episode_0006

Late evening, Darmong sat at the inn counter, resting his chin on his hand. The few guests had already left, and those staying overnight had already gone to bed.

Clatter!

The door opened and Jung Yoo-shin entered with unsteady steps.

He sat across from Darmong, wobbling like an octopus.

“Darmong, a drink, please.”

“Closing time.”

“I can’t sleep like this.”

Darmong clicked his tongue and took out liquor from the shelf, pouring it into a small glass. Jung Yoo-shin grabbed the glass with trembling hands and poured it into his mouth. The fire went down his esophagus and spread wide in his stomach. As the alcohol took effect, the pain that had been throbbing all over his body subsided a bit.

‘Will I be able to get up tomorrow?’

Jung Yoo-shin seriously pondered.

“Today is on the house. From tomorrow, it’s two copper coins per glass.”

“Two copper coins for this small glass?”

“It’s expensive liquor.”

‘It just looked like soju.’

Jung Yoo-shin smacked his lips and got up from his seat.

“Then I’ll head in first.”

He was too exhausted to chat.

“Okay.”

Jung Yoo-shin went into his room and threw himself onto the bed.

“Hwaaaah.”

He made a strange sound and passed out.

* * *

A month had passed.

Jung Yoo-shin’s routine was monotonous.

Waking up and spitting out the bear-human’s fur he had kept in his mouth.

Eating and going straight to the monster dismantling site for work.

Draining the blood from the delivered monsters, then skinning them and separating the flesh and organs.

The types of monsters varied. There were small monsters like goblins, and others that easily exceeded 6 tons in size.

Jung Yoo-shin shook his head at the sight of a huge monster corpse.

“How on earth do you catch monsters like this?”

The decadent elf manager replied simply.

“Well.”

He took a short break for lunch and then went back to work in the afternoon.

In the evening, he changed out of his work clothes, washed off the blood in the shower attached to the dismantling site, and then gathered with everyone to eat.

The location was unusual; it was a corner of the front yard of the monster dismantling site.

Meat was sizzling on the grill.

The meat was scraps left over from dismantling the monsters, and the charcoal came from a nearby blacksmith.

They had been grilling and eating meat like this every evening for nearly a month.

They shared drinks brought by the dismantling site workers.

“Hey, newbie, have a drink too.”

Senior dismantler Marlon held out a bottle of liquor.

“Thank you.”

It was dwarven hard liquor, and it was quite strong, so his insides felt hot even after just one sip.

“Is the work manageable?”

At Marlon’s question, Jung Yoo-shin looked down at his hands.

Hands covered in scars and calluses.

They were no longer the soft, smooth hands of the past.

Moreover, he had almost lost a finger during today’s work. If it hadn’t been for the decadent elf manager’s healing magic, he would have been holding his half-severed, dangling finger and looking for a doctor.

Having seen Shimus’s spirit magic, he thought he would be less impressed, but he was wrong.

Magic was always amazing.

Jung Yoo-shin raised his head.

“Yes. It’s manageable.”

Marlon laughed loudly.

“I like your attitude! How about we have a drink somewhere else instead of this?”

“No can do.”

The elf manager cut in.

“The newbie is to return to the accommodation as soon as he finishes his meal. Darmong is waiting eagerly as if he’s waiting for a newlywed.”

“Yes.”

The elf’s lips twitched.

“Heh heh. That Darmong is waiting eagerly.”

The elf suddenly burst into loud laughter.

???

Laughing at his own words.

Jung Yoo-shin and Marlon blankly watched the elf laughing.

Marlon, who had regained his senses, smacked his lips.

“Too bad. If we get the chance, let’s have a drink.”

“Sounds good.”

He picked up a piece of sizzling meat and chewed it. Even though it was only seasoned with coarse salt, the savory flavor filled his mouth without any gamey smell.

‘Liquor and meat. This is sex.’

* * *

Two months in. Life was the same.

Except for a few changes.

First, the elf manager started calling him by his name. Even if it was an alias.

“Scar, there’s no need to overthink it. We can’t eat gargoyles anyway. Just carefully peel off the skin.”

Jung Yoo-shin tried to stab it with a knife, but the skin was so hard that it wouldn’t even go in an inch.

Marlon, unable to watch any longer, stepped forward.

“No, don’t use so much force, put it in gently. Like putting it in a virgin’s hole on the first night, softly.”

Slap!!

The elf manager slapped Marlon’s cheek.

Thud.

Marlon, who had fallen to the side, grabbed his cheek and looked at the manager with questioning eyes.

“Marlon, even if you’re going to use a metaphor, why use such a vulgar one?”

“I’m sorry.”

The three men were silent for a moment.

Suddenly, the elf manager chuckled.

“Heh heh. A virgin’s hole. I can’t stand it.”

Eventually, he burst into loud laughter. Marlon also rubbed his cheek and laughed. Only Jung Yoo-shin couldn’t laugh.

‘Is he a crazy elf?’

What part was so funny?

He gave up trying to figure it out.

Jung Yoo-shin shook his head and focused on the gargoyle.

Another change was Jung Yoo-shin’s eye for detail.

By examining the monster’s wounds, he could tell where the vital spots were.

There were many wounds from battle, but there was always only one wound that led to death.

He stroked the gargoyle’s chest. There was a small hole where there were no scales.

A vital spot.

This was the third time he had worked on dismantling a gargoyle, and all three times there was a hole in the scaleless area of the chest.

He asked Marlon and received confirmation that this was the gargoyle’s vital spot.

He had a hunch why Darmong had sent him here.

It wasn’t just about the money, but to develop his eye for detail?

That tsundere bear-human wouldn’t admit it so easily, though.

The last change was in his body.

Lean muscles had developed on his slender body, and his jawline had become a little more defined.

His increased stamina was incomparable to what it used to be.

It was a change created by consistent meat consumption, high-intensity work, and a consistent lifestyle pattern.

Swoosh.

Finally, the knife pierced the skin. But the hard part was yet to come.

It was a job of slowly cutting the skin with constant force to create a boundary, and it was not easy.

His arms trembled and his face was soaked with sweat.

If he put too much force, the blade would stray and the boundary would become blurred. If he peeled off the skin along the blurred boundary, the shape would be strange, and the merchants would lower the purchase price. In the end, it would be a loss for the dismantling site.

However, he couldn’t put too little force either. The knife wouldn’t move forward, and the work would be much slower, eventually leading to a loss for the dismantling site.

“Hoo.”

After struggling for a while, he finally drew the boundary.

Jung Yoo-shin wiped the sweat from his forehead. The rest was easy. He just had to put the knife between the skin and the flesh and gently scrape it.

It was similar to the process of sticking a needle between the toenail and the toe and pulling out only the toenail.

Jung Yoo-shin collapsed on the spot after finishing all the steps.

“Slow.”

Jung Yoo-shin scratched his sweat-soaked head at the elf manager’s words.

“Still, at this rate, you can barely do the work of one person.”

He couldn’t help but smile at the elf’s following words.

“Wow. Gargoyle skinning in just two months. A newbie with talent as well as grit. My eye for talent never fails.”

Marlon puffed out his chest.

“Why are you acting so smug? It’s because my eye is discerning that I discovered Scar.”

‘Both of you didn’t really expect anything.’

He grumbled inwardly.

* * *

Three months in.

There were no noticeable changes.

He had become more familiar with the dismantling work.

More muscle had been added to his body, and his stamina had also increased.

If there was any gain, it would be that he had found out the elf manager’s name.

Aldaine Ashwood.

Darmong told him, acting all tsundere.

It sounded crazy, but there were times when this tsundere bear-human was cute.

It must have been due to the influence of the one-eyed elf manager with his bizarre sense of humor.

The night he skinned the Twinhead Ogre, the elf manager approached him.

“Scar, today is your last day of work. Take this.”

Jung Yoo-shin, who was chewing on the meat on the grill, raised his head.

What Aldaine handed him was a leather gauntlet and leather work boots with iron plates on the bottom.

“Thank you.”

“Here are 10 silver coins. I added a little more.”

“Wow! Thank you.”

“Give your thanks to Darmong.”

Aldaine turned around and returned to his seat.

“Hey! Newbie, it’s a shame. It’s not much, but take this.”

Dwarf Marlon handed him a bottle of dwarven hard liquor and a note.

“It’s a blacksmith shop run by my cousin. If you mention my name, he’ll give you a discount.”

“Thank you, Marlon.”

“Yeah. A labyrinth explorer… You’re a friend who is pursuing a really difficult dream. Good luck.”

“Yes. I will work hard.”

Marlon smiled brightly, patted Jung Yoo-shin on the back, and returned to his seat.

After dinner, the dismantling site workers left, each throwing a word of blessing to Jung Yoo-shin.

“Scar. If you quit being an explorer, come back.”

“Yeah. We’ll accept you even if you come back with one arm cut off.”

“You guys! Don’t say crazy things. Scar, honestly, I thought the city guards would come looking for you for rape charges for three months, but that never happened. I admit it. You’re a good barbarian who doesn’t rape. I hope we meet again with a smile.”

‘You’re the craziest one.’

Jung Yoo-shin smiled and sent them off. Aldaine, the last one left, saw Jung Yoo-shin off.

“I’ll call you if we’re short on hands.”

“Yes. Anytime.”

He walked to the inn, with the streetlights as his companions.

It was hard, but he felt proud.

He had earned 10 silver coins a month. He had worked for a total of three months, so the total amount of money he had collected now exceeded 30 silver coins, which was a considerable sum.

Plus, he had received gauntlets and work boots, so he would be able to start labyrinth exploration quite comfortably, saving on equipment costs.

He couldn’t help but hum a tune.

Darmong was visible as he entered the inn.

“I’m here.”

“I heard today is your last day.”

“Did Aldaine tell you?”

“Yeah. Here’s your ID.”

Darmong handed him the iron tag. He could feel the warmth from it, as if he had been keeping it in his arms.

“So, are you planning to buy equipment and go straight into the labyrinth?”

“Yes.”

“There are classes for new explorers at the nearest branch. Take those classes first.”

“Yes?”

“The Great Labyrinth is a dangerous place. Preparation must always be thorough. And you shouldn’t hope for luck.”

Darmong gave a bitter smile.

“Darmong, were you perhaps an explorer?”

“Did you only realize that now?”

“I had an idea. Then I’ll take the classes first.”

Jung Yoo-shin decided to follow the bear’s advice.

There was another reason as well.

The countless monster corpses he had seen at the dismantling site.

Although they were corpses, he had been overwhelmed several times by their grotesque, bizarre, and huge appearances.

Courage alone was not enough.

He had to gather information and prepare for the worst. However, he doubted how helpful the classes offered by the explorer guild would be.

What if the class he paid 5 precious silver coins for was a complete waste?

He was sure he would be upset to death.

Damn it, how did I collect that money?

His original plan was to sit in a bar and listen to the stories the explorers were telling, or to buy drinks for the senior explorers and get information.

But he had just scrapped that plan.

He gave up on his doubts about the classes and his plan to get information with alcohol.

He trusts the bear.

The reason he sent him to the monster dismantling site.

It must have been an intention to make him aware of the dangers of monsters and to have a sense of alertness.

And also to earn money, improve his stamina, and develop his eye for detail.

If he believed that this was his first arrangement, then the explorer guild’s class would be the second arrangement.

Darmong smiled slightly. Just as he was about to take out liquor from the shelf, Jung Yoo-shin stopped him.

“I got a bottle of dwarven hard liquor here. Let’s drink this.”

“Sounds good.”

In a quiet corner of the inn, two glasses filled with liquor clinked against each other.