episode_0022

Jung Yushin told Darmeong about what happened in the labyrinth.

He briefly talked about the Hobgoblin subjugation, as Zeke would have already told him. The important part was what happened after.

Slave hunters.

Jung Yushin explained what happened before he came to the labyrinth. Being captured by slave hunters in the forest, Karin saving him, almost getting killed by the town guard for using the slave hunter’s equipment, and finally meeting Seamus.

He thought he had broken away from the slave hunter group after entering the labyrinth city, but he was wrong.

He found the same mark on Ditto’s dagger as the slave hunters.

Ditto tried to kill him at the shelter, but Jung Yushin barely survived thanks to his imprinting ability.

He doesn’t know why the slave hunter group is targeting him. All he knows is that this group is operating secretly in the city.

He told everything.

Darmeong listened to Jung Yushin’s story silently, without even touching his glass.

“It might be dangerous for me to stay here.”

He brought up the main point.

If the slave hunter group continued to target him, they would find out where he was staying and eventually harm the inn.

“Did you tell the Explorer’s Guild?”

“I didn’t. I didn’t know who to trust.”

“You trust me?”

Jung Yushin smiled silently at Darmeong’s question.

Darmeong, who was looking at him, chuckled.

“Good. The Explorer’s Guild is large, so there are many factions. Some of them might be trading with slave hunters. Hmm.”

Darmeong stroked his chin for a while and then said.

“Aldean, that guy, is perfect for this kind of thing.”

Jung Yushin’s eyes widened.

Aldean Ashwood.

The Dismantling Plant Manager.

Why did that degenerate elf’s name suddenly come up?

“What does he have to do with this?”

“Didn’t you know? Aldean was famous in the eastern district back in the day.”

“For what?”

“A complete delinquent.”

Darmeong was a high-ranking explorer who had been through thick and thin. The words “complete delinquent” came out of his mouth. That meant he was no ordinary delinquent.

“But why is he working at the Dismantling Plant? Did he turn over a new leaf?”

“He was reborn as a new person.”

“How?”

“With Seamus’ fist.”

Jung Yushin’s mouth dropped open.

“So, you’re saying that the delinquent Aldean got beaten to a pulp by Seamus and became a new person?”

“That’s right.”

“Huh.”

He was surprised that such a hidden story existed.

“The point is this. Most criminal groups are concentrated in the eastern district. Aldean was quite famous there, and even now that he’s reformed, he still has some influence. If you ask him, you might be able to get information about the slave hunter group.”

“Oh!”

“But there’s a problem.”

“Oh.”

“Aldean is currently on a business trip. He’ll probably be back in a month. Wait for him.”

“Are you saying I shouldn’t go into the labyrinth?”

“For the time being. You’ve earned some money. It’s not a bad idea to rest and see how things go. Luke must be aware of this situation as well. Stay here for now. You have nowhere else to go, right?”

“That’s true, but I feel bad.”

“Don’t feel bad. I’m doing it because I want to.”

That’s reassuring.

As expected, connections are important in this world too. No, since Darmeong is a bear beastman, it’s more accurate to say bear-nections.

He didn’t know what the slave hunter group was planning, but there was nothing he could do right now.

If he went around the streets looking for the slave hunter group, he would only end up as another corpse with a knife in it.

The only thing he could do.

Training and learning.

A desperate struggle to become stronger.

If he became strong enough, he could just crush the conspiracy.

“Is there anywhere I can move my body around here?”

Darmeong thought for a moment and then opened his mouth.

“Training? There’s a yard behind the kitchen. Use that.”

“Thank you.”

* * *

The next day, Jung Yushin woke up early, finished his meal, and went to the Temple of the Great Earth Mother.

He didn’t want to laze around in bed under the pretext of resting.

Learn when you can.

He realized that opportunities for learning and training don’t come often.

He stopped by the temple, had the caretaker confirm his attendance, and went to the first-floor classroom in the orphanage building.

“Eek?! He’s here again. That scary mister.”

“Shh! Be quiet, Emma. That mister is a barbarian!”

“Eww. He’ll rape me..”

As soon as he entered the classroom, the orphaned children whispered and cursed at Jung Yushin.

The atmosphere was more wary than when he came last time.

‘So what?’

He just needs to learn what he needs to learn and leave.

He sat down and stared at the blackboard. The teacher hadn’t arrived yet.

“Um, Barbarian mister.”

A small child wriggled up and spoke to him.

Jung Yushin frowned.

‘Damn it, don’t talk to me.’

“What is it?”

Still, he answered as kindly as possible.

“Mister, do you really take out girls’ livers and eat them?”

“No. Go back now.”

“Mister, do you really assault girls?”

“No.”

“Mister.”

“The teacher is here, so go back to your seat.”

“Ah! Teacher Mion!”

The little girl ran back to her seat.

Mion, who entered the classroom, was still beautiful. Her brilliant blonde hair and white priestess robes made the entire classroom seem brighter as she stood at the podium.

The only downside was that her figure wasn’t visible because of her baggy clothes.

“Hello! Everyone. It’s been a while.”

“Yes! Teacher!!”

“Now then, shall we start the lesson?”

Mion skillfully led the class.

Jung Yushin concentrated with a fire in his eyes throughout the lesson.

He tried to memorize every single letter that Mion wrote on the blackboard.

Even during breaks, he didn’t get up from his seat and sat at his desk, constantly reviewing the words and drawing strokes in the empty air with his fingers.

“Okay, that’s all for today’s lesson. Everyone did a great job.”

“Yes! Teacher!”

After the lesson, it was lunchtime. The children went to the student cafeteria, laughing and talking. Jung Yushin also went to the temple’s cafeteria.

He sat in a corner, finished his simple meal, and left the temple.

Next, he would go to the Swordsmanship Guild.

He roughly knew the location, as he had heard it from Darmeong this morning. One of the Swordsmanship Guild branches that had official recognition from the labyrinth city was located in the southern part of the city.

The tuition fee was 30 silver coins per month.

A huge sum of money. If he took this class, he would miss the opportunity to get good equipment.

Jung Yushin swept his chest.

He could feel his heart pounding through his thin linen shirt.

He needed to get stronger, even if only a little bit. This slave hunter’s ambush had made his sense of crisis even greater.

‘I just need to tighten my belt a little more. It’s not often that you get both time and money at the same time. Especially when you have someone else’s protection. This is a golden opportunity.’

He walked a little further south from the temple.

“A building with a sword and shield engraved on the gate. Found it.”

He stood in front of a building made of dark-colored stone.

Jung Yushin clenched and unclenched his fists in front of the building, steeling his resolve.

He opened the wooden revolving door and was immediately hit by the musty smell of sweat.

People with sharp and fierce faces were walking around inside the building.

When he approached the counter, an elf man was sitting with his arms crossed.

“What do you want?”

“I came to learn swordsmanship.”

“It’s 30 silver coins per month.”

“Here it is.”

He endured the pain in his stomach and handed over the pouch containing the silver coins.

The elf man opened the pouch and counted the coins one by one.

“Confirmed. But are you only going to learn for a month?”

“Yes.”

“What are you going to do learning for a month? Just so you know, you can’t use it anywhere with that much.”

“I’ll have to see about that.”

A moment of silence.

The elf and the human looked at each other.

The elf looked into Jung Yushin’s eyes and chuckled.

“This guy has killed someone before. What a funny bastard.”

“It wasn’t an elf.”

The elf’s eyes twitched once.

“Haha. This bastard. I’ll teach you.”

“Who are you to keep calling me this bastard and that bastard? The service here is terrible. Get me someone else.”

“I’m the head of the Swordsmanship Guild here. Leave if you don’t like it.”

Jung Yushin’s body stiffened.

“Oh my. You’re the head of the guild. But why would a high-ranking person be?”

“You don’t need to know that. Follow me. Killa!!”

The elf man stood up and shouted, and a bald man burst out of the door.

“Did you call me? Guild Master.”

“This is a new recruit. I’m going to teach him.”

“Yes? But the Guild Master has a lot of work to do?”

“That’s what you’re for. Who’s going to assist me with my work if you, the Deputy Guild Master, don’t do it?”

The bald man’s face distorted.

“It’s not just assisting, is it? It’s almost all of it.”

“So, are you not going to do it?”

“Ugh. I understand. New Barbarian recruit, make sure you learn well. You’re lucky.”

The bald man glanced at Jung Yushin, left a word of advice, and went back into the room.

“Follow me.”

He followed the elf to the backyard of the guild building.

It was a large yard reminiscent of an army training ground.

All sorts of people were sweating, running, rolling, and swinging swords.

“Your weapon is probably a longsword?”

“Yes.”

A shield and a one-handed sword were his main weapons, but he lost them in the last battle. He couldn’t afford to buy them again, so he had no choice but to use a longsword.

The elf took two wooden swords from the corner and threw one to Jung Yushin.

“Let’s see your skills.”

“Here I go.”

As soon as he grabbed the sword, he rushed in.

He raised the sword above his head.

A downward slash from above.

Whack!

He couldn’t cut him. The elf’s wooden sword stabbed Jung Yushin’s neck.

“Kehk!”

He lost his balance because he couldn’t breathe.

The elf didn’t move as hastily as Jung Yushin. He simply took a step forward from the middle stance with the sword.

“You’re terrible. You have no fundamentals.”

“Kh. That’s why I came.”

“Again. If the opponent is holding a sword and aiming at you, knock the sword away.”

Jung Yushin slung the wooden sword over his shoulder and slowly approached.

The elf chuckled at the sight.

The distance was close enough.

Now.

He swung the sword. The target was the elf’s wooden sword.

Thwack!

The elf deflected Jung Yushin’s sword. The elf’s sword touched Jung Yushin’s neck as he lost his balance.

“You’re swinging like you’re trying to kill me. Relax your body. Again.”

He swung his sword many times, but they were all blocked. He was hit by the elf’s sword strikes that occasionally pierced through, and his body felt like it was burned.

How much time had passed? His whole body was soaked in sweat. His breath smelled sweet. He rolled on the ground and got covered in dust.

The hand holding the wooden sword trembled.

At some point, the people in the training ground stopped what they were doing and started watching Jung Yushin and the elf’s lesson.

“The Guild Master is training him? That’s rare.”

“Look at the new recruit’s face. He won’t come out tomorrow. Hehe.”

The elf planted the wooden sword on the ground and leaned on it.

“Again. Barbarian. You lack perseverance.”

A muscular man who was watching nearby clicked his tongue.

“I was wondering when he would say it. The Guild Master’s perseverance theory.”

Jung Yushin took a stance.

The elf clicked his tongue.

“Straighten your back. Raise the sword more. Move your left foot back a little more.”

He corrected himself according to the elf’s words.

“Swing it short and concisely.”

Whooong!

Thwack!

The wooden sword that Jung Yushin swung collided with the elf’s sword.

“Close combat is a game of numbers. Just remember that.”

The elf deflected Jung Yushin’s sword.

Bang!

The elf’s sword struck Jung Yushin’s neck.

“Cough!!”

He knelt on the dirt floor.

The elf slung the wooden sword over his shoulder.

“Do you want a refund?”

“···No.”

The people who were watching in a circle around them talked loudly.

“He’s keeping up well?”

“The Guild Master is good at teaching too. It’s not bad.”

“This new recruit has perseverance. Good luck!”

The elf said sternly.

“Why are you talking informally? Do you want a refund?”

“No, sir.”

“Ooh. Stingy. Guild Master.”

“Yeah. A new recruit can talk informally.”

The elf shouted.

“Get out! What are you doing standing there staring until sunset!”

The people clicked their tongues and scattered.

Only the elf and Jung Yushin were left in the training ground.

“Run 30 laps around the training ground and go home. I went easy on you today because it’s your first time.”

“Yes.”

Jung Yushin raised his dust-covered and sweaty body. He ran around the training ground with staggering steps.

I’m going to die.

His heart was screaming that it was going to die.

The muscles in his body were out of control, wriggling and thrashing wildly.

He wanted to sit down and rest right away.

But he thought about the 30 silver coins and ran.

He ran and ran until the moon and stars appeared in the sky.

It was quiet around him. Most of the lights in the Swordsmanship Guild building were turned off.

Only the elf remained alone, watching Jung Yushin run with his arms crossed.

30 laps.

He ran all of them.

He didn’t know how he ran them.

He didn’t know if he walked like a baby or crawled like a worm, but he did it.

“Kheuheok.”

As he lay on the ground, swallowing dust and gasping for breath, the elf approached.

“Come out tomorrow morning.”

“Huuuh. Keheok. ···I can’t.”

He refused.

After a long silence, the elf opened his mouth.

“···Why?”

“I have to learn letters. From morning to lunch. At the temple. Huuuh. I do it.”

“I see. Then I’ll see you at lunchtime.”

“Keuh. Thank you for your hard work.”

“Take care.”

The elf turned his back and left.

He lay on the ground for a while, catching his breath, and then barely got up.

“It’s worth the money. Very good.”

He didn’t know if it was training or abuse, but he rolled around diligently.

Jung Yushin barely made it back to the inn that night.

When Darmeong asked with surprised eyes if he had been attacked, he smiled a little. He told him that he was in this state because he was training at the Swordsmanship Guild and cleared up the misunderstanding.

He went back to his room, washed his body, and lay down on the bed.

Sleep came to him immediately, as if it had been waiting.