Chapter 6 - Give and Take (2)

[Dungeon and Stone] is an unusual game.

NPC companions are essential to progressing, but you must never trust those bastards.

Especially ones you've only just met.

* * *

I'm walking through the cave, waddling from side to side. Missing one shoe throws off my balance.

Even so, I'm happy. At least this discomfort is something I couldn't even have experienced back when I was crawling on three limbs.

I've regained my human dignity.

Who knows how long it'll last, though.

"Whew..."

I move forward with my shield held to cover my upper body. I no longer have to strain my eyes scouring the ground like before.

There's light here. Crystals embedded in the walls and ceiling brightly illuminate my surroundings.

Crawling through the darkness, bleeding all the way, feels like a dream now.

I can say with certainty that being able to see is a blessing from God.

Especially since it lets me beat the shit out of these evil goblin bastards.

"Raaah!"

"Grrk?!"

A goblin leaps out from behind a rock, apparently startled by my shout. Having already worked out roughly where it was hiding, I use my skill as though I've been waiting for it.

"Smash! You son of a bitch!"

Smash is a skill with respectable attack power that doesn't even cost MP.

For the record, I just made it up.

THUD!

My shield smacks the goblin midleap, knocking it to the ground. I nimbly close in and pin its upper body beneath my foot.

"G-grrk?!"

Looking pitiful won't help. I know just how cunning and evil these little fuckers are.

"G-grrk!"

What, you're not like that?

Then take it up with your friend who went ahead of you. That bastard made me this way.

CRUNCH!

I drive the edge of my shield down into the goblin's face with all my strength.

Unlike Smash, which merely strikes an enemy in front of me with a swing or a shove, this move is called... Final Shield Attack.

I just made that one up too.

WHOOOOSH!

The goblin promptly dies a clean death, turning into light and vanishing.

That means there's a little less evil in the world, and it's become a little more beautiful.

I pick up the magic crystal it dropped as a reward and stuff it into my pocket.

My tenth magic crystal since entering the Labyrinth.

"Whew. Weak-ass bastards."

Ever since barely coming back from death's door, I've been running into goblins nonstop.

I was tense at first, but it didn't take me long to realize that goblins weren't remotely threatening when I could see my surroundings. They weren't as smart as I'd imagined, either.

Just look at that haphazardly placed trap over there.

'At least dig up some dirt and cover it. Do you idiots even think? Who the hell would step on it when you leave it right out in the open?'

Goblin traps were so crude that I could spot them from far away. What's more, if I tried to pass without stepping on one, most of the goblins would leap out and attack first.

Apparently, they only follow you around grinning like perverts, the way that bastard did, if you actually step in their traps...

As I gradually learned their habits, fighting them grew easier and easier.

For starters, their main weapons were short daggers, and physically they were only on par with upper-grade elementary school kids.

Meanwhile, I'm currently a muscular barbarian nearly two meters tall. In a head-on fight, I could subdue a mere goblin in three seconds flat.

All I had to watch out for were surprise attacks, and their traps even gave away their ambush spots in advance...

'Hmm. Maybe I should become a goblin slayer while I'm at it?'

I immediately raise my hand and slap myself hard across the cheek.

SMACK!

The pain snaps me wide awake.

... What the hell was I just thinking?

I must be crazy. Otherwise, there's no way I'd be snickering to myself over such pathetic thoughts.

Let's not get cocky over killing a few goblins. It hasn't even been two hours since I came back from death's door, and I haven't solved a single one of my new problems.

"Ah, shit. I'm hungry..."

First up is food.

My shield wasn't the only thing I lost while crawling through the dark. A hole tore open in the food pouch the chieftain gave me, and I lost roughly five days' worth of my seven-day supply.

Of course, I couldn't go wandering through the darkness to retrieve it.

I'm not Hansel and Gretel.

CRUNCH, CRUNCH.

While I'm at it, I untie the pouch and take out a piece of bread to eat.

It's hard and dry, perhaps to help preserve it, but as I slowly soften it with saliva, the sweetness of carbohydrates gradually spreads over my tongue.

Why does this taste so good?

My tastes seem to have changed along with this barbarian body.

After a few bites, the palm-sized piece of bread is gone. I sigh, feeling oddly disappointed and left with a dry, pasty mouth.

I'm thirsty.

That's problem number two.

... Fuck. Where am I supposed to get water?

* * *

「You have defeated a goblin.」

「Warning: Your body is dehydrated. Obtain drinking water immediately...」

* * *

[Dungeon and Stone] has a satiety system.

It only activates inside the Labyrinth, of course, and eating alone replenishes it, so there was no need to carry drinking water.

But this isn't a game. To be precise, it's more like another world that closely resembles the game I know.

'It was already a hardcore game, but now that it's real, the difficulty has gone completely off the rails.'

Still, I'm not too worried. Water is indeed an even more important resource than food, but the chieftain didn't give us any.

That must mean we can find our own inside the Labyrinth.

In fact, it didn't take me long to find some.

"Smash!"

After about an hour of wandering through caves as tangled as an anthill, beating goblins to death along the way, I follow the sound of dripping water and discover a small pond.

An explorer is already crouched beside it, drinking. Apart from the blond man's party, this is essentially my first encounter with anyone, but...

"..."

We don't speak. He spots me from a distance and silently moves aside, and I don't go out of my way to approach him either.

The other explorers I meet afterward are the same. They all quietly steer clear as soon as they see me.

As in the game, there seems to be an unwritten rule among explorers to avoid contact whenever possible.

Well, maybe they simply don't want anything to do with a blood-soaked barbarian.

Anyway, I keep killing goblins, eating bread when I'm hungry and drinking water when I'm thirsty. Time flies, bringing me to the present.

"One, two, three, four, five, six..."

Counting them up, I've collected forty-four magic crystals in total.

In bread terms, that's forty-four pieces of bread.

Thinking back to when I was dying, that's truly moving, but nothing in this world comes free.

In exchange, I've become utterly exhausted.

That's my third problem.

'I'm starting to get sleepy...'

Living creatures need sleep. Even this high-performance barbarian body is no exception.

So how does one sleep inside a Labyrinth full of actual monsters?

There are two ways.

Entrust your life to the heavens and doze lightly.

Or find a companion so you can protect each other.

My choice was already decided.

Entrust my life to the heavens? Experience tells me they can't be trusted. Certainly not in my case.

'Let's find a companion.'

Of course, I don't mean forming a proper party. Everyone must be tired by now, so I intend to find someone suitable and establish a temporary partnership.

That's how I usually got through the night in the game when fatigue built up, too.

I trudge onward.

Having made my decision, I roam the Labyrinth, prioritizing travel over combat. That alone is enough for me to start spotting groups here and there, unlike before.

I keep trudging along. Groups of two or three explorers are resting, taking turns standing watch.

After assessing their appearances and faces, I work up the courage to approach a few groups. Every single one turns me down.

"Sorry, but we already have everyone we need."

That's what they say, but the way they grimace and pinch their noses when I approach makes the real reason painfully obvious.

... Fucking bastards.

As if they're so damn clean themselves.

As I'm grumbling to myself, someone speaks to me.

"Hello there."

It's a human man who looks about thirty, roughly 180 centimeters tall. He has a warm, fairly kind-looking face, but the hammer in his hand is caked in goblin blood.

He gives me a broad grin and asks,

"Are you looking for an overnight companion, by any chance?"

What the fuck is wrong with this guy?

I instinctively take a step back, and he tilts his head.

"Oh, weren't you looking for an overnight companion? I thought I could rest easy with a trustworthy barbarian. What a shame."

You should've led with that, mister...

Apparently, "overnight companion" is slang for the temporary partnership I had in mind.

In the game, it was written as "Night Companion."

I'd taken that to mean a comrade of the night, a fellow traveler through the night, something like that. Hearing it out loud, though, it sounds incredibly perverted.

"... No. I am looking for an overnight companion."

"Are you? Wonderful. Would you join me, then?"

"I will."

And so the man and I become overnight companions.

"My name is Hans."

"I am Bjorn, son of Jandel."

"Then may I call you Bjorn?"

The man seems experienced. He smoothly handles the introductions and takes the lead in our conversation.

"Three is the ideal number for overnight companions, but going out of our way to find another would only waste more energy. What do you think, Bjorn?"

In short, he's suggesting we sleep together, just the two of us.

Is this guy really not up to something? Maybe it's his slippery way of talking, but I keep feeling like I'm being taken for a ride.

"Fine."

"Excellent. If someone asks to join us, we can discuss whether to let them in."

After that brief discussion, we decide to spend our first night together, just the two of us.

The problem, however...

"Let's play rock-paper-scissors to decide who goes first."

Apparently, rock-paper-scissors is the universal standard here too.

Fuck, I'm no good at this...

As I've said before, I have no luck.

"Hmm. I won for once."

Motherfucker.

"I'm counting on you, then. If any goblins or other explorers approach, wake me up first. Understood?"

"... Understood."

"Here, take this."

He lends me a watch with the numbers zero through twenty-three marked on its face and even kindly explains how to use it.

"When this short hour hand reaches here, wake me up."

This is probably how people here view barbarians.

"Don't break it. It's expensive."

"... Understood."

What a stickler.

He then takes out a blanket and lies down under it, using his backpack as a pillow. Before long, he's snoring away.

Is this what experience gets you? He looks fucking comfortable.

He probably won't lend me that when it's my turn, will he?

"Whew..."

Anyway, standing watch is incredibly boring.

Not a single goblin bastard in sight, and no other explorers passing through the corridor. Is it because this is when everyone finds an overnight companion and rests?

The lingering silence keeps making me drowsy.

Still, as I lean against the wall and think about what lies ahead, time passes quickly.

"Hans, wake up."

"... Anything happen?"

"Nothing."

"I see. Good work. Hand me the watch, then, and get some rest. I'll wake you in two hours."

Before I even have a chance to ask to borrow his blanket, he packs it into his backpack and stands up.

Tsk.

I give up on the idea, move over to the wall, and sit with my back against it.

Then I pretend to nod off.

Of course I do.

No matter how kind and intelligent this man seems, no matter how little he appears to want to hurt me—