Chapter 102 - Mafia (1)

“Wh-what the hell? All of a sudden...”

“An earthquake...?”

The tremors spreading through the ground woke the sleeping explorers.

I realized something. Once a Hans, always a Hans.

'Who knew even changing his name wouldn't help?'

Heaving a deep sigh, I took one last look at Hanst... No, at the man I would henceforth remember as Hans G.

“I-I didn't do anything!”

Yeah, I'm sure you didn't. How could you have opened a rupture when you were right here?

My luck was just that shitty.

“Bjorn?”

“Run!”

I grabbed Misha and started running. We didn't have time.

Though I hadn't explained anything, Misha asked,

“... Don't tell me a rupture opened, nyah?”

“That's right.”

As usual in my life, something fucking awful had happened again. Not the sort of fucking awful that threatened my life, of course.

But...

'Goddamn it, after all the money I spent.'

I'd chosen which rupture to enter and bought supplies tailored to it. I'd even gotten carried away and paid for Lightning enchantments.

And now, oh my goodness, what was this?

“Bjorn! Over there!”

Some bastard had taken a shit all over my plans.

Was it a Player? Or just someone with extensive knowledge of this world?

Well, I'd get some idea once I went inside.

WHOOOSH!

A portal formed in the direction Misha pointed. By now, thousands of these portals had probably appeared all across the first floor.

“Misha!”

In case we got separated, I pulled her into my arms. Then I plunged into the portal.

* * *

「Your character has entered a first-floor rupture.」

* * *

BOOM!

After landing with a heavy crash, I set Misha down and immediately checked our surroundings. Perhaps we'd only just made it in before entry closed, because three others, men and a woman, were already inside.

First, I examined each of them closely.

“Oh, a barbarian and a Therianthrope! I feel reassured already. A pleasure to meet you. Please call me Karlson.”

First up, a human man. A little over 170 centimeters tall, armed with a sword.

If I had to describe my first impression as an animal... Hmm, a rat would fit nicely.

“... You won't be dead weight, then. Avman Urigfried.”

The second was a male Therianthrope. Judging by the round ears on top of his head, he seemed to belong to the Black Bear Tribe, one of the seven great tribes.

His distinguishing features were a hulking, muscular build and an enormous crossbow that looked like a siege weapon.

“Hello. My name is Jenssia Neyfrin. I use this sword here. I'll do my best not to be a burden.”

Last was a human woman. Around 165 centimeters tall, with a pretty face. Surprisingly, she also had black hair in twin tails.

It wasn't that they looked bad on her, but I'd never imagined anyone actually went around with that hairstyle.

Anyway, it was our turn, so I introduced us both.

“I am Byon, son of Thor, and this is Michelle. As you can see, we're together.”

“Huh?”

What did she mean, huh?

I gave her a look telling her to stay quiet. Apparently catching on to my intent, Misha pursed her lips, relaxed her eyes, and stared into space.

... Was that her poker face?

It was obviously weird, so I took charge of the conversation before anyone's attention turned to her.

“I've served as a defender in the Labyrinth, and that's what I'm best at. What are you good at?”

Checking one another's capabilities upon entering a rupture was standard procedure.

“Swordsmanship! Oh, and I've absorbed a goblin archer's Essence. I trained as a Scout from childhood, too, so I know a fair bit about traps and mechanical devices.”

The woman named Jenssia explained her abilities in more detail.

A goblin archer's Essence, not even a goblin swordsman's?

My immediate thought was, what kind of shitty build was that? But it wasn't worth dwelling on. It wasn't my character to build, and her equipment alone had already told me she was a novice.

“I mainly use a sword and shield. Um... Mr. Byon? Anyway, I'm sure I'm not on your level, but when working with a team, I served on the front line, taking the hits.”

Karlson, the sword-and-shield warrior, was better than Jenssia, but ultimately in the same ballpark. Mid-second-floor level at best?

Still, he seemed more experienced, since he hadn't naively revealed his Essences like the woman before him.

Hmm, or maybe he'd never absorbed any.

'Two beginners who won't contribute in combat...'

Well, I'd more or less expected this. The situation was different from when I'd met Hikurod and Raven. Only three months had passed since the rupture last opened, so knowing about it beforehand and waiting wasn't an option.

We'd only gotten even this much because it had opened on day one. Otherwise, we'd have been swarmed with first-floor locals who'd never even reached the second floor.

'Which is exactly why he's suspicious.'

I turned my gaze to the last person. Had he taken that as an urging to introduce himself?

“As you can see.”

The macho, bearded, muscular bear guy shrugged, shifting the enormous crossbow on his back. He was the only seasoned explorer among the three.

Like a proper barbarian, I asked bluntly,

“I'd like you to tell me exactly how much we can count on you.”

“Shouldn't you tell us about yourself first?”

Uh, fair point.

“I'm a rank-six explorer, and Mishal is rank seven. We mainly worked on the fourth floor.”

“I see. I'm rank five.”

Fuck, he wasn't seasoned. He was high-tier.

Generally, rank-six explorers were called seasoned, rank five high-tier, and rank four top-tier. The gulf between ranks grew so immense from rank six onward that the guild even conducted promotion examinations.

Hmm, this was getting even more suspicious.

“Why is an explorer as high as rank six here?”

“Couldn't I ask you two the same thing?”

Sheesh, this guy wouldn't let a single remark slide.

“... We normally work with a team, but circumstances forced us to enter alone this time. Without a Scout, we hadn't reached the second floor yet. Then a rupture opened, so we came in.”

That was the answer I'd prepared in case anyone found me suspicious when I opened the rupture.

But...

“What a coincidence. Much the same for me. Though it's been quite a while since I left my old team.”

Ah, goddamn it.

'Is that true or bullshit?'

I wondered if an arrow-flinger tough enough to go solo could really exist, but looking at that macho guy's face, I could believe it.

'Still, he's the one I'll have to watch most closely.'

I designated the bear guy my number-one person to watch. His combat strength was one thing, but every single circumstance surrounding him was suspicious.

'Besides, he's the only one who could've gone to the second floor and gathered rank-eight magic crystals this early.'

Of course, that was only going by what had come to light so far. Karlson and Jenssia—I couldn't rule out the possibility that those two were hiding their abilities.

“Oh, by the way, who got here first?”

I asked casually, as though out of pure curiosity.

Who had opened the rupture? Unless all three were in cahoots, I figured this single question would identify the culprit.

But...

“I'm not sure? I think we all came in together...”

“It was so simultaneous that I don't think we could say who was first.”

“You concern yourself with strange things.”

Was I really never allowed an easy win?

Ah, fuck.

What was this, a game of Mafia?

* * *

Someone unidentified had opened the rupture, throwing large portions of my plan off course.

For starters, there was the loot distribution.

“Right, then it's settled.”

After discussion, we agreed that Misha, the bear guy, and I would each take three shares, while Karlson and Jenssia—“Jensson” for short—would split one share.

The world of explorers was merciless.

“You won't be getting such a bad deal. We'll give you all the leftover Essences.”

“Yes...”

Pulling up the ladder behind you, as people called it. The dwarf bastard and Raven had done the same thing to me in the Blood-Tinted Castle.

For the record, I'd planned to do it myself. What would I gain by being generous and considerate here?

'Huh, he's kinder than he looks. I wasn't even going to give them magic crystals.'

My plan had been to open the rupture around day three, monopolize everything among the first-floor locals, and leave them nothing but scraps.

But the bear guy had become an unexpected variable, forcing me to make substantial concessions in the distribution.

We'd agreed that Misha would absorb the Guardian's Essence, but... if a Numbered item or Rupture Stone dropped, I'd have to roll dice against the bear guy.

'Ugh, I'm not confident about dice rolls.'

My stomach was already burning. It wasn't losing I was confident about; it was winning I wasn't confident about.

That was why I'd tried to avoid introducing dice into the equation at all...

“Then let's get moving.”

Forcing myself to let go of my regrets, I moved forward. Behind me, “Jensson” took either side, followed by the bear guy, with Misha bringing up the rear.

CRACK.

With each step came a cracking sound, as though we were walking on thin ice.

That wasn't exactly an inaccurate description. We were crossing a frozen lake.

That, at least, was a silver lining.

'I'll be able to use the supplies I brought.'

There were four ruptures on the first floor in total. Their monsters, difficulty, and even rewards differed by type.

So which should we visit?

After much deliberation, I'd chosen one. As luck would have it, it was the very place I was walking through now.

[Glacial Cavern]

A rupture that opened when you offered the magic crystal of a rank-eight monster from the second floor's Beasts' Lair at the altar.

For the record, Misha had been my sole criterion. Sure, I'd reached level four this time and had one open Essence slot myself, but...

'There's nothing particularly worth absorbing.'

A rupture or not, it was still only a first-floor rupture. Even the Guardians were only rank seven, and none dropped Essences suited to me.

'That's probably why this guy was so happy to give up the Essence in the first place.'

Anyway, I'd decided it would be more efficient to strengthen Misha for now and use that to fill my empty slot with a better Essence later—

Uh, no, hold on.

Didn't I do this last time, only for Aynar to leave for the sanctuary...?

'Surely that won't happen again... right?'

“Why did you stop all of a sudden?”

“It's nothing.”

Shaking off the thoughts that had suddenly surfaced, I focused on my surroundings. We were inside a rupture, after all. Besides, there was an unidentified Mafia member among us. This was no time to zone out.

WHOOOOSH.

Frozen, snow-covered mountains. Snowflakes drifting down from above. And sunlight that felt all the harsher reflected off the ice.

'It's strange coming somewhere like this after spending all my time in dark places.'

After about thirty minutes of walking, the lake region ended, and a suspicious cave leading underground appeared.

A monster was blocking the way.

“GROOOOAR!”

A yeti, a rank-seven monster. Found only in the Glacial Cavern, it was an elite gatekeeper monster that appeared right at the beginning.

Watching it unleash a threatening roar the moment it spotted us, Jenssia murmured,

“D-do we have to kill that thing and go down there?”

The bear guy answered.

“I don't know what this place is like, but in ruptures, the monsters usually show you the way.”

As a gamer, I couldn't help nodding at that answer.

Somehow, he was getting even more suspicious...

“You two stay back. Don't get yourselves killed trying to help.”

“... Are you sure that's all right?”

At the bear guy's kind offer, “Jensson” looked at Misha and me. Fair enough. Asking them to risk their lives fighting something like that for a mere ten percent of the magic crystals would be pretty shameless.

So I told them to go ahead. They'd probably only get in the way if they hovered around trying to help anyway.

“I'll go first.”

The bear guy finally took the enormous crossbow off his back.

And then...

WHOOOOSH!

He fired a bolt, and the battle began.