Chapter 74: Ghost Busters (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 74: Ghost Busters (3)
I ate out of my lunch box while sitting by a fountain with Missha next to me. The meal consisted of potato stew, bread, and vegetable salad with beef.
"Bjorrrn, eat some of this."
"You're giving me the meat?"
"I ate a lot while making it earlierrr."
Well, in that case... I chewed and swallowed the meat Missha gave me. How long had it been since I ate beef? It melted in my mouth. However, the only downside was that it was difficult to fully enjoy the taste thanks to all of the staring.
"Did she just call him Bjorn?"
"Then that man must be Little Balkan."
"Hmm, he doesn't look all that special at first glance..."
At some point, people started to occasionally recognize me when I went places. Invitations to join a clan, offers to join a team... I could overlook these things but...
"Hey there, are you really Little Balkan?"
There were also those who came up to me just to pick a fight or pester me into recounting the incident in the labyrinth.
Hey, can't you see I'm eating? I may have just finished, but still.
"Missha, get up."
"Huh?"
"Since we're done eating, let's get going."
We hurriedly cleaned up and left the fountain. I could hear some muttering behind me, but they didn't cross the line by following us.
Missha glanced behind her. "It's kind of cool," she muttered. "I thought people only rrrecognized really famous people."
What is this? Are you picking a fight too?
But I could understand what she meant. It must be strange to have someone around you suddenly become famous.
Little Balkan, huh?
In the game, there was no downside to your reputation level going up. You were able to get previously unavailable quests or high-reward commissions unexpectedly. Above all, if your reputation level was low, it was impossible for you to enter District One, the royal capital of Karnon, so a high reputation was essential to progress forward in the game.
But I don't know if this is a good thing or not.
I wasn't just playing a game right now. In a world where players were treated as evil spirits and put on the guillotine as soon as they were discovered, it was clear that the more well-known my name became, the more unwelcome attention I would attract. But I had no other choice if I wanted to live. In order to gain something, you had to give something up. I had obtained the Essence of an Orc Hero, saved lives, and reaped several other rewards, so I'd have to deal with this.
"I think we're done with today's to-do list."
By the time we got done collecting the equipment we had left at the store for repairs, buying various essentials, and dropping by the auction house while we were in the area to see if there were any items worth buying, the sun was beginning to set.
I'll have to go back to my inn and come up with a training plan.
"I'm heading back now. What are you going to do?" I asked. Translation: let's go back now.
But Missha grew evasive for some reason. "Ah, well..." What was this? It was making me anxious. As I silently urged her along, Missha cautiously opened her mouth. "...I'm going to visit my family for a bit."
"Family?"
"Yeah. I'll probably be there until tomorrow or the day afterrr."
"I see."
Why are you saying that like you're doing something wrong? If you have plans, then that's fine. It's a family affair, so it's not my place to get involved.
I was a bit concerned, but I was sure she could handle it on her own. Still, I decided to offer her some words of encouragement because I also knew what her family symbolized to her. "Cheer up."
Missha chuckled. "That does cheerrr me up a bit..."
Really? Because your voice is still weak.
It looked like I'd have to give her a push forward. The barbarian way, of course.
Smack!
"Agh! You blockheaded barrrbarian!" Missha shouted in surprise, but whatever.
"Much better."
"I'll be back in two days, so make surrre to eat well until then, okay?"
I smirked and said, "Okay." This was a change that had occurred since our return to the city. She did say she would treat me like a benefactor. Maybe this was what she had meant. These days, she was acting like my mom.
***
Missha and I parted at the carriage platform. She headed to her family home, and I got into the carriage heading to District Eight, where my inn was located. My body shook each time the carriage creaked. I had nothing to do, so I closed my eyes and started thinking, letting myself ride out the rough waves.
For the time being, it would be a good idea to stay with this team.
When I absorbed the Essence of the Orc Hero, my stats rose sharply. In fact, if I submitted an application to be promoted to a rank-six adventurer, it would be accepted right away. I even had a reputation as Little Balkan, so I might be able to jump to rank five. In other words, I could find a better team if I wanted to.
Except it would be difficult to bring Missha with me.
Missha had the combat power of a rank-seven adventurer—no more, no less. There was, of course, plenty of potential for her to move to the higher ranks. She not only had a soul beast now, but also Strengthening—her game-changing special ability and the decisive reason I had chosen to build her up as a comrade.
So, in that sense, my first task is to level her up.
I made my final decision. The most productive thing would be to focus on Missha's growth for a while.
First, we should raise the level of her contract with her soul beast and, if possible, choose our next expedition with that in mind. That way, an essence might come out. Oh, I think it would be better to also change her main weapon if I can...
As I mapped out Missha's training plan in detail, the carriage arrived at its destination.
Whew, next time, I need to find an inn closer to the platform or something.
There was an advantage to living near a station. The price would be proportionately expensive, though.
Step.
I got off the wagon, expertly found my way, and headed home. Go straight and turn left at the candy store. Then, at the statue of the Immortal King, take a right at the fork. After another five minutes, I should come across the central plaza...
"The execution shall now begin!"
Damn, no wonder it'd been quiet for a few days. I could see crowds gathered in the usually empty square. Everyone was craning their necks to look at the guillotine.
"Family?"
"Yeah. I'll probably be there until tomorrow or the day afterrr."
"I see."
Why are you saying that like you're doing something wrong? If you have plans, then that's fine. It's a family affair, so it's not my place to get involved.
I was a bit concerned, but I was sure she could handle it on her own. Still, I decided to offer her some words of encouragement because I also knew what her family symbolized to her. "Cheer up."
Missha chuckled. "That does cheerrr me up a bit..."
Really? Because your voice is still weak.
It looked like I'd have to give her a push forward. The barbarian way, of course.
Smack!
"Agh! You blockheaded barrrbarian!" Missha shouted in surprise, but whatever.
"Much better."
"I'll be back in two days, so make surrre to eat well until then, okay?"
I smirked and said, "Okay." This was a change that had occurred since our return to the city. She did say she would treat me like a benefactor. Maybe this was what she had meant. These days, she was acting like my mom.
***
Missha and I parted at the carriage platform. She headed to her family home, and I got into the carriage heading to District Eight, where my inn was located. My body shook each time the carriage creaked. I had nothing to do, so I closed my eyes and started thinking, letting myself ride out the rough waves.
For the time being, it would be a good idea to stay with this team.
When I absorbed the Essence of the Orc Hero, my stats rose sharply. In fact, if I submitted an application to be promoted to a rank-six adventurer, it would be accepted right away. I even had a reputation as Little Balkan, so I might be able to jump to rank five. In other words, I could find a better team if I wanted to.
Except it would be difficult to bring Missha with me.
Missha had the combat power of a rank-seven adventurer—no more, no less. There was, of course, plenty of potential for her to move to the higher ranks. She not only had a soul beast now, but also Strengthening—her game-changing special ability and the decisive reason I had chosen to build her up as a comrade.
So, in that sense, my first task is to level her up.
I made my final decision. The most productive thing would be to focus on Missha's growth for a while.
First, we should raise the level of her contract with her soul beast and, if possible, choose our next expedition with that in mind. That way, an essence might come out. Oh, I think it would be better to also change her main weapon if I can...
As I mapped out Missha's training plan in detail, the carriage arrived at its destination.
Whew, next time, I need to find an inn closer to the platform or something.
There was an advantage to living near a station. The price would be proportionately expensive, though.
Step.
I got off the wagon, expertly found my way, and headed home. Go straight and turn left at the candy store. Then, at the statue of the Immortal King, take a right at the fork. After another five minutes, I should come across the central plaza...
"The execution shall now begin!"
Damn, no wonder it'd been quiet for a few days. I could see crowds gathered in the usually empty square. Everyone was craning their necks to look at the guillotine.
Slice!
The sight was no longer so terrifying to me, but I had no desire to pay it any mind. Ignoring the chilling sounds coming from the platform, I sped up my steps, but even so, my subconscious picked up on something strange about the visual input I was getting.
...Why are there so few people today?
I wasn't referring to the crowd gathered under the guillotine, but the inmates on death row scheduled to be executed. It was common to execute dozens of people at a time, but today there were only four.
For some reason, I don't see people waiting in the front for blood today, either.
Just as I was questioning this, the murmuring, which had been an indistinct background noise up to now, grew clearer.
"I was expecting something different from an evil spirit, but that was nothing special."
"You're right. Their blood is red too."
"Isn't it disgusting that these evil spirits are among us, pretending to be people?"
What? Evil spirits? My feet stopped on their own. When I turned my head to look at the guillotine, I saw the inmates on death row trembling and waiting for their turn.
"I-It's not me! I'm not one of them!"
"What are you doing? Re-gag her."
There were three left: a young elven girl, a dwarven man who looked the same age as Hikurod, and a barbarian with a familiar face.
Slice!
The elf's head rolled down into the prepared barrel, and the dwarf was shoved in front of the guillotine. However, my eyes were fixed on one particular spot.
Tarikan, son of Riyen.
Yes, that was the name of that barbarian over there, trembling with terror in his eyes.
Fuck, I knew the way he was acting was risky.
His awkward barbarian speech and fearful personality, his weakness and urge to rely on someone... There were so many things that could've given him away that I couldn't even pinpoint exactly what had gone wrong. But for some reason, I had a hunch.
I guess he didn't use the money I gave him to buy a weapon.
I had no basis for that assumption since any weapons he had would've been taken away from him before he was brought to death row. But for some reason, I kept thinking that he probably didn't enter the labyrinth this time either.
But why?
I was seriously wondering what the source of my baseless intuition might be when the man who had been quietly shivering suddenly began to writhe. His gagged mouth kept moving like he was trying to say something, and his wide-open eyes looked in my direction. This was probably not a coincidence.
"Mm! Mmm!"
Did he recognize me from this far away? Well, I was the only barbarian in the crowd, so I must have stood out despite the distance.
"What are you doing? Get him to his knees!"
Eventually, overpowered, he was forced to thrust his neck under the blade of the guillotine. Meanwhile, he kept trying to say something, staring at me in the crowd.
"Mm, hmm!"
I had no way of knowing what that muffled commotion could possibly mean. Was he asking for help? Hmm, but his eyes looked too venomous for that.
"M-Mmm!"
While my heart was heavy at the sight of him unable to escape like that, I also felt a bit of relief.
It's a good thing I kept my distance, then.
If I hadn't ended our meeting by giving him 150,000 stones... If I had made a different call and revealed that I was in the same situation as him... If we had depended on each other...
"Yandel's son—!"
...I could have been up there with him.
Slice!
At the end, the gag tore and he shouted something, but the cold blade fell and silenced his voice. I immediately turned my back on the platform and started walking in the direction I was headed earlier. Still, I felt a lesson being carved into my heart.
Next time, I need to remember not to do even that.
I needed to be more careful. In this fucked-up world, plunderers and adventurers weren't the only ones after my life. Who could really sympathize with whom? I should focus on taking care of myself and proceed with caution in the future.
"Bjorn, son of Yandel, right?" Someone called my name from somewhere behind me. When I turned around, a man with a well-groomed appearance was looking at me.
"Don't bother me and get lost." There had been a lot of strangers coming up to me lately, so I decided to ignore him and move on. But...
"Don't be so guarded. I'm in a similar situation to you." There was a nuance to his speech that was very strange. I unconsciously stopped walking and turned around to look at the man again. "America? Taiwan? Europe? Where did you come from?"
What the fuck was this now?
After gaining notoriety, I had considered the possibility that something like this could happen.
I didn't expect it to happen so soon.
My head cooled like an ice cube. Of course, my next course of action was already decided. Whether this guy was a real player or just someone pretending to be one, it didn't make a difference. I just had to do what I had planned. I already figured out that evil spirits aside from me existed the moment I woke up in this body.
The other day, I asked myself, Do I need to engage with them despite the risk?
The answer I came up with was simple. There was absolutely no value in doing so whatsoever. What would I do with another player? Share information? Maybe to some extent, but in the end, the only thing I would gain would be reassurance that I was not alone in this unfamiliar world. And it was foolish to take on such a risk just to make yourself comfortable.
No matter who it is, I don't have to show them my cards.
There was a thing in this world called a poker face. There were times when people waged psychological warfare using it, but in the end, it basically just meant wearing an expressionless look on your face. After all, the face was the part of the body that best reflected the human mind. However, I had decided that what I needed to do right now was not put on an emotionless expression.
So, as soon as he finished his question, I answered, "What are you talking about?"
Of course, this strategy wasn't perfect, either. So, as I replied to him in a barbarian tone, I thought to myself, If it were Ainar, what would her reaction be to this?
As we had spent quite a bit of time together, the answer came easily: "Don't use complicated words and speak clearly." Yeah, that was it. Barbarians didn't know much and were not ashamed of what they didn't know. Also, if the stranger talking to them was a human, they showed a bit of vigilance and aggression.
I stepped forward with a slightly menacing look on my face. Barbarians also snorted like they were going to bust your head open if you said the wrong thing.
Despite my actions, the man just let out a surprised exclamation. "Wow, you almost fooled me. You're really good at acting. Aren't you just three months in?"
"Acting? I said not to use complicated words, didn't I?"
"Ah, there's no need to keep your guard up. I'm from America. I shouldn't have even touched this damned game." His voice was dripping with regret and sorrow, and he referenced information that no one other than a player could know. This gave me some confidence. "Anyway, you're amazing. You've earned an epithet in three months. It took me three years. I just had to be human..."
This bastard was not a player.
Slice!
The sight was no longer so terrifying to me, but I had no desire to pay it any mind. Ignoring the chilling sounds coming from the platform, I sped up my steps, but even so, my subconscious picked up on something strange about the visual input I was getting.
...Why are there so few people today?
I wasn't referring to the crowd gathered under the guillotine, but the inmates on death row scheduled to be executed. It was common to execute dozens of people at a time, but today there were only four.
For some reason, I don't see people waiting in the front for blood today, either.
Just as I was questioning this, the murmuring, which had been an indistinct background noise up to now, grew clearer.
"I was expecting something different from an evil spirit, but that was nothing special."
"You're right. Their blood is red too."
"Isn't it disgusting that these evil spirits are among us, pretending to be people?"
What? Evil spirits? My feet stopped on their own. When I turned my head to look at the guillotine, I saw the inmates on death row trembling and waiting for their turn.
"I-It's not me! I'm not one of them!"
"What are you doing? Re-gag her."
There were three left: a young elven girl, a dwarven man who looked the same age as Hikurod, and a barbarian with a familiar face.
Slice!
The elf's head rolled down into the prepared barrel, and the dwarf was shoved in front of the guillotine. However, my eyes were fixed on one particular spot.
Tarikan, son of Riyen.
Yes, that was the name of that barbarian over there, trembling with terror in his eyes.
Fuck, I knew the way he was acting was risky.
His awkward barbarian speech and fearful personality, his weakness and urge to rely on someone... There were so many things that could've given him away that I couldn't even pinpoint exactly what had gone wrong. But for some reason, I had a hunch.
I guess he didn't use the money I gave him to buy a weapon.
I had no basis for that assumption since any weapons he had would've been taken away from him before he was brought to death row. But for some reason, I kept thinking that he probably didn't enter the labyrinth this time either.
But why?
I was seriously wondering what the source of my baseless intuition might be when the man who had been quietly shivering suddenly began to writhe. His gagged mouth kept moving like he was trying to say something, and his wide-open eyes looked in my direction. This was probably not a coincidence.
"Mm! Mmm!"
Did he recognize me from this far away? Well, I was the only barbarian in the crowd, so I must have stood out despite the distance.
"What are you doing? Get him to his knees!"
Eventually, overpowered, he was forced to thrust his neck under the blade of the guillotine. Meanwhile, he kept trying to say something, staring at me in the crowd.
"Mm, hmm!"
I had no way of knowing what that muffled commotion could possibly mean. Was he asking for help? Hmm, but his eyes looked too venomous for that.
"M-Mmm!"
While my heart was heavy at the sight of him unable to escape like that, I also felt a bit of relief.
It's a good thing I kept my distance, then.
If I hadn't ended our meeting by giving him 150,000 stones... If I had made a different call and revealed that I was in the same situation as him... If we had depended on each other...
"Yandel's son—!"
...I could have been up there with him.
Slice!
At the end, the gag tore and he shouted something, but the cold blade fell and silenced his voice. I immediately turned my back on the platform and started walking in the direction I was headed earlier. Still, I felt a lesson being carved into my heart.
Next time, I need to remember not to do even that.
I needed to be more careful. In this fucked-up world, plunderers and adventurers weren't the only ones after my life. Who could really sympathize with whom? I should focus on taking care of myself and proceed with caution in the future.
"Bjorn, son of Yandel, right?" Someone called my name from somewhere behind me. When I turned around, a man with a well-groomed appearance was looking at me.
"Don't bother me and get lost." There had been a lot of strangers coming up to me lately, so I decided to ignore him and move on. But...
"Don't be so guarded. I'm in a similar situation to you." There was a nuance to his speech that was very strange. I unconsciously stopped walking and turned around to look at the man again. "America? Taiwan? Europe? Where did you come from?"
What the fuck was this now?
After gaining notoriety, I had considered the possibility that something like this could happen.
I didn't expect it to happen so soon.
My head cooled like an ice cube. Of course, my next course of action was already decided. Whether this guy was a real player or just someone pretending to be one, it didn't make a difference. I just had to do what I had planned. I already figured out that evil spirits aside from me existed the moment I woke up in this body.
The other day, I asked myself, Do I need to engage with them despite the risk?
The answer I came up with was simple. There was absolutely no value in doing so whatsoever. What would I do with another player? Share information? Maybe to some extent, but in the end, the only thing I would gain would be reassurance that I was not alone in this unfamiliar world. And it was foolish to take on such a risk just to make yourself comfortable.
No matter who it is, I don't have to show them my cards.
There was a thing in this world called a poker face. There were times when people waged psychological warfare using it, but in the end, it basically just meant wearing an expressionless look on your face. After all, the face was the part of the body that best reflected the human mind. However, I had decided that what I needed to do right now was not put on an emotionless expression.
So, as soon as he finished his question, I answered, "What are you talking about?"
Of course, this strategy wasn't perfect, either. So, as I replied to him in a barbarian tone, I thought to myself, If it were Ainar, what would her reaction be to this?
As we had spent quite a bit of time together, the answer came easily: "Don't use complicated words and speak clearly." Yeah, that was it. Barbarians didn't know much and were not ashamed of what they didn't know. Also, if the stranger talking to them was a human, they showed a bit of vigilance and aggression.
I stepped forward with a slightly menacing look on my face. Barbarians also snorted like they were going to bust your head open if you said the wrong thing.
Despite my actions, the man just let out a surprised exclamation. "Wow, you almost fooled me. You're really good at acting. Aren't you just three months in?"
"Acting? I said not to use complicated words, didn't I?"
"Ah, there's no need to keep your guard up. I'm from America. I shouldn't have even touched this damned game." His voice was dripping with regret and sorrow, and he referenced information that no one other than a player could know. This gave me some confidence. "Anyway, you're amazing. You've earned an epithet in three months. It took me three years. I just had to be human..."
This bastard was not a player.