How a Black-Haired Barbarian Survived the Labyrinth in Another World-Chapter 20: Did you think it was over?

When Jeong Yushin opened his eyes, an old man was looking down at him.

The old man smiled kindly and extended his hand.

Jeong Yushin weakly reached out and grasped the old man's hand.

Thwack!!

The old man swatted his hand away.

‘What’s he trying to do?’

The old man covered his mouth and mumbled. Jeong Yushin focused his hearing. The motor, which hadn't been used in a while, creaked and began turning with a grinding noise.

"Three silver coins."

‘Luke Wiseman.’

A spirit teacher serving the Wind Spirit God.

One of the top members of the Labyrinth City’s high council.

"I apologize for my rude behavior last time."

A raspy voice flowed out.

"It’s fine. I had expected to see you again soon, but to meet like this, it must be the Wind Spirit God’s guidance. Three silver coins."

"Let's call it a debt. I have no money. What happened? The last thing I remember was being inside the labyrinth."

"I heard the labyrinth exploration team found your party. You were unconscious for three days. The only one who woke up was Skar, you."

"What’s an exploration team?"

"Exactly what it sounds like. Have you noticed how many newcomers have arrived lately?"

"Yes."

"There’ve been so many new parties that entered the Great Labyrinth and never returned. So, we sent an exploration team to check on them. To see what happened."

"When do you think the others will wake up?"

"I don’t know. The goblin and the mage should wake up soon, but the dwarf might take a bit longer. His injury is pretty bad."

A question came to mind.

"What about the gnome?"

"The gnome? Wasn’t your party originally four members?"

"It was five. We had a gnome guide named Dito. Did you not see him inside the shelter?"

"No, I haven’t seen anyone like that."

Could he still be wandering inside the labyrinth?

If things had gone horribly wrong, Dito could be out of his mind, wandering aimlessly, or he might already be dead.

Moreover, the symbol on the dagger Dito dropped when he fled.

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It didn’t feel unfamiliar.

"I thought I recognized that symbol."

The dagger Dito had dropped during the fight with the Hobgoblin warrior.

In the chaotic situation, Jeong Yushin hadn’t had the time to carefully examine it, but thinking back, it was the same symbol that had been engraved on the bastard sword of a slave hunter.

A lot of questions lingered.

Was the claim about the fear imprint a lie?

If Dito's target was him, why had he shot the crossbow at Carlton’s back?

Jeong Yushin approached Dito, who was lying on the floor, coughing up blood.

He needed to ask this one thing.

"Why me? Was there any reason to go this far to kill a useless barbarian like me?"

"...Shut... up."

That was the last word Dito spoke before he died.

The blood from Dito’s wound flowed across the floor, reaching Jeong Yushin’s feet.

His body trembled slightly.

He had killed someone.

He had crossed the point of no return.

His past life could no longer be the same.

Beneath the starlight, he received the baptism of original sin.

The witness to the sacrament of baptism was a lonely, flickering candle.

Why?

To survive.

Jeong Yushin limped over and closed Dito’s eyes.

The baptizer and the baptized were one and the same, but the blood was that of the gnome.

That night, chaos erupted at the shelter. The priest, who had been dozing while on duty on the first floor, was shocked to see Jeong Yushin’s condition as he descended from the second floor and quickly called for the guards.

The grim-faced captain of the guards came to take Jeong Yushin to the guard post. The guard post wasn’t far from the shelter.

After applying ointment to the wounds and bandaging them, Jeong Yushin was handcuffed and taken to a small room inside the guard post.

"I’ve just confirmed the gnome’s body. He was a member of your party?"

The guard captain asked, sitting across from him.

"Yes. His name was Dito. He was the guide of our worthless party."

"Why did you kill him?"

"He tried to kill me."

"He only had a dagger on him. No other weapons."

"It was Sacred Weapon."

"What? Were you a priest?"

"No."

"It’s an imprint ability."

"Pretty ordinary. Show me."

"I can’t use it now. My magic has run out."

"Are you a beginner explorer?"

"Yes."

The guard captain scratched his head.

"I don’t understand. Why would he try to kill you? Did you do something in the labyrinth?"

"I don’t know. I didn’t do anything. The other party members can vouch for me."

"Maybe not. Tell me everything. Everything that happened in the labyrinth. We’ll decide after that."

Jeong Yushin calmly told the captain everything that had happened in the labyrinth.

The conversation stretched out, and after some time passed, the captain spoke again.

"...That’s it. After that, I lost consciousness and was rescued by the labyrinth exploration team and brought to the shelter."

The captain stroked his chin.

"This is strange. Very strange. From what you’re saying, there doesn’t seem to be any reason for that gnome to try to kill you. Tung-tung!"

The captain shouted toward the door. A moment later, there was a loud thud, and the door burst open, revealing a hefty otter-like beastman.

"Yes! Captain!"

"Run to the shelter and wake up one of the sane party members of this barbarian’s party. ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) Bring them here."

"Yes!!"

The otter beastman hurriedly ran out.

A short while later, Carlton entered the room.

His weary appearance made him look at least ten years older.

"What’s going on? Useless."

"I called for cross-verification. Tell me what happened in the labyrinth."

Carlton licked his dry lips with his tongue.

Like a true mage, Carlton spoke calmly and in detail. The guard captain listened quietly, almost as if in a trance.

"...We won the battle, and Skar collapsed. Shortly after, the exploration team arrived at the shelter. After that, I also lost consciousness, so I don’t know much more. Useless."

The guard captain looked at Skar with renewed interest.

"Impressive. A beginner explorer, and you killed a Hobgoblin warrior, which only appears on the 4th or 5th floor, like that. Even if you’re young, are you really a barbarian?"

"I didn’t do it alone. It was possible because the other party members helped."

Jeong Yushin’s humility made Carlton smile faintly.

The guard captain cleared his throat.

"Anyway, then what’s the deal with that gnome? What drove him to do that?"

He paused for a moment. Should he talk about the dagger’s symbol?

The symbol on the dagger was easy to spot. Didn’t even the village guards at the Pilgrim’s Path recognize it?

Why would anyone engrave such an obvious symbol on a weapon?

What could be the benefit of doing such a foolish thing?

If he told the captain, would he believe him?

Could he even trust him?

Jeong Yushin didn’t know.

There were too many unknowns, and after thinking for a while, there didn’t seem to be a clear solution.

"The symbol on the dagger is noticeable. I think Shimus might know about it, so maybe you should ask him?"

The guard captain’s eyes widened.

"Wait, you mean that Shimus, the one who serves the Wind Spirit God? Does he know you?"

"We traveled together on the way to Labyrinth City. He won’t pretend not to know me."

"I can’t just call on a spirit teacher for something like this. He has wanderlust, and it’s hard to meet him. Is that symbol really that important? Answer me clearly."

"Well..."

At that moment, the door opened and someone entered.

The guard captain immediately stood up.

"Luke! What brings you to this humble place?!"

"There’s chaos at the shelter. Never mind. Don’t worry about it."

"Still..."

"Today’s my turn on duty. Please think about my reputation."

"Ah... I understand."

Luke looked at Carlton and the guard captain.

"Both of you step outside for a moment. I need to ask this barbarian something."

At Luke’s words, both of them stood up and left the room.

Luke sat down in the chair where the guard captain had been sitting.

"I’ve heard everything from the guards."

"Yes."

"Tell me about that symbol. If your answer is unsatisfactory..."

Luke crossed his arms and leaned back in the chair.

"I’ll kill you."

His cold, emotionless gaze pressed down on Jeong Yushin.

‘Shit. Can a priest have eyes like that?’

Jeong Yushin swallowed dryly.

He hesitated for a moment but then started telling Luke about everything that had happened before arriving in Labyrinth City. Luke listened silently, showing no emotion.

When the long story was over, Jeong Yushin fell silent.

After a long pause, Luke slowly spoke.

"Shimus is my first disciple."

Not surprising.

‘No wonder his eyes were similar.’

"Yes."

"Three months ago, my disciple spoke about a young barbarian. Said he was an interesting person. Turns out that was you. You’re lucky."

"Yes?"

"I’ll spare you. This time. But if I catch you selling my disciple’s name again, you’ll die."

"...."

"I’ll be watching."

Luke stood up. Jeong Yushin remained seated. A breeze passed by, brushing against him as Luke left the room.

His shoulder wound was already healing. The healing magic had reached its limit.

"Phew..."

He got up and left the room. The guard captain stood rigidly.

"Go ahead."

"What?"

"Go ahead. Luke has proven your innocence."

"Yes."

As Jeong Yushin left the guard post, the cold dawn air hit him.

Carlton was waiting outside.

"Looks like it worked out. Useless."

"Yeah. Whew. Let’s go, mage."

Under the starlit sky,

The two humans walked quietly toward the shelter.

"...Dito tried to kill you? Useless."

Carlton asked without looking away from the shelter building.

"Yes."

"I see. Useless."

Carlton agreed with a brief remark, his tone tinged with a bitter melancholy.

He stopped walking and looked up at the sky.

The sighs and resignation of the exiled lingered in the silent gaze beneath the dawn stars.

"You were close with Dito, weren’t you?"

Jeong Yushin asked as he casually stepped closer to Carlton, his hand subtly brimming with magic.

"No. Not that much. Useless."

"They say there’s no cure for male menopause. Stop staring at the stars and live younger."

Suddenly, Carlton began laughing.

Jeong Yushin smiled faintly as he watched him.

Carlton said,

"Barbarian, I’ve never met a man who fits the labyrinth as perfectly as you. Useless."

Then he added,

"Don’t get too close. It’s scary. Useless."

Jeong Yushin took a step back. The magic in his hand faded away.

The two men resumed walking.

Though his mind was cluttered, he tried to find relief in the fact that he had survived.

That was enough for this early morning.