The Red-Haired Hunter

“Come on, Crib, stop sulking and calm down. You were the one in the wrong here, remember?”

“I know. I know that! But punching someone in front of another party? How much of an idiot do you think they see me as now?”

“Yeah. You could’ve just talked it out. Resorting to violence right then was a bit much. You both messed up, so let’s just drop it, okay? We’re only on the first floor—if the mood’s already like this, what are we going to do later?”

Seri tried to soothe Crib, hoping to ease the party’s tension. I couldn’t listen to any more of this.

“Punching someone was a bit much? If a fight had broken out there, at the very least you would’ve died. I saved your life. Got it?”

“⋯Are you done talking?”

“Those two women in the back—the witch is one thing, but the other was Blood Princess’s little sister. Do you understand what that means?”

“Blood Princess’s sister? That white-haired girl from earlier?”

“Exactly! I saw her when I stopped by the guild on an errand. Word must’ve spread pretty far through everyone who was there. You didn’t hear?”

Truth be told, I’d been a little shaken by the killing intent that suddenly flared that day. Damn it. Even thinking about it now gave me chills.

“No⋯ but even if a fight broke out and someone died in the Labyrinth, no one would know who killed who, right?”

Ha. Listening to this idiot was making me sigh nonstop.

“Hypothetically, even if we’d drawn blades right then and there, what’s the problem? We had the numbers. We could’ve just killed them and left their bodies for the Labyrinth. Done.”

I couldn’t believe I’d gone into the Labyrinth twice with this kind of moron in the party.

“Hey, you! Haa. Who’s going to figure out how a twenty-seventh-floor adventurer uncovered the culprit through some bizarre method?”

“Ah!”

“And rumor has it high-ranking nobles carry precious items that can revive the dead. You really think a deep-floor adventurer with a title wouldn’t have one?”

I shook my head without thinking and drew my right hand across my throat.

“What happens if they come back and point the finger at us?”

“Tsk⋯ You’re right.”

Another sigh escaped at the idiot’s expression. Maybe I should just kick him out of the party when we return and find a new scout.

“And above all, the eyes of the man who looked like the leader. That’s what bothered me the most.”

“Eyes? They were a weird color, sure. Was there anything else?”

“Yeah, yeah. They glowed gold—that was definitely strange! His face was handsome too, but those eyes gave off such an intense vibe. Kyaa!”

Great. Even Seri was joining in. These people were something else.

“That’s not what I meant. After Crib said something stupid, when that man put his hand on his sword hilt, he looked at us like he was absolutely certain he could kill every single one of us right there.”

Yeah. That had been absolute, unshakable confidence.

“Unless someone’s a complete fool, that kind of certainty only comes from either an overwhelmingly strong person who doesn’t care about anything, or someone who perfectly understands the gap in strength between themselves and their opponent.”

I shook my head and clicked my tongue.

“If it were the former, he would’ve left the first floor ages ago. So it has to be the latter. I don’t know what traits he has, but I had no desire to fight someone who already knew everything about me while I knew nothing about him.”

I had no information beyond what I could see, while the other side already understood me and could prepare accordingly? Terrifying.

“Now do you understand why you got hit? There’s even a saying in the Labyrinth—keep your mouth shut first. Please remember that. Remember it well, and let’s get moving again.”

Come to think of it, his equipment had been excellent too.

‘A newbie who hasn’t even reached the fifth floor shouldn’t be saying this, but in my eyes, that man isn’t someone who’ll stay on the lower floors for long.’

With that thought, I started walking again, leading the party.

After passing Luke’s party, we advanced smoothly along the direction the curse indicated without incident. Whenever we encountered other adventurer parties, they either shot us annoyed looks—probably because of that idiot Crib—or simply hardened their expressions and went on their way in silence. Even when we ran into monsters, we handled them without much trouble. Just like now.

“Kieeeek!”

“Kiee!”

Swish. Splash!

“Kkuek.”

“Kieee⋯.”

Shaking the blood off my sword, I spoke.

“We were supposed to cut off the tails for Ratmen, right?”

“Yeah! Goblins—ears, Ratmen—tails, Kobolds—noses!”

Ratmen looked like giant bipedal rats. Like goblins, their individual combat strength was quite low. After cutting off the tails and stuffing them into the bag, we moved on. Not long after, we came across another party at a fork in the path. Five men covered in tattoos, all with menacing faces. Their atmosphere alone felt off.

‘Something’s suspicious. I need to get past them quickly before they pick a fight.’

After briefly meeting eyes with the red-haired adventurer at the front, I tried to pass by without a word. One of the large men who had been watching us pulled a piece of paper from his pack and whispered into the ear of the man who seemed to be their leader.

“Hey, mind stopping for a second?”

Before we could take a few more steps, the red-haired adventurer spread his arms and blocked our path. He studied the three of us carefully.

“Yep, it’s them. Good thing I brought this just in case we ran into any half-wiped-out weaklings looking to sell. Kya! Look at this—taking a quick break instead of rushing ahead really paid off.”

What the hell was he talking about? Why was he staring so openly?

First, let’s check his information.

What the hell. C-Rank?

I quickly checked the guy who had whispered to this Gaspel fellow and the ones in the back ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as well. The rest were about on Crib’s level from earlier. Damn it. What the hell were the gatekeepers doing? If human hunter remnants were openly roaming the first floor, what was the point of the entrance inspection? Did they use some illegal magic tool or item to tamper with something?

‘Yeriel, can you hear me?’

—Yeah. I can hear you fine. Good thing we practiced telepathic communication the day before entering.

I needed to take a strong stance so they wouldn’t notice.

“Blocking the path all of a sudden—what are you doing? Do you have business with our party?”

‘Don’t move. Just listen.’

‘Their atmosphere felt off, so I checked their traits.’

—You checked?

“Yeah, we’ve got business. Or rather⋯ to be precise, it just came up. Pretty boy.”

‘They’re not a normal adventurer party. They’re all human hunters, and that redhead ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠is stronger than me.’

“I don’t want to waste time here, so get to the point. What’s the problem?”

‘The way they’re blocking us and stalling means they’re probably aiming to kill us. But why? Why did they suddenly decide to target us instead of letting us go? What’s written on that paper?’

—It’s probably because of me⋯

“Yeah! No need to drag this out if you’re going to say it like that.”

Gaspel pointed at Yeriel as he spoke.

“Hand over Blood Princess’s little sister. Then I’ll let you and the witch go nicely. We came into the Labyrinth to hunt, after all—we don’t want to waste energy on unnecessary things.”

—It seems to be because of the incident last time when my sister found the human hunters’ large hideout and wiped them all out. What do we do⋯

Shit. One party member is being told to leave by everyone around us, and the other is being told to hand her over? Hand her over and they’ll let us go nicely?

Grind. Why the hell did every bastard I met have to interfere with my relationships? These goddamn bastards.

I would never abandon her. Even if it killed me, I wouldn’t hand her over.

“I can’t do that. Does someone who would abandon a comrade just to save themselves even deserve to enter the Labyrinth? Would you hand her over so easily?”

‘Yeriel. If you’re having any strange thoughts, erase them from your mind right now. No matter how strong that guy is, I’m not going to hand you over and run.’

—Uuu. Okay⋯

“Puhaha. Well, I didn’t really expect you to. You’re right. If handing her over was that easy, you wouldn’t have deserved to come to the Labyrinth in the first place.”

Everyone except the leader, Gaspel, was trash. That guy’s stats were a bit higher than mine, but not overwhelmingly so. If I used my traits, I could manage.

He grinned, baring his teeth as his eyes gleamed wildly.

“But if you don’t want to hand her over⋯ you’ll just have to die, right?”

‘Yeriel! Divine Shield, now!’

“Protect them with the sacred shield of light!”

Shushuk. Thud. Clang!

“Whoa, they blocked that?”

Good. Yeriel had perfectly stopped the daggers thrown by the skinny guy in the back. These bastards were serious. In the end, one side had to die for this to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠finish.

If their ranged attacks kept coming, it would be troublesome. I needed to neutralize that guy first.

The moment I drew my sword, I focused.

Crackle. Crackle—

‘Lightning.’

KABOOM—!

“■■■■!”

“Krrgh!”

“What the—shit, they only have a priestess and a black mage, how the hell are they using lightning magic?!”

The one struck by lightning collapsed with a thud. I didn’t know if he was dead, but from the way his body was twitching, he wouldn’t be getting up anytime soon. The two near him also clutched their spasming bodies, groaning as if they’d been electrocuted by the aftershock.

Ziiing—

Kugh. A strong headache rushed in as backlash from using lightning.

“Hiya, the young friend’s got quite a few tricks. I thought you were a swordsman, but you can use magic too?”

Gaspel looked at my furrowed brow and concluded that the lightning had been my doing.

“Kuh. If you’ve got more to show, go ahead and show it all. I’ll give you time to show off before you die!”

Gaspel laughed leisurely, as if he could kill me no matter what I did.

“Fine. I’ll do as you wish.”

Grinding my teeth, I began pouring mana into the hilt of the sword gripped tightly in my hands.

With a low hum, Barak began to glow purple.

Wuung. Barak Hores Hakol — Lightning that destroys everything.

Ancient purple characters appeared in the center of the blade, and sparks of lightning began to crackle and swirl around it.

Hoo⋯ Maintaining Barak’s release while also operating Fortified Body wasn’t easy. It was like drawing two different shapes with both hands while tap dancing at the same time. Thanks to the Core, my mana replenished endlessly from within, so there was no physical issue. But Fortified Body forcibly elevated the mind, and I had to send mana through my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠right hand to operate it separately⋯

Damn it. This wasn’t the time to complain.

“Oho, that sword looks tempting. It’s not a unique weapon, so at least B-Rank? Where did a newbie like you get something like that?”

“If you want it that badly, try taking it⋯ Go!”

Clang!

“Whoops, you’re quite the wild one. I was going to give you a bit more time, but you started first?”

“Shut your damn mouth, you red-haired bastard. Stop talking and come at me.”

With my preemptive strike, the battle began.