episode_0020

I opened my eyes and an old man was looking down at me.

The old man smiled kindly and held out his hand.

Jeong Yu-shin struggled to reach out and grasp the old man’s hand.

Clap!!

The old man slapped his hand away.

‘What is he trying to do?’

The old man pointed to his mouth and moved his lips. Jeong Yu-shin focused all his attention on his ears. The motor, rusty from not being used for a long time, began to turn with a creak.

“Three silver coins.”

‘Luke Wiseman.’

The spirit teacher who serves the Spirit God of Wind.

One of the members of the Labyrinth City High Council.

“I apologize for my rudeness last time.”

A cracked voice came out.

“It’s alright. I expected to see you again soon, but to meet you like this again must be the will of the Spirit God of Wind. Three silver coins.”

“Let’s make it a debt. I don’t have any money. What happened? The last thing I remember was inside the labyrinth.”

“The labyrinth exploration team found your party. You’ve been unconscious for three days. Ska, you’re the only one who’s regained consciousness.”

“What is an exploration team?”

“It’s exactly what it sounds like. Do you know that a lot of new recruits have come lately?”

“Yes.”

“There are so many new recruit parties that went into the Great Labyrinth and didn’t come back. So, they formed an exploration team and sent them in to see what happened.”

“When do you think the others will regain consciousness?”

“I don’t know. The goblin and the wizard will probably wake up soon, but the dwarf might take a while. The place he was hit isn’t good.”

A question arose.

“Where is the gnome?”

“Gnome? Wasn’t your party originally a party of four?”

“We were originally five. There was a gnome guide. His name is Ditto, have you perhaps seen him in the shelter?”

“No, I haven’t seen anyone like that.”

Is he still wandering around inside the labyrinth?

Assuming the worst, Ditto would now be insane and wandering around the labyrinth. Or maybe he’s already dead.

Besides, the pattern on that dagger Ditto dropped when he ran away.

It wasn’t unfamiliar.

“It’s late, so you can sleep here tonight.”

“I don’t have any lodging fees.”

“It’s free. Then get some rest.”

Luke left the sickroom.

I lay in bed and looked out the window at the starry night.

And I could see that this was a second-floor sickroom.

Originally, it was a large sickroom big enough for dozens of people to use together. But now all the beds were empty, and only a faint candle was burning in Jeong Yu-shin’s spot in the corner.

The empty sickroom was eerie.

‘Are the other party members on the first floor?’

I lay down and thought for a long time. A strangely familiar pattern. I felt like I had seen it somewhere, but I couldn’t remember.

As I stared blankly at the ceiling, I heard footsteps.

Thump. Thump.

I turned my head and looked in the direction of the sound.

I couldn’t see anything.

I picked up the candle next to me and shone it around.

There was nothing there.

The sound stopped, too.

“What is this.?”

My heart sank coldly. I looked around the quiet sickroom.

“Were you waiting for me?”

Ditto’s face suddenly popped out.

“Ugh!!”

I was so surprised that I almost dropped the candle.

Ditto chuckled as he watched Jeong Yu-shin panic.

It was a low and eerie laugh.

‘Wasn’t he still in the labyrinth?’

Jeong Yu-shin asked.

“How did you get out alive?”

“I got lucky. There was a party of novice explorers passing by.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Yeah. It’s really a relief. You never know what’s going to happen. But there’s something I want to ask you.”

“Just a moment.”

I held the candle up close to Ditto’s face. Ditto frowned and slightly pulled his face away.

“What are you doing?”

“No, I was just wondering if you were hurt.”

“Tch. Even if something unexpected happened, it’s only the second floor. There’s no way I could have gotten hurt. How about you?”

‘Confirmation.’

“Me? Oh, don’t even ask. It’s hard to even move. I just woke up.”

Ditto glanced at Jeong Yu-shin’s hand. The hand holding the candle was trembling slightly.

“I see. You look tired. You should get some rest.”

“Yes. It’s a bit late to be visiting.”

The human and the gnome made eye contact in silence.

“……”

After a moment, Ditto laughed and put his hands behind his back.

“Okay. I’ll be going now. Get some reeest!!”

Ditto’s dagger was aimed at his neck and thrust in.

Jeong Yu-shin twisted his body. The dagger dug deep into his shoulder blade. A burning pain blazed like fire.

“Keuh!!”

Light soared from the blanket Jeong Yu-shin was covering himself with.

[Sacred Weapon]

A long, pointed cone made of light pierced through the blanket and impaled the gnome’s solar plexus.

“Kuh-uhck!!”

Ditto fell to the floor. When the cone of light disappeared, blood streamed from the blocked wound.

The gnome writhed like a worm, choking.

Jeong Yu-shin removed the blanket with the hole and slowly got up from his seat.

If he hadn’t blocked Ditto’s vision with the candle.

If he hadn’t dragged out his words and failed to complete the Sacred Weapon’s conjuration in time.

If he hadn’t been unable to bear the pain and waved his hand in vain.

He would have been the one to die.

“I thought I’d seen that pattern somewhere.”

Ditto’s dagger, which he had picked up during the battle with the Hobgoblin Warrior.

He didn’t have the time to examine it closely in that urgent situation, so he couldn’t be sure, but when he thought about it carefully, it was the same pattern engraved on the slave hunter’s bastard sword.

Many questions swirled around in his head.

Was the claim that he had a Fear Engraving a lie?

If his target was him, why did he shoot the crossbow at Carlton’s back?

Jeong Yu-shin approached Ditto. Ditto was lying on the floor, coughing up blood.

Still, there’s one thing I need to ask.

“Why me? Why go this far to catch a nobody like me?”

“…Fuck..”

Ditto died after saying those words.

The blood flowing from Ditto’s wound flowed across the floor and reached Jeong Yu-shin’s feet.

Jeong Yu-shin’s body trembled slightly.

He killed a person.

He had finally crossed the point of no return.

Life can’t be the same as before.

Under the starlight, he received the sacrament of original sin himself.

The witness to the sacrament was a single candle burning alone.

The reason?

To survive.

Jeong Yu-shin staggered over and closed Ditto’s eyes.

The baptizer and the baptized were the same, but the blood was the gnome’s.

* * *

That night, there was a commotion at the shelter. The priest who was on duty on the first floor and dozing off was shocked to see Jeong Yu-shin coming down from the second floor, and hurriedly called the guard.

A guard captain with a grim look came and took Jeong Yu-shin to the guard post. The guard post wasn’t far from the shelter.

After applying ointment and bandaging his wound, they put him in handcuffs and took him to a small room inside the post.

“We just confirmed the gnome’s body. He was in the same party as you?”

The guard captain sitting across from him asked.

“Yes. His name is Ditto. He was in charge of guiding the crappy party.”

“Why did you kill him?”

“Because he was trying to kill me.”

“I checked, and he only had a dagger. He didn’t have any other weapons?”

“Sacred Weapon.”

“What? Were you a priest?”

“No. It’s an engraving ability.”

“That’s normal. Show me once.”

“I can’t use it right now. My mana is all used up.”

“Are you a novice explorer?”

“Yes.”

The guard captain scratched his head.

“I don’t understand. Why would he try to kill you? Did you do something in the labyrinth?”

“I don’t know either. I didn’t do anything. The other party members will prove it.”

“Maybe not. Tell me everything. Everything that happened in the labyrinth. I’ll make a decision after that.”

Jeong Yu-shin calmly told him what had happened in the labyrinth.

A cup of tea’s worth of time passed.

“That’s all. After that, I lost consciousness and was rescued by the labyrinth exploration team and came to the shelter.”

The guard captain stroked his chin.

“That’s strange. That’s strange. Just listening to your story, there’s no reason for that gnome to kill you. Tong-tung!!”

The guard captain shouted at the door. After a moment, there was a clatter, and a stout otter beastman appeared.

“Yes! Captain!”

“Run to the shelter and wake up one of the sane members of this barbarian party and bring them here.”

“Yes!!”

The otter beastman ran out in a hurry.

After a while, Carlton entered the room.

He looked at least 10 years older with his haggard look.

“What’s going on? Trash.”

“I called you because I needed cross-examination. Tell me what happened in the labyrinth.”

Carlton licked his dry lips with his tongue.

Carlton, like a wizard, calmly and in detail told the story. The guard captain was mesmerized and listened quietly.

“…We won the fight, and Ska collapsed. After a while, the exploration team arrived at the shelter. After that, I lost consciousness, so I don’t know the details. Trash.”

The guard captain looked at Ska with new eyes.

“Amazing. For a novice explorer to kill a hobgoblin warrior who only appears on the 4th or 5th floor like that. Even if he’s young, is he really a barbarian?”

“I didn’t do it alone. It was possible because the other party members helped me.”

Carlton gave a faint smile at Jeong Yu-shin’s humility.

The guard captain cleared his throat.

“That’s beside the point. Then what got into that gnome to begin with?”

He hesitated for a moment. Should I talk about the pattern on the dagger or not?

The pattern on the dagger is easy to spot. Even the village guards on the Path of Pilgrimage recognized it, didn’t they?

Why would they bother engraving a pattern that’s easy to recognize on a weapon?

What benefit do they get from doing such a stupid thing?

If I tell the story, will this guard captain believe me?

Can I even trust him in the first place?

I don’t know.

Everything is full of unknowns, so no matter how much I rack my brains, there’s no brilliant plan.

“The pattern engraved on the dagger is eye-catching. I think Lord Simus would know about it, so why don’t you go and ask him?”

The guard captain’s eyes widened.

“Don’t tell me you’re talking about Lord Simus, who serves the Spirit God of Wind?! Does that person know you?”

“I traveled with him on the way to Labyrinth City. He won’t pretend not to know me.”

“I can’t call a spirit teacher for something like this. In the first place, he has a wandering spirit, so it’s not easy to see him. Is the pattern that important? Answer me straight.”

“That’s…”

Then the door opened, and a person came in.

The guard captain jumped up from his seat.

“Lord Luke! What brings you to this humble place?!”

“There was a commotion at the shelter. Never mind that. Don’t worry about it.”

“Still…”

“I was on duty today anyway. Think about my reputation.”

“I…I understand.”

Luke looked at Carlton and the guard captain.

“Both of you, go out for a while. There’s something I want to ask this barbarian.”

At Luke’s words, both of them got up from their seats and went outside.

Luke sat down in the guard captain’s seat.

“I heard everything from the guard.”

“Yes.”

“Tell me about that pattern. If your answer is unsatisfactory.”

Luke crossed his arms and leaned back leisurely in the chair.

“I’ll kill you.”

A cold and apathetic gaze pressed down on Jeong Yu-shin.

‘Damn it. Is a priest even allowed to have eyes like that?’

He swallowed hard.

Jeong Yu-shin stammered and told him what had happened before he came to Labyrinth City. Luke didn’t move an inch and just listened.

After the long story ended, Jeong Yu-shin closed his mouth.

Luke, who had been silent for a long time, slowly opened his mouth.

“Simus is my first disciple.”

Not surprising.

‘I thought his eyes looked similar.’

“Yes.”

“Three months ago, my disciple told me about a young barbarian. He said he was an interesting person. I didn’t know it was you. You’re lucky.”

“Yes?”

“I’ll spare you. This time. If you’re caught selling my disciple’s name again, I’ll kill you then.”

“….”

“I’ll be watching.”

Luke got up from his seat. Jeong Yu-shin sat still in his seat. The wind rose from the spot where Luke had left and swept past Jeong Yu-shin.

The wound on his shoulder had already healed. It was healing magic pushed to the limit.

“Hoo…”

He got up from his seat and went out of the room. The guard captain was standing stiffly.

“Go.”

“Yes?”

“Go. Lord Luke has proven that you are not guilty.”

“Yes.”

As he left the guard post, the cool dawn air rushed in. Carlton was waiting in front of the post.

“It looks like it worked out well. Trash.”

“I guess so. Whew. Let’s go. Wizard.”

Under the dawn stars.

In the quiet silence, the two men made their way back to the shelter.

“…Ditto tried to kill you? Trash.”

Carlton asked, fixing his gaze on the shelter building.

“Yes.”

“I see. Trash.”

Carlton agreed with a short reply. There was a bitter sorrow in it.

Carlton stopped walking and looked up at the sky.

The sighs and resignation of an outcast became a silent gaze and lingered beneath the dawn stars.

“Were you very close to Ditto?”

Jeong Yu-shin put his hands behind his back and slowly moved closer to Carlton. A faint magic power began to swirl in his hand.

“No. Not that close. Trash.”

“There’s no cure for male menopause. Stop looking at the stars and live young.”

Suddenly, Carlton started chuckling.

Jeong Yu-shin smiled faintly and looked at Carlton.

Carlton said.

“Barbarian, I’ve never seen a man as suited to the labyrinth as you in my life. Trash.”

Then he added.

“Don’t get too close. It’s scary. Trash.”

Jeong Yu-shin took a step back. The magic power in his hand subsided.

The two men started walking again.

His head was a mess, but he tried to reassure himself that he had survived.

That was enough for this dawn.