How a Black-Haired Barbarian Survived the Labyrinth in Another World – Chapter 15

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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On his way back, Jeong Yoo-shin stopped by the park located halfway between the temple and the inn.

He sat on a bench, rested his chin on his hand, and took the scenery in.

He saw beautiful flower beds and trees adorned with pink blossoms.

A marble statue stood in the center of the park surrounded by a fountain.

As if a water spirit was playing a prank, the water from the fountain shot into the air, forming beautiful and strange shapes.

Children were playing around the fountain.

A boy swung a branch and shouted,

“Hiya! I’m the Sage Ezras! Take that, villains!”

Another boy yelled at the top of his lungs,

“I want to be Ezras this time! Why do you always get to play the good guy?!”

Jeong Yoo-shin watched the children bicker, then lowered his head.

His worries deepened.

He had secured a way to learn literacy, but where could he learn how to wield a weapon at a low price?

The Swordsman’s Guild’s tuition was thirty silver coins.

The amount he would earn after three months of relentless work at the monster dismantling shop.

Jeong Yoo-shin clutched his hair and sighed deeply.

He also had fixed expenses.

The rent he paid to Dalmong was one silver coin and fifty copper coins.

Money was being drained from his pouch even if he just sat around doing nothing.

He had just paid for his literacy lessons, so he only had four silver coins and a few copper coins left.

If he planned to enter the labyrinth again, he needed to save money. He at least needed enough money to purchase supplies.

Breakfast was free at the inn and lunch was provided at the temple, but he would have to skip dinner.

This was his current situation.

‘Just need to tighten my belt for a while.’

He wanted to cling to Dalmong’s leg and beg for help, but he didn’t want to burden the bear, who was already concerned about his situation.

‘Who would want to stay at an inn with a potential sex offender?’

If he were the innkeeper, he would have kicked himself out already. He respected Dalmong for even considering keeping him.

He organized his thoughts.

He had two options left.

The first was to work at the monster dismantling shop again.

He would earn money, but he wouldn’t be able to improve.

He would have no time to enter the labyrinth or learn literacy as he’d be spending the three months working day and night.

Then he would have to give all his earnings to the Swordsman’s Guild, learn for a month, and then work at the dismantling shop for another three months.

It was incredibly inefficient.

The second option was to enter the labyrinth again.

As long as he didn’t sustain serious injuries or acquire a terrible imprint, he wouldn’t incur a significant loss. He thought it was worth a try.

He wasn’t earning a small amount of money there. He earned three silver coins on his first exploration, which wasn’t bad for a week’s work. Though it had been life-threatening, and he wasn’t able to eat or sleep well back then. The cost of his supplies had also exceeded his earnings, resulting in a net loss.

But so what? If he found a good party and diligently explored the labyrinth, he would gain experience, and with improved skills, he would have more opportunities to earn money.

He made his decision.

Jeong Yoo-shin stood up from the bench.

He had a plan now. All that was left was to act.

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“No.”

“Why?”

The man sitting across Jeong Yoo-shin shook his head.

“Because you’re a barbarian. My party doesn’t accept female hunters.”

Jeong Yoo-shin frowned.

“At least call me a bride hunter. Damn it.”

“It’s the same thing.”

This was the fourth rejection.

He had prepared his supplies, spent a day at the inn, and came to the Explorers Guild full of hope, only to be repeatedly rejected because he was a barbarian.

The man sighed.

“Go to a different party. One that isn’t… normal like ours.”

The gazes of the other party members were cold and piercing.

“Are there… abnormal parties?”

“Don’t look at the recruitment notices on the board. Ask the receptionist. Tell them you want to join a ‘reject’ party.”

“What’s a reject party? Are you talking about a party of new explorers?”

“No. Forget it. Just ask the receptionist. Get out.”

The man waved him away dismissively.

Jeong Yoo-shin stood up.

Perhaps joining Karl’s clueless party had been a stroke of luck after all.

He went to a different receptionist, avoiding the human woman with the spiteful expression.

“Hello, explorer. How can I help you?”

It was the dog beast-person with the cute ears he had seen before.

“What’s a reject party?”

“Ah! Those are parties formed by people with negative imprints. Do you want to join one?”

“Yes. No one else will accept me.”

“There are parties of new explorers. Wouldn’t you prefer to join one of those?”

“Are you talking about a party formed by young people from the countryside?”

“Yes. And for your information, they didn’t take the new explorers class. They said it was too expensive. Even after we significantly reduced the fee.”

That was…

Ominous.

“Are you alright? Your hands are shaking.”

The receptionist asked with a concerned expression.

“I’ll take the reject party.”

“Alright. There’s one party with negative imprints looking for a front-liner. Please go to table twenty-one.”

“Thank you.”

Jeong Yoo-shin turned and went to table twenty-one.

‘They look normal.’

Four people were sitting at the table.

An elderly human mage.

A middle-aged gnome.

A dwarf with a bushy beard.

And…

A goblin.

Jeong Yoo-shin’s jaw dropped.

‘A goblin?’

The goblin spoke.

“What are you staring at? Never seen a goblin before?”

“I’ve never seen a talking goblin.”

“Are you a newbie explorer?”

“Yes.”

“You didn’t draw your sword. Newbies usually attack me on sight.”

“I’m Skar. Am I accepted?”

“Yeah. We’re not exactly in a position to be picky. I’m Del. I was an elf, but I got a goblin imprint, so now I look like this. I’m an elf. Remember that.”

‘He’s really emphasizing it.’

Del looked around and said,

“Introduce yourselves.”

The elderly human mage spoke up.

“I’m Kelton, a mage. A shitty one.”

“…”

‘A shitty one?’

Jeong Yoo-shin stared blankly at the old mage who had just insulted himself.

“I have the ‘hates everyone’ imprint. I don’t want to talk anymore, so that’s the end of my shitty introduction.”

“Sure.”

The old mage frowned and crossed his arms.

Next, the dwarf.

“I’m Einhorfer. I have the ‘hand tremors’ and ‘reduced stamina’ imprints.”

Jeong Yoo-shin looked at the giant great axe leaning against the wall behind the dwarf.

“Sometimes my hands slip. Be careful.”

He gulped.

The axe blade gleamed sharply. The dwarf clearly took good care of his weapon.

Finally, the middle-aged gnome.

“I’m Ditto. By the way, barbarian, are you a virgin?”

‘What the hell? What kind of imprint does he have?’

Ditto, noticing Jeong Yoo-shin’s uneasy gaze and grinned.

“I have the ‘visible sex count’ imprint. It appears as a red number above people’s heads.”

“Wow, a virgin barbarian. That’s rare.”

The goblin chimed in.

“But isn’t that a bit weak for a negative imprint? It doesn’t affect combat.”

Jeong Yoo-shin voiced his doubts.

“Female explorers hate it. It’s embarrassing and humiliating to have your private life on display.”

“What about male explorers?”

Ditto chuckled.

“If a male explorer is seen with me, his reputation is ruined. He won’t be able to find another party. He’ll be branded as a creepy pervert obsessed with people’s sex lives.”

‘That’s terrifying.’

Come to think of it, he had been feeling cold stares from the other tables for a while now. Mostly from female explorers, but also from some male explorers.

He understood.

A gnome with a visible sex count and a barbarian known as a female hunter.

It would be difficult to find a party from now on.

“Nice to meet you, barbarian!”

Jeong Yoo-shin stared blankly at Ditto’s outstretched hand.

“Let’s not shake hands. I think that would be the end of me.”

“Okay.”

Ditto grinned. It was the smile of someone who knew Jeong Yoo-shin had already crossed the point of no return.

“So who’s the leader here?”

“Me.”

The goblin replied.

“When are we leaving?”

“Tomorrow afternoon.”

“Don’t people usually leave in the morning?”

The goblin made a slashing motion across his throat.

“I’ll die if I go in the morning.”

“Really? Is there some kind of rule?”

“Think about it. You enter the labyrinth and see a goblin standing there. Intermediate or high-ranking explorers might just ignore me, but newbies always attack first. And I heard there’s been an increase in newbie explorers lately.”

“Can’t you just stay with the party?”

“I’m a rear guard, so I’m always at the back. But when people see me, they think I’m trying to ambush my companions from behind. A ‘friendly’ high-ranking explorer almost killed me because of that.”

“Then…”

The goblin snapped.

“I’ve thought about this more than you! There’s no solution. And it’s an unspoken rule that explorers who have transformed into monsters enter in the afternoon. If you don’t like it, get out.”

‘What’s with the sudden outburst, you little goblin?’

“Understood. Tomorrow afternoon?”

“Yes. If you’re not here by then, I’ll come looking for you.”

“You don’t have to go that far.”

“Yes, I do.”

‘He’s a rather persistent goblin.’

“Okay. See you tomorrow.”

Jeong Yoo-shin left table twenty-one and the guild building.

Regardless of the party’s circumstances, he was lucky. He had secured time in the mornings to learn literacy at the temple.

He wouldn’t be able to go every day, but he was grateful for the opportunity.

“I’m back.”

“Welcome back.”

Dalmong greeted him as he returned to the inn.

“It’s not easy for barbarians to find parties. Take your time.”

Jeong Yoo-shin scratched his head at Dalmong’s words of comfort.

“Well, I found a party, but… sigh.”

“Why? What happened?”

“Do you know what a reject party is?”

“Huh… Don’t tell me…”

“Yes. I joined a party with some… unique individuals. We’re leaving tomorrow afternoon.”

“They must be quite unique.”

“Yes. There’s a goblin, a gnome with a visible sex count imprint… It’s a diverse group.”

Jeong Yoo-shin elaborated on the details.

Dalmong nodded.

“That sounds like a decent party. There are many stranger parties out there.”

“…”

There were stranger parties?

He didn’t want to know. It was scary.

Perhaps the darkness of the Labyrinth City ran deeper than he thought.

Did his thoughts show on his face?

Dalmong chuckled.

“You know that the more times you remove an imprint, the more expensive it gets, right?”

“Yes.”

“It’s common among intermediate and high-ranking explorers. They repeatedly remove negative imprints and keep positive ones, until they eventually reach a point…”

“Where the cost of removing imprints becomes astronomical.”

“That’s right. They sell all their possessions and equipment, but it’s still not enough. When that happens, they’re expelled from their parties.”

“That’s cold.”

“Not necessarily. Most negative imprints are manageable, but some severely hinder party operations and directly endanger the party. Neither the party members nor the imprinted individual wants that. Besides, there are plenty of explorers rising through the ranks, so there’s no need to take unnecessary risks.”

“I see. So what happens to the expelled explorers?”

“It depends. Some manage to climb back up, while others accept their fate.”

“What about reject parties?”

“That’s right. They’re the ones trying to climb back up.”

“They sound more wholesome than I thought.”

“Well…”

Dalmong’s evasive answer was unusual.

He always gave clear and concise answers.

‘Still, it’s better than a party of newbie explorers.’

Jeong Yoo-shin tried to reassure himself.

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T/N – Those are some… interesting negative imprints. But the labyrinth really is a gacha, huh? I feel like I’ll be done for in this world. My luck has never been good in gacha games…

If you find any mistakes, feel free to point them out in the comments.