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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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Inside Ingrave, the Forgotten City.
“…”
Silence fell over the small resting place.
Everyone’s gaze was fixed on Jeong Yoo-shin and Mick.
Just then…
Lumi, the cat beast-person, waved her hand.
“Barbarian, calm down.”
“What? I’m perfectly calm.”
“Take your hand off your sword.”
Jeong Yoo-shin looked down at his hand. He was unconsciously gripping the hilt of his sword.
‘Huh.’
He had almost lost himself there.
Mick continued to stare at Jeong Yoo-shin, his mouth closed.
He didn’t seem afraid. He seemed more tired than anything, though with a hint of defiance as if daring Jeong Yoo-shin to make a move.
“Mick has the Dirty Talk imprint. He can’t help but spout vulgar things when he opens his mouth.”
Jeong Yoo-shin frowned.
“Why doesn’t he remove it?”
“Whether to remove an imprint or not is a personal choice.”
Heather Volkman, the wolf beast-person, interjected.
“And Mick is with our party to earn money to remove his imprint. Don’t talk to him anymore.”
“Alright.”
The wolf beast-person was right.
Whether to remove an imprint or not was a personal decision. He had crossed the line due to his disgust.
Jeong Yoo-shin bowed his head slightly and apologized to Mick.
“I’m sorry.”
Mick simply nodded and turned his gaze back to the bonfire.
“So! Mars, what’s the request you received this time?”
“Well…”
Mars glanced at Iron Mask and mumbled.
Iron Mask, reading Mars’s mind, spoke.
“It’s a request to bury holy relics in specific locations.”
“Ah, that one? It’s a real pain.”
“Have you done it before?”
“No. We don’t do those. They’re not profitable, and we’re not interested. And the distance you have to travel is ridiculous. Why bother?”
The cat beast-person said bluntly.
“I see.”
She was someone who was solely focused on her own profit and interests. Well, weren’t all explorers like that?
“What’s your request?”
Jeong Yoo-shin asked directly.
“Monster hunting.”
Lumi answered readily.
He considered asking more but stopped himself. The holy relic request was already enough of a burden. He didn’t want to complicate things by prying into other people’s requests.
“Oh! I heard there’s a high-ranking monster on the 7th floor lately. Be careful.”
Lumi said casually.
‘Holy shit.’
He had to ask about this.
“What kind of monster?”
“A Forest Troll.”
Jeong Yoo-shin tilted his head.
Forest Trolls usually appeared on the 10th floor of the Forest area.
Like all trolls, they had incredibly high regenerative abilities.
Their distinguishing feature was the poisonous mushrooms growing on their backs.
Since the poisonous spores from these mushrooms were released whenever they moved, it was important to be careful when fighting them in close combat.
And then there was their overwhelming strength while wielding massive tree trunks as their weapons.
Even a heavily armored warrior could be sent straight to the afterlife with a single, well-placed swing.
Their bones and flesh would be pulverized, leaving little chance of recovery.
A one-way ticket to the underworld delivered straight to your door.
Since there was a significant difference in size from the start, vanguards didn’t have many options to engage them.
Perhaps their only weakness was their slow speed?
That was all he knew from the books.
He suddenly felt a surge of frustration.
“Why?!”
The cat beast-person shrugged.
“Who knows? The Forest area is vast. Don’t worry too much. They have a distinct, foul odor. If you smell it, just run.”
Tap, tap!
Suddenly, Mick, the warrior, tapped his armor twice.
Everyone’s gaze focused on him.
Mick made a hand signal.
‘Its weakness is holy fire.’
“The Forest Troll’s?”
Mick nodded and spoke.
“Pussy sex.”
Jeong Yoo-shin nodded.
“Thank you sex.”
“…”
Everyone in the resting place stared at Jeong Yoo-shin, dumbfounded.
“Ahem. Let’s end the conversation here and get some sleep. We’ll take the first watch shift.”
Heather Volkman said.
Iron Mask immediately spoke up.
“We’ll take it together.”
“Do as you please.”
Each party drew lots for the watch shifts.
Although Kubo had an alarm spell, they wanted to conserve mana for the arduous journey ahead.
After a while, the drawing of lots was finished.
Jeong Yoo-shin was last.
And he would be sharing the shift with Mick.
The two parties settled down on opposite sides of the fire.
Jeong Yoo-shin didn’t take off his armor despite its bulkiness.
He couldn’t completely let his guard down even among seemingly friendly companions.
Mick also kept his armor on.
Jeong Yoo-shin laid down and closed his eyes.
Darkness quickly enveloped him.
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How much time had passed?
Someone tapped his armor.
He opened his eyes to see Mars, the guide, standing over him.
“Skar, it’s your turn.”
“Any problems?”
Jeong Yoo-shin’s voice was slightly hoarse.
“I heard someone walking around outside a few times. They left immediately, though.”
‘Is this place a popular spot or something?’
He watched Mars return to his sleeping spot, then picked up his longsword and sat down near the bonfire.
He sat with his back against the wall while facing the door.
Mick was sitting a short distance away.
“…”
A comfortable silence settled between the two men.
Tap!
Mick tapped his armor lightly.
Jeong Yoo-shin turned to look at him.
“What?”
‘I’m sorry.’
He was a bit taken aback by the sudden apology.
He understood what Mick was apologizing for.
Was he feeling guilty about the vulgar things he had said earlier?
“Don’t worry about it.”
‘Here, take this.’
Mick took a small bottle from his pocket and handed it to Jeong Yoo-shin after making a hand signal.
“What is this?”
‘Pain Relief Cream.’
“There’s such a thing? Why are you…? Ah!”
Jeong Yoo-shin suddenly understood.
The law of the Forest floor.
In the Forest area, pain led to madness. If a person was continuously exposed to pain, they would lose their mind.
As a vanguard, he had to be at the forefront. The role was the most susceptible to injury during battle.
That meant he was also more exposed to madness.
Was this how vanguards managed their pain?
He felt the gap in his knowledge.
‘As expected…’
He realized the importance of interacting with other explorers.
Jeong Yoo-shin examined the bottle, then put it away.
“Thank you sex.”
Mick simply nodded and smiled without replying.
The two men sat quietly while waiting for the fire to die down.
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A few hours later, Jeong Yoo-shin woke up his party members. They had a quick meal and then packed their belongings.
“See you later.”
The wolf beast-person leader said at the entrance of the resting place.
Iron Mask nodded.
“Yeah. Take care.”
Jeong Yoo-shin and his party members watched the other party leave.
They had said that they were going to the ‘Corridor’ area.
He didn’t know what kind of ‘hunting’ they were doing, but he wished them luck.
The party left the alley and headed towards the main street.
After walking for a few more hours, they finally reached the teleportation stone at the edge of the city.
Jeong Yoo-shin was the first to stand before the teleportation stone.
“Ready?”
“No problem.”
“Let’s go.”
Jeong Yoo-shin looked at his party members, then placed his hand on the teleportation stone.
Hum.
A blue portal and a red portal appeared.
Jeong Yoo-shin stepped into the red portal.
His vision turned red, and he felt a floating sensation.
And then he landed in a forest filled with lush, green leaves.
Thud!
He landed, steadied himself, and looked around.
He examined the ominous-looking green leaves and waited. His party members emerged from the red portal one by one.
Mars, as soon as he appeared, notched an arrow and listened intently to the surrounding sounds.
“There are no monsters nearby.”
“Do you know where we are?”
“One moment.”
Mars lowered his bow, took out his map, and studied it for a while.
“…We’re in the Central area. We landed close to the teleportation stone.”
“I see. Maintain formation and head to the teleportation stone.”
As before, Mars led the way.
After walking for a while, Mars stopped abruptly.
“Halt.”
Mars raised his hand, stopping the party.
“What is it?”
Iron Mask asked from behind.
“I think there’s a monster nearby. It’s slowly approaching us.”
Jeong Yoo-shin stepped forward while raising his shield.
Rustle.
A figure emerged from the bushes.
No.
It was a human.
Or rather, it looked like an explorer.
Wearing light leather armor. Unarmed.
It didn’t look normal though. Its body was covered in fungus-like mushrooms.
Green fluid oozed from its various wounds, and maggots and spiders crawled in and out of them.
‘Shit.’
The fate of those defeated in the labyrinth.
Seeing it walking around like that was horrifying.
“Hey, are you alive?”
Jeong Yoo-shin asked a pointless question. He asked just in case, but…
“Groooan.”
The explorer ignored Jeong Yoo-shin’s question, waved its hands around, and slowly lunged at him.
Jeong Yoo-shin stepped forward and blocked it with his shield.
Thump!!!
Despite its slow movement, the force of its lunge was powerful. His heater shield dented, and wood splinters flew.
‘Fucking hell. What kind of strength…?!’
Jeong Yoo-shin gritted his teeth.
Was it the power of an imprint?
What kind of imprint could grant such strength?
Just then…
Swish!!!
An arrow fired by Mars flew through the air and embedded itself between the explorer’s eyes.
Thwack!!!
The explorer’s head snapped back, but it didn’t fall.
Iron Mask charged and swung his greatsword.
Whoosh!!!
Just before the greatsword reached the explorer, Jeong Yoo-shin stepped back, creating space for Iron Mask to swing freely.
As if switching places, Jeong Yoo-shin retreated, and Iron Mask stepped forward.
The greatsword flashed, slicing through the air…
Slash!!!
And the explorer was cleaved in two.
Fluids, baby spiders, and maggots splattered Iron Mask, but he didn’t seem to care.
Jeong Yoo-shin was inwardly impressed.
‘This guy is incredibly strong.’
Where did he get such strength?
‘I’m the only weak one here.’
Still, he was reliable.
It wasn’t a bad start, taking down a monster with such seamless teamwork.
“Be alert. That wasn’t a monster. It was an explorer. It’s strange that there’s only one, though. They must have come as a party.”
‘Iron Mask is right.’
The party formed a protective circle around Kubo. Mars notched an arrow and listened intently to the surrounding sounds.
A moment later…
Mars tilted his head.
“There’s no one here.”
That was strange.
Had the party members gotten separated?
Come to think of it, this explorer…
‘Had poor equipment.’
Jeong Yoo-shin approached the corpse and examined it closely.
He had glimpsed an iron tag hanging around its neck during the fight.
‘Found it.’
Squirm.
He rummaged through the maggot and spider-infested flesh and retrieved the iron tag.
Mike.
That was the name engraved on the tag that was stained with green fluid.
He wiped the tag with a few leaves he plucked from a nearby bush and put it away.
“An iron tag? He was a porter.”
Iron Mask, who was standing beside him, said.
“Was he abandoned?”
“I don’t know why, but it seems so. He must have been a novice or a low-ranking explorer with an iron tag.”
“…”
While Iron Mask and Jeong Yoo-shin were discussing the corpse, their other party members approached them.
“That’s truly horrifying. Is that what will happens to us if we die here?”
Kubo said while shuddering slightly.
His gaze was fixed on the baby spiders crawling out of the explorer’s corpse.
“If you’re careful and prepared, you’ll survive.”
Iron Mask replied simply and led the party forward.
The party members, having witnessed the gruesome scene, walked in silence.
After carefully navigating the dark forest for four hours…
They found another ruin.
It had crumbling stone walls and a lone watchtower.
“If anything seems amiss, just come back.”
Iron Mask warned Mars.
“And don’t get possessed by looking at some weird inscription on a piece of leather like last time.”
Kubo added.
Mars scowled.
“Alright, alright. I know. Stop nagging me.”
“Mars, take it easy. Don’t worry about getting possessed.”
Jeong Yoo-shin raised his fist and continued.
“Fist exorcism. Remember?”
“S-Stop it! I know!”
Mars’s eyes widened, and he shuddered.
The party members waited after sending Mars ahead.
How much time had passed?
Rustle.
Mars poked his head out of the bushes.
“It’s safe. No monsters. But…”
“But?”
Kubo asked.
Mars hesitated, then spoke.
“There’s a wooden box inside the watchtower.”
A wooden box?
Question marks appeared above the party members’ heads.
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T/N – First up, a heads up. I’ll try to do a paid chapter mass release this coming Saturday. Please keep an eye on it. 😉
I’d like to thank you guys for reading this novel. Thank you sex. Lol.
Also, what an unfortunate negative imprint. Might as well have made him mute.
Lastly, I’m surprised that Mars still volunteers for scouting after what happened last time. Poor guy can’t catch a break.
If you find any mistakes, feel free to point them out in the comments.
No, thank you sex for translating this novel Jay!