The baron's request was simple. In two months, a count was going to hold a grand banquet. All he had to do was follow him there.
"Is that...?"
"Hmm, and I'd also like you to show off some tricks in front of everyone. Something like bending steel with your bare hands." In short, he was going to use me as a trophy to make him stand out at the banquet. "Can you do it?"
Well, what do you think of a barbarian?
"No problem," I agreed.
"Very well, then."
The reward was a million stones and Dwalkie's release from the ban. Wow, so that's what nobles were like? To think I'd spend so much money just to show myself off to people.
Well, all I have to do is pick up the crumbs.
Even if it were't for Dwalkie's haste, it was good value for the money. A million stones for going along with him for just one day? The stinking sewer's asking price was 150,000 stones.
"Hmm, very well. Then I'll take care of your friend's problem right away. Consider it in favor." The baron even showed the charity to solve Dwalkie's problem first. I wandered what he would do if he didn't keep his promise.
Nobles are entities that don't have to worry about something like that.
Once again, I felt I still had a long way to go. I had crafted a number of weapons and even earned a decent reputation.
But I'll soon have to come up with a plan for this too.
I needed power, like in the game. Since I woke up in this place, the events that threatened my life didn't just happen in the labyrinth.
***
The next morning, we met again at the meeting place to check if Dwalkie had permission to enter the maze.
"How did it go? Did the baron keep his promise?"
"When I checked today, they said there was no problem," Dwalkie replied.
"But why don't you seem happy?"
"Haha, it's nothing..."
Nothing, bullshit. Was it so shocking that his half-brother, Baron Martoin, couldn't even remember him properly, let alone destroy him? After yesterday, Dwalkie was completely out of his mind, although he tried not to show it.
"Ugh..." She sank into her thoughts several times a day and kept sighing deeply. She hoped she would come to her senses before the labyrinth opened again.
"Oh, before I forget, take this. It's the reward I promised you." Hikurod offered me 300,000 stones.
"Reward?"
"You came with us to confront the baron."
"Okay, we're a team."
Rotmiller added: "I didn't go there looking for a reward. Besides, facing the baron was for the team."
I decided not to accept it. The other two had washed their hands of the money, so it would have been awkward to accept it.
It's not like I need 300,000 stones right now.
It would be better to save this as a debt for later. If we continued to enter the labyrinth together, there would be more opportunities to give and receive, and also times when we would have to make concessions.
«Anyway, thanks», Hikurod said. «It must not have been easy to break the pride of a warrior».
Well... To be honest, hearing something like that only made me embarrassed. A million stones was too much money to worry about self-esteem.
Dwalkie swore: «I will never forget this and I will give it back to you.».
«Why would you return it? Bjorn, I'm sure I'll pay you back this debt multiplied by ten», Hikurod interrupted.
«Anyone is fine, so you can figure it out», I said.
«Hehe, Bjorn is shy!», Missha laughed.
No, I'm serious.
***
There were eight days left until the labyrinth opened. What he had done so far had been simple. Aside from daily routines, such as helping Missha train and read the books hidden in the library, I found out the year of production of the Complete Book of Cracks II.
«Paper was made 150 years ago». It was normal paper that was distributed as standard at that time.
Huh, what the hell happened 150 years ago?
It was the year the game began, the death of the first king of a dynasty, and even when this book was made. Many question marks still coincided with no more and no less than 150 years ago.
I'm sure it's not a coincidence.
The events mentioned were related in some way. That was all I found out so far, but it was still enough motivation to keep going.
I will have to investigate the historical events of 150 years ago.
Who brought the players? What was his purpose, and who the hell was Auril Gavis? If I keep collecting clues, maybe one day I can learn the secret. Anyway, to the next one.
«Hey, uh... do you want to do that? No! It's not that I don't want to, it's that it's a little sudden...»
I opened an Alminus bank account with Missha and we designated each other as heirs to the assets in the event of his death. In the future, I planned to put some of the money we earned together into this account and use it as shared funds.
«In that case, I'm going to put here the two million stones we won this time».
«Ehh? All that?»
«It's useless right now, right?»
«Ugh... Are you sure you're not trying to use it for something strange without me knowing?»
«How do you see me?»
I decided to put two million stones in the account and save the remaining 900,000 in cash. Right now I had nowhere to use it, and gone were the days when I barely survived each month. It's about time I started saving.
«You... Bjorn, son of Yandel?»
Oh, and this happened. While walking down the street, I accidentally met up with one of my barbarian colleagues. His name was Karak, Fanun's third son. We didn't do anything, we just wondered what was happening and we separated. He had apparently become a level 8 scout and was working as a tank in a group of humans.
«What do others do? Most are dead. Apart from you, Ainar and me, there aren't many left. As you know, the maze is not a playground». After teaming up with some humans, his personality had changed quite a bit. I was pretty sure it was simpler in mind before. «If they had told us more about that place instead of sticking to the old traditions, we wouldn't have lost so many...».
Seeing him express bitterness toward the customs of our race, I came to wonder if he really was a barbarian warrior. To be honest, I was sad to hear it all. A lot must have happened for a guy who used to be a warrior to the core to change like that.
I guess not all barbarians are the same.
Thanks to that, I learned something new: barbarians can grow psychologically. They may be weak in words and numbers, but with a change of environment, they can gain wisdom.
...There may even be some older people whose personalities are almost like those of humans.
«Bjorn, what are you thinking?»
«In nothing. I finished my thoughts with Missha's voice. The whole time she was working on the stove to prepare a meal for me, I was sitting there ruminating without thinking.
«Hey, Bjorn... I think you've gotten taller?»
«What?»
«Maybe I'm wrong. Stop here for a second!»
... I'm too lazy.
But I still stopped halfway through the meal and measured my height. Missha brought her hand from the top of her head to my chest and nodded. «He was right, he grew up! That high?»
«Are you sure you're not wrong?». Honestly, it was hard to believe. Aside from the fact that it could grow larger here, the difference was less than half a centimeter, so how could I know?
«Hmm, I have a good eye for this kind of thing. You can trust me».
«...If you say so.» Instead of arguing, I just nodded. Maybe he had grown up. Lately I had eaten a lot of meat dishes.
...Although if I really did, does that mean I should eat more meat in the future?
If it was true, it was worth it. I was congenitally taller than average, which was the decisive reason I used a barbarian as a tank instead of a dwarf. The gigantization mechanism itself multiplied the base height.
To be exact, it was something like 1,771 times the size.
This was another reason to eat meat.
«...Don't just eat the meat, eat the restoo too! Hey!»
After eating, I inspected my backpack to make sure I wasn't missing anything as I would soon enter the maze.
«Let's go, the others will be waiting».
When we headed to the promised meeting place, I could see the other companions wearing different clothes than usual. Hikurod was not wearing a shirt, but heavy armor, and Dwalkie was holding a long two-handed staff.
«Oh, Rrrotmiller! Why don't you carry a gun?».
«Don't worry. I kept it in the Treasure Vault. Now that I've gotten used to it, it's more comfortable to take things out from time to time instead of carrying them around.»
«Oh, I see.»
The Mime Skill, Treasure Vault; I used to think it was a subspace substitute skill, but perhaps it was a convenient essence in many ways for Rotmiller, who wielded various equipment such as crossbows, shields, and swords.
Dwalkie asked: «So can you all gather around me? I want to start with the Link». When Dwalkie chanted a spell, a green light spread out and filtered through all of our bodies. It was a kind of party formation. With this magic, several people could enter the maze and start from the same place.
Before, Ainar and I had to wait in front of the guild since dawn...
I realized that it was not for nothing that the scouts insisted on having a wizard on the team. Having one, you didn't have to queue in front of the guild first thing in the morning. It also carried important monetary advantages. For five mid-range 6.5 scouts to form a Link, we would have had to pay 100,000 stones as a fee.
«So let's go.»
As we walked towards Dimension Square, there were more and more explorers on the street. It was a spectacle that could only be seen on the last night of each month, since, upon returning, everyone looked like beggars.
«Stop! I think we are lost.»
«Incredible! We must reach the maze within the established time!»
Coincidentally, this time I also encountered the barbarians. These young warriors who had just finished their coming-of-age ceremony were heading to the labyrinth filled only with expectation and enthusiasm.
«...Follow us.» With the consent of my colleagues, I helped them. It wasn't out of a sense of racial responsibility... I just felt like I should do it.
«Really? Thank you. If you tell me your n-what! Bjorn, Yandel's son?! Are you little Balkan!? I respect you!»
Ignoring the exaggerated reaction of the young warriors, I gave them all kinds of advice on the way to Dimension Square. I told them that a barbarian's heart sold very expensively and that was why they should distrust other explorers, especially humans. To the extent possible, they should acquire otherworldly races as nocturnal companions. Be careful with traps, and take the path with light, etc.; knowledge that I would like to have had on my first entry into the labyrinth.
«If I do that, can I become a famous warrior like you?», the boss asked.
Well, I don't know that.
«That's right», I lied.
"Oh! Is that right? Okay. I'll definitely do just what you've told me." It would be better for them this way. They could only understand when things were explained clearly.
The dwarf spoke in a low voice as he watched the young warriors head toward the portal, my advice in mind. "You... you're remove kind to your own people."
"I only did what I could. Isn't it hard to learn only through experience?"
"Hm, that's true. Hahaha!"
After so much talking, we also headed to the center where the portal had been opened.
Shaaaaa!
My vision darkened, and a brilliant five-colored light shone upon it. Suddenly, the events of the past unfolded like a panorama.
Is this the fourth time?
On my first attempt, I made it to the second floor, taking down countless bastards. The second? I entered the rift determined to grow stronger, but it turned out to be a variant rift. After that, it was even worse. A team formed, but they split up along the way. In the end, the Lord of the Ground began to run rampant, so I could only return after stepping beyond the threshold of the underworld.
Flash!
I hoped nothing would happen this time. What could possibly go wrong? I dismissed these thoughts before they even occurred.
I wonder what son of a bitch will show up this time.
Something was bound to happen this time too, so I had to be prepared.
***
[You have entered the Crystal Cave, on the first floor. TIP: Your essence supply has reached its limit. Hunt new monsters to level up.]