How a Black-Haired Barbarian Survived the Labyrinth in Another World

The next morning.

Karin came down to the first floor of the inn, clutching her pounding head.

She had a serious hangover from drinking at Boron’s forge yesterday.

She remembered being carried into the room on Ska’s broad back, but everything after that was vague.

On the first floor of the inn, a blonde woman was sitting at a table eating food. It was too much to eat for breakfast.

But the woman slurped down the food on the table without batting an eye.

Ska was sitting next to her with his arms crossed. Did he know that woman?

Karin approached the table.

“Ska...?”

“Are you awake?”

Ska greeted her with a gentle smile. Karin pointed at the blonde woman with her finger.

“Who is she?”

“Delia, she’s the vanguard who applied for our party.”

“Uh, when?”

“Yesterday evening.”

Delia raised her head, swallowed her food, and held out her hand.

“Are you Karin? Please take care of me. It’s Delia.”

“It’s Karin. I’m the party guide.”

Karin grabbed Delia’s hand.

She must be someone trustworthy since Scar saved her.

But there was one thing she was curious about.

“Delia, are you a virgin?!”

“Phew!!!”

After shaking hands, Delia, who was inhaling her food again, exhaled. The food she had been chewing flew out of Delia’s mouth and stuck to Karin’s face.

Delia blushed.

“Cough!!! Go, you’re suddenly a virgin? What kind of outrageous statement is that?!”

Jung Yoo-shin crossed his arms and looked at Karin.

“Karin, what kind of awkward question is that?”

“Sorry.”

Karin took out a handkerchief and wiped her face. That expression and behavior. She’s a virgin.

‘No way, another competitor.’

I was already upset because of my mother, and now here comes another blonde virgin. And her face is pretty.

Shouldn’t I admit it now?

The virgin female corruption imprint is just a meddling.

Scar’s tall appearance was shaking the hearts of many women.

Karin mentally mourned in advance for poor Delia, who would become Scar’s sacrificial offering.

When Karin sat down at the table, Jung Yu-shin filled a wooden cup with water and handed it to her.

“Karin, the Earth Mother priest Barion has also come in. He’s a bit of a strange person.”

“Strange?”

In response to Karin’s question, Jung Yu-shin briefly explained the party members. How they met, what they talked about, and the meeting they had last night came out naturally.

Karin drank the water and wiped her mouth.

“So you’ve roughly decided where to go?”

“Right.”

Jung Yu-shin continued with shining eyes.

“We’re going to the Corridor Area.”

“Okay.”

Karin answered coolly.

As an intermediate explorer, I’ve explored the Forest Area and Corridor Area before, so it wasn’t like I was going somewhere I didn’t know.

“I’m going to finish ordering equipment and get a few requests.”

“Scar, leave the requests to me. I know a lucrative one.”

Delia pounded her chest. She was wearing plate armor, so all she could hear was the sound of iron.

“Really? Then I’ll leave the requests to you.”

Karin crossed her arms and looked at Jung Yu-shin.

“I’ll go to the blacksmith shop and finish ordering equipment. While I’m at it, I’ll stop by the Guide’s Guild to get some information.”

“Understood.”

As soon as the conversation ended, Karin and Delia stood up.

Is he really an intermediate explorer?

He seemed to be trying to quickly handle the work he was good at.

Should I say that his movements were so efficient that I couldn’t even imagine it when I was a beginner explorer?

Jung Yu-shin also got up from his seat.

“I’ll go to the monster dismantling center.”

“Okay. See you later.”

They got up from their seats and parted ways.

Jung Yu-shin headed to the monster dismantling center with his red blade.

After greeting the dismantling center staff for the first time in a while, he went into the office and saw Aldain sitting there.

“It’s been a while. Scar, your appearance has changed again.”

“You recognize me well, don’t you?”

“You look exactly like you did when you were young? It’s strange not to recognize me. By the way. Are you planning on entering the labyrinth soon?”

Aldain glanced at the red blade.

“Yes. I brought it because they told me to return it before entering the labyrinth.”

“Give it to me.”

At Aldain’s request, he untied the red single-edged sword from his waist and handed it over.

“Aldain, I don’t know if you heard from Dulchangko, but the single-edged sword has been possessed by an evil spirit. It didn’t seem to be any abnormal since I exorcised it, but I think it would be best to be careful.”

“···Really?”

Aldain frowned slightly as he stroked the single-edged sword.

“···I see. Thank you for your hard work. If you survive the labyrinth, come back again. I have something to tell you.”

“Yes. I understand.”

“By the way, which area are we going into?”

“The corridor area.”

“Really? Cheer up. Don’t die, and let’s see how you survive.”

Aldain leaned the red single-edged sword against the table and waved his hand.

* * *

A week had passed.

He was so busy preparing for this and that that he didn’t even realize how time had passed.

I went to Edel's pharmacy to buy potions and went to the general store to prepare various exploration supplies.

I focused on supplementing my nutrition by gradually increasing my food intake. I thought that I would be able to last a little longer in case I stayed in the labyrinth for a long time and ran out of food.

I also went through the process of slowly running around the yard with my backpack on to get used to the weight.

I didn't stop there, but I intentionally changed the day and night to get my body used to it. This was because the time I entered the labyrinth was evening.

These trainings came from the desire to make up for the parts I was lacking and regretful while going through the labyrinth.

Karin stuck out her tongue at this appearance of Jeong Yu-shin. It was almost an obsession, a self-management that I couldn't even imagine imitating.

A week later in the evening.

The party gathered together.

They usually leave early in the morning, but the time zone changed with the monster explorers due to a change in the labyrinth committee.

The regular explorers leave in the afternoon or evening.

The monster explorers leave in the morning.

It was the minimum rule that the Explorers' Guild had set to prevent a chaotic situation.

Everyone was armed and quietly sat at the table.

Jeong Yu-shin was wearing light armor with plates added on top of leather armor. He wore iron greaves and leather gloves.

His main weapon was a long sword with a blue tint. A famous sword that Einhofer and Boron had painstakingly created. It was nicknamed Dog-necking in the forest area.

His secondary weapons were a dagger and a single-edged sword with 'Gale'.

He returned the red single-edged sword and excluded the shield. Delia would take the vanguard instead.

Delia, the fallen princess, was wearing plate armor with a one-handed mace, a kite shield, and an arming sword.

Karin wore light leather armor with two daggers, a crossbow, and a bolt pouch on her waist.

Baryon was holding a huge two-handed warhammer.

“Is it okay for a priest to use a weapon like this?”

- Is there a problem?

Baryon shrugged and scribbled on a piece of paper.

“Not at all. Rather, it’s good.”

It’s good to have a strong rearguard. It’s free from surprise attacks from the rear.

Delia took out two pieces of paper from her bosom. The requests selected after a week of party meetings.

In other words, the final requests that remained.

Collecting monster bone fragments.

Collecting antiques.

Both requests °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° were from the Magic Tower.

“The Magic Tower tends to be a little more generous in paying out rewards.”

“I see.”

Jeong Yu-shin looked around. He had been moving nonstop for a week, preparing for the labyrinth exploration.

The preparations were perfect.

“Shall we go?”

The party members stood up from their seats.

* * *

The sun that had been brightening the sky disappeared beneath the castle walls, scattering the sunset light.

Jung Yu-shin walked slowly down the street toward the western district.

Pushing through the crowd of people, he arrived at the entrance to the labyrinth.

Following the guards’ guidance, he stood in front of the magic circle.

He took out a torch and fiddled with the flint he had in his pocket.

“Hoo.”

He took a deep breath and steeled himself.

Flash!!!

His vision darkened with the familiar feeling of floating.

Thump!

Jung Yu-shin exited the portal and naturally stepped on the floor.

The damp air. The cool temperature.

The surface of the labyrinth.

He quickly took out the flint and lit the torch.

Hururuk.

The torch flared up, illuminating the dark vision.

The party members held their weapons and stood back to back.

“Is there a problem?”

“No.”

“No.”

“...”

Karin looked around.

“It fell close to the transfer stone. You’re lucky.”

Was it really Karin?

She seemed to know where it fell just by looking at it.

“Let’s go. Delia will lead, and Karin will follow.”

The party formed a formation and advanced through the dark cave.

They passed by explorers who seemed to be beginners and encountered intermediate parties.

They received envious looks and wary looks, but they did not stand and greet each other.

It wasn’t that they had no time, but rather that they had no reason to.

The party continued forward.

They encountered a group of hobgoblins, but it wasn't a problem at all.

Before Jung Yu-shin could even draw his weapon, Delia stepped forward and swung her mace.

When the hobgoblin heads that had been hit by the mace exploded like firecrackers, the hobgoblins fled without looking back.

One day. Two days. Three days. Four days.

The party continued forward without hesitation and arrived at the 5th floor, Engrav.

The Engrav area was already cleaned up, as if a higher-level party had already swept through once.

The torn and smashed corpses of higher-level hobgoblins were rolling around on the street.

"Huh?"

Jung Yu-shin stopped walking.

A group wearing black robes was walking across the street.

Usually, a party would have four or five people at most, but there were at least twenty of them.

The party members also stopped in their tracks.

“Those guys...”

Delia’s trembling voice flowed out.

“Why? Do you know them?”

Karin stepped forward in response to Jung Yushin’s question.

“A clan that stays in the eastern region. Was it the ‘Night of Death’?”

- That’s right.

Barion confirmed Karin’s answer with a gesture.

“Is this a clan we should be wary of?”

Delia shook her head.

“They look a little gloomy, but not to the extent that we should be wary of them. They just mutter crazy things about overcoming death. I heard they’ve never hurt anyone.”

“Is that so?”

Was it an illusion that somehow felt like they were going in a similar direction?

‘My nose is three inches long. Let’s not pay attention to strange things.’

She shook her head to erase her thoughts.

The party left the group of black robes behind and walked along the streets of Engrav until they reached the central area.

Karin stopped.

“We should take a rest here and then move on to the corridor area.”

“Let’s do that.”

Following Karin’s lead, they entered an alleyway to find a shelter.

A dusty house.

They cleaned up, found a brazier, lit a fire, and sat down together.

Delia took off her helmet and patted her stomach.

“I’m hungry.”

She must have had quite an appetite since she said she was hungry as soon as she sat down.

Delia immediately searched her backpack and took out some food.

It was a black energy bar, and Delia grinned and munched on it.

A special energy bar made by Anne and Tarman for Delia.

It was a clever idea since it was difficult to meet Delia’s calorie consumption with things like jerky or dry bread.

Thanks to this, I was able to drastically reduce the weight of my backpack. It was quite expensive, but I decided to think of it as an investment.

Starting with Delia, the party members each took out food from their backpacks and started eating.

There was no separate conversation.

It wasn’t an awkward atmosphere. They just had nothing to say.

Baryon was on night watch.

Since I got the Spirit of Steel imprint, the need for food and sleep disappeared.

Thanks to Baryon, I was able to pass through the labyrinth relatively comfortably without night watch for the past few days.

Jung Yu-shin leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.

He fell into the familiar darkness.

* * *

Someone grabbed his shoulder and shook him.

“Scar, wake up.”

Jung Yu-shin’s eyes shot open. It was Delia.

“How long did you sleep?”

“About 6 hours. You slept really well?”

Jung Yu-shin nodded inwardly.

He kept the minimum amount of sleep.

In other words.

It's a story of getting used to the labyrinth to some extent.

The party members finished eating and packed their bags.

They left the shelter and walked straight.

When they arrived at the central area, they saw another castle.

A castle inside a castle.

The inner castle.

There were antique sculptures carved into the castle walls. I don't know what kind of city it was, but it seemed like high-ranking people once lived there.

They passed through the castle gate and reached the garden.

In fact, it was hard to tell at first glance that it was a garden.

It was a dead land with no grass, just dust.

The only things that told us that this was once a garden were the dried-up lake and the decayed pavilion.

After passing the garden, a corridor appeared.

An old, musty path.

There was nothing there, as if the explorers had already taken all the valuable decorations.

They passed through the straight corridor and entered the common area.

The ceiling was surrounded by a round dome, and underneath it was a stone chair.

It looked like a place where kings of the Middle Ages would stay.

There was a transfer stone in front of the chair.

Jung Yoo-shin slowly approached and placed his hand on the transfer stone.

Whoaang.

Blue portals and red portals appeared.

‘If you pass through this portal, you will reach the corridor area.’

My heart pounded.

Jung Yoo-shin turned his head and looked at the party members.

“Are you ready?”

The party members nodded their heads to Jung Yoo-shin’s question.

Delia opened her mouth with a smile.

“Scar, don’t be so nervous. It’ll be fine.”

“...”

My breath caught in my throat.

You’re suddenly planting a flag here?

Jung Yoo-shin glared at Delia.

“Delia, don’t say that.”

“Ah, I see.”

I took a deep breath and stepped into the portal. I felt a sense of floating as I passed through the red light.

Darkness obscured my vision.