onto his back and faced us.
I flinched. Surprisingly, the face I was looking at was a familiar one.
I didn't expect to see you here...