Chapter 53 - Outcast Team (3)

After my shocking confession that I had no mom...

“Uh, um...”

“I-I see...?”

An odd silence settled over us as bewildered looks flew my way. I quickly elaborated.

“My mother died after giving birth to me. And my father never returned from the Labyrinth when I was little. So even though I'm an adult now, I can't see either of them, no matter how much I want to!”

For the record, everything I had just said was a hundred percent true, as told to me by Aynar.

“Oh, dear...”

“You must have had a hard childhood.”

Was it because this confession had come from the youngest member of the team, a barbarian who had only just undergone his coming-of-age ceremony? Pity began creeping into their gazes.

“Bjorn, you needn't force yourself to pretend you're fine in front of us.”

“I'm sorry, nyah. I went on about my family without knowing what you'd been through, nyah...”

“Bjorn, I can't be your parent, but if you want—”

What the hell was this bastard saying?

I decided not to hear the rest of the dwarf's offer.

“That's enough.”

Somehow, I'd become the most pitiful guy here in the blink of an eye... but what could I do? It wasn't true, so there was no reason to let it bother me.

It wasn't as though I really had no mom.

Above all, unlike them, I was an overpowered barbarian on the fast track to the very top, having advanced to rank-7 explorer in just my third month.

What really mattered was always the substance. The substance.

'Hmm, but if I look at it that way, doesn't that really make me the most pitiful one?'

It suddenly occurred to me that it might. I'd been dragged into a game world I'd never asked to enter and had narrowly escaped death countless times already.

Fuck, why was my life so miserable?

“Bjorn, you don't look well, nyah! Are you thinking about your mom, nyah?”

“Yeah, that's it...”

“If you miss having family, you can call me your big sister, ny—”

Cutting off the cat-eared girl before she could beat this dead horse any further, I got down to business.

“Anyway, what do we do now?”

We couldn't hunt at our first destination, the Orc Habitat, because of those fucking assholes.

Sure, they'd said the outskirts were fine, but how much would we have left if we hunted there at this pace, then split the proceeds five ways?

“I think we should try the Witch's Forest for now.”

The dwarf offered his opinion, playing the leader.

The Witch's Forest was the vast forest surrounding the portal to the fourth floor. Most of its monsters were grades 7 and 8, including some spirit-type monsters immune to physical attacks.

“Granted, it's a poor matchup for a team with so many melee fighters, but we have a mage too. It shouldn't be too bad.”

“Hmm, in that case, wouldn't we be better off simply heading up to the fourth floor?”

Rotmiller, who had been listening closely, put forward a new suggestion.

I thought this was a better option than the dwarf's idea too. The Witch's Forest had so little to recommend it as a primary hunting ground that most explorers regarded it as somewhere they had no choice but to pass through.

'None of the Essences that drop there are worth absorbing for me, either.'

The trouble, though, was that the dwarf didn't like this option at all.

“The fourth floor... seems premature.”

I knew what he was worried about. Grades 7 and 8 were the main monsters on the third floor, and the fourth floor was no different.

But there was one crucial distinction between the two.

“As I've said repeatedly during our meetings, I've seen plenty of teams underestimate the danger, head up, and get wiped out. A team I was on nearly suffered the same fate once.”

The presence of grade-6 monsters.

Starting on the fourth floor, grade-6 monsters appeared, albeit rarely. In terms of encounter frequency, you might run into one every three days if you roamed around all day long...

But ultimately, that meant you were bound to encounter one if you operated on the fourth floor.

'Are we strong enough to survive that one encounter or not? That's the tricky part.'

I'd paid dearly plenty of times in the game after entering the fourth floor with a party that was just barely strong enough. So the dwarf had a point.

“I don't think there's any harm in waiting at least a few more days to get used to working together before deciding whether to head to the fourth floor.”

Whatever deep emotional connections and stronger bonds this incident had brought us, we were a newly formed team. This was only our third day in the Labyrinth, and we still weren't used to each other.

“Besides, as you know, this is Dwalki's first expedition. And it's Bjorn's first time on the third floor.”

In short, the dwarf's position was that going to the fourth floor was fine, but we shouldn't rush it.

“Hmm, then can't we just go somewhere else on the third floor, nyah? The Green Tail Swamps should be all right, nyah...”

Misha, who had been listening to the debate as though it were giving her a headache, made a new suggestion.

Rotmiller promptly shot it down.

“If we'd taken that route from the beginning, perhaps. But getting to the Green Tail Swamps from here would take a good six days.”

The Labyrinth closed on the first floor at the end of day seven, the second floor at the end of day ten, and the third floor at the end of day fifteen.

And we were going to invest more than seven days in traveling again at this point? It was already day three. Even if we left immediately, we'd only have five days to hunt once we arrived.

“We'd be better off returning to Steel Stone Valley.”

“O-oh, really, nyah? I always just followed everyone else, so I didn't know, nyah...”

At Rotmiller's expert assessment, Misha scratched her cheek with an awkward smile.

Well, I'd kept listening in case they came up with something, but nothing much had come of it. It was about time I stepped in and wrapped this up.

“How long are we going to stand around talking? That's enough discussion. Gather around. Let's decide by majority vote.”

“Majority vote?”

“Why? Would you prefer rock-paper-scissors, Rotmiller?”

“No, that's a bit...”

Rotmiller looked appalled by my question. I'd actually meant it as a joke, as in, did he have a better method...?

Was it because I was a barbarian?

Unfortunately, no one seemed to realize I was joking.

“I support deciding by majority vote.”

“Simple, but certainly the surest method.”

“I'm fine with anything, nyah!”

Anyway, we agreed to decide our next move by majority vote. I was the first to cast mine.

“I think we should head up to the fourth floor.”

I figured speaking first would help sway opinion, even if only a little.

“... The fourth floor is suddenly starting to sound dangerous, nyah. I feel like we're rushing into this, nyah.”

“Oh, you feel that way too, Miss Karlstein?”

“...”

Whatever their reactions, once everyone had given their opinion in turn, we quickly reached a conclusion.

“Whew. If you all agree, there's no point in my digging in my heels.”

We were heading to the fourth floor.

* * *

There was a reason I'd pushed for this decision despite the dwarf's concerns.

Sure, we'd decided by majority vote... but that didn't really mean much.

If I'd judged it too early to enter the fourth floor, I'd have kept them holed up on the third, even if I had to shatter every last shred of their self-esteem.

“Huh? I feel like it suddenly got a little colder, nyah...”

“Hmm, already? We should still be quite far from the Witch's Forest...”

“No, it's a different sort of feeling, nyah. I can't really explain it, nyah.”

With Rotmiller leading the way, we trudged endlessly through the darkness toward our destination. The dwarf still looked uneasy.

'I don't remember him being like this in the Blood-Tinted Castle. He's gotten overly cautious lately.'

Was it because this was his first time as team leader, and he'd personally interviewed and recruited every member? He seemed to carry a peculiar sense of responsibility with him at all times.

There was no need, considering he was only a figurehead...

'Well, maybe it's understandable, since he doesn't know I have the Vampire's Essence.'

The dwarf didn't know my exact stats. That must have made going straight to the fourth floor all the more unsettling for him.

His failure to realize just how good his Numbered item, the Guardian's Wristguards, was probably played a part too.

“Hikurod, once we enter the Witch's Forest, don't hold back on using ‘that’ either.”

The dwarf seemed to consider my advice for a moment, then nodded, resolve filling his eyes.

“I'll do as you say.”

No. 3112, the Guardian's Wristguards, was high-end equipment worth a whopping fifty million Stones.

And seeing something could make people covet it. That was why the dwarf had asked me not to tell the other teammates he possessed such a treasure.

'But there's no point if he can't use it when he needs it.'

It wasn't mine, anyway. Besides, hadn't we just been acting out some tearjerker about relying on one another?

“What do you mean, ‘that,’ nyah? What is it, nyah? Why are you talking about something only you two know, nyah!”

“You'll find out when the time comes.”

Brushing aside Misha's curiosity, I made one final assessment.

'With these stats, our tank line should be more than enough for a grade-6 monster. Is the problem our damage dealers...?'

Their stats alone were somewhat lacking, but our brief time hunting together in the Orc Habitat had given me a certain amount of confidence. With such a solid front line, this group shouldn't face any serious danger even against a grade-6 monster.

'As long as the people in the back don't suddenly start trolling and get themselves killed first.'

There'd been plenty of NPCs like that in the game.

These guys wouldn't do that... right?

'Shit, why am I getting nervous again?'

Unlike me, with my belated worries, Misha looked a little flushed with excitement.

“It's been so long since I went to the fourth floor. I'm a little excited, nyah!”

Apparently, this would be her first time back since her old team had disbanded a year ago...

Was it because she was feline, though?

I thought I could hear her purring with every breath.

“We should start looking for somewhere to camp.”

As we continued along the outskirts of the Orc Habitat, it was soon time to rest.

“Rotmiller, everyone seems to have plenty of stamina left. Why don't we go a little farther?”

“We'd have to travel another three hours to find somewhere better than this.”

“Hmm, in that case, all right.”

For the record, it was around nine in the evening, almost exactly when we'd made camp on the first and second days.

Honestly, I was very impressed.

'So this is what a skilled Scout can do?'

Rotmiller must have considered the camping spots along our route and adjusted our pace accordingly. Even in a Labyrinth without day or night, it was best to rest at consistent times.

“Rotmiller, what's the schedule for tomorrow?”

“I think we should reach the Witch's Forest around lunchtime tomorrow.”

Hmm, then we'd enter the fourth floor around the day after tomorrow.

He answered every question without so much as a moment of buffering. He was practically a human GPS.

“Bjorn, you have the last watch, correct? You'll have a hard time of it once we enter the forest tomorrow, so get some rest now.”

“I will.”

The dwarf had the first watch tonight, and I had the last. Since the Witch's Forest was hardest on melee fighters, we'd arranged it that way regardless of the rotation.

Well, something would probably wake me up once or twice anyway.

* * *

“Bjorn.”

I opened my eyes at the whisper. Rotmiller's face was visible in the flickering torchlight.

Right, Rotmiller had the watch just before mine, so...

“... Is it my turn?”

“Not yet.”

“Then why...”

Rubbing my sleepy eyes, I suddenly froze.

Dwalki, the dwarf, even Misha. Everyone but me was already awake. And armed.

I asked a curt question.

“Monsters?”

“Both.”

Monsters and explorers...

I was about to ask how far away they were when frantic shouts came from beyond the distant darkness.

“Damn it! It followed us all the way here...”

“Run!”

It sounded like explorers being chased by a monster...

Rotmiller closed his eyes and sniffed the air, then muttered briefly.

“Now I'm certain.”

“What do you mean?”

Usually, when he frowned like that, something was wrong, so I couldn't help feeling uneasy.

And sure enough...

“The people coming toward us. They're definitely the ones who were there when we arrived at Steel Stone Valley.”

Things were taking another interesting turn.