Chapter 47 - Companions (1)

230,000 from exchanging magic crystals alone.

800,000 for the blond guy's four-person party's equipment.

Five million in settlement money from the guild, plus another million obtained through blackmail.

And another 30,000 in compensation from the innkeeper.

'The Golden Mask is worth about 500,000 Stones... but I've decided to keep it, so I'll leave that out.'

Subtract the 300,000 Stones I'd given Aynar and the 150,000 Stones I'd thrown away(?) yesterday, and that gave me my current fortune.

'6.61 million Stones...'

Assuming I maintained my current standard of living, it was enough money to keep me out of the Labyrinth for the next three years.

Of course, that calculation only worked because I was still in the early stages, when taxes were relatively low, but still.

'Set aside a generous 70,000 Stones for a month's living expenses... and my actual total budget comes to about 6.54 million.'

I quickened my pace, thinking over the items on the shopping list I'd prepared the previous night.

Not that I actually intended to walk all the way there.

"You're taking the ten-person carriage to District 2, correct?"

"Correct."

At the public carriage stop, I paid a fare of 500 Stones and boarded a ten-person carriage.

The regular fare was only 250 Stones per person...

But apparently, a barbarian's bulk meant they could take one fewer passenger.

'Damn it.'

I felt strangely wronged.

All the more so because there was no arguing with that logic.

"We've arrived."

After dozing in my seat and drooling, I arrived in District 2, in the northern half of the commercial district of Commelby.

The trip had taken about four hours.

I could have cut that in half if I'd been allowed to cross through District 1, the royal capital of Carnon, but...

'Not a chance with my current Fame.'

After grabbing a quick meal at a nearby restaurant, I followed the city map I'd bought beforehand to my destination.

It was even easier to find than I'd expected.

I hadn't walked far before an imposing building came into view in the distance.

[Alminus Central Trade Market]

The Central Trade Market.

One of the facilities I'd used most often while playing the game.

It saved you the trouble of trudging all over the city and made finding specific items easy.

Though it did charge a fee.

"Are you registering an item for consignment?"

"No. I'm here to search for items."

I took a number, waited a little, then handed the form I'd filled out beforehand to a trade market employee.

"There are twelve items matching your criteria. Would you like to view their details?"

"Of course."

For reference, the search fee was 3,000 Stones per item category.

After I paid and waited a little, the employee brought me several sheets of paper.

"Once you've reviewed these, tell the employee over there which item you're interested in, and they'll take you to see it."

In the game, all I'd had to do was click the purchase button. So this was how it worked in real life. With a system like this, I could understand the fee.

They had to pay their staff.

'Anyway, let's take a look.'

Like the countless other customers packed into the area, I found an empty seat and reviewed the documents.

With only twelve items meeting my criteria, reading through them all didn't take long.

"I'd like to take a look at this one."

I chose the most reasonably priced item on the list and followed an employee to the storage area.

After checking it over several times for defects, I paid cash without hesitation.

[Expanded Backpack]

Storage Capacity: Grade 8

Form: Standard Medium Backpack

Enchantments: Auto-Sort, Selective Retrieval, Weight Reduction (Low)

Sale Price: 2.5 million Stones

An expanded backpack.

It was a little different from what people commonly called subspace storage, but given my current finances, I was grateful to have even this.

For starters, even Grade 8 storage capacity was three times the size of the extra-large backpack I'd been using...

'And it has the full set of three enchantments.'

When you thought about it, each one was worth the money.

Even if I made a huge concession and did without Auto-Sort, which arranged the contents in the most efficient way possible...

Weight Reduction was practically mandatory.

Think about it. What good was all that extra space if everything still weighed the same?

'... And Selective Retrieval is essential for much the same reason.'

I'd bought the expanded backpack for convenience.

Without Selective Retrieval, however, you had to take things out in reverse order—the last thing in was the first thing out.

'That was inconvenient enough in the game. In real life, it'd be a nightmare.'

Sure, it was a bit of a shame that it was still a backpack...

But asking for more would be shameless.

Deciding to be satisfied with this, I shouldered my new backpack and returned to where I'd started.

Then I searched for the other items.

My remaining budget was now about four million Stones.

「Your character has equipped an Expanded Backpack.」

「Inventory capacity increases greatly.」

Now that I'd taken care of convenience as much as I needed to, it was time to improve my actual combat strength.

* * *

Four million Stones.

A fortune large enough to buy a full set of steel plate armor with money to spare, or take my Immortal's engravings straight to stage three.

Neither was a bad option...

But I chose neither.

After all, my circumstances had changed.

(P) Source of Darkness — Resists death while the heart remains intact.

I'd absorbed a Vampire's Essence, something I hadn't planned on.

Thanks to that, I now had a body that wouldn't die as long as my heart was intact.

In other words, upgrading my Immortal's engravings or buying pieces like greaves inevitably offered less value for money.

After careful consideration, I made my final decision.

'I'll upgrade my equipment tier instead.'

A higher tier, as they called it.

In short, I'd buy equipment made of tier-two metal instead of steel, a tier-one metal.

「Your character has equipped a Litinium Breastplate.」

「Total Item Level increases by +270.」

Litinium.

A tier-two metal roughly twice as light and twice as hard as ordinary steel.

Its other distinguishing features? It was white, and it was expensive as hell.

'1.91 million Stones for a single breastplate...'

The breastplate I'd bought through the trade market was identical in shape to the steel half armor I'd sold for scrap, but it cost over five times as much.

'Then again, tier-two materials are usually for fourth-floor explorers. Maybe that's only natural?'

The reason I'd prioritized a breastplate over every other piece of equipment was simple.

The better I protected my heart, the more I could capitalize on my Passive Skill, [Source of Darkness].

Safety came first, no matter what, so there was no room for debate on that purchase.

The second piece of equipment, however, had me agonizing right up until I committed to buying it.

「Your character has equipped a Litinium Large Battle Shield.」

「Total Item Level increases by +315.」

Should I replace my weapon, or buy a new shield to replace the one I'd sold for scrap?

After much deliberation, I spent 2.1 million Stones on a shield.

There were several reasons, but the main one was...

'I don't need to be the one dealing damage anymore.'

Until now, I'd only entered the Labyrinth in two-person teams—duos.

But to venture any higher, I'd need to play as part of a team of at least four.

That meant it would be more efficient to raise my shield and become a human wall protecting my companions.

'It's not as if the Vampire's Essence is meant for a damage dealer, either.'

More importantly, unlike my weapon, I'd keep using the shield even after obtaining that Essence...

And now, I felt naked without a shield.

Though my pockets were certainly empty instead.

'Hmm. My equipment is finally starting to shine.'

For some reason, looking in the mirror filled me with a sense of abundance.

Was this another change that came with becoming a barbarian?

* * *

「Bjorn Jandel」

Level: 3

Physical: 199.1 / Mental: 105.3 / Ability: 152.4

Item Level: 699 (New +585)

Overall Combat Index: 631.55 (New +146.25)

Obtained Essences: Corpse Golem - Rank 7, Vampire (Guardian) - Rank 5

* * *

By the time I emerged after all that sensible spending, it was already evening.

I grabbed another meal at the restaurant where I'd eaten lunch, then took a carriage back to my lodgings in District 13.

And that was my day gone.

'With travel taking this long...'

Once I started making serious money, I'd have to move closer to the central districts.

Living on the outskirts was inconvenient in more ways than one.

I'd moved a little farther inward this time, but even the Dimensional Plaza was still a long way away.

'In the end, does it all come down to money...?'

Having spent so much that day, I renewed my resolve to earn more and went to sleep.

The next morning.

'I've taken care of everything urgent. Maybe it's time to go back there.'

Like a diligent barbarian, I got up bright and early and headed to the library.

Grinding in your spare time was second nature to Korean gamers. Though this particular grind was only possible because this was reality, not a game.

I still lacked knowledge and common sense about this world.

'On that note, it'd be nice if the place I eventually get is close to a library, too.'

Books were food for the soul.

After all, wasn't reading at the library what had allowed me to make sensible purchases at the trade market?

'What was that book called again?'

I couldn't quite remember the title, but it had recorded the average prices of items traded at the market over ten years.

All those numbers had made it a bitch to read, but there was no better textbook for learning market prices.

Lost in these thoughts as I walked, I soon reached my destination.

Nothing had changed since my last visit.

Not the smell of books permeating the building, not the crowds of scrawny guys in glasses who'd arrived even earlier than me, and not the sleepy-looking librarian sitting behind the counter.

"It's been a while."

I greeted the librarian just as I had last time, and received a peculiar look in return.

Then came a quiet mutter.

"... How?"

Ah, so you'd noticed.

"Heh heh. Litinium armor and shield. Four million Stones for the pair. Oh, and this thing on my back is called an expanded backpack—"

"Farcitiev."

Hmm. Still couldn't take a joke.

Leaving behind the chronically exhausted librarian, who cast the spell on me and promptly went back to nodding off, I headed inside.

Was it because of my nice equipment?

I could feel more eyes on me than usual, from all directions.

Most of those looks were filled with awe.

I wasn't sure, but thinking otherwise would be embarrassing, so I decided to go with that.

'... Maybe coming to the library in full gear wasn't such a good idea?'

Maybe not.

But on second thought, so what?

I was a barbarian.

Deciding to ignore everyone and get on with my business, I thought of a few keywords and pulled out an armful of books.

[The Founding and Development of the Explorer Guild]

[Collected Plunderer Rulings III]

[A Guide to Reading the Dictionary of Legal Terms]

[The Birth of Mozlan]

[...]

[...]

Was it because I'd nearly fucking died after being falsely accused?

I was finding myself increasingly interested in the Explorer Guild, institutions directly under the crown, and the law.

There was a famous saying in gaming, wasn't there?

If you don't know, you get beaten.

So I had no choice but to learn, whatever it took.

GROWL!

I kept reading, going out roughly every four hours to eat, and before I knew it, the sun was setting again.

Deciding to finish the unread books tomorrow, I returned to my lodgings.

Unlike most days, a letter was waiting for me.

The sender was the Explorer Guild.

It said Hikurod Murad wanted to meet me.

'Guess I won't be going to the library tomorrow.'

After spending about an hour polishing my shield and breastplate with a dry cloth, I lay down in bed and went to sleep.

* * *

Getting up early would only leave me with time to kill, so I slept in for the first time in a while.

It was a little past noon.

I washed up quickly and headed to the meeting place.

JINGLE!

The place served as an inn, a restaurant, and a tavern.

Entering the ground-floor hall, I saw a fair number of people eating and chatting quietly.

After scanning the room for quite a while, I finally spotted the person I was looking for. Seriously, these damn dwarves were so short you couldn't see them.

I wished they'd just stand up to eat from now on.

Wouldn't make much difference to them anyway.

"It's been a while, Hikurod."

"Ha! So it really was you! It said rank seven, so I wasn't quite su—"

The dwarf, who'd been greeting me with a smile, suddenly flinched at the sight of me.

"Wait, what in the world is that equipment?"

Ah, so you'd noticed too.

I answered as though it were nothing.

"Oh, this? As you can tell from the white sheen, it's Litinium armor and a shield. And this thing on my back is called an expanded backpack. Nothing special. I just picked one up while I had the chance."

Really, it was nothing special.