STGB Episode 478

The Big Fish (1)

This was the second coming-of-age ceremony I had conducted since becoming the chief.

Having done it once before, I was able to complete the entire ceremony in a much shorter time than last time.

“Hmm, seems like there are no newbies this time?”

None of the young warriors in this batch seemed to be acting suspiciously like players.

That was a relief.

The warriors didn’t have to be possessed, and the users wouldn’t be treated as evil spirits, struggling day by day just to survive.

That damned game should just disappear.

“Caron.”

“Speak, chief.”

Since the thought came to mind, I decided to check on the status of the newbies with the Second Elder.

“Vekta, the third son of Kiltau? Ah, you mean the boy who chose the shield at the last coming-of-age ceremony!”

“Yes. How is he?”

“Heh, seems like you’re worried about him because he chose the shield, huh?”

“Just answer the question”

“He’s doing well. I heard he was pretty impressive in the Labyrinth…”

When I pressed for more details, Caron, the Barbarian tribe’s social butterfly, immediately rattled off the latest gossip.

“He’s somewhat like you. Just like you went to the second floor on your first expedition, he also managed to get to the second floor with his team.”

“The second floor…?”

The newbie had actively used the team system and the starter items I introduced. He had swapped a potion with another explorer for some torches, used them to clear the Dark Zone, and on the second floor, he tanked with his shield while helping the other warriors…

“Chief, he didn’t make quite as much as you on your first go, but he still made a decent haul and left the checkpoint.”

So he’s adapting quickly, just as I suspected. Even for someone with game knowledge, it couldn’t have been easy.

Of course, there was one thing that worried me.

If he’s so reckless, those Evil Spirit-Hunters from the Secret Security Bureau might notice…”

Well, he’ll have to handle that on his own.

If that bastard from the bureau suddenly comes up to him and says, “I’m from the US, where are you from?” and he starts talking nonsense, he’s doomed.

“From the next batch on, maybe I should add a torch to the starter kit, too.”

“Oh, that’s a good idea.”

With that, our conversation ended, and I continued to lead the young warriors towards the city.

It was then.

“Chief.”

Caron, who had been walking beside me, called to me in a tense voice.

“I recently found out something…”

“What is it?”

“The cause of death of the warriors who died recently. Didn’t you ask me to look into it?”

Ah, that.

The first thing I did when I returned to the sanctuary was to check the casualties from that batch.

Seven warriors had died.

A monumental survival rate of almost 90%.

But I wasn’t satisfied with that number.

I gave them potions, shoes, and even formed teams of three or four with the Binding spell, and still three died?

“So what was the cause of death?”

At my question, Caron spoke in a heavy voice.

” It seems to be plunderers. I looked into it and found that there have been several reports to the Guild about barbarian bodies being discovered in the Crystal Caves.”

“…….”

“According to the reports, there were multiple signs that they were killed by humans, not monsters.”

“I see… I suspected as much.”

Of course, one thing puzzled me.

“But that’s strange. They formed teams of four, yet they were defeated by plunderers. And on the first floor, too.”

“I thought so too, so I dug a little deeper. And…”

Caron trailed off, then lowered his voice so the young warriors behind us wouldn’t hear.

“Lately, the price of our hearts has gone way up.”

Hearing this, my own heart almost skipped a beat. As the chief responsible for the future of the barbarian tribe, I knew how serious this was.

“The price has gone up……?”

“Yes. The Magic Tower’s posted standard price has increased several-fold.”

“Damn.”

Now I understood the situation.

As we became harder to kill, the supply naturally decreased while the value increased, and the price of hearts must have been skyrocketing day by day.

‘If one Barbarian heart can fetch millions of stones, it’s no wonder people are losing their minds.’

No matter how many potions you distribute or how many people team up.

With professional plunderers operating on the first floor, it’s almost impossible for the young warriors to respond.

“Explorers] who saw the corpses said that most of them seemed to have been overwhelmingly defeated”.

Those damn bastards.

“Crunch…”

A harsh response was needed.
***
After personally escorting the young warriors to the Dimensional Plaza, I had a waiting mage bind them in groups of three or four and cast binding spells on them.

By the way, this time the mages weren’t from the guild.

Now we have our own mage in the team.

“It’s a low-level spell, but… with so many people, it’s a bit exhausting.”

“Thank you, Vercil.”

“Ah… I wasn’t trying to brag…”

But that doesn’t change anything. When you’re grateful, you should express it properly.”

As I chuckled and patted Vercil on the shoulder, Amelia let out a sigh as if she was annoyed.

“…Here we go again”

I had no idea what she meant by “here we go again.”

“Jandel, let’s head in now.”

Anyway, now that the warriors have been escorted, we quickly entered the labyrinth.

「You have entered the 1st floor: Crystal Cave.」

The Crystal Cave on the first floor always brought back old memories.

We headed straight for the dark zone at the center.

“…It feels strange being back here.”

As soon as she saw the monument, Vercil muttered in a peculiar tone.

Perhaps it was unsettling for her?

“What’s so strange about it? If I recall correctly, you just opened a dimensional portal and fled comfortably back then.”

Erwin jabbed at her lightly, causing Vercil to flinch.

Fortunately, Vercil didn’t react sensitively and instead offered an apology.

“I’m sorry.”

Ugh, the atmosphere is getting awkward.

I deliberately interjected in a cheerful voice.

“What’s there to be sorry about? It’s not your fault.”

But maybe that didn’t go down too well either.

For the first time in a long while, Erwin disagreed with me directly.

“It’s her fault. If no one had run away and we had all fought together, more people would have survived.

She threw a subtle barb at her; Bersil flinched, but she didn’t snap back,

After all, Erwin had lost her sister back then.

“There’s always a price to pay for making the wrong choice.”

“You’re right. That’s why I had to pay the price too.”

Vercil, genuinely sorry, answered Erwen’s harsh words gently.

Erwin didn’t push any further.

She even apologised to me.

“Mister, I’m sorry. I made things unpleasant for no reason.”

“Huh…? No, it’s fine. It’s not unpleasant at all.”

“Bjorn! So when is that guy coming out? I’ve been waiting so long for this day!”

Aynar exclaimed at that moment.

Amelia frowned.

“Barbarian, how many times have I told you during the meeting? And you’re still asking?”

“I forgot!”

“And?”

“S-sorry…?”

“Much better.”

Since we had clearly established the hierarchy last time, Aynar shrank back at Amelia’s words.

But she was still curious, so she asked the same question again.

“So… when can we fight? I remember most of how we’re supposed to do it!”

Eventually, Amelia reluctantly answered.

“That long?! I thought we could start summoning him from day three!”

“It’s fascinating how you’re saying the exact same thing as during the meeting.”

The first-floor Guardian can appear any time after day three, provided five or more people are gathered. It’s probability-based, but that probability escalates so quickly that it effectively becomes guaranteed before a full day has passed.

So..

‘From the evening of the 6th day, we will begin to prepare for the summoning.’

We scheduled it so that the summoning would be guaranteed by the 7th day, when the labyrinth closes.

That’s the five-person strategy.

“So… should we just wait here until then?”

Aynar already looked like she was dying of boredom.

I could see her complaining of boredom every day, but that wasn’t an issue.

“Aynar, don’t worry. You and I have something to keep us busy.”

“Oh! Really?”

At my words, Aynar brightened up, while Amelia tilted her head.

“…Jandel, what do you mean by something to do? You never mentioned this.”

Well, of course not.

It was an idea I came up with on the way here.

“We can’t have all five of us hanging around together until day six, right? I’ll make sure to come back on time.”

“…What are you planning?”

Amelia looked at me as if she thought I was about to cause some trouble again.

Geez, why doesn’t she trust me.

“Don’t worry. We’re just going for a nice, peaceful walk together.”

Oh, and of course, we’ll be taking off all our expensive gear.

Just like beginners who have just entered the labyrinth.
***
Aynar and I split off from the group.

Erwin wanted to help too, but I gently declined.

The reason was simple.

The tasks from now on were only possible for Barbarians.

Therefore…

Thud, thud.

Aynar and I walked through the cave alone.

Aimlessly, just following our feet.

“…”

“…”

By the way, I had already removed my usual equipment and stored it in subspace, now I was wearing the barbarian beginner’s set.

A pair of boots.

A cloth backpack.

A pouch tied around my waist.

And a leftover iron weapon from the coming-of-age ceremony that no one had chosen.

“Bjorn, do you think they will really fall for this?”

Even though Aynar followed my plan, he seemed a little doubtful.

“You and I are pretty well known…”

“They know our names, not our faces.

“You’re underestimating yourself! Even if they don’t know me, they’ll recognise you for sure!”

Well, I’m not so sure.

First impressions are determined by the situation, the appearance and the aura a person gives off.

“Even so, at our age… they will surely think it’s strange.”

Honestly, she worries too much about the wrong things

Barbarians all look rugged anyway – other races can’t even tell the difference in age.

I know from experience: if I approach them like I look nice and tasty, they all start eyeing me hungrily—

“Grrk, grrk.”

Just then, a goblin emerged from a crack in the crystal rock.

And…

Slash!

It was swiftly decapitated by Aynar’s iron greatsword.

I couldn’t help but shout in exaggerated shock.

“Aynar! What the hell are you doing!!”

“Why, why? I just cut down a goblin that appeared…”

Aynar flinched, her voice tinged with shock.

“That’s the problem! You killed it way too easily!”

“…Then how am I supposed to do it?”

“Let me show you.”

I then demonstrated how to “properly” fight a Level 9 monster.

Grrk…!

The opponent was a single goblin.

……

I tightened my grip on my weapon as I stared into the goblin’s fierce eyes.

Snap.

The tip of my sword wobbled from putting too much force into it.

“Be, Bethel-raaaa!”

I swung my sword wildly, praying to the ancestral gods – naturally, the goblin dodged.

And then…

Crash!

After a few more clumsy swings, I finally got a hit and used my base stats to finish it off.

Whoosh-!

As soon as the mana stone dropped, I dashed over to grab it like a starving man diving for food. That’s the key point.

“Bjorn… Even on their first expedition, no warrior fights so pathetically. I mean, when I…”

Ugh, why does she always have to talk back?

“So, can you do it or not? That’s all I need to know.”

“I’ll try.”

“Oh, and always shout your battle cry. It makes observers think we’re fighting seriously.”

Shouting the names of our ancestral gods while fighting a mere level 9 monster was embarrassing, but Aynar swallowed her pride and obliged.

“B-BETHHELL… RAAH…!”

Her enthusiasm was lacking, but it would do.

With the basics covered, it was time for the real stuff.

“All right, this is how it’s going to be from now on. Got it?”

“Got it…”

And so we began roaming the Crystal Caves, engaging in “intense” battles with Level 9 monsters.

We kept our distance from human explorers, wary and aloof. When hungry, we gnawed on rock-hard stone bread to fill our stomachs.

This was the Barbarian Fishing Mode.

Surprisingly, it took a lot of mental energy to maintain this state.

No matter how much I controlled my power, even a grazing blow would kill a goblin…

Day 1, day 2.

Time went by.

Unfortunately, there were still no “bites”.

But there was no reason to doubt or despair.

Plunderers will lay low during the busy first two days to avoid attention.

By the third day, most explorers had left the first floor for the higher floors.

Rumble… rumble…

While Aynar slept, I stood guard, half asleep – until the first bite arrived.

Step, step.

Four explorers approached, they weren’t even trying to hide their presence.

Their gear suggested they’d cleared at least the fourth floor.

Thud.

They spread out, surrounded us, then stopped.

“Seriously, there aren’t many of you, yet you’re so hard to find. What’s the deal?”

One of them grinned as he looked at me.

Amazingly, his words were exactly what I’d been thinking.

“I finally found you.”

Yes.

Smirk

Yes, Finally found you.