episode_0029

Clunk!

The tavern door opened, and Darmon entered. He was holding a basket, which contained bread, dried meat, and cheese.

“All the other taverns are similar. It’s a complete mess.”

He grumbled as he came in and made eye contact with the knight order.

“Darmon! Long time no see.”

The knight order leader, quite drunk, waved his hand with a smile.

“Cain.”

The knight order leader’s name is Cain.

“I thought you said you weren’t doing business today.”

“I came to see your face. When else would I see you?”

“Will you have dinner and go?”

Cain got up from his seat.

“No. We have work tomorrow, so we need to go in early.”

“Alright.”

“Let’s go. It’s good to see your face after a long time, Darmon.”

Cain left the tavern with the drunken knight order members.

Darmon approached the counter and placed the basket on it.

“Why are you drunk?”

“That fellow Cain made me drink.”

Darmon clicked his tongue, looking at Jeong Yushin.

“I can’t eat dinner. Go up and get some sleep.”

“Yes. I’m sorry.”

Jeong Yushin went up to the second floor and threw himself onto his bed in his room.

He swept back the hair stuck to his forehead and looked at the dark ceiling.

“Mion Teacher’s panties…”

He closed his eyes.

“Lucky bastard.”

Jeong Yushin debated whether to tell Mion or not before falling asleep.

* * *

The earthquake lasted for 5 days.

The people on the streets were terrified.

The city’s government offices, as well as shops and guilds, closed their doors.

The temple’s orphanage academy and swordsmanship guild also closed for safety reasons.

Darmon’s tavern was no exception, and except for lodgers who had nowhere else to go, no customers came.

Everyone huddled up, spending their days in fear.

But Jeong Yushin silently trained his body.

Do what you can do.

A resolution engraved in his heart since he fell into this other world.

He grabbed Darmon, who had no work, and persistently asked about the monsters.

He delved into their characteristics, habits, and behavioral patterns, memorizing and reviewing them.

Whether there was an earthquake or not, he carried three sacks of flour on his back in the yard, doing squats and running.

He continuously cast Sacred Weapon until his mana ran out.

When his mana ran out, he gritted his teeth and swung his sword until he was exhausted.

He worked tirelessly to recall what he had learned and internalize it.

Eat, poop, train.

A 5-day period where resolve manifested into action.

Training that started at dawn ended only in the evening.

The light of the sunset cast its glow on the yard.

Jeong Yushin sheathed his sword and sat down on the spot.

His whole body was soaked with sweat.

“Hoo. Hoo.”

As he was catching his breath, someone called from behind.

“You’re working hard? Barbaroi.”

It was Karin.

“What’s the matter?”

He replied without turning around. He heard footsteps, and Karin’s voice became closer.

“The labyrinth closure order has been lifted.”

‘What was coming has come.’

He turned his head, and Karin’s face was close enough to be uncomfortable.

Karin’s nose twitched, and she stepped back.

“Here, a towel.”

“Thank you.”

As a result of training all day, his whole body was soaked in sweat.

Jeong Yushin unconsciously tried to take off his top but quickly came to his senses.

“Please go in first. I’ll wipe off the sweat and go in.”

“Just do it. You’re Barbaroi. Weren’t you about to take off your shirt just now? Are you embarrassed?”

Karin chuckled.

Jeong Yushin frowned.

He was annoyed by her relaxed attitude because she was stronger than him.

“Yes. Watch if you want.”

Jeong Yushin ripped off his shirt and wiped himself thoroughly with a towel.

The white towel passed over the six-pack on his abdomen, wiping his firm chest and armpits as it passed.

Karin quietly watched the scene.

Like a trainee watching a famous chef cook.

Gulp.

Karin’s Adam’s apple moved.

He was about to put on his shirt after wiping his body but stopped.

‘It’s sticky.’

His spare clothes were on the second floor.

He had to pass through the kitchen and the tavern’s restaurant, but it was difficult to pass through without a shirt on. There were still a small number of lodgers in the tavern.

Karin asked when Jeong Yushin stopped moving.

“Why… why?”

“I need to go get clothes, but it’s a little difficult to go naked.”

“Really? I’ll go. Where on the second floor?”

Jeong Yushin explained which room he was staying in.

Karin nodded and held out her hand.

“Give it to me. The shirt and towel.”

“Yes?”

“There’s no laundry basket? I’ll put them in while I’m there.”

“I do have one, but…”

Jeong Yushin hesitated.

“I can do this much. I hired you.”

“Is that so? Here.”

He handed Karin the sweat-soaked shirt and towel.

“Wait here for a moment. Okay?”

“Yes. Ah! Over there.”

Karin ran off without listening to Jeong Yushin’s answer.

He was going to tell her that the laundry basket was under the bed, but Karin had already disappeared.

Jeong Yushin crossed his arms and enjoyed the setting sun.

And.

10 minutes passed.

‘What is it?’

Even crawling, it would have been a distance that would have taken 5 minutes, but Karin had not returned.

‘Should I go see?’

“Here, I brought your clothes.”

Karin came out to the yard with new clothes.

Her hair was disheveled as if something urgent had happened, and her shirt was slightly wet with sweat, revealing a red bra.

“Yes. Thank you.”

Jeong Yushin took the clothes Karin handed him and put them on.

“While I was up there, I also checked the supplies. You only gathered what’s ‘necessary.’ Good job.”

“Ah. So that’s why you were late.”

Jeong Yushin nodded and agreed.

“That’s right. Let’s go to the restaurant first.”

“Yes.”

He saw Karin walking ahead.

Her tail was swaying lazily from side to side.

Her buttocks, wrapped in leather pants, were subtly wiggling.

* * *

Darmon, Jeong Yushin, and Karin sat together at a table.

“Karin-nim, is the labyrinth closure order really over?”

“Yes. But the situation has changed a bit. The closure order is partially lifted. The announcement is tomorrow. The formation of the labyrinth investigation team is the day after.”

“That’s fast.”

“The talks have already finished upstairs. So, what I wanted to say…”

Karin stopped talking and paused for a moment.

“The results of collecting and analyzing the testimonies of explorers who survived the labyrinth have come out.”

Jeong Yushin and Darmon were quietly watching only Karin’s mouth.

“New monsters have appeared in the labyrinth.”

Silence fell.

Karin continued.

“I heard that new monsters have appeared in each level. The earthquakes that have occurred in the past few days are the reaction. I heard that the newly emerged monsters are driving out the existing monsters. Upwards.”

“By upwards, do you mean?”

“Shallower levels.”

“Can monsters move between levels?”

“Yes. It’s rare, though. Didn’t you know?”

The battle with the Hobgoblin Warrior flashed through his mind.

Was that so.

He thought the world was being unfair, but there was a reason.

“How can they move upwards?”

“There’s an abyss energy that comes up from the bottom of the labyrinth. When this fills a level, portals are randomly created in that level. If you go in there, you go up.”

Jeong Yushin stroked his chin.

“But why do you say ‘driving out’? Aren’t they just moving randomly?”

“Monsters avoid portals unless it’s a really urgent situation. I don’t know why, though.”

Besides that, Jeong Yushin had mountains of things he wanted to ask.

But he held back his words.

In 2 days, he will enter the labyrinth. He didn’t want to complicate his head by leisurely asking this and that.

So, he decided to ask only what he needed.

“What level will our party go to?”

Karin smiled.

“The 10th floor. And cheer up. You’re a porter.”

‘That’s right.’

He scratched his head feeling awkward.

‘Okay. I’ll try to freeload this time.’

After finishing a few conversations, Karin got up from her seat.

“See you in two days, Ska.”

“Yes. Karin-nim.”

Karin left the tavern.

Jeong Yushin parted ways with Darmon and went up to his room on the second floor.

He opened the door and entered the room, and a strange scent assaulted his nose.

A sticky and rich smell.

Suddenly, a childhood memory came to mind.

[Mom! Why is the blanket wet in a round and long shape?]

Young Jeong Yushin pointed to the blanket drying on the drying rack.

[Yu… Yushin-ah. Th… that is…]

His mother stammered in embarrassment.

[Sniff, sniff. Ew! A strange smell!]

Young Jeong Yushin covered his nose and stepped back.

[Yu… Yushin-ah!! Don’t smell it! Get away!]

His father gently grabbed Jeong Yushin’s shoulder.

[Yushin-ah, you see, when a woman feels good…]

[Honey!!]

His mother hurriedly ran over and tapped his father’s back.

Jeong Yushin shook his head, breaking out of his reverie.

He must have been out of his mind for a moment in a dim memory.

Hmm.

Could it be?

No way.

Jeong Yushin went close to the bed and touched the blanket.

It wasn’t wet at all.

Was it a misunderstanding?

He opened the window a little to ventilate and then threw himself onto the bed.

The scent had permeated the pillow and blanket, probably because Karin had stayed in the room for a long time.

The evening spring breeze gently entered through the window and lingered in the room.

He had trained all day, so he couldn’t even bother to move a finger.

He wriggled on the bed, took off his pants, and threw them on the floor. He couldn’t even bother to put them in the laundry basket.

‘I’ll change my pants tomorrow.’

He closed his eyes in his underwear.

Jeong Yushin fell asleep like that.

* * *

Two days passed.

The labyrinth closure order was partially lifted, and an investigation team was formed.

5 high-level explorer parties.

20 mid-level explorer parties.

The party that Jeong Yushin was entering as a porter was a mid-level explorer party.

He left the tavern early in the morning and arrived in front of the labyrinth.

‘Am I going again.’

Jeong Yushin looked up at the huge monument.

He captured the entrance to the Great Labyrinth in his eyes.

His heart was pounding with tension and excitement.

“You’re here?”

He turned around and saw Karin standing with her arms crossed.

Her hair was tied in a ponytail.

She was wearing black leather armor, two daggers were stuck in her sword belt, and a small crossbow was slung on her back.

Karin said one thing when she saw Jeong Yushin’s appearance.

“You bought some good armor? Did you buy it with the money I gave you?”

“Yes.”

Jeong Yushin thought about yesterday for a moment.

On the day the labyrinth closure order was lifted, he immediately ran to Boron’s smithy.

Next to Boron, who was exhausted and lying down, was the light armor he had commissioned two weeks ago.

“It was a bit late because of the earthquake, but I made it in time.”

Einhofer said instead of Boron.

“And here.”

Einhofer held out a bottle containing black liquid.

“What’s this?”

“High-grade blood oil. It prevents fat from accumulating on the sword. It’s not enough as compensation for saving my life, but it’s the best I can give you now. Pay me back slowly later.”

“Thank you. Please give my regards to Boron.”

“I will.”

Jeong Yushin took the light armor and returned to the tavern to check his supplies again.

Just in case, he also packed blood oil and anti-poison scrolls.

Jeong Yushin, who had finished all preparations, came out this morning and greeted Karin.

As Karin and he were talking, people began to gather.

There were many races he hadn’t seen before. There were lion beastmen and large lizard beastmen.

There was one person who stood out among them.

Jeong Yushin’s eyes widened.

Found him.

The black-haired Barbaroi.

A height exceeding 2m.

All sorts of tattoos engraved on a viciously muscular body.

The black-haired man was standing there holding a double-edged axe as tall as himself.

The labyrinth city’s notorious outlaw.

The incarnation of lust that doesn’t discriminate between men and women if there’s a hole.

A vicious female hunter.

He had heard enough slander, but he had never seen his face, but now the opportunity had come.

Jeong Yushin stopped talking to Karin and observed the Barbaroi in more detail.

“Hmm. Is that all there is to it.”

But when he actually saw him, he just seemed like a tall and powerful muscular man.

Was it because he was seeing him from a distance?

Jeong Yushin tilted his head while observing the Barbaroi.

Then, Jeong Yushin and the man’s eyes met.

The man smiled.

‘What is it?’

The man stuck out his thick tongue and licked his lips.

‘What the hell.’

His spine tingled.

It was similar to the moment when he first saw Simus’ punch.

Jeong Yushin reflexively grabbed the hilt of his longsword. Unease was seeping in.

Then, someone suddenly popped out between Karin and Jeong Yushin.

“You’re the porter?”

Jeong Yushin barely turned his head. A tall male elf was looking at Jeong Yushin.

“Yes.”

“Roynel. Please take care of me.”

The elf handed over his luggage. Jeong Yushin took the luggage and put it on his back.

A person wearing plate armor approached.

His gender and race could not be confirmed because his face was covered by a helmet.

“Gilshion. I worship the Spirit God of Light.”

A paladin.

Jeong Yushin also took the luggage Gilshion handed over and put it on his back.

A middle-aged human man wearing cloth clothes.

“Ahiman. Mysticism user.”

He was a dark-skinned man who looked like a Middle Easterner. Ahiman handed over his luggage.

A mysticism user.

‘There was a class like this?’

He swallowed his question. From his blunt expression and tone, it didn’t seem like he would answer kindly even if he asked.

“Yes. Please take care of me.”

Jeong Yushin greeted him and took Ahiman’s luggage as well.

Karin said with a smile.

“You know me, right?”

“Yes.”

Finally, he also took Karin’s luggage.

Carrying the luggage of four people at once was not easy.

It was the right decision to reduce his own luggage as advised by Karin and Darmon.

Jeong Yushin turned his head again to look at that Barbaroi, but the Barbaroi was looking elsewhere.

“Attention!”

The blue-haired man at the very front shouted.

“The plan was explained in advance, so there’s no need to keep repeating myself. Don’t be scared and don’t die! Let’s go!”

The blue-haired man entered the magic circle with his party.

Light flashed, and the man and his party disappeared.

The high-level explorers entered the magic circle in order.

The line gradually decreased, and it was Karin’s party’s turn.

“Let’s go!”

Karin shouted energetically.

With the paladin in the lead, Karin and the elf followed, and the mysticism user and Jeong Yushin were at the very back.

He came and stood inside the magic circle.

Jeong Yushin took a deep breath. He had forgotten the Barbaroi he had seen a little while ago.

He was fully prepared.

He firmly gripped the hilt of the longsword that was fixed on the back of his waist again.

This was his third trip to the labyrinth.

He was a porter for a mid-level explorer party, but he wasn’t just being careless. There’s a certain etiquette even for freeloading.

Because the labyrinth is not an easy place.

Light flashed, and he felt a floating sensation as if he was flying in the sky.