When I opened my eyes, an old man was looking down at me.
The old man smiled kindly and extended his hand.
Jeong Yusin艰难地伸出手抓住了老人的手.
Thud!
The old man slapped his hand away.
‘What’s the intention?’
The old man pointed to his mouth and mumbled. Jeong Yusin focused all his attention on his ears. It was like a motor which had been disused for a long time and was now slowly starting up with a creak.
“Three silver coins.”
‘Luke Wiseman.’
The instructor who worships the Wind Spirit God.
One of the members of the highest committee of the Labyrinth City.
“I am sorry for my rudeness last time.”
A cracked voice flowed out.
“It’s fine. I anticipated meeting again soon, but it seems like the Wind Spirit God has led us to meet this way again. Three silver coins.”
“I’ll consider it a debt; I don’t have money. What happened? The last thing I remember, I was inside the Labyrinth.”
“The Labyrinth investigation team found your party. You were unconscious for three days. Besides you, Scath is the only one who has regained consciousness.”
“What’s this investigation team?”
“The literal meaning. Do you know that there are many new beginners arriving lately?”
“Yes.”
“Well, too many of these beginner parties have entered the Great Labyrinth and never returned. So, we sent the investigation team to look into what’s going on.”
“Do you know when the others might regain consciousness?”
“I’m not sure. The goblin and mage might wake up soon, but the dwarf may take some time. The place they were hit wasn’t good.”
One question popped up.
“Where’s Nuum?”
“Nuum? Wasn’t your party originally a four-person one?”
“Originally, it was five. We had a Nuum guide. His name is Dito. Haven’t you seen him inside the relief center?”
“No, I haven’t seen anyone like that.”
Is he still wandering around inside the Labyrinth?
At worst, Dito is probably wandering madly around the Labyrinth right now. Or perhaps he’s already dead.
Additionally, the emblem on the dagger that Dito dropped while fleeing.
It wasn’t unfamiliar.
“It’s late at night now, so stay here for the night.”
“I have no accommodation fees.”
“Free of charge. Rest well then.”
Luke left the infirmary.
Looking out the window from the bed, I saw stars twinkling in the night sky.
And I realized that this was a second-floor infirmary.
Originally, it was a large enough infirmary for dozens of people to share. But now, all the beds were empty, and the only light emanated faintly from a candle placed in the corner where Jeong Yusin lay.
The empty ward was eerily lonely.
‘Are the other party members on the first floor?’
Lying down, I thought for a long time. For some reason, the emblem seemed oddly familiar, as if I had seen it somewhere before, but I couldn’t recall it.
While gazing at the ceiling blankly, I heard footsteps.
Tap. Tap.
I turned my head towards the sound.
There was nothing to be seen.
I held up the candle to illuminate the area.
There was still nothing there.
The sound vanished.
“What is this?…”
A cold feeling settled in my chest as I looked around the quiet ward.
“Am I waiting for you?”
Suddenly, Dito’s face popped up.
“Gackk!!”
The shock almost caused me to drop the candle.
Seeing Jeong Yusin’s flustered expression, Dito chuckled with a low, chilling laugh.
‘Was he still inside the Labyrinth?’
Jeong Yusin asked.
“How did you manage to escape?”
“Good luck. There was a beginner explorer party passing by.”
“That’s good news.”
“Exactly. It’s always beyond expectation. But there’s something I want to ask.”
“Just a moment.”
Jeong Yusin moved the candle closer to Dito’s face. Dito frowned slightly and edged his face back.
“What are you doing?”
“Well, I just want to check if you’re hurt.”
“Hmph. Even if something unexpected happened, it’s only the second floor of the Labyrinth; there’s no way I could have been injured. What about you?”
‘Confirmation’
“Me? Ugh, don’t ask. I can barely move. I just barely managed to get up a while ago.”
Dito glanced at Jeong Yusin’s trembling hand which held the candle.
“Ah, you do look tough. You need to rest properly.”
“Yes, it’s a bit late for visiting the sick, isn’t it?”
The human and the Nuum stared silently at each other.
“……”
After a short while, Dito laughed heartily and crossed his hands behind his back.
“Alright, I’ll leave. Rest well…eeekk!!”
The dagger of Dito suddenly lunged towards Jeong Yusin’s throat.
Jeong Yusin twisted his body. The dagger penetrated deeply into the shoulder clavicle. A fiery pain erupted.
“Grauugh!!”
A light emerged from the blanket Jeong Yusin was covered with.
[Sacred Weapon]
A spear of light, born from the blanket, pierced through the chest of the Nuum.
“Kraaaugh!!”
Dito fell onto the floor. Once the spear of light disappeared, blood began to seep from the wound.
Dito writhed on the floor like a worm, struggling and gurgling.
Jeong Yusin pushed away the blanket with a hole in it and slowly stood up from his bed.
If the candle had not obscured Dito’s sight,
If the refining of the Sacred Weapon had not been completed in time due to delayed words,
If the pain had been unbearable and he had flailed in the air,
The one who would have died would have been Jeong Yusin himself.
“I thought I had seen that emblem somewhere.”
The dagger that Dito had dropped during the battle with the hobgoblin warrior.
At the time, in the urgent situation, there was no time to observe it carefully, but upon deeper reflection, it was exactly the same emblem carved on the bastard sword of the slave hunter.
Many questions swirled.
Was the claim about him possessing a terror engraving a lie?
If the target was himself, why had Dito shot the crossbow towards Carlton’s back at that time?
Jeong Yusin approached Dito. Dito lay on the floor, hacking up blood.
Still, there was one necessary question.
“Why me? Why go this far to catch a worthless Barbaroy?”
“……stupid.”
With those words, Dito passed away.
The blood that flowed from Dito’s wound ran down to Jeong Yusin’s feet.
Jeong Yusin’s body trembled faintly.
He had killed a person.
Finally, he had crossed the irreversible river.
Life would never be the same again.
Beneath the starlight, he underwent a self-baptism in original sin.
The sole witness in the baptism was the lonely candle burning on.
Why?
In order to survive.
Jeong Yusin walked over weakly and closed Dito’s eyes.
Both the baptizer and the baptized were the same, but the blood belonged to the Nuum.
*
That night, chaos erupted in the relief center. The novice priest on first-floor duty, who was dozing off, was startled upon seeing Jeong Yusin’s ghastly appearance when he descended from the second floor. He quickly called the guard corps.
A guard captain with a severe expression arrived and brought Jeong Yusin to the guard corps station, which wasn’t far from the relief center.
After applying ointment on the wound and bandaging it, Jeong Yusin was shackled and led to a small room inside the station.
“The body of the Nuum has been inspected. He was from the same party, correct?”
The guard captain sitting opposite asked.
“Yes. His name was Dito and he served as the guide for the beginner party.”
“Why did you kill him?”
“Because he tried to kill me.”
“When we checked, he only had a dagger and no other weapons?”
“A Sacred Weapon.”
“What? Are you a priest?”
“No. It’s an engraving ability.”
“Ordinary. Show me once.”
“I can’t right now. I’ve used up all my mana.”
“Are you a novice explorer?”
“Yes.”
The guard captain scratched his head.
“I don’t get it. Why did the Nuum want to kill you? Did you do something in the Labyrinth?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t do anything. The other members of our party will confirm it.”
“You never know. Tell me everything that happened in the Labyrinth. We’ll decide what to do after that.”
Jeong Yusin calmly recounted everything that happened in the Labyrinth.
About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea passed.
“……That’s everything. After that, I lost consciousness and was rescued by the Labyrinth investigation team and brought to this relief center.”
The guard captain stroked his chin.
“This is strange. Very strange. Listening only to your side, there doesn’t seem to be a clear motive for the Nuum to kill you. Tungtung! Hey!”
The guard captain shouted towards the door. Soon after, with a loud clatter, the door burst open and a chubby-looking otterman appeared.
“Yes, sir!”
“Rush to the relief center and wake up any party member of this Barbaroy who seems fine, then bring them here.”
“Yes sir!!”
The otterman rushed out.
A little later, Carlton entered the room.
Looking at his exhausted expression, he appeared a decade older.
“What is the matter? Cheapskate.”
“Cross-verification is necessary, so I brought you in. Please recount your experience in the Labyrinth.”
Carlton moistened his dry lips with his tongue.
The mage narrated calmly and in detail, much like how a mage would present a report. The guard captain listened intently, almost under a spell.
“……After the battle, Scath fell unconscious. Soon after, the investigation team arrived at the resting spot. After that, I also lost consciousness and don’t remember much. Cheapskate.”
The guard captain looked at Scath anew with a renewed sense of respect.
“Remarkable. A novice explorer dealing with a hobgoblin warrior typically found on the 4th or 5th floor! Are you sure you’re just a barbarian?”
“I didn’t do it alone; it was thanks to the cooperation of the other party members that we succeeded.”
Jeong Yusin’s humility made Carlton crack a slight smile.
The guard captain cleared his throat.
“Alright then, so what could have driven this Nuum?”
Jeong Yusin pondered briefly. Should he tell him about the emblem on the dagger, or not?
The emblem on the dagger was easily recognizable. Didn’t even the guards in the pilgrim’s path village recognize it?
What could the reason be for deliberately carving something so easily identifiable onto a weapon?
What benefit is there in such a foolish act?
If he told the story, would this guard captain believe him?
Can he be trusted to believe it?
Uncertain.
Too many unknowns left little room for any ingenious strategy when he racked his brain.
“The emblem on the dagger caught my eye. Perhaps it is something Simuth may know about. Why don’t you ask him?”
The guard captain’s eyes widened.
“You mean Simuth, who worships the Wind Spirit God?! Does he know you?”
“We traveled together to the Labyrinth City. I don’t think he’ll pretend not to know me.”
“Even so, we can’t just call in a Spirit God instructor for something as trivial as this. Plus, it’s known he wanders around freely, so meeting him is not easy. Is this emblem really such a significant matter? Answer me straight.”
“Uh…”
At that moment, the door opened, and someone walked in.
The guard captain leapt up from his seat.
“Mr. Luke! How did you end up here?!?”
“Since there was trouble at the relief center. Don’t mind it. Forget it.”
“But still…”
“As it was my turn today, please consider my face a little.”
“Ah.. I understand.”
Luke looked at Carlton and the guard captain.
“Both of you, step out for a moment. There is something I want to ask this Barbaroy.”
Upon Luke’s words, both stood up and exited the room.
Luke sat down in the guard captain’s seat.
“I’ve heard everything from the guards.”
“Yes.”
“Tell me about this emblem. Or else…”
Luke crossed his arms and leaned back comfortably in the chair.
“I will kill you.”
A cold and emotionless gaze pressed down on Jeong Yusin.
‘Dammit. Can a priest even have such eyes?’
Jeong Yusin swallowed hard.
Jeong Yusin stammered through the events leading up to their arrival in Labyrinth City. Luke listened without moving.
After the long story concluded, Jeong Yusin closed his mouth.
Luke broke the long silence with a slow utterance.
“Simuth is my first disciple.”
That didn’t come as a surprise.
‘No wonder their eyes seem similar.’
“Yes.”
“Three months ago, my disciple mentioned a young Barbaroy. He called him an interesting man. That was you. Lucky you.”
“Yes?”
“Alright, I’ll let you live, this time. If you ever mention my disciple’s name again and get caught, you’ll die next time.”
“….”
“Understood?”
Luke stood up from the chair. Jeong Yusin remained quietly seated. As Luke left, a wind brushed past Jeong Yusin.
The wound on Jeong Yusin’s shoulder had healed almost instantly, a cure far beyond limits.
“Hmph…”
He stood up and left the room. Outside, the guard captain stood straight and rigid.
“Go.”
“Excuse me?”
“Go. Lord Luke has proven your innocence.”
“Yes.”
Upon stepping out of the guard station, a chilly dawn breeze enveloped the area. Outside, Carlton waited by the station.
“Looks like everything went well. Cheapskate.”
“So it seems. Phew. Let’s go, Mage sir.”
Beneath the starry pre-dawn sky.
In the solemn stillness, the two humans headed back to the relief center.
“……Was Dito trying to kill you? Cheapskate.”
While Carlton fixed his gaze on the building of the relief center and asked.
“Yes.”
“I see. Cheapskate.”
Carlton briefly consented with a tinge of sorrowful sadness.
Carlton paused his steps and looked up at the sky.
The silent gaze carried the sigh and resignation of one who has been exiled and cast out, lingering beneath the morning stars.
“Did you know Dito well?”
Jeong Yusin crossed his arms behind his back and sidled closer to Carlton. A faint magical energy began to swirl around his hand.
“No, not that far. Cheapskate.”
“There’s no cure for male menopause, they say. Stop looking at stars and live a little younger.”
Suddenly, Carlton began giggling.
Jeong Yusin looked at Carlton with a subtle smile playing on his lips.
Carlton said,
“Barbaroy, in all my life, I’ve never met anyone who fits the Labyrinth as well as you. Cheapskate.”
And added,
“Don’t come too close. You’re scary. Cheapskate.”
Jeong Yusin stepped back a pace. The magic that had gathered dissipated.
The two men began walking again.
Jeong Yusin’s mind was clouded, yet he tried to find solace in the fact that he had survived.
That was enough, at least for this early morning.
