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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: The Barbarian Who Hid His Face in a Reversed World
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I woke up in bed. It was the familiar bed in Room 201 of the inn.
‘Did Diana move me here?’
I had no memory after being held in Diana’s arms. Had I really just passed out?
‘I’ll have to apologize first thing when I see her.’
I had ended up being a nuisance when she was busy.
I glanced out the window, and the sun was high in the sky. The dazzling natural light, which I hadn't seen in a long time, felt unfamiliar.
I stretched to wake myself up, loosening my body as I thought about what I needed to do today.
‘Settle the goblin subjugation reward, prove that the Deluna party were plunderers and outlaws to collect the bounty… and then…’
Part of me wanted to just laze around for a day, doing nothing, but I spurred myself on and got out of bed.
I washed off the grime from the Labyrinth, which I hadn't been able to clean, and discarded the blanket, now too grimy to be of any use after the Labyrinth expedition.
Then, I stretched out the ill-fitting T-shirt I'd bought previously and had left untouched, pulling it on.
Wearing proper clothes, I couldn't help but wonder if I'd been living a little too barbarically until now.
Leaving the room, I descended the familiar stairs, and the savory aroma of soup wafted towards me.
I glanced towards the kitchen and saw Diana standing in front of the stove, stirring soup.
“Diana.”
“...! Oh, yes, Valcan. G-Good morning…”
Diana awkwardly avoided my gaze. It wasn't hard to guess why.
‘What an idiot…’
How could I have expected Diana to greet me normally after what happened yesterday?
“I apologize, Diana. I wasn’t myself yesterday.”
“I-I’m fine. You don’t need to apologize. Besides, rather…”
As I bowed my head respectfully, Diana’s face flushed red, and she waved her hands. She started to say something, then pressed her lips together.
“Rather what?”
“Oh, nothing. Anyway, are you going to eat lunch? I just finished cooking it.”
“Yes, please. I missed your soup so much in the Labyrinth, Diana.”
“Y-You did…? Then I’ll give you a lot.”
I nodded at Diana’s question, which deftly changed the subject, and went to sit at the table.
Soon, Diana brought me a bowl of soup filled almost to overflowing, along with utensils.
“Be careful, it’s hot.”
“Yes. Thank you, Diana.”
Perhaps out of consideration for me wearing a helmet, Diana quickly moved away.
I took a spoonful of the steaming hot soup, and my body instantly reacted.
After days of lukewarm drinking water and bland, dry preserved food, Diana’s meticulously prepared soup entering my esophagus made my body tremble with gratitude.
By the time I’d devoured the soup, as if I intended to lick the bowl clean, Diana approached.
She saw the sparkling clean bowl and looked at me with a pleased smile.
“Oh my. You must have been very hungry.”
“Perhaps because I’ve grown accustomed to your cooking every day for a month, Diana, the preserved food just didn’t go down well.”
“Hmph. Is that so? Next time, I should make some jerky for you to take.”
Diana, who had been silently observing me for a while, finally spoke.
“So. How was it? The Labyrinth.”
At her casual question, my body stiffened. I swallowed hard and put down my spoon.
“…I didn’t underestimate the Labyrinth. I thought I had prepared sufficiently within my means, my condition was good, and I was vigilant enough. …But.”
Despite all that, I lost two party members as soon as we entered the Labyrinth.
It was something that could be dismissed as bad luck or a complicated situation, but I chose not to.
If I had been more vigilant in that state, would the situation have changed?
If I had paid a little more attention to coordinating the party, could four of us have come out of the Labyrinth instead of three?
I couldn’t know. It was all in the past now.
However, one thing I realized was that monsters weren't the only thing to be wary of in the Labyrinth.
I wasn’t going into the Labyrinth alone.
Sudden changes in situations, party management, external variables—there was so much more to consider.
“By your demeanor, I can pretty much guess what happened.”
“…You can tell just from my demeanor?”
“Hmph. The problems explorers face are usually similar, especially novice explorers. Typically, it’s monster ambushes, party disintegration, or external attacks.”
Diana’s vast experience was chillingly accurate.
From the start, we encountered goblins and one person died, then another due to party disintegration, and finally, I barely survived after defeating the slave-hunting Deluna party.
“No one can be perfect from the beginning. You are bound to experience failures and make mistakes. What’s important is what you gain from them. If you fear mistakes and failures, become frustrated, and give up on moving forward, there will be no growth.”
Diana, who had kept her eyes closed, slowly opened them and looked at me. Her amber eyes seemed to see right through me, as if I were held in her palm.
Soon, Diana’s eyes closed again.
“From that perspective, Valcan, I think you’ll grow even more in the future.”
Right. Regardless, I was in a situation where I had to plunge myself into the Labyrinth.
“Do you think I can grow more, Diana?”
“Of course. Those aren’t the eyes of a defeated person.”
What do the eyes of a defeated person look like?
For a moment, I wondered why Diana kept her eyes closed, but I figured she had her reasons and let it go.
Perhaps it was because I had shaken off my fatigue and my mind felt clearer now, but the tasks I needed to do seemed even more distinct before my eyes.
“Oh. I used the watch very well, too.”
“Keep it. You’ll be going into the Labyrinth again, won’t you?”
“Still…”
I tried to return the watch, but Diana gently refused. Her watch was once again fastened to my wrist.
We continued to talk after that. Mostly, I recounted my experiences in the Labyrinth, and Diana listened calmly.
I didn’t mention the Curse of the Puppet, which only I could see with my Status Window, or my encounter with Seraph, but speaking about what I had gone through to someone made me feel a great deal of relief.
“Thank you for listening to my boring story.”
“Not at all. Thanks to you, I reminisced about old times for a while.”
“Really? Oh, and the soup was truly delicious. Thank you for the meal.”
I had talked for nearly an hour straight.
“Oh. I’ll clear the dishes, just give them to me.”
Seeing Diana hastily try to collect the bowl and utensils, it reminded me of the days I used to scrounge around in the back alleys.
It was no exaggeration to say that I owed establishing even the bare minimum of a stable life almost entirely to Diana—I, who had nearly lost all faith in humanity due to the PTSD from the attempted assault.
“Thank you for everything, Diana.”
At my words, Diana, who had been looking at the bowl and utensils with a strangely wistful gaze, froze.
She looked between the bowl and me, then suddenly put the bowl down and slapped her own cheek with a sharp sound.
“Diana?! What in the–!”
As I approached, startled by the sudden situation, Diana shook her head.
“Hmph, h-huh… I almost succumbed to worldly desires without realizing it…”
“Excuse me…?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. I’ll take care of the cleanup, so go on upstairs!”
Though bewildered by the sudden turn of events, I was ushered upstairs by Diana.
“Are you really okay?”
“Of course. Don’t worry too much. And…”
Diana hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“…I’m truly happy that you returned safely.”
***
Thirty minutes after my conversation with Diana. Once my stomach had settled a bit, I packed my backpack.
It was a backpack containing goblin ears and a human head.
“I’m going to the Explorer’s Guild. I’ll be back before dinner opens!”
“F-Fine! You must be tired, so rest well until tomorrow!”
Leaving Diana, who seemed to be doing something in the kitchen, behind, I left the inn.
Thanks to her kind consideration, I had some free time.
I headed straight for the Explorer’s Guild.
It was still damnably crowded. There was no ticket system, so I had no choice but to mindlessly join the queue to conduct my business at the counter.
Still, waiting wasn't entirely boring. There was plenty to observe.
[Sohem LV.23]
[Jericho LV.14]
[Porcio LV.3]
[Bersia LV.17]
[Tolkin LV.2■]
The levels I could currently see through my Status Window were mostly up to the early to mid-20s.
And from the late 20s onwards, the moment they crossed 30, it was invariably obscured.
‘Why specifically from that point?’
Not being able to see a Status Window meant there was a significant gap between me and the other person.
[Nam Su-jin LV.5]
[Health: (4+10) Strength: (4+10) Agility: (2+10) Wisdom: (0) Dexterity: (0)]
[Free Points: 5]
Adding the bonus stats from the Question Mark Blessing, my current total stats were 40.
Though there were various variables like blessings and curses.
Assuming 1 stat point increases per LV, a simple calculation showed that these were stats that could roughly contend with a Level 30.
At the Explorer’s Guild, I had the opportunity to observe various explorers, even those referred to as intermediate adventurers.
[Gatlier Aman LV.3■]
[Dotlier Aman LV.4■]
“Hey, hey. Look. It’s the Aman sisters. Damn. So it was true they returned from the Mid-Levels.”
“Wow. How can a woman’s chest be that hard? There’s no bounce at all. It’s just muscle, so it’s square like a man’s?”
“Possible.”
“What’s possible, you crazy bitch?”
‘…I see no chance of winning.’
However, when I looked at explorers in the Level 30s and 40s, I could only foresee a future where my head would be smashed in if I charged at them.
The difference in power was far greater than I expected.
As I continued to observe the explorers, something clicked.
‘Around Level 20, there’s a section where the level of power significantly increases.’
It seemed there was a point where their overall combat power significantly increased, like a first or second job advancement.
‘They probably get additional stats when their level goes up, or something.’
That’s why it was definitively obscured after Level 20.
‘…Not bad, actually?’
Looking at it positively, didn’t it mean that I, who was only Level 5, could roughly contend with Level 20 explorers purely with my stats?
And if I ever reached Level 20 or higher, I could gain an advantage purely through my stats against others of the same level, unless they were exceptionally skilled.
[Free Points: 5]
And not just miscellaneous stats, but core stats.
“Hmm…”
For now, I just absorbed the information.
Combat wasn't just a numbers game of stats.
It was too distant a prospect for a mere novice adventurer who had just entered the first floor.
As I continued my thoughts, it was almost my turn. I handed the backpack containing the goblin ears to the counter staff.
“Fifty-three goblin left ears. Goblin subjugation confirmed. Here is one silver coin and six copper coins. Oh, and from now on, please use the settlement office near the Labyrinth entrance for monster subjugation confirmations.”
The female staff member, whose hands were covered in goblin blood, gave a bitter smile.
Only one silver coin and six copper coins.
My four-person party had been reduced to just Jeremy and me, so we split it in half, and after giving a small portion to Densi, what I got back was only about 45 copper coins.
If I worked at Diana's inn for two days, I’d earn about twice that much. Well, that’s because Diana is exceptionally generous.
After deducting the cost of potions, equipment, and preserved food invested in the Labyrinth trip, it was a net loss.
‘…But what can I do? I have to go in.’
Monsters on the first floor of the Labyrinth didn't yield much money.
It's not like I was doing it for the money in the first place, but it's a little disappointing not to have earned a single penny after all that trouble.
I sighed inwardly as I collected the money, then handed over the backpack containing Deluna’s head.
“His name is Deluna. He was an outlaw, plunderer, slave hunter, and explorer from the Bloods Clan. He suddenly attacked us in the Labyrinth and died during the engagement.”
“Were there any other victims or witnesses during the attack?”
“There’s a party member who was attacked with me, and one of his slaves.”
“Understood. You’ve done well. The verification process will take about two days, so please visit us again then, and we will pay out the bounty.”
The counter staff member, as if such incidents were common, handled the backpack containing Deluna’s head with a businesslike attitude.
Watching that, I felt how cheap human life was in this world.
One thing that reassured me, though, was that the Explorer’s Guild wasn't just a den of criminals.
‘It’s not common to find people with curses like Deluna’s.’
And 'not common' meant that there were, in fact, some.
[◆ 86574th Curse of the Puppet]
– Zelvin has become the 86574th puppet.
[◆ 88574th Curse of the Puppet]
– Mercy has become the 88574th puppet.
The gazes of a few individuals had been fixed on me ever since I pulled out Deluna’s head.
“Thank you for your kind assistance, even with the corpse.”
“Oh, yes, yes…”
I made a gesture that clearly indicated I was leaving and stood up from my seat.
With my helmet on and enhanced perception, I caught their movements. They, too, began to prepare to leave.
I quietly exited the Explorer’s Guild and headed for a secluded alley.
‘Being able to see their curses means they’re pathetic pushovers compared to me.’
How could I extract information from these guys stealthily trailing me?
“Hey, you male. Stop while I’m being nice.”
As I pondered this, I quietly placed my hand on my waist.
The axe knew the answer.
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