"Oh! Bjorn, son of Yandel!"
As soon as I left the magic tower, I headed straight for the barbarians' dormitory. But for the past two months, half the faces I knew had vanished, replaced by novice barbarians. I'd heard it was part of an unspoken tradition to leave this place as soon as you earned enough money to make room for the new barbarians.
Among those who are no longer here, there are probably many who died during this expedition.
Since they were born barbarians, this was their destiny. Unlike the fairies, who had more experienced beings helping them from above, it was the barbarian way of having to survive on your own once you entered the city.
"Is Ainar there?"
"Ainar went to the Holy Land first thing in the morning!"
Yes, I thought it would be like that. I came to visit her since I hadn't seen her in two days after leaving the maze, but it turned out to be in vain.
"Oh, have you heard the news?"
"What news?"
"The free barbarian! The whole city is buzzing with news of that man. Didn't you know?"
I shuddered instinctively. "I... I had no idea. Do you happen to know his name too?"
"Hmm? I don't know! Strangely, it's the only thing that hasn't been revealed."
Luckily, it seemed that the guild had made me anonymous.
"Anyway, having someone like that among our people simply makes me proud! He single-handedly took down hundreds of people and proudly dismissed a false accusation made by the guild. Isn't that amazing?"
"Did he hit hundreds of people?" I swear to God it wasn't like that. All I did was cling to the district chief's daughter and whimper. But had the rumors already spread like that? I was starting to worry about the future.
I'm sure things will calm down soon. The union workers aren't idiots.
"I'll be back tomorrow afternoon. Will you tell Ainar if you see her?" I asked.
"I will do that!"
Shortly after, I turned around and headed back to my inn. But what was this? As soon as the innkeeper saw me, he looked like he'd seen a ghost.
"You...! Aren't you dead?"
Anyway, it wasn't exactly a bad comparison. Thanks to that, I didn't have to ask many questions and I got him to confess that he'd gotten rid of my room, thinking I was dead. "What happened to my belongings in the room?"
"I got rid of them..."
"It's clear I paid for three days in advance." Without realizing it, my voice became filled with annoyance, and the innkeeper's face turned white.
It's not like I could hit him-
Wait. Since when did I start thinking like this? I shuddered at the feeling of being out of place.
Maybe even from day one.
In fact, looking back, everything was a little strange. As soon as I opened my eyes, even if a person's head had been cut off, my mind was at peace. The same thing happened with my first murder inside the maze. I knew it was something I had to do, but the process of doing it was too easy. It wasn't even a gradual change. From the day I woke up in this body, I was as aggressive as the barbarians, and simply ignorant.
That was the same even today.
Jailbreak? Of course, that was a conclusion I came to after much deliberation, but strangely, I didn't feel any hesitation. The argument I had with the old man in the magic tower was along the same lines. I was angry because I had heard something I didn't like... 29-year-old office worker Hansu Lee would never do something like that. He wasn't shy, but he wasn't bold either. He was very distrustful of everything, so he was the type of person who watched things for a long time and then put them into practice.
But what now?
Until now, I only thought it was a change that occurred because I had been placed in a special environment, but the feeling of incongruity was increasing.
I'm sure.
I soon became convinced. Just like in every battle the instinct engraved in this ignorant body came out on its own, there had also been a change in my mind. No, it was closer to harmony than change.
«That's why I said I'm sorry! Stop looking at me badly!»
Having finished contemplating, I sighed. Had changed. It was strange that I only realized it now, but at least that was for sure. But so what?
If I want to survive in this world, it's better this way.
I decided to think about it positively. I could handle my barbarian instinct more cautiously.
«...If you give me 30,000 stones, I'll let it go».
Therefore, although the innkeeper's behavior was very offensive, I decided to take him down with a reasonable fair compensation. The most expensive thing I owned was only the 2,500 stone clothes, and I wanted to rest more than stay here arguing.
«30,000 stones! Just because I sold some of it...»
«Didn't you just say you threw it away?».
The man swallowed silently.
«If you don't want to give me the money then tell me, so I can tell everyone here what you did to me».
«... What if instead I let you stay at the inn for that amount?»
«No.» I had no intention of staying at this type of inn in the future. Stealing a dead scout was one thing, but it couldn't even wait until the promised date.
«Ha... Promise me you won't tell anyone.»
«Of course.»
After that, with an additional income of 30,000 stones, I headed to the inn I had been looking at before. Although the average meal and cost per night were twice as expensive, it was worth the price.
Now I finally feel like I live like a person.
First of all, the room was 1.5 times larger than before. It had windows and even a private bathtub in the bathroom. Being much closer to the Plaza de la Dimension was an advantage. After rubbing my skin for an hour to remove all the dirt accumulated in the maze, I went straight into bed.
It was gentle, to the point that I wondered if it was this kind of momentary happiness that people lived for. Was that why? Suddenly, all the events, from the maze to everything that had happened since I returned to the city, flashed through my mind like a panorama.
«Joder».
Why was it so difficult to rest?
***
As soon as dawn broke, I walked into an open clothing store and bought everyday clothes. Then I headed to the barbarian-only dormitory.
«Bjorn! Where have you been all this time?!» ainar shouted.
«I had some things to take care of. Sorry to worry».
« Worry? What are you talking about? There's no way I can do it! Even if they throw you into hell, you will come back alive!»
Well, that's your impression of me. Well, I like this much more than a B soap opera.
Since neither of us had eaten, we headed to a nearby restaurant.
«Oh, have you heard?» After arriving at our seats and asking, Ainar asked a question.
This time I wasn't surprised because I saw it coming. «Oh, that free barbarian?»
«Hmm? A free barbarian? What does that mean?»
Uh, wasn't that your question? «...Nothing. So what were you going to say?»
«Ah!» Returning to the original story, Ainar lowered his head and voice. «I heard it from the old man... Someone has stolen the Genesis Treasure!».
«The Genesis Treasure?» I shouted sincerely.
The Genesis Treasures were the six treasures stored by the six races: dwarves, barbarians, fairies, beastmen, dragons, and humans. The problem was...
Without that, I can't get into the top floor!
The Genesis Treasures were the key items in Dungeon and Stone. The ending... Actually, at this point, I didn't even know if it existed, but to open the Gate of the Abyss, you had to combine the six Treasures of Genesis. But had the Barbarian Treasure disappeared?
«Who would do something so reckless?»
«I don't know either. But apparently it was stolen on the day of our coming-of-age ceremony. The old man said that the other races could be in a similar situation.»
«...Ya veo.»
I felt like someone had hit me on the back of the head with a hammer, but I finished my meal without saying much.
Shit, so I have to live here the rest of my life?
In a way, it was like the most hopeful option for me had just disappeared. But it was going to be at least several years before the Genesis Treasures were of use to me.
It's not something I should worry about when I haven't even reached the third floor yet.
In short, my work was still going. When the day came to make the decision, I needed to be as strong as possible so I could choose from as many options as possible. Besides, you never knew. While doing so, the thief could be caught.
«Ainar, are you free today?»
«Yeah. I decided not to go to holy land today».
«Good.» After a short meal, I headed to the shopping district with Ainar.
«Is this Kommelby? It's my first time here in person! There are so many people!»
Kommelby was the name of sectors 2 and 5, which surrounded Karnon like a belt. Many casually referred to it as the free market. That's how commercially prosperous this place was within the city. Inhabited by Rafdonia's middle class, many artisans and shops were concentrated here. It was here that I stopped with Erwen the other day.
I wonder if it will go well for him.
Late, Erwen came to my mind. Our meetings always began with her coming to see me at the inn where I was staying, but now that I had left that inn, it had become quite difficult to see her again. He also couldn't remember exactly the location of the fairy-only dormitory he had visited once.
I'm sure I could find it if I wanted to.
At the same time, I wondered if that was necessary. As long as her older sister was still alive, there would be no need for her to enter the maze with me.
If we are destined to meet again, we will.
To be honest, after going through so much these days, my memories of Erwen had also faded quite a bit. It wasn't even such a deep relationship in the first place.
«Oh! Look there, Bjorn! People are eating clouds on skewers!»
That? Was there cotton candy here? Intrigued, I bought one to try and gave the rest to Ainar. It really was cotton candy.
«I can not believe it! Are all humans geniuses? To create food like this!»
«Stop admiring him and follow me».
«Don't leave me here! I can't get home on my own!»
Accelerating a little, we quickly arrived at our destination: the surplus store where we sold our equipment in the past. I sold all the equipment that was to blame for him ending up in jail, as well as the equipment that had become a piece of scrap metal. The sale price was about 800,000 stones. I hadn't sold the thing I got right before I came out of the crack, but...
I can probably count this as 500,000 rounded stones.
«Ainar, he is part of it.»
«So much?! Thanks to you, I even consumed an essence...»
«Don't hesitate, take it. It's the right price.» The cast was 80/20, as promised. Still, among our colleagues, she would have earned more this time. «I promised you that if you followed me, you would make more money.»
«Still, 300,000 stones! That's too much! How many cloud snacks is that!» Suddenly, cotton candy had become another monetary unit for Ainar.
«By the way, I'm getting hungry». Was it because the corpse golem essence had Appetite +9 attached to it? I felt like hunger was coming to me much faster.
«Now? It hasn't even been three hours yet!»
«So you're not going?»
«Of course I'll go! Today I will buy you meat!»
After quickly getting rid of the equipment, we stopped at a nearby restaurant to eat. Just as we were about to leave, Ainar looked me straight in the eyes and said, «Thank you, Bjorn».
There was still sauce left on his lips, but his eyes were more serious than usual.
Ha... It was always awkward when she was like this. «It is not necessary. As I said before...»
«I'm not talking about money.»
«Hmm? So what is it?»
«It's just that... I want to thank you for treating me the same.»
I was wondering what he was going to say, but I couldn't understand his words at all. Just to say that, Ainar's expression was too serious. So I stared at her without saying a word, and she continued.
«Um... As you know, my appearance has changed a lot. Others avoid me because they don't believe I'm a warrior».
«That is...»
«These days, wherever I go, even humans come close to me! That had never happened before».
Certainly, it was a serious concern for a woman who took great pride in being a warrior. To be honest, I didn't like him very much, but that must have been because my nature was different from that of a barbarian.
As he listened silently, Ainar shouted in an angry voice: «Bjorn! Be honest! Am I that ugly?»
... ¿What?
«I've already decided! Bjorn! From now on, I can't enter the maze with you!»
Wait. Why was that the conclusion?
***
I was drinking warm beer sitting alone in the living room on the first floor of the inn I was staying at.
«Ugh…»
How could beer be so tasteless? It seemed like I was staying at the wrong inn. The food was pretty good, but the innkeeper was bad with alcohol.
«Ha....» I let out a long sigh, as if to get rid of the bitterness. The conversation of the day with Ainar came to mind. After his bombshell statement, the long talk continued, but the outcome did not change.
«I'm alone again».
Ainar left. Due to the nature of the barbarians, he tended to wander, but it seemed that it was not just because of his appearance.
«To be honest... the old man asked me yesterday to become his heir», she explained.
And the elder of the sacred land - and among them, one known for his reputation as a respected swordsman - had favored Ainar. Today, she made the decision to officially learn the art of the sword under his tutelage.
«Even if you go into the labyrinth, it's only one day here», I pointed out. I asked, only one day a month. Couldn't it take a day to enter the labyrinth?
But that only made Ainar feel uncomfortable. «I want to do it too... but there is a special training method, so I can't leave the holy land for six months».
A special training method? Could that be it? If so, I could understand why he couldn't enter the maze with me for six months. I also knew it was a great opportunity.
"I won't ask you to wait. Nor will I ask you to accept me when I return. I will surely train hard and come back as a great warrior so as not to be a burden."
That's why I couldn't keep her. During this expedition, she'd been restrained by a raider and forced to swear an oath. Inside the chasm? While the mage, the dwarf, and I, as her colleague, had played active roles, Ainar was defenseless.
Actually, that must have been the decisive reason for making this decision.
His change in appearance would have been just one reason for support.
"Ugh..." I took another sip of the lukewarm beer, feeling a strange thirst. A bitter taste rose from my esophagus.
Do I have to find another teammate now?
I was hoping to get some rest and prepare in peace. How come there was a new mission every day?