Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Detour to the Clan
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The destination has changed.
The place we're heading to now is the 'clan' of players that Lee Chae-hwa mentioned.
It's not exactly a safe choice.
Lee Chae-hwa said she was captured by a goblin scouting party and dragged all the way to the Butcher's Hut.
From the clan's territory to the Butcher's Hut.
The odds of goblin tribes' territories lying in between... weren't low at all.
"Here, take one each."
"Pardon? This is...?"
There was every chance of an unexpected skirmish breaking out.
If we were heading to the well in the outer zone beyond goblin territory, that might be different, but this was the 'border zone' right now.
We might end up crossing through a tribe's territory if we weren't careful, so we needed to prepare for the worst.
That's why I decided to distribute the weapons from the backpack,
"Why are you giving us these... Does this mean we have to fight too...?"
"Probably, in the worst case."
"H-Huh, but... I've never fought before... I wouldn't be any help..."
"...."
The reactions weren't great.
The woman who took the dagger.
Her name was... So Hye-jin, I think.
Clutching the dagger, she shook her head with a frightened look.
It wasn't so much that she didn't want to fight—it was more like she couldn't accept the idea of having to kill something just to survive.
...I could understand that, to some extent.
If you'd lived a normal, safe life in the real world and suddenly got dropped into a hellhole like this, of course you wouldn't adjust right away.
I didn't say anything.
Spitting out some satisfying curse would be easy, but it wouldn't solve a damn thing.
Besides, I hadn't expected any real combat prowess from So Hye-jin anyway,
but I should at least try a little persuasion.
"It's fine. If you think you can't do it, just die."
"...Pardon?"
"If it really comes down to it, slit your wrists with that. You won't have to go through anything horrific."
"Th-That's..."
Well, if she didn't like it, she could just off herself.
A concise answer that didn't require any boring, pretentious explanations or deep thought.
It was pretty meta these days.
"Se-in. Here's the sword I was using."
"...."
"...To be precise, I've never actually used this one."
Of course, not everyone reacted the same way.
Han Se-in, who received the longsword from Hyun Tae-jin, turned to me with a question instead.
"Lee Do-hwa... unnie, right?"
"Just call me by name, skip the unnie."
"...."
I still wasn't used to titles like that.
My body had adjusted a bit, but my mind was still pretty masculine.
I couldn't say it was 100%.
MBTI tests aren't even 100% accurate, so why would identity be any different?
The fact that I could live without obsessing over this body meant I probably had a knack for it from the start.
Titles were a separate issue, though.
I hadn't even asked Hyun Tae-jin's age yet.
Even if he was older, I couldn't call him oppa.
...Probably never would, in fact.
"Can you use the bow in the backpack?"
"I can. If there's someone to shoot at."
"...I'll give it a try."
"You know how to shoot?"
"Sort of. I learned a bit as a kid, but I can't promise anything..."
"...."
This was a surprisingly intriguing response.
Did people really take up archery as a hobby?
I pondered it for a moment.
The Infinite Blessing bow, enchanted with Mana Arrow magic.
If she could use it properly, it'd be incredibly useful, but the risk was just as high.
If she couldn't hit the target, it'd just be wasting mana into the dirt.
"...Han Se-in, what's your class?"
"You mean the one I picked when we entered here?"
"Yeah."
"Thief... The rest is Physical Enhancement."
"...Thief?"
"Ah, yeah."
"...Why'd you pick that?"
"...? Is it bad?"
"Not really..."
Of all things, a thief.
Not a class with fond memories.
Back when Pavarintos was a game, thief was one of the most avoided jobs.
Its basic lineage was similar to warrior, but it specialized more in skills that altered inner force properties, like Stealth or Poison.
Maybe that's why.
It was a job geared more toward solo play than parties—especially easy-mode soloing.
Still, it might be useful in reality.
The Infinite Blessing we had wasn't ideal for archers anyway, so it should be fine for now.
After thinking it over, I handed the Infinite Blessing to Han Se-in, and she inspected the bow closely.
"Does this... not have any arrows?"
"You won't need them. Just channel mana and draw the string—"
[Squeak—]
"—ah."
"...So that's how the arrows appear."
"Yeah. Got it."
"...."
As Han Se-in drew the bowstring, the Mana Arrow spell formed with its distinctive sound.
Unlike the staff version, it was longer and more arrow-shaped.
Han Se-in awkwardly nocked the arrow and loosed it into the air.
[-Pik.]
"...You missed, right?"
"...It's been a while since I shot."
"Hm..."
...Would this be okay?
I decided to let it slide for now.
No way she'd steal it and run off, even as a thief.
.
.
.
Preparations wrapped up quickly.
Fortunately, two of the four new recruits had decent combat builds.
The mage with Mana Arrow, Lee Chae-hwa, and the thief with Physical Enhancement, Han Se-in.
The other two were priests.
Nice to have, but not much help in actual fights.
With the plan revised, we set our direction.
I sketched the map from memory onto the dirt floor and asked Lee Chae-hwa to confirm.
"...This should be it."
"You sure?"
"Yeah. They dragged me from the forest side... I'm positive."
The Butcher's Hut had three passages leading out.
The one Lee Chae-hwa pointed to was adjacent to the 'well' where we'd been.
"Does this mean... we have to go back?"
"No. This way... there are a few branching paths ahead."
No need to return to the hut.
I didn't remember every terrain detail, but I knew the essential routes.
'The midpoint between the border zone and outer zone.'
'This path should let us bypass goblins as much as possible.'
It was quite the detour.
Judging by the cave's size, it'd take at least a full day.
'Food... shouldn't be an issue.'
We'd stocked up at the Butcher's Hut.
Skipping the stuff that looked like human meat, mostly smoked goods and dried potatoes.
Of course, we had no idea how the clan was faring, but...
There was enough reason to give it a shot.
.
.
.
Unlike the game, reality's Pavarintos was enormous.
It wasn't just in terms of space and time—the sensory overload was overwhelming too.
The enemies and monsters we'd faced so far.
Unlike the game, Pavarintos in reality was vividly real, hair-raisingly so—
[Crunch, crunch.]
[Thud, thud.]
"...."
—and boring as hell.
A four-hour march through the caves.
Excluding the four breaks, we'd just kept walking, over and over.
Almost no conversation,
and barely any other interaction.
No time for getting-to-know-you chit-chat—we just endured the monotonous trek.
However.
On the other hand, maybe we should be grateful for that boredom.
[Rustle—]
"...."
[Halt.]
Traps hidden in dirt piles scattered through the caves,
[Thump, thump, thump-thump-thump—]
"...."
and faint footsteps echoing from afar.
'Five... no, seven? Maybe more...'
The distant footsteps were too numerous to count by sound alone.
Possibly over ten.
Either way, it wasn't normal.
'A tribe's home turf...?'
'No, that doesn't fit—there's no other noise.'
'Patrolling in numbers bigger than a scouting party...'
Had something happened?
Rare in the game.
Goblins didn't swarm unless you approached their village.
Of course, comparing game AI mobs to real goblins here was pointless.
'...Should we pull back further?'
I hesitated a bit.
We'd already taken a long detour.
Going any farther out would lead to the outer zone.
Which meant higher odds of running into giant ants and other beasts.
It was worth weighing, but...
"Haa, ha..."
"...H-Hurts... so tired..."
"...Shh. Quiet."
"...."
...pushing on today seemed impossible.
The Divine Tree Lantern growing on the cave walls had dimmed to a faint glow.
A sign that night was approaching.
Everyone seemed at their physical limits—harsh breathing came from behind me.
Hyun Tae-jin looked fine, but the women didn't.
They panted with exhaustion, brushing back sweat- and dust-matted hair.
'...Well, we've been walking a while.'
We'd rested a few times, but four hours with backpacks was no joke.
And this was the Ominous Cave.
Darkness closed in from all sides, eerie winds echoed, and traps lurked everywhere, stirring deep-seated fears.
In a place that constantly gnawed at your sanity, tiring faster than usual was inevitable.
...I was somewhat used to it, but the others weren't.
'Looks like... we'll camp at the next spot.'
Right now wasn't ideal.
The footsteps hadn't been that long ago, and we hadn't found a good rest area.
At minimum, it needed passages on both sides for escape routes...
'Ah.'
[Rustle—]
"...?"
But right then,
a suitable spot appeared ahead.
Three passages branching out, big enough for six people to lie down.
"...We'll rest here tonight."
"Ah..."
"W-We survived..."
In the end, after some thought, I decided to camp.
It was a bit iffy, but no guarantee a better spot lay ahead.