Chapter 283 - Adrift (3)

PATTER.

The insect-type monster, a Krungbi, dissolved into light, dropping a magic crystal. I didn't bother picking it up. What would I even do with it? I didn't have so much as a pocket to put it in.

'This is driving me crazy.'

In some ways, I was worse off than when I'd first landed in the Labyrinth and crawled around on three limbs. At least I'd had underwear back then.

'... I'll figure out where this is later. First, I need something to cover myself.'

My bewilderment at these unfamiliar circumstances lasted only a moment. I quickly sorted out what needed doing and tackled the tasks one by one.

First came clothing, one of the three basic necessities: clothing, food, and shelter. Trees were all around me, and this was a world where monsters vanished into light the moment you killed them, but satisfying that first need wasn't particularly difficult. I was a barbarian, after all.

'... I really am trying everything here.'

First, pick up a vine long enough to fit around my waist. Then thread pumpkin-leaf-sized leaves onto it, wrap it around my waist, and tie the ends. Done.

With that, my dignity-preserving equipment was complete. I dubbed it the "Tree Spirit's Blessing."

'... This is sturdier than I expected.'

I moved around in my newly crafted item, surprised by how well it had turned out. Were the classics classics for a reason? Clearly, there was a reason the earliest humans had favored this look.

'... I'd better make her one too.'

While I was at it, I made an outfit for Amelia. Unlike me, who only needed a bottom, she required two pieces... But since she was much smaller than me, it didn't take much longer.

'I made it roomy, so the fit shouldn't be a problem.'

That was one of the Tree Spirit's Blessing's few advantages. It was so primitive that being oversized didn't matter. All you had to do was pull the vine tight and tie it.

'How long is she planning to sleep?'

I went over to Amelia and tossed the "Tree Spirit's Blessing (Female)" onto her body. I had considered dressing her, but...

'That would just make things more awkward.'

However I looked at it, putting it on her felt like crossing a line. Yes, there was even that saying about boys and girls not sitting together after the age of seven.

'Anyway, I'm not hungry yet, so let's make somewhere to rest.'

With clothing taken care of, I immediately began preparing shelter. This wasn't particularly difficult either. I dug a pit with my shovel-sized hands, then stuffed it with the same big leaves I'd used for the Tree Spirit's Blessing. Done.

Oh, I also gathered dry wood and built a campfire in the middle. Getting it lit was surprisingly easy.

'Is it because I'm so strong?'

I pressed hard and rubbed the wood together without stopping, and smoke soon rose. Surprisingly enough, there really wasn't anything brute strength couldn't solve.

'Seriously, when is she going to wake up?'

After lifting Amelia and laying her on the bed of leaves, I looked up at the sky. Night had already fallen. Still, the fire kept me from feeling cold and gave me enough light to see, so I would be able to fight normally if monsters appeared. With that settled, I moved on to the next item on the agenda.

'The problem is food... '

The third necessity of life—and when it came to survival, calling it the most important hardly did it justice.

"Ha, seriously..."

A sigh escaped me. This wasn't my first trip anymore. I'd never expected to be worrying about this again at this point.

GRRROWL.

... How was I going to find food?

* * *

There were no mountains on Parune Island. Aside from the coast, it was all flat forest, so the abundance of cover kept the campfire's light from traveling far. But...

'Bastards are like moths to a flame.'

It was enough to draw the nearby monsters, forcing me to fight them nonstop throughout the night.

Not that I put the fire out. Monsters appeared even without light, after all. I decided it made more sense to fight where I could at least see.

'... It's not like I'm going to sleep in this situation anyway.'

After several more hours of battling hunger, Amelia finally came to.

"Finally awake, are you?"

"... How did you know?"

"You stopped making breathing sounds."

She really was funny sometimes. She was clearly awake, yet she just lay there with her eyes closed, saying nothing. Did she want to assess the situation first?

"... Where are we?"

"Wait. Put that on before you get up."

"...?"

Amelia sat up and frowned at the bits of wood lying on her naked body.

"Barbarian, did you... undress me?"

That had been on my list of questions she might ask upon waking, so I answered immediately without getting flustered.

"How can you ask that when you can see what I'm wearing? All my clothes were gone too."

"... I see."

I turned my back, and leaves rustled behind me. Thankfully, she apparently didn't need me to explain how to put them on.

"I'm done. You can turn around."

When I turned back, Amelia was wearing both pieces of the Tree Spirit's Blessing (Female) I'd made.

It felt incredibly strange. With both of us wearing these things, we looked like a matching item set. I almost expected a set-bonus buff if we fought together.

"So, where are we?"

Seemingly unembarrassed by her outfit, Amelia repeated her first question without a change in expression. Hey, I was the one who should be asking questions here.

"This is Parune Island. I don't know how much time has passed, but when I woke up, we were both naked."

I also gave her a brief rundown of the other things that had puzzled me since waking up. Amelia pressed her lips together. Apparently, she needed some time to collect her thoughts. I gave her about a minute before asking,

"All right, now tell me. Why have we ended up like this?"

"... Why are you asking me?"

Oh, don't play dumb.

"That stone you were holding lit up at the end, didn't it? I'm convinced it has something to do with this."

"Yes, that stone..."

Amelia opened and closed her empty hand for no particular reason. But the object, which had been missing since I'd woken up, didn't suddenly reappear.

Oh, right. I should make this clear too.

"Just so you know, I didn't touch it either. I have no idea where it went."

"Don't worry. I don't suspect you of that."

Hmm, did that mean she trusted me that much?

"So, what's your answer?"

"... I have an idea, but I'm not certain."

Then tell me what it is, woman. Did she really have to control the flow of information even now?

"Just give me a straight answer. What the hell is that stone, and why are we like this?"

I made no effort to hide my irritation, and Amelia trailed off. Then...

"It's..."

Just as she looked ready to speak again, her expression suggesting she'd made up her mind—

SNAP.

A twig snapped in the undergrowth. We both immediately lowered ourselves and stared toward the sound. The monsters on this island were all insect types. In other words, there was a good chance a person had made that noise.

"..."

An oppressive silence settled over us, broken only by the fire. That made me even more tense. If we'd heard someone moving, I could have assumed it was just a passerby.

"How long do you intend to spy on us? Come out."

Amelia spoke coldly into the dark undergrowth. The response came about five seconds later.

"Haha, you make us sound like bad people."

Five explorers straightened from their crouches and pushed out through the bushes.

What, they really had been watching us? Since when?

'Fucking hell.'

Despite the dizzying feeling, I quickly scanned the group. They were all human men. Judging by their equipment, their level was...

'Around the fifth floor.'

But they wore clan emblems on their chests. It was an emblem I'd never seen before.

'Did they come up to the sixth floor with their clan, then split into teams on this island?'

Of course, something about that felt off too. Given the current situation, most explorers hadn't entered the Labyrinth this cycle. That was how the island had met the requirement of twenty people or fewer. Yet now we were running into explorers like this? Something didn't add up. I was still vaguely puzzling over that when—

"Why were you spying on us?"

Amelia's undisguisedly wary question began the conversation in earnest.

"Don't misunderstand. We happened to see a light in the distance and came over to say hello, thinking you might be our clanmates. Then your appearance surprised us, so we stopped to watch. Oh, and we only spotted you a moment ago."

That was reasonably convincing. If I'd seen a man and woman wearing leaves like cave dwellers in the middle of an island, I'd have wondered what the hell was going on too. I'd have been curious about their circumstances.

"So, what happened?"

"That's none of your business."

"Haha, there's no need to be so wary. It's obvious you're in a bad—"

"I told you, it's none of your business."

Amelia firmly shut down his questions. But did he find even that appealing?

"Haha, feisty, aren't you?"

The man laughed heartily, without a trace of displeasure.

Honestly, he looked like a crazy bastard to me. Was he asking to get killed?

"Amelia."

"I'll use my own judgment. Stay out of it."

Yeah, okay. I'd said her name to warn her not to blow this out of proportion, and she did soften her attitude a little.

"Our boat ran aground. Before we got separated from our companions, we agreed to meet here. Does that explain it?"

She'd clearly concocted that story by adapting mine.

"Hmm, then where did all your equipment go?"

"We put it in a backpack before falling into the water, then lost it. Our clothes were wet and dirty, so we threw them away."

"I see."

The man asked Amelia several more curious questions, and she supplied a roughly plausible story. Of course, there were plenty of inconsistencies if you examined it closely...

"Oh, to think you'd been through all that! You must have been in quite a bind."

But he didn't seem to care about those inconsistencies. His eyes gleamed as he looked Amelia's scantily clad body up and down. That was when it happened.

"Well, aren't you lucky—"

THWACK!

Amelia drove a high kick into the man's head.

THUD.

God, this woman. Even I, the barbarian, had stayed put.

'Who the hell taught her to strike first and ask questions later?'

Despite my inward sigh, I moved immediately, as though I'd been waiting for this.

"What are you doing?!"

The damage was already done. We could sort out who was right or wrong later. Right now, we needed to work together.

"VEHELLLAAAAAA!!"

I unleashed [Wild Outburst] and activated [Gigantification]. Then I used [Leap] to land in the middle of their formation. And...

'Swing.'

I swung my club, flooring the mage first.

'Okay, the mage is fucked.'

I smoothly twisted at the waist, using the momentum to swing my club at the archer beside him. But...

"You bastard!!!"

The shield-bearer next to the archer blocked in time, foiling my second surprise attack.

CRACK.

On top of that, my club shattered against the shield. Tsk. With my mace, I'd have sent him flying, shield and all.

THUNK.

I dropped the broken club and grabbed his shield with both hands. Then...

"Give it here."

I pulled hard.

But snatching it away in one go proved difficult. However vast the difference in our strength, most shields were held with straps secured around the wrist. Of course, that was a minor issue. If his arm was the problem, all I had to do was break it.

CRUNCH!

"Aaaaaaagh!!"

I hauled him toward me by his shield, then drove my elbow down, smashing his joint. Next, I kicked him away and wrenched the shield free—

CLANG!

Then immediately thrust it to the side to block an incoming arrow. And that was the entirety of the fight.

SHUNK!

Amelia had dealt with most of them in that brief time. When the archer fell to the ground, spurting blood, not one of them remained standing. They weren't all dead, but...

"A-Aura..."

Seeing Amelia project Aura through a sword she'd taken had robbed them all of the will to fight.

"You... bastards... Do you know... who we are...?!"

The man who'd fallen to the initial high kick glared up at us venomously. Ha, how had it come to this?

"Be quiet."

It could become a nuisance if they started shouting, so I hurriedly gathered leaves off the ground and stuffed them into his mouth. Then I looked at Amelia.

"What the hell are you doing?"

I'd had no choice but to join in, but what we'd just done was no different from plundering. If word of this reached the city, we'd be in enormous trouble.

"Tell me. Why did you suddenly do that? Give me an explanation I can accept."

I looked at her, giving her a chance to explain, and Amelia averted her gaze.

"... We had no weapons. I simply attacked first before we ended up at a disadvantage."

I was dumbfounded.

"Wouldn't you normally try talking things out first?"

"I judged them to be the sort that wouldn't work on."

It felt like talking to a wall. Whew, was this how everyone who'd met me had felt? Somehow, being with her kept making me reflect on my past self.

'Does she think she's Gung Ye, reading people's minds?'

I gave up on the conversation and heaved a sigh. Amelia tossed out a comment as though to comfort me.

"Don't worry. What you're imagining will never happen."

"What do you mean?"

"Check their backpacks."

I didn't understand, but I opened their Expanded Backpacks as instructed. The first thing I saw was jerky for snacking. I'd been practically starving to death as it was. Well, did that mean our food problem was solved, at least?

Chewing away, I stuffed jerky into my mouth and continued searching the bags. Before long, I noticed something strange.

'What the hell? These bastards... Weren't they in a clan?'

The backpacks were crammed with all sorts of equipment. It was hard to believe these were emergency spares. There was too much variety, and most of the weapons were bloody.

"These bastards... They're plunderers."

Then were the clan emblems a disguise? But something about them looked familiar...

'Where have I seen this before?'

I carefully searched my memory, and soon it came to me.

"... Clan Elvis."

It was a clan I'd read about in a library book. Dozens of people had banded together and repeatedly committed brutal crimes. Eventually, their deeds were exposed, and every last member was sent to the execution grounds and put to death.

If I remembered correctly, that had been about fifteen years ago.

'No sane bastard would carry around a forgery of that clan's emblem, even as a disguise... '

Something felt profoundly wrong. And at that moment—

WHOOOOSH!

A frigid wind blew in from the nighttime sea, brushing down my spine.

'No, wait... '

I hurriedly opened a backpack and checked the identity tags I'd seen earlier. Then I froze, stunned.

"Holy fucking shit..."

The names, races, and ages on those identity tags varied widely. But they all had one thing in common.

"Renewed in year 134 of New Beginnings...?"

For some reason, they bore a date from twenty years ago.