How a Black-Haired Barbarian Survived the Labyrinth in Another World-Chapter 66: Thank you, teachers
In the dark cave, the form of a human-faced centipede appeared beyond the flickering torchlight.
There were exactly 10 of them.
‘Well, that’s something.’
He sighed inwardly.
It was a remarkably small number compared to the situation he encountered on the 5th floor.
As expected, then.
When he saw the hobgoblins moving around freely, he had already guessed.
That, around the time the Eldritch Wave was nearing its end, Jeong Yushin’s party had arrived on the 4th floor.
Jeong Yushin felt relieved, but the party members’ bodies stiffened with fear.
“Gyaahhh!!!”
“It’s coming!!!”
Gellerheim screamed.
At the very moment when they were about to charge forward, a plan formed in Jeong Yushin’s mind.
It wasn’t perfect. It was more like improvisation.
But...
‘Not bad, huh?’
It was a gamble, but there didn’t seem to be anything to lose.
“Run! Stick behind me!”
“What?!”
The party members stared at Jeong Yushin, dumbfounded.
Not caring about their reaction, Jeong Yushin grabbed a torch and rushed forward.
“Wait, wait!!! Come with me!”
The party members shouted and hurriedly followed behind Jeong Yushin.
“Kweeeeek!!!”
The human-faced centipedes soared into the air, swinging their tails.
Jeong Yushin swung his shield, swatting them away like a fly.
BAM!!!
A human-faced centipede ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ crashed to the ground, its head shattered by the edge of his shield.
The party members behind them were horrified.
How easily he had knocked away that terrifying human-faced centipede.
“Are you insane!!!”
Gellerheim clicked his tongue.
“Shut up and run!!!”
At Jeong Yushin’s demand, the party gritted their teeth and ran.
“Kyeek!!!”
A human-faced centipede appeared from the side.
BAM!!!
Jeong Yushin kicked its head with his foot.
WHAM!!!
At the same time, a bolt shot toward them.
He waited.
Quickly sidestepping, he raised his shield.
CRASH!!!
The bolt bounced off the shield, and Jeong Yushin continued running.
Once again, a human-faced centipede flew through the air.
He swung his arming sword.
SWWISH!!!
The tail of the centipede was sliced in half, and its head was knocked down to the ground with a pommel strike.
He swiftly snatched the severed tail and tucked it into his arms.
With what he wanted secured, all that was left was to keep running.
WHOOSH!!!
Another bolt flew through the air.
This time, four bolts.
Jeong Yushin stopped in place, raising his shield and swinging his sword.
CRASH!!! DING!!!
Two bolts lodged in the shield, one deflected by the sword, and the last one?
“ARGH!!!”
Suddenly, Gellerheim collapsed, clutching his thigh.
“Damn!!!”
The feared situation had finally occurred.
Jeong Yushin grabbed Gellerheim by the neck as he fell and lifted him up.
A bolt had pierced deeply into his thigh.
“Soline!”
Jeong Yushin tossed Gellerheim toward Soline.
Soline, running, caught Gellerheim with one hand and slung him over her shoulder.
“Gellerheim! Stay with me! You have to lead the way!”
Screaming, Gellerheim shook himself awake and clenched his teeth.
“Kkhh! Right!!!”
There was no time to treat his wounds.
The human-faced centipedes and assassins were still chasing behind, targeting the party.
TATATAT!!!
Thanks to Gellerheim holding onto his consciousness, the party was able to continue down the right path.
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How long had they been running?
They managed to shake off the pursuing human-faced centipedes. No more bolts flew at them.
The torch flickered, almost going out.
The shadows of four figures danced on the cave walls.
“Heh... heh...”
The party members were gasping for air.
It was only natural since they had been running for their lives.
Jeong Yushin and the party reached a vast chamber.
In the wide chamber, multiple paths extended in different directions.
‘Here.’
Jeong Yushin stood tall.
The party stopped walking too.
“Skah! Why are we stopping?”
Soline asked.
“Go ahead.”
Jeong Yushin replied.
“That’s nonsense!”
Soline shouted.
“Soline, please. I’m the only one you can trust.”
“No!!!”
“Are we going to die here?”
Jeong Yushin’s question made Soline bite her lip.
“Gellerheim is injured. If we waste more time here, we’ll all die. I’ll hold them off.”
“Why are you doing this?!”
Soline’s voice quivered.
“I brought all of you here. It’s my responsibility. I can’t allow you all to die because of me. So don’t worry about me. Worry about yourselves. We might be few in number, but human-faced centipedes are still lurking in this level.”
“...”
“Soline, go.”
For some reason, Pirion didn’t say he was staying behind, but he gently urged Soline to go.
Jeong Yushin and Pirion exchanged a brief glance.
“There are many good angles here. Don’t worry too much.”
“I trust you.”
Pirion closed his eyes and began casting.
Jeong Yushin hesitated to stop Pirion but decided against it.
[Haste]
[Raise Strength]
His body felt lighter, and his strength surged.
“Thank you. Now go.”
Jeong Yushin turned and spoke.
“Kkh!”
Soline gritted her teeth and suppressed her frustration.
“Stay alive.”
“Let’s do that.”
Pirion’s words were barely audible as they both ran off.
TATATAT!
The sound of the party members fading behind them.
Since the torch had been handed over, the chamber soon became dark.
Before lighting a new torch, there was something else to do.
Jeong Yushin turned his back on the path the party members had taken and blocked the way.
He pulled out the human-faced centipede tail from his pocket and squeezed it onto his arming sword’s blade.
The sticky poison mixed with the abyssal energy trickled down the sword.
Preparation was complete.
He took out a flint and ignited the torch, throwing it onto the floor.
The small torch barely illuminated the chamber, filling it with silence.
Jeong Yushin stared at the burning torch on the cold floor before looking up.
He admired the pitch-black darkness, lost in thought.
Now he understood why the old man’s party and Oswald’s party couldn’t advance past the 4th floor.
When the Eldritch Wave appeared, a black portal, not the usual red, formed at the transition stones. If they went through that black portal, they would randomly teleport to another level.
However, the blue portal from the transition stones still appeared.
If he wanted to return to the city, he could just go through that.
‘Stubborn, aren’t they?’
He now understood why the elderly woman’s party had bolt and spear wounds on their corpses.
Oswald’s party was likely still intact because of the Mark of the Dark Veil.
Some questions had been answered, but at this point, what did it matter?
Jeong Yushin stretched his neck and loosened his body.
In the worst situation, he had devised the best plan.
He lured the enemies in with provocation.
He coated his sword with poison.
He stepped into the wide chamber and blocked the way.
He had done everything to send his good-natured party members to safety.
He didn’t want to send them to their deaths unless absolutely necessary.
Fighting while protecting the party was troublesome.
But in the end.
There was only one goal.
To bury these bastards here.
Step.
The sound of footsteps lightly touching the ground echoed in the silent chamber.
Jeong Yushin turned his head.
‘There?’
Thunk!
A bolt flew at him.
CRACK!
He raised his shield to block it.
SWISH!!!
The shield cracked in half.
Jeong Yushin threw it far away.
THUD.
The sound of the shield rolling across the chamber rang out.
“...Gentlemen, how long do you plan to keep shooting bolts from a distance like cowards? Aren’t you ashamed of your parents in hell?”
Jeong Yushin’s indifferent voice echoed through the silent chamber.
Instead of a response, the sound of a crossbow being drawn was heard.
Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
Three bolts came flying, one straight, one from the right, and one from the left.
DING!!!
Thwack!! Thwack!!
One was deflected.
The remaining bolts lodged in his thigh and shoulder.
CRUNCH!!
He bit his teeth to suppress the urge to scream.
Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
More bolts flew.
SWOOSH!!!
He swung his sword but only cut through the air.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
One hit his arm, another his opposite thigh, and the last struck his side.
“Ugh!!!”
A groan escaped his lips. There was no time to catch his breath.
Another bolt flew toward him.
DING!!!
Two bolts were deflected.
Thwack!
He wasn’t sure where it hit him.
A terrible pain spread through his body.
Sparks flashed in his head.
His anger surged, nearly driving him mad.
He bit his tongue to regain focus.
With trembling hands, he grabbed his helmet and threw it off.
CLANG!
The helmet rolled to the floor.
He wiped away his sweat-soaked hair.
Jeong Yushin grinned, arms wide open, in a maddening, daring stance.
“Come at me!!! You bastards!!!”
The men began to fire bolts like crazy.
How much time had passed?
Neither the assassins nor Jeong Yushin knew.
DING!!! DING!!!
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Jeong Yushin swung his sword like a maniac.
The pain triggered a frenzy, and the frenzy sparked even more pain in a bizarre cycle.
His soul clung to his body as he swung his sword in desperation.
At the crossroads of life and death, he drew his blade.
DING!!!
Jeong Yushin’s body, pierced by bolts, had turned into a pincushion, but he neither fell nor retreated.
He was like a madman.
His body was dying, but his sword grew faster.
DING!!! DING!!! DING!!!
More bolts were deflected by his sword.
It was as if a god was guiding him, swatting away the bolts like a madman.
His blue aura blazed brighter than ever.
A signal that he had drawn even closer to death.
Thick, congealed blood dripped from his mouth.
Jeong Yushin grinned.
“Heh...”
Seemingly pleased by his laughter, no more bolts came.
“...Crazy bastard. I’ve never seen someone as insane as you in my life.”
The man with the blindfold appeared and praised him twice.
Behind him stood three of his subordinates.
Jeong Yushin spat the blood in his mouth to the ground.
“Pffft!!!”
Red blood splattered on the floor.
“...Where’s Oswald?”
Jeong Yushin stammered, asking.
“How should I know? He was here just a moment ago.”
The blindfolded man shrugged and answered.
Jeong Yushin faced the blindfolded man and stretched out a wide grin.
At that sight, the blindfolded man’s face turned grim.
‘He really is insane.’
Having worked in the assassination business for 15 years, he had never seen someone this determined in the face of death.
Even when a bolt dug deep into his body, this man didn’t flinch.
Looking at his glowing, blue eyes, a chill ran down his spine.
Is this what a barbarian really is?
He had heard the rumors but never seen one in person. Facing him now, it was like dealing with a demon.
A beastly man. One who had to be killed.
“End it quickly. He’s a wounded beast.”
The blindfolded man said, pulling out his weapon.
His subordinates also drew their weapons.
They must have undergone severe training because even drawing their weapons was quiet.
Mace, dagger, one-handed sword, hand axe.
“...Sirs.”
Jeong Yushin mumbled, lifting one foot.
All eyes were on him.
“I...I’ll switch off. Rest in peace.”
The assassins’ eyes widened in surprise.
With his foot, he stomped on the torch.
BAM!
The torch went out.
The wide chamber was engulfed in darkness in an instant.
Victory by surprise.
He rushed toward the man who had been watching him. The one holding an axe.
In the darkness, he swung his sword.
SWISH!!!
“Ugh!!!”
A scream erupted.
He felt the satisfaction of the strike in his sword. It didn’t matter where he had cut. The important thing was that he had hit.
He moved his creaking body and rushed toward the next one.
TATADAT!!!
WHOOSH!!!
Footsteps and weapon sounds.
Left.
The sword dug into Jeong Yushin’s shoulder.
In his dizzy state, he figured out one detail.
The one wielding a one-handed sword.
“I stabbed him!!!”
The assassin shouted.
“Grr! I’m one of your allies! What the hell are you doing?!”
Jeong Yushin shouted.
“What...what!”
The voice sounded confused.
‘Fooled.’
He swung his sword carelessly. As long as it hit, that was the end.
SWISH!!!
“AAAAHHHH!!!”
The assassin screamed like a pig being slaughtered.
Fighting in close quarters in the darkness, losing composure rapidly.
The limit of a player with a shattered psyche.
Having taken down two, only two remained.
“The fire in the eyes is burning!!!”
The blindfolded man shouted.
Jeong Yushin closed his eyes and took a few steps, then stopped abruptly.
The arena fell silent in that instant.
No one moved.
Jeong Yushin also stood still, opening his ears, waiting.
The first to move is the first to lose.
Step.
Right.
He immediately thrust his sword in.
The sensation wasn’t great, so it was probably the thigh.
“Grrr!!!”
Thud!
Another assassin fell to the ground, stabbed by the sword.
Only one remained.
At that moment.
A dagger stabbed into his neck.
Jeong Yushin’s eyes snapped open.
The pain didn’t register; he couldn’t breathe.
With trembling hands, he grabbed the dagger tightly.
“You...madman!”
The voice of the blindfolded man trembled.
He pushed the sword deeper into Jeong Yushin’s neck. The sensation was thick, the feeling of his intestines— Bingo.
“KHAAAHHH!!!”
The blindfolded man staggered back, collapsing to the floor.
So this was poison? The effect was impressive.
Eww.
He pulled the dagger from his neck and tossed it to the ground.
CLANG.
Jeong Yushin lowered his head and spat the blood in his mouth onto the floor.
Then, from his waist pouch, he pulled out a torch and set it on fire.
Flame whooshed.
The torch lit up the wide chamber again.
‘I need to pull out the bolts.’
Thanks to the Revenger Mark, his wounds were healing, but with bolts embedded in his body, the pain remained.
But...
Strangely, the pain was ebbing away like the receding tide.
Instead, the darkness of the labyrinth filled his mind, stacking up steadily.
No. It was the darkness that had always been dormant within him.
A dark energy stirred in Jeong Yushin’s eyes.
Looking around, he saw the four men lying on the ground.
They were frozen stiff by the paralyzing poison, and it made him chuckle.
Jeong Yushin raised his sword respectfully and bowed.
“Masters, thank you. Your foolish disciple has learned a lot today. In that sense, let me dance with my sword.”
After speaking, he looked down at the men and gave a smile.
The legs of the men, collapsed from the paralyzing poison, began to dampen with the creeping wetness.
