Chapter 39
A week passed.
Shocking news once again swept through the labyrinth city.
The Explorers’ Guild made the first announcement.
Of the five high-rank explorer teams among the labyrinth investigation teams, three had returned. Of the twenty mid-rank explorer teams, twelve had returned.
Hans’s party was nowhere to be found.
Some of the investigation teams that had returned had passed through the black portal. They testified that passing through the black portal transferred them to a random floor.
That was why no other labyrinth investigation team had come to support Jeong Yushin’s party when they were trapped in the tower.
Most of the bodies of the missing novice and mid-rank explorers were found on the fifth floor.
There were especially many bodies buried beneath the ruins of the collapsed tower.
Most of them were headless, but they could be identified through their identification cards.
Next came an announcement from the Labyrinth Mage Tower.
A new ‘phenomenon’ had occurred in the labyrinth.
It was a phenomenon in which new monsters appeared on random floors.
The Mage Tower called this phenomenon the ‘Eldritch Wave.’
The reason was simple.
When the otherworldly energy sleeping in the depths of the Great Labyrinth erupted and settled on a particular floor, otherworldly monsters appeared there.
The earthquake had also been caused by that eruption.
But now that the ‘phenomenon’ had established itself as a ‘law,’
The Tower Master predicted that there would be no more earthquakes. At least, that was what the Tower Master claimed.
The Eldritch Wave shifted between floors slowly.
That was why the human-faced centipedes found on the fifth floor had also been discovered on the fourth floor.
The people in the streets discussed the announcement at length.
Some even sought out the people who had taken part in this investigation to hear more information.
The long-lived races merely nodded without saying much. They believed that something that was bound to happen had simply happened.
If anything, they found it strange that the Great Labyrinth had remained unchanged for nearly three hundred years.
Their doctrine was that evil took different forms depending on the era.
The evil sealed by Sage Ezdras still writhed below, constantly changing its shape.
Jeong Yushin summed up the announcement in a single sentence.
‘So it was just a random level-up burning event.’
All three of his trips to the labyrinth had been connected to this burning event.
He had thought life was unfairly targeting him, but there had been a reason for everything.
Jeong Yushin accepted it and let the matter go.
The way to resist the Eldritch Wave was simple.
Either hold out until the wave disappeared,
Or run to a transfer stone and return to the city.
The city’s chaotic atmosphere settled down after a few days.
Now that the unknown had revealed itself and acquired a name, people might be wary of it, but they were no longer afraid.
Since hunger was the best taskmaster, people gradually began entering the labyrinth again.
The city quickly returned to normal.
The knights returned to the inner city, and the people began working again.
Two days had passed since the labyrinth lockdown had been completely lifted.
Karin’s party gathered at Darmong’s inn early in the morning.
Five people sat gathered around the table.
“Strange. It really feels like a dream.”
Roynel, who had returned to being an elf, muttered blankly.
“What do you mean?”
Jeong Yushin asked.
Roynel stared blankly into space before looking at Jeong Yushin.
“When I was a duck, I enjoyed flapping my wings and walking around the streets. After living as an elf and then becoming a duck, seeing the world through a duck’s senses was amazing and fascinating. Looking at the world through nature’s eyes, transcending the ‘self’ of an elf, made everything seem new. Perhaps I should say it felt like my perspective on the world had broadened. I’m still in a daze. I don’t know whether I was a duck, or the duck was me.”
It was absurd.
This wasn’t Zhuangzi’s butterfly dream. Was it a duck dream?
“So what are you trying to say?”
Jeong Yushin asked cautiously.
“I’m leaving the party.”
“Pardon?”
“I’ll return to my homeland, raise ducks, and live that way. I don’t need any more wealth or success. I’ve had enough of pointless things.”
“Good grief.”
Jeong Yushin scratched his head.
Roynel had suddenly attained enlightenment, started talking about unity with all things, and announced a decision to leave the party.
Karin nodded.
“I understand. Do you need anything?”
“No.”
“Chirrup.”
Maya, Ahiman’s disciple, spoke.
“My master has also decided to leave the party, wanting to conduct some more research on lizards...”
“All right.”
Karin nodded.
Jeong Yushin looked at Gilsion. Gilsion’s eyes had regained their clarity and were calm and tranquil.
“I will visit the temple of the Spirit God of Light. It seems it may take some time.”
Why had Gilsion spoken as though they were going somewhere far away?
Jeong Yushin became curious.
“Is there no temple of the Spirit God of Light in the city?”
Jeong Yushin asked.
“There is not. The Temple of Light is outside the city.”
“I see.”
How fascinating.
“All right.”
Karin accepted Gilsion’s departure as well.
The party meeting ended there.
Jeong Yushin did not think of it as the end.
He couldn’t speak for Roynel, but as long as they remained in the labyrinth city, he thought they would run into one another from time to time.
They drank while talking about this and that.
Darmong approached them.
“Lady Karin, Lord Luke is calling for you.”
Karin tilted her head.
“Why does that old geezer want me?”
“He says you should discuss the details at the temple.”
Karin sighed and stood up.
“All right. I’ll go first. Take care, everyone. See you later.”
“Understood.”
“Stop by the duck farm sometime.”
“Chirrup.”
Karin waved once and left the inn.
Although the party leader had left, the others did not seem to have any intention of getting up.
They were thoroughly enjoying the appeal of drinking during the day, and their faces were gradually turning red. The snacks Darmong had brought contributed to that appeal as well.
They exchanged all sorts of pointless stories.
At some point, the subject of magical items came up.
They could definitely be obtained starting on the fifth floor. Jeong Yushin remembered Gilsion mentioning them when they were in the fifth-floor tower.
He was curious.
If there were various magical items, could there be one that suppressed the effects of an imprint?
Or perhaps some kind of magic.
“I have something to ask.”
Jeong Yushin spoke to Maya.
“Please, go ahead.”
“Is there a way to suppress an imprint?”
Maya tilted her head.
“Yes, there is. Did you happen to acquire a negative imprint?”
Jeong Yushin’s face reddened slightly.
“Please hear me out without misunderstanding.”
Jeong Yushin told Maya about the negative imprint he had received.
The party members, who had been chatting among themselves, stopped talking and focused on Jeong Yushin’s story.
Jeong Yushin realized that the party members were listening intently and grew even redder.
They were people he could trust, having fought through life-and-death situations together. But talking about something as shameful as a Virgin Female Corruption Imprint was extremely embarrassing.
“...So I’m looking for a way to suppress this imprint.”
Jeong Yushin finished speaking.
Maya nodded.
“So it was a Virgin Female Corruption Imprint.”
Gilsion pulled their chair back slightly.
“...Please say it more quietly.”
Jeong Yushin glanced around and whispered.
“Yes.”
Maya answered absentmindedly, propping up her chin as she fell into deep thought.
The lizard chirped and prodded Maya’s neck.
Maya clapped her hands.
“Ah! Usually, magical items are used to suppress imprints. There are sorcery and magic methods as well, but they aren’t very efficient. Why don’t you visit a magical-item shop in the central district?”
“Where in the central district is it?”
“Hmm. It would be complicated to explain in words. Would you like to go together tomorrow?”
“Would it be all right for you to stay beside me?”
Jeong Yushin was worried. If she happened to develop feelings for him, she would fall into an irreversible abyss.
Maya laughed incredulously.
“Barbaroi, I didn’t think you looked like this, but you’re incredibly self-absorbed. Get a grip.”
“Ah... yes.”
He had suddenly created a humiliating memory for himself.
He wanted to die of embarrassment.
Jeong Yushin stared down at the table, searching for a mousehole to hide in.
“Besides, I already have someone I like.”
Maya smiled and gently stroked the lizard.
The lizard’s body froze like ice.
“I see. Please help me.”
Jeong Yushin bowed his head as he asked.
That evening, he saw Roynel, Gilsion, and Ahiman off.
Jeong Yushin leaned against the entrance of the inn and watched the backs of his party members.
Zhuangzi’s butterfly dream.
Roynel’s duck dream.
‘If I became a beastkin, would I be able to understand Karin?’
‘If I became an elf, would I be able to understand Roynel?’
He thought of Del.
An elven archer who had become a goblin.
The party members disappeared beyond the street.
Jeong Yushin stretched once and went back inside the inn.
It was an early-summer evening in the labyrinth city.
* * *
The next morning, Jeong Yushin went to the central district with Maya.
They passed the central square after walking past the Explorers’ Guild headquarters he had seen at the beginning.
There were many more people wearing fine clothes than in the southern district.
They walked for quite some time.
Jeong Yushin and Maya entered an alley lined with wooden buildings. The street carried the faint scent of old wood.
“Here we are. This is Magical-Item Shop Street.”
“There are a great many of them.”
Jeong Yushin was astounded by the signs packed tightly along the alley, jutting out at all sorts of odd angles.
“There’s a shop I recommend. Please be careful how you behave.”
“Don’t worry.”
Maya skillfully navigated the complicated alleys.
Jeong Yushin followed slowly.
Maya stopped in front of an old-fashioned wooden building and met Jeong Yushin’s eyes. Her look clearly told him not to do anything pointless.
Jeong Yushin nodded.
Jingle.
When he opened the door and entered, a bell rang.
It was a shop filled with the scents of old paper and herbs.
The bookshelves were packed with unfamiliar grimoires.
People in long robes stood in front of the bookshelves, browsing the books.
Maya passed through the people and approached the counter.
A bespectacled dwarf with a neatly trimmed mustache sat in a chair behind the counter, reading a book.
“Maya, what brings you here?”
The dwarf looked up from the book, glanced at Maya, then saw Jeong Yushin standing behind her and widened his eyes.
“Barbaroi?”
The dwarf asked in a startled voice.
With nothing to say, Jeong Yushin shrugged once and got to the point.
“I’m looking for a magical item.”
The dwarf frowned.
“Are you looking for a magical item to enlarge your penis? We don’t carry anything like that in this shop.”
“I don’t need anything like that.”
“Then what? We don’t have any magical items that increase your stamina infinitely, either.”
“Phew. I don’t need that, either.”
“So you’re confident, are you? We also don’t carry the collection of 108 positions and magical items for driving women mad.”
“No.”
“Hear me out to the end. We don’t have a book titled ‘50 Ways to Bring Down an Innocent Priest,’ either.”
Hmm.
No. He mustn’t let himself be tempted. He needed to keep his head straight.
“I... came because I heard you had a magical item that suppresses imprints.”
“What kind of imprint?”
“A Virgin Female Corruption Imprint.”
The dwarf’s expression twisted into a frown.
“You want to sit back and gulp down only the virgins you like? Even if you have no conscience, there should at least be a limit. If you’re a Barbaroi, shouldn’t you at least pretend to hunt for a bride?”
‘Fuck. Did I ask for this?’
Jeong Yushin’s expression twisted.
Maya cut in.
“He is a Barbaroi, after all. Since ‘affection’ is required, I think it will be difficult.”
The dwarf nodded.
“That’s true. Wait a moment.”
The dwarf stood up and entered the storeroom behind the counter.
The sound of him rummaging through things could be heard.
A short while later, the dwarf emerged with a small ring in his hand.
“There was one after all. It took some effort to find it.”
“Is this the magical item that suppresses female corruption?”
“That’s right. But it has a side effect.”
“What is it?”
“The wearer’s sexual desire grows stronger.”
That was a side effect he could easily endure.
He had been abstinent for more than four months now.
“That’s nothing.”
Sage Jeong Yushin readily nodded and continued.
“How much is it?”
“Since you came through an acquaintance’s recommendation, I’ll give you a discount. Just one gold coin.”
Jeong Yushin’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.
“W... what did you say?”
Jeong Yushin’s voice trembled.
A gold coin wasn’t exactly pocket change.
He wanted to tear out the dwarf’s beard for tossing the price out so casually.
“Now, now. What’s with that reaction? I’m selling it to you cheaply.”
Jeong Yushin turned his head and looked at Maya.
“Is this price right?”
“Yes. That is quite cheap.”
It was far too expensive.
Jeong Yushin gritted his teeth.
Even so, he had to buy it.
Barbarois were already unwelcome in parties. Getting into a respectable party while carrying this Virgin Female Corruption Imprint would be as difficult as plucking a star from the sky.
Besides, he needed to learn to read and write at the temple. He couldn’t accidentally commit the insane act of inscribing obscene glyphs on children’s bellies.
He might be branded a child predator who corrupted innocent children, with the guards chasing after him with drawn swords.
‘Yushin, you’ve become a truly dangerous man.’
Jeong Yushin sighed inwardly and took a gold coin from his pocket.
“Here is one gold coin. I’ll consider it a sacrifice to save the countless young virgins who would otherwise be corrupted after falling for my charms.”
“...”
The dwarf and Maya stared at him as though he were insane, so he added,
“I’m joking. Loosen up a little.”
“Barbaroi, where exactly were we supposed to laugh? Besides, there are plenty of older virgins in our city.”
The dwarf shopkeeper voiced his displeasure.
Jeong Yushin shook his head and pressed a hand to his forehead.
These people truly had no sense of humor.
Trying to talk any more would only lead them further astray.
Giving up on saying anything else, he immediately slipped the ring the dwarf handed him onto his finger.
“Hmm? Is the imprint really suppressed?”
He felt nothing at all.
“Wait a moment.”
“Ugh!”
Just as the dwarf had said, the effect appeared after a minute passed.
His vision spun. He covered his eyes with one hand for a moment.
After waiting a little while, the dizziness subsided.
He lowered his hand and opened his eyes.
The world as it was meant to appear unfolded before him.
How had he forgotten?
The dwarf standing in front of him... looked female.
A short body and a sullen expression.
He wanted to knock the dwarf down immediately and stamp the pleasure of a female onto that wrinkled face.
Jeong Yushin’s eyes narrowed like a beast stalking its prey.
He reached out and stroked the dwarf’s beard.
“Dwarf, are you allowed to have such an alluring beard? Follow me to the storeroom. We need to talk.”
The dwarf’s face turned deathly pale.
[Mind Flash]
Maya began chanting a spell.
Bang!
Something burst in front of his eyes.
Jeong Yushin’s head jerked backward.
His vision shook, and nausea surged up.
“Ugh.”
Jeong Yushin groaned and clutched his head.
“W... what just happened?”
Jeong Yushin spoke in a trembling voice.
He remembered nothing. He only had the feeling that he had nearly done something horrible.
“Nothing happened. Barbaroi, don’t let your desires consume you.”
“Understood. I was about to do something extremely dangerous, but I can’t remember it clearly.”
“Be vigilant. Darkness lurks everywhere.”
“Yes.”
When Maya and Jeong Yushin finished speaking, the dwarf cleared his throat.
“Ahem... You should be on your way now.”
At that moment, Jeong Yushin leaned over the counter.
“Gasp!”
The dwarf let out a single cry of shock.
“Shopkeeper,”
Jeong Yushin said quietly.
“...What?”
“That... last item you mentioned.”
“What?”
“The... 50 Ways to Bring Down a Priest. If it has a title, that means it really exists, right? Where can I buy it?”
“In the Eastern District. Go look for it sometime.”
“Thank you.”
“Go. Quickly.”
The dwarf shopkeeper watched Jeong Yushin’s back as he left the shop, then realized something.
His own back was drenched in sweat.
‘What a dangerous fellow.’
The dwarf shuddered as he recalled Jeong Yushin’s beastlike eyes.
Jeong Yushin and Maya left the magical-item shop.
“Ms. Maya, thank you.”
Jeong Yushin bowed his head to Maya.
“It’s repayment for saving my master. It’s not much, but I’m glad I could help.”
Maya stroked the lizard once and turned away.
“Then let’s part here. Goodbye.”
“Yes.”
Jeong Yushin watched Maya’s departing back, then left the alley and returned to the southern district.
He had spent a fortune. It left a bitter taste in his mouth. But preserving the peace around him made it worthwhile.
After all, a peaceful daily life was more important to him than mindless mating.
Even so.
‘I need to stop by the Eastern District sometime.’
Jeong Yushin’s eyes glittered like starlight.