Chapter 25 - Plunderer (2)

We're running through the darkness, sprinting like mad with everything we have, only opening the compass now and then to check our direction.

"Grrr!"

Ghouls, skeletons, and various other monsters block our path, but they're all slow, so they pose no problem.

Of course, the same would go for whoever's chasing us.

THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD!

Has it been about five minutes?

That psychopathic bitch should be finishing up her looting by now. That's one small mercy. If we hadn't been dressed like near-beginners, she would've abandoned the loot and chased us immediately.

Though, looked at another way, it suggests she had both the means and the confidence to catch us even with a head start.

Still, at least we've bought a little time.

"Bjorn, isn't that the mark?"

For once, the good news keeps coming. Collapsed stone buildings dot the Land of the Dead. I'd left marks whenever we passed one so we could find our way back to the first-floor portal.

"This way!"

We had stayed in the general area, but we've found a mark sooner than I expected.

Maybe our luck is finally turning—

"Who's there?!"

Damn it, I shouldn't have jinxed it.

Aynar and I stop in our tracks at the same time. Of all things, we've run into another group of explorers.

No, maybe this is a good thing?

Plunderers are essentially the common enemy of all explorers. If I explain our situation and offer a reasonable reward, they might help.

"Barbarians?"

The explorers pointing weapons at us as we emerge from the darkness tilt their heads.

There are four of them. All human, with equipment that looks at least twice as good as ours.

Humans are hard to trust, but we don't have a choice.

"A plunderer is chasing us. We ask for your help."

"And what guarantee do we have that you aren't plunderers yourselves?"

"I swear on my honor as a warrior. Everything I say is true."

Unlike an elf's promise, a warrior's oath has no binding force whatsoever...

But surprisingly, it works wherever I go.

The bald man who seems to lead the four considers for a moment before speaking.

"If we catch the plunderer, we keep the entire reward. Agreed?"

"Of course."

"Good."

At the bald man's gesture, the other explorers lower their weapons.

If I weren't a barbarian, getting them to let down their guard would surely have taken longer.

"Come over here first. We can discuss the details afterward."

As we approach, a blond man about 160 centimeters tall uses an Ability.

"It's a Gnome's Ability. On the ground, it blends everything within a three-meter radius into the surroundings."

Simply put, it's an area-of-effect version of a goblin archer's stealth ability. The drawback is that you can't move.

"Are you hurt anywhere?"

"No."

"What luck," the bald man says, looking at me.

He's certainly right about that.

To think a random group of explorers we encountered would have someone with an area stealth ability! With this, we might avoid fighting altogether—

"Two barbarians falling right into our laps."

Fuck, he was talking to himself.

I thought things were going a little too well.

Of course. Not a fucking chance.

* * *

「Your character is under [Suppression].」

* * *

"Heh heh heh."

Greed gleams in the eyes of the bald man and his fellow explorers. One has already rummaged through my backpack and opened my crystal pouch.

"You've earned quite a lot in just two days."

I want to smash his fucking skull with my mace right this instant, but my body won't move.

Neither will Aynar's.

"What's wrong? Surprised you suddenly can't move?"

It's obviously the power of an Essence. I already have an idea which one.

There are several similar Abilities, but only one that explorers roughly on our level could possess.

'A stone golem's [Suppression]...?'

I'm certain. I've been hit by the active skill of a rank-8 monster, a stone golem.

The easiest way out would be to take damage, even a single point...

But these bastards will be careful, assuming they have any brains.

"Look, friend, glaring won't help. That's not how you break this ability."

Calling this situation fucked doesn't even begin to cover it.

Fuck, after all the shit I went through to survive, is this how I die?

"Look at that murderous glare! Still don't understand your situation?"

"Enough, Ramod. Let's finish this. It'll only complicate things if that plunderer they mentioned turns up."

"Tch, what a shame. We finally catch a woman, and she's a barbarian."

"You idiot. Isn't a barbarian even better? Do you know how much we could get just selling their hearts?"

Their naked, ugly desires crawl over my skin and through my entire body.

Then the bald man draws a sharp blade.

"Kill him in one hit. Don't make this a hassle."

"Tch. Stop worrying."

WHOOSH!

Killing intent flies toward me on the wind.

Its target is none other than my throat.

'... My throat?'

Even with death staring me in the face, my brain pieces together the available information and proposes a solution.

Of course, I have no idea if it'll actually work. But it's a lot more productive than looking back over my life and dwelling on regrets.

SHUNK!

The sharp blade sinks into my throat. At the same instant, a sting runs through me, and my frozen body is released.

I immediately jerk my head back, like a boxer turning his face to roll with a punch.

Time slows.

"... Huh?"

I see the bald man's dumbfounded expression. The hand that held his dagger is empty.

Only then do I feel something lodged in my throat.

'Oh, it's already halfway in.'

The moment I realize that, my brain reaches a quick conclusion.

Not bad. Less bleeding means I'll last a little longer.

My feet scrape as I force strength into my buckling legs and regain my balance.

Then I swing the mace in my hand at the crown of his shiny bald head.

CRUNCH!

The bald man collapses, half his face caved in.

At about half speed.

"Darvan!!"

I see several panicked faces around me.

What, fuckers? Didn't expect a guy with a knife in his throat to fight back?

"Mother... fuck..."

Honestly, neither did I.

I didn't know this would work.

"Fuh... ck..."

Something keeps welling up in my throat. Strength drains from my entire body, and the light blurs.

Am I going into shock?

I'm tingling from my toes to the top of my head. Not enough oxygen or blood.

CLATTER!

My grip must have loosened, because my mace and shield fall to the ground.

I want to collapse and rest right now...

But there's still something left to do. I didn't go through all this shit just to take one more bastard down with me.

My foot scrapes as I step forward, straightening my swaying body.

Then I pull the knife out of my throat myself and throw it at Aynar, about four paces away.

THUNK!

Uh, I didn't think it would actually stick.

"Guh!"

Sorry. Still, you can move now.

SLASH!

The instant the dagger embeds itself in her forearm, Aynar swings her greatsword, cutting the nearby archer in half at the waist.

Then, as though it were all one combination, she spins once more, leaps, and brings her sword down on another man's skull.

His iron helmet is useless.

CRUNCH!

Blood runs through the helmet, now reduced to scrap metal.

"Th-this is insane...!"

The blond man, standing farther away, takes one look and bolts without looking back.

He assesses the situation as quickly as a goblin.

"Bjorn!"

Having finished clearing the area, Aynar rushes over to where I'm kneeling.

Whew. Now I can leave the rest to her—

"Bjo-o-o-orn...!"

Aynar embraces me and wails my name mournfully.

... As though I'm already dead.

Filled with foreboding, I force my closing eyes open and speak.

"Po—gack."

"I understand! I swear I'll avenge you!"

No, forget revenge.

「Achievement Accomplished」

Condition: HP falls to 0.1% or below.

Reward: Mental permanently increases by +3.

I desperately open my mouth.

"Po... tion..."

Fuck, save me.

* * *

「Bjorn Jandel」

Level: 2

Physical: 66 / Mental: 40 (New +3) Ability: 11

Item Level: 218

Overall Combat Index: 171.5 (New +3)

* * *

HISSSSS!

The hole in my throat begins to close, bringing pain with it.

But I'm happy. I can feel so vividly that life is being breathed back into my dying body.

"Ghhhhh."

Pain like burning flesh rouses my fading mind.

... I survived.

I really thought I was crossing over to the other side this time.

Thank goodness I got the Immortal's engravings first instead of spending that 1.4 million Stone on something else.

Otherwise, I'd have been fucking dead long ago.

"Aynar."

"Feeling a little more alert?"

"Equipment. Get their equipment first..."

As soon as I have the strength to speak, I give Aynar instructions.

Then I struggle upright and pour the entire remaining bottle of potion down my throat.

GULP, GULP.

This is all money, but there's no choice. The wound in my throat looks mostly healed, but who knows what it's like inside?

I have no idea what damage that just did to my brain. Better to take every precaution now.

"Ghhh..."

Sure enough, a tingling sensation soon blooms at the back of my head.

Judging by the intensity of the pain, it doesn't seem serious, but leaving it alone might have led to major problems.

"May I take a quick look?"

"... The equipment?"

"I've gathered everything I could see for now."

In that case, sure.

When I nod, Aynar lifts my chin and carefully examines the wound.

"It'll leave a scar."

That feels a little strange.

Come to think of it, Erwin said something similar. Though the feelings behind it couldn't be more different.

"Incredible. You'll be the only barbarian with a scar from a hole through the throat!"

Does she see this as a badge of honor?

Well, even among barbarians who rely on nothing but their bodies, not many would survive a hole in the throat.

"What do we do now?"

Aynar asks about our next move, and I pull myself together.

I was walking the line between life and death just a moment ago...

But nothing has been resolved.

"How much time has passed?"

"Five minutes at most."

Five minutes...

Running into these bastards has only made things worse.

I must have been out of my mind. No matter how desperate I was, trying to rely on other explorer bastards?

Anyway, regrets can wait.

"Which way did that man run?"

"That way."

I lead Aynar in the direction the blond man fled.

The ground is muddy, but he hasn't left any footprints, so properly tracking him is impossible...

Yet, sure enough.

"Here he is."

We find the blond man not far away.

After all, how far could he get in this darkness? He's lying unconscious on the ground, apparently having run headfirst into some ruins in his blind flight.

"Eek! P-please spare me!"

After we take away anything he could use as a weapon, I wake him with a rough stomp on his back, and he prostrates himself.

He's remarkably polite compared to before. Earlier, he was clicking his tongue because the woman they'd caught was a barbarian.

"Uh, agh!"

Aynar grabs him by the neck and easily lifts him with one hand.

Perhaps because he's so small, that's enough to lift his feet off the ground.

"G-gack!"

Watching a man choke and flail doesn't stir the slightest sympathy in me. It only feels satisfying.

If you were going to offer advice, you should've done it properly. Told him to make sure he aimed for the head, not the throat.

Then even I couldn't have done anything, potions and Immortal's engravings or not.

"Aynar, let him go."

Despite questioning the order, Aynar releases her grip.

He crumples to the ground. I approach and give him an order in his ear.

"Use your Ability. If you want to live."

It's the only reason I haven't slit this blond rat's throat on the spot.

His Gnome Ability.

I need it right now.

"I-I've used it!"

"How long can you maintain it?"

"Thirty minutes! No, I can manage forty! So—!"

He talks too much. I wish he'd only answer the questions I ask.

I seize his collar in a tight grip, hauling him up, and ask again.

"How long before you can use it for that long again?"

"I need to r-rest as long as I've used it."

"I see."

I release his collar. Then I pin his upper body under my foot so he won't even dream of running.

Just as I usually do with goblins.

"Wouldn't it be better to just kill him? That woman seems to have given up on us anyway."

At first, I wonder what the hell she's talking about, but I realize it could look that way from her perspective.

We ran like hell, but we don't actually know whether we were being chased. Even allowing for the time spent looting, it certainly is strange that she hasn't shown her face yet.

"Given up..."

That possibility does exist. Maybe small fry like us weren't worth chasing to that psychopathic bitch.

What about the trouble we'd cause by testifying back in the city?

That would make sense if the uncovered face we saw earlier was actually some kind of magical disguise.

But...

I let out a dry chuckle.

There's no way things would go that well.

Not when it's me she's dealing with.