Chapter 26
Just look at what happened just a little while ago.
What happened after accidentally encountering human explorers and turning the circuit of hope?
The world doesn’t just turn the way you want it to.
“The reason we were able to escape on the spot was because she let go. She must have thought that if we wanted to, we could catch her right away. So it’s still too early to be relieved.”
Uncharacteristically for me, the words got longer.
Let’s talk briefly about the main point.
“By now she must be—”
“I’m sure she’s been sneaking around.”
Holy nimmy…
I thought at best he was on his way.
After all, there is another bottom at the bottom.
Or maybe there’s something wrong with my intelligence.
“Bjorn!”
As Einar and I put down our backpacks and get into a fighting stance, a woman appears from the darkness.
The mask is still not worn.
“It’s a pity, Barbarian.”
…What kind of creepy bitch is there?
“Still, the struggle just before was impressive.”
From what I’ve heard, it’s a gnome’s ability, and it seems that it’s been watching us for a long time…
There is a part that doesn’t fit logically.
“…why did you just show up now?”
It took several minutes before he could drink the potion and move.
But why didn’t you aim for that time?
The moment I was waiting for an answer.
“Ughhhhh!”
As if her yellow hair had been thrown off the floor, she got up and started running with all her might.
Einar and I were slow to respond because we were paying attention to the psychopath.
Just…….
Puff up!
Thin saliva-like objects flew in a straight line and got stuck in the yellow-haired neck.
Could it have been poisoned?
Despite the minor trauma, the yellow hair convulsed like an aspen tree, and before long it drooped.
In this I realized
This is not the time to leisurely ask why.
“Einar!”
No long words were needed between them.
The moment I just called your name.
As if waiting, Einar pushes the ground and leaps forward.
I was all one too.
That’s if you can’t escape.
‘Cause I’ll have no choice but to fight
Whoo!
The looter bitch can easily dodge Einar’s greatsword by bending down. Then, according to the timing of the evasion, he blocks the mace that was taken down with a dagger.
Caang!
Damn…
How many replacement essences did you eat?
Of course, the dagger that blocked the mace was intact.
When the woman pushes back, the body is pushed back.
“Stop doing pointless things, Barbarian.”
well.
That sounds like a very difficult request.
even if it’s pointless.
“Behel-Ra!”
I am a barbarian
Of course, the mind hasn’t completely freed itself from the grime of modern people.
Caang!
I’m afraid every day, and there’s no sign of getting used to the pain, and I still think of the way to escape.
Nevertheless, one thing agrees with them.
Caang!
If there is only one road left.
I choose to go beyond it.
without hesitation.
Caang!
At the same time he collided with the dagger, he threw away his mace and attempted a tackle.
It didn’t budge as expected.
Why is physical ability so high for a subject who is a searcher?
The sound of Bolmen comes out.
But even if you can’t knock it down, you can at least bite it.
“Einar! Now!”
Before I could shout, Einar’s greatsword was already swinging in an exciting straight line.
As a result, the looter, who had been expressionless all along, showed emotion on his face for the first time.
“……!”
upset or annoyed.
Well, maybe anger.
hooked!
A pain radiated from the spine.
Did you stab him in the spine?
No, what the hell do you do with the armor?
Without a moment to even feel doubt, the power drains all the way.
“The character falls into a [paralysis] state.”
I tried to hold on to my pants and stretch myself, but my body, which had been raging like a monster even after being stabbed in the neck, didn’t listen to my words at all.
hooked!
Then, in succession, the sound of cloth was heard again.
Limp! Einar’s greatsword fell to the floor with a shout.
When I moved my eyeball upwards to check, the dagger was deeply embedded in Einar’s wrist.
I wanted to get this far, but…
Einar didn’t stop even though he was in pain.
“Aww!”
He loses his weapon and swings his left fist instead of his incapacitated right arm.
Seeing that fighting spirit, it seems like I know it all over again.
Why is a barbarian who is no different from a large human outwardly treated as a monster by everyone?
However, the opponent was not good.
Whoo!
The woman who avoided the fist with flexible body movements did not stop there, grabbed Einar’s wrist and twisted it…
Kuung!
I threw it straight down to the floor.
Einar immediately touched the ground and tried to stand up, but he kept slipping and falling.
The sinewy arm was trembling.
Seeing this, the woman sighed coldly.
“Give up. There’s nothing you can do after being hit by the basilisk’s paralyzing poison.”
As if a death sentence had been handed down.
My mind goes blank and my eyes go dark.
Equipment, skills, experience…
There is a stark difference in all areas.
Even thinking about it, I can’t think of any means to reverse the current situation.
The time when the word death was engraved in my brain.
“Wouldn’t it be nice if you listened to me like that?”
The woman bent down and untied my hardened hands holding the hem of my trousers.
And he said it nonchalantly.
“Barbarian, swear that you won’t set your affairs against anyone today. Then I’ll let you live.”
…what?
***
After a moment of silence.
The woman opened her mouth.
“I was thinking of making this offer from the beginning, unless I ran away right away. I owe something to the barbarian.”
I could instinctively feel that this was the only way to survive… but
I don’t understand.
As I looked up desperately, the woman gave a brief explanation.
“If possible, I don’t want to kill a barbarian with my own hands.”
It’s with my own hands…….
Maybe that’s why you just watched me when I was being killed by the yellow hair?
Do you want to be able to blow your nose without touching your hands?
“Bjorn… the plunderer’s words. Don’t believe them… they’re just playing with us.”
But even if you say that, you don’t have a choice.
Did you get ridiculed and die or just die?
There’s nothing much different about me anyway.
I asked after vomiting up the blood that had risen to the tip of my neck.
“What would you do if you refused the offer…?”
“Of course I will kill you. Because that was the promise in the first place.”
“A promise… with who the hell?”
“That you don’t need to know.”
It was the same tone as usual, but somehow it sounds like a bit more rough voice.
“Choose. Give me a little time—”
“I swear on my warrior’s honor.”
Time is not needed.
It’s not that there aren’t any other options.
“…Certainly you are a bit peculiar.”
The psychopath who looked down at me for a while with a strange look sprinkled something on it.
This pain I’m used to.
It’s a potion with nothing to look at.
「You have taken the recovery potion (above)」 「The character’s paralysis state
has been lifted
」
“What about you, female barbarian?”
The woman took her eyes off me and bit her mouth.
Einar gave an answer after a brief silence.
“…refuse.”
“Right.”
The woman did not ask again.
It was just a small nod.
However, the action touched me more clearly.
She didn’t draw her weapon or take any other threatening pose…
Now this woman will kill Einar.
And there was only one thing I could do to prevent that outcome.
“…swear Einar’s oath.”
“Bjorn?”
“Didn’t you say that you would completely follow me?”
“That’s true, but a warrior’s oath is…”
Shiva, what are you going to do to protect that pride?
“Fnellin’s second daughter Einar!!”
Einar froze at my shouting.
I lowered my voice and stared into her eyes as I spoke calmly.
“Trust me now. This is the right choice.”
After a moment of silence, Einar struggled to open his mouth.
“…I understand. I will swear.”
“Well thought out.”
Afterwards, when Einar made an oath, he even used a potion for the year of the psychopath to treat him.
Is this a true stick and carrot?
The feeling of being forced to make a choice by force was not very different from the past.
It’s so fucking disgusting to the point of disgusting.
“…What floor is it on?”
As soon as the treatment was over, I turned around and asked the woman who was about to leave.
At this bottomless question, the woman tilted her head for a moment before giving a short answer.
“Eighth floor.”
After all, it wasn’t even about the 5th floor.
Somehow, the subject of being a searcher was fucking strong.
Maybe even if I had 10 more people, I wouldn’t have been an opponent to this bitch.
But…
softly.
I made a resolution as I watched the psychopath disappear before my eyes like smoke.
Next time will be different.
***
“Is Einar all right?”
“…I’m fine. I can get up on my own.”
Einar pushed my hand away and stood up on his own.
I wondered if he was disappointed in me, but maybe the target of the disappointment wasn’t me, but himself.
Because barbarians have an honest side.
“…….”
Einar with complicated eyes decided to leave it alone for a while and checked my condition. First of all
,
from this…….
When I took off the armor and checked the back, I saw a hole the size of a dagger.
The penetrating surface is very clean.
…Could it be ‘Auror’?
Niimi.
Only on the 2nd floor, and even in such a wide land of the dead, why did you meet such a monster? What kind of dog is this?
All I can think about is that I need to become stronger as soon as possible.
It’s the only way to go back home and protect me from this dog world.
“What will Bjorn do now?”
“…Go down to the first floor.”
The Land of the Dead is not a bad hunting ground.
However, I have no intention of continuing to stay here where that crazy bitch roams around. Maybe he’ll come back saying he’s changed his mind.
“is it… I understand.”
The downtrodden Einar followed my words without asking any questions.
Mental care isn’t my specialty, but…
I’ll have to say something once I get down.
It looks like the world has collapsed.
” Follow me.”
I avoided most of the avoidable battles and moved along the signs.
About 6 hours had passed since then.
We were finally able to return to the portal going down to the first floor.
Kung-!
Again, while I landed intact, Einar rolled on the floor,
and that too badly,
but she groaned and stood up slowly as if nothing had happened.
“…Doesn’t it hurt?”
“It
hurts.
” I’m not worth the pain.”
…The situation is much worse than I thought. Is
it so humiliating to swear as if begging for your life?
Well, it was like that in the game.
“That Einar…?”
“Why are you calling me?”
“The warrior who survives is strong. It doesn’t end with one defeat, but the possibility of victory opens up later!” “If
you say it too long, it’s hard to understand.”
He said it with a lot of energy on purpose, but Einar’s voice was still somber.
“But what does it mean that the surviving warrior is strong? Cognition is somehow understandable.”
“Is that so?”
“To overcome such humiliation and the urge to commit suicide right away, it must mean that you are a strong warrior. Just like you, Bjorn.”
No, I don’t have anything like that…?
I’m not a samurai to kill myself.
I didn’t mean it that way in the first place.
But there’s no need to deny that you got caught.
” I will be able to do it.”
“I don’t know if I can overcome this pain… but I will try.” ”
Yes, one day I will be able to pay for the disgrace.”
With sincere support, we resumed our movement. And after making the decision to camp in
a suitable place, Einar was put to sleep.
” I’ll wake you up
in two hours.”
[07:39]
In terms of time, it’s the morning of the third day.
I
haven’t slept for more than 20 hours.
Besides, I’ve been through that kind of thing, and I’m mentally exhausted.
But I’m sure even if I closed my eyes, I wouldn’t have been able to sleep for a long time anyway. “…….”
It’s not like Einar is being engulfed in extreme urges, but…….
It
‘s just that the feeling is dirty.
It’s similar to the pain when drinking a potion.
I can’t get used to this kind of feeling no matter how many times I’ve experienced it.
It’s hard.
It was similar to today when I was saved by the blonde party the other day.
The priest looked me in the eye and refused to treat me.
The prosecutor gave me a potion as if it was a waste. I threw it like a toy. Even while watching it
,
I lay face down like a dog and ate the potion.
Of course, I should have been happy to survive, but
that much, I felt indescribable emotions
. I let out a long breath as if brushing
it off.
What the hell am I doing right now?
It’s not like me to be swayed by emotions and suffer
.
‘Remember, you are nothing. You will never be special.’
The magic spell that has always made me a little better.
Yes, let’s use even this emotion as raw material.
As always,
it will be a little more efficient that way.