Chapter 16

The light covering my eyes gave way to something softer, and my vision returned.

I looked up at the sky, a bit vacantly.

It’d been a long time since I’d last seen something so bright.

Well, it was still a gloomy gray sky.

“You gonna go home, Derek?”

“No way, I finally came out after a month. I’m going straight to the tavern after washing up.”

“I’m baaaaaaaaack!”

“All adventurers below level seven, please come this way!”

The surroundings couldn’t simply be described as noisy.

It was only natural, since all the adventurers who’d entered the labyrinth were gathered in one place…

Really, I had no idea there were so many adventurers in this city.

It was like watching soccer fans cheering at Gwanghwamun Plaza during a World Cup.

Click, click.

I set my watch to 12 o’clock.

Even if you spend a month inside the labyrinth, only one day passes in the city. No matter how many days you pass there, you come out at noon the next day.

‘When I was playing the game, I thought it was just a quirk of the setting to improve the player’s quality of life…’

In this way, even after visiting the labyrinth, you can continue your quests in the city without interruption.

So I’d thought it was for the convenience of the users.

“Bjorn, son of Yandel!”

Who is it? It’s a familiar voice…

As I turned my head towards sound, I saw a barbarian of similar size as me.

I remembered him quite clearly, as he was the first leader.

“Karak, the second son of Bloodnun.”

“The third son of Farun.”

What? So, is Ainar second?

Anyway, it was easy for the tall barbarians to find each other in this crowd.

“Serum, Kennick’s fourth son! You came back alive too!”

“I’m glad you look well, Karak, third son of Farun!”

I was really just standing still, but the barbarians started flocking to my place.

“Hahahahaha! The blade wolves were no big deal! Not a single one could handle more than one shot of my axe!”

“That’s only natural if it was your valiant axe, Parman, son of Nerun!”

What kind of reunion was this? It was crazy lively.

They greeted each other by calling out those long names without a break, and praised each other valour.

These guys were weirdly amazing.

Your brains are filled with holes, so how come you managed to memorize those long names?

“Bjorn! What are you doing standing around! We’re going to exchange the magic stones now, don’t you want to go together?”

I cleared my throat once and answered as loudly as I could.

“Oh, I will go!”

“You look pretty tired!! There’s no power in your voice!!”

“Yes!”

I’d thought I was putting up a good act as a barbarian, but now my confidence was disappearing.

The natives were really different.

“There it is!”

“The place that proves the bravery of a warrior!”

Moving along with the barbarians, I was naturally able to follow the procedure as an adventurer.

It wasn’t a big deal; it was just the process of exchanging mana stones for money at the checkpoint.

“It’s 24,476 stones.”

“It’s 28,420 stones.”

“It’s 41,498 stones.”

It was like some kind of checkout counter at a supermarket.

Especially when it came to speed.

The officials sitting at the table were really quick at their jobs.

They put the pouches of mana stones somewhere like checking for barcode, and when a number appeared, they took out money like machines.

While I looked at the whole scene with a bit of curiousity, the savages around me, not knowing that they were embarrassing themselves, kept chatting with each other in loud voices.

“Oooh! To earn more than 40,000 stones, that’s amazing!”

“Karak, third son of Farun, is a warrior among warriors!

Man, was it because I’d been living with a fairy for the past few days?

I couldn’t get used to it at all.

By the way, I needed to find Erwen as well…

How come I could only find these guys, not the one I was actually looking for?

Well, I did in fact just stand still.

“Bjorn son of Yandel! Now it’s your turn!”

As I was sighing to myself, it was finally my turn.

I walked over to the table and put my pouches in front of the seemingly soulless official.

“Are all three pouches magic stones?”

The other two belonged to the beanpole and the samurai.

But now they were all mine.

Since about forty minutes ago.

“Yes.”

As I nodded, the official placed the pouches on a scale or something.

And told me the exact amount.

“182,413 stones.”

A slice of bread was worth about twenty stones, so did I earn over 9,000 breads in seven days?

It felt like just yesterday when I’d been feeling sad about catching a goblin and earning only a slice of bread.

… Somehow, I was feeling a bit choked up.

“It’s 180,000 stones! Bjorn, son of Yandel, has earned 180,000 stones!”

“This is the best record ever! Bjorn, son of Yandel, is the greatest warrior of all time!”

These bastards didn’t even give me the time to get emotional.

I quickly grabbed the money from the official and passed through the checkpoint.

But as soon as I came out into the crowd, everybody could finally see my appearance properly, and the savages who’d come out before me began to tremble.

“Not just stones! He’s even got a hammer!”

“No, he’s even wearing shoes! I’m so jealous!”

“Three pouches!”

“Look at that watch! Does he even know how to read a watch?”

“How can that be? Is Bjorn son of Yandel a wizard?”

Well, I don’t understand your reaction either.

Do you feel that reading is no different than magic?

I am the first barbarian who went into the labyrinth naked and evolved into a civilized man!

Fuck, I’m heating up because this praise is too freaking much for me to handle.

Whoo, calm down, Bjorn.

I…

“I am the best warrior!!”

“Wooooooohooooooo!!!”

At the same time –

As I shouted, the barbarians also descended into a frenzy of enthusiasm. Then they picked me up and started tossing me into the air.

But to my surprise, I was feeling better than I’d expected.

Well, everything had gone well, after all.

“You can’t make too much noise here.”

“I’m sorry! I apologize!”

“So, don’t raise your voices…”

“I get it!!”

Finally, the madness subsided only after one of the officials came and said something.

Then I regained my composure and sat on the floor like the barbarians around me, waiting for the remaining barbarians to finish passing through the checkpoints.

That was then –

“…”

I sensed a certain gaze, and turned my head to see a fairy staring at me through the crowd of adventurers.

Erwen.

Since when have you been watching? Hopefully after I finished getting tossed into the air…

“…”

Whether she knew how I felt or not, when our eyes met, Erwen smiled as if she was happy.

However, because she was talking to the beautiful fairy standing next to her, she quickly took her eyes off me.

Curious, I listened in to the conversation, and it was quite refreshing.

Should I say that it felt too unrealistic to be chatting quietly and happily with your sibling?

“Sister! Now I think I know how to deal with some spirits! Maybe that’s why Grandma Greentherin insisted that I make friends with them in the first place?”

“Oh, really? They say that the fire spirit has a rather quick temper, so you should be able to hear his voice soon.”

Well, so she’s that type of person.

I only have a barbarian girl next to me.

So jealous…

As I looked at Erwen with a longing for what I didn’t have, our eyes met again.

I wanted to tell her the time, so I mouthed a word out.

‘Tonight.’

Erwen tilted her head, then smiled and answered in the same way.

‘Yes!’

First of all, it was clear that this secret conversation felt quite interesting to Erwen.

But, I didn’t know if she understood what I was saying.

Did she actually say ‘yes’ in the first place?

Once I get out of the checkpoint, I should try and talk to her properly.

The moment I thought this to myself –

“Why are you looking over there like that, do you know anyone?”

“Oh, no! Sister! Could it be!”

At the question of the fairy next to her, Erwen waved her hands.

Then, finding a gap in the conversation, she glanced at me and mouthed a word again.

‘Sorry!’

I thought I got it right this time.

Afterwards, I could understand her gesture of secretly pointing at the fairy sister and shaking her head.

It must have been because of this elder sister.

Well, I didn’t think it was a common situation.

“Bjorn son of Yandel! Where are you looking at like that! Do you know a fairy?”

“Impossible!”

“Naturally! There’s no way that the greatest warrior of all time like you would ever know one of those vile idiots!”

I wanted to shut this bastard’s mouth, but I couldn’t.

At that loud voice, the fairies around us looked at me with piercing eyes.

Among them was Erwen.

She looked at me with bitter eyes and nodded her head as if understanding.

“Haah…”

As I was looking at those sad eyes, I suddenly came upon a realization.

What the hell was I doing?

It’s not like we were Romeo and Juliet.

“Let’s go!”

Soon after, the barbarians finished trickling out of the checkpoints and started to move out.

It seemed impossible to talk to Erwen who was surrounded by fairies no matter how long I waited, so I followed them too.

Tiringly, there was another crowd in front of us.

“Dad! Aren’t you hurt? I missed you!”

“Brother! Here we are!”

Well, yes, there’d been something like this in the game.

Put simply, the people here were families or friends of the adventurers.

“Let’s go! I will open a path!”

“Ooooooooh!”

I followed the barbarians through the crowd that bubbled with joy, excitement, despair, sorrow, and affection.

Looking at their faces one by one.

I felt weird.

“Limarion! My husband, where is my husband? It can’t be…”

“Sorry. He asked me to pass this on to you.”

“No… No. No… aaaaah!”

I’d played [Dungeon & Stone] countless times.

But it was my first time seeing those expressions everywhere, that could’ve never been seen through the 2D graphics from beyond the monitor.

I had a reason for moving with the barbarians.

Because, like the previous checkpoint, there were still more procedures for beginners to go through in this city.

However, my expectations went unexpectedly wrong.

“Time for some alcohol! Let’s have a drink!”

“Wooooohoooooo!”

As soon as they came out of the labyrinth, the barbarians headed to the tavern.

Are you kidding me?

“I’m going to get out of here.”

“Why is that! Bjorn, son of Yandel, the best warrior!”

Even a modifier got attached to this already long name.

Telling myself to be patient, I got out of my seat, giving an excuse that I had no choice because I had a place to go.

“May fortune be with you! Bjorn, son of Yandel, the best warrior!”

I was feeling it again and again, but all my predictions based on common sense didn’t seem to work.

“Huh, it’s finally quiet.”

Being with these savages for a while was already driving me crazy. Did Erwen feel the same way while she’d been with me?

Next time, I’d have to pay more attention to my acting.

Thump, thump.

After breaking up with them, I aimlessly wandered around the city.

I did have a destination, but for now, I felt like I wanted to walk wherever my footsteps led me.

Peaceful.

The first time I’d seen this city, it was midnight, but now it was daytime, and the streets were full of people.

Surprisingly, that gave me a sense of security.

“…”

There were no monsters here.

No one to hurt me.

Even if you fall asleep on the road, you’ll be able to safely wake up. No, maybe someone will even give you a helping hand.

There were laws, rules, and leeway here.

Of course, it was still a distant world, and unlike how it looked on the surface, I knew that almost everything, including their ideas, culture, and social systems, would be barbaric compared to the 21st century.

But it was still so peaceful.

At least compared to the seven days I’d spent inside the labyrinth.

“…”

I wanted to immerse myself even more in that sense of stability, so I kept walking.

Maybe it was because the adventurers had just poured out of the labyrinth, but my blood-soaked appearance didn’t really stand out.

No one spared me a strange glance.

But as I kept walking down the street, I felt like having a bath.

So I entered the first inn I saw, got a room, and washed myself.

It was a little strange.

More blood than dirt came out as I kept washing.

“…”

After rinsing hard for about an hour, I now felt that the clothes I was wearing were too filthy.

Damn, I’d have to go buy some clothes and come back to wash these.

I was feeling sleepy, but I still went out to the street and found a clothing store.

But how come?

No one looked at me strangely, but I was somehow feeling embarrassed.

I took off my top, and wore just the trousers that were stained with dirt and blood…

And now I felt like a savage again.

Why?

“Welcome!”

As soon as I entered the store, a kindly-looking assistant approached me.

Although I was a barbarian looking like a beggar, she had a bright smile.

I’d never seen such a professional shop assistant even in Seoul…

“Do you want some clothes? If you would like to make a custom order, please visit the building next door… Oh, you’re looking for something to wear right now? I’m not sure if there’s anything the right size, but I’ll take a look.”

With her help, I was able to buy a pair of tight-fitting shirts and black trousers.

The price came to a total of 2,500 stones.

No idea if I got ripped off or not.

I’d never bought and tried on clothes without any function in the game.

“Come back next time!”

Now that I was feeling more like a person, I returned to the inn.

I’d thought this the first time I saw the officials exchanging magic stones, and I felt it again while talking to the shop assistant just now. This city exuded a strangely modern atmosphere.

Rafdonia.

Most of the buildings were made of stone, with multiple stories.

No, it was hard to find a building with three stories or less on the street, and when I’d been washing, it was with water coming out of a faucet.

Life in this city might be more comfortable than I’d have thought.

“…”

Returning to the inn, I soon dropped down on the bed.

Recalling the events of the past seven days one by one, I realized that I was also a human being not much different from Uncle Hans.

When I first fell here, my only goal was to survive.

But what about now?

In the end, I spat out the words that I’d wanted to say countless times but endured.

“I want to go home.”

I want to go back.

Even if no one welcomes me there.

Editor’s Notes:

None for this chapter.