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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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Late in the evening, Dalmong sat at the inn’s counter with his chin resting on his paw. The few remaining guests had already left, and those staying for the night were already in bed.
Clatter!
The door opened, and Jeong Yoo-shin shuffled in.
He slumped onto the seat opposite Dalmong, his body limp like an octopus.
“Dalmong, a drink, please.”
“We’re closed.”
“I can’t sleep like this.”
Dalmong clicked his tongue, took a bottle of liquor from the shelf, and poured a small amount into a glass. Jeong Yoo-shin took the glass with trembling hands and poured the contents down his throat. The burning sensation traveled down his throat and spread to his stomach. As the alcohol took effect, the aches and pains throughout his body subsided somewhat.
‘Will I be able to get up tomorrow?’
Jeong Yoo-shin pondered seriously.
“It’s on the house tonight. From tomorrow onward, it’ll be two copper coins a glass.”
“Two copper coins for this tiny glass?”
“It’s expensive liquor.”
‘It tastes just like soju.’
Jeong Yoo-shin smacked his lips and stood up.
“Then I’ll be going to bed.”
He was too exhausted for idle chatter.
“Alright.”
Jeong Yoo-shin entered his room and threw himself onto the bed.
“Ugh.”
He let out a strange groan and passed out.
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A month passed.
Jeong Yoo-shin’s daily routine was monotonous.
He woke up, spitting out the bear fur that had accumulated in his mouth during the night.
He then ate breakfast and went straight to the monster dismantling shop.
He drained the blood from the delivered monsters, skinned them, and then removed the flesh and internal organs.
There were many different kinds of monsters. Some were small like goblins, while others were massive, easily exceeding six tons.
Jeong Yoo-shin would often click his tongue in awe at the sight of the enormous monster carcasses.
“How do you even hunt monsters like these?”
The decadent elf manager simply replied,
“Skillfully.”
He would then take a short break for lunch and resume work in the afternoon.
In the evening, he would change out of his work clothes, wash the blood off in the dismantling shop’s shower room, and then join the others for a meal.
The dining area was situated in an unusual spot— in a corner of the monster dismantling shop’s front yard.
Meat sizzled on a grill.
The meat was leftover scraps from the dismantled monsters, and the charcoal was obtained from a nearby blacksmith.
They had been grilling and eating meat like this almost every evening for the past month.
They would also share the liquor brought by the dismantling shop employees.
“Here, newbie, have a drink.”
Marlon, a senior dismantler, offered him a bottle of liquor.
“Thank you.”
It was dwarven fire liquor, and it must have been quite strong because even a single sip sent a burning sensation through his throat.
“Is the work manageable?”
At Marlon’s question, Jeong Yoo-shin looked down at his hands.
Scarred and calloused.
They were no longer the soft, smooth hands he once had.
Moreover, he almost lost a finger during today’s work. If it wasn’t for the decadent elf manager’s healing magic, he would have run around searching for a doctor while clutching his half-severed, dangling finger.
He thought he wouldn’t be easily impressed anymore after witnessing Simus’ spirit magic, but he was wrong.
Magic was always fascinating.
Jeong Yoo-shin raised his head.
“Yeah, it’s manageable.”
Marlon laughed heartily.
“I like your attitude! How about we grab a drink somewhere else?”
“No.”
The elf manager interjected abruptly.
“The newbie has to go straight back to the inn after dinner. Dalmong is waiting for him impatiently like a newlywed waiting for his bride.”
“Yes, sir.”
The corners of the elf’s mouth twitched.
“Heh. Dalmong, waiting impatiently.”
The elf suddenly burst into laughter.
???
Laughing at his own joke?
Jeong Yoo-shin and Marlon stared blankly at the laughing elf.
Marlon regained his composure and smacked his lips.
“Too bad. Let’s have a drink some other time when we have the chance.”
“Sounds good.”
He picked up a piece of sizzling meat and chewed on it. Despite being only seasoned with coarse salt, it was flavorful and free of any gamey smell.
‘Liquor and meat. This is better than sex.’
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Two months passed. His routine remained the same.
Except for a few changes.
First, the elf manager started calling him by his name. His alias, that is.
“Skar, don’t overthink it. We can’t eat gargoyles anyway. Just carefully peel off the skin.”
Jeong Yoo-shin tried to pierce the hide with his knife, but it was so tough that the blade couldn’t penetrate it.
Marlon, unable to watch any longer, stepped in.
“No, don’t use so much force. Insert it gently, like entering a virgin’s hole on her wedding night.”
Slap!
The elf manager slapped Marlon across the face.
Thud.
Marlon collapsed sideways clutching his cheek and looked at the manager with a puzzled expression.
“Marlon, even if you have to use an analogy, must it be so vulgar?”
“I apologize.”
The three men fell silent for a moment.
Suddenly, the elf manager chuckled.
“Heh. A virgin’s hole. I can’t take it anymore.”
He burst into laughter. Marlon, rubbing his cheek, joined in. Only Jeong Yoo-shin remained unamused.
‘Is this elf crazy?’
What was so funny?
He gave up trying to understand.
Jeong Yoo-shin shook his head and focused on the gargoyle.
Another change was Jeong Yoo-shin’s perception.
By examining the wounds on the monsters, he could identify their vital points.
While the monsters would have many battle wounds, there was only ever one fatal wound.
He ran his hand over the gargoyle’s chest. At the spot where there would normally be no scales, there was a small hole.
The vital point.
This was his third time dismantling a gargoyle, and all three had a hole in the same scale-less spot on their chests.
He confirmed with Marlon that this was indeed the gargoyle’s weak point.
He also began to understand why Dalmong had sent him here.
It wasn’t just about the money. Perhaps Dalmong wanted him to develop his perception?
Though that tsundere bear beast-person would never admit it.
The final change was to his physique.
Lean muscle had filled out his thin frame, and his jawline became more defined.
His stamina had also increased dramatically.
These changes were the result of a steady diet of meat, intense labor, and a consistent daily routine.
Pierce.
Finally, his knife penetrated the hide. But the real challenge began from there.
He had to slowly and steadily cut the hide to create a clean separation, which was no easy task.
His arms trembled, and his face was drenched in sweat.
Too much force and the blade would slip, ruining the hide. If he peeled it along a jagged line, the shape would be distorted, and merchants would lower their price for it. Ultimately, it was the dismantling shop’s loss.
But he couldn’t use too little force either. The knife wouldn’t move forward in that case, slowing down the work and, again, resulting in a loss for the shop.
“Phew.”
After much effort, he finally finished tracing the separation.
Jeong Yoo-shin wiped the sweat from his forehead. The rest was easy. He just had to insert the knife between the hide and the flesh and carefully scrape it off.
It was similar to inserting a needle between the toes and the claws to extract the latter.
Having completed the process, Jeong Yoo-shin sat down.
“Slow.”
At the elf manager’s words, Jeong Yoo-shin scratched his sweat-soaked hair.
“Still, you can barely manage to do the work of one person now.”
The elf’s following words made him smile.
“Wow. Skinning a gargoyle in just two months. A newbie with talent to match his stubbornness. My judgment is never wrong.”
Marlon puffed his chest out.
“Why are you so proud? It’s thanks to my discerning eye that Skar was discovered.”
‘Neither of you had any expectations of me though.’
He grumbled inwardly.
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Three months passed.
There were no significant changes.
He became more proficient at dismantling.
He gained more muscle and stamina.
The only noteworthy change that happened, if it could be counted as one, was learning the elf manager’s name…
Aldein Ashwood.
Dalmong had grudgingly told him about it.
It sounded crazy, but sometimes that tsundere bear beast-person could be endearing.
It was probably due to the influence of the decadent elf manager with his bizarre sense of humor.
The night he skinned a twin-headed ogre, the elf manager approached him.
“Skar, today’s your last day. Take these.”
Jeong Yoo-shin looked up from the meat he was chewing from the grill.
Aldein handed him a pair of leather gauntlets and leather work boots with iron-reinforced soles.
“Thank you.”
“Here are ten silver coins. I added a little extra.”
“Wow! Thanks.”
“Thank Dalmong.”
Aldein turned and went back to his spot.
“Hey! Newbie, it’s a shame to see you go. Take this. It’s not much, but…”
The dwarf Marlon handed him a bottle of dwarven fire liquor and a note.
“My cousin runs a blacksmith shop. Mention my name and he’ll give you a discount.”
“Thank you, Marlon.”
“Yeah. An explorer, huh… You’re chasing a difficult dream, my friend. Good luck.”
“Yes. I’ll do my best.”
Marlon grinned, clapped Jeong Yoo-shin on the back, and returned to his seat.
After dinner, as the dismantling shop employees left, they each offered Jeong Yoo-shin words of encouragement.
“Skar, come back if you ever give up on being an explorer.”
“Yeah. We’ll take you back even if you lose an arm.”
“You guys! Don’t say such crazy things. Skar, honestly, for the past three months, I expected the city guard to come looking for you with rape charges, but they never did. I’ll admit it, you’re a good barbarian who doesn’t rape. Let’s meet again with smiles on our faces.”
‘You’re the craziest one of them all.’
Jeong Yoo-shin bid them farewell with a smile. Aldein, the last one remaining, saw him off.
“Come back if we’re ever short-handed.”
“Yes, call me at any time.”
He walked back to the inn, accompanied by the evening streetlights.
He was tired, but fulfilled.
He had earned ten silver coins a month. He worked for three months, so his total savings exceeded thirty silver coins, a considerable sum.
He also received a pair of gauntlets and his work boots, so he could save on equipment costs and start his exploration of the labyrinth relatively well-off.
He hummed a tune to himself.
Dalmong was waiting for him when he entered the inn.
“I’m back.”
“I heard today was your last day.”
“Did Aldein tell you that?”
“Yes. Here’s your ID.”
Dalmong handed him the metal tag. It was still warm as if Dalmong had been keeping it close.
“So, are you planning to buy equipment and enter the labyrinth right away?”
“Yes.”
“There’s a class for new explorers at the nearby guild branch. Take that class first.”
“Huh?”
“The Great Labyrinth is a dangerous place. You must always be thoroughly prepared. Don’t rely on luck.”
Dalmong gave a wry smile.
“Dalmong, were you an explorer once before?”
“You just realized that now?”
“I had a hunch. Then I’ll take the class first.”
Jeong Yoo-shin decided to follow the bear’s advice.
There was another reason why he did so.
The countless monster carcasses he had seen at the dismantling shop.
Even though they were just carcasses, their grotesque, monstrous, and massive forms had overwhelmed him several times.
Courage alone wasn’t enough.
He needed to gather information and prepare for the worst. However, he was skeptical of the usefulness of the Explorers Guild’s class.
What if the class he paid five hard-earned silver coins for turned out to be useless?
He would be devastated.
Damn it, he worked for that money!
His original plan had been to sit in taverns and eavesdrop on explorers’ conversations, or buy drinks for senior explorers to gather information, but…
He had to discard that plan now.
He dismissed his doubts about the class and abandoned his plan of gathering information through alcohol.
He trusted the bear.
The reason Dalmong sent him to the monster dismantling shop…
It must have been to impress upon him the dangers of monsters and instill in him a sense of caution.
And also to earn money, build stamina, and develop his perception along the way.
If that was Dalmong’s first arrangement for him, then the Explorers Guild class must be the second.
Dalmong grinned. He reached for a bottle of liquor on the shelf, but Jeong Yoo-shin stopped him.
“I got a bottle of dwarven fire liquor. Let’s drink this instead.”
“Alright.”
Two glasses filled with fire liquor clinked together in a corner of the quiet inn.
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T/N – Dang, Dalmong is such a bro. He’s my favorite character so far. Me imagining him as Totoro from My Neighbor Totoro is also a big plus.
If you find any mistakes, feel free to point them out in the comments.
Good development so far.