Chapter 6
Late in the evening, Darmong sat at the inn counter with his chin propped on one hand. The few customers had already left, and those staying the night had already gone to bed.
Clatter!
The door opened, and Jeong Yushin staggered inside.
Swaying like an octopus, he sat down across from Darmong.
“Darmong, give me a drink.”
“Business hours are over.”
“I can’t sleep like this.”
Darmong clicked his tongue, took a bottle of liquor from the shelf, and poured it into a small cup. Jeong Yushin grasped the cup with trembling hands and poured it into his mouth. Fire raced down his esophagus and spread through his stomach. As the alcohol took effect, the pain throbbing throughout his body eased somewhat.
‘Will I be able to get up tomorrow?’
Jeong Yushin seriously considered the question.
“It’s on the house tonight. Starting tomorrow, it’ll be two copper coins per cup.”
“Two copper coins for this tiny cup?”
“It’s expensive liquor.”
‘It tasted like plain soju.’
Jeong Yushin smacked his lips and rose from his seat.
“Then I’ll turn in first.”
He was far too exhausted for idle conversation.
“All right.”
Jeong Yushin entered his room and threw himself onto the bed.
“Hrrrgh.”
He made a strange sound and immediately passed out.
* * *
A month passed.
Jeong Yushin’s daily routine was monotonous.
He woke up spitting out the bear beastkin’s fur he had been holding in his mouth.
He ate, then went straight to work at the monster dismantling facility.
After draining the blood from the delivered monsters, he skinned them and removed the flesh and organs.
There were all kinds of monsters. Some were small, like goblins, while others were massive enough to weigh well over six tons.
Jeong Yushin clicked his tongue as he looked at the enormous monster corpses.
“How in the world do you kill monsters like this?”
The decadent elf supervisor answered simply.
“Skill.”
He took a short break at lunchtime, then went back to work in the afternoon.
In the evening, he changed out of his work clothes, washed the blood off in the shower room attached to the facility, and then gathered with everyone to eat.
The location was unusual: a corner of the yard in front of the monster dismantling facility.
Meat was sizzling on a grill.
The meat consisted of scraps left over after dismantling the monsters, and the charcoal had been obtained from a nearby forge.
For nearly a month, they had grilled meat like this every evening.
They shared the liquor the facility workers had brought.
“Here, newbie. Have a drink.”
The senior dismantler, Mallon, held out the bottle of liquor.
“Thank you.”
It was dwarven firewater, and it must have been quite strong, because even one sip made his insides burn.
“Is the work bearable?”
At Mallon’s question, Jeong Yushin looked down at his hands.
They were covered in scars and calluses.
They were no longer the soft, smooth hands he had once had.
On top of that, he had nearly lost a finger during work that day. If not for the decadent elf supervisor’s healing magic, he would have been searching for a doctor while clutching a half-severed finger dangling from his hand.
After seeing Seamus’s spirit magic, he had thought he would be less impressed, but he had been mistaken.
Magic was always amazing.
Jeong Yushin raised his head.
“Yes. It’s bearable.”
Mallon laughed loudly.
“I like you. Instead of this, why don’t we have a drink somewhere else?”
“No.”
The elf supervisor cut in abruptly.
“The newbie is to return to his lodgings as soon as he finishes eating. Darmong is waiting for you, pining like a newlywed.”
“Yes.”
The corner of the elf’s mouth twitched.
“Heh. Darmong, waiting anxiously.”
The elf suddenly burst out laughing.
???
He was laughing at his own words.
Jeong Yushin and Mallon stared, dumbfounded, as the elf laughed.
Coming to his senses, Mallon smacked his lips.
“What a shame. We’ll have a drink when we get the chance.”
“Sounds good.”
He picked up a piece of sizzling meat and chewed it. It had been seasoned with nothing but coarse salt, yet instead of smelling gamey, it filled his mouth with a rich, savory flavor.
‘Liquor and meat. This is sex.’
* * *
Two months in. His daily life remained the same.
Except for a few changes.
First, the elf supervisor had begun calling him by name. An alias, technically.
“Ska, don’t overthink it. You can’t eat gargoyles anyway. Just gently remove the hide.”
Jeong Yushin tried to drive his knife in, but the hide was so tough that the blade did not penetrate even an inch.
Mallon, unable to watch any longer, stepped in.
“No, don’t put so much force into it. Ease it in gently, like you’re putting it into a virgin’s hole on her first night.”
Smack!!
The elf supervisor slapped Mallon across the face.
Thud.
Mallon fell sideways, clutching his cheek as he gave the supervisor a perplexed look.
“Mallon, even if you’re going to use an analogy, did it have to be that vulgar?”
“I’m sorry.”
The three men fell silent for a moment.
Then the elf supervisor suddenly began to chuckle.
“Heh. A virgin’s hole. Ah, I can’t hold it in.”
He eventually burst into loud laughter. Mallon rubbed his cheek and laughed as well. Only Jeong Yushin could not laugh.
‘Is this elf insane?’
What exactly had struck him as so funny?
He gave up trying to figure it out.
Jeong Yushin shook his head and focused on the gargoyle.
Another change was Jeong Yushin’s eye for detail.
By examining a monster’s wounds, he could identify its weak points.
There were plenty of wounds from combat, but only one had been fatal.
He ran his hand over the gargoyle’s chest. A small hole had been pierced through the scaleless spot.
A weak point.
This was his third time dismantling a gargoyle, and each time there had been a hole in the scaleless spot on its chest.
He asked Mallon and received confirmation that this was the gargoyle’s weak point.
He could also guess why Darmong had sent him here.
Money was part of it, but perhaps Darmong had also wanted to sharpen his eye for detail.
Though that tsundere bear beastkin would never admit it outright.
The final change was in his body.
Muscle had filled out his lean frame, and his jawline had become a little more defined.
His increased stamina was incomparable to what it had once been.
It was a change brought about by a steady diet of meat, intense labor, and a consistent daily routine.
Shunk.
At last, the knife pierced the hide. But the real challenge was only beginning.
He had to slowly split the hide with even pressure and create a clean boundary, and it was anything but easy.
His arms trembled, and his face was drenched in sweat.
If he applied too much force, the blade would slip and ruin the boundary. If he skinned it along a ruined boundary, the shape would turn out strange, and the merchants would slash the purchase price. In the end, that meant a loss for the dismantling facility.
But he could not use too little force, either. The knife would fail to move forward, slowing the work considerably and ultimately causing another loss for the facility.
“Phew.”
After struggling for quite some time, he finally drew the boundary.
Jeong Yushin wiped the sweat from his forehead. The rest was easy. He only had to slide the knife between the hide and the flesh and gently scrape.
It was similar to inserting a needle between a toe and its toenail and pulling out only the nail.
After completing the entire process, Jeong Yushin sank down where he stood.
“Slow.”
At the elf supervisor’s words, Jeong Yushin scratched his sweat-soaked hair.
“Even so, at this pace, you can barely do one worker’s share of the work.”
The elf’s next words made him smile without meaning to.
“Wow. Skinning a gargoyle after only two months. This newbie has talent to match his nerve. My eye never fails me.”
Mallon puffed out his chest.
“Why are you the one acting proud? It was my discerning eye that discovered Ska.”
‘Neither of you expected much from me.’
He grumbled inwardly.
* * *
The third month.
There were no noticeable changes.
He had become more accustomed to the dismantling work.
His body had gained more muscle, and his stamina had increased as well.
If finding out the elf supervisor’s name counted as an achievement, then perhaps it was one.
Aldein Ashwood.
Darmong had told him in his usual prickly manner.
It sounded crazy, but sometimes this tsundere bear beastkin was cute.
That was probably because of the influence of the one-eyed elf supervisor, who possessed a bizarre sense of humor.
On the night he skinned a twin-headed ogre, the elf supervisor approached him.
“Ska, today is your last day of work. Take these.”
Jeong Yushin stopped chewing the meat on the grill and raised his head.
Aldein had handed him leather gauntlets and leather boots with iron-reinforced soles.
“Thank you.”
“Here are ten silver coins. I added a little extra.”
“Gasp! Thank you.”
“Thank Darmong.”
Aldein turned on his heel and returned to his place.
“Hey, newbie. It’s a shame to see you go. It’s not much, but take this.”
The dwarf Mallon handed him a bottle of dwarven firewater and a note.
“It’s a forge run by my cousin. Mention my name, and he’ll give you a discount.”
“Thank you, Mallon.”
“Yes. A labyrinth explorer, huh... That’s a difficult dream to pursue, my friend. Stay strong.”
“Yes. I’ll do my best.”
Mallon grinned, gave Jeong Yushin a single hearty slap on the back, and returned to his place.
After dinner, the dismantling facility workers left, each offering Jeong Yushin a word of encouragement.
“Ska. Come back if you quit being an explorer.”
“Yeah. We’ll take you back even if you come back missing an arm.”
“You bastards! Don’t say crazy things. Ska, to be honest, I expected the city guards to come looking for you on rape charges sometime during these three months, but that never happened. I’ll admit it. You’re a good Barbaroi who doesn’t rape people. I hope we meet again with smiles on our faces.”
‘You’re the craziest one of all.’
Jeong Yushin smiled and saw them off. Aldein, the last one remaining, escorted him out.
“I’ll call you if we’re short-handed.”
“Yes. Anytime.”
He walked to the inn with the evening streetlamps for company.
He was tired, but proud.
He had earned ten silver coins a month. After working for three months, he had accumulated a considerable sum of more than thirty silver coins.
On top of that, he had received gauntlets and boots, so he could start exploring the labyrinth fairly well-equipped while saving on equipment costs.
He found himself humming.
When he entered the inn, he saw Darmong.
“I’m back.”
“I heard today was your last day.”
“Did Aldein tell you?”
“Yes. Here’s your identification card.”
Darmong handed him an iron badge. It felt warm, as though he had kept it close to his body the entire time.
“So, are you planning to buy equipment and enter the labyrinth right away?”
“Yes.”
“There’s a class for new explorers at the nearest branch. Take that class first.”
“Huh?”
“The Great Labyrinth is a dangerous place. You must always prepare thoroughly. Nor should you rely on luck.”
Darmong gave him a bitter smile.
“Darmong, were you an explorer?”
“You’re only realizing that now?”
“I had my suspicions. Then I’ll take the class first.”
Jeong Yushin decided to follow the bear’s advice.
There was another reason as well.
The countless monster corpses he had seen at the dismantling facility.
Though they were dead, their grotesque, bizarre, and enormous forms had overwhelmed him time and again.
Courage alone was not enough.
He needed to gather information and prepare for the worst. But he wondered how helpful the classes provided by the Explorers’ Guild would be.
What if the class he paid five precious silver coins for turned out to be worthless?
He would regret it to his dying day.
Damn it, do you know how hard I worked to save that money?
His original plan had been to sit in a tavern and listen to explorers talk, or buy drinks for veteran explorers in exchange for information, but...
He had just discarded that plan.
He abandoned both his doubts about the class and his plan to obtain information through alcohol.
He trusted the teddy bear.
The reason Darmong had sent him to the monster dismantling facility.
It must have been to impress upon him how dangerous monsters were and make him stay vigilant.
It had also allowed him to earn money, build his stamina, and sharpen his eye for detail.
If this was Darmong’s first plan for him, then the Explorers’ Guild class would be the second.
Darmong grinned. As he reached for a bottle of liquor on the shelf, Jeong Yushin stopped him.
“I found a bottle of dwarven firewater. Let’s drink this.”
“Sounds good.”
In a quiet corner of the inn, two glasses filled with firewater clinked together.