episode_0212

A dark night street.

“A being from another world came out of the labyrinth. Does that even make sense?”

A young man who looked swaggering spoke loudly as if wanting everyone to hear.

“…”

The explorers heading towards the eastern district did not respond.

But the young man continued to speak.

“No, think about it. The labyrinth entrance. Huh? It’s guarded by numerous guards, so how could they break through there?”

“Mitz, be quiet. We just need to faithfully carry out the request from the association.”

An elf who appeared to be the leader replied quietly.

The young man called Mitz scoffed.

“Tch! It’s because it doesn’t make sense rationally. Isn’t that right? Hey, wolf head, is it or isn’t it?”

Mitz’s arrow flew towards Jeong Yushin.

At the same time, people’s gazes were fixed on Jeong Yushin.

Jeong Yushin shrugged his shoulders and gestured.

‘I don’t know. I’m just doing it because I was given the request.’

Mitz clicked his tongue and looked around.

“What is that wolf head saying?”

“Shut your mouth. You stupid bastard.”

Mitz’s head snapped around.

“Which son of a bitch?!”

A girl wearing a baggy robe shrugged her shoulders.

“That’s what the sign language said. I didn’t say it.”

Gritting.

Mitz glared at Jeong Yushin with wide eyes.

“What? This bastard?!”

Jeong Yushin waved his hand urgently.

Mitz stared blankly before turning his eyes back to the girl.

“He says it’s not.”

“That’s strange. It was definitely similar sign language…?”

The elf in charge frowned as if fed up.

“Quiet!”

“…”

The elf rubbed his forehead and sighed softly.

“Aren’t you all from decent clans? Even if it’s a request for promotion evaluation, you shouldn’t be talking so carelessly.”

“Tch.”

The young man turned his head and closed his mouth.

“I’m saying this out of concern. You need to cooperate with the explorer association branch in the eastern district, so refrain from saying anything that might provoke them. All hate-mongering remarks, condescending behavior.”

The explorers nodded.

The elf watched Jeong Yushin.

“Why don’t you answer? Wolf head.”

Jeong Yushin nodded diligently.

The elf glared at Jeong Yushin with a dissatisfied expression.

“Answer. Don’t just nod your head.”

“Yes.”

A thin and delicate voice.

People widened their eyes.

Everyone was half-convinced that it was Barbaroi Sca.

The single-edged sword was too noticeable.

The black-haired man who had a duel with the Beast Clan in the eastern district single-handedly.

Now that I think about it, the reason for the duel was absurd.

It was to protect a small and insignificant clan.

How many clans disappear and are created in a day, yet he cares about such trivial matters.

It’s urban life, where you should be training yourself and trying to get more benefits.

I thought he was a really stupid person.

I was sure he would lose.

His opponent was Rex, the wolf beastman who was known as the Siege Breaker.

With a large number of upper-level monsters with strong defenses appearing in the fortress labyrinth these days, Rex’s value was soaring.

But Barbaroi Sca used completely unexpected techniques to win the duel.

It wasn’t that I was particularly interested in watching.

The reason was that the central district’s square and association headquarters were close, so I went to watch to kill time.

The reactions of the explorers who watched the duel varied.

High-level explorers admired him.

Low-level explorers called newbies admired him.

Mid-level explorers were jealous.

Especially those mid-level explorers who were skilled and experienced and were starting to gain momentum.

He didn’t seem that strong, but he fought strangely well.

I judged that even if I fought there instead of Sca, I would have a good match with Rex.

So the explorers looked at the wolf doll mask and were convinced it was Sca, and were glancing at him with eyes mixed with competitiveness.

But.

‘It’s not Barbaroi Sca?’

The explorers fell into confusion.

Then.

Who the hell is that perverted man wearing a wolf doll mask?

Could it be.

Is it fake?

It’s a possible story.

Immediately after the duel took place.

The number of people dressed similarly to Sca increased significantly.

Rumor has it that orders for elven single-edged swords from blacksmiths have exploded.

There was also a story that female explorers were deliberately going for walks in the southern district.

The explorers closed their mouths and racked their brains.

Is it real?

Is it fake?

“…”

The elf commander seemed pleased with the quieter atmosphere and encouraged the explorers.

“Actually, my thoughts are similar to Mitz’s. The guy who came out of the labyrinth likely obtained a negative mark and hid in the eastern district. Since abilities that we haven’t seen before popped out, people must have been scared. Or the mystics in the eastern district summoned a strange being.”

“Terry, if you predicted that much, we wouldn’t have to step in, right?”

Mitz grumbled and retorted the elf’s words.

“Mitz, go back if you don’t like it. No one is stopping you.”

“Tch. If it wasn’t for the request to be promoted to mid-level intermediate, I wouldn’t have taken on this kind of work.”

Besides Mitz, several others grumbled.

Jeong Yushin looked around.

‘Why are there so many whining bastards?’

There were many peers of similar age to himself.

Are they friends who were lucky enough to get good marks from the beginning and entered good clans?

‘It’s none of my business.’

Jeong Yushin walked without paying attention.

About an hour passed.

The elf commander called Terry led the explorers and stood in front of the eastern district gate.

The people in charge of security nodded at the elf commander and stepped aside.

The explorer association and the security forces had already reached an agreement, so there was no separate process to verify the explorers’ identification cards.

However.

The guards kept looking at Jeong Yushin.

A wolf mask with sparkling eyes.

It was a doll mask that seemed to come straight out of a ridiculous illustration.

A man holding a single-edged sword wrapped in cloth and wearing only a doll mask.

I was afraid I would see it in my dreams.

When Jeong Yushin passed through the gate, the head guard and his subordinates took a few steps back.

The explorers who entered the eastern district passed through the dazzling entertainment district and the square where the circus was held.

After walking for a while, they arrived at a quieter street.

Jeong Yushin looked around.

A clearly different atmosphere.

It was similar to the southern street.

Monsters and people dressed as explorers were coming and going on the street lined with inns and shops.

After walking a little further, they saw a dilapidated wooden building.

When I first saw it, I thought it was a pub, but the sign clearly stated Eastern District Explorer Association.

Several people were waiting in front of the branch.

I saw a familiar face among them.

The wolf beastman Rex.

Rex was standing with his arms crossed, looking like he was about to die.

The elf commander approached.

“Rex, are you in charge of this collaborative request?”

Rex nodded.

“That’s right. Eastern district explorers will accompany us to avoid unnecessary disputes with the ‘residents.’ Is it uncomfortable?”

“Not at all.”

Rex looked around and frowned.

There were more young explorers than he thought.

And he felt the competitiveness in their gazes.

‘Damn it.’

Rex swallowed his rising sigh.

They were all kids with pale faces and an air of nobility.

Lucky guys who haven’t experienced the tragedy of the labyrinth yet and have been on a winning streak.

Even these pampered brats were looking down on him.

‘Fucking hell.’

After losing the duel, it was difficult to walk around with his head held high.

The Beast Clan leader was furious and hurled all sorts of creative insults at him.

One by one, the guys in the clan started to make fun of him.

In the end, Rex took on a disciplinary request and ended up here.

Rex’s annoyed gaze lingered among the explorers and landed on the wolf doll mask.

Looking at the wolf doll mask with its tongue sticking out, anger surged.

Rex observed the wolf doll mask guy with fiery eyes and widened his eyes.

‘What…?!’

A somehow familiar single-edged sword.

The back of his neck went cold as soon as he saw it.

‘That crazy bastard!’

What is he doing coming here?

How many people in the eastern district are grinding their teeth at that guy right now?

Rex’s lips twitched.

Jeong Yushin also paused.

I didn’t expect to see that friend here.

Rex quickly regained his composure.

Anger surged, but work is work.

If I can’t handle this request properly, then it’s really over.

Rex took his eyes off Jeong Yushin and turned his body.

“Let’s go straight to the sewer since we don’t have time.”

The explorers followed Rex and walked down the street again.

After walking for about an hour, I saw a few smelly monsters.

Mostly slimes, kobolds, or goblins.

Sometimes I saw trolls or orcs.

Their appearances were different, but their faces were full of fatigue.

The headquarters explorers frowned and blocked their noses at the sight of the monsters walking slowly with dirt all over them.

As they went a little further against the foul smell, a building built of red bricks stood there.

Following Rex’s guidance, they passed through the iron gate of the red building and saw an old orc sitting at the reception desk.

The old orc saw Rex, got up from his seat, and bowed his head.

“Mr. Rex, have you arrived?”

Rex waved his hand to stop the orc’s greeting and opened his mouth.

“I heard that one of the workers saw something suspicious in the sewer. Is there a witness?”

“Yes.”

As if he had been waiting, the orc got up from his seat and led the people to the sewer underground.

They went down the steps that were densely built with dark gray bricks.

It was deeper than I thought.

It got darker as they went down, and the humidity and stench stung their noses.

They went down for a long time and arrived at the very bottom.

A huge underground common area with a foul smell.

There were several iron doors in the wide underground area, and equipment and tools were organized.

The old orc brought slimes and goblins from the corner.

“Squeak! I, I saw it! It’s true!”

Pururung, pururung.

The goblins shouted, and the slimes trembled.

“I, I saw dozens of red eyes in the dark! T, that’s not the end! It jumped out of the water, grabbed my colleague’s ankle, and dragged him in!”

Pururung.

The slimes bounced up and down to the goblin’s words.

The goblins were terrified and rambling.

The elf and Rex patiently listened to the end.

One of the explorers muttered.

“Is it really a being from another world?”

The old orc said with a serious expression.

“These guys are employees who have worked in the sewer for a long time. There are often unspeakable things that happen in the eastern district’s sewer, but this is the first time I’ve seen workers so terrified.”

The elf nodded.

“I have no intention of ignoring the testimony. Please leave us alone for a moment.”

The old orc bowed his head and went upstairs.

Only the explorers were left in the huge underground common area.

Rex tapped his head.

“I know the testimony isn’t very reliable, but.”

The elf interrupted Rex’s words.

“It’s something we have to do anyway. The headquarters is on edge because of the upcoming summit. We can’t miss a single suspicious thing.”

“I understand.”

The elf and Rex distributed maps and equipment to the explorers.

It wasn’t great equipment.

All they had were old boots, torches, and long scoops to scoop up waste.

The elf looked around at the explorers and opened his mouth.

“Three people form a team.”

The elf grouped the explorers in the order they were standing.

Whether it was good luck or bad luck, Rex, Jeong Yushin, and Gwyn formed the same party.

“…”

“Let’s all do our best.”

Unlike Gwyn, who was always calm, his eyes sparkled and he clenched his fists tightly.

“What is it? Human, is this such an exciting thing?”

Rex asked.

Gwyn immediately returned his complexion to normal.

“It’s my first time coming to the eastern district, so I was a little excited. Sorry.”

“Hmph.”

Rex turned his head and snorted.

As expected, he didn’t like the explorers who didn’t know the bottom.

“Hey, Mr. Wolf Doll, would you mind holding the torch?”

At Gwyn’s request, Jeong Yushin nodded and held up the torch.

Rex glared at Jeong Yushin with glaring eyes.

Crazy bastard.

What on earth is he planning to do this time that he came to the eastern district?

Rex gritted his teeth and muttered inwardly.

‘Sca, once this is over, I will definitely reveal your plan.’

Jeong Yushin held the torch and stared blankly at the darkness of the waterway.

‘I’m hungry.’

The three people opened the iron door and moved towards the dark sewer.