episode_0021

Jung Yooshing went through an ordeal at dawn and lay down on the shelter bed.

Deeto’s corpse had been removed. The blood splattered on the floor had also been cleaned up neatly. Only the smell of blood lingered slightly.

He thought about asking to change his spot, but he stopped, afraid of the fee that would be charged.

Jung Yooshing spent the dawn with his eyes open. As the sun rose, he went down to the first floor to check on the condition of his party members. Unfortunately, Dell and Einhoffer were still unconscious.

Carlton said he wasn’t feeling well and would spend a little more time at the shelter.

Before leaving the shelter, Jung Yooshing bowed deeply to Carlton.

“I’m sorry. I think I went a little crazy yesterday.”

The shock of the inexplicable assassination and the first murder were mixed together.

On top of that, intense fatigue and Luke’s threats were added.

In short, he wasn’t in his right mind. He had tried to kill Carlton.

It was right to apologize.

Whatever the reason, they were party members who fought together.

They shed blood and sweat in the same place for each other.

Carlton smiled faintly and patted Jung Yooshing on the shoulder.

“It’s okay. Rather, I’m more sorry. I should have told you in advance. Trash.”

For a scout who had become useless, there was one more option besides retirement and heading to the labyrinth.

Illegal activities.

There were various things, from the distribution of prohibited items to kidnapping, assassination, and theft.

Since the income was decent, quite a few useless scouts were engaging in these illegal activities.

Jung Yooshing nodded after listening to Carlton’s explanation.

“Then Deeto too?”

“That’s right. He must have received a request from somewhere. Trash.”

His mouth tasted bitter. He wanted to ask more, but Carlton’s condition wasn’t good at all. He looked like he was about to collapse at any moment.

“Then I’ll go ahead first. Rest a bit and let’s talk later.”

“Okay. Trash.”

When he came out of the shelter, he saw a crowd of people bathed in the morning sunlight. This was because the shelter was close to the transfer gate of the Great Labyrinth.

“Ugh.”

Jung Yooshing sighed and walked in the opposite direction of the crowd.

He lost all his equipment and luggage.

All that was left was his body.

The investigation team saved his life, but they didn’t have the loyalty to take care of his belongings.

All he got from this labyrinth trip was three silver coins.

And that was with debt.

He trudged along and arrived at the inn where Darmon was.

“I’m back, Darmon.”

Darmon’s face popped out from the kitchen.

“You came back alive. Wait a moment.”

Jung Yooshing took a seat at an empty table.

A moment later, Darmon came out of the kitchen with a tray of food in his hands.

“Eat. You’ve lost half your face.”

Jung Yooshing looked down at the food on the tray.

Cream soup filled with meat, buttered rye bread, and a wooden cup of warm milk were steaming.

“I…”

“Eat first.”

At Darmon’s strong urging, he started eating. He realized it only after the warm food entered his stomach.

That his body had been chillingly sinking.

He swallowed the soup and tore off a piece of bread and put it in his mouth. He ate as slowly as possible, fully feeling the warmth of the food.

Darmon silently watched Jung Yooshing’s appearance.

He finished his meal after drinking the warm milk last.

Jung Yooshing bowed deeply.

“Thank you for the meal, Darmon. You saved me.”

Why did he say he was saved?

He uttered words he couldn’t understand himself.

“Okay.”

“Hey boss!! Two breakfasts here!”

Two humans sitting at another table said loudly.

Darmon got up from his seat and said.

“Get some sleep for now. Let’s talk in the evening.”

“Yes.”

Looking around, there were quite a few people bustling about. Seeing scouts who got up early and moved busily bothering to come here was both amazing and somewhat understandable.

‘It was delicious. And there wasn’t any fur.’

Darmon’s shedding must be over. The number of people gathering will increase more and more.

He went up to the second floor and opened the door to his room.

The room was bleak.

The fact that he had lost his luggage and equipment in the labyrinth was keenly felt.

All he had on his body was a ragged hard leather armor.

All that remained was a longsword and two silver coins left as a reserve.

Excluding the shelter treatment fee, he was in debt by one silver coin.

“Ah, whatever.”

He felt sleepy after eating the warm food.

‘I should just sleep. Honestly, the shelter was too cold.’

He took off his armor and changed his clothes.

Jung Yooshing threw himself on the bed, rubbed his body against the fluffy bedding, and fell asleep.

* * *

When he opened his eyes in the early morning air, he saw an asphalt road.

“···Where is this.”

A familiar place.

When he turned around, he could see the convenience store neon sign shining in the distance.

It was the place just before he was transferred to another world.

Did he return?

“Ahahaha.”

He was dumbfounded by the sudden return.

What was the point of all the hardships he had gone through?

He felt a sense of futility and sat down.

Was it all just a nightmare?

He looked up at the convenience store again.

This wasn’t the time to be like this. He had to run to the convenience store, buy a bunch of snacks, and go home.

He shook off the unpleasant feeling and got up from his seat.

He wanted to buy a can of cola and drink it all at once. He missed the refreshing feeling and the sweet taste of sugar hitting his throat.

And what about the spicy and hot broth of ramen?

Saliva filled his mouth.

“Potato chips. I’m going to eat all kinds of them. Just wait.”

He walked towards the convenience store.

While walking, Jung Yooshing discovered a manhole. The lid was gone.

He approached it as if possessed.

He looked down, but he couldn’t see anything. Of course. The sewer was dark to begin with, but it was night now.

“Arise.”

A sound came up from the bottom of the sewer.

“What!”

Jung Yooshing was startled and took a step back. A strange sensation seized his body. A distortion that started from deep inside his stomach spread throughout his body.

“Arise.”

Black mist rose slowly from the sewer.

He immediately turned around and ran towards the convenience store.

But the black mist was faster. The mist grabbed Jung Yooshing.

“Let go!! Let go of me!!”

He struggled with all his might, but the mist slowly tightened around Jung Yooshing’s body.

It twisted and crushed his entire body.

He screamed in pain and agony.

“Kkeuaaaaaaaack!!!”

Jung Yooshing’s eyes flashed open in the midst of pain. A familiar ceiling came into view.

Is this home?

No.

It’s Darmon’s inn.

Bang!!

The door opened with a loud noise and Darmon came in.

“Scar! What’s wrong?”

“Ah.. a nightmare.”

Darmon crossed his arms at Jung Yooshing’s stammering answer.

“Hmm. Come down for now. You have a visitor.”

Darmon left the room.

‘A visitor?’

Who could be coming?

He got out of bed and looked down at his body, which was soaked in cold sweat.

In contrast, a strange vitality overflowed in his body.

His body had changed. He felt it in an intuitive realm.

‘It could be a new imprint. But I didn’t feel any liberation. Is it because I was unconscious?’

Doubts arose, but there was something he had to do right away.

He wiped his body with a towel and left the room.

When he went down to the first floor, there were people he had never seen before.

A handsome blonde human man with a tall height.

A female elf with a mysterious and beautiful appearance.

A female beastkin with pointed ears and a sharp impression.

Finally, a white-clad girl priest.

A typical harem party.

The people at the inn couldn’t take their eyes off the women’s beauty and just stared blankly.

The harem party and Darmon were sitting at the same table.

The blonde man saw Jung Yooshing and waved his hand.

“Over here! Barbaroi!”

Jung Yooshing swept back his sweaty hair and approached the table and sat down. The blonde man smiled brightly at Jung Yooshing.

“Are you okay? I heard screams from upstairs?”

Jung Yooshing scratched his head at the friendly tone.

He had no idea who he was to be acting so friendly.

“I had a nightmare. I’m okay now.”

“Ah! You know what?!”

“What ‘what’ are you talking about?”

“Level up! It’s not strange to level up after killing that many goblins.”

Darmon interjected.

“Scouts call it level up, but originally it’s called Mana Adaptation. When you kill monsters, unique magic particles from the monsters accumulate in your body, which mutates your body. Strength, dynamic visual acuity, agility, mana sensitivity, various stats increase.”

He felt dazed.

He was mentally blanked out by the new terms he had never learned at the Scout Association.

“What? Even Barbaroi should know this much, right? It’s not even a unique phenomenon that only happens in the labyrinth. That’s strange.”

The blonde man looked at him with the gaze of someone looking at a strange animal. Jung Yooshing ignored the man’s words. There was still something he was more curious about.

“Do you have nightmares when you level up?”

Darmon answered Jung Yooshing’s question.

“The phenomena that occur when leveling up are so diverse that I can’t say for sure. Some people do have nightmares, but it’s rare. Usually, it just ends with mutation. Strong vitality and an accompanying sense of omnipotence are common characteristics after mutation.”

‘Shit. Leveling up is such a pain.’

Still, he felt good. Because he had become stronger. The strong vitality he had felt from earlier was swirling inside his body.

“But who are you?”

The blonde man made a dumbfounded expression at Jung Yooshing’s question and pointed to himself with his hand.

“Me?”

“Yes.”

“You don’t know me? You don’t know our party?”

“No.”

“Haaaaa.”

The blonde man pressed his forehead with one hand.

‘He’s someone who makes people tired.’

Bang!!

The blonde man took out a leather pouch from his chest and placed it on the table.

A dull sound came from the pouch.

“If we were to say! We are the rising star of the Scout Association, ‘Golden Dawn’. I’m Zeke Lionel. A lieutenant scout! Remember it well.”

‘A party with a name. Is it a formal party?’

“Yes. But what brings you here?”

“···Show some respect. We saved your life.”

“Saved my life? Were you perhaps the labyrinth investigation team?”

“Yes. This is the reward from the association.”

Zeke pointed to the leather pouch.

His heart pounded at the sight of the heavy pouch.

He stroked the leather pouch with his trembling hands.

“···Is this by any chance all silver coins?”

“No, not really.”

“Ah.”

A regretful sigh burst out.

He wanted to open the leather pouch and count the money right away, but there was something he had to do first.

Jung Yooshing got up from his seat and bowed.

“Thank you. If it wasn’t for ‘Golden Dawn’, I wouldn’t have been able to save my life.”

Zeke waved his hand.

“It was nothing.”

“Should I share some of the reward?”

Words that were not in his heart came out of his mouth.

“No. We received it from the association. By the way, the other party members also received rewards, so there’s no need to share.”

“But why did you give me a reward? I’m happy, but it’s hard to understand.”

“You took down over 100 hobgoblins and even caught a hobgoblin warrior, so we’re giving it to you.”

“There was no proof of subjugation though?”

“We testified.”

“I see.”

He understood. Honestly, he didn’t care. Only the heavy leather pouch caught his eye.

“Ah! I forgot to tell you the reward amount. It’s 40 silver coins and 48 copper coins for the subjugation reward.”

“Keuek. Thank you.”

Jung Yooshing hugged the leather pouch and rubbed his face against it. The three women next to him looked at him with disgusted eyes, but he didn’t care at all.

This lumpy feeling!

He was so happy.

‘Damn!! This is what life is about.’

How desperate he was when he lost his backpack and all his equipment and was rescued from the labyrinth with only his life.

He was dizzy at the thought of working again to buy equipment, but now he had no worries.

The girl priest got up from her seat.

“Let’s go now. It seems like we’re done here.”

Zeke smiled bitterly and got up from his seat.

“Shall we? Then I’ll see you later. Darmon. And you too, Barbaroi.”

“Take care.”

Zeke’s group left the inn.

Jung Yooshing didn’t leave his seat and was just stroking the leather pouch. Darmon chuckled at the sight.

“Are you that happy?”

“Yes. I thought I would have to work for a year without fail, but I’m glad. And I have something to tell you.”

“Really? Then let’s talk after closing time.”

“Shall I help you?”

“No. Wait a little. Have a drink.”

“Hehe. I will.”

Time passed and people disappeared one by one. Some went up to the second floor of the inn, and others just left the inn as if they had only come to eat.

All the people left and the inn door closed.

Only Jung Yooshing and Darmon were left.

“So. You said you had something to say?”

Darmon, who was sitting at the table, opened his mouth. Jung Yooshing lifted the bottle and filled Darmon’s glass.

“Yes.”