Chapter 40
The day after buying a ring at the magic-item shop.
After finishing his morning exercise and eating breakfast, Jeong Yushin left the inn.
“Darmong, I’m off.”
“All right.”
He ran to the temple.
Since he was wearing the Female Corruption Prevention Ring, he could learn to read among the children without worry.
Following Maya’s advice, he gritted his teeth to guard against side effects. His sexual desire surged several times, but he never lost his grip on reality as he had when he first put on the ring.
When he entered the orphanage, the children welcomed him.
“Ugh. He’s here again?”
“Waaah. I’m scared.”
“Mister, don’t you work?”
Jeong Yushin nodded at the children’s enthusiastic welcome and found his seat.
He ignored the children’s whispers, sat down, and waited for a while.
A man entered the classroom.
Perhaps because he wore glasses, his expression looked cold.
“Quiet, everyone.”
The man stood at the lectern and surveyed the children.
The classroom fell silent in an instant.
The man and Jeong Yushin made eye contact.
“Teacher Mion isn’t coming today.”
“Huh...”
“Boo.”
The children let out dissatisfied groans.
“Quiet.”
The man lightly tapped the lectern.
“I’ll begin today’s lesson. Open your books. Take out your writing implements.”
“Okaaay.”
The man conducted the lesson meticulously. Elegant handwriting filled the blackboard.
Contrary to his cold appearance, he taught each student with great care.
The male priest carefully checked Jeong Yushin’s studies as well and offered him plenty of advice.
“···You need to draw the stroke downward for this character. Bending it upward changes the meaning completely. Be careful.”
“You memorized every word in the storybooks? Excellent. Let’s move on to the next textbook. If you continue to strive, you’ll get good results.”
The lesson that had begun in the morning finally ended around lunchtime.
He was glad to be able to study properly again after so long.
The children streamed out of the classroom to eat lunch.
Jeong Yushin gathered his writing implements and books and put them in his teddy-bear bag.
The male priest approached.
“That’s not very Barbaroi-like.”
“I hear that sometimes.”
“My name is Diego Perez. I’m a mid-rank priest serving the Earth Mother Goddess.”
Diego held out his hand.
“I see. I look forward to working with you.”
Jeong Yushin took Diego’s hand.
Was it just his imagination?
Diego’s glasses glinted.
Jeong Yushin slung the teddy-bear bag over his shoulder and stood up.
“See you around.”
“Indeed.”
He left the orphanage and went to the temple cafeteria.
The menu was modest.
Black rye bread, tomato soup, and a small piece of cheese.
Jeong Yushin wolfed it down and stood up.
He was thinking of visiting the swordsmanship association for the first time in a while.
It was the best way to put the money Karin had given him to good use.
Besides, as Mion had said, there was an elf there who could appraise the value of the Revenger Imprint.
He walked through the streets in the gentle early-summer breeze and arrived at the swordsmanship association.
When he entered the swordsmanship association building, he saw an elf sitting at the reception desk.
“You’re here?”
The elf propped his chin up and looked at Jeong Yushin.
Ashur Startree.
The city-certified Sword Master.
“Yes.”
Ashur held out his hand.
Jeong Yushin calmly took Ashur’s hand.
Ashur frowned and slapped his hand away.
“I said give me the money. Thirty silver coins.”
“Yes.”
Jeong Yushin placed the pouch containing thirty silver coins on the counter.
Ashur yawned, then took the silver coins out of the pouch one by one and counted them.
“You burned one gold coin on armor?”
Ashur muttered as he counted the silver coins.
“That’s how it turned out. It did save my life, though.”
Jeong Yushin answered while looking around the swordsmanship association.
“Isn’t this your third trip to the labyrinth? Even if Karin dotes on you, get a grip. You’re a novice explorer. Build your skills slowly and carefully in the lower levels.”
“Yes.”
“Tsk. Let’s go. To the training ground.”
Ashur put the silver coins back in the pouch and stood up.
The training ground was crowded with people.
Ashur and Jeong Yushin faced each other, wooden swords in hand.
“Judging by your face, you must have plenty of money.”
“Not really.”
“A plump, grinning lucky pig. Let’s give you a beating.”
“Shouldn’t we make a round of the training grounds first?”
“You run around Darmong’s yard at dawn, don’t you?”
‘Is he some kind of vicious stalker?’
Jeong Yushin glared at Ashur.
Ashur grinned, then his expression hardened.
“Buddy, your eyes look a little weird.”
“Sorry. I’ll make them look pretty.”
“No, not that. Come over here for a moment.”
Jeong Yushin approached Ashur.
‘What is it?’
Ashur narrowed his eyes and examined Jeong Yushin’s eyes.
“What happened to you in the labyrinth?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Madness from the ‘Darkness’ is flickering in your eyes.”
“Ah.”
On the fourth floor of the labyrinth, he had been swallowed by the black portal along with Karin.
After being transported to the fifth floor, he had remained unconscious for several hours without a torch.
“I was on the fifth floor without a torch for about three hours. I’m not certain.”
“Are you insane?”
“I had no choice.”
Jeong Yushin briefly explained what he had experienced with the labyrinth investigation team.
Ashur clicked his tongue.
“You should’ve gone mad after that. Are you really all right?”
Jeong Yushin thought carefully about what had happened in the labyrinth.
He had told Karin a few hard truths, used informal speech with Gilsion, and bitten monsters to death with his teeth, but there had been no major problem worth mentioning.
Wasn’t it just an ordinary adventure that most explorers went through?
Jeong Yushin took his hand from his chin and looked at Ashur.
“There’s no problem.”
“Huh. How strange. Killa!”
Ashur called the vice head of the swordsmanship association.
A bald man walked into the yard a little while later.
“What is it?”
“Come over here and take a look at this guy’s eyeballs.”
Killa approached and peered into Jeong Yushin’s eyes.
“I can’t say for certain, but they are a little glassy.”
“Right? This guy spent several hours on the lower levels without a torch.”
“Hmm.”
Killa stroked his completely bald head.
“It’s a wonder he hasn’t gone mad.”
“Who knows? We’ll have to keep an eye on him now.”
Ashur held up one finger.
“How many do you see?”
“I see one.”
“What about this fellow?”
Ashur pointed at Killa.
“He looks like an earnest man.”
Jeong Yushin answered clearly.
Killa nodded and gave him a thumbs-up.
“How do I look?”
Ashur pointed at himself.
“Shall I be honest?”
“Sure. Speak freely.”
“You look kind of obnoxious.”
“...”
Ashur glared at Jeong Yushin.
Ashur turned his head and looked at the vice head.
“Is this guy crazy?”
“I think he was simply telling the truth.”
Killa defended Jeong Yushin.
“Vice head, return to your duties.”
Ashur glared at Killa and pointed toward the swordsmanship association building.
“It’s not my duty, but I’ll go to work.”
“You’ve got quite a tongue on you. That’s why you’re bald. You spent all your time lengthening your tongue, leaving no time for hair to grow. You deserve to be bald.”
Killa ignored Ashur’s words, patted Jeong Yushin once on the shoulder, and left the yard.
Ashur asked again.
“Have you ever had trouble suppressing an impulse?”
Jeong Yushin stroked his chin and thought carefully.
I’ve gone four months without masturbating, and I’m having trouble suppressing my urges?
That had never happened.
He had briefly lost consciousness in the magic-item shop, but neither the dwarf proprietor nor Maya had mentioned what he had been about to do.
They had merely advised him to be careful.
They probably hadn’t mentioned it because it wasn’t that serious.
Having come to that conclusion, he opened his mouth.
“I’m suppressing them just fine.”
“Be careful. The madness is sleeping quietly for now, but in an extreme situation, it’ll burst out and devour you.”
“What happens if it devours me?”
“It’s over.”
“Is there any way back?”
“No.”
Dean from Kaal’s party flashed through his mind.
The boy who had lost consciousness in the darkness of the labyrinth.
Ashur pointed at Jeong Yushin’s eyes.
“Guard your mind.”
Jeong Yushin frowned at the vague words.
“Please put it in terms I can understand.”
“I’m telling you to get your head on straight.”
“How?”
“What else is there for a swordsman to do? Swing your sword hard. Don’t swing it like a beast. Imprint the path of the sword into your body and mind.”
“I understand, for now.”
“And don’t enter the labyrinth. For the time being.”
“Why all of a sudden?”
“Do you really want to go insane?”
“...Well, I understand for now.”
“What’s that ring?”
Ashur asked while looking at the ring on Jeong Yushin’s finger.
“It’s an imprint-suppression ring.”
“Which imprint does it suppress?”
“The Virgin Female Corruption Imprint.”
“Really? You’ve acquired all sorts of strange imprints. There should be side effects from an imprint-suppressing magic item, shouldn’t there?”
Ashur casually brushed off the matter of Jeong Yushin’s imprint.
“They say it increases sexual desire.”
“Keep the ring off whenever possible.”
“Why should I do that?”
“You’re unstable right now. You’re in a state where you’re liable to be swayed by strong urges.”
Since imprints had come up, there was one more thing he wanted to ask.
“Do you know about the Revenger Imprint?”
“I do.”
“How good is it?”
“That depends on your skill.”
“Please explain in detail.”
“What is there to explain in detail? For the Revenger Imprint to be fully realized, you have to get hit by your opponent and hit your opponent. If there’s a huge gap in skill, your head will be cut off or your opponent will die before the Revenger Imprint even activates. It’s good when you’re trading blows with someone of roughly equal skill. It should also be useful against a lot of opponents.”
Ashur pointed at Jeong Yushin and added,
“In the end, what matters is your skill as a swordsman.”
“So the Revenger Imprint is one that gets better as your skill increases.”
“Yes. You could see it that way.”
Ashur nodded, then looked at Jeong Yushin and continued.
“Stop pretending you’re perfectly sane and go home. I’m going to the Mage Tower for a while.”
“Why are you going to the Mage Tower?”
“Are you a stalker? Stop asking.”
“...”
Jeong Yushin was at a loss for words as he stared blankly at Ashur.
A little while later, Jeong Yushin finally managed to speak.
“But I already paid the tuition.”
“I’m handling the accounting, so don’t worry.”
“Well... all right.”
“Go home and stay there quietly until I call you.”
“Yes.”
Jeong Yushin scratched his head as he left the swordsmanship association building after being told to leave by Ashur.
Is he insane?
He didn’t seem that far gone.
He had repeated exactly what Karin had told him. But Jeong Yushin thought that even Karin couldn’t have properly kept track of time in that darkness.
He wandered through the southern district. Since it was around lunchtime, the streets were quiet.
“Hey, black hair.”
Someone called out to Jeong Yushin.
When he turned around, a man was standing there.
A greatsword wrapped in bandages was slung over his shoulder.
He wore an iron mask and a robe that covered him to the tips of his hair.
He was a suspicious-looking man, the sort who would make any guards who saw him rush over eagerly.
“What is it?”
“I’m trying to register as an explorer. Where do I go?”
“Go to the explorers’ headquarters in the central district. It’s in the far-left corner; pay ten silver coins there to register.”
“I’m new here, and I can’t make much sense of the map. Point it out with your finger.”
The man approached and held out a map. It was a tourist map of the labyrinth city.
A rank odor stung Jeong Yushin’s nose, a mixture of chemicals and rotting seafood. It wasn’t pleasant.
Jeong Yushin glanced at the man and tapped one of the locations marked on the map.
“Here.”
The man nodded.
“Got it. Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Jeong Yushin stepped away from the man.
“You wouldn’t happen to be a Barbaroi, would you?”
The Iron Mask asked.
“Yes. Is this your first time seeing me?”
“I’ve heard a lot about you.”
What a naive Iron Mask.
Jeong Yushin decided to tell the man something.
“Be careful. Every Barbaroi but me is crazy.”
“What do you mean?”
“They rape anyone they take a fancy to, man or woman. Should I call them the dick outlaws of Labyrinth City? They have no respect for virtue and act however they please, like villains.”
“...Aren’t you a Barbaroi too?”
“I’m a good Barbaroi who doesn’t rape.”
Jeong Yushin said this seriously.
“Huh.”
The man stared at Jeong Yushin for a moment, then turned and spoke.
“See you around. I can’t be sure, but I have a feeling we’ll be seeing each other often.”
“Yes.”
The iron-masked man slowly walked away after saying that.
He looked extremely suspicious, but his words and actions showed that he had been properly educated.
Moreover, the eyes visible through the mask’s eyeholes were clearly lucid and resolute.
Perhaps because he had an air of nobility, Jeong Yushin naturally used honorific speech with him.
Jeong Yushin felt the general store owner watching him from the side.
The man had helped him several times when he bought labyrinth supplies.
“Shopkeeper, the world is vast, and there are a lot of unusual people.”
Jeong Yushin said this while looking at the general store owner.
“Barbaroi, you’re the most unusual of all.”
The general store owner retorted.
“Are you unhappy with my way of speaking? Let’s go inside and have a chat. We can speak frankly.”
Jeong Yushin edged closer.
The color drained from the general store owner’s face.
“D-dissatisfied? What are you talking about? Is this our first time meeting? We people of the eastern district know very well that you’re an exemplary Barbaroi who protects the city’s morals and public order. I was just making a joke. Calm down.”
“I was just making a joke too.”
The general store owner’s face twitched at Jeong Yushin’s reply.
“Y-you’re so funny my belly button is tingling. You have an excellent sense of humor.”
The general store owner barely managed to reply.
“Let’s put on a smile. You can’t even make a joke around here.”
Jeong Yushin shrugged and started walking again.
The general store owner let out a deep sigh as he watched Jeong Yushin’s back recede.
‘What on earth happened in the labyrinth? That crazy Barbaroi bastard.’